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- Review count233
- Helpfulness votes1,741
- First reviewDecember 27, 2016
- Last reviewAugust 5, 2025
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- Average rating4.8
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- First answerDecember 27, 2016
- Last answerNovember 4, 2021
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Ascend the Throne of Gaming with the Z790 AORUS ELITE AX (rev. 1.x). The Z790 AORUS ELITE AX (rev. 1.x) supports 14th and 13th Gen Intel Core Processors unparalleled performance. Unlock your gaming potential with GIGABYTE Z790 Motherboards. GIGABYTE Z790 motherboards come with upgraded power design, high grade storage standards, and outstanding connectivity that enables you to optimize your performance. Claim what is yours.
Customer Rating
5
A motherboard built with pride for gamers!
on July 7, 2024
Posted by: Bren
This motherboard (MOBO) is so nicely built and so well featured that it is clear to me that there was a passionate gamer development team behind the design of this board. Upgrading my factory Asus G16CH PC with this motherboard has increased my PC's aesthetics and utility dramatically with all of its high-end features, and it has also fully unlocked the power and potential of my Intel i7-13700F processor!
The factory motherboard my desktop came with was abysmal. Not only did it lack many features that make it more relevant for modern gamers, but it also held back the full power of my Intel 13700F CPU, not allowing it to turbo up and limiting the power the chip could draw! This meant I was getting terrible performance on my games with CPU-intensive needs (like Helldivers 2) compared to my friends running the same processor. Enter this new motherboard. What Gigabyte has done with this Aorus Z70 Elite AX board is truly beautiful. For one, it was incredibly easy to build on. When I say you can tell gamers were behind the design, I mean that everything on this MOBO is reinforced and simplified for gamers who need to upgrade and expand out of the box and in the future! One of the best features are the EZ-latch M.2 SSD latches! Say goodbye to those freaking annoying tiny M.2 mounting screws that always get dropped and lost in the void of your PC cases and carpet. The latches make it super easy to plug in the M.2 and swivel into place with a gentle spring-loaded tension to hold your M.2 SSD drives securely! This MOBO has four PCIE 4.0 M.2 slots total: the primary one is up top with one of the most robust heatsinks I have ever seen on an out-of-the-box MOBO. If you want to run a toasty top-of-the-line PCIE gen 4 SSD in your PC, this mobo has you covered. There are three more PCIE 4.0 M.2 SSD slots complete with EZ-latch securement on each underneath a heat shield that I have pictured. Each slot has thermal shielding for your M.2 drives. I would have complete confidence running four M.2 SSD’s simultaneously in this build and not worrying about the GPU or other neighboring components roasting them.
Speaking of thermals, according to HWmonitor, my whole system seems to be running cooler. The board is so well built, hefty, and reinforced with metal shielding that there is more capacity for heat to dissipate off of items like your RAM, SSDs, and even the chipsets themselves. Now, for the GPU mounting solution, I was very pleased to see a highly robust and reinforced PCIE slot that is labeled as “Ultra Durable PCIE Gen 5 Armor. From what I can tell slotting my 3060 GPU in, this is no mere boast. It feels ultra solid and makes me suspect that your GPU’s own mounting PCB would be the item to break before this MOBO’s PCIE slot would ever give. On that note, support your GPU, folks! They are getting too heavy these days not to use a support brace or prob!
The I/O is another huge bragging point on this MOBO. It finally seems like companies are getting the notion that modern builds don’t need PS/2 port connectors for ancient mice and keyboards. Gamers today would much rather have plenty of USB-A ports, modern display connectors, and even the utility of a USB-C port on the I/O selection. This has NINE USB-A ports of various connection types! I am happy to report that this rear USB-C connector appears to be USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, able to support a theoretical 20GB/s transfer speed. I hooked up my Crucial X9 drive to it and was able to attain full 1gb read and write speeds on it! The front USB-C panel connector supports 10GB/s. For internal connectivity on the MOBO, I was very pleased to find plenty of fan headers and RGB headers to allow me to control my MSI AIO RGB cooler and RGB fans, all from the MOBO itself, with no adapters needed! This is super convenient and also highly gamer oriented.
