The Best Hardware of 2016

April

Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire


The K70, in its various forms, has long been popular among enthusiasts, with the aluminium faceplate and raised keys having stayed trendy enough over the years to be replicated numerous times by both Corsair and its competitors. The latest version includes not only the per-key RGB lighting of its predecessor, but new Cherry MX Speed switches that cut the actuation point down from 2mm to 1.2mm in an effort to make the keyboard faster and more responsive. It's seriously pricey, but there's little this beast cannot do, and for the time being Corsair is still the only company using these switches.

Fresh Tech Solutions Ultimate Collection 6600K Falcon R


We reviewed a number of systems in April, and while none were perfect, this one stood out over the rest, if only for the fact that Fresh Tech had been completely unknown to us earlier in the year. With an overclocked Core i5-6600K, GTX 970, 250GB boot SSD, and an all-in-one liquid cooler, its specifications represented the de facto choice of components for enthusiasts. The pricing was extremely competitive – cheaper than building it yourself, in fact – and you even got a decent amount of red LED lighting thrown in. Pre-built systems may be a bit of a dirty saying around these parts, but they have their place, and Fresh Tech did a solid job here.