Bren's stats
- Review count270
- Helpfulness votes1,767
- First reviewDecember 27, 2016
- Last reviewAugust 28, 2026
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.8
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- Answer count11
- Helpfulness votes1
- First answerDecember 27, 2016
- Last answerNovember 4, 2021
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The Turtle Beach Command Series KB5 full-size mechanical keyboard puts total control at your fingertips with a 2.4~ Command Touch Display that lets you customize profiles, trigger macros, and monitor key system stats while staying immersed in the game. Titan low-profile mechanical switches that actuate at just 1.2mm deliver fast, precise input. Premium double~shot PBT keycaps maintain a clean matte finish for a superior tactile feel. Additional textured WASD keys add enhanced grip and control. Pre~lubed switches, tuned stabilizers, and true 8K wired polling deliver smooth, ultra~responsive keystrokes, while five dedicated macro keys and a top~mounted clickable volume barrel provide fast, intuitive control. A low~profile, aluminum~reinforced chassis paired with a detachable palm rest ensures lasting comfort and durability. The KB5 isn~t just a keyboard, it~s your ultimate command center built for gaming, streaming, and beyond.
Customer Rating
3
A cool keyboard in desperate need of new switches
on August 28, 2026
Posted by: Bren
I am impressed by this keyboard and all its cool features! It honestly blends so many cool features together that I can’t believe the price is as low as it is. The touchscreen alone is super cool and almost overrules one of the major issues I am having with this keyboard: the typing experience. I am normally a pretty big fan of red linear switches, but for whatever reason, the execution on this keyboard has many people having numerous typing issues, to the point where I just had to give up and go back to my old keyboard. The switches felt mushy, and while pleasingly low-profile, they tended to get smashed together, causing me many issues getting the inputs correct. I would absolutely be willing to try a blue (clicky) or brown (tactile bump) version of this keyboard because that would probably go a long way toward making this a much more usable and pleasant experience.
The screen is so dang cool that I wish I could just rip it off and attach it to my daily driver normal keyboard. I was able to get it set up to launch Steam and other apps as well as to get it to monitor my CPU and GPU use and temperatures, which is so rad. Not to mention, it can do full media controls like volume, pausing, and playing.
Unfortunately, no number of cool features can remove the key responsibility that this keyboard has, which is to perform well with typing and general key inputs. This would honestly be akin to praising an automobile for its touchscreen radio features while ignoring key elements such as its acceleration and handling.
This keyboard is built with some awesome potential, I just thinking it will need different switches and spacing of the keys to really shine. Thanks for reading and I hope that this helps!
The screen is so dang cool that I wish I could just rip it off and attach it to my daily driver normal keyboard. I was able to get it set up to launch Steam and other apps as well as to get it to monitor my CPU and GPU use and temperatures, which is so rad. Not to mention, it can do full media controls like volume, pausing, and playing.
Unfortunately, no number of cool features can remove the key responsibility that this keyboard has, which is to perform well with typing and general key inputs. This would honestly be akin to praising an automobile for its touchscreen radio features while ignoring key elements such as its acceleration and handling.
This keyboard is built with some awesome potential, I just thinking it will need different switches and spacing of the keys to really shine. Thanks for reading and I hope that this helps!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Customer Rating
5
Awesome upgrade for our home cooking!
on August 25, 2026
Posted by: Bren
This has been an awesome upgrade for our home cooking and meal prepping. For years, we have just used one of those cheap, basic crockpots under $30 that basically do one thing: slowly heat the food. There is no real fine honing of recipes or control with those crockpots; you just have to put your ingredients in and fly by the seat of your pants. This Bella multi 7-quart crockpot is different. I have been extremely pleased with the diverse uses of this crockpot, as well as its aesthetic appeal and ease of cleaning!
Initial setup was no problem at all. I highly recommend you follow the manufacturer’s printed directions to do a basic clean and steam it first, because it did indeed off-gas somewhat pungent smells. We are glad we did that, though, because we have had no issues with smells since and have already cooked several great batches of food!
