About this Title
Publication aimed at people who know that technology rocks. This is for people who gets their kicks upgrading graphics cards, smashing benchmarks, and working with wireless gadgets and fast Internet service. Includes honest reviews, useful tips, and commentary from world-class computing experts.

Product Description
Publication aimed at people who know that technology rocks. This is for people who gets their kicks upgrading graphics cards, smashing benchmarks, and working with wireless gadgets and fast Internet service. Includes honest reviews, useful tips, and commentary from world-class computing experts.



Reader Reviews
The first time I saw Computer Power User (CPU) on the newsstand, I thumbed through it. Then I bought it. And I bought it again the next month and for several months after that. Finally I realised that I wasn't really reading any other magazines, so I just subscribed. Lo and behold, they even have a website worth visiting. In fact, the website is arguably the best reason to subscribe. The magazine is edited by Samit Choudhuri and features monthly articles by some of the biggest names in tech like Alex St. John (one of the founding creators of Microsoft's DirectX technology), Anand Lal Shimpi (of Anandtech), Alex "Sharky" Ross (of SharkyExtreme), Kyle Bennett (editor of HardOCP), Chris Pirillo (also on Tech TV), and Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda (of SlashDot), as well as several others of whom you may or may not have heard. They offer clear and concise coverage of hardware and software including the latest releases of components, peripherals and systems, windows, Linux, and MacOS, programming, tweaking, testing, and whatever else you need. There are excellent reviews of everything from top-of-the-line bleeding-edge-of-technology gaming systems to a section on basic and advanced upgrading (current project is an eMachines 600is they got at Computer Rennaisance). They review the mega-expensive graphics and video editing programs as well as offering balanced perspective on less costly solutions and even a few recent beta releases worth checking out. The coverage is (mostly) unbiased, cleverly written, interesting, and one more point that is just huge to me: Somehow they manage in nearly every article to write it in such a manner that I, my technophobic grandmother, and the smartest guy in my IT department could learn something from. In a recent example, they covered flat-panel displays, offering a basic overview of plasma vs LCD vs CRT, explained what all the acronyms mean, and taught us how plasma and LCD work ... in extreme detail. Beyond that, they offered views on the market, which solution is probably best for which application, relative pricing, and even an explanation of how the manufacturing process works and is improving. Even if part of the article is over your head or too detailed for you to care, you WILL find useful information, no matter where you're currently at in your level of expertise. I recommend this magazine to hardcore gamers, IT professionals, smart consumers, curious geeks (actually, all geeks), and any end user who wants to be more proficient and efficient in their computer usage. For the least tech-savvy and/or most technophobic among us, the publisher offers a complementary publication called Smart Computing that offers more of an in-depth user-perspective on the usage of common microsoft-centric applications, like "Word" and "Web Browsers", if those are still proving bothersome and complicated. If you're at all beyond that level of comprehension, Smart Computing will merely insult your intelligence and bore you to tears - in which case I recommend upgrading to CPU. Subscription includes FULL unhindered website access, including digital copy of all printed articles, plus several additional reviews and article-related sidebars not found in the magazine. Also, lengthier interviews, more photos, and probably several things that I haven't yet uncovered. Access to the website is for the full duration of subscription. And in fairness, newsstand copies include a code that will grant the purchaser one month of access to the site, so there's nothing to lose. Finally, being a fairly new publication (just over a year old now), they're still very receptive to reader feedback. Grab a copy, check it out. If you like it, subscribe. If you don't, send them a message. Comment (1) | | (Report this)

Available from Amazon Price: $29.00 Updated on 6-4-2008.