Well, not everything can be fixed by giving it an extra 8GB VRAM.
The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is Team Red's latest play at the lower midrange graphics card market, and for what it is, it's a decent enough graphics card, offering great 1080p performance with some very solid 1440p performance to boot.
It offers substantially better ray tracing performance than the AMD Radeon RX 7600, making one of the best 1080p graphics cards on the market right now, but the card unfortunately doesn't live in a vacuum.
With a US MSRP of $329.99 (about £265/AU$420) and with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 offering better performance overall for about $30 less, the RX 7600 XT becomes a lot harder to recommend, which is frustrating since this market segment is much more price sensitive than the midrange and premium tiers are.
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There's no reference card model from AMD, so as with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, you're limited to whatever AIB partners like XFX and ASRock produce. This means that the design of the cards are going vary considerably, as will their prices and clock speeds.
Essentially, what you're getting with the RX 7600 XT is an overclocked RX 7600 with an extra 8GB VRAM. It's specs are otherwise pretty much identical, which goes a long way to explaining the level of performance you're getting with this card.
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In terms of synthetic performance, the RX 7600 XT comes in about 2% better than the RX 7600, and about 2% worse than the RTX 4060, with the expected difference between stronger rasterization performance for the RX 7600 XT and better ray tracing for the RTX 4060 holding true here.
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For gaming, the RX 7600 XT is pretty great for a 1080p card, as was the RX 7600 before it, and the extra VRAM does help it get some extra 1440p performance, especially when it comes to minimum frame rates which help determine a game's stability. Its ray tracing performance is also generally improved over the RX 7600 as well.
Compared to the RTX 4060, however, it comes in about 5% behind overall, which is where we were really hoping to see the RX 7600 XT differentiate itself thanks to the extra VRAM.
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In 1440p gaming performance, the extra VRAM does give the RX 7600 XT about 10% better performance on average compared to the RX 7600, and it ekes out a win against the RTX 4060 in non-ray-traced gaming performance at 1440p, but it gets about 25% lower ray-traced 1440p performance than the RTX 4060.
Given the price difference here, the RTX 4060 is simply the better value for both 1080p and 1440p gaming, despite having 8GB less VRAM.
In the end, the memory bandwidth, constrained by a 128-bit memory bus, is simply too small for the larger frame buffer to really make a substantial enough impact. For that, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT becomes harder to recommend than it should be.
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AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT: Price & availability
How much is it? US MSRP listed at $329.99 (about £265/AU$420)
When is it out? It is available January 24, 2024
Where can you get it? You can buy it in the US, UK, and Australia
You can get the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT starting on January 24, 2024 with an AMD MSRP of $329.99 in the US, which converts to about £265 in the UK and AU$420 in Australia.
Since there's no reference model for this card, you'll also likely find this GPU selling for higher once all the added bells and whistles like RGB lighting and such are factored in.
This is easily the biggest disadvantage of this card, considering that the Nvidia RTX 4060 is $30/£24/AU$36 cheaper, and the RX 7600 is even cheaper than that at $269.99 (about £215/AU$380). Still, for some who want to make sure that their gaming PC is setup for the future with the extra VRAM, the extra investment might be worth it.
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Should you buy the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT?
Buy the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
How I tested the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT
I spent about a week with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, putting it through a full battery of benchmarks and general performance testing, including playing some of the best PC games on the market on the highest settings available at 1080p.
I've been reviewing PC hardware for several years now, and I have extensively tested and retested every major graphics card release of the past two generations of graphics cards, so I am intimately familiar with their varying degrees of performance. As such, I know how well a card needs to perform for a given price, relative to the market, and given my lifelong passion for PC gaming, I also know what the intended audience for a graphics card is going to demand, and whether the cards I review meet these exacting standards.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super: two minute review
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super is a difficult card to rate, despite it being without a doubt one of the best graphics card releases of this generation.
For a US MSRP of $799.99, you're essentially getting a pared-down Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080, including 16GB GDDR6X VRAM, a wider 256-bit memory bus so you can actually play the best PC games at 4K (with tweaks), with noticeably less power draw. On the flipside, you're also getting a card that is only marginally better than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, despite its seriously upgraded specs.
As far as the design goes, unfortunately, there is no Founders Edition for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super, so you don't get the sleek-as-hell all-black metallic finish of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super. Instead, you'll have about a half-dozen or so board partners like Asus, MSI, and others making these GPUs. Which card you get will determine a lot from overclock settings to cooling and RGB lighting effects.
The Asus Tuf Gaming model I reviewed is identical to the Asus Tuf Gaming RTX 4070 Ti I reviewed, and it's a massive chonky card for what it's worth. Given the power requirements and the need to dissipate a lot of heat, you can fully expect that whatever RTX 4070 Ti Super card you pick up, it's going to be a triple-slot monster.
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In terms of performance, there's no getting around the fact that this is essentially the Nvidia RTX 4080 we should have gotten a year ago (it's built off the RTX 4080's AD103 GPU, rather than the RTX 4070 Ti's AD104), and for that, it is one of the best 4K graphics card models to hit the market this year. It's gaming performance is superb pretty much across the board, with the only area it struggles to be playable is where every other graphics card struggles other than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090, and that's native ray tracing at 4K.
Even there, however, this card manages to average about 32fps (though its average minimum/1% fps dips below the 24fps that registers as fluid motion, so yeah, it can sometimes be a bit of a slideshow).
Unfortunately, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is also right there further complicating the picture for this card. Outside of creative workloads that rely on CUDA (like Blender or V-Ray), the RX 7900 XT goes toe-to-toe with the RTX 4070 Ti Super in terms of gaming performance, though the RTX 4070 Ti Super will generally handle ray tracing better.
Surprisingly though, AMD's FSR seems to be at the point where it is battling Nvidia DLSS to a draw by and large, with the only real difference being whether you have ray tracing turned up to its highest setting or not. Given the recent price cut for the RX 7900 XT down to $749.99 in the US, anyone looking at the RTX 4070 Ti Super will have to ask themselves some hard questions.
This is especially true given the big looming release set to drop at the end of January, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super. Though 25% more expensive at MSRP than the RTX 4070 Ti Super, given the high cost of entry for this card, it suffers from a similar problem as the original RTX 4080 had; it's too close in price to a clearly better card, and so ultimately, you'll almost certainly be better off buying the RTX 4080 Super in a week's time. Which is a shame, because the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super is a fantastic card that really should have hit the scene a whole lot sooner than it is.
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super: Price & availability
How much is it? MSRP listed at $799.99 (about £640, AU$1,120)
When is it out? It was released on January 24, 2024
Where can you get it? You can buy it in the US, UK, and Australia
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super goes on sale January 24, 2024 for a listed MSRP of $799.99 in the US, which is about £640 in the UK and AU$1,120 in Australia.
This is the same MSRP as the Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti is replaces, which is definitely a positive given the generally terrible pricing of Nvidia best graphics cards this generation.
As stated above though, AMD isn't sitting on its laurels, and it's dropped the price of its competing RX 7900 XT graphics card to counter this release. And, given, their relative levels of performance, it's a smart move as it makes the RX 7900 XT a better value as a result, at least enough to be competitive in the absence of any RX 7050 XT-series releases thus far.