One of my favorite features of this crockpot is that, similar to some high-quality pressure cookers I have used, it lets you sear food before your slow cook, so all the tasty flavors and fond at the bottom of the crockpot are included! I like to make a pot roast that involves searing the meat first, and it is so convenient to do it all in the same cooking appliance rather than spread it across multiple pots and pans.
My wife is very pregnant and told me just today how much she appreciates how light it is. We are both looking forward to using this crockpot a ton in the fall when it comes time for our little one to arrive, and we will be making tons of soups, stews, and other crockpot recipes to make feeding ourselves high-quality food so much easier.
All in all, I would rate this a solid 5/5 stars for everything we have done with it so far. It is a high quality item and I would recommend you try it out!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The TUF Gaming F16 is built to power through every gaming challenge. Dive into an Intel Core Processor i7-14650HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU with NVIDIA Advanced Optimus for smooth, responsive gameplay. Its sleek design, featuring a subtle TUF logo, pairs understated style with rugged strength. The Full HD+ 144Hz WUXGA display with 100% sRGB color range delivers vibrant, lifelike visuals that pull you straight into the action. With 16GB of DDR5 memory and a spacious 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, multitasking and storage are effortless. Designed for real-world toughness, it meets military-grade durability standards. Powerful components require powerful cooling, so we~ve equipped the TUF Gaming F16 with a whole suite of technology to keep it running at peak performance. From the 2nd Gen Arc Flow Fans inspired by aircraft engines to a full-width heatsink and integrated dust filters, the F16 will never lose its cool. And with Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio, you~ll get rich, immersive sound that enhances every moment of your game.
Customer Rating
5
Flexibility for students and gamers!
on August 6, 2026
Posted by: Bren
I am truly impressed with this laptop! I think Asus has hit the nail on the head with the features included on this laptop with everything down to including a full-size keyboard on this model to having USB-C PD available to be able to charge this laptop with any decent wattage USB-C charger while on the go! This creates incredible flexibility for students or people using this keyboard while on the go without having to bring the relatively bulky normal charger along!
One con to this laptop is the built-in storage. This 512GB Sandisk NVMe SSD, while nice and fast with read speeds of 6600MB/s and write of 5100MB/s, does honestly feeling mighty limited on storage space for 2026 games. As I have shown in one of the pictures in the review, by the time I was ready to download my first Steam game, this only had 370GB or so of usable storage! What a huge amount of bloat that must be on this laptop to make it that the user only gets to use 370GB or so of storage for themselves, especially when considering game sizes of easily 80-140GB these days.
The RAM is on a single 16GB stick with ready availability for adding another stick in the future. While peak framerates will tend to be achieved on dual-channel memory set ups, I can appreciate that with current memory shortages and prices, keeping it on a single channel allows a user to add another RAM module later when prices (hopefully) come down from out of the stratosphere. In the meantime, gaming and performance has been reasonably good on this machine and the upgradeability helps argue the relevance of its purchase.
In terms of build quality and feel, I quite like this laptop from numerous perspectives. The metal laptop lid feels incredibly solid and leaves me confident that this laptop would hold up in a bag even with textbooks and school supplies stuffed around it. The keyboard deck has no flex at all and feels incredibly sturdy to type on. The keyboard has a great feel with quiet membrane switches that feel quite responsive but are not loud or distracting in quiet settings. I would not feel embarrassed to use this laptop in a lecture hall or library setting. I also love that it is a full sized keyboard with number pad, so using excel and doing my number crunching on the calculator is way easier with this laptop. I am sure those with math or number heavy classes will appreciate this laptop. The laptop as a whole does seem a little prone to picking up fingerprints, but they are not too terrible or obnoxious.
While this laptop, with its CPU selection, is not as comparatively optimized as some recent gaming laptops for on-the-go use unplugged from the wall, it holds up extremely well with the right settings! I have used this laptop in the Armoury Crate directed “Silent” setting with it linked up to Windows settings to control the power setting of the laptop. This results in a quiet running laptop that will easily get a good 4-6 hours of use away from a charger with the variety of tasks I throw at it from multitasking in different chrome tabs, Windows Office products, all while the screen is at about 70% brightness.