Altogether, I couldn’t be happier with my new MOBO. I am getting 20-30FPS more on games like Helldivers 2 with the new unlocked performance of my Intel 13700F CPU and I am happy to have support here for a 14th gen Intel CPU when I am ready to upgrade one day. Thank you, Gigabyte, for making such a robust and excellent MOBO! 5 out of 5 stars and I will be recommending to all of my friends!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Let Philips Hue keep an eye on your home for you! Get a crisp, clear 1080p HD live stream, turn on the lights or send an alert to your mobile device when motion is detected, or even trigger a sound alarm with a tap in the Hue app. This wireless home security camera is easy to mount and install in any home.
Customer Rating
3
Gorgeous camera, hideous storage plan
on June 29, 2024
Posted by: Bren
It is truly a shame to have a camera here that is so incredibly nice to set up and is built with such robust quality, but that requires a SUBSCRIPTION to get any real utility out of in the long run. I am coming right out and mentioning this because security cameras, particularly ones of this caliber and price, are an investment. If you are going to invest in a Philips Hue camera set up, you need to know the truth. To get storage of your recorded video clips, you must buy a Secure plan, either Basic or Plus. Basic is $39.99/year PER CAMERA and you only get 30 days of stored recordings. Meaning, if you have two cameras, you will need to pay for each camera at that yearly rate. The Plus plan is $99.99/Year and offers the most features including 60 days of stored recordings and covers all cameras in your Philips Hue setup. The free plan is abysmal, only offering live streaming, light and sound alarms, and instant motion notifications without the ability to store your recordings after a motion alert. That means if you had someone come do a porch dash theft of a package, all you would have evidence wise is the notification and time and snapshot but not the full recording to give to the authorities. That sucks. The fact that a camera this expensive has no option for local storage like a micro-SD card is just terrible in my opinion. Now that I have gotten this out of the way, I will discuss some of the other nice features and annoyances of this camera.
The build quality and 1080p HD camera image this camera boasts are incredible. But honestly, it dang well better be amazing at this price tag. I have found the night vision to be excellent with great span and coverage and it lacks the fuzziness of other security cameras I have reviewed, particularly on the extremes of the image borders at distance. This could be all the difference between whether you actually capture the details of a license plate, perpetrators facial features, etc. The camera is built with robust build quality and is one of the easiest cameras I have ever set up via a smartphone app. It was super intuitive, and the instructions were great. One of the small nuisances of this camera I find though is the proprietary charging cable, port, and short cord length. The including power cord is only 6 feet long or so which precludes it from having any real utility in a high roof or door frame set up if you are seeking constant power delivery to the camera. I really think this camera should have used a USB-C charging port for ultimate flexibility and utility in a variety of circumstances, particularly when considering the low power draw of the camera and how easily a USB charging set up would have accomplished the power needs of this device.
Altogether, I will not be recommending this camera to my friends unless they are already deeply invested in the Philips Hue product ecosystem and really want to enhance their security set up. You need to be prepared to accept that the subscription plan on this camera is the only way you are going to maximize its utility as a security product. Thanks for reading and I hope this review has been honestly helpful!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Rank Up to a New Level of Control. Insanely responsive, and immensely customizable, the Turtle Beach Vulcan II TKL Pro Magnetic Mechanical RGB PC gaming keyboard delivers pro-level performance in a compact TKL form. Equipped with analog hall-effect magnetic switches for silky smooth, reliable key presses rated at a 150M click lifecycle and they have a fully adjustable actuation point from 0.1mm to 4mm. And with Rapid Trigger setting, you~ll have better, more precise movement control, with less downtime between key presses. Lastly, the per-key AIMO Intelligent RGB lighting, five on-board profiles and adjustable actuation points can all be customized using the Swarm II desktop software.
Customer Rating
2
A step down from Roccat branded Vulkan quality
on June 15, 2024
Posted by: Bren
I have reviewed a ton of keyboards on BestBuy, and I have never written a negative review on one before. This keyboard is sadly just not up to snuff on the previous Roccat-made Vulkan TKL keyboard I owned and reviewed four years ago. For those of you who don’t know, it was announced in April of 2024 that Turtle Beach, who had purchased Roccat in 2019, has decided to fully absorb the brand into their own company’s name and guided manufacture. This was a huge mistake from what I can tell from this specific product. I have known for years that any Roccat product I use, from mice to headset to keyboard, is going to be a top-quality German engineered gaming product. That is not the case anymore.