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super: Specs & features
16GB VRAM
Wider memory bus
Slightly faster clock speed
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Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super: Performance
Marginally better than RTX 4070 Ti
Loses to RX 7900 XT in gaming performance
Extra VRAM makes 4K gaming much smoother
Where it counts, the RTX 4070 Ti Super is a fantastic graphics card for work and play, though it's definitely more of a refresh of the RTX 4070 Ti, which is unfortunate since it really should have shown better performance given its specs.
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In terms of synthetic performance, the RTX 4070 Ti Super averages about 4.5% better performance than the RTX 4070 Ti, and about 13% slower performance than the RTX 4080, which more or less matching the RX 7900 XT. On this latter point, much like other AMD vs Nvidia comparisons, in pure rasterization, AMD comes out on top with Nvidia winning out in ray tracing workloads.
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For creative performance, the RTX 4070 Ti Super greatly outperforms the RX 7900 XT, but falls well short of where the RTX 4080 lands. If you're looking for the best creative graphics card, then, the RTX 4080 Super is definitely going to be one to look out for considering it's only going to retail for $200 more and should be much more powerful.
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In gaming performance, no card really comes close to the RTX 4080, but the RTX 4070 Ti Super more or less ties the RTX 4070 Ti and the RX 7900 XT.
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In 1440p gaming performance, the additional 4GB VRAM in the RX 7900 XT starts to become a factor to the RTX 4070 Ti's detriment, but overall, the RTX 4070 Ti Super comes up about 3.5% behind the RX 7900 XT, and roughly tied with the RTX 4070 Ti.
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At 4K, the additional 4GB VRAM in the RTX 4070 Ti Super vs the RTX 4070 Ti starts to really have an impact, giving the RTX 4070 Ti Super about 6.5% better performance on average but a nealy 10% higher fps floor at 4K than the RTX 4070 Ti.
The RTX 4070 Ti Super also runs about even with the RX 7900 XT as well.
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Wrapping things up, a couple of other points I definitely want to hit on, namely that the biggest thing holding this card back in a lot of ways is its TGP. With the same TGP as the RTX 4070 Ti, you get the sense that this card leaves something on the table in terms of performance given its specs. On the plus side though, it does manage to squeeze some extra performance from the same amount of power, which is a good thing. If you want to try and overclock this card to tap into its full potential, have at it.
It's not going to run particularly hot (unless you overclock the hell out of it) and it's gaming performance is exceptional, even into 4K, where you can expect to average about 70 fps at 4K when not using ray tracing, or you can turn ray tracing on and flip DLSS to balanced or performance for the same amount of frames or better.
It's ultimate value proposition isn't as good as the RX 7900 XT's, but it's better than the RTX 4070 Ti's, and since AIBs are likely to be switching themselves over to the Super rather than keep putting out non-Super RTX 4070 Ti's, this card is effectively giving you something extra for no additional cost.
The ultimate value tell though will be how the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super performs, and it's unfortunately the case that the success of this card depends very much on how well Nvidia's last major graphics card of this generation is received.
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Should you buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super
Buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
How I tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super
Test system specs
This is the system we used to test the Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti Super:
I spent about a week working with the Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti Super, running our standard battery of tests on it and similar cards in its price category.
I ran it through a number of real world use cases where it will be used, primarily gaming and content creation.
I've been reviewing computer hardware, including graphics cards, for years now, and I am intimately familiar with the kind of performance you should expect from a graphics card at this price point. I bring that knowledge to bear on my graphics card reviews and make sure that every graphics card I compare to the card under review is retested using the most up-to-date drivers to get the best relevant data for comparison, even (as in this case) it means I only test the most relevant competing cards to provide the reader with the most important comparative data when they are considering making their next graphics card purchase.
First reviewed in January 2024
I spent about a week working with the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super, including using it as my main work PC graphics card for content creation work. I ran our standard battery of tests on it and its two main competitor cards due to time constraints (you can see my RTX 4070 review for its relative performance versus many more cards, and than consider a roughly 12%-15% better performance over that for the RTX 4070 Super).
I've been reviewing computer hardware, including graphics cards, for years now, and I am intimately familiar with the kind of performance you should expect from a graphics card at this price point. I bring that knowledge to bear on my graphics card reviews and make sure that every graphics card I compare to the card under review is retested using the most up-to-date drivers to get the best relevant data for comparison, even (as in this case) it means I only test the most relevant competing cards to provide the reader with the most important comparative data when they are considering making their next graphics card purchase.
XPG Core Reactor II 1200W ATX 3.0 80 PLUS Gold: Two-minute review
The XPG Core Reactor II 1200W ATX 3.0 80 Plus Gold PSU is the company's latest compelling mid-range component for builders and follows off its success in the more premium-tier Platinum-certified power supply segment with its Cybercore II series.
The Core Reactor II series then, which covers the spectrum from 650W units to its highest wattage 1200W PSU, leads this venture, showcasing XPG's ability to strike a crucial balance between performance, quality, and cost. This series is designed for users who want reliable performance without splurging, but also need some higher-tier power to power the best gaming PCs you can build.
Those high-end motherboards, processors, and graphics cards don't come cheap in terms of power draw, and so the Core Reactor II 1200W, an 80 Plus Gold certified unit, stands out for its practical design and consistent performance. It represents XPG's commitment to affordable quality and aims to meet the diverse needs of mid-range computing environments.
In terms of packaging, the Core Reactor II 1200W PSU comes in a robust, visually appealing box, complete with essential accessories like mounting screws, an AC power cable, and decorative stickers. The PSU itself is a blend of aesthetics and functionality, featuring a sleek matte black finish with embossed geometric patterns and a geometric fan cutout. Its 160mm length slightly exceeds conventional ATX size, but it is short enough to ensure compatibility with the best PC cases with ATX compliance.
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The front of the PSU is minimalist, housing only the on/off switch and AC receptacle, while the rear is thoughtfully designed for easy and accurate cable connections. The unit's modular cable system includes an array of uniformly black cables, with most being neatly sleeved.
Performance-wise, the Core Reactor II 1200W PSU aligns with its 80 Plus Gold certification, demonstrating commendable efficiency and thermal management. The fan operates optimally, maintaining reasonable internal temperatures, even at significant power output and under various testing conditions.
After running the XPG Core Reactor II in my main workstation at the office under some pretty heavy loads, the fan stayed mostly quiet and the temperature stayed well below its rated operating temperature without issue. This PSU is rated for operation at an ambient temperature of 50°C, a testament to its robustness and reliability, especially in demanding environments.
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Electrical performance is a highlight, with the primary 12V rail showing impressive regulation and effective voltage filtering. The PSU also passes tests for primary protections like Over Current, Over Voltage, Over Power, and Short Circuit, ensuring reliable performance.
In terms of internals, the Core Reactor II combines a robust build quality with a unique design, incorporating high-grade 105°C Japanese capacitors for enhanced reliability and durability. The PSU excels in power quality, achieving good energy conversion efficiency and maintaining steady efficiency across most load ranges. Its thermal management is effective, with the fan adjusting speed according to the load, ensuring efficient cooling while keeping noise levels minimal.