Gaming on this laptop matches what I would expect with a 5060 that has 8GB of VRAM. Most all of my tested games, like Doom: The Dark Ages and Arc Raiders are running well with frame rates in the high 90s to low 100s on mostly medium to high setting at 1920x1200p.
Overall, I would rate this as 5/5 in 2026 for a newer gaming laptop. The inflation and price problems with these laptops is very hard to stomach, but I am pleased to see that as far as things are concerned with this laptop, no serious corners were cut, and optionality is in place for future upgradability on the important things like RAM and storage. Thanks for reading and I hope this review has helped you out!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Experience the speed, precision, and control of the Razer Huntsman V3 HE Magnetic Tenkeyless 8KHz, an esports keyboard built for cleaner, faster execution in a streamlined tournament-ready layout. Powered by Razer~ Hall Effect Magnetic Switches, it delivers incredible precision with Rapid Trigger for lightning-fast repeated inputs, adjustable actuation from 0.1~4.0 mm, and a 100-million keystroke lifespan for lasting competitive performance. Execute every input with greater confidence through advanced controls made for competitive play. Razer~ Snap Flex lets you trigger precise actions on key release for tighter control and faster response, while Razer~ Snap Tap prioritizes the latest input between two selected keys for near-instant directional changes. With Dynamic Keystroke, assign up to 4 actions to a single keystroke and cancel instantly to adapt on the fly. Stay ahead of every play with true 8000 Hz HyperPolling, delivering a polling rate 8 times faster than the industry standard for near-zero latency response. Its tenkeyless form factor frees up mouse space while retaining the keys needed for competitive play, making it easy to position for home setups, LANs, and tournaments. Finished with textured doubleshot PBT keycaps, a durable 5052 aluminum alloy top case, and hybrid onboard storage for up to 6 profiles, this keyboard is built to perform wherever competition takes you.
Customer Rating
5
Awesome TKL Keyboard for flexible gaming!
on July 31, 2026
Posted by: Bren
I am truly impressed with how well made and adaptable this keyboard is to a variety of users. Whether you are more of a plug and play gamer or are wanting to customize many different features from actuation height to macros, this keyboard has you covered. The red linear switches are excellent and are comfortable to both type on and game on. I played some FPS games like Doom: The Dark Ages on it and felt it was extremely fluid and responsive and kept up with the fast pace and frenetic action this game entails. For more standard daily tasks like typing (such as this review), and navigating the web, I found no issues with it whatsoever. I should mention that the Razer Synapse software has come far in the last 10 years I have been writing reviews and that it is a very fluid and easy to use program now for customizing things like the lighting and key customization.
The build quality is one of the standout features of this keyboard at the price. I am so impressed by the full aluminum deck and how, aside from the polymer bottom, everything is the smooth, brushed metal finish. This keyboard is quite rigid and strong feeling without being ridiculously heavy as some keyboards have been that I have reviewed in the past.
All in all, for a highly usable wired keyboard from an excellent brand, I don’t think you can go wrong with this Razer Huntsman V3 HE Magnetic keyboard! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Add the convenience and creative flexibility of a wireless microphone to your phone vlogging setup. This kit comes with an ultra-compact wireless microphone transmitter that can be comfortably worn or hidden while clearly capturing every word of your interview or vlog narration. The included receiver connects to your phone~s USB-C port to deliver high-quality audio while letting you or your subject roam freely throughout your shot.
