As most people know by now, the PlayStation 5 has been updated to allow for people to add additional storage to their consoles. We can argue that there should be more space to begin with, but we’re here now, and we may as well get used to it. I’ve been looking for the right drive for a while, and after covering the CS3040 that comes with a heatsink, but that is too large to go inside a PS5, the CS3140 might be just right ticket, it seems.

So first of all the CS31040 doesn’t include a heatsink. It’s going to set you back around £150-200 depending on where you shop. Sony do recommend that you use a drive with a heatsink, and while I’m not here to disagree, as such, I have two M.2 drives in my PC that don’t have a heatsink and have been there for years. Consider that me literally putting a curse upon myself, right?

As with the previously mentioned drive, XLR8 is a subsidiary of PNY, who I’ve long trusted for all manner of hardware. From GPUs to these SSDs and beyond, they are at least a name you can trust. I think that there’s a concern when people read about this kind of technology, and that without a heatsink there’s almost a hyperbolic suggestion it’ll catch fire or fry your PS5, and that’s simply not true. The worst thing that could happen with an M.2 drive sans-heatsink is that it’ll throttle your speeds.

Tests for this sort of thing have been done, though often rendered pointless by being conducted with the PS5 case open and therefore additional cooling. And you’re mileage is always going to vary on things like this. Heat dissipation isn’t an exact science in terms of an individual setup. If you’ve shoved your PlayStation 5 into a tiny hole then yes, the CS3140 is likely to get a bit toasty after prolonged use, and yes the CS3140 might end up having throttled speeds. A good practice is to allow for space around these consoles, anyway.

That said, I decided to go without a heatsink and just see how I got on. After over a month of playing PS5 games regularly, I didn’t notice any heat issues, or data throttle problems. I moved games I played regularly onto the M2 drive and had no issues with FIFA 22, or with any other game for that matter. I didn’t notice games downloading any slower to the M2 drive; no overheating warnings; and frankly, just no issues whatsoever. Of course, we’re entering the colder months, so that will have helped, but I’d be very surprised if during Summer this thing suddenly had problems.

Ultimately you can buy a heatsink for this drive, of course. And you probably should listen to the manufacturer of the console when it comes to what you stick inside your PlayStation 5. It’s more fiddly to install that I’d like, but that certainly is nothing to do with PNY or the XLR8 M2 drive, and it doubles the storage of your console within a few minutes.

it doesn’t appear that M2 drives are going to get any cheaper in the coming months, but at least PNY’s XLR8 is a name you can trust. Having used multiple different drives, I can report zero issues with this one. It’s fast, isn’t over-priced compared to some other names on the market, and does exactly the job it is designed to do. Another win, then, for PNY.

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In the webcam world, you’d be forgiven for not having heard of Rapoo just yet. But after trying out the three offerings from the company, with prices that will make you wonder “how?”, you might want to investigate further before you spend more money on a better known brand. While I don’t want to bad mouth any of those brands, it does seem while some are rebranding and changing very little, Rapoo is offering incredibly affordable options at a time when people are still working from home and need a webcam.

Rapoo offers three models: the XW170, XW180, and the XW2K. All three come in a tiny recyclable box, and have clear information as to what each model offers. The XW170 offers a 30fps camera that tops out at 720p with an 80 degree wide angle lens. The XW180 is the same but as a 1080p image quality. Lastly, the XW2K has 30fps and a 2K resolution picture, with an 85 degree wide angle lens. All three models come with noise-cancelling on the audio front, and an autofocus function, should you require it.

Rapoo is a serious player in the webcam world

The higher end model (XW2K) also has a privacy cover, which amounts to a small piece of plastic that can cover the camera and give you… well, privacy. Before we get into use cases for each camera, it’s also worth noting one small feature that I absolutely adored, and that’s the flexible rotation. Each of the webcams on offer from Rapoo also has a nice rubber bottom which means you don’t have to mount them on top of a monitor, and if you choose to pop them on a desk, or shelf, they will stay in place.

With 360 degree rotation, it means that any one of the Rapoo webcams can be more than “just” a webcam. Given that you can focus them on whichever angle you want, that means they can easily be used in a situation where you need to be able to switch between cameras in a room, and honestly, combined with the rubber base and tripod mounting options, it just makes for a complete set of highly robust and multi-use case devices, which again, for the price, is superb.

The setup is ridiculously simple: you plug the device in and a few seconds later it’ll be recognised by your device as a video and audio tool, and you’re away. There’s no software included, and this will either be a positive or negative depending on who you are. Some will find the lack of adjustable software to be a negative, others will find the plug-and-play usability a major positive. For example, the best use for the XW170 is either for a cheap and simple solution to working from home, but it could easily be used for streaming if you are only putting out a 720p stream, or if you only ever appear on camera in a smaller box in the corner of your video. Even without the privacy cover, a small white light next to the camera lets you know if you’re “live” or not, so if software is using your video, you’ll know by that light.

Audio and use cases

In terms of audio, across the board, the entire range of Rapoo webcams is absolutely fine. I’m not going to tell you that it’s going to replace your Shure SM7B microphone for streaming, nor am I even going to suggest it’ll replace a Blue Yeti or HyperX mic. A dedicated microphone is always going to outperform any webcam, but if you’re in a pinch, the audio is absolutely serviceable. If you want a backup recording for redundancy, it’ll do the job. Again, anyone working from home is going to find this plenty good enough, unless you’re a speaker for long periods of time, in which case, get a mic.

The XW180 is a step up, and is a tremendous choice for streamers who like to switch from games to full-screen on-camera options. It works well in low-light situations, though again, part of using any camera is knowing how to light a subject or room accordingly. If you’re going to sit in almost pitch black darkness, no webcam on the planet is going to look good. With ambient room lighting, the picture for all three cameras in multiple situations is well presented. Add a good light on your subject, and they all look superb.

The XW2K model is a particularly interesting model of webcam. I’ve used 4K webcams in the past but never truly found them to be of any particular, specific use. It’s rare to find a 4K stream happening, and in truth it feels like overkill. In fact, most content creators tend to top out at 1440p (which is another way of saying 2K). By going for the XW2K model you’re spending far less money but are still able to push out a video quality at 1440p. If you have a beefy PC, this is the camera to go for, as you can stream games at 1440p, pushing above the average 1080p most people use, but without over-spending on a 4K camera that is never actually being used for a 4K output.

Rapoo webcam: price range

So what you have here, is a range of three webcams that have varying uses, but a set you really can’t go wrong with, either. If I told you the 720p XW170 model went for as little as £17.99 and up to £29.99, you might be surprised. But the 1080p XW180 recommended retail price is £39.99. That means for a 1440p (2K) webcam, with a 360 adjustable viewing angle you can spend under £50, and frankly, that’s incredibly impressive.

There’s no beating around the bush with these Rapoo webcams: they aren’t fancy and are simple to use, with limited functionality, and they don’t make the room come alive when in use. But for the price, it’s hard to imagine anyone being able to match this range. They aren’t miracle workers, and good lighting and a decent mic will always improve any setup (full stop), but if you’re in the market for a webcam, Rapoo has something for everyone, are priced beyond competitively, and are just a lovely surprise.

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With the PlayStation 5 finally in our hands, we’ve been able to test out Astro’s Playroom which is designed to showcase the features of the PS5 controller, the DualSense. If you are keen to find out our initial impressions, have a watch of the video below and let us know what you think.

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We finally have the PlayStation 5 in our possession, and whilst impressions on how it plays are unavailable at the minute, Adam has been a diamond and created an unboxing video so you can see exactly what’s in the box. Excited? You should be, and this video is only going to make you salivate more. Have a watch below:

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The Xbox Series X has landed at Godisageek Towers and Adam has it in his hands – but just what does it come with? While we can’t give impressions just yet, we can show you what’s in the box and – more importantly – what the device itself and its controller look like, and what you’ll recieve when yours arrives after the release on November 10th.

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Now so any of us are working from home, having had to change our routines completely and adapt to this strange, sometimes scary new world, certain devices are becoming more and more useful and popular. We’ve put together a little list of goodies here that are almost guaranteed to improve some aspect of your home set-up, whether you’re gaming, working or both.

Braven BRV-MINI Rugged Portable Speaker

As we’re encouraged at the moment to get out for a walk or run once a day, but the rest of the time we’re more or less confined in doors (or at least on our home premises) a versatile mini speaker like the BRV-MINI is perfect.

Just under four inches tall and wide, its nevertheless a pretty rough and tumble object. A rubberised finish means you can dangle it from your belt or backpack on a hike and not worry about smacking it about a bit, while it’s aesthetically neutral enough to stick it on a desk and ignore it while it belts out your preferred tunage. It’s even waterproof, just in case.

It’s also a pretty powerful piece of kit, with a great Bluetooth range and an output that might be just a little bass-y for some, but still sounds great in any environment.

The average price is around £45.

Mophie Power Station Mini Portable Battery

If you happen to be running multiple devices at once, or you fancy holding that conference call in the garden today, or maybe you’re just out for a long ramble and haven’t had a chance to charge your phone, the Mophie Powerstation Mini is ideal.

Weighing a teeny 90 grams and around the same size as the average mobile, it’ll slot into a bag or pocket to keep your devices going wherever you are. It puts out 5000mAh and charges surprisingly fast. A little row of LEDs on the side light up when it’s providing power and give an indication of how much power it has left it comes with USB-A and USB-C ports so it will work both ways, and while I couldn’t test it with an iPhone it’s designed to accommodate Apple customers too.

A soft cloth finish and brushed matte edges give it an expensive, professional appearance, and it’s perfect for use at home or outside.

The average price is around £24.95, although there are less powerful models from Mophie available.

PNY 128GB microSDXC Flash Card

These days if there’s one thing we all. Need it’s more digital storage. PNY is one of the best brands for micro SD cards, and the PNY Elite Performace SDXC is a super little flash card. On the manufacturer’s site it states that this card has a read speed of 100mb/s, and is perfect for storing images and video in 4K.

It’s loading and off-loading are both high-speed, and for the price of £24.95 it will perform better than many similar sized cards for recording on the go. That being said, as a micro SD it’s also versatile, and ideal for extra storage in phones, handheld consoles, and cameras. It also comes in a range of sizes FR 32gb to 512gb.

Roccat Sense Aimo Mousepad

If you’ve recently swapped the office for working in a home space that you’ve had to quickly adapt, comfort may not have been high on your priority list. However the Roccat Sense Aimo Mousepad is an ideal addition to any desk space.

Designed for comfort and, admittedly, with gamers in mind, the Sense Aimo is a comfortable, soft Mousepad with a high-quality appearance and an attractive, unintrusive RBG strip running around its perimeter.

Most importantly is that it’s designed for smooth, unhindered feedback from any laser mouse, and feels comfortable under your writst. For the price it’s a great pad, and will give your office or gaming space a little touch of light and colour while you’re working or winning.

The average price is £35.