That said, if you're pushing this unit hard, such as with overclocking or loading up on the add-in cards, it can get a bit loud when load nears 100%, though never so much to be bothersome.
That said, if you're pushing this unit hard, such as with overclocking or loading up on the add-in cards, it can get a bit loud when load nears 100%, though never s much to be bothersome.range should add to their component shortlists.
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XPG Core Reactor II 1200W ATX 3.0 80 PLUS Gold: Price & availability
How much does it cost? $204.99 (about £165 / AU$290)
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US. UK and Australia availability is spotty
The XPG Core Reactor II 1200W ATX 3.0 80 PLUS Gold is currently priced at $204.99 in the US and backed by a 10-year warranty, giving the Core Reactor II 1200W PSU a good value for its performance. As far as midrange PSUs go, this one is positioned as an appealing option for those seeking a balance between cost, efficiency, and reliability.
While it might not have a platinum rating, its performance is more than enough for most builders out there who need to run some high-powered components like the best processors and best graphics cards for gaming or content creation, without worrying about running hot at all hours under heavy industrial-grade workloads.
XPG Core Reactor II 1200W ATX 3.0 80 PLUS Gold: Specs
Should you buy the XPG Core Reactor II 1200W ATX 3.0 80 PLUS Gold?
Buy the XPG Core Reactor II 1200W ATX 3.0 80 PLUS Gold if...
You want a high-powered PSU for a decent price For the price you're paying, this is one of the highest wattage 80Plus Gold-rated ATX 3.0 power supplies going.
You want a modular PSU
As a modular PSU, cable management is much easier when you only use what you need.
Don't buy it if...
You need something more heavy-duty
While 80Plus Gold-rated is fantastic, if you need something more robust for a heavy-duty workstation, you might want to check out the Cybercore II Platinum-rated PSUs from XPG.
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
Assembling a PC from scratch is a familiar task for many tech enthusiasts, but the concept of building your own PC case might be novel to some. The Cooler Master Qube 500 Flatpack, a new entrant in the compact PC case market, brings a unique DIY aspect to PC building.
Following in the footsteps of the In Win Airforce, the Qube 500 aims to elevate the build-your-own-case concept with an appealing design, versatility, and value, while offering easy to follow instructions via Cooler Master's YouTube channel. No matter where you are in your PC building journey, if you've got a motherboard and one of the best graphics cards that will fit in this one, you should definitely give it a look as it earns an unqualified place on our best PC case list.
The Qube 500 arrives flatpacked, which is going to be easily recognizable for anyone who's put together an Ikea table. The review unit I assembled, the Macaron edition, is a sleek and modern white base with different colored panels to further personalize your build. But, the case is also available in a pure white or pure black versions.
The design integrates removable faces with dust covers and a handy top-mounted handle on either side, making carrying the case a breeze. The front I/O includes a USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A ports, a power button with an LED indicator, and a headphone/microphone combo jack, so you'll get all the basics covered with this case.
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The back panel hosts a power plug, seven-slot expansion-card bracket suitable for vertical graphics card mounting, with a maximum length of 365mm for a GPU.
There is also a pre-installed 120mm exhaust fan, and while Cooler Master says that fitting a 140mm fan is possible, I honestly don't see (and unfortunately, I didn't have a 140mm fan handy to test that claim with). The rest of the case supports up to two 140mm fans on each of the top, bottom, front, and side panels, offering considerable cooling options, especially since the sides themselves are reasonably open, allowing for considerable airflow throughout.
The Qube 500's interior is very well designed, accommodating a 3.5-inch drive on vibration-damping grommets and an additional mounts for both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives. The layout ensures very efficient space utilization, ideal for a compact case, and assembling the PC section-by-section via the YouTube tutorial helps ensure that you're able to squeeze everything you can into the case.
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The Qube 500's assembly is straightforward, thanks to the included installation guide, cable ties, case feet, screws, standoffs, and drive mounting pins, though I can't stress enough that you follow along with the YouTube assembly guide (as well as the advanced assembly guide). The interior layout is designed for ease of component installation, supporting both full-size ATX12V power supplies. The case's compactness is noteworthy, though it poses some limitations for front fan placement and long graphics cards when using a full-ATX power supply upfront.
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The Cooler Master Qube 500 stands out for its build-it-yourself appeal and the satisfaction of creating not just the PC but its housing. This is honestly the ideal project to work with a younger sibling or cousin to help build their first PC, and it also appeals to experienced builders with its budget-friendly price and the novelty of the assembly process. While the building aspect might seem superfluous to some, the case's design, configurability, and price point make this one of the more compelling PC cases on the market despite its apparent simplicity.
The Qube 500 is a testament to Cooler Master's innovative approach to PC case design, offering a unique and enjoyable building experience without compromising on functionality and performance. Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or looking for a budget-friendly, compact case with good performance, the Qube 500 is an excellent choice that brings a new dimension to custom PC building.
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Cooler Master Qube 500: Price & availability
How much does it cost? $99.99 (about £80 / AU$140)
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia
The Cooler Master Qube 500 Flatpack comes in three color options, white or black (with an MSRP of $79.99, or £89.99 in the UK and AU$145 in Australia), or the multi-color Macaron kit (with an MSRP of $99.99, or £104.99 in the UK and AU$167.50 in Australia).
This doesn't make it the cheapest PC case around, but it's definitely not the most expensive either, and considering that there really aren't a whole lot of cases like it, this one is well worth the extra investment despite it lacking fancy features like touchscreens or wraparound glass enclosures.
Cooler Master Qube 500: Specs
Should you buy the Cooler Master Qube 500 Flatpack?
Buy the Cooler Master Qube 500 Flatpack if...
You want a great DIY PC build project
Whether for yourself or helping someone get into PC building, this case is fun to assemble and looks fantastic, especially with the Macaron colors.
You want great ventilation
The amount of airflow in this case is fantastic thanks to the fairly open sides.
Don't buy it if...
You need a massive case If you've got a load of 140mm PC fans with huge radiators or massive CPU tower coolers, this case will likely be too small for you.
You want that ol' time PC gamer aesthetic
If you're looking for the RGB and stealth bomber aesthetic of a typical gaming PC, you might be able to get away with that with the all-black case, but otherwise, this is way too pastel for any kind of "battlestation" aesthetic.
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
Assembling a PC from scratch is a familiar task for many tech enthusiasts, but the concept of building your own PC case might be novel to some. The PowerColor Qube 500 Flatpack, a new entrant in the compact PC case market, brings a unique DIY aspect to PC building.
Following in the footsteps of the In Win Airforce, the Qube 500 aims to elevate the build-your-own-case concept with an appealing design, versatility, and value, while offering easy to follow instructions via PowerColor's YouTube channel. No matter where you are in your PC building journey, if you've got a motherboard and one of the best graphics cards that will fit in this one, you should definitely give it a look as it earns an unqualified place on our best PC case list.
The Qube 500 arrives flatpacked, which is going to be easily recognizable for anyone who's put together an Ikea table. The review unit I assembled, the Macaron edition, is a sleek and modern white base with different colored panels to further personalize your build. But, the case is also available in a pure white or pure black versions.
