2014: Year in Review

October

Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV

We've been big fans of Phanteks' efforts in the case market ever since we first saw the Enthoo Primo in 2013. In fact, each of its cases, including this one, have earned themselves Premium Grade awards, which is testament to their continued quality. The EVOLV was the first case where Phanteks moved to a form factor below ATX, specifically micro-ATX. It's certainly expensive at £100, but the gorgeous aluminium exterior helps justify that a lot. It's also a joy to use, has fantastic cable routing and top notch support for water-coolers too, included reservoir and pump mounts, which are so often overlooked.

Turtle Beach Ear Force Z60

The market is so saturated in plastic gaming headsets that it's rare for one to really jump out at us. The Ear Force Z60, however, has the benefit of being the first headset to use Dolby's DTS Headphone:X virtual surround sound technology, and it's the first of its type to actually have an appreciable impact on your experience in movies and games. That said, we should clarifyt that it's more of a clear evolution in the technology rather than the revolution it's marketed as. It's not a perfect headset either, as there's room for improvement in the build quality and the soundscape is (deliberately) bass-heavy, but our experience with the surround sound technology was enough for it to stand out.

News

• Microsoft to launch DirectX 12 with Windows 10
  
• Nvidia releases GTX 980M and GTX 970M notebook GPUs
  
• Read steps down, Su steps up as AMD CEO
  
• Google unveils Android 5.0 Lollipop
  
• Gigabyte offers free future upgrade to Black Edition owners
  
• Alienware Releases Area 51 and Graphics Amplifier
  
• Microsoft launches Band wearable, Health app
  
• Working Project Ara prototype shown off on video