Customer Rating
5
Excellent addition to my Mission 1 Camera!
on July 10, 2026
Posted by: Bren
This is honestly the ultimate pairing for the aspiring vlogger or podcaster wanting to get a mobile and highly versatile microphone set they can use for a GoPro Mission 1 Camera or that they can use with their phone as well! What really sold me on this was the price relative to the performance and specific compatibility. When trying this with the GoPro Mission 1 Camera, I was impressed with how extremely clear the audio recordings were. This is likely because of not only the high-quality microphone itself, but also because of the specific Bluetooth Super Wideband connection the Mission 1 Camera utilizes. I set up a shot where I walked all around my truck explaining some of its overlanding features and accessories and never once did the audio quality drop. Furthermore, it was a rather windy day when I was filming and the windscreen did an excellent job of blocking out the wind noise while I was doing my walk around. Altogether, I have absolutely no problem recommending this microphone setup, and it is an easy 5/5 stars!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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MISSION 1 is the compact camera system that takes your content to the next level with professional tools and image quality. Its 1~ sensor helps you capture the shots you need with more light and detail for incredibly sharp images with less noise~even in low light and after dark. Our latest GP3 processor delivers pro-quality 8K video, while enhanced image tuning intelligently adjusts settings for the best footage possible. Made for long shoots, its new battery can power through over 3 hours of 4K30 recording or 5 hours at 1080p30.1 With GoPro durability, award-winning HyperSmooth video stabilization, 4K video at 4x slo-mo and more, MISSION 1 is an all-in-one creative powerhouse.
Customer Rating
5
Low light high performer!!!
on July 8, 2026
Posted by: Bren
This GoPro is honestly one of the best deals in its category for raw performance and versatility. The 1-inch sensor is honestly what sold me on wanting to get this so badly. If you are interested in good more natural-looking colors and better low-light performance without the image noise, you are going to want to look into this model the inclusion of the lens hood as well to reduce glare is a huge bonus. I feel like GoPro shows time and time again how much they care about their customers and this is just one more demonstration of that. What I was also very appreciative of is how excellent these resolutions and frame rate bumps are. This is a very “2026 and on” capable action camera, and while I honestly will not be filming or editing in 8K anytime soon, it is just excellent know that the hardware is here in my possession now capable of doing it. The only caution I have to offer about this purchase is just what others have pointed out that sometimes there will be issues getting part of the frame in focus at distance. As long as you are aware of this, I think this GoPro is absolutely one of the best to date and is going to be a game changer for my film work!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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HOT NIGHTS, COOL TUNES - Paul W. Klipsch passed down the gift of the horn-loaded tech so party people could get powerful and clear sound. The Klipsch Miami combines that same proprietary engineering with a highly efficient horn-loaded compression tweeter, dual 5.25" woofers, and custom front ports ~ for an unforgettable sound that will drive your dance floor.
Customer Rating
5
Aesthetically pleasing & acoustically excellent!
on July 2, 2026
Posted by: Bren
To start this review, I want to come right out and say that this speaker looks amazing, not overly gaudy or silly looking like some party speakers. It fits the professional aesthetic of a standard professional-grade speaker and can turn the lights off, but it can also light up to match the mood of the gathering! It is quite a large speaker at over 40 pounds, but it makes great use of a built-in collapsible handle, secondary hard handle, and wheels to make mobility with this a breeze. Furthermore, it even has compatibility with pole mounts! Of this Klipsch party speaker lineup, I believe that this Miami probably has the most versatility and reasonable use cases for general user as compared to the New York and Vegas variants.
This speaker honestly has versatility and outstanding performance in so many areas that I think should interest most music enthusiasts. Most things you can think about doing with this speaker, it will do for you. Simple Bluetooth connection to music for your phone or other devices? Check. Two 1/4" inputs for the included wired microphone and an instrument, like an electric guitar? Check. Auxiliary output for daisy-chaining speakers? Check. Built-in battery for wireless music play and plugged-in play as well? Check. The list truly does go on too! Altogether, when it comes to the different purposes a speaker like this can serve, this has you covered. While the included microphone is wired, I am sure this would have no problem with wireless microphone capability like many of the 1/4” wireless variants that are out there on the market.
This speaker gets LOUD. It has a peak volume of 105 dB, which, for context, is the peak volume level allowed at many concerts and live shows. Therefore, for a nice party in the park, a backyard, or even a pretty decent-sized auditorium, this speaker should have enough volume to deliver music and vocals alike to attendees’ ears. The horn-loaded tweeter and two 5.25” woofers do serious heavy lifting to bring out some of the best aspects of the music.
