ROUND-UP
KEYBOARD
Asushascreatedastrikingdesk
adornment with the ROG Flare. It
includesRGBbacklitkeys,RGB
downlightingonthesidesanda
customisable transparent, RGB-
backlit insert at the back, all of which
canbesynceduptoyourPC’s
other lighting using Asus’ Aura
Sync technology.
Asus’ new mechanical gaming keyboard features proper Cherry
MX switches and masses of RGB lighting, but it’s not without
compromise and it comes at a cost.
Elsewhere, the keyboard offers a
basic feature set, with a volume wheel
and multimedia keys in the top-left,
but no dedicated gaming keys.
The build is also plasticky, making
it feel expensive for what it offers.
SWITCHES: CHERRY MX BLACK, BLUE, BROWN OR RED /
USB: 1 X USB 2.0 PASSTHROUGH / INCLUDES: WRIST
REST, 1 X BLANK TRANSPARENT PLATE
75 %
75 %
70 % 85 %
ASUS ROG FLARE
http://www.asus.com £160
SSD
Slower only than Samsung’s flagship
970 Pro drive, the 970 Evo blazes
along, offering sequential read speeds
of up to 3,500MB/s and write
speeds of up to 2,500MB/s. These
numbers aren’t a huge leap over the
previous960Evodrivesbuttheystill
maketheEvoamongthefastest
SSDs available, and the 970 isn’t any
more expensive than its predecessor.
Youalsogetathree-yearwarranty,
and Samsung’s own Magician
software provides an easy way to
keep track of the overall life and
performance of your drive.
FORM FACTOR:M.2,NVME/CAPACITIES:250GB,
500GB, 1TB, 2TB/PRICE RANGE:£95 - £690,
The 970 Evo may not be Samsung’s
fastestSSDbutitistheoneyoushould
buy. It offers blistering speeds and a long
life for a reasonable price.
85 %
SAMSUNG 970
EVO 500GB
AMD RYZEN 7 2700
http://www.amd.com£257
The Ryzen 7 2700 has eight cores
that can process 16 threads at once
making for a mighty powerful
processor. It’s also multiplier-
unlocked for easy overclocking.
However, its relatively slow clock
speeds (3.2GHz to 4.1GHz)
mean it isn’t the best
choice for gamers.
SAMSUNG 970 PRO 512GB
http://www.samsung.com£252
This is essentially the fastest SSD
you can buy thanks to its read/write
speeds of up to a whopping
3,500MB/s and 2,700MB/s
respectively. The 512GB version also
boasts a massive 600TB write
endurance. However, it’s
overkill for most users. Go
for the 970 Evo instead.
AMD RYZEN 5 2600
http://www.amd.com£167
The Ryzen 5 2600 provides
massive six-core, 12-thread power for
a low price. It’s also easy to overclock
and has a good base clock of 3.4Ghz,
so it provides a guaranteed level of
performance. The Core i5-8400 is
better for gaming out of the
box, but overclocked this
chip is a great option.
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