AVADirect’s Mini Cube Gaming PC: Good Looks, Price, And Performance

[Crashman]

Boutique builders employ an endless array of customizations to win over customers who don’t have the time or desire to piece together a PC. But enthusiasts in the know still want to feel like they're getting a fair deal. Can AVADirect demonstrate value?

AVADirect’s Mini Cube Gaming PC: Good Looks, Price, And Performance : Read more

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Page four. The ASRock system has an i7-4770K. How is the CPU cooler an 'AMD Boxed Cooler"?

Also, many of those seem somewhat unbalanced, especially for a gaming system.

EDIT: Toss an R9 290X or 780 in the M8 and drop to a 4670K, and you'd have a real value winner.

 

[Crashman]

Page four. The ASRock system has an i7-4770K. How is the CPU cooler an 'AMD Boxed Cooler"?

Also, many of those seem somewhat unbalanced, especially for a gaming system.

EDIT: Toss an R9 290X or 780 in the M8 and drop to a 4670K, and you'd have a real value winner.

Thanks for catching the pasting errors, it helped me fix two articles As for the rest of the ASRock build, I used what was available. Remember that A WHOPPING 1/3 of the benchmark set does benefit from the i7's added cache and/or HT, and that ONLY 1/3 of the benchmarks benefit from a higher-model graphics card 😛

 

[bemused_fred]

Page four. The ASRock system has an i7-4770K. How is the CPU cooler an 'AMD Boxed Cooler"?

Also, many of those seem somewhat unbalanced, especially for a gaming system.

EDIT: Toss an R9 290X or 780 in the M8 and drop to a 4670K, and you'd have a real value winner.

A 290-X in a mini-ITX case?!? He wants a P.C., not a space heater!

 

[Menigmand]

"Good looks" are highly subjective... I would say that case is not pretty. If the AVA sticker can be removed, and there's an option without the optical drive, then it would be better.

 

[vaughn2k]

We'll.. this is another good example of implementing modular cables. But I really don't like the idea of blocking the inside of the computer with a power supply, unless it is designed the way like Thermaltake Elite 120 does...

 

[vertexx]

Nice article. I'm not for the fake chrome vinyl wrap look, and I would question how long that would last.

Overall though, it's good to see these guys putting together a nice compact, high performing PC.

 

[vertexx]

The same parts plus OS can be purchased for ~$1,900. Still, for someone who doesn't want to mess with building a system, it looks like a decent value.

 

[Steveymoo]

So expensive >< Jesus Christ.

 

[MooseMuffin]

These guys seem pretty price competitive actually. I just ran through their configurator with a system I put together for myself recently and it came within $150. Not bad considering you get the warranty, and that every other boutique seems to mark up way more with fewer part options.

 

[g-unit1111]

Love that case. The polished aluminum look should be on all high end builds regardless of chassis size, in my opinion.

 

[ta152h]

Just looked at the first page, saw the picture, and realized this ugly rubbish wouldn't have any place in my home.

Ugly things don't sell well. PC makers, and case makers need to make attractive designs instead of wanting people to put these eyesores in their houses. Efficiency is great, but it's secondary to appearance.

How many people go to the car dealership and base their decision mainly on the aerodynamics of the car? Next to none? Appearance? Lots, even if they refuse to admit it? Efficiency in a case matters even less, but they keep making these ugly monstrosities that we're supposed to pollute our workspace with.

 

[Adroid]

Not bad. A bit more money than I would spend on a PC, but it's a higher end model. Probably a good buy if you took it and adjusted the OC a bit.

 

[mouse24]

Just looked at the first page, saw the picture, and realized this ugly rubbish wouldn't have any place in my home.

Ugly things don't sell well. PC makers, and case makers need to make attractive designs instead of wanting people to put these eyesores in their houses. Efficiency is great, but it's secondary to appearance.

How many people go to the car dealership and base their decision mainly on the aerodynamics of the car? Next to none? Appearance? Lots, even if they refuse to admit it? Efficiency in a case matters even less, but they keep making these ugly monstrosities that we're supposed to pollute our workspace with.

See thats the thing about opinions, everyones got them. I quite like the case. Also I couldn't care less what my PC looks like as long as it runs. How often do you even look at your PC? Maybe once or twice a day when you turn it on and off.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Love that case. The polished aluminum look should be on all high end builds regardless of chassis size, in my opinion.

Just looked at the first page, saw the picture, and realized this ugly rubbish wouldn't have any place in my home.

And this is why the choice of looks in cases is so varied.

 

[g-unit1111]

And this is why the choice of looks in cases is so varied.

What's that saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure"? :lol:

 

[dennphill]

Very nice build. Great review, Tom. I like the case - and for reasons others might pooh-pooh - the size and form factor is just right for me. Don't quite need the performance here though, and just spent an hour or so trying to find a configurator on AVADirect that gets me to this case and mobo combo to configure at a slightly lower price and performance levels. Can't find the case available on any of their configurators, though they do list the Lian case as an available part. Schade. Guess I'll just have to contact them, but you'd think with this exposure and such a favorable review, they'd get ahead of the power curve. (Like, for example, an ad with link to the particular configurator on their site!)

 

[Crashman]

"Good looks" are highly subjective... I would say that case is not pretty. If the AVA sticker can be removed, and there's an option without the optical drive, then it would be better.

Very nice build. Great review, Tom. I like the case - and for reasons others might pooh-pooh - the size and form factor is just right for me. Don't quite need the performance here though, and just spent an hour or so trying to find a configurator on AVADirect that gets me to this case and mobo combo to configure at a slightly lower price and performance levels. Can't find the case available on any of their configurators, though they do list the Lian case as an available part. Schade. Guess I'll just have to contact them, but you'd think with this exposure and such a favorable review, they'd get ahead of the power curve. (Like, for example, an ad with link to the particular configurator on their site!)

Yeh, it's a PITA to copy a configuration on their site, you just start out with the "LGA 1150 Mini Cube" or whatever they're calling it that day, pick the black version of the case and if you want the simulated chrome you add that, etc.