Overall, I am very pleased with this speaker. It is top notch for some really great uses and is going to help this summer be fun and rocking with our music!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Congratulate yourself on a new level of lazy. Maxim is the champion of clean tech, built to give you a truly hands-off floor-care lifestyle: the Autonomous Clean Experience (ACE). Press GO, walk away, and let Maxim handle the rest. Maxim doesn~t just ~clean~ ~ he dominates mess. With a ferocious 22,000 Pa of suction power and tangle-resistant brushes, he inhales dust, crumbs, and pet hair without stealing a single minute of your day. His EdgeReach side brush sweeps debris out of baseboards and corners, while the extendable mop arm presses in along edges and around furniture legs to wipe where most bots leave a dirty outline. Translation: fewer missed crumbs, fewer wall-hugging dust lines, and noticeably cleaner edges in every room. And here~s the best part: Maxim is the rare smart device you can actually trust. Maxim keeps your home~s visuals where they belong ~ on the robot. No cloud. No servers. No ~upload to improve your experience.~ With 100% on-board, off-cloud vision processing and real-time navigation engineered in the U.S. and Canada, Maxim cleans with intelligence you can trust. He never sends images anywhere, period. His brain is just as serious as his muscle. Maxim~s navigation and software are engineered entirely in the U.S. and Canada, combining LiDAR with our QSLAM~ technology and real-time, 100% on-board processing. No ~training sessions.~ No wandering around. Maxim identifies rooms quickly, builds an immediate, detailed, color-coded map in the app, and lets you call the shots. Draw NoSweep zones, custom clean areas, schedules, and room-by-room routines ~ and Maxim follows like a pro. And when vacuuming isn~t enough, Maxim brings the shine. Dual-scrub mopping pads rotate in counter-motion to scrub hard floors, while intelligently avoiding carpets using FloorSense technology. Paw prints, kitchen streaks, and ~mystery marks~ don~t get a chance ~ Maxim deletes them. Big home? Maxim can freshen up as many times as needed, recharge, and resume to finish the mission. And when Maxim needs to freshen up, the extra-large charging station takes over and delivers on the promise of all-in-one: debris self-empties into an odor-blocking, activated-carbon-lined bag; mop pads get washed and hot-air dried; and the station keeps itself fresh ~ so you~re not dealing with dirty pads or swampy smells.
Customer Rating
5
Incredible versatility and autonomy!
on June 19, 2026
Posted by: Bren
This robot vacuum/mop has completely and positively changed how we manage our downstairs cleaning during the week! We are a busy two-professional working household with a toddler, dog, and another kiddo on the way, and it likely goes without saying that we have had trouble keeping up with cleaning, particularly in the highest traffic areas of our kitchen and dining area where we do everything from messy arts and crafts to dealing with the daily spectacle of pieces of food being tossed asunder by our energetic two-year-old. We are fortunate to have a wireless stick vacuum that we frequently use, but even so, we are rarely able to get a good “reset” of our kitchen and dining room as we would really prefer.
Enter the bObsweep Maxim. This All-in-one robot vacuum and mop has really blown us away with its versatility and, most importantly, its autonomy in cleaning! This is truly about as “set it and forget it” as you will get for a vacuum/mop robot. Not only does it have the ability, via the dock, to empty the vacuum and dirty mop water this robot collects, but it can also do a hot-water wash and heated drying of the mop pads!!! This feature alone is critical and sets it apart from other vacuum/mop robots I have used that leave this chore to the user (and generally as a result, gets completely neglected).
The setup of the bObsweep was straightforward and easy to follow via the included paper instructions. Parts boxes were labeled and pull tabs and plastic wraps were clearly marked with where and when to remove them during the setup process. After getting it set up and connected to Wi-Fi, I went ahead and put it on a mapping-only trip. This process took about 15 minutes for my approximately 950-square-foot first-floor living space, and I was quite impressed by the map it churned out on the other side of its exploration. It is worth mentioning at this point in the review that I think the app is quite mediocre in 2026, but it is serviceable and usable for navigating various settings and, in this case, setting room boundaries and labels for our downstairs living space. Once this was accomplished, I set it up to run nightly, alternating between vacuum-only cycles and vacuum-and-mop cycles. This has seemed to be a good balance for cleaning for us and has appeared to help keep the use of the cleaning solution and water reserves well managed.