The build quality on this keyboard is such a sad step down. Especially for the price. I really don’t like the design language of the flat dark gray metal(ish?) deck and the black plastic body of the keyboard feels cheap. The RGB indeed looks really cool and nice, but the RGB doesn’t make the keyboard perform any different typing wise. The 2020-year Roccat made Vulkan TKL model I reviewed had a gorgeous, brushed aluminum top that felt worth the price. This design is clearly full of cut corners and cost-savings focus.
The typing experience on these red linear switches for whatever reason is just abysmal for me. I hate typing and playing on this keyboard so much I just had to stop after a point prematurely into my ownership of the keyboard. If you have cranky 30-year-old wrists like me, you are going to want to skip this one. Even though the keycaps themselves are thin, the height and stroke of each key is tall and must be bottomed out to register with factory settings. Also, these red linear switches are seriously mushy compared to other red switches in my possession. The Swarm II software can adjust the per key sensitivity and key registration height, but I think Turtle Beach is using a software setting to compensate for what is a hardware problem in feel. I think your mileage will vary, but if you have this money to spend on a keyboard, you may want to try other options if you aren’t enjoying your typing and gaming experience on this. I further really dislike the design language of the bottom keys like alt, control, etc. They have round tops which just feel so out of place in this aesthetic. The keys in general are abs plastic and cheap feeling. They feel far too thin. The only redeeming features here are that they are user replaceable with custom t slot keycaps and switches and the top right volume wheel with push-to-mute function is actually quite nice.
The accessories included are a USB-C to USB-A cord about 6 feet long and a wrist rest. This wrist rest is a disgrace on a $150 dollar keyboard. I cannot believe the nerve of Turtle Beach. It is literally just a stinky piece of quarter-inch thick floppy neoprene mousepad material with the Turtle Beach logo lazily screen onto it in the bottom right corner. This rest doesn’t even attach to the keyboard! It is just there; an impermanent and floppily impotent reminder of what happens when a big, glutted company takes over a passionate and specialized company’s product. Even the Roccat Pyro wired keyboard for $70 less than a year ago had a nice textured plastic wrist wrest that clicked into place with the keyboard! This is yet another slap in the face.
Suggestions to Turtle Beach: Give us a wrist rest worthy of a $150 keyboard. Consider improving key cap quality and ergonomics. Consider improving build quality on this higher tier keyboard. Consider improving the weight and feel of the keyboard. Consider wireless connectivity at this price and/or a higher polling rate for wired connection. This polling rate is a quarter of what some keyboards out there are capable of via wired connection right now.
Overall, I simply cannot recommend this keyboard at this price. There are simply too many other keyboards at this price that are too good for the money and won’t leave you feeling like the shill of a generic gaming company that has taken away the soul of a famous keyboard creator’s intent. Thanks for reading and I hope this review helps guide your purchase decision!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Unlock 100+ game audio presets with Arctis Nova 5 and the Companion App. Switch detailed EQ profiles for games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, Minecraft, and more without leaving the game. With 60-hour battery life, and 2.4GHz/Bluetooth wireless, play longer on PC, PS, Switch, and mobile with a USB-C wireless dongle.
Customer Rating
5
If Goldilocks made a headset, here it is!
on June 15, 2024
Posted by: Bren
This headset is in the proverbial goldilocks zone of headsets in all respects. It is neither over the top or too low in quality, price, and performance, it is just right. I am incredibly picky about my headsets; I need to start off by establishing that with you. I have reviewed no less than 7 or 8 headsets in the last three years and no headset has been able to dethrone and permanently replace my daily driver gaming headset, my Logitech 535. This for over two years has been the most comfortable headset I have ever worn with a lightweight, cool feel and great battery life. This week, my headset has been dethroned by this most excellent Artic Nova 5 Wireless headset! Let me happily share all the specifics with you next, but I will just tell you to go ahead and buy this headset and try it out if you are even remotely sure you want to give it a shot!
