The Best Hardware of 2016

July

Asus ROG Strix X99 Gaming


The launch of Broadwell-E saw all the usual motherboard companies refresh and relaunch their X99 lineups. With this motherboard, Asus didn't reinvent the wheel, but it did give us a solid all-rounder. It's definitely on the more expensive side, but ROG products usually are, and it's still some distance from the all-singing, all-dancing Rampage.

MSI GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming X 6G


We've been consistently impressed by MSI's graphics card offerings in recent years, and its Gaming X variant of the GTX 1060 was no exception. It gives you plenty of upgrades over Founders Edition cards, including a decent overclock to the core and memory, RGB lighting, upgraded power circuitry, solid overclocking potential, and, perhaps most importantly, a brilliant custom cooler that is virtually silent no matter what you throw at it. Its pricing makes it a bit of a tough sell, as the GTX 1060 is a price-sensitive part, but for a quality sub-£300 graphics card, it's difficult to argue with.

SilverStone Primera PM01


This wasn't a landmark case in terms of design, aesthetics, or usability. Where it did deliver the goods, however, is where SilverStone usually does: outstanding air-cooling. With a porous front panel, three 140mm intake fans, and one 140mm exhaust fan, the PM01 can never be accused of starving your components of air. It delivered the best out-of-box cooling results we've seen with our current test hardware, and it's yet to be dethroned.