Have you ever wondered about which computer product magazine is the best one to subscribe to, or do you just have a ton of subscriptions to each magazine? This review condenses the information so that you can decide which magazine is the best for your needs.
We will be looking at the following:
“Computer Shopper”
“PC World”
“Computer act!ve”
“Personal Computer World”
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“Computer Shopper”
This is a magazine which focuses more on buying products and reviewing them for consumers that want to purchase the most efficient machine for their desires. The most recent issue has focused on walking users through the process of building a PC step-by-step, and has reviewed various laptop and desktop models ( XPS, Dell, Gateway, Shuttle) in a variety of inspections. This magazine usually divides up the laptops so that the reader can flip to whatever type of machine he/she is willing to purchase and just read the reviews in that section. For example, if I wanted to buy a gaming desktop, I could flip to page 13 of the June 2008 copy to look at an Alienware Area-51, or read reviews for the new Gateway FX, and so on and so forth.
The magazine also features monitor reviews and computer part listings, for example the review of the NEC Accusync LCD24WMCX or the XFX nforce 790i ultra motherboard. With numerous listings, the computer tends to be for the computer enthusiast who has general knowledge about graphics systems and computer parts. Although it is more for the computer enthusiast, the magazine also caters to the occasional beginner; Computer Shopper does a neat job of explaining each part and even has a section at the end of its magazines called “geek//:speak” where a few terms are explained. In this issue, Matthew Murray, writer of “geek//:speak” wrote about SLI and Crossfire, explaining to the novice computer builder the benefits and cons of both. He also defined DSLR, which some know as a digital single-lens reflex camera. However, as a caution, some terms may have to be researched by novices to fully understand them. This magazine features not only computer and parts reviews, but also camera criticism to help those looking for a camera. As an overall magazine, Computer Shopper offers a precisely cached all-around magazine which works for experts and beginners alike, although the beginners will most likely have to do extra research to understand what is being talked about.
One thing to note, the magazine does not usually talk about MAC products, mostly for the Microsoft user. Also, ads are seen in this magazine, almost one every 5-10 pages. This is not as bad as other magazines. Computer Shopper offers an exceptional all-around review of software, hardware, and computer parts.
The subscription price for this magazine is $15 for 12 issues.
Source: http://freemagazine.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/computer-shopper-march-2007.JPG
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“PC World”
This is an interesting magazine. It has a nice boutique of information ranging from software reviews to hardware reviews, but is plagued with advertisements on every second page which can be EXTREMELY annoying when someone just wants to read an awesome article written by one of the staff writers. The ads are probably there to lower the cost of the magazine, but when they become a nuisance it may just be better to have them all at one end of the magazine instead of scattered throughout. The subscription price of this magazine is $15 for 12 issues, the same as Computer Shopper but with more ads. But enough of the ads, lets look at the content.
PC world basically analyzes a wide range of topics from the new anti-virus software present all the way to the One Laptop Per Child program. The magazine does an exceptional job of displaying the pros and cons of each item, and also has numerous links to its online website in each article. This magazine has one thing that others do not: it also analyzes video games such as GTA 4 or Halo 3. Other magazines simply talk about hardware or software, but this one talks of video and computer games. PC World is a great magazine, except for its annoying ads, and does not focus on teaching people how to build computers so much as it does rating graphics cards or rating new laptops. The ratings are usually in a compiled chart and are easy to comprehend by readers; this helps pc builders in knowing what products are out in the market for purchase.
This magazine also reviews digital cameras and internet service providers, interesting things which are not seen in other review digests. In one of its issues, PC World talked about Fios and Dial-up, comparing the two, and then comparing the winner (Fios) with Cable and Comcast to see which one was the greatest. Things like this are not seen in other magazines.
Overall, the magazine PC World encompasses a great variety of topics. If it weren’t for its plethora of ads, I would say this could be one of the best magazines.
Source: http://mobilevodoo.com/images/stories/Ebook/pc_worldNov2007.jpg
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“Computer act!ve”
In comparison with the past two reviews which are mainly made in the USA, this magazine is established in the United Kingdom. It advertises on its July 2006 issue that it is the “UK’s Best Selling Computer Magazine.” If it is, lets find out.
For starters, just like other magazines, this one includes various ads from computer parts and whole pc sellers. Basically, this magazine has just as many ads as PC World but also has a larger fan email and Dr. Computer section. This magazine also has the “Jargon Buster” section, which is similar to the Geekspeak section in PC World except that it is much longer and more in depth. The technology which is written about is definitely much more in depth.
This magazine does not really graze on computer reviews or part reviews, more so focusing on software explanations or helping users with their pc problems. In the July 2006 edition, the magazine looks at printers and cameras, as well as games like Half-life 2.
One of the nice aspects of this magazine is its “Workshops” section, where it walks a reader through the long steps of some complicated process. For example, in this issue it teaches a user how to set up a web forum and how to create CD labels. The process of setting up a website forum is tricky, but this step-by-step workshop helps put it in the face of a basic user.
Overall, this is a nice magazine for someone who doesn’t want to know about computer parts and computer reviews. This is a magazine for the software junkie and the basic computer user. The subscription cost of this magazine is 12 pounds every 6 months. This can be converted to almost $24 every 6 months.
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“Personal Computer World”
The mother of all PC Magazines, this one includes EVERYTHING needed for the hard-core computer nerd! This magazine has hard-drives, operating machine, gaming computers, notebooks, laptops, crossfire gfx cards, SLI chipsets, even draft N wireless key reviews! Everything for the computer enthusiast is in this magazine. In the August 2006 issue, a pure 194 page extravaganza awaits the reader with only about 20 ads throughout the entire compendium of computer items.
This issue caters to the XP user and also the UNIX/Linux users with various program reviews for all three operating systems. This magazine is really for the expert, with line-by-line of linux and unix code which only programmers would understand. For example, on page 145 the writer Barry Shilliday writes “To create a full archive of your home directory, run tar as follows: $cd /home $ tar cfvj /tmp/backup.tar.” Obviously, if you are not an expert computer user you wouldn’t understand these two commands, which are linux shell commands.
Lastly, this magazine has an extensive amount of items included in the “Buyer’s Guide” present at the end of each issue. This is a very extensive list of graphics cards, notebooks, hard drives, motherboards. . . Everything that the computer builder needs to create a piece of art! The reviews of each piece really help a user gain an understanding of what he/she will get if the piece is purchased.
Overall, I would recommend this magazine for the expert PC user and builder. This compendium is the largest magazine reviewed in this post, and has more information on pc buying and building than any other PC magazine. All in all, this is not for beginners, for they will get VERY confused as soon as they read the first page. This magazine is intended for expert computer users and features no “help” section like in other magazines.
This magazine’s subscription costs 23 pounds for 12 issues. This can be corverted to $46 dollars for 12 issues.
Source:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o272/softarchive/img32/65232_s__personal_computer_world_ju.jpg
I hope this article has helped your understanding of the PC magazines. Good LUCK!
-Mark Kram