XVIDA wireless charging range

A handy two-in-one solution, the XVIDA case fits around your iPhone 11 as a case, but also conducts a charge so it can be wirelessly charged via the handy magnetic dock. I have mine set up next to my monitor around eye-height meaning it’s constantly charging while also facing me, so I can use the iPhone’s face-unlocking tech to see texts or messages as they appear. The case itself won’t break the bank, while you can also get a portable magnetic charge case, which you can just pop behind the phone and have it wirelessly charging there, on-the-go, as well.

It’s a bonus that the case itself conducts a charge, and this is a far, far cheaper option than Apple’s own-brand charging case. It may not be the sexiest looking case, but the magnetic doc is incredibly useful in an office setup, and the battery charger makes the set a genuine contender in the market.

Vissles 3-in-1 Wireless Charger

I’m a big fan of things that do everything you need. Vissles 3-in-1 charger is exactly that; a small, clean, white pad that can charge your Apple Watch, iPhone (if it can be wirelessly charged), and AirPods (which we’ll get onto in a moment). One cable plugs the main charger into power, but an Apple Watch cable slots inside the body of the device, which comes apart with a simple tug at the seams. It only works with the shorter Apple Watch 1m cable (though I confess I didn’t know there was a longer one available) as it curls around a predefined section of the base station, and cannot be clipped back together if the cable isn’t the right length. Your phone pops in the middle and the charging works flawlessly, though it’s not a fast-charge device like you’d get with an iPhone 11.

The only issue I can see with this simple, $45 device, is that the AirPod solution isn’t ideal. Included in the pack is a small lightning… well, “nubbin”, I guess I’d call it. This plugs into your AirPods base and has a magnet on th eother end to sit your AirPods upright and charge. Now, this simply didn’t always work. I don’t know if the AirPod case would discharge itself if the nubbin was left in, but I left it attached because it simply is so small it’d get instantly lost. Plugged in, it would charge, seemingly, but sometimes when I’d disconnect it, the charge wasn’t full despite being left on for a good amount of time. Maybe my AirPods have a charging issue, I’m not sure, they still work absolutely fine with a standard charging cable, but it’s worth mentioning your mileage may vary, and if you’re into the aesthetics of Apple devices, this does add a small notch to the bottom of your AirPod case. Still it’s a cheap product and the watch and phone parts work just fine, with zero issues. Update: The issues with the AirPods was due to incorrect insertion of the magnetic tip, which was our fault, not the manufacturer! Also, please enjoy this discount code to get the price for the 3-in-1 Wireless Charger down to just £29! (Code: Vissles).

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Right out of the box the Speedlink Maxter 7.1 Surround Sound USB Gaming Headset (say that 10 times fast) looks impressive. The chunky red and black design has a sturdy appearance, the thick cord looks like you could chew on it for days, and volume and LED control box suggests hidden features you can play around with for days.

While my last assumption turned out not to be the case, the others were bang on the money. The Maxter headset is a beauty, surprisingly comfortable despite its size and comparative weight. 50mm drivers in the cups deliver a high quality audio experience, while the built-in rumble and omnidirectional feedback put you right in the thick of whatever game you’re playing. I will say, though, the vibration feature might not be to everyone’s satisfaction, so go in aware that it’s one of this headset’s more unique selling points.

The USB connection does limit its use though. It works perfectly well with PS4, Xbox One or PC, but you won’t be able to use it with the Nintendo Switch or your phone for casually listening to music. The 3m cord gives you plenty of free movement and will reach comfortably across most lounges, bedrooms or offices, although be aware: the sicker is heavy, and you’ll definitely feel it when it’s hanging loose.

One cool feature on the Maxter headset is the LED display in the back of the earcups and on the tip of the mic. If the mic is red, you’re live, so you’ll always know if you’re broadcasting – which is handy because although you can adjust the mic, you can’t remove it. The lights in the cups are less essential, and didn’t do much but give my 7-year-old a reason to say “wow” he walked by me while I was using them. A button on the control box changes the colour or turns them off, and you’ve three hues to choose from in red, blue or green. Streamers will get some mileage from the pretty display, I’m sure, but if you’re simply sitting in a room playing on your own it’s a bit of a pointless extravagance.

Although you can’t fine tune the sound quality, the base delivery is excellent. I have no complaints on the mic quality, but I’m especially impressed with how crisp and clear the audio is through the Maxter headset. Considering these are selling for around £60 and therefore just short of being considered a budget model, they look and feel great and sound better than fine with most games, but especially shooters. Playing Gears of War 5 with the rumbling earcups and competent surround sound really elevated the experince.

A lack of tweakable features and a non-detachable mic are comfortably compensated for by impressive aesthetics, great sound quality and a well-made if slightly heavy design. Not bad at all for the pricepoint.

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The Noz Stereo Gaming Headset from ROCCAT is somewhat unique among the recent batch of headsets to hit the market in that it somehow, inexplicably, fits my head. Now it’s not that I have an abnormal shaped head, as far as I know, it’s just that even if a headset is incredibly comfortable, it only takes one look in the mirror at how it sits on my wide, bald dome to resign me to playing in the dark when possible.

Ironically, the Noz is a relatively small headset, too. It does away with some of the more complicated bells and whistles of higher-priced models, limiting its flashier features to a removable boom mic, built-in volume control (something not always included in wired headsets), and high versatility. It works with consoles (including the Nintendo Switch), mobile phones and tablets, or a PC or laptop. The problem here is that it has zero adjustable elements beyond volume. In-game audio tends to sound OK, certainly good enough that I never questioned it, but the quality dips when you’re just listening to music.

This in itself wouldn’t be a major problem. If it weren’t for the fact that, at around £60, there are cheaper alternatives that do a better job. The thing about the Noz is that it feels like a budget model, but with a mid-range price that feels a little steep. For example, the design is simple and functional, but the lightweight build and plain aesthetic gives the Noz the impression of a cheaper headset. That said, I did find the headset very comfortable, but that’s an entirely subjective view and others may disagree.

One thing that feels like both a blessing and a curse is the length of the cable. With dual 35mm audio jacks you can connect to two devices at once should you need to, but the cable is incredibly long. Plugged into my PS4 controller made the whole thing feel a little cumbersome. It was less of an issue on the laptop where I could bundle the wire up a bit out of the way, but it was definitely a sticking point. It meant I wasn’t comfortable just using it to listen to music on my phone while walking around the house even though the headset itself is comfy.

Ultimately, if the Noz was selling for £40 I’d be happier to recommend them. For the current price though, there are models that look nicer and offer more features like variable treble and bass, or that look and feel sturdier while remaining lightweight. As a gaming headset it’s perfectly serviceable, and the removable mic is definitely a plus, but they may be a little rich considering the overall performance and appearance.

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The AverMedia 311-BO311 Live Streamer Kit is a one-stop shop for start-up streamers looking to get into the YouTube business. It comes with a PW313 Live Streamer Cam webcam, a USB AM310 microphone and a Live Gamer MINI capture card. It proclaims itself to be everything you need to get started as a streamer, but just how competent a package is it?

First off, I’m not much of a tech head. I know the basics, but I don’t stream a lot and have only been producing videos for less than a year. That being said, I had this kit out of the box and set up to go with Streamlabs Obs in under 15 minutes. It was very easy to configure and, while I didn’t stream with it, I did use the capture card and mic to produce the below video. Read on for a break down of how each component performed for me.

PW313 Live Streamer Cam

I’ll start with the webcam because that’s not in the video. I swapped my Logitech C920 HD Pro for the 313 and was actually surprised at how much easier it was to set it up with Streamlabs and how little delay there was. I usually have to tweak the Logitech cam a little, but I didn’t with this one. It’s a pretty lightweight piece of kit and I wouldn’t expect it to survive a drop from a desk onto a hard floor, but it’s very small and unintrusive so leaving it set up is no problem. It has a standard grip mechanism to clip it to the top of a monitor, or you can unscrew the base and mount it on a tripod, stand or boom if you prefer.

Unlike the Logitech C920 and others it doesn’t come with its own software so I was unable to adjust the picture like I normally can. I couldn’t zoom in or out and to centre my face I had to manhandle the camera a little bit. The lense does rotate on a ball joint but don’t expect miracles. There is a privacy cover, too, for when it’s not in use. As it’s plug and play it was dead easy to set up, and the capture was clear if a little dark. You can adjust brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc via Streamlabs source settings.

Overall it’s a very decent low-range webcam, but for me it loses out to my Logitech purely because it’s harder to adjust and feels much less robust.

USB Microphone (AM310)

Secondly, the mic. Now, my usual mic is a Samson G-Track Pro with a cheap-ass pop filter I bought for about 7 quid on Amazon. It works perfectly well with SlObs, even better when just capturing audio for a voice over. The AM310 provided with the 311 kit is actually a very solid mic, just not as feature rich as the more expensive G-Track Pro.

It looks nice, and fixes to heavy base or a tripod / boom assembly. It doesn’t come with a pop filter, though, so you will need to buy one seperately if you intend to do a lot of VO or chatting on streams. Again, the relatively small and streamlined design means it doesn’t clutter a desk or workspace, and it connects through a USB which makes it super easy to set up. I had no issues using it in SlObs or to record via Audacity. It doesn’t have a bunch of settings or features, but the sound quality is perfectly acceptable.

Live Gamer MINI (GC311)

Now, the capture card is a tougher sell for me personally. Not being a regular streamer means I’m normally content to use my Hauppauge Rocket to easily capture specific gameplay directly from my consoles. Being a capture card, the MINI runs through your PC or Laptop meaning you’ll need that set up in place. That said, it comes with a dedicated hardware encoder, which means it doesn’t steel memory from your laptop or pc to run. It also works very well with Streamlabs Obs.

Aesthetically, it’s a tiny wee little thing. It’s very lightweight and unintrusive, and looks more like a USB multiport adapter than anything else. It comes with a cord extension too, which is handy.

Overall the package is solid. For under £220 it is a decent value for what is essentially a trio of low to mid-range products. True to its spiel it certainly is everything you’ll need to get started a streamer or YouTuber, but be aware that there are many better, and more expensive, alternatives out there for content creators.

That being said, the 311 Live Streamer Kit is easy to set up, very simple to use, and works well with 3rd party software like Streamlabs Obs. For someone just finding their feet, it’s a good package and a relatively easy entry point.

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With posture, ergonomics and living a healthier life being very prevalent at the moment, we thought we’d take a look at a standing-desk setup to see how this works in practicality.

The ProPlus 36 from Varidesk is their best selling model, with a two-tier design including a top shelf for your monitor(s) and a lower shelf for a mouse and keyboard. This works very well, as the idea is that you set up all your computing equipment and just adjust the Varidesk up/down to a height that suits you. Feel like sitting? Pop the desk down. Want to stand up for a bit? Nudge it back up again. The handy locking mechanism works at variable heights, so you’re never forced to hunch.

Thankfully the unit arrived fully assembled, because it’s massive and surprisingly heavy, which is great as it proves to be a very sturdy bit of kit. Simply place the ProPlus on top of your existing desk, put your gear on top and you’re good to go. Saying that, one thing to keep an eye out for is your wiring. It’s too easy to accidentally cut through cables, particularly thinner mouse/keyboard wires, when opening/closing the Varidesk . Make sure you’ve cable-tied and tucked things in and that everything works at both an up and a down position. Don’t’ make the same mistake we did, and almost chop through an expensive mouse and keyboard!