This headset is built for comfortable and endurance type gaming. That much is evidenced in every stich, hinge, fabric, and ounce of this very incredibly ergonomic headset. The ear cups are amazing at isolating sound, but the accomplish this not through being hot and sweaty pleather type material, but as foam and ventilated fabric ear cups! Very impressive design. I have a roasting hot head all the time, and this headset is one of the rare things that keeps my head cool in a 4-hour gaming session in my 77-degree F office. The suspension band styles of headsets are awesome and are a great movement in headsets. This is what was first notable about my beloved Logitech 535 wireless headset, and I am thrilled to see that design in other headsets like this one. You get the same support and weight distribution of the headset on your head without a giant foam cushion smashing in your head and giving you the infamous “streamer divot” on your dome, ha-ha! This headset is very customizable for all sorts of heads and seems to have a good balance of clamping strength, neither too much nor too little.
The audio quality of this headset, plus the customizability in the SteelSeries software is, bar-none, some of the best I have experienced in this price range! The audio profiles and EQ of this headset is incredible to navigate. There are so many profiles built into the software to explore, including game specific audio profiles like “footsteps Call of Duty” “Hunt Showdown” and more. There are also music specific EQ settings that are just awesome. I particularly love the bass boost for my dubstep and EDM and lo-fi music. Even just Flat EQ profile yields some amazing audio. SteelSeries has dialed in this headset perfectly.
The software of this headset on PC also has many more notable and excellent customizable features with intuitive controls and interactions. This headset has customizable sidetone that is incredibly clear in quality and can get LOUD. This would be amazing for hard of hearing gamers or streamers who are trying to appropriately monitor and modulate their voice during intense gaming sessions. This headset can get LOUD in general. There is a toggle turned on from the factory in the software on my headset that purposely limits the max volume of the headset. Turn this off and you could probably make your ears bleed, ha-ha! This is once again great for hard of hearing gamers who do not have their audiologists’ orders to limit external volume sources on their implants or hearing aid devices.
The microphone is one of the cleverest pieces of engineering I have seen in a while. Not only is it a clear and excellent quality mic, but it is able to be tucked completely away and hidden! No easy to lose and annoying removable mic or flip up model here. Just stow it back in the headset and pull it out when you need it. A further clever piece of design is that when you put the headset on mute, there is a red LED that lights up on the microphone so you can quickly glance down and see if you are muted or not! And guess what? This is ALSO customizable. You can adjust the brightness of this LED in the SteelSeries software. I am a variety gamer Twitch Streamer with a little over 350 followers at the time of this review (EagleEyeHunts) and I am going to now use this headset and Mic combo in my streams!
The versatility of this headset is amazing. It works via its USB-C 2.4ghz wireless hub, Bluetooth connection, or direct wired connection. I have used the Bluetooth and switching toggle between my phone and computer while gaming and it works perfectly. I think that people who are not yet in possession of a Bluetooth over the ear headset for listing to music should be really excited. This headset is a perfectly rational and even commendable pick for on-the-go music listening. I don’t even think it would be out of place in a gym workout session and certainly does not stick out in any circumstance around town during a commute. Higher-end SteelSeries wireless headsets offer simultaneous audio streaming from multiple devices, but personally I find that to be very distracting and prone to issues in audio balance, especially when I am streaming. This to me is the perfect balance between versatility and convenience. The 2.4ghz USB-C hub connection even works on my 2021 MacBook Pro 14! Very cool! My only non-SteelSeries dig on this headset is that I am getting confused why so many companies have switch to this obnoxious USB-C hub design that is short and wide. This one is over an inch and a half wide and covers multiple USB and other connection port when it is directly plugged in. SteelSeries does include a USB-C extension cable with a USB-A connection on the other side that works fine for extending the 2.4ghz hub away from the PC in question, but I still think it is obnoxious design wise.
Overall, this Arctis Nova 5 Wireless headset is a major win for SteelSeries in my book! I am truly so excited to have this headset in my possession and I am looking forward to many hundreds if not thousands of hours of gaming and streaming on it. Thanks for reading my review and I hope it has helped increase your enthusiasm for your purchase!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Enjoy everyday activities with this ASUS notebook PC. The Intel Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM let you run programs smoothly.