On mop nights, I have it set to do a medium-depth mop and vacuum. Once a week on our Sunday nights, my wife and I decided to make it our “tidy up” night, and I have the bObsweep Maxim set to vacuum and mop in depth for the whole downstairs, which is a combination of carpet, artificial hardwood flooring, and area carpets. I am happy to report it performed this task with excellence when we ran it on the first Sunday night, taking about 52 minutes total, and, at the end, emptied out some pretty disgusting mop water from the bObsweep and picked up quite a lot of dirt from our carpets too. I really think it is hard to convey to folks who don’t have kids or pets just how dirty a place can get, even after a few days. Humans and dogs, to say the least, are not sterile creatures, haha! Additionally, after this in-depth whole downstairs clean, we did not find any evidence of “accidents” with the robot mopping carpet or getting it wet. It actually, both impressively and incredibly, retracts its mop pads way up above its lowest points of contact to ensure that they come into no or minimal contact with any of the carpeted surfaces, which is quite impressive indeed!
Altogether, I am extremely pleased with this vacuum/mop combo robot. I will come back to this review if I need to edit it based on longevity or maintenance concerns, but at this present time, I am quite thrilled with the performance over a solid week of daily use. 5 out of 5 stars, and especially when this goes on sale, I would recommend you buy it without hesitation.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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As part of the ongoing Cobra legacy, the Cobra RAD 490i elevates your road awareness with more range and coverage. Backed by decades of excellence in radar detection, Cobra is empowered by customer feedback, integrating enhanced Digital Signal Processing technology that filters out false alarms while maintaining peak sensitivity to legitimate threats. The bright white OLED display delivers clear visual alerts in addition to audio warnings, ensuring you stay informed without distraction. The Cobra RAD 490i connects seamlessly with our Defender Database and nationwide driver network, providing real-time intelligence beyond what any standalone detector can see. With continuous firmware updates that optimize performance over time, this detector represents our commitment to keeping you protected with technology that evolves as you drive.
Customer Rating
5
Peace of mind for daily commuting!
on June 19, 2026
Posted by: Bren
I want to start off my honest review by making it abundantly clear that I am no racer or Need for Speed driver. I am honestly just a guy who drives an older, lifted Tacoma and commutes to work every day on the same roads in a town of about 86,000 people. However, we are ridiculously oversaturated with the most uptight law enforcement officers this side of the Rocky Mountains, and I am certain that some rule must be continuously violated by them, given the number of random speed traps, speed vans, and cameras they have been putting up relative to the population in my area. Unlike some more permissive states, these traffic enforcement cops are literally pulling people over for going less than 5 or 8 miles per hour over the speed limit, even in non-residential backcountry areas with speed limits of 45 to 55 miles per hour. These are the same speed limits as when the roads were single-lane, poorly paved, with tractors and cattle on them. Now, the same speed limits, but two lanes, more traffic, and way too many speed traps.
With all that background, I was extremely excited to get this Cobra RAD 490i Radar and laser detector for my truck. I have it mounted on the dash, and thanks to the handy USB-C power system (a must, in my opinion, for vehicle accessories in 2026), I was able to get this powered up and working with no problems. Now I feel I am truly able to take a more proactive approach on my commutes. I am catching both K and Ka alerts easily on the high-sensitivity setting, and, again, while I am no racer, I do sometimes go a little faster than the signs may indicate when I have no one around me on dry roads. The peace of mind I have now with this system cannot be understated.
I really like the easy-to-see OLED screen that has a little status bar flashing back and forth while idle and powered on, so at a quick glance, I can tell that this is powered on and working. I respect how sensitive this detector is because I am also picking up modern vehicles' blind-spot monitoring radar signals (usually K alerts). I would turn this setting off, but because there are still speed traps and cameras that use K band radar, so I am leaving it on for now. I do love the auto-mute function that, after the initial loud alert tones, reduces the volume of the ongoing alert so I don’t have to reach over and manually mute it while I have my hands on the wheel.