We found the monitor shelf to be very adequate, but would’ve loved more room on the mouse/keyboard shelf. While there is room for a full sized keyboard, you’ll struggle to get a decent sized mouse-mat on there too. Gamers might despair at the amount of real-estate left to play with. Which raises the question, can you game with a standing desk?

We think you can. This reviewer put in hours work of game time while standing at a Varidesk . While it does take some getting used to, it’s certainly doable. The benefits of standing vs sitting are well documented, but essentially it comes down to personal preference. If you want to really concentrate on an FPS title you’re going to wait to be seated, with some decent arm rests. However if you’re playing an MMO for example or something less ‘twitch’ intensive you’ll have no problem doing so while using a Varidesk .

If you’re looking to move your desk to a standing position, even if only for short bursts, this may be a good solution. It’s pricey, but it’ll give you the posture support you need.

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What a beautiful device. This is a microphone clearly made for the LED-obsessed #PCMasterRace, although it does come with Mac and PS4 support. With Quadcast as the name it’s evident HyperX are marketing this mic at streamers, it’ll look great in-shot of any gaming channel content.

In fact, it seems HyperX had casters / streamers in mind with every step of the design, with a mount adapter included in the package, built-in anti-vibration shock mount and an internal pop filter. Of course you don’t necessarily need to mount the mic onto an arm, as it comes with its own stand.

Audio quality is fantastic. We recorded a few samples on each mode and compared them in the exact same setup with the competition – the audio quality in our setup was clearly better on the Quadcast than it was with the leading competitor. However, the Quadcast is double the price of a Blue Snowball, so there’s that to take into consideration. You can listen to this reviewer’s appearance on a recent episode of the GodisaGeek podcast to see what it sounds like in practicality.

The four selectable polar patterns are stereo (for vocals / instrumentals), omnidirectional (multi-person podcasts / conference calls), cardoid (podcasts, streaming, voiceovers, instrumentals etc.) and bidirectional (face-to-face / one-on-one interviews). These should cover the primary needs of most games casters / streamers.

The ‘tap-to-mute’ feature doesn’t even require a tap – hover your finger closely over the top of the mic and it’ll mute the mic. This is a handy feature, but we did find that un-muting the mic caused a static background sound which was picked up in recording, so software muting may be preferable.

Being USB powered, the Quadcast mic will work with computers and the PlayStation 4, but not the Xbox One. There’s an in-built headphone jack for live audio monitoring, too, so you can keep that mouth-breathing in check! There’s a gain control hardware function in a fancy scrolling knob at the bottom of the mic, which is a handy tool for quickly turning the mic input up/down.

Overall we think the Quadcast from HyperX is much more than just a gaming mic. It’s a fantastic piece of kit that anyone doing recordings on a computer should look into.

The post HyperX Quadcast Gaming Mic Review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

It used to be that Bluetooth earphones were cumbersome, oddly shaped and corded together. Thankfully, probably in no small part due to the launch of Apple’s EarPods, we’re seeing a swath of new smaller, fancier BT earphones hitting the market lately.

1MORE Stylish True Wireless Headphones recently launched with an retail recommended price of $99.99. That’s half the price of Apple’s EarPods and their Beats alternatives. So we took a look to figure out how they stand up to the competition.

Can we be slightly pedantic here, too? Headphones are to be worn with a strap over the head. Earphones are to be worn in-ear. These are clearly earphones, and that’s something to celebrate. We’re not sure about the ‘headphones’ branding. In fact the naming seems a little off altogether, ‘1MORE Stylish True Wireless Headphones’ doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. For the purposes of this review let’s stick with 1MORE wireless earphones.

Available in black, gold, green and pink the 1MORE wireless earphones come with a petite charging pod that is incredibly easy to use and looks brilliant. In the shape of a tablet, you simply pop in your earphones and they magnetically click into position. There’s a button on the front of the pod to open it and it gives a satisfying little click when you close the lid, that adds to the overall feeling of high quality of the package. However, the charging slot is micro-USB instead of USB-C, this makes it feel a little out of date. Anything released in 2019 should really feature the newer universal USB-C slot, otherwise anyone buying these earphones for a modern Android device will need to have two different charging cables, which is not ideal.

Pairing the earphones to your mobile device is really easy and just takes a moment, once done they automatically pair themselves every time you pull one out of the pod. You’ll hear an audio confirmation “Connected” as you place the earphones into your ears, after a little audio dit and a notification of your current battery status, i.e. “battery high”.

In terms of battery life, these things are absolutely amazing. Fast charge the pod in just over an hour and it’ll re-charge your earphones for upto 6.5 hours use. With 15 minutes of re-charging you get 3 hours worth of play time. That’s quite something, and means you don’t need to charge them up at the wall on a daily basis.

Audio quality unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired. The sound is quite tinny, with no bass whatsoever. The earphones are fantastic for voice calls and listening to podcasts with, but for music they’re quite frankly disappointing. This is a surprise as they’re tuned by Grammy award winning sound engineer Luca Bignardi. Background noise-cancelling features on the microphone comes in handy though. The volume is nice and loud, and it’s very easy to play/pause new tracks by either tapping the single button or double tapping for access to Siri / Google Assistant. The button is very intuitive and the earphones will turn themselves off the moment you place them back into their pod.

Unlike some competitors, the 1MORE wireless earphones can be used in the singular, you won’t need both ears in place in order to stream music. You can of course also split the earphones for cooperative listening with friends.

These earphones are comfortable and stylish (hence the name), and relatively cheap. If you’re looking for some wireless earphones for listening to podcasts and/or making phone calls, we highly recommend these from 1MORE. However, if you’re a music aficionado these might not be the buds for you.

[Update]

We’re very happy to correct this review, because it turns out that these earphones actually have fantastic bass. This reviewer however has particularly small ear canals, resulting in a less than satisfactory seal between ear and earphone, causing a loss of audio quality. With some replacement (much thinner/smaller) earbuds full audio quality was accomplished, including bass!

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Last night during the Microsoft E3 briefing we saw the announcement of the next Xbox console, currently labelled Project Scarlett.

Microsoft have announced the new Xbox will use a custom designed AMD Zen 2 CPU, which is particularly interesting because Sony have also released information stating their new PlayStation will carry an AMD Ryzen chip. Newer Ryzen chips actually use Zen 2 architecture, so it’d be safe to assume both consoles will have very similar performance from the CPU and graphics cards, perhaps making developers’ lives easier.

There’s a huge emphasis on redesigned SSDs from both Microsoft and Sony, which is pleasing to hear because it’ll mean dramatically reduced load times. Adam recently reviewed an NVMe SSD which is very similar technology – a newer speedier SSD that can be used as both hard drive space and virtual memory. But let’s not get distracted by faster load times, what we really want to know is will we actually be able to get the full performance out of these new devices?

We’ve got to look very closely at the wording and marketing spin being use to understand how much punch these new consoles are actually going to pack. Sony have said the PS5 will support ‘up to 8K graphics’ and will be able to handle 4k graphics at a 120Hz refresh rate, that implies we’ll see a 8k/60fps vs 4k/120fps trade-off. Microsoft mentioned ‘variable refresh rate support’ and frame-rates of ‘up to 120 fps’, so it’s reasonable to assume the exact same setup. Both have mentioned support for ray-tracing on top of that.

Project Scarlett will feature GDDR6 RAM, and we can’t imagine the PlayStation 5 would have anything less. While it hasn’t been announce how much RAM these console will have, we would expect to see at least 16GB in each, which would be double that of the current generation.

All this excitement considered, let’s not forget it took a console re-hash for the Xbox One and PlayStation to finally receive true 4k support at 60Hz, which were both really only 1080p consoles until the launch of the Xbox One S and PlayStation Pro. Even now, not many games manage to hit those high-end limits smoothly and consistently. Then there’s the Nintendo Switch which seems to have numerous hardware profiles available to different developers. We can only hope devs really push these new consoles to their limit, with full 4k/120fps fidelity from day one. If we see some games hitting 8k and not budging below 60 fps that might be alright, too, but 4k 120fps definitely seems to be the new 1080p 60fps.

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We took a look a the E-Win Europe Flash XL Series gaming chair

We also have a discount code for our reading. Use code ‘GODGEEK’ for 15% off your own E Win gaming chair!

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Any serious PC gamer will tell you that optical mice perform better than laser mice, and if you ever want to leave the Silver ranks of CSGO you had better tool up. But high quality gaming mice can often be expensive, and that’s where SteelSeries have stepped in, with the introduction of the Rival 100.

The whole point of the Rival 100 is to offer a professional level optical gaming mouse, on a budget. We took one for a spin to see if it lives up to the hype…

On first grip, you’ll notice two things: it’s a comfortable fit, with ergonomic right-handed design and thumb grips on the side, but it’s also very light. It’s quite odd, as the build quality doesn’t feel cheap, but the weight reminds you this is a £30 mouse and not a £75 one. Saying that, most expensive mice use weights anyway, so weight isn’t necessarily an indicator of price, but there’s something psychological and subconscious about it.

Mouse buttons 4 and 5 are on the side, which comes down to personal preference, but I tend to think they fit far better on the thumb-side of the mouse, than the middle. It always seems like an easy solution to the ambidextrous issue, when companies shove the back / forward buttons on the top of the mouse, instead of the side where they belong!

There is a DPI-change button on the top, with 2 settings, to switch between desktop and gaming mode. There’s also a nicely textured mouse wheel/mouse button 3 above it.

The main left/right click buttons have a nice tactile ‘clickly’ sensation to them, which may take some getting used to.

What’s really nice about the Rival 100 is the fact that there’s RGB lighting for the logo. Using SteelSeries’ software – which is actually pretty well designed – you can alter the glow colours to whatever you fancy. In here, you can also alter the button mapping, sensitivity/dpi and acceleration settings. SteelSeries’ software is available for both Windows and Mac OS.

Sensor Name: SDNS-3059-SS
Sensor Type: Optical
CPI: Increments from 1 to 4000
IPS: 140
Acceleration: 20 gs
Polling Rate: 1 ms
Zero Hardware Acceleration
Tracking Accuracy: 1:1

At under £30 on Amazon, SteelSeries Rival 100 is an absolute bargain. We defy you to find a better mouse, for under thirty quid!

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The L20 features include:

• Unique Game Volume Controls:  Intuitively adjust game volume using a unique control system which is integrated into the aesthetic design of the headset.
• 40mm Speakers:  A custom designed 40mm speaker with neodymium magnets provide deep bass and clear highs. Immerse yourself in the carefully crafted, signature LucidSound audio acoustics. 
• Bass Boost:  Enhanced bass response for an even more powerful audio range.
• Mobile Phone Control: Control volume, mute, mic mute and answer calls, play/pause your music, etc. with the ease of rotating a wheel or pressing a button when used with your mobile phone.
• Built in Mic Monitoring:  Built in mic monitoring lets you hear your own voice so you don’t need to shout!
• Rechargeable Battery: The built-in battery delivers 20-hours use per charge.
• Dual Microphones and Amplified Stereo Sound: Dual microphone implementation offers a flexible boom mic for intense online gameplay; the distinctive blue LED indicates when muted. Remove the boom mic to use the integrated mic for mobile use.
• Comfort: The LS20 is an on-ear design offering impressive sound isolation and acoustics. Additionally, the LS20 uses memory foam ear cushions that mold to the individual user and offer superior comfort.
• Using LS20 while you’re on the move:
• The LS20 works as a both a powered and passive headset via the 3.5mm cable.
• Use with your smartphone music device or phone and take calls  using either the detachable boom mic or integrated mic.
• Compatible with: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS or Android smartphone, mobile gaming devices such as Nintendo 3DS or PS Vita.