The design integrates removable faces with dust covers and a handy top-mounted handle on either side, making carrying the case a breeze. The front I/O includes a USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A ports, a power button with an LED indicator, and a headphone/microphone combo jack, so you'll get all the basics covered with this case.
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The back panel hosts a power plug, seven-slot expansion-card bracket suitable for vertical graphics card mounting, with a maximum length of 365mm for a GPU.
There is also a pre-installed 120mm exhaust fan, and while PowerColor says that fitting a 140mm fan is possible, I honestly don't see (and unfortunately, I didn't have a 140mm fan handy to test that claim with). The rest of the case supports up to two 140mm fans on each of the top, bottom, front, and side panels, offering considerable cooling options, especially since the sides themselves are reasonably open, allowing for considerable airflow throughout.
The Qube 500's interior is very well designed, accommodating a 3.5-inch drive on vibration-damping grommets and an additional mounts for both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives. The layout ensures very efficient space utilization, ideal for a compact case, and assembling the PC section-by-section via the YouTube tutorial helps ensure that you're able to squeeze everything you can into the case.
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The Qube 500's assembly is straightforward, thanks to the included installation guide, cable ties, case feet, screws, standoffs, and drive mounting pins, though I can't stress enough that you follow along with the YouTube assembly guide (as well as the advanced assembly guide). The interior layout is designed for ease of component installation, supporting both full-size ATX12V power supplies. The case's compactness is noteworthy, though it poses some limitations for front fan placement and long graphics cards when using a full-ATX power supply upfront.
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The PowerColor Qube 500 stands out for its build-it-yourself appeal and the satisfaction of creating not just the PC but its housing. This is honestly the ideal project to work with a younger sibling or cousin to help build their first PC, and it also appeals to experienced builders with its budget-friendly price and the novelty of the assembly process. While the building aspect might seem superfluous to some, the case's design, configurability, and price point make this one of the more compelling PC cases on the market despite its apparent simplicity.
The Qube 500 is a testament to PowerColor's innovative approach to PC case design, offering a unique and enjoyable building experience without compromising on functionality and performance. Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or looking for a budget-friendly, compact case with good performance, the Qube 500 is an excellent choice that brings a new dimension to custom PC building.
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PowerColor Qube 500: Price & availability
How much does it cost? $99.99 (about £80 / AU$140)
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia
The PowerColor Qube 500 Flatpack comes in three color options, white or black (with an MSRP of $79.99, or £89.99 in the UK and AU$145 in Australia), or the multi-color Macaron kit (with an MSRP of $99.99, or £104.99 in the UK and AU$167.50 in Australia).
This doesn't make it the cheapest PC case around, but it's definitely not the most expensive either, and considering that there really aren't a whole lot of cases like it, this one is well worth the extra investment despite it lacking fancy features like touchscreens or wraparound glass enclosures.
PowerColor Qube 500: Specs
Should you buy the PowerColor Qube 500 Flatpack?
Buy the PowerColor Qube 500 Flatpack if...
You want a great DIY PC build project
Whether for yourself or helping someone get into PC building, this case is fun to assemble and looks fantastic, especially with the Macaron colors.
You want great ventilation
The amount of airflow in this case is fantastic thanks to the fairly open sides.
Don't buy it if...
You need a massive case If you've got a load of 140mm PC fans with huge radiators or massive CPU tower coolers, this case will likely be too small for you.
You want that ol' time PC gamer aesthetic
If you're looking for the RGB and stealth bomber aesthetic of a typical gaming PC, you might be able to get away with that with the all-black case, but otherwise, this is way too pastel for any kind of "battlestation" aesthetic.
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC: Two-minute review
The PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC is another solid entry into the Nvidia Lovelace family from PNY, and gamers or creators (or both) looking for a little extra performance for their money will very pleased if they bought this card.
With a US MSRP of $599.99 (about £480/AU$840), this card sells for the same as the Founders Edition in my Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super review, but it comes with a few nifty extras that make an already excellent graphics card even better.
In the main, this comes from the slightly faster factory boost clock of 2,490 MHz, up from the Founders Edition's 2,475 MHz boost. To be clear, this is only 0.60% faster, so the actual performance in real terms is a couple of points here, a frame or two there, and isn't the kind of thing that you're going to really notice even if you have the benefit of having both cards to test side-by-side like I do (if you want to see raw performance numbers vis-a-vis the competition, check out the Founders Edition review and tack on about 0.5% to the RTX 4070 Super's scores, more or less).
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That said, extra performance is extra performance, however small, and with the PNY RTX 4070 Super Verto OC, you get a little bump in performance right out of the box. After that, you also have the PNY VelocityX overclocking software, where you can take things a good bit further, especially thanks to the 12VHPWR cable allowing for some extra wattage into the GPU.
That said, anytime you're overclocking any computer hardware yourself, either through a software tool or otherwise, do be careful not to push things too far and potentially damage your card. At $600, this is still a good investment.
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In terms of design, the dual-fan shroud for the PNY Verto series is the same as it is on other cards, but that's not terrible. It's not the flashiest design, but the dual fan design and exposed heatsink does allow for better cooling that is noticeable in my testing, which shows the PNY card running a few degrees cooler than the Founders Edition running the same 3DMark Speedway stress tests.
If there's one thing that I'm sad about its that with the 4070 Super, the 220W TGP means that you need to have either two 8-pin connectors or a 16-pin connector, so unlike the card in my PNY GeForce RTX 4070 XLR8 review that was able to sport a single 8-pin power connector, you're stuck with a 16-pin here.
There is an adapter in the box to let you plug two 8-pin cables into the card, but any time an adapter is involved, you're going to have to deal with some cable management issues.
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Beyond that, the PNY RTX 4070 Super Verto OC is a little bit longer and taller than the Founders Edition (9.74 inches vs 9.4 inches and 4.74 inches vs 4.3 inches), though they both take up about the same amount of slot space as a dual slot card.
The PNY card's extra length does give it a bit more heat sink to work with though, and the heatsink and fan overhang the PCB allowing for direct air passthrough for better cooling performance. Essentially, you'll be able to slot this card into just about any of the best PC cases that aren't special "mini" chasses without an issue and get some extra cooling performance in the process.
Wrapping up, the PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC is a solid choice for anyone looking to pick up an RTX 4070 Super thanks to some solid extras for the same price as MSRP. You won't get a whole lot of bling with it, but if what you're looking for is the best 1440p graphics card to play the best PC games or do some 3D modeling on the side, this card will get you the performance you need to make it happen.
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PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC: Price & availability
How much is it? US MSRP $599 (about £480, AU$840)
When is it out? January 17, 2024
Where can you get it? You can buy it in the US, UK, and Australia
The PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC goes on sale on January 17, 2024, with a US MSRP of $599.99 (about £480, AU$840), and will be available in the US, UK, and Australia at launch or soon thereafter.
This puts it at the same MSRP as the Founders Edition card, which means you get some extra performance thrown in essentially for free, and the VelocityX overclocking software lets you tinker a bit with the card to squeeze out the best possible performance from this GPU.
In terms of other third-party GPUs, you're likely to find better cooling, flashier designs, and possibly better performance via OC settings, but for the price, the PNY RTX 4070 Super Verto OC is a great value for this GPU, even if it's pricier than the competing AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT.
PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC: Specs
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Should you buy the PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC?
Buy the PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC if...
You want an overclocked card for a great price
At MSRP, this card gives you both faster factory clocks as well as the ability to easily tweak your card's performance.
You want great cooling
The design of the RTX 4070 Super Verto OC lets air blow through part of the heatsink unobstructed, providing better cooling than the Nvidia Founders Edition.
Don't buy it if...
You want something flashy
The PNY Verto series isn't big on RGB, so if you want something shiny, this card isn't for you.
You're on a tight budget
Despite its extras, the PNY RTX 4070 Super Verto OC is still an expensive card, so you might want to check out the RX 7800 XT for great gaming performance at a better price.
PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC: Also consider
If my PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC review has you looking for other options, here are two more graphics cards to consider...
How I tested the PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC
I spent about two days testing the PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC
I tested its gaming performance and content creation performance specifically
I used out standard battery of benchmark tests
Having tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super already, I looked into how much the PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Super Verto OC exceeded that baseline performance, and where it fell short, if applicable. I did this using a more precise series of benchmark tests that pushed the card's thermals to the limit, as well as repeatable synthetic benchmarks to determine comparable scores.
I also tinkered with PNY's VelocityX overclocking software to see how well that software affected the card's performance for better or worse.
I've been a hardware reviewer for many years now and I've spent more time at TechRadar's PC component test bench than I'd like to admit, so I know my way around graphics cards and what they ought to be capable of given their specs and pricepoints; knowledge that I leverage to its fullest to make sure that our customers get the best possible product for their money.
First reviewed January 2024
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super is a graphics card with a lot of expectations built up around it after it's announcement at CES 2024, and if you've yet to upgrade your graphics card in a minute and you've been waiting for a sign, this release is what you've been waiting for, whether you end up buying it or going with a competing card from AMD or Intel.
Looking across the lineup of Nvidia graphics cards in 2023, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 definitely reviewed as one of Team Green's best thanks to fantastic performance and a more accessible price compared to the rest of the GPU market at the time. At $599.99 in the US (about £480/AU$840), the RTX 4070 Super is going to retail (at MSRP) for the same launch price as the card it refreshes, while the RTX 4070 will see a healthy price cut when the RTX 4070 Super goes on sale on January 17, 2024.
In terms of what you're getting for that same amount of money, you're going to get substantially more SMs for more processing power as well as a slightly faster base clock speed. But, sadly, we're still stuck with just 12GB GDDR6X VRAM which does hamper this card's 4K potential. If you're looking for the best 4K graphics card, you may have to wait to see what the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super or Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super have to offer later in January.
If what you're looking for is the best 1440p graphics card on the market, well, in terms of sheer performance, look no further. Between upgraded specs and DLSS 3 with Frame Generation, Nvidia Reflex, and a host of other tech packed into this card, you'll be playing the best PC games at high settings with the best 1440p monitors for many years to come.
Still, it's not an unqualified win for Nvidia here. For one, the price of the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super is still $100 (about £80/AU$140) more than the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT that it's directly competing with. And while the RTX 4070 Super does outperform the best AMD graphics card for the midrange on a number of levels, gaming sadly isn't one of them, unless you lean heavily on ray tracing.
Even in places where you factor in DLSS, without frame generation, Nvidia lags behind the RX 7800 XT overall when it comes to gaming. And once AMD releases its own frame generation tech for FSR in the coming weeks, the advantage Nvidia gets from DLSS 3 with Frame Generation will likewise tighten up. On this point, gamers are going to have some harder questions to ask themselves than anyone else, and the price of the RX 7800 XT alone might be more than enough to tip the scales for them.
Still, it's hard to argue that Nvidia hasn't delivered an absolutely phenomenal card with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super, and for midrange users out there who want fantastic gaming as well as content creation features and raw performance, this is almost certainly going to be at the top of the list when making your choice about a new upgrade.
How much is it? US MSRP $599.99 (about £480, AU$840)
When is it out? January 17, 2024
Where can you get it? You can buy it in the US, UK, and Australia
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super goes on sale on January 17, 2024, for $599.99 in the US (about £480/AU$840), which is the same price as the launch MSRP of the RTX 4070 when it launched in April of 2023.
And while we love to see prices stay more accessible for gamers and creators, Nvidia is still charging a premium for its card vis-à-vis AMD's competing RX 7800 XT, which has competitive performance for about $100 less.
Still, despite not being the best cheap graphics card on the market, for what you're getting, the price on the RTX 4070 Super is a very good value overall. While not quite AMD levels of performance for price, this is about as good a value as you're going to get from an Nvidia GPU on the market today (at least until we see what the RTX 4070 Ti Super and RTX 4080 Super are working with later this month).
Value score: 4/5
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super: Design
Gorgeous all-black finish
Same size as base RTX 4070
Still requires 16-pin power
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super Founders Edition is easily one of the sexiest graphics cards I've laid hands on in a long while. The all-black shroud, fans, and trim give it a very sleek look that might not have any of the flash of RGB bedazzled third-party cards, but as far as Nvidia's lineup goes, this is easily the most attractive.
In every other way, barring the Super branding, this card is identical to the original RTX 4070, so it comes with all its positives and negatives as well. Its smaller than its larger siblings, so its much more manageable in a wider variety of cases, but it is still heavy enough that some kind of GPU support is going to be needed if you don't have a vertical card adapter for your case.
The cooling solution is also fairly good and has plenty of power for cooling. Its 16-pin connector means that if you don't have an ATX 3.0 power supply, you'll need to use a two-8-pin-to-one-16-pin adapter, which might make cable management a bit of a hassle.
Design score: 4.5/5
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super: Features & specs
21% higher SM count
Slightly faster base clock
STILL just 12GB VRAM
When it comes to the RTX 4070 Super, there is a lot to appreciate here. For the same price as the RTX 4070, you're getting a far more SMs (56 to the RTX 4070's 46, a 21% increase), so that also means that you're getting a hefty upgrade in terms of CUDA cores (7,168 to 5,888), ray tracing cores (56 to 46), and tensor cores (224 to 184) over the original RTX 4070.
You're also getting a slightly higher base clock rate of 1,980MHz , which is about 3% faster than the base RTX 4070. For that, the RTX 4070 Super also has a 220W TGP, which unfortunately means that you're not going to get any RTX 4070 Super cards with an 8-pin connector like you can with the RTX 4070.
Beyond that, there isn't too much different spec-wise with the RTX 4070 Super than you have with the RTX 4070, and this unfortunately includes the 12GB GDDR6X VRAM configuration. Mind you, this is plenty for 1440p gaming, but if you've got one of the best 4K monitors, you'll have to accept some settings compromises if you want to game seriously at 4K.
This is a dual-slot card that is identical in size to the RTX 4070 Founders Edition, as well as utilizing the same cooling solution, so it will run a slight bit hotter thanks to the increased power flowing into the card, but it's not a whole lot so that it'd be noticeable.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super: Performance
Outstanding overall performance
12GB VRAM hampers 4K potential
Falls behind RX 7800 XT somewhat in gaming performance
In terms of performance, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super is about as solid a graphics card as you'll find in the midrange, offering fantastic gaming performance, while outshining the competition in non-gaming tasks like content creation and compute-heavy workloads.
