NZXT Doko

Stepping out of its chassis comfort zone, NZXT paddles into the stream

We’ve got to hand it to the Doko from NZXT. It really tries. And bless it, the little streaming box almost works. What we have here is a tiny client you plug into your 1080p television, then into your home PC’s network, to allow you to use your rig as though it was directly connected to the remote screen. But there are some serious limitations to this bargain box of tricks which hold it back from being the smart little device we were really hoping for.

XMG Prime Overclocked Nvidia Edition

An impressive tiny gamer that’s a bit too pricey

There’s little doubt that were you to purchase this wee box of gaming joy from XMG, you’d be as happy as a badger at a barbecue pulling the Prime from its box. It’s a quality gaming PC all the way from components to build to performance; but then it really ought to be considering you’re paying nigh-on £2,000 for the privilege.

But a privilege it would be to own such a machine. The Fractal Design Node 304 chassis is as sleek and minimally stylish a Mini-ITX case as you could want, and being finished with the Nvidia-green highlights gives it a little edge, too. It’s a visually pleasing system and also one that won’t take up too much space. You’re not sacrificing any functionality or performance opting for this smaller form factor.

Asus STRIX GTX 960 OC Edition

The ornithologically themed STRIX line gets the midrange Maxwell treatment

As there are no reference versions of the new GTX 960, it’s all up to the manufacturers just how far they go with their cards. Nvidia has put out its own guidelines for base and boost clocks, but that’s all they are. Because of that, the GTX 960 has spawned a glut of factoryoverclocked cards being first out of the gate. But is that really where the sweetspot lies for Nvidia’s mid-range Maxwell?

As is its wont, Asus has released an owly version of the GTX 960 under its STRIX branding, replete with the alwaysimpressive DirectCU II cooler. The stock 1,126MHz base and 1,178MHz boost clock laid out for the GTX 960 has been torn open once more, with the STRIX sitting at 1,291MHz and 1,317MHz respectively. Again though we didn’t see the card at those frequency points once during testing. Our sample was instead intent on rock-solid gaming at 1,354MHz.

Plextor M6e 512GB

M.2 done wrong

To early adopt or not. That is the question. At least, it’s the question you’d better have in mind when considering the new Plextor M6e. Because it most definitely ain’t the finished M.2 article.

All this M.2 and PCI Express stuff is still quite new and certainly a little confusing, so let’s recap. M.2 is the new PCI Expressbased storage interface that’s taking over planet Earth. Well, it’s taking over the little bit of planet Earth that is PC data storage. In the process it’s replacing the venerable SATA interconnect.

Samsung 850 Evo 500GB

3D memory goes mainstream

Without giving away too much, too soon, you may have noticed that both of our showcase SSDs this issue hail from the same outfit, namely Samsung. Without doubt, the Korean giant dominates the market for solid-state drives. That applies in terms of sheer number and presence, plus in terms of technical innovation. And it’s the latter that qualifies the 850 Evo for special attention, though that doesn’t mean it’s doing something absolutely new or that it’s necessarily a winner. Still, it’s all a bit galling when you consider Samsung is also dominant in the smartphone market. And HDTVs. And just about any other area of consumer electronics you care to mention. Resistance, it seems, is futile.