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Calvin checks out the WearCam Wearable Body Camera on Bros with Fros.

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In this NZXT Manta Case review, Calvin has a look at the one of the most rounded computer cases we’ve ever seen. Does this ITX case perform as good as it looks?

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Very recently, I had the pleasure of reviewing Rockjaw’s Alfa Genus v2 earphones, of which I was more than impressed with, thanks to their build quality, excellent sound output, and the variety of physical configurations possible to improve comfort and sound preferences. But, as great as these earbuds are, not everyone wants to spend £45+ upwards for headphones.

Enter Clarito: an entry level pair of headphones that promise “crisp and clear audio”. Can a £23.95 pair of headphones really make a difference?

Well…yes, they can.

The Clarito’s packaging is ultimately the same as the Alfa Genus v2’s, and in that box you’ll get your Clarito headphones, a fabric storage bag and several different types of silicon tip to cater all ear sizes. On closer inspection, the Clarito is a very no-frills set of buds, with no microphone or remote controls, so unfortunately it is not possible to make phonecalls with them; which is a little disappointing and odd, considering the sales blurb suggests the Clarito is great for making calls to your friends.

Still, the rest of RockJaw’s bold claims ring true from the moment you plug them into your ears, and start to listen to things. Podcasts sound bright and clear, with the sort of natural sound you’d expect from bigger headphones, while no matter what genre of music you are into, it’ll sound pretty damn good through the Clarito. Listening to a track like Low Roar’s “I’ll Keep Coming” (from the reveal trailer of Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding), you can hear the distortion of the electronically treated drums, and the pizzicato pluck of each mandolin string. Meanwhile, on the other side of the audio spectrum, listening to the industrial-metal extravaganza that is Mick Gordon’s DOOM soundtrack shows that the Clarito can more than handle a little bit of bass, without being overpowered.

These headphones are also a little more lightweight than the Alfa Genus v2, but are built just as well and look just as nice, with a lovely gunmetal grey finish, with grey and red silicon tips. A nice, chunky cable reassures you that this is a pair of headphones that’ll last, as well.

If you can spare an extra £20, I’d probably recommend the Alfa Genus v2 – But the Clarito is still an amazing pair of in-ear headphones that offer incredibly quality and value when compared to other similarly-priced headphones. Despite the lack of microphone and remote for smartphone users, this is a set of no-frills ‘phones that you will not be disappointed with. This is another great pair of headphones from Rockjaw, only beaten by it’s pricier cousins.

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You can spot a typical gaming headset from a mile off. If it’s angular, has lights on and looks like it should be on the set of a 90s sci-fi movie, then you’ve found one. And that’s fine for sitting at your computer desk, but what if you just want a normal-looking pair of headphones that just happens to have a microphone in them?

Well, the Lucidsound LS30 is a little better than “normal” looking. In fact, they’re a gorgeous set of cans, which even make the more mainstream models of headphone look a little pedestrian by comparison. Its design is subtle, with vinyl-like grooves, brushed aluminium and generous amounts of padding: it’s a pair of headphones you’d be more than happy to put on and go for a walk on the street in; which you can easily do, as this wireless headset also comes with a suitable 3.5mm cable for connecting to any standard audio player – PC, smartphone, digital music player, etc.

But, the LS30’s purpose is to be plugged into a console. More specifically, those with optical audio and a spare USB port (so Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3). Among the many cables in the box is a dongle that plugs into a USB port for power, and an optical cable that connects the dongle to your console. This allows the LS30 to be connected wirelessly, with the least amount of latency possible (in fact, it’s latency was lower than that of my home theatre setup). In regards to using the microphone, Xbox One owners will need an adapter for the old model controller, but can plug directly into the new ones, while Xbox 360 owners can use the included cable – it is completely wireless on PS4. Setup took me as long as it took to remove everything from the box and plug it in – it just worked, and it worked well.

While this is a stereo set of headphones, the quality of the audio output is incredibly impressive. Playing Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, I was astounded at the clarity as I could pick out the individual voices of in-game crowds. On the other end of the audio spectrum, the LS30 doesn’t shy away from loud, booming bass, and retains that clarity without breaking a sweat. Neither the high or low ends are overpowered, making for a pleasantly neutral audio output, but this is easily changed thanks to different EQ modes that are accessible via button on rear of the right can. You can flip through the normal mode, bass mode and treble mode at a touch of a button, and you’ll get an appropriate audio cue for each mode.

What I particularly love about the LS30 is the intuitive onboard controls. Each earcup has a gigantic button for muting either chat or game audio, and around each earcup is a control wheel that changes volumes for both sources. It’s as simple as controls get, and when you’re in a fast-paced online game, that ease and simplicity is important. To just be able to reach up to my ear and press a mute button without having to struggle and find it just feels right.

The other great thing that the LS30 delivers on, is comfort. The cups fit comfortably over my ears, thanks to some great padding, and even after using them for a couple of uninterrupted hours, they didn’t feel too hot or uncomfortable. It never felt like they were putting pressure on my skull, and at times, I forgot I even had them on. As someone who usually veers towards smaller, in-ear headphones, it’s quite an achievement that it felt like I was barely wearing it!

In terms of microphones, the LS30 has two of them: an internal one, and a far better connectable flexible boom mic, which works very well. There’s also automatic mic monitoring, so you can ensure that you aren’t talking too loudly (very useful in tense games) and I also found it useful for being able to hear what was going on outside of the headphones, without turning down the game volume. Being a wireless mic, battery life is always a concern, although it won’t be one you have with the LS30. An hour or two charging is all that’s required for around 15 hours of battery life.

Looks aren’t everything, but when the Lucidsound LS30 delivers on aesthetically pleasing design, combined with excellent sound quality and the most intuitive controls I’ve ever seen on a headset, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better stereo headset for gaming.

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It’s no great surprise that id and Bethesda’s DOOM reboot is a somewhat loud game. Filled from end to end with the screams of the dead, the reverb of assault rifles, the wet, meaty pops of exploded heads, the torrential rain spatterings of gore and viscera and the growls of Hell’s minions, it’s a brutal experience that needs to be played in the dark with the phones dialled up to brain-aching levels. Thanks to a partnership with tech giants Thrustmaster, there’s now a headset that does DOOM’s full aural assault true justice.

The 350X 7.1 Powered headset isn’t the most powerful or most sophisticated around, but it has a handful of features straight out of the box that make it very easy to recommend if you want high-end performance for a more affordable price.

A 3.5mm jack allows you to use it with pretty much any device you’re likely to own, but it comes with a volume control box that plugs directly into the Xbox One controller that allows you to easily adjust bass levels or audio and chat volumes. It also comes packaged with a chargeable power pack that will preserve your control let’s battery life for quite a while.

If you like to chat a lot when you game, the 350X has one of the better systems in place to eliminate mic feedback, and balance chat and microphone levels. While the box boasts “true 60mm drivers”, I didn’t notice a particularly high quality when compared to, say, the Turtle Beach Earforce 500X, but it is crystal-clear nonetheless. Playing a game like DOOM is incredibly immersive thanks to the 7.1 surround sound, and when the action is at its most frantic you’re still getting a superb balance between booming sound effects, dialogue and metal-flavoured background music.

They’re also pretty stylish, too. The physical design isn’t the most comfortable, but the brown leather cups and the emblazoned UAC and DOOM logos ensure that they look the business. They don’t sit on my melon-shaped head as snugly as some other headsets I’ve used, and they ain’t light, but the memory foam inner lining means that even with prolonged use you won’t feel sweaty or constricted.

Going for just under £100 on Amazon right now, the 350X DOOM Edition isn’t exactly a budget buy, but nor is it the most expensive headset available, and its suite of features and unique licensed design make it a very attractive prospect for the price. Absolutely recommended.

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I spend an unfathomable amount of time listening to things. Every weekday, I’m listening to some sort of audio on my commute, at the gym, at work, when I’m editing videos – so for around 10 hours a day, I have something in my ears. For me, in-ear headphones are preferable, as I like to be able to block out noise without having to increase volumes to dangerous levels, so comfort is definitely important, but audio fidelity is also important to me, especially when I’m listening to music or editing audio/video. As such, I also have to wear several different types of head/earphone to suit different needs.

The Alfa Genus v2 is a set of headphones that promises to deliver everything I need, boasting a massive array of features and accessories to serve many different purposes. Opening up the packaging, there’s a ton of stuff to play around with. In the box, we’ve got a lovely fabric pouch, manual, an incredible number of different eartips to suit every type of ear, and the Alfa Genus’ most unique feature: three sets of interchangeable tuning filters.

These tiny filters screw onto the earphones, colouring the output in various different ways. The black pair offer a sound with reduced bass and higher upper mids and treble, the silver pair are for when you’re listening to music that commands more bass, while the gold filters offer something in between the two other filters – a more balanced sound overall.

First off, it was incredibly difficult to remove this tiny filters from the packaging, as they’re dug far into a piece of foam that cannot be broken into easily without damaging it. Secondly, these filters really are tiny. You probably aren’t going to want to take these pieces of metal out and about with you, for fear of dropping and losing them. It does feel like you need to pick your favourite filter and stick with them for the most part. Changing the filters is very simple, as they easily screw on and off the earphones with very little effort (they do stay on very well, although you do have to be careful not to unscrew them when taking the earphones out, or replacing the eartips).

Each of the filters really do make a difference in sound levels, but none of them sacrifice sound clarity. While it would be almost impossible for a tiny pair of earphones to match a big pair of over-ear cans in terms of bass output, it is impressive what Rockjaw has done with the bass filters, offering a nice low frequency boom with all of the electronic music I tested it with. The black treble filters are great for enhancing the brightness in audio, while the golden “Natural” filters are just wonderful for their clarity. I’ve settled on using the Natural filter for editing work and when listening to podcasts, and the silver Bass filter for music, and it’s wonderful to have a set of earphones that suit any sort of audio I throw at it.

As for comfort, the gigantic number of eartips available is incredible. No matter what your preference, the Alfa Genus delivers in this regard. There are three different sizes of standard silicone tips, a small set of double-flanged silicone tips, and two sizes of memory foam tips. I experimented with all of these, and settled for the memory foam tips, which were some of the most comfortable earplugs I’ve ever put in my ears, and were also great at blocking outside noise.