Customer Rating
5
A 5 star, highly affordable, USABLE laptop!!
on June 12, 2024
Posted by: Bren
This laptop is much to my shock and awe, a highly usable laptop for basic users! I have had many disappointments in my laptop reviewing the last year, particularly when it comes to machines with less than 8gb of RAM. Random Access Memory, or RAM, contributes massively to the ability of a laptop to feel snappy and to be able to multitask with multiple programs open at the same time. 4gb of RAM in a PC these days is like driving on the German Autobahn with a beat up 4 cylinder 90’s Honda Civic from the 1990’s, it just doesn’t really cut it and leaves you wanting for more speed and performance. This Asus basic laptop defies that notion entirely. Even with only 4gb of RAM, I am managing to simultaneously type documents (including this review) on this laptop while having multiple Microsoft Edge tabs open and a couple other programs in the background. In this review, I will give a detailed overview of the laptop and give some set up and usage tips as well for a smooth experience with this incredible bargain-priced machine!
Operating system:
This PC is loaded with Windows 11 S edition, which is essentially a lightweight, Windows-app only version of Windows 11 that will truly work just fine for the majority of basic users who aren’t wanting to fiddle around with a bunch of novel software installs. You get your basics here: a Microsoft Edge web browser, Microsoft Office products like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other apps available and/or preinstalled in the Microsoft Apps store. I think this is perfect for users who aren’t looking for all the bells and whistles and are happy to use Microsoft Edge for web browsing and checking email, as well as whatever programs are available natively through Windows. If you really want full featured Windows 11, you can get into the settings and switch out of Windows 11 S into normal Windows 11 Home, just have caution that this laptop model does only have 64GB of storage and you will quickly run out of room (and speed) if you try to load this up with too many programs. If you are or your child are in need of Google Chrome for Google University and apps, you will need to switch this laptop to Windows 11 Home to be able to install Google Chrome onto the laptop.
Set up:
This laptop, to the shock of no one who is familiar with budget PCs with Windows 11 loaded on it, takes forever to get through its initial booting processes, updates, and setups. Have no fear, you as the user have little to do except wait: this laptop took over an HOUR to fully get through all of its Windows 11 updates, initial setups, and to get you logged in to your desktop screen for the first use, only to have to let the machine do MORE updates via Windows Updater. Yawn. This is not on ASUS specifically; I have had this experience with multiple other budget Windows machines I have reviewed and that is just the way it is when you are dealing with lower end hardware that runs such a bloated and poorly optimized OS like a factory Windows 11 install. Just get your laptop plugged in, boot it up, and put your favorite show in the background on your TV for a couple episodes while you wait on this machine to go through its steps for set up. Additionally, when it seems to be done updating, make sure to go into settings and click on the Windows update icon in the top right corner of that screen to make sure you check and install for any more updates. This is unfortunately what you must deal with on most any Windows 11 OS laptop these days.
Regular use:
Overall, I think this laptop is unequivocally perfect for basic users. What do I mean when I keep saying, basic users? What I mean is, people who are only opening this laptop up to do a few basic tasks at a time, like browse the web, check their emails, type up a Word document, work on an Excel spreadsheet, maybe play some Solitaire built into the computer, haha! The important qualifier in this use case, is that you, the user, MUST have excellent “computer hygiene”. What I mean by this is that you must close programs you are not using in order to avoid slow downs and program stutters. This is due to the fact of what I talked about earlier, this laptop has very little RAM (Random Access Memory) and cannot keep multiple programs open and running smoothly at a time because of it. So, with whatever you are doing on this laptop, expect to have to keep browser tab counts down and to have to close programs you aren’t using. You will be less frustrated and enjoy a much smoother experience on this machine!