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During synthetic workload tests, the RTX 4070 Super loses out somewhat to the RX 7800 XT on some tests while winning out on others, so when you don't factor in ray tracing, it's a bit of a wash. Once ray tracing is included, however, you so end up with about 23% stronger ray tracing performance for the RTX 4070 Super, which is expected given the maturity of Nvidia's tech versus AMD's.
It's also worth noting that the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super's compute performance is about 18% better than the RX 7800 XT, and overall, the RTX 4070 Super outperforms the RTX 4070 by about 17%, on average.
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Moving on to creative benchmarks, as expected, the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super outperforms the AMD RX 7800 XT when it comes to 3D rendering tasks thanks to the strength of Nvidia's CUDA processing, which most renderers use.
In terms of rasterization performance, the two cards are about even, while the RTX 4070 Super pulls slightly ahead of the RX 7800 XT in terms of video encoding, but only by about 1%. Over its predecessor, the RTX 4070 Super renders 3D scenes and rasterizes noticeably faster, but it's pretty much even on the video encoding side.
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When it comes to gaming performance, however, the RX 7800 XT pulls ahead of the RTX 4070 Super in a big way, especially at lower resolutions.
In 1080p gaming, the RTX 4070 Super consistently lags behind the RX 7800 XT when ray tracing isn't factored in, and when it is, this advantage is generally diminished (on average) when bringing balanced upscaling to bear, though the RTX 4070 Super and the RTX 4070 tend to do much better than the RX 7800 XT when pure ray tracing is involved.
Against its predecessor, the RTX 4070 Super offers about a 14% average FPS increase over the RTX 4070 at 1080p, an advantage that I expect will grow wider once better drivers are released to support the RTX 4070 Super post-release.
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The story is similar with 1440p gaming where the RX 7800 XT does generally outperform the RTX 4070 Super when ray tracing isn't involved, and lags behind when it is.
Upscaling helps here as well, but broadly speaking, the RTX 4070 Super is going to outperform the RX 7800 XT when ray tracing, and overall provides about a 9% better fps than the RTX 4070, on average. I suspect this latter figure will be higher once post-release drivers are installed, since the RTX 4070 outperforms the RTX 4070 Super in Metro: Exodus when it shouldn't, and so i believe this game is a bit of a driver outlier.
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At 4K, the RX 7800 XT manages to hold up better in absolute terms thans to its larger 16GB frame buffer vs the RTX 4070 Super's 12GB, but the GDDR6X memory and more mature ray tracing cores make ray tracing at 4K a better overall experience with the RTX 4070 Super than with either of the two other cards tested against here.
Ultimately, then, it comes down to whether you're really all that enthusiastic about ray tracing performance. If so, the RTX 4070 Super is the card you're going to want, but at $100 cheaper, the RX 7800 XT offers a much more compelling option for pure rasterized graphics than the RTX 4070 Super. This, ultimately, keeps the RTX 4070 Super from running away with the title of best midrange graphics card, but it's a much tougher fight for the RX 7800 XT than it was when it first launched against the RTX 4070.
Performance score: 4.5/5
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Should you buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super?
Buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
How I tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super
Test system specs
This is the system we used to test the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super:
I spent about a week working with the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super, including using it as my main work PC graphics card for content creation work. I ran our standard battery of tests on it and its two main competitor cards due to time constraints (you can see my RTX 4070 review for its relative performance versus many more cards, and than consider a roughly 12%-15% better performance over that for the RTX 4070 Super).
I've been reviewing computer hardware, including graphics cards, for years now, and I am intimately familiar with the kind of performance you should expect from a graphics card at this price point. I bring that knowledge to bear on my graphics card reviews and make sure that every graphics card I compare to the card under review is retested using the most up-to-date drivers to get the best relevant data for comparison, even (as in this case) it means I only test the most relevant competing cards to provide the reader with the most important comparative data when they are considering making their next graphics card purchase.
First reviewed in January 2024
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
When we reviewed the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Founders Edition earlier this year, we were slightly disappointed with the mid-range offering from its small performance boost compared to the base 4060 (let alone 3060 Ti) alongside 8GB VRAM and design issues. Regardless of its faults, it was still a worthy buy for many reasons, like DLSS 3 being the current standard when it comes to AI upscaling tech while overall ray tracing performance saw significant improvements as well. As third-party versions of the GPU have been released, the PNY Geforce RTX 4060 Ti is a strong contender for the best graphics card using the RTX 4060 Ti GPU available on the market.
Despite still inheriting the under-the-hood flaws of Founders Edition, the PNY take on the GPU makes some significant improvement in terms of its design. The most obvious is that it only needs a single-power 8-pin PCIe power connector and not the special 16-pin adapter. Of course, this means opportunities for overclocking are severely diminished.
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Meanwhile, having only 8GB VRAM is a shame considering that many of the most visually impressive AAA games released over the past year blows past that even at 1080p. When it comes to best bang for buck, the 16GB RTX 4060 Ti can be purchased for around $50 more. With DLSS 3 also comes Frame Generation. This employs AI-enhanced hardware to enhance resolution by generating new frames and interleaving them among pre-rendered GPU frames. While this enhances the fluidity and visual smoothness of games during rendering, it comes with the trade-off of heightened latency and input lag. Then there’s the reality that only around 50 games even support Frame Generation.
Even when pushing the PNY RTX 4060 Ti past its limit, it still manages to keep cool and quiet. Just be mindful that aesthetically, the overall design is a bit bland. If a potential buyer is looking for something to complement their RGB lighting extravaganza build, it’ll unfortunately stand out like a sore thumb. Compared to the Founders Edition, Nvidia still is unmatched with the sleek unified build.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Those looking for raw native power in the 1440p or above range will need to look at the best 1440p graphics cards and best 4K graphics cards, but this GPU becomes more of a testament to how awesome DLSS 3 is in terms of AI upscaling. Not only can this make 1440p gaming a pleasurable experience, it can handle some games at 4K with some settings tinkering.
If a fantastic 1080p experience playing more esports games at high frame rates like Fortnite and League of Legends matters more than playing Cyberpunk 2077 or Alan Wake II at max settings, the PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti could be considered a seriously attractive purchase, especially when it comes to form over function.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti: Price & availability
How much does it cost? MSRP listed at $389 but can be found for around $350 (around £395/AU$575)
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia
The PNY Geforce RTX 4060 Ti is currently available now in the US, UK and Australia. Though the MSRP on PNY’s online store is $389, it can be found for as low as $350 on other stores like Amazon or Newegg. Due to the more 1:1 nature of the PNY take vs. the Founders Edition, interested buyers are usually going to save a solid $10 for the same performance.
For PC Gamers on a budget, those looking for one of the best cheap graphics cards for their new rig can look toward its AMD rival the RX 7700 XT. Be mindful that AMD FidelityFX isn’t as good as DLSS, Nvidia simply does ray tracing better at the moment and that card is about $40 more. However, the Radeon RX 7700 XT comes packed in with 12GB VRAM if that matters. When it comes to overall gaming experience between the two, the Geforce RTX 4060 Ti is a very solid performer.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti: Specs
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Should you buy the PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti?
