When You Want A Little Gaming: The AVADirect Nano Gaming Cube
by Dustin Sklavos on September 16, 2010 10:55 PM ESTConclusion: Good Things in a Small Package?
Having gone through the review you've probably already figured out whether or not you're interested in something like the AVADirect Nano Gaming Cube. So we'll cut the crap now: the Cube is a curio. You know it, I know it. It is a cute, woefully impractical idea, and it works. Some people are probably going to be horribly offended by it, mystified as to why anyone would buy anything like it. That's fine, the Cube isn't for them. But other people—and you know who you are—are going to be endlessly fascinated and amused by it. This conclusion is for you.
The three major issues with the Cube (or at least, our review unit) are thus: the DFI LANparty board is feature light and frankly bad compared to what's available (and it's no longer an option in the AVADirect configurator); the overclock is a lazy one and not remotely ideal for the situation; and finally, the Cube can be a bit noisy.
The first has already been taken care of: superior boards are available in the custom configuration, and the cheapest is still a high quality Gigabyte board. The second, we would just advise that you order it without an overclock instead of tempting fate, because you're not going to get the kind of tuned overclock a system like this really demands. The third, I don't know what to tell you. It isn't even a foot long on any side and it has a Radeon HD 5870 in it. There's only so much alchemy that can occur when a gaming machine this small is put together.
I think the only major issue I had with it was that the overclock was so poorly done and so wasteful, because the system is such a cool idea (regardless of practicality) that it needs more attention and care. The cube could probably do a lot better if it were properly tuned.
So with all that said, the cube is an incredibly amusing curio and it is indeed a fully functional, perfectly stable machine. With an incredibly tiny footprint. It will get attention, at least from the geek set. Whether you're willing to pay for the novelty is a decision you'll have to make on your own, but there are few better ways to do a little gaming than the AVADirect Nano Gaming Cube.
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Mr Perfect - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
Or even just next to the systems it's compared to. Sure, the full ATX systems with SLI where faster, but they'd also look like a piece of furniture compared to the Sugo 6.Shadowmaster625 - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
That's just stupid in this day and age.grimJester - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
The SG-07(http://silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?...
has a 600W PSU, front mounted, with much better space for a CPU cooler and a 180mm fan blowing down from the top. It just looks so much better than the SG-06 for this kind of machine.
JarredWalton - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
Keep in mind that this system was made before a few updates came to the AVADirect configurator, which is why our price is only approximate. Anyway, the SG07 *is* an option at AVADirect. It's a longer chassis and costs $100 more, but there may be other benefits.acooke - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
Will this travel as hand baggage on planes? Does anyone have experience of this?I am planning on building something similar (but for dev work, with the 95W 6 core AMD) while visiting the USA, but need to be able to bring it back home. I think it should be possible to carry this on as hand luggage, but would love confirmation (it would be with Delta, and I would also be carrying a laptop).
Thanks! Andrew
vol7ron - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
More than likely.... not post 9/11JarredWalton - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
I don't know about international flights, but my brother recently carried a larger desktop on a plane trip from WA to AZ. You'd probably want to ask Delta in advance. Best-case, be prepared to have to open the case, plug the system in, etc. to demonstrate it's a working PC with nothing funny going on.strikeback03 - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
I would guess the same, they obviously allow laptops onboard, so as long as there are no liquids involved and it runs I doubt it would be a problem. But if you call ahead, or even better get something in writing, it might help.atmartens - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
I carried a PC within a Sugo SG-06 from the US to France, by airplane, in hand luggage and encountered no issues.acooke - Friday, September 17, 2010 - link
Thanks for all the answers. I'll check with them, but it's good to hear soeone has done something similar.