Altogether, I have no criticisms to offer. This detector is doing exactly what it is advertised to do and I have already been able to slow down a few times in some corners where a patrol car or speed trap van just happens to have set up out of eyeshot from a distance. I would recommend you look into this detector and compare it to other Cobra offerings in the lineup, but this one was simple enough even for a novice like me to set up. Thanks for reading and I hope it helps!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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GAME IT ALL. The GIGABYTE GAMING A16 redefines accessible gaming with a perfect synergy of AI-powered performance and ergonomic design. Featuring an AMD Ryzen~ 7 260 Processor and up to a NVIDIA~ GeForce RTX~ 5070 GPU, the GAMING A16 is ideal for casual gamers, students, and professionals exploring generative AI. Equipped with GiMATE - an intelligent AI agent - this laptop, personalizes your computing experience by adapting system operations to your unique needs. With a focus on user comfort, the GIGABYTE GAMING A16 introduces the premium GIGABYTE Golden Curve Keyboard and a versatile 180-degree hinge design, accommodating various usage scenarios from gaming to productivity. Perceive every game winning moment on a panoramic 165Hz display with slim bezels and a 16:10 aspect ratio while Dolby Atmos~ creates an immersive audio experience.
Customer Rating
5
Excellent performance at 2026 prices!
on June 15, 2026
Posted by: Bren
The TLDR of this review is that if you can get a great deal or something on sale, laptops from a year ago may be a better fit for raw gaming performance and build quality at the price, given the tolls of inflation and shortages of RAM, etc. However, a massive thumbs up I will get out now for your interest in comparison is that the power management and capabilities with this Ryzen 7 260 CPU are just fantastic and truly allow this laptop to excel both in the game room and the lecture hall. I will detail it more below, but with the right settings, this laptop can stretch its battery life for very long indeed, and, alternatively, can make even some modern AAA gaming titles look and perform super well! What is further encouraging is that this laptop has upgradable DDR5 RAM, with only a single channel utilized with a 16GB stick in it, so it has some futureproofing compared to soldered-on RAM competitors!
This gaming laptop requires minimal software tweaking to let its versatility as a portable work or school machine shine once it's off the charger. I found that the drop-down tab in the GiMATE software labeled “Power Saver Mode” setting forces the discrete Nvidia GPU off and communicates with the Windows 11 settings to put the computer into power-saving modes and, overall, did seem to yield staggering results in terms of extending battery life. Legitimately, switching from a gaming optimized software settings state to a power savings optimized state takes this from being like a 2-hour battery life laptop to a 10-12 hour laptop EASILY for every day productivity. Furthermore, and highly impressive, this power-saving mode kept the laptop silent, with the fans hardly spinning up at all as I worked. I was able to type this very review in basically complete silence, without ever hearing more than the very soft, satisfying thumping of the keys. I would have zero embarrassment bringing this laptop to a quiet lecture hall, library, or work meeting. The important takeaway is to make sure you get into the software and make the power-setting changes. I had a scenario where I unplugged the laptop after a long gaming session and left it open at full brightness with a YouTube music video playlist rolling side by side with a Word document on my normal gaming settings in Balanced and Optimus mode, and found that, to my shock, the battery had gone from 100% to 50% in only an hour and a half or so! Changing the settings to match the workflow you will be doing matters on this computer.
The keyboard is excellent. As a usual MacBook user, I am really enjoying typing on this keyboard. Everything feels intuitive, and there are no strange key placements. The RGB backlighting works just fine and lights both the primary and secondary functions of every key on the keyboard without issue. The typing experience is quiet, precise, and satisfying for a membrane keyboard, with nice travel, a soft but assertive bump at the bottom of the key stroke, and an excellent rebound back to the top, making my typing essentially as fast as any keyboard I have ever used. While gaming, the keys feel great, and the laptop deck is smooth and at a comfortable height and angle that does not cut into my wrists. Gigabyte was true to its marketing, and the “ASWD” zone is indeed cooler than the rest of the keyboard when gaming or other heat-intensive activities are underway! I pulled out my grill infrared thermometer and sure enough, the WASD keys were around 100F at peak gaming intensity while the keys beyond and especially in the periphery were closer to 110F! This is a huge difference that you can really feel!
