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

By Thomas Soderstrom
published

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?

The Hardware: Inside AVADirect's Mini Gaming PC

Listed under AVADirect's Mini Cube Gaming PC category, this configuration starts with Lian-Li’s PC-Q28B. If you'd rather lose the black parts, you can order the PC-Q28A instead and still access the custom finish options.

Lian-Li doesn’t offer its cases in chrome, and chroming the case’s ultra-fine brushed finish would have destroyed that look. AVADirect instead applies a chrome-like vinyl film with a pressed-in brushed texture.

AVADirect does a remarkable job of covering the case’s surfaces, taking special care to wrap edges and remove port openings. Though vinyl wrap isn’t costly, the value of this $99 option comes from the time involved in applying the covering.

A premium build should support the highest-end media formats, so AVADirect included LG’s BH16NS40 Black 16x/16x/48x BD/DVD/CD Blu-ray burner with our sample. This $138 option also includes a brushed finish, though the lighting required to make it shine would have turned the case wrap into a photograph-dooming reflection. A retail boxed part, the LG drive adds CyberLink Media Suite 10 to the package.

Seasonic’s 80 PLUS Plantinum-rated 760 W fully modular power supply blocks the view of other internal components. Though this PSU offers much more output than the system needs, a Platinum rating assures optimal efficiency results.

Modular power cables make it easier for us to pop out the power supply for a look inside. AVADirect fits this build with a Core i7-4770K processor, a GeForce GTX 780 from Asus, and Kingston’s XMP Beast-series DDR3-1600 C9 16 GB dual-channel memory kit.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • 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.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    12209289 said:
    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 :p
    Reply
  • bemused_fred
    12209289 said:
    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!
    Reply
  • 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.
    Reply
  • 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...
    Reply
  • 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.
    Reply
  • 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.
    Reply
  • Steveymoo
    So expensive >< Jesus Christ.
    Reply
  • 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.
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    Love that case. The polished aluminum look should be on all high end builds regardless of chassis size, in my opinion.
    Reply