The set I was reviewing also had an inline remote and mic, allowing the wearer to pause/rewind/skip music on their smartphone or even a Mac, as well as letting them take phone calls via the mic, hidden in these controls. As for the headphone cable itself, it relies on a quite thick cable with a right-angled plug, which definitely does a lot to reduce tangling (something that other earphones, especially Apple ones, suffer greatly from), and there’s also a removable clip to attach the cable to an item of clothing.

As for the design, while their aluminium casing is light and attractive, they do stick out a little bit more than other earphones, so sometime it did feel like they were falling out of my ears, even if they were in no danger of doing so. They’re also magnetic, which does help a little with keeping them tidy.

For around £40-50, the Alfa Genus v2 aren’t cheap, but Apple’s own in-ear headphones cost around £65 and don’t sound anywhere near as good as these. The amount of user-configurable options and accessories contained within the packaging, as well as the quality in both build and fidelity, screams that this is a value product. They’re the most comfortable, most versatile headphones I’ve ever used, and they’ll probably be my main set of headphones for as long as they last.

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I’m noticing instruments more clearly than before, and spacial arrangements showing depth that was never noticeable to me. I’ve got excellent hearing, I can hear cat scaring devices on people’s lawns that others can’t – and that’s not a humble brag, it’s actually really annoying, and if that’s how cat’s feel when they hear them, then the people who use cat scarers are horrible, horrible people. I digress, Bell X1’s “Careful what you wish for” has finished, and I’m thinking of changing my phone’s EQ because the bass is just so thick and deep, and I’m not used to hearing it like that.

And that’s odd, to me. I’ve played in bands and stood in front of a full-sized Marshall bass stack that’s got a cranked distortion pedal on it, and not shit myself. But the clarity on the Blue Lola is new to me. There’s a bit of guitar I’ve heard before, but not like that. It’s not changed music, so much as it has made it sound different to my acutely trained ear. And now I’m hearing a backing vocal I never noticed before, so subtly mixed is it that it’s only now it’s become audible, despite the hundred times I’ve heard this song. What the hell is this sorcery?

Over the last few years I’ve become a bit of a fan of Blue. If you’ve watched our videos or listened to our podcasts, then you’ve definitely heard a Blue Yeti or Snowball in action. They’ve become our default gear to record with. In an ideal world we’d use XLR microphones into a mixer, but we don’t live in an ideal world, and that’s why we have a Patreon. But I’ve actually never used a pair of headphones by Blue, and to be honest, it’s been some time since I’ve used a pair of headphones that weren’t a catch-all unit. All singing, all dancing cans are the popular choice now: it’s a headset, a mic, it’s all you need. But the Lola goes to show that sometimes focusing on doing one thing incredibly well can go a long way.

Look, they’re not cheap (£219) – but they don’t look it. Out of the box, as you raise the cardboard away you see them, proudly perched there, looking rather futuristic. As you pull them apart, the mechanical arms separate slowly, and it’s like a spider uncurling itself from a defensive position. They drop onto your head, cut out the world around you (they’re not in-ear, obviously, but they do cancel noise very well, with very little audio escaping into the atmosphere), and envelope you into the music. The way they automatically shrink to fit the right tension around your head is superb, design wise, but it does make them feel slightly heavy.

Inside the box, you’ll get a carrying pouch that contains two cables and a 1/4″ adapter. The cables are there for two different options: firstly, there’s one with in-line controls on (for your phone), but the other (I think) is for studio use. It’s 3 metres long and has no controls, and the quality of the headphones absolutely means that they’re going to replace my office pair for editing and recording, so that length is most welcome.

So while they’re a little heavy, and perhaps not something I’d wear out in public, they are the best set of headphones I’ve used. They move from audio broadcasting to simply listening to music – they’re the pair I reach out to for everything they are useful for. They’re expensive, but if you are about audio quality then you’re already used to paying a high price – so in that respect, they’re completely recommended.

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There’s a mark of whether a piece of tech is good in my household, and it’s my kids. It’s whether I can get hold of the damn thing long enough to write this very article about it, and if that’s anything to go by, then the Venturer EliteWin 11KT is the best thing since sliced bread, because the only time I got to play with it was when they were asleep or at school. But aside from my woes, what you need to know about this laptop is that it’s not entirely a laptop. You could, if you choose, use it as a laptop and never know or care about the not so well hidden secret about the Venturer series: it’s also a Windows netbook.

Pull from left to right on the screen and out it pops from the hinges, and you’ve a fully enabled PC now in tablet form – and it works very well indeed.

It’s ready to go right out of the box, and can be suspended just like any normal tablet, but it’s also responsive and quick for a laptop. It marries features from both worlds, and mostly, it’s successful at it. The 11.6 inch screen with a 1366×768 resolution can’t quite match up to the best in class tablets, and it’s certainly not a gaming PC – indeed, think more of this device as a netbook with a bit more speed under its belt: we’re talking 2GB of RAM and a 1.3Ghz processor, with an Intel Gen7 GPU. But what it lacks in power it makes up for in battery life. I couldn’t kill this thing. It got to the point where I was purposefully looking for an excuse to plug it in, because I never seemed to run its battery down. Obviously that’s a a mark of a good tablet, because you wouldn’t charge an iPad every hour, either, but this is also a laptop.

And aside from telling you that the capacative touch screen is quick to response to touch, has a USB port so you can connect a full mouse and keyboard, there’s not much to else to say. This laptop/tablet does everything it needs to do, and is quiet about it, even down to the inoffensive 2MP front and rear cameras (which, let’s be honest, are low-spec cameras) that means you can use it for Skype, or other video calling software. The thing that constantly surprised me, is how quick it is. For a relatively low spec “PC”, it’s really fast to boot up, and software loads quickly, too. Sure, it doesn’t have the best speaker for music, but you’ll be plugging in headphones, anyway, right? And yeah, it’s not a powerful PC, and probably can’t even run iPad equivalent software that the new ones can run, but it can run Minecraft (it’ll run perfectly using the Windows 10 Beta edition, but the frame rate isn’t great on the old fashioned original executable), and thus makes it a perfect entry level netbook/tablet for a youngster – more than anything, because it can be suspended like a tablet and instantly come back on.

One thing I would note, though, is that it has virtual mouse buttons rather than clickable ones. While we ended up using an external mouse and keyboard (nobody likes laptop mouse/keys, you’re only lying to yourself if you say you do) via the USB port, it is a bit annoying that clicking on things isn’t as intuitive as it could be. With the touch screen you don’t need mouse buttons, really, but if you’re playing Minecraft you do, unless you’re using a GamePad.

But here’s the killer thing about it: Windows 10. Including that as an OS means that if you’ve got an Xbox One, you can stream your games directly to the Venturer 11KT as if they were on the console, meaning you can free up the TV and keep the peace if the kids are always asking “can I play on the Xbox One?”. Of course, it’s dependent on the quality of your internet, but isn’t everything nowadays? On top of all that, this model comes bundled with a month trial for Office 365, meaning you get Excel, PowerPoint, Word, OneNote, Publisher, Outlook, and Access as part of the deal – and that adds to the idea that it’s a great entry level computer for a youngster. Add in all the bells and whistles you’d expect (bluetooth, a small but big enough for a kid 32GB HDD) and it seals the deal for that age bracket.

It’s flexible and light as a feather (compared to other devices of its ilk) and it’s small enough to be fit into a small bag. With this model, Venturer are sticking two fingers up at the iPad generation and saying “Hey, PCs were always the daddy”, while having its cake and eating it. A tablet-come-laptop indeed, and the first device in ages that have made my kids want to keep it over a iPad or Android tablet. Undercutting some very expensive modern tablet devices, the Venturer is a candidate if you’re looking for a jack of all trades type solution, just don’t expect it to run any graphically intensive games. What this is, though, is the absolute ideal, nay, perfect first computer for someone who’s interested in getting involved, and is especially brilliant for kids, too.

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NVIDIA’s SHIELD TV is a complicated box. In many ways it does all things you could ever want from a streaming box, but it also comes with a minimum 16GB of storage and a SHIELD controller to play games that are actually installed on the device. Of course, those games have to be ones that are downloadable from the Google Play Store, because this is, after all, an Android box, a Steam Box, a games console, and almost a mini-PC all in one. Oh, and it even does 4K resolutions, too. What I’m saying here, is that it’s a serious bit of kit.

Yet, for all of this, I find it hard to understand fully who it’s aimed at. GeForce NOW is NVIDIA’s own game service, and one that lets you stream a collection of “50 classic titles” or newly released games (including games as recent as The Witcher III, but also not including ones like Mad Max, which is coming soon) from their online store, instantly available to play. This service costs £7.49 a month, and you can even get a three month trial today. In that respect, the SHIELD can alleviate the need for a thousand pound rig to run PC games from, assuming you’re happy with the library on offer.

But you can stream from that expensive PC to the SHIELD, if you want – and I do, so I did. Using the GeForce Experience is a simple way to do it, too. Running from TV to PC only for a single setup procedure is all it takes, and you can stream pretty much any game from PC to SHIELD. In fact, it even works with non-Steam titles, and will happily run games like Ubisoft’s Far Cry Primal through uPlay, which was a welcome surprise. It’s basically mirroring your PC at this point, which means with some fiddling around you can probably have it literally be just that, a mirror, which is useful, because there are some more obvious things that the SHIELD doesn’t do as well. I had issues with playback of certain videos in Chrome, but PLEX is included, meaning any audio or visual content on my PC could be played with a minimum of effort, too. Another box checked for the SHIELD, then. It’s worth noting at this point that I mostly tested the SHIELD via a wired connection, which you should do, too, if you’re serious about quality when streaming. It’s never going to be flawless, save for those on an obscenely priced business-internet-connection, but nonetheless, it made for perfectly playable gaming, if at a slightly reduced resolution.

As mentioned, you can download games that are Android compatible directly to the device. The question really, is why would you want to? There’s not exactly a huge library of high quality games, and it suffers in the same way the Apple TV would. Yes, you can play Crossy Road and Pac-Man 256 on your shiny new box, but it’s easier and better on your phone. You can download Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, but again, if you wanted to play that game then you already would have. It’s not NVIDIA’s fault, of course, but I’m just making sure you realise that there’s not exactly a tremendous amount of quality in among the free to play mobile games that are all the rage these days.

Sadly, the controller itself isn’t quite up to the standard you’ll be used to if you’ve ever used a PS4 or Xbox One. That’s not to say it’s bad by any stretch of the imagination, it just doesn’t quite approach the highest of the high. There’s no questioning NVIDIA has tried to make this the best they can, and it does have a rechargeable battery (via USB), but even next to the optional SHIELD remote (which feels expensive, and like an Apple TV remote with its touch sensitive volume controls beneath the voice activation button) it feels of a slightly cheaper quality overall. On that note, the box itself is sleek and stylish, and slotting it into any setup is a breeze. With two USB 3.0 slots, a MicroSD and Micro USB 2.0 slot, there’s plenty of opportunity for expanding your storage if you do choose to go for the 16GB model.

Where it excels, though, is in ease of use. The remote, like the controller, has voice command functionality, so you can just press a button and it’ll find what you need. I tested this a lot and it almost always nailed what I was looking for, and if you’ve got the internet speed and a 4K telly, I’m sure you’ll be laughing with the SHIELD. Ultimately, the SHIELD TV is a future proofed box that will let you play PC games in a variety of ways, or stream TV at 4K resolutions. It’s not a cheap box (around £149 or higher), so you’ll pay a premium for it, but if your needs are met in any of the above text, you’ll be hard pushed to find a better box.

