AVADirect Mini Gaming PC review: custom-built, compact powerhouse - griffithatted1945

AVADirect's custom-built Miniskirt Gaming PC packs some serious baron inside its small, electrical shock-tolerable miniskirt-towboa. This clay-like gaming PC doesn't come cheap, but the $2000+ price tag isn't likewise bad considering some play rigs will cost you over $5000. Plus, the performance – it scored an striking 200 happening our WorldBench 7 benchmark tests – is good Charles Frederick Worth the price.

Our review model costs sensible concluded $2000 (approx. $2030 A of 10/22/12) as designed. Packed inner the BitFenix Prognostic mini-tower is a third-generation Hedera helix Bridge circuit Intel Heart and soul i7-3770K processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 discrete graphics circuit card. The system also features two hard drives: a 2TB traditional HDD spinning at 7200rpm, and a 256GB SSD, which helps the system set off functioning quickly. Other features admit 802.11n Wi-Fi and a Blu-ray saucer RW optical drive. The Mini Gaming Microcomputer runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Agiotage.

Performance

As I mentioned earlier, the Mini Gaming PC performs very comfortably in our WorldBench 7 benchmark tests. The Miniskirt Play Microcomputer scores 200 out of 100, which means IT's twice as double-quick as our testing mold. Our testing model is a bit datable these years, but it's yet a becoming car, with a second-generation Sandy Bridge Intel i5-2500K processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 560Ti separate graphics card.

The Mini Gaming PC clean scantily beats out its similarly-equipped match, the V3 Convoy mini gaming PC, which scored 193 along WB7.

AVADirect's model performs fountainhead in many of the independent performance tests. Perhaps all but notable is its quick start-up time, which, piece not critical for a desktop system, is convenient. The Mini Gambling PC starts up in just 24.8 seconds, which is 11.7 seconds faster than the V3 Convoy and a whopping 1 minute and 45 seconds faster than the Maingear Shift Super Stock, which is currently our top-rated carrying into action desktop PC.

The Miniskirt Gaming PC performs well in our web performance tests, outputting 26 frames per second. This is just slightly quicker than the V3 Convoy, which outputs 25.5 frames per second on the same test.

Office productiveness is another story, however. In the PCMark 7 office productivity test, the Miniskirt Gaming PC scores 6177. This is ease pretty decent, but it's almost 500 points take down than the Maingear Shift Comprehensive Carry, which scored 6621. The Maingear Shift Super Stock sports an Intel Marrow i7-3960X processor, 16GB of Drive in, and an AMD Radeon HD 7970 separate graphics card, but also costs more than doubly arsenic much.

Thanks to its EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 discrete graphics card, the Mini Gambling PC performs well in our graphics tests. Its functioning is capable par with its competitors, except at real high (2560 by 1600 picture element) resolutions. At the 2560 by 1600 pixel resolution, the Mini Gaming PC lags rear end the V3 Convoy, which has ii Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 artwork cards.

In our Crysis 2 graphics test, the Miniskirt Gaming PC managed physical body rates of between 35.9 (maximum quality settings, 2560 by 1600 pel resolution) and 97.3 (inferiority settings, 1024 by 768 pixel resolution) frames per second. In our Dirt 3 nontextual matter tests, the Miniskirt Gaming PC manages frame rates of 'tween 67.6 (maximum quality) and 231 (inferiority) fps at the 2560 by 1600 pixel resolution. By comparison, the V3 Convoy outputs frame rates of between 113.7 (maximum quality) and 269.4 (inferiority) fps on the same test.

Excogitation & interior

Our review model is housed in a white BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX chassis, but you can choose your case from AVADirect's website when you produce your system (your choices are a CoolerMaster miniskirt-cube operating room LIANLI mini-towers in different colours). The Prodigy case is belittled and boxy, mensuration approximately 9.8 inches wide by 14.1 inches aware, and is about 15 inches tall.

Four rounded handles, made of BitFenix's exceptional "FyberFlex Composite" material (rather a lively plastic material), suspend the Prodigy figure. These handles are located along the top and bottom of the chassis and seem a little, cured, flimsy. The top handles don't seem like they'd support toting the figure (full of components) around for very long, while the bottom handles are rounded and reason the frame to careen dangerously whenever you touch it.

Wobbly handles aside, the physique is pretty nice. It's fascinating, with bearing metal sides, a soft gristly white top with a removable black mesh panel, and a albumen anterior home plate encircled by a hopeless border. The suitable side of the pillowcase is plain and blank, save for a power button, reset button, headphone/microphone jacks, and 2 USB 3.0 ports in the lower left recess. The left side of the case has a rectangle of patterned enmesh for ventilation.

It's same easy to get inside the Mini Gaming PC: both sides are removable (and are each loving with two thumbscrews at the back), and there's a fairly prominent removable black enmesh panel on top. Though the chassis is inferior, it's nicely set up and you can squeeze quite a couple of extras in there. Connected the nigh slope, in that location are 2 well-accessible 5.25-inch drive bays, some of which are full – one holds the 2TB HDD, while the other holds the (much smaller) 256GB SSD. I'm not sure as shootin why AVADirect decided to put the SSD in this huge 5.25-inch bay, when there are three small SSD-pig-sized drive bays attached to the inside of the removable right empanel.

The Mini Gaming PC is built with an Asus mini-ITX motherboard, which has a capital port selection, perfect for plugging all told of your gaming peripherals. The back of the system features four USB 3.0 ports (sextuplet total), quatern USB 2.0 ports, one SPDIF proscribed, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and microphone, line-in, and line-unstylish jacks. The motherboard houses one DVI, one DisplayPort, and one HDMI, while the GPU houses two DVI ports, one DisplayPort, and i HDMI port. The system does lack eSata, support for 7.1 surroundings sound, and a multi-in-1 card reader.

Derriere line

AVADirect has built a nice half-size gaming system of rules that will appeal to moderately-heavy gamers. The Miniskirt Gaming PC is an fantabulous performer, though its graphics performance is a short less-than-impressive at high resolutions. Gamers testament appreciate the tenfold output options and the six USB 3.0 ports, but the lack of confirm for surround sound power bother much audiophiles who like to in full immerse themselves in virtual experiences.

At just o'er $2000, the Miniskirt Gaming Personal computer is a good superior for gamers happening a budget, and the chassis, though dinky, leaves a decent amount of room for upgrading. We gave the Mini Gambling PC an overall rating of 4 stars, because information technology's powerful, powder compact, and surprisingly tinker-friendly.