The trackpad is also smooth and quite serviceable for a “springboard” style trackpad without manual buttons. I had no issue using the trackpad and all gesture controls worked. Of course, as a gaming laptop, I mainly used a mouse, but it is nice to know that the trackpad works so well for everyday use or portable on-the-go use! The webcam also works well enough for its purposes and has Windows Hello capability, which makes logging into the laptop a breeze! Another positive in this system is the 1TB SSD. They chose a Kingston drive that is excellent and as speedy as you could ask for with a laptop at this price! I got 4800MB/s read speeds and 3850MB/s write speeds which is comparable to the speeds on my 2021 MacBook Pro 14 and results in excellent load speeds of both the operating system and all games and programs I tested!
The screen and speakers leave much to be desired on this laptop. The screen, while it does have decent scaling with its 16:10 aspect ratio, is only 1920x1200, which is essentially just normal high definition to the untrained eye, and while that works okay on a 16” screen, what doesn’t work so well is how dim it is. 300 Nits of brightness is quite low and essentially limits this laptop to indoor areas and well-shaded outdoor settings. The high refresh rate of 165Hz, however, is highly welcome and results in both gaming and everyday use feeling very crisp and clean! As for the speakers, they are gratefully clear in the audio they produce but lack solid bass and also have a pretty low maximum volume that won’t quite fill a room.
I had to actually come back and rewrite my review on gaming performance. To basically be as succinct as possible, the gaming performance on this machine gets a MASSIVE improvement when you turn the MUX switch on in the GiMATE settings and come back and put everything on gaming, and high-performance mode throughout the various settings. A great example is my performance on Doom: The Dark Ages. I was getting fairly uninspiring performance of 60-70FPS on high settings with everything on balanced mode using the typical Optimus switch, but with the above settings selected, I got a smooth and VERY consistent 80-110FPS that really just looked stellar on this 16” FHD screen! Coming from a player normally on a desktop PC with a desktop 4070 Super GPU that has 12GB of VRAM, I truly was not upset with the performance here at all! Even the 8GB of VRAM which is perhaps the more limiting factor in this system along with single channel RAM acquitted itself very well! Another game where this outstanding performance boost was noted was Subnautica 2. I was able to go from 90-120FPS on medium settings with DLSS on Auto, up to high with frame rates in the 100-120FPS range! Also, and much to my happiness, these fans are neither whiny nor ridiculously loud yet kept the CPU and GPU nicely cooled! My CPU on the optimal settings above never peaked higher than 87C and the GPU never exceeded 80C on the memory! This is excellent performance and demonstrates an excellent balance between high performance for plugged in gaming but also quiet and unobtrusive performance when in quieter settings.
In my experience and testing, this laptop never felt CPU bound; every frame dished out felt smooth and stutter free which tells me the CPU was more than up to the task. The trouble in performance only came when I tried to bump up the graphics settings on games like Doom: The Dark Ages and found the system to really get bogged down and sluggish at the point where its VRAM limit was exceeded. What I would say is that for a laptop in this crazy year of 2026, when memory and storage prices are through the roof, this is pretty darn capable for what you are getting at the price. It is only tough, though, when you look back 2 or 3 years and see that at this price, what you used to be able to get was close to the flagship offering of many gaming laptop companies.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Only at Best BuyPlay your way to the top with this HP OMEN notebook. The Intel Core i7 processor provides lightning-fast response times, and the 1TB hard drive is enough for all your favorite games and apps with room to spare for music and video files. This HP OMEN notebook has a full-size backlit keyboard for fast, easy typing.
What is the RPM of the 1 terabyte hard drive?
7200rpm, much better than the 5400rpm hard drive found in my $1600.00 MSI Stealth Pro :(
9 years, 8 months ago
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Bren