Build Quality:
The build quality of this laptop utterly belies what the price tag for it says. It is actually an admirably well-built machine. It is, for one, very lightweight and thin. It measures on my scale a few hairs under 3 pounds in weight and is 3/4 of an inch thick at its thickest point. It is a little thicker and wider than a current generation Apple MacBook Pro 14 for comparison, but half a pound lighter! I think aged users who are tired of carrying around bulky, hot machines are going to be happy with this laptop. It is gentle on the body to use and gentle on the budget too. More on the build quality is a metal keyboard deck and lid with an otherwise plastic housing construction. Truly not bad!
Keyboard:
This excellent keyboard with a surprising amount of logic used in its layout, sports a solid and comfortable keyboard deck and keycaps that offer a great typing experience. The keyboard is not backlit which is a bit of a bummer, but at this price I don’t think anyone can complain. I love typing on this keyboard, it feels like a simple scissor switch membrane style keyboard which is perfect for most users.
Touchpad/Numpad:
The touchpad with the number pad built into it is so clever! If you are a Microsoft Excel number cruncher like I am with our household budget, you are going to appreciate this handy feature for your longer equations or calculations. There is a simple on/off touch sensitive button in the top right of the track pad that has a white LED indicator that turns on when the numpad is active. Then you are able to use the numpad no problem just like a touchscreen phone calculator. Even better though, is the fact that you can still use the trackpad to scroll around and mechanically click! Albeit this takes a bit of practice to get right and you still might run into a couple registration issues on your spreadsheet where you accidentally get a numpad input. It is easy enough to switch the numpad on and off with the touch sensitive area.
Display:
The display here is excellent for a budget laptop! It is a full HD resolution 1920X1080p display running at 60hz. Translation: for a budget laptop, you are not getting a crappy looking display. It displays YouTube videos and picture content nicely and gets nice and bright for working in brighter environments like out on a coffee shop patio. The lay flat display may be nice for some, but I personally have never seen the utility in a laptop screen that lays totally flat, so I am not losing my mind over this feature. Altogether, an excellent full HD display for this budget laptop!
Battery:
The battery life on this laptop is, as expected with lower-end and lower power internals, pretty decent! My projections are showing about 7 hours of sustained multitasking use at 40% brightness on the “best power efficiency mode” in the Windows power settings. I think this is reasonable and far exceeds the laptops of even half a decade ago in this price range. It charges via a proprietary charger barrel port and does NOT charge via the USB-C port included on the laptop. I understand that Asus would want to keep costs down on such a budget laptop, but it is still nice to have power delivery through a USB-C port available for versatility when on the go.
Opening up the laptop:
I got peppy and decided to open up this laptop to see what is inside the guts of it. Take a look at the pictures! What I found is a highly organized and not overstuffed internal configuration, complete with soldered on RAM (bummer), a cute lil’ 64GB eMMC storage module, a user replaceable Wifi card, and an extremely sturdy and nicely thermal pasted CPU heat sink! I was impressed by this. I really think there could have been room in here for user replaceable RAM, so that is a bummer that means you are stuck with the amount of RAM that you buy this with. However, I found something quite interesting in the motherboard… what appears to be an M.2 slot complete with a full-sized mounting screw position for a M.2 SSD! So, if you or your kid are tech savvy, they might enjoy the ease of opening this laptop up and installing an M.2 SSD to transfer the OS onto in order to gain more storage and faster boot speeds of varying programs. This laptop was really easy to get into with Philips head screws and the bottom popped off with just a little jostling from a gift card in a couple spots near the hinges. If only this laptop had replaceable RAM, I would be losing my mind! But it is still excellent and speaks to being future proof for easy battery replacements too.
Stats:
Speedometer 2.1 score: 89.3
CrystalDiskMark: Internal eMMC 64gb Drive: Read MB/s: 299.32 Write MB/s: 195.35 (These are reasonable speeds for eMMC memory; better by far than the old 5000rpm spinning disk hard drives that were common for OS installs a decade ago.
Test of USB-C 3.2 port (Test Drive: Crucial X9 2TB SSD with 1gb read/write speed capabilities): 449.29 read/ 436.48 write.
Test of USB-C 3.2 port (Test Drive: Crucial X9 2TB SSD with 1gb read/write speed capabilities): 449.29 read/ 436.48 write.
