When You Want A Little Gaming: The AVADirect Nano Gaming Cube

Conclusion: 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.