2014: Year in Review

November

Asus Maximus VII Impact

We were reluctant to include a third Asus ROG motherboard in our list here (and a fourth Asus one overall), but we can't deny the appeal of the Impact. Sure, it's around £70 more expensive than most other mini-ITX Z97 offerings, but there's so much here and such efficient use of space that it's easily a highlight product of the year. Through daughterboards and vertical riser cards, the Impact is able to supply upgraded audio, additional power phases, extra fan headers, a full length M.2 slot and a mini PCI-E slot occupied by a WiFi/Bluetooth module. There are even onboard overclocking buttons and readouts, and of course the excellent ROG UEFI is there in full too.

Corsair Hydro Series HG10 A1

NZXT's Kraken G10 bracket first brought all-in-one liquid cooling to GPUs in 2013, but Corsair's effort with the HG10 was a marked improvement. While it requires a more specific design (the A1 version is only compatible with reference R9 290X and R9 290 boards), the HG10 incorporates full VRM and memory cooling by via the existing onboard fan. Installation is pain free and temperatures and noise are much, much lower than they would be with the stock cooler.

Fractal Design Define R5

Fractal's Define series of cases has long had a place in many an enthusiast's heart thanks to the minimalist aesthetic and low noise design which has now been replicated many times since. The Define R5 is the latest revision, and while it doesn't bring about any revolutionary changes, that's never been Fractal's style, and the changes that are made are all made for the better. The internal design is very flexible, with both HDD cages and the ODD cage fully removable, meaning users can get pretty creative with regards to how they set up their internal storage and water-cooling. A windowed version is available too, and the Define R5 is still the case to get if you're looking to build an ATX system with a particular focus on low-noise.

News

• Nvidia updates Shield Tablet with Grid cloud gaming
  
• Meet the new Caseking Selective Fire systems by der8auer
  
• Open-source Jolla Tablet smashes crowd-funding goal
  
• Samsung partners with AMD for FreeSync UHD monitors
  
• Intel teases thumb-sized 'Compute Sticks,' 3D NAND