To summarize, I am amazed to find myself at the end of this review to actually be recommending a budget laptop in 2024 as usable for basic users with a 5 STAR RATING! This laptop is amazing for what it offers for basic users. When you try this laptop, make sure you give it a good hour to hour and a half or so to fully get all of its first-time boot, updates, and system tweaks completed before you expect to do any intensive use with it. Thanks for reading and I hope this review has helped you!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Turtle Beach Stealth 500 wireless amplified gaming headset for PS5 & PS4, Windows PCs, & mobile devices redefines what an ~entry-level~ wireless headset is capable of. Equipped with low-latency, 2.4GHz wireless plus Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, the Stealth 500 is designed for versatile gaming on console & mobile. Easily toggle back-and-forth between 2.4GHz wireless & Bluetooth connections using the QuickSwitch button located conveniently on the headset. An ultra-lightweight design with a floating headband eliminates any pressure points for a perfect fit and leatherette-wrapped memory foam ear cushions provide non-stop comfort and enhanced noise isolation. A staggering battery life of up to 40 hours is best in its class, plus it features quick charge so you can get back in the game right away. Precision-tuned 40mm drivers are amplified to deliver renowned Turtle Beach audio quality, optimized for spatial audio right out of the box. And to dial in your audio quality even further use the Swarm II desktop software for PC, or mobile app for iOS & Android devices to adjust EQ settings, activate Superhuman Hearing, toggle EQ presets and more. Lead your team to victory with ultra-clear voice accuracy thanks to a flip-to-mute omni-directional microphone. Plus, you can activate and adjust variable mic monitoring using the Swarm II app so you can hear the level of your own voice to avoid shouting.
Customer Rating
5
Long battery life in a reasonably priced headset!
on May 31, 2024
Posted by: Bren
While this headset is by no means the best in class in every facet, I can see the attraction of this headset. It fuses many of the more desired features of a modern gaming headset, such as a nice comfortable suspension band style headband with excellent battery life that is sure to impress anyone. Better than average audio quality is also paired with the versatility to run this headset across multiple systems, including on PlayStation consoles, the Nintendo Switch, and on, what is perhaps the best feature of this bargain of a headset, on Bluetooth connected devices like android and Apple iOS smart phones! There is also another SKU of this Stealth 500 that is designated for Xbox’s and such. The majority of my headset usage time before this review occurred on my Windows 11 PC, iPhone SE 3, and plug-and-play use with my PlayStation 4 Pro Console.
My first impression of this headset out of the box is that the build quality is respectable at this price point. This headset is not an aesthetic beauty of an audio product, but it is also not a chunky piece of overseas plastic garbage that is going to leave you, or your intended recipient of this headset embarrassed to wear it. The lines and contours are clean, and the ear cups are not bulky. They are made of quite a comfortable pleather covered foam material that snugs securely to my medium-average adult male head. If you run with hotter ears and head like me, you may find yourself sweating it out in these a tad during a long gaming session. The earcups also perfectly accommodate my Gamer Advantage bluelight glasses I like to wear during gaming, so you are in luck as a glasses-wearer if you choose this headset!
As I mentioned earlier in the review, this headset actually has above-average audio quality! I am stinking impressed to be honest. The stock EQ setting this comes set to is “Turtle Beach Signature Sound”, and I have zero desire to change the audio signature! It is perfect for music and for video games. Doom Eternal sounds gnarly coming out of these earcups and the music I play from EDM to country is balanced and easy to listen to!
The Turtle Beach Swarm II software for this device is actually quite feature-packed and impressive. I am quite thrilled with the amount of control and customization that is available on this less than $80 dollar headset. For one, you actually get sidetone monitoring and noise gate control right on the front page of the controls of this headset of the software. This is amazing, as it allows you to hear yourself speak which is great for voice modulation and volume control during games and Discord calls, and the noise gate adjustments can help you cut out those pesky keyboard taps, mouse clicks, and other distracting background noises so your team mates don’t hate you, haha! The EQ controls built into the software are also quite impressive. As I mentioned above, the “Turtle Beach Signature Sound” EQ profile is perfect for my needs and expectations as a borderline audiophilic gamer.