For those outside of the Apple family, you’ll find this a tremendous Android TV unit, and for those of you addicted to Apple’s products, you’ll be left wondering why it can’t let you stream PC games yet. You’ll struggle to find a better under-the-tv PC gaming box without spending a lot more money on something like an Alienware Alpha. But make no bones about it, what you’re buying into, here, is a a future-proof Android TV, and the best on the market right now.

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The Thrustmaster Y-300CPX is a comfortable, affordable headset that has multiple volume controls, full compatibility, and great audio performance. It is by no way the greatest on the market, but its ease of use makes it a great addition to any gamer’s hardware collection.

Not only is the headset compatible with PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 (providing the controller has a 3.5mm stereo headset jack), PC and Mac, it now extends its range to the Nintendo family by providing compatibility for the Wii U and 3DS. In addition to this, you can also use the headset for your PS Vita, tablet and Android phone, even allowing call functionality for the latter. It’s the perfect headset if you have more consoles than you know what to do with, and even though it’s optimised for the current gen, you’ll still find it useful for when you need to keep your game of Candy Crush to yourself.

As far as audio goes, the Thrustmaster Y-300CPX manages to provide sharp, well-rounded amplification due to its stable frequency responsive curve. The first game I wanted to try with the headset was Star Wars Battlefront due to the amount of sounds and action you can get from any one game online. Every explosion, pistol and vehicle making a sound was picked up and singled out marvellously, giving the sound effects real clarity when I was running through the maps. The bass didn’t drown out the sharper sounds and there is always a perfect balance, but it hit you in the chest and provides a great level of amplification, due mainly to the double electro-acoustic bass sound amplifiers.

One of the ways I decided to test out the mic was by streaming to Twitch and watching the playback afterwards, helping to detail the responsiveness and effectiveness of its unidirectional mic. The sound I captured picked out my voice and nothing else, helping to drown out all other sounds and giving sharpness to every word. The options to adjust various audio levels worked wonders on the cable’s multifunctional control. Like most headsets, you can turn the mic on or off, and you can choose to turn on your voice so you can hear it through the headphones. When you do hear you voice, there is some mild distortion and feedback, but the voice feedback system helps to eliminate any of these problems.

For me, the game volume never reached the levels I wanted, and compared to other headsets it remained a little too quiet at certain points. There were times when I heard cars driving past on the street and my kid’s footsteps on the landing and I would have liked a more contained and immersive audio experience.

The Thrustmaster Y-300CPX is comfortable on the ears and the head. It’s snug, but never restrictive and the cushions are placed perfectly. Even though the headset is wired, having four feet of cable means you can sit back a fair way from your console and still remain content. It is a great headset and not too heavy either, so you don’t feel like you’re carrying the weight of four cinder blocks on your shoulders.

I really like the Thrustmaster Y-300CPX. If you want a decent headset at a very reasonable price, it’s a no-brainer. You get great comfort, audio balance and performance which are perfect for online streaming and gaming. It lacks a lot of pre-sets and features you may find in the high-end of the headset market, but it still helps to provide you with a solid audio performance whatever you choose to use them for.

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The Carphone Warehouse have published the results of a poll they carried out on British consumers, which shows that wireless charging is feature that most mobile phone owners want to see in their next handset.

Out of the 2,000 people polled, 22 percent said they were looking for a more seamless way to charge. The survey also revealed almost three quarters (70%) want their handsets to integrate seamlessly with other technology, such as laptops and tablets. Specifically 21 percent want a better experience when it comes to other connected devices in the home such as sound systems, televisions and security systems.

Battery life continues to be a sticking points with consumers, with more than half (53%) stating their phone dies at least once a day and almost 59 percent went as far as saying it’s the most irritating aspect of their device. Finger print recognition was rated as the safest way to secure a smartphone (23%), closely followed by retina scanning (23%) and voice recognition (18%). More than half (56%) would opt for fingerprint recognition over traditional passcodes if given the option.

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AMD has announced a partnership with IO Interactive, providing its customers with a full copy of the game as well as beta access should they purchase qualifying products before it kicks off.

As of today, qualifying purchases from participating retailers of an AMD Radeon R9 390/390X graphics card or FX 6-/8-Core PIB will receive a free copy of Hitman and access to the PC beta, running from February 19 to 22.

A press release stated: “Hitman will leverage unique DX12 hardware found in only AMD Radeon GPUs-called asynchronous compute engines-to handle heavier workloads and better image quality without compromising performance. PC gamers may have heard of asynchronous compute already, and Hitman demonstrates the best implementation of this exciting technology yet. By unlocking performance in GPUs and processors that couldn’t be touched in DirectX 11, gamers can get new performance out of the hardware they already own.”

The bundle will last until April 30 or whilst supplies last. Vouchers can be redeemed until June 30. For more information, see AMD’s website.

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After a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge but can’t afford the contracts? The folks over at The Carphone Warehouse are offering you the best price in the entire country this week, so you’d be crazy not to check it out.

With its revolutionary double-curved screen, making the sleek metal and glass body look better than ever, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is stylish in its appearance. For the 32GB model, The Carphone Warehouse are offering a £31/month Vodafone contract (£50 upfront cost) which provides you with 6GB of data, unlimited texts and unlimited calls.

See The Carphone Warehouse website for more information.

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4K TVs have apparently being “scientifically proven to leave users more emotionally aroused”, according to a study carried out by Curry’s PC World and independent research company Sensum.

The study aimed to measure how the viewing experience differs between 4K and HD. To do this, two separate groups of football fans were brought in to watch the same game – one group in 4K, one group in HD – with their emotional responses being measured throughout. Results showed that viewers watching in 4K were greatly more “aroused” by intense moments than viewers watching in regular HD. And boy oh boy, the graphs don’t lie.

HD

4K

The study compares the two graphs above, saying: “A 50/50 challenge between Erik Lamela and Nemanja Matic left Matic injured and laying on the turf for a few minute. Above we see just the arousal levels of the Spurs fans. We can clearly see that the fans are easily bored in HD and are inattentive towards stoppages in play, whereas fans viewing in 4K are as enthused with the replay as they were during normal play.”

So there you have it. 4K TVs get you more aroused than regular HDTV. Who knew?

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If you’re looking to upgrade your phone anytime soon, you might want to check out Carphone Warehouse’s sale.

The iPhone 6S 16GB is going for £34.99 a month, with a £29.99 upfront cost: that’s a tumble from the previous £159.99 upfront cost. The contract is with EE, and gets you 2GB of 4G data and 1000 minutes and texts.

If you’re not an Apple fanboy (or girl), you can pick up the Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB in Gold Platinum for only £19.50/month with an upfront cost of £24.99. The S6 comes on Carphone Warehouse’s new mobile provider iD, complete with 4G coverage. You’ll get 500MB of data, 300 mins and 5000 texts to play with.

Also with iD, you can pick up an iPhone 6S 64GB for £31.50/month with an upfront cost of £49.99. With this 24-month contract, you’ll get 1GB data, 600 mins and 5000 texts. Or, if you’re wanting something with less internal storage, you can get an iPhone 6S 16GB for £27.50/month with no upfront cost. It’s 24-month contract comes with 500MB of data, 600 minutes and 5000 texts.

Cheaper yet, you can grab an iPhone 5S 16GB for £15.50/month with no upfront cost. With this contract, you’re getting 500MB of data, 150 mins and 5000 texts – on the iD network.

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Having a powerful laptop to run all my favourite PC games (Dota) while on the move has always been an attractive proposition, yet one that I could never truly justify. Getting a decent gaming laptop for under £800 is nearly impossible, with many going closer to the £1000 mark and higher, which, let’s be honest, is a lot of money considering my rig cost me around £600 back in 2012 and has only seen around £300 of upgrades since then. When the opportunity to play with the XMG P506 Pro laptop for a month came about, I jumped at the chance to see if a laptop could replace my desktop.

I’m pleased to report that for the last four weeks or so, I have only turned on my PC once. The P506 has managed to meet all my needs, ranging from simple word processing right through to playing some of the years biggest and most technically advanced releases, and it has done it all a lot quicker than my machine.

My model featured a 256GB Samsung SSD that was used to store the OS and key programs, meaning that I was onto the desktop within ten seconds (or quite often a lot less than that) of pressing the power button. As you can imagine, installing Dota onto this drive as well resulted in incredibly quick loading times and in almost every game I was the first to load into the lobby. Unfortunately 256GB isn’t that much storage for anyone with more than a few games in their steam library, so after a while I was forced to install some titles onto the other 1TB hard drive. Here, load times were typically slower, although were never excruciatingly long. With well over 1TB of storage to play with, space will rarely be an issue for many in the short term, but after a few years of use it may become a bit tight. You can configure your machine to have more storage, of course, but it obviously comes at a cost.

Elsewhere in the machine the i7 processor and 8GB of RAM are currently more than enough to run anything you can throw at it, although looking a year or two down the line they may become slightly limiting factors. Add in the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M and any of the most graphically intense games will run on high settings (even Crysis), and everything looks stunning on the fantastic HD display. Obviously you can’t upgrade the graphics card or CPU, so investing in pricier options now may save having to buy a new machine a few years down the line. The internals right now are pretty good, you won’t have to worry about being able to run anything for a good few years, although if you are wanting to run everything on ultra high graphics settings for the next five years then this model might not be for you.

Aesthetically, the P506 is nothing special. It’s not the smallest laptop in the world, neither is it the biggest, and it is ultimately quite inconspicuous with no lavish decals or LED logos. The XMG logo is printed on the lid, but other than that the entirely black casing is very plain, something I actually quite like. It’s not a particularly light piece of kit, but it’s certainly not as heavy as some of the other gaming laptops out there. While it won’t crush your legs if you rest it on your lap, you probably don’t want to be carrying it around for too long. Fortunately, the design means that heat can easily escape the PC without burning a hole in your leg or desk, although at times it can become a little hot to touch in certain places round the back.

The trackpad does a job but certainly isn’t the best I have ever used, it often failed to pick up my inputs and sometimes required a fair amount of pressure to register, which resulted in me using a traditional USB mouse for almost all of my time with the machine. But it is worth saying that I am used to the phenomenally good MacBook Air trackpad, so I may be being a little over critical there.

Everything I have mentioned so far has either been a positive or a very small gripe that may seriously annoy some. The biggest issue I had overall was the battery life. Never did I manage to get more than two and a half hours out of the machine without needing a recharge, and when playing a game that figure was a lot closer to one and a half hours. This severely limits the portability of the machine, meaning that at home and at the office are perhaps the only times you will be able to use it to its full potential. This won’t be an issue for some, but for someone like me who wants to be able to play a few games of Dota on the train it’s less than ideal.