Buy the PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti if...
You require great native 1080p performance The AD106 GPU features phenomenal 1080p performance even with Ray Tracing enabled where it applies.
You want the best upscaling tech available
DLSS3 improves on the steller upscaling tech and allows some fantastic performance alongside image quality at 1440p. For games that use it, Frame Generation pushes that even further.
Don't buy it if...
You require more than 8GBs of VRAM Right now, running visually demanding games at 1080p with max settings alongside ray-tracing may bring the graphics card down to its knees with only 8GBs of VRAM. It may be best to get the 16GB 4060 Ti for around $50 more.
You are looking to push your graphics card to the absolute limit Compared to the 16-pin PCIe power connector set-up of the Founders Edition, slicing that in half does limit potential overclocking.
PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti: Also consider
How I tested the PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
I spend about two weeks with the PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
I played games alongside Adobe creative Suite including Premier Pro and Photoshop
I used the PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Ti as the graphics card on my main computer for about two weeks.
Some of the games played included Dead Space (2023), Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake II, and Starfield. Outside of gaming, video and photo content was created on Photoshop and Premiere Pro. Considering this is a 1:1 spec of the 4060 Founders Edition, the benchmarks were the same.
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
To say the Hyte Y70 Touch is the culmination of a major PC building trend we've seen over the past few years feels like it doesn't do this case justice.
Back in ye olden dæges, even the best PC case was just an aluminum box with a panel that would open up to let you dig into the guts of your computer. But like every other kind of electronic device, it was purposefully designed to hide everything on the inside. After all, who wants to look at printed circuit boards, soldered ICs, and maybe a dusty fan mounted onto the CPU that 95% of people never bothered to clean?
We've come a long way since then, and as PC enthusiasts and gamers invest serious money into their builds, the impulse to show it all off became too great to ignore. We've since introduced plastic side panels, then tempered glass, and in the last five or six years, we've started to see cases that resemble the kind of glass housing once reserved for museums so builders could show off their hard work.
What they haven't really done before, however, is have an off-the-shelf case that integrates functionality into this cutaway case design, since glass is glass and it's only really good for looking through and providing a small measure of physical protection.
Hyte, on the other hand, decided to swap out the corner panel of its already excellent Y60 PC case for a 4K interactive touchscreen that has literally stopped several of my coworkers in their tracks this past week so they could gawk at the video wallpaper, clock, and Twitch chat window embedded into the touchscreen along the corner edge of the Y70.
To be fair, they weren't around to watch me stumble through the process of setting up the touchscreen, since it's really just a second Windows display like any one of the best monitors you'll find, though its 1100x3840p resolution makes it a meh-level second display without Hyte's Nexus software.
Once you install and run the software, it will do all the hard work of actually configuring the display to embed widgets, system information like CPU temperature, and even app shortcuts to put your favorite software a quick touch away.
Of course, to get the case's display to work, it needs to be connected to your graphics card via a DisplayPort connection, so you'll need a graphics card capable of multimonitor support as well as a free DisplayPort output. Nearly all of the best graphics cards, and even most of the best cheap graphics cards, will come with at least two DisplayPort connections, but if you're already running a multimonitor setup, you will likely need to do some cable juggling to make sure your graphics card can run the touchpanel.
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As for what you can do with the touch panel, there's actually quite a bit, including adding widgets for quicker access or displaying system information, or possibly taking a break from playing the best PC games to play a Tetris-style brick dropper instead.
And while this might feel a bit gimmicky, the program shortcuts are an absolute lifesaver as someone who has dozens of windows open on my desktop at any given time.
Finding the shortcut to launch Photoshop on my desktop comes in varying degrees of difficulty depending on how much junk I've dropped onto my desktop over the past few weeks. Being able to turn slightly and touch the Hyte Y70 Touch's display to bring up photoshop is the kind of small thing that adds up to minutes and hours of reclaimed time over weeks and months of use.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
The Nexus software is more or less fine, and it comes with a number of presets that you can run as live backgrounds on the display. One thing to note is that you need to use this software to setup the touch display properly, so once you've built the PC and have successfully booted it up, download and install the software before you do anything else and work through Hyte Nexus.
It's through this software as well that you can build up pages of widgets, turning the Hyte Y70's front-corner panel into something with a smartphone-like interface, making it about as intuitive as it gets.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
When it comes to actual hardware, the case doesn't come with any fans, but it has room to install up to 10 chassis fans, as well as a 360mm long x 125mm thick radiator on the side and another 360mm long x 68mm thick radiator along the top. You have a lot of options for cooling the rig, but definitely focus on intaking air from the bottom and back of the case, as the front and side walls are glass, so you'll have to be conscientious about proper airflow.
Fortunately, as a dual-chamber case, many of the hottest components are separated to allow for easier cooling and air circulation. The biggest and most obvious way this is done is through the vertically mounted GPU thanks to an included riser. It doesn't hurt that it also shows off your GPU.
In terms of rear capacity, there are two internal drive bays that can fit a pair of the best hard drives at 3.5-inches, or up to four 2.5-inch SATA SSDs. The PSU bay is roomy as well, making cable management easier than with a tighter mid-or-full tower case, which can jam even the best PSUs.
There's more than enough room in the front chamber, so whichever of the best graphics cards you install, the Y70's 16.6-inch GPU clearance is more than enough. It is also able to vertically mount up to a four-slot card, so if that Nvidia Titan RTX refresh ever comes along, you just might be able to fit it in here.
This extra capacity also makes cable management a much easier problem to solve, and even though this is a very premium PC case, it's incredibly user-and-newbie friendly. You'll still have to know where and how you should install various case components like fans and lighting, but the easy-open case gives you all the room you need to work, even if you barely know what you're doing.
And while I am going to rave about this case from here to CES and beyond, it's not all lovely touchscreens and roomy interior. If there's one complaint I have with this case, it would be its price. Coming in at $359.99 / £349.99 (about AU$560), this is significantly more expensive than the Hyte Y60 or Lian-Li O11 Vision, which comes in at just $139.
Of course, none of those cases have a 4K touchscreen interface built-in, so the price isn't unreasonable for what you're getting, but this is a premium case nonetheless, so those on a budget might want to shop around for something more in line with their budget.
Hyte Y70 Touch: Price & availability
How much does it cost? $359.99 / £349.99 (about AU$560)
When and where can you get it? Available in US right now, with UK and Australia availability coming in December
The Hyte Y70 Touch is available in the US right now for $359.99, with a December launch planned for the UK and Australia. The UK retail price will be £349.99, and should sell for about AU$560 in Australia.
This is a roughly 80% price increase over the Hyte Y60, though that case does not include a touch display.
Hyte Y70 Touch: Specs
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Should you buy the Hyte Y70 Touch?
Buy the Hyte Y70 Touch if...
You want an absolute showpiece The Hyte Y70 Touch will draw a crowd if you let it. I know from personal experience.
You want to have a host of functions and apps at your fingertips
The 4K touchscreen on the Y70 makes it easy to pull up apps, track Twitch chat, and monitor system conditions with ease.
