Goodbye 5.25in drive bays

Case design has been dominated by now-irrelevant technologies for too long, argues James Gorbold

Back in the early 1990s, a CD-ROM drive was the hot upgrade for any budding PC enthusiast, opening the door to a new era of games with vastly improved graphics, audio and full motion video. Of course, that was assuming that you could stump up the huge purchase price, with first-generation drives retailing for several hundred pounds. Finally, a good 25 years later it looks as if not only CDs, but also DVDs and Blu-rays, may be going the way of the dodo.

Dyscourse

While most survival games emphasise crafting and exploration, Dyscourse is about choice. Playing a plane crash survivor named Rita, you awake in the twisted wreckage on a remote desert island. Banding together with other survivors, Rita quickly establishes herself as the leader of this troupe, and must keep them safe and healthy until the opportunity for rescue arises.

Harman Kardon Nova

Although sound quality matters more than the design or appearance of a desktop audio system, it’s hard not to appreciate the styling of the Harman Kardon Nova’s units. This powered stereo setup comes in black or white, with a spherical transparent shell surrounding each speaker, housing a 1.25in tweeter and 2.5in woofer. The transparent plastic satellites on Microlab’s FC60BT 2.1 system look good, but the Nova looks stunning.

There’s also a set of touch-sensitive buttons. You hold the touch-sensitive power button for a few seconds to power on the Nova, and slide your finger  around the speaker to adjust volume. This control system initially takes some getting used to, as it isn’t quite the same as using a touch-screen on a smartphone or tablet, but it works well enough.

Acoustic Energy Aego M

When the Aego M first launched in 2005, the tech world was a different place. Quad-core desktop processors didn’t exist and mobile phones were for calling people, not playing music or browsing the Web. It’s a testament to the Aego M that it’s endured so well, since the world of audio hardware moves at a very different pace to that of personal computing.

Available in white or black, the Aego M 2.1 setup consists of a compact tower subwoofer with a single volume control in the centre. It has two small but deceptively heavy satellites, which have a brushed-metal finish and soft edges. The design is striking, with a single power status LED at the front surrounded by a metal ring, and the whole set looks and feels every bit a premium product.

Samsung S34E790C

Samsung’s S34E790C makes a barnstorming first impression, thanks to its arcing screen and slick metallic stand. The 34in panel’s 3,440 x 1,440 native resolution isn’t as high as the 3,840 x 2,160 of most 4K monitors, and its pixel density of 110ppi can’t match the sharpness of 30in 4K panels, which sit at 145ppi. As such, its image in games won’t be quite as crisp, but it also means there’s slightly less strain on your graphics hardware when it comes to gaming.

The Samsung isn’t as tall as most 4K panels, but it’s wider, with an aspect ratio of 21:9. This ratio opens up some full widescreen movies to their native aspect ratio, and the screen’s large diagonal means this resolution is comfortable to use every day – there’s no need to deploy Windows’ scaling options to make text and icons readable.