There are then more than a few small issues, ranging from the less than perfect trackpad through to the limited battery life, but none of them make the machine unusable. I have used it for the last month with no issues, and it’s ran everything I have thrown at it with some ease, only once randomly crashing out on me. When you factor in the price, the cheapest model can be picked up for around £950 (with the one we tested being closer to £1100), so it becomes a much more attractive proposition. Ultimately, my biggest issues with this could be thrown at the majority of gaming laptops out there, so providing you are aware of the general negatives of a laptop compared to a desktop, you certainly won’t be disappointed. If you are like me and are wanting a decent and affordable solution to allow you to play games on the move you may wish to think twice before dropping the cash, though.

The post XMG P506 Pro Laptop Review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Turtle Beach have an untarnished reputation for producing quality gaming headsets – among other things – and the range of features and pricetags on offer make sure there’s always an option to suit any bank balance or requirement.

While their wireless Earforce Stealth range sit at the upper end of the price spectrum, not everyone wants or needs to spend upwards of £100 on a headset, and not everyone prioritises a wireless functionality. The PX24 offers a more affordable variant for those people, and the fact that you plug it into your controller jack mostly negates the problem with long, tangled wires.

Straight out of the box they display the usual Turtle Beach quality. Black finish, cushioned cups, unobtrusive logo. Unlike some of its more expensice stable-mates, the PX24 sports no buttons, switches or lights on its cups. Everything is situated on the “Super Amp” control box halfway along the wire.

A single wheel controls everything from input volume to chat volume, surround sound level and bass, while you switch between them all with a click of a central “function” button. The only other switch aside on/off dictates which platform the headset works with. As the PX24 works as well with Xbox One (providing you have a 3.5mm jack on the controller) or PC as it does with PS4, it’s ideal for answering all your audio requirements. While the Super Amp itself will require charging, the box boasts a 30-hour life per charge. I’m not sure how many hours I’ve used it for up to now, but it’s still going strong after a week of gaming.

Sound quality is good, and doesn’t sound much less competent than Turtle Beach’s higher-end alternatives. The virtual surround sound is solid, but a lack of preset options means you have to fine tune what you’re hearing with a wheel and can’t save your personal tastes like you can with some other gaming headsets. It’s not a game-breaker if you’re primary concern is a quality multi-platform headset and you’re not overly fussed about missing out on some of the bells and whistles. The “Superhuman Hearing” button is pretty cool though, boosting ambient noises like gun reloads, engine revs and audio cues. Playing a game like Bloodborne with the Superhuman on takes the atmosphere up a level, delivering an incredibly immersive experience.

Despite the glossy finish and soft cups, they don’t sit as well on my big melon as I’d like. The cushioned band is a little rigid, too, and they did start to become uncomfortable after around an hour.

The PX24 is a quality headset that sits nicely in the middle of the budget spectrum. It lacks a few of the extra features and selling points of the more expensive units like the Earforce 500X, and so there are better alternatives out there in terms of functionality, but Turtle Beach’s reputation for impressive sound delivery and confident design remains intact.

The post Turtle Beach Ear Force PX24 Amplified Gaming Headset Review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

The Afterglow AG7 is a simple to use, comfortable to wear headset that provides a quality experience for a reasonable price.

Primarily designed to be used wirelessly on the Xbox One, I found the AG7 extremely easy to set up. There were no unnecessarily obtuse instructions like I have come across in the past; I simply I had to plug the dongle receiver into the Xbox, get it connected, and I was set. The wireless connection is wonderfully clear with no disruption whatsoever, and it remained so whereever I sat in my room – even as I ventured outside with it, too – as the range on the connection is very impressive.

The battery also lasts a long time, and is fairly quick to charge. It lasts for just under 16 hours, meaning I never had to stop a gaming session midway through because the headset had died. Even on the rare occurrences when I forgot to put the AG7 back on charge after use and it did suddenly die on me, it would be fully charged via USB port in about two and a half hours.

I can only wonder how long the battery would last if it wasn’t for the glowing, ambient lights on each headphone cup. The LEDs glow either green or blue depending on which mode you’re in, and also use a breathing pattern when on charge. While they do add a certain amount of style to the head set, it’s not as if I could see them when they were on my head so I found it quite a waste. The only time I could see the lighting was when I was playing in the dark and it reflected off my walls, which I found to be a distraction. I also thought that the see through plastic cups that house the lights – while giving the AG7 a unique look, kind of took away from the rest of the headset’s classy matte and shinny black finish.

Even though the headset looks quite cool in colour, when actually on my head it looks ridiculous. The way the headband is designed means it leaves two massive gaps, either side, in-between my ears and the top of my head, making me look like a rejected Cyberman prototype. It didn’t exactly bother me while playing, as the headset does everything brilliantly, but it does look stupid when on.

While the AG7 is comfortable to wear thanks to the foam pad on the headband and squishy foam on the the ear cups, the headset’s considerable heft meant it made the top of my head and earlobes ache after a prolonged period of use. Weighing in at 366g, the headphones are quite chunky and can begin to weigh down after several hours of play.

On performance, I found the AG7’s audio to be quality both for gaming and chatting with friends. Every minute detail of sound can be heard loud and clear and makes any game you’re playing feel so much more immersive. I was playing a game that had a jump scare come out of no where and I nearly leaped out of my skin due to how the sudden change in sound blasted at me down the headset. When using the AG7 to talk to friends, the subtlety included microphone on the left cup does a solid job of getting you’re message across, and everything coming the other way can also be heard clearly – even if you’re having both game audio and chat coming through at the same time, providing you adjust the audio balance to your preference.

Easily my favourite feature of the AG7 is the 3.5mm jack it comes with. Meaning, although it’s designed for Xbox One, the headset is actually compatible with nearly every device you would you use a headset for. I’ve used it on my computer, iPod and PS4, and on every device the sound quality has been just as stellar as it is wirelessly.

So, while the Afterglow AG7 may have a few aspects that seem a little pointless or slightly subtract from the quality (specifically the glowing LED lights, the size of headband and the weight), they all remain quite inconsequential when you consider how well it does the job that matters. The sound quality is excellent, it’s simple to set up and then extremely convenient with a long battery life and range and, best of all, it’s compatible with so many devices – and all for a very reasonable price.

The post Afterglow AG7 Headset Review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Gear4 is one of the larger audio brands in the UK that has a reputation for manufacturing inexpensive but well produced audio speakers. The StreetParty Wireless 3 aims to bring solid performance and design all wrapped up in a sub-£30 pricetag.

What you’ll find when you unbox the Wireless 3 is a well made unit, with a robustness in mind when it was put together. You get the impression it’s prepared to be thrown into a bag along with a picnic for the park, or suffer the knocks and bumps to be expected if it hangs about in a bedroom for too long. With two rubber strips on the base for stability and stubbornness when either sitting on a desk or even on a car dashboard, the Streetparty is meant to be used anywhere.

Also included in the box is a standard microUSB charging cable, and the Streetparty will charge fully in roughly an hour and a half, if not sooner, and under normal play conditions will give you at least eight hours of constant play, which is to be expected with this type of unit. I managed to achieve at least eight hours without too much trouble.

Connection has been made as simple as it can be. Those wishing to connect up using their bluetooth or NFC will have little or no issues getting the Streetparty working with their Android devices from what I experienced. A 3.5mm input jack means you can plug your phone or audio device directly into the StreetParty as well. The StreetParty is also designed to allow you to make calls through an inbuilt mic, whether that be through the phone directly or through Skype, which is not something you’ll probably use much, though it’s good to see included in case you do decide to keep the StreetParty within the car.

What goes against the StreetParty is the lack of additional features that raises it above the crowded remote speaker market. All the features on offer are very standard, and while the sound is clear and sharp, it is actually more suited to quiet listening in the background and in-car audio than the StreetParty theme it has adopted. Sitting on the parcel shelf at the back of the car, there was no real power there and you needed it up at the front seat to get the full benefit of the added radiator included to add additional power to the bass.

I found the same when playing in a room: it is not going to be the speaker you roll out when you have a number of friends round for a loud get-together, while it might be fine when you are chilling out and want something unobtrusive in the background. With the price point on offer, it might find its way under a couple of Christmas trees this year as an extra present. I could certainly see my son and daughter using it as an extra booster when playing music from their phone, and with its rugged build I would expect it to survive a few bumps and knocks.

The Gear4 Wireless 3 Speaker is ideal for someone who wants a robust no nonsense speaker with a decent battery life but isn’t looking for anything special. It will probably make an ideal gift for your kids or younger siblings simply because of its price point. However, don’t expect tears of gratitude from anyone who is really serious about their sound system, because the StreetParty doesn’t really do anything special to raise itself above the crowd.

The post Gear4 StreetParty Wireless 3 Speaker Review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

We take a look at not one but two reasonably priced home cinema projectors, with the InFocus IN118HDxc DLP and BenQ W1070+.

The post Projector Reviews – InFocus IN118HDxc DLP and BenQ W1070+ appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

The IEM-50Xs by Lindy enter a hugely overcrowded market. Anyone who has purchased a mobile phone in the last couple of years will have been gifted a set of in-ear headphones as standard, so Lindy are more than aware they have to be producing something very special in order to persuade potential customers to part with their hard earned cash.

The main selling point for the IEM-50X is the ability to enhance the level of bass within the headphones by increasing the size of the rear chamber, making a noticeable difference that isn’t achieved through the normal settings on your MP3 player. What you will get is a noticeably deeper feel to the bass and the overall richness of the tone in any of the music or sounds you are playing, and all through a simple twist of the ear chamber.

The 50Xs don’t stop there though. Even without any noise cancelling cups in place, you get a handy selection of interchangeable buds that come in different sizes to fit the smallest or largest ear sizes. So with those in place it does a really good job of cutting out the worst of the background noise. Of course, it won’t cut out everything, but Lindy offering the different bud sizes really shows they are thinking of the end user.

Lindy know how to engineer a brilliant set of headphones. Music sounds full and clear and with the bass chamber opened up, listening to some Black Grape through the 50Xs got the nostalgia going with no noticeable areas that felt flat or under-powered. I watched some episodes of The Fuzz and Bojack Horseman on Netflix, and again the audio was how you would want it to be, with the voices of the characters sounding like they were sitting next to you.

I also played a couple of games on the PS4 to see how the 50Xs faired in a situation where the sound design had a real impact on the overall experience. The only thing that was noticeable was that the lack of full noise cancelling, with the sense of immersion slightly dampened and the zombie experience not causing as many squeaky bum moments, but this is to be expected and it shouldn’t put you off in the slightest.

One of the most surprising features of the IEM-50X wasn’t the sound coming into the headphones, but the sound recording quality of the mic. I only tested the recording quality because my usual setup was giving me problems and I was needing a quick solution.

The 50Xs stepped up to the plate and you can hear the results for yourself on this podcast.

I’m the handsome Scottish sounding one with the sharp wit and amazing comedy timing.

Overall, it’s difficult to find fault with the IEM-50Xs: the sound quality is excellent, the interchangeable ear buds mean that they will be suitable for anyone, and the mic quality ensures it’s suitable for use with your mobile phone or even if you want to record yourself talking nonsense like I did. If you are in the market for some new in-ear headphones and you have a reasonable budget, do yourself a favour and pick up a set of these.