Don't buy it if...
You're on a budget
This is a very premium PC case, so if money's tight, forget about the touchscreen and opt for the Hyte Y60 instead.
You have limited desk space
This is a honking big PC case. If your desk looks like the aftermath of Verdun, you might want to go for something with a smaller footprint.
Hyte Y70 Touch: Also consider
If my Hyte Y70 Touch review has you looking for other options, here are two more PC cases to consider...
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
The Seagate FireCuda 540 is one of the first high-profile Gen 5 NVMe SSDs to hit the market for those who are running one of the best processors for gaming and best motherboards that are PCIe 5.0 compatible.
It’s more than just a successor to the widely popular Seagate FireCuda 530 from a couple of years ago, though, it’s a drive that shows you exactly what the next generation is capable of, but at a cost.
The greatest cost will be to your wallet, because this flagship Gen 5 NVMe SSD carries a particularly high MSRP regardless of where you are in the world. That’s because current motherboard support for Gen 5 NVMe SSDs is limited to the most recent AMD CPU generation with socket AM5 and the current crop of Intel LGA 1700 options. You’re paying a pretty penny to be an early adopter without factoring in the cost in, ultimately.
Speaking of cost, the Seagate FireCuda 540 currently retails for $189.99 (around £150 / AU$300) for 1TB and $319.99 (approximately £260 / $AU$500) for 2TB which is far from cheap.
For context, you can currently find Gen 4 alternatives such as the aforementioned FireCuda 530 and the excellent Kingston Fury Renegade SSD for a fraction of the price for around a 30% performance reduction. That’s long been the case with early adoption, however, you’re paying a premium to be on the bleeding edge, and the results do speak for themselves.
That’s because the Seagate FireCuda 540 absolutely lives up to its claims of 10,000 MB/s sequential performance with both its reads and writes when plugged into to a Gen 5 compatible NVMe M.2 port. The question remains of whether you need this level of sequential performance right now, or if you just want to be ready for when some of the best PC games will take advantage.
Considering just how slow the adoption of Gen 4 SSDs were to the mainstream, having launched in 2019 before being adopted in 2020 and 2021 for PC and PS5, we could be waiting a couple of years to really see software push this hardware in any meaningful way. Still, the Seagate FireCuda 540 is undoubtably a top contender for best SSD of 2023, even if it still feels a bit ahead of its time.
(Image credit: Seagate)
Seagate FireCuda 540: Price & availability
How much does it cost? Starting at $189.99 (around £150 / AU$300)
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia
The Seagate FireCuda 540 is currently available in the US, the UK, and Australia with a starting price of $189.99 (around £150 / AU$300) for 1TB and $319.99 (approximately £260 / $AU$500) for 2TB.
For contrast, that’s a similar price that you will expect to pay for Gen 5 offerings such as the Corsair MP700 which carries an MSRP of $179.99 (about £147.99 / AU$280) for 1TB and $284.99 (around £230 / AU$430) for 2TB. Simply put, these Gen 5 drives are by no means cheap and you are paying a premium when getting in on the ground floor.
Seagate FireCuda 540: Specs
Seagate FireCuda 540: Design & features
Things are kept simple in terms of the physical and visual design of the Seagate FireCuda 540, and that’s for the best considering it will live under a motherboard heatsink from the second it’s installed into your PC. A simple sticker covers the controller and the DRAM with the company’s logo and the name of the drive itself on one side and that’s your lot.
More interesting is the choice of controller itself. That’s because the Seagate FireCuda 540 is running the Phison E26 controller, which is significantly faster than the already excellent Phison E18 controller as featured in many of the best M.2 SSDs to hit the market over the last four years. That’s only one side of the story, though, because further adding to the lightning-fast performance here is the 232-Layer Micron TLC flash memory on board coupled with LPDDR4 DRAM cache for short term memory reads, as many top-end drives include.
While this is a Gen 5x4 drive through and through, it’s also backwards compatible with older 4x4 NVMe slots as well and will cap the performance out at around 7,300 MB/s read and write respectively, however, if you don’t own a PCIe 5.0-ready motherboard then you’re burning money buying one of these to serve for this reason. The rated write endurance is also solid and roughly works out blow-for-blow with the capacity itself. Our review unit is rated at 2000TB for 2TB, however, the 1TB variant is good for 1000TB which is pretty decent overall.
(Image credit: Seagate)
Seagate FireCuda 540: Performance
It may cost a pretty penny but there’s no denying that the Seagate FireCuda 540 absolutely excels as at the top-end of what NVMe drives are physically capable of in 2023. In our industry-standard tests, such as with CrystalDiskMark 8, the drive was absolutely able to hit the quoted performance caps by delivering 10,092.67 MB/s read and 10,144.55 MB/s writes respectively which absolutely blows even the leading Gen 4.0 models out of the water.
This is further compounded by the random 4K read and writes as well as the Seagate FireCuda 540 offered up 625.68 and 476 read and write respectively, which is among the best I’ve personally seen from an NVMe SSD in all my years of testing. AnvilPro further highlighted the finesse of this drive with a total overall score of 30,163.68 which I hadn’t personally seen go so high in all my many reviews of NVMe hardware. Generally speaking, a top-end Gen 4 drive would output around 25,000, so that’s a good 20% increase straight out of the gate.
Furthermore, in our in-house 25GB file transfer test, the Seagate FireCuda 540 further shined with a time of just 16 seconds which comprised a total of 3,716 files including documents, videos, photos, and programs. That’s seriously fast, and goes to show the power of the Phison E26 controller in tandem with the 232-Layer Micron TLC flash memory.
In terms of real-world file transfer times, from a Gen 4 NVMe drive over to the Seagate FireCuda 540 is equally impressive. This can be evidenced with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s mammoth file size of 158.78 GB transferring to the Gen 5 model in just 58 seconds. Similarly, smaller titles such as Deathloop with its 30.98 file size made the jump in only 11 seconds which works out to around 3GB/sec. That’s blisteringly fast, and further cements the sequential prowess of this drive in action.
There is a caveat, though, and that’s the fact that no PC games right now are really optimized for blisteringly quick sequential performance on offer right now. That isn’t to say that future releases won’t be able to take advantage, but games don’t even need a Gen 4 yet to run optimally barring a small list of exceptions. What you’re ultimately buying is futureproofing and insurance so that bigger games that benefit from an SSD will run flawlessly for extra overhead instead of being an essential purchase right now.
(Image credit: Seagate)
Should you buy the Seagate FireCuda 540?
Buy the Seagate FireCuda 540 if...
You want a futureproofed machine By purchasing a Seagate FireCuda 540 with a PCIe 5.0 motherboard, you’ve guaranteeing your system will be able to run the future of titles which may need a faster drive than what’s available to most users.
You want leading sequential performance from your NVMe SSD
The Seagate FireCuda 540 is unrivaled in its sequential performance excelling up to 10,000 MB/s read and write respectively which few NVMe drives can boast right now.
You want good value for money While incredibly impressive, the Seagate FireCuda 540 isn’t exactly an essential purchase for anyone on PC right now apart from enthusiasts. No software really needs or benefits from 10,000 MB/s right now, but that could change in the near future.
