Custom PC vs PC Format - Which do you prefer and why?

I always buy PC Format, and PC Gamer and I do sometimes buy Custom PC, i buy them to read at work, or when the GF is on the computer.
 
Used to only get mags if something decent on the free cover cd/dvd, but not bought any for years - especially when there were more pages of adverts than there were articles. Still pick up the Mens Health every now and again...
For PC stuff, tend to stick with online reviews and specs and go from there...
 
Neither, both are a load of crap. I used to be a subscriber to both but PCFormat is way overpriced and not worth the paper it's printed on. CustomPC is not much better. Their reviews have been dodgy to say the least which is why i cancelled my subscription a few months ago. By the time they come out everything in them is old news anyway.
 
I always buy Custom PC; their opinions can be a bit off the mark sometimes but everything is strenuously tested and the articles are well written. I prefer reading hardware reviews from a magazine; you can't relax at a PC and there are too many distractions on screen.

PC Gamer is entertaining but £5.99 is too much IMO. They should drop the DVD.
 
I subscribe to PC Format, have done for a few years. It only costs me £36 a year (13 issues) doing it this way. Shop price is £4.99 an issue = £64.87 a year = almost 50% discount. :)
But it only takes me 1 - 2 hours to read though.
Do like the Ask Luis section, can get some quite good info from him.

Have never read Custom PC, would you recommend it???

But like everyone says the internet is a more upto date source of info.
 
MarcLister said:
As for why? PC Format just seemed more general than Custom PC. Am I right in saying Custom PC was more about overclocking PCs and pimping them up? Whereas PC Format was more about games, tweaks and new hardware and reviews of motherboards/processors/graphics cards etc and which ones were the best to buy on a budget or with loads to spend?
Click to expand...

What he said basically. Like a lot of people posting here I don't buy PC mags anymore, last one I bought was over a year ago, it's about 2 years or more since I bought them regularly. Started off with PCW back in '00 and stuck with that for a good 3-4 years. Then I started buying PCFormat because PCW got rid of their 3D graphics section (probably the only reason I was still buying it).

I like giving CustomPC a quick read when I'm in the shop though. Letters at the back, the featured reader PC (usually pretty dire looking) and whatever main stories they're running.

PCFormat was just a bit more general which I preferred at the time. Oh.. and the pretty lady. Most of the time she didn't even have anything to do with computers in the pic. My gf used to tease me about it :p
 
Currently subscribe to PC Format but only because I keep forgetting to cancel it, I must remember to do that.

I just find I hardly read it any more, and like most people have said its just much easier to find the information you need online.

Also I'm becoming unimpressed with some of the content, a few issues ago they did a TFT super test, great I thought as I was about to purchase a new screen. They had various info about choosing a screen which was quite handy but then just had 6 small reviews of different screens. Hardly a 'super test'
 
I've just started a subscription with Custom PC a couple of months ago. I've always been interested in computer hardware, but havn't yet got a full knowledge...and so I find Custom PC a good, easy to read mag. It has a lot of detail on products, advice on hardware...and is good for learning the ropes of pc customisation.
 
I read custom pcs myself, it is true that most of the information can be found online but they also do some nice round up articles like hard drive round up comparisons. I used to buy pc format for long trips before custompcs came out. I'm not too sure but don't pc format have 2 versions 1 mainly a pc and gadget magazine and 1 gaming one?
 
Just canceled my Custom PC subscription, I see little point in it when there are sites like Tom's Hardware, Anandtech etc. And great forums like this.
 
subscribe to both Custom PC, ok some ratings are biased, & they like to mention certain hardware shops more than others, but overal a good read
also have subscription to Micro Mart, again weekly mag that i enjoy having a read through
 
Nice to hear what everyone thinks, although I'm amazed that so few enthusiasts buy mags nowadays. While the internet has the competitive edge I still don't think you can beat having something tangible to read.

Think I'm gonna stop buying PC Format however, as £5.99 is taking the mickey for what is very little content.
 
I like to sit and read magazines. I like reading from paper. I like the feel of a magazine in my hand. I like the smell. I like to turn pages. I like to sip a cup of tea with my read. I like to eat a cream cake while reading. Usually on a Thursday :)

I tend to buy Custom PC monthly and Micro Mart weekly.

As with all the web sites, with magazines you also have to judge the value of what you read and seperate the wheat from the chaff.

Imho magazines tend to avoid the brash, over-opinionated accuracy-challenged, ego-rich, loud, ranting nonsense which fills so many web sites and forums.

But it is not either/or. There is room in the world for both hard copy and virtual articles.

Some web sites are excellent. Many real enthusiasts share valuable information on t'internet.

Magazines allow me to be exposed to what its editors think I need to know. Reading magazines, like watching TV, is a passive process.

On the Weird Wide Web I can actively hunt down what I want to know about. Gather a plethora of personal opinions and experiences presented as religious fact then sift out the nuggets of truth. Web browsing is an active goal driven process.

There is greater technical depth and range of coverage on the web, but magazines do give a nice simplistic wide ranging overview.

One major problem with the web and its forums is that ill thought out opinions and ideas become "facts" by the simple means of mindless repetition.
 
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Must admit, I dont buy many mags as I wont spend the money jsut to get at 30 minute read and a DVD that I wont use.

However, saying that if I do buy one it's usually ComputerActive as it's under £2 and usually just because I'm needing something to read at that point.
 
custom pc mainly as it seems more hardware orientated, format just has the dvd going for itself which most of the software has already been mentiond by most news sites and or every one already updates the software themselves.... although custom pc does seem to be abit behind the times some months i find that and pc advisor (or whatever bi weekly one its called can be a helping hand)
 
my parents get me a custompc sub every xmas

i like the mag - the writing is good

and there is a guy in the mag called ben hardwidge - which is funny EVERY time :p

i dont like how the mag is so far behind on some things but then month ahead of other things - guess its the nature of pc components though
 
Custom PC by a mile.

I bought PC format for the first time in a long time this week (for a long train journey) and was pretty disappointed. The articles were hardly in depth enough nor were the comparison tests anywhere near a complete reflection of the market. Only bit i enjoyed was the games section - but then mags like PC Gamer do that bit better.
 
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