The post Lindy IEM 50X In Ear Headphones Review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Last night Apple confirmed the rumours were true, they’ve made an even bigger iPad.

Yup, the new model will boast a 12.9 inch screen and the bigger size means Apple have been able to furnish the tablet with a four speaker sound system to improve the audio performance.

The customary improvements have also been made under the hood too, a new A9X 64-bit processor provides enough oomph to provide a speedy experience and better graphics to fill all of the screen’s 5.6 million pixels.

In addition to this, Apple unveiled a Smart Keyboard and Pencil to go with the iPad Pro.

The keyboard itself also functions as a cover for the new device, folding out to a stand and keyboard to provide ease of use (kind of like Microsoft’s Surface). While the Pencil will provide pinpoint accuracy and will also be pressure sensitive, allowing for total control with regards to drawing (kind of like Microsoft’s Surface).

iOS 9 was also showcased, featuring several improvements from better multi-tasking to improved maps and notes applications.

Prices start at $799 for the 32GB version, with $949 for the 64GB and $1,079 for the 128GB version. The Pencil will weigh in at $99 and the keyboard will be $169.

The post 12.9 Inch iPad pro Is Bigger than Your Face appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

If you’re looking to add complete authenticity to your racing experience, Thrustmaster has just announced their new T150 Force Feedback Wheel and Ferrari-themed T150 Force Feedback Wheel for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PC.

The wheels have been ergonomically designed to make it easy to handle, with two wheel grip surfaces clad in textured rubber attached for maximum comfort. There is also a 2 pedal set included, which features an adjustable angle of inclination for each pedal as well as a progressive resistance on the brake pedal.

Versatility is certainly at the forefront of the T150 models; there is PlayStation 4 software embedded in the wheel which means most games will automatically recognise that the wheel is connected, and there is a simple switch that will change the compatibility of the wheel for PS4 and PS3 consoles to which they are officially licensed for. To make the wheel compatible with PC (Windows 10/8/7/Vista?XP), you can download a driver from the Thrustmaster website.allowing the latest firmware version available for the wheels base and internal memory.

Both the T150 Force Feedback Wheel and the Ferrari-themed version are expected to reach a suggested retail price of £169.

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Today Western Digital has launched a range of new features and enhancements to their My Cloud storage devices, including a redesigned My Cloud OS 3 operating system.

WD have also introduced a Software Development Kit (SDK) that aids app integration, and a new dual-drive My Cloud Mirror which offers increased memory and faster processing performance than previous generations.

The new My Cloud OS 3 focuses heavily on its photo and video capabilities, with an intuitive web browser based user interface called MyCloud.com. It gives users global access to all of their media and enables file collaboration through its comprehensive access management system.

A couple of key features from the launch include:

• The My Cloud Albums app (which will give users access to MyCloud.com) will be available late September for iTunes and Google Play Stores. It will allow a My Cloud OS 3 user to send a link to a mutual and common location for all friends and family to view its contents, which will be great for those of you who want to show off those memories you hold dear to the ones you may not get to see all that much.
• WD Sync lets you sync data across a multitude of PCs, laptops and notebooks, meaning all of those important files are available and up to date on almost every device. OS 3 also allows users to set up an automatic camera-roll backup of photos from smartphones and tablets, and will offer a new transfer tool that enables users to easily and quickly move their files to My Cloud devices. The OS also includes Chromebook and Chromecast support.

When the My Cloud OS 3 is released at the end of the month, it will be available as a free download to OS 3 supported devices including My Cloud, My Cloud Mirror, My Cloud Expert Series EX2/EX4, My Cloud Expert Series EX2100/EX4100 and My Cloud Business Series DL2100/DL4100.

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We take a look at the OnePlus 2 and see how it holds up against it’s nearly-identical brother, the OnePlus One.

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On this week’s Tech Thursday, Calvin takes a look at some Xbox One Gaming Storage solutions, namely the Seagate GameDrive and Western Digital’s My Passport X.

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Having dabbled with projectors over the years, I’ve never truly found them to be a viable alternative to having a TV set up, with all your boxes and consoles underneath it. The compact nature of everything just being there, in the one place – together – is how it’s always been. Having to “consider” how you set up your systems always seemed like too much work, and something I’d never actually think about doing.

Until now, that is.

Having a 3D-ready, full 1080p projector kicking out, quite frankly, the most enormous sized screen on your wall is enough to make anyone think about it, of course, but the Acer is so simple to set up, and feels like such a great piece of tech, that it all feels worth it. Even down to the generous two HDMI inputs (it doesn’t sound like a lot, but previous models I’ve played around with only have one), and the fact it’ll throw up a 50 inch-plus screen from less than a meter is not to be sniffed at. With a simple zoom and focus above the bulb, you can put this unit in a moderately sized room, and indeed a small office, and have a huge 1080p screen on your wall.

Indeed, the days of having to buy a separate pull-down white-screen are long gone. Here, you can set it to adjust according to what colour your wall is (mostly) made up of. On a brown wall, setting the colour to black, I could barely tell the difference in picture between a 20-inch monitor and the large projection, despite them outputting exactly the same image via a HDMI splitter. It was actually only when streaming video via the internet that you can notice the quality difference, and that’s due to the source – and the fact I’m yet to find a video provider whose quality is as good as it should be.

One thing that is worth considering is the audio. While the H7750ST has built in audio, if you were going to mount it on a ceiling, you might need an alternative option. In the middle of the room, the audio is surprisingly decent. Bass isn’t quite as strong as I’d like it, but everything else is fine. It’s clearly designed for larger spaces, as even at minimum volume (above zero) it’s a fairly loud unit. That said, the volume intervals seem off, and incredibly loud is never ear-bursting. A decent soundbar or surround setup wouldn’t go amiss, but then you have to factor in cabling it all.

In fact, one of the few negatives to this unit is the included cables. For some bizarre reason, this model came with an American power cable. Luckily I have a travel adapter, and a few spare kettle plugs, but regardless, it’s odd. Furthermore, unless you have power plugs in your ceiling, or very high up, you’re going to need to find an alternative solution. It’s not a deal breaker, and it’s a little harsh to expect a four meter long power cable in the box, I guess.

What the Acer does, however, is make me appreciate large screen entertainment. I’ve been used to my 42-inch screen for a while, and never found myself wanting bigger. But now, I’m spending far more time in my office, even when it’s just watching TV. Gaming brings it to life, and there’s no noticeable latency on show. At one point, playing Rocket League on such a huge screen made me feel quite dizzy, such is the frenetic nature of the game.

Flipping to a cinematic experience like The Witcher 3 or Batman: Arkham Knight truly makes you appreciate the art direction and graphical power that goes into making modern games. It’s easy to just lose yourself panning the camera around. Switching on the Wii U (a place you can be sure of 60fps, at least), Mario Kart 8 looks phenomenal, as does Splatoon. What I’m saying here is that the colours are vibrant, the blacks deep – there’s just nothing much to complain about.

It even wins out when it comes to connectivity. The aforementioned two HDMI ports are accompanied by VGA inputs (in and out), as well as the standard audio ins and outs. Interestingly, there’s a hidden compartment found when you’re changing the bulb that reveals a third HDMI port. Obviously you’re not going to cable into that, it’s clearly designed for plugging in something like a ChromeCast. There are two sets of 3D glasses included, and it can convert 2D to 3D – though I wouldn’t recommend doing that, really.

The fans kick out quite a bit of heat, but in comparison, they’re quieter than my launch PS4 when it gets going, and if you’re settling down for a movie, it’s likely the volume will drown out any potential fan noise anyway. You could possibly argue that for the price, you’d want an automatic focus, or a way of doing it mechanically via a button on the remote, but it never takes much more than a few seconds, and if you’re going to leave it in one place, it’s simply not an issue.

The H7550ST changed me in a weird way. No longer am I content with the TV in the lounge, large as it may be. Projectors have always been a fascination of mine, but the Acer is the first I’ve used that has truly converted me, and I’m now trying to find ways of cabling into my ceiling to make it a permanent fixture. This isn’t a cheap unit at over £600, but if you’re in the market, and if you can get the chance to see it in action or test a friend’s setup, this will probably convert you too.

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The Oppo PM-3s ooze class. So much so, that when you open the box and get down to the high quality denim carry case you feel that you should give the headphones a chance to breath like a good red wine before you consider wearing them for the first time. Oppo certainly gives the impression that what you have in your hands is something special.

In the box, you’ll find a 3 metre main cable that you can attach to a 6.35mm adapter, suitable for attaching to any standard amplifier, and you’ll also get a shorter, portable 1.2m cable which you can plug into any phone, tablet or similar device. I used this lead to plug into my PS4. Included in the box is a specific lead to connect up an Android phone, but you can also get a specific Apple cable that will do the same job.

As far as planar magnetic headphones go, the Oppo’s are difficult to find fault with. There is a reassuring weight to them in your hand due to the brushed metal frame. The ear cups can rotate 180 degrees and the headband adjusts to suit those of us who are blessed in the cranial department, so what you end up with is a comfortable weight when you have the PM-3s on, but not anything that will cause you neck discomfort over any period of time. The headband is padded, very comfortable and barely noticeable after a short while. The only slight issue I had is that because the headphones are made from fake leather, sometimes my ears seemed to heat up because of the synthetic finish, but this is a small complaint compared to the overall package on offer here. The closed back does a fantastic job of eliminating any external noise at all, while at the same time you won’t be that annoying person on the train giving everyone tinny hints at what you could be listening to.

When plugged into a normal Android phone, the Oppo PM-3 impresses with the reduced amount of power by still delivering a solid sound range from the bass to the high treble, and with the lead provided, you’ll still have the ability to make and take phone calls as well. Part of me was wary in taking the PM-3’s out for a walk, as there was a fear of getting the shining white finish dirty. While they are meant to be portable, the price tag might force you to leave them at home next to the slippers and your sound system, but only because once you are relaxing in your favourite chair, with your favourite music gently caressing your ears, the Oppo’s build quality shows you it’s hand.

The lightweight seven-layer diaphragm and strong Neodymium magnets that help create the magic earn their keep, and the depth of sound you’ll hear can be stunning for certain tracks.

It’s almost as if you’re in the room where the music was recorded and the direction where the sound comes from feels like metres away instead of just a couple of centimetres.

It really does add to your listening experience.

I tried the PM-3s through my Playstation 4, watching a couple of episodes of Bojack Horseman, where the sound was exceptionally clear and crisp and felt like being in the room with the characters. Experiencing the zombie parkour festival Dying Light through the PM-3s took the game to another level, with normally tense moments made terrifying by the external noise reduction and the resultant immersion. There were too many times when I heard the groan of a flesh eater from what seemed like behind the sofa, and after one particularly vicious encounter I actually took a break from the game due to the additional intensity.

Oppo have produced a set of first class, well-designed headphones made with high quality materials and finish, with care and attention displayed in everything from the carry case to the choice of leads they give you. Some may be put off by the price, and there will be others that won’t risk taking them out of the house. You can’t deny the quality and performance of the PM-3s; they really have to be considered top of the list if you are looking for a set of planar magnetic headphones compared to the current competition.

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