Mar 26, 2008 8:07 PM | Comment Now

Cars and computing. There’s a lot of parallels between these two seemingly different worlds. Consider the usage that the ‘average’ computer user and average car owner use their machines for – simple tasks, the kind of background usage that you really don’t think about – checking emails, maybe balancing the household budget and driving to the shops or picking up the kids from school.

The you’ve got more . . . involved users, the kind who might add lights and transparent windows to their PC to make it look more powerful, and drivers who add, well, lights as well, and maybe the odd spoiler or fancy tachometer. Neither expects an improvement from the upgrades, but looks count for something, right?

And then, you get to the extreme end of both hobbies – the type of person who’ll spend hours upgrading their computer or car and tweaking its performance, getting every last bit of grunt from the hardware. We’re talking speed demon types, people who’ll spend entire pay-packets on their pride and joy.

People like us.

Josh Collins and I love computers. We love playing with them, upgrading them, and staying abreast of what’s new and amazing in the field. And, like a super fast Bugatti Veyron, we think a fully tricked out and over-clocked computer can a supremely sexy piece of kit. Especially when you get it playing a top end game like Crysis with all the eye-candy turned up.

In fact, if there was a Top Gear for computers, we’d be the presenters. Instead, however, we have this blog on PCA’s new web site, and our own little magazine Atomic MPC, as our little sandpit of tech.