Case of the year: NZXT Phantom 530
We hadn’t reviewed a NZXT case for
many years, so were very interested in the Phantom 530, a case that recently
started making waves amongst PC enthusiasts. With the PC case market chock full
of me-too clones built for the lowest possible price, the Phantom 530 was a
refreshing change from the norm. Sure, it cost a little extra, but the LA-based
designers behind the façade of the Phantom 530 know how to craft a striking
design. It’s surprisingly large, with room for EATX motherboards, which makes
digging around the interior a graze-free experience. This might have been the
first NZXT case reviewed by PC PowerPlay, but given how much we liked it, it
surely won’t be the last.
With the PC case market chock full of me-too clones built for the lowest
possible price, the Phantom 530 was a refreshing change from the norm.
Keyboard of the year: Corsair Vengeance K70
2013 was the year that mechanical
keyboards became mainstream, with ye olde dome style keyboards finally stepping
aside for the new breed. Corsair’s K70 turned out to be our favourite new
mechanical keyboard of the year. Using Cherry MX Red switches, it forgoes the
noisy clacking of other mechanical keyboards, yet still retains that tactile
feedback that lets you know exactly when a keystroke has registered. The
aluminium frame is built to last through the end of days, while the
customisable backlighting is useful for nocturnal gamers. Customisable WASD
keys make it easy to feel where your fingers should be, but we wish the
included USB hub was 3.0 instead of the older 2.0 standard. Still, at this
price and level of quality, the K70 easily wins our favourite keyboard of the
year.
Using
Cherry MX Red switches, it forgoes the noisy clacking of other mechanical
keyboards, yet still retains that tactile feedback that lets you know exactly
when a keystroke has registered.
Gaming Mouse of the year: Razer Ouroboros
Welcome to the mouse that tries to be
all things to all people, and actually succeeds at the job. Where most mice
will only suit a fraction of the market due to their fixed dimensions, the
Ouroboros incorporates a fully customisable body to help it fit any hand, from
dainty lady-hands all the way up to hair-covered ape mitts. Both lefties and
righties can use it, and it’s built around one of the most acclaimed sensors on
the market, a fourth--gen model that includes both optical and laser sensors.
Macro lovers will find the Razer software some of the most powerful on the
market, making it easy to set up cheats, erm, macros. Add in the ability to run
in wireless or wired mode, and there’s not a lot that the Ouroboros can’t do.
Where
most mice will only suit a fraction of the market due to their fixed
dimensions, the Ouroboros incorporates a fully customisable body to help it fit
any hand, from dainty lady-hands all the way up to hair-covered ape mitts.
Laptop of the year: Gigabyte P25W
We don’t have space to list all of the
specs of this laptop here, but gamers really only care about two things – the
3.4GHz Intel I7-4700MQ CPU and NVIDIA GTX770M GPU. Combine these with twin SSDs
and 16GB of memory, and this gaming laptop does the one thing that most gaming
laptops fail at; it can actually run games at playable framerates, without
compromising on the detail. At the time we reviewed this, similarly specced
offerings from competitors were around $1,000 more expensive, leading us to
double check all the specs and price. But the specs and price were right, and
we were astonished. It’s still an absolute steal five months later, offering
more bang for your mobile gaming buck than any other gaming laptop on the
market.
We
don’t have space to list all of the specs of this laptop here, but gamers
really only care about two things – the 3.4GHz Intel I7-4700MQ CPU and NVIDIA
GTX770M GPU.
