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

Features
By
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?

Test Systems And Benchmark Configurations

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Test Hardware Configurations
Row 0 - Cell 0 AVADirect Mini Gaming PC Lenovo Erazer X700 ASRock M8 $1535 Build SBM $2550 Performance PC
Processor (Overclock) Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5 GHz, Four Physical Cores O/C to 4.20 GHz, 1.15-1.25 V Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2 GHz, Six Physical Cores O/C to 3.90 GHz, 1.41 V Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5 GHz, Four Physical Cores O/C to 4.10 GHz, 1.08 V Intel Core i7-3930K 3.20 GHz, Six Physical CoresO/C to 4.20 GHz, 1.25 V
Graphics (Overclock) Asus GeForce GTX 780: 889-941 MHz GPU,  GDDR5-6008 AMD Radeon HD 8950: 925 MHz GPU, GDDR5-5000 EVGA GeForce GTX 760: 980-1033 MHz GPU, GDDR5-6008 O/C to 1200 MHz GDDR5-7200 3 x EVGA GeForce GTX-760: 980-1033 MHz GPU,  GDDR5-6008 O/C to 1130 MHz GDDR5-6680
Memory (Overclock) 16 GB  Kingston DDR3-1600 CAS 9-9-9-27, 1.50 V 16 GB Hyundai DDR3-1600 CAS 11-11-11-28, 1.50 V 8 GB  Kingston DDR3-1600 CAS 9-9-9-24, O/C to DDR3-1600 8-9-8-21, 1.50 V 16 GB Mushkin DDR3-1600 CAS 9-9-9-24, Not Overclockable
Motherboard (Overclock) MSI Z87I: mini-ITX, LGA 1150 Intel Z87 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK Lenovo 10122: microATX, LGA 2011, Intel X79 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK ASRock Z87 M8: mini-ITX, LGA 1150, Intel Z87 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK ASRock X79 Extreme6: ATX, LGA 2011, Intel X79 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK
Optical LG BH16NS40: 16x BDR / DVD±R PLDS DH12B2SH 12x BDR 16x DVD±R Lite-On DC-8A2SH 8x DVDRW Pioneer BDR-2208: 15x BD-R
Case Lian Li PC-Q28B Lenovo X7 series Mid Tower ASRock M8 Lian Li PC-9NA
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Seidon 120M Asetek 120 x 38 mm Closed Loop Liquid Cooler Xigmatek CAC-EXAI6-U01 With Noctua NF-F12 Fan Noctua NH-D14 SE2011
Hard Drive 2 x Kingston HyperX 3K120 GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD Samsung 830 MZ7PC128HAFU 128 GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD Samsung MZ-7PD256BW: 256 GB, SATA 6Gb/s SSD Mushkin Chronos Deluxe DX 240 GB, SATA 6Gb/s SSD
Power Seasonic SS-760XP2: 760 W Modular, ATX12V v2.3, 80 PLUS Platinum AcBel FS8003: 625 W, 80 PLUS Gold FSP450-60GHS(85)-R: 450 W, SFX, 80 PLUS Bronze Corsair HX850: 850 W Modular, ATX12V v2.3, 80 PLUS Gold
Software
OS Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64 Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64 Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64 Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64
Graphics Nvidia GeForce 331.65 AMD Catalyst 13.9 Nvidia GeForce 320.49 WHQL Nvidia GeForce 326.80 Beta
Chipset Intel INF 9.4.0.1017 Intel INF 9.3.0.1026 Intel INF 9.4.0.1017 Intel INF 9.3.0.1026
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