The only place I am going to have to give this headset a slight knock that is not going to affect the star rating is the microphone voice quality. It is reasonable and according to my friends who have heard my voice via Discord doesn’t sound bad at all! For anyone in the tech world who is desiring a little more of an upscale voice quality experience, keep looking for something else. I am a Twitch Streamer (EagleEyeHunts) and I would not want to use this mic to communicate with my viewers and other streamers. But for regular Joes gaming and all around having a blast with non-streaming activities, I think this headset is perfect! I should also mention the microphone is nicely tucked away when folded back into the headset and has a very clever little adjustment setting for getting the mic close to your mouth once the device is unfolded.
Altogether, this headset is without a doubt and easy to suggest option in the “above bargain-priced” price category. Other higher-end headsets from Turtle Beach and other companies go on sale at times that could drive this headset out of the mind as a good deal, but at its retail price I would say I am quite impressed. If voice communication and microphone quality are not your number one priority, than go ahead and pick up this headset today and let me know what you think of it! I am always happy to come back to my reviews and read other users’ thoughts. Cheers and I hope you enjoy your purchase!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Meet the Razer Seiren V3 Mini~an ultra-compact USB microphone that now packs even more. Featuring a new tap-to-mute function and advanced audio customization, enjoy studio-quality voice capture with the perfect pint-sized companion for gaming, streaming, and chatting.
Customer Rating
4
Nicely built mic; poor software and adjustability.
on May 10, 2024
Posted by: Bren
This new mic entry from Razer is well on its way to joining the recent movement that has been happening in streamer and gamer-oriented audio hardware: ensuring audio simplicity and performance without the need for an audio engineering degree. More and more gamers are looking for simple plug and play setups that don’t break the bank but come with the reliability and notoriety of brands they trust, such as Razer. This Siren v3 Mini is well on its way to becoming a handy choice, it just needs more adjustment capability than is currently offered in the Razer Synapse 3 software. Allow me to elaborate.
To start with praise, the build quality of this mini mic is superb. The base is surprisingly hefty and perfectly balanced. Paired with the proprietary Razer mic stalk that attaches to the base (not 1/4-20 UNC threads for camera/tripod mounts; boo-hiss), this is sturdy set up. There is even an articulating ball joint on the base that the mic attaches too for snuggly rotating that mic into different positions or angles based on your preference. The touch interface for the mic mute on and off works perfectly without any hesitations or glitches that I could perceive. The Razer Synapse software also allows you to add different double tap or triple tap functions, like mic volume up and down, to this touch sensitive region. There is a simple LED light that is green for a live mic and red for a muted mic. Perfectly simple and intuitive.
What is unfortunate is that the simplicity of this mic and its software controls is also the weakness. This condenser mic needs more adjustability with factory software or hardware functions to be feasible for use for most gamers and streamers. This mic, even at 30% input volume, picks up EVERYTHING. The smallest key tap, the scroll of your mouse wheel, the feathering of a bird’s wing as it glides by outside of your window; my gosh, this mic captures it all. Ergo, although the audio quality is nice from my OBS recordings with this mic, there is simply too much extraneous noise capture happening in this plug and play format for me to recommend it to gamers. The product listing states that there is a “Supercardioid pickup pattern for greater voice isolation---allowing the mic to focus on your voice while surprising room noise”. Nope. That was not my experience at all.
Where this mic surprisingly excelled and why I will be keeping it, is for instrument recording! I played some guitar songs on this mic and was astounded to find that it was actually not bad sounding at all! I am one of those weirdos that enjoys that natural sounds an instrument makes when handled to show up in my recordings: the clicks, thumps, squeals, and taps of interacting with the fretboard and strings of a guitar for example. This mic certainly excels at that!
This review is resulting in a 4-star rating in summation. I know that there are programs and potential software updates that are going to allow this simple, elegant little mic to shine, it just isn’t here out of the box for the average consumer. Thanks for reading and I hope you found this review helpful!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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In emergencies big or small, press the button on the Lively Mobile2 medical alert to get help 24/7. The Lively Mobile2 gives you one-button access to Lively services and the Lively caring team. The enhanced GPS technology tracks user location and the optional Fall Detection can detect falls and automatically call Lively Urgent Response in the event of a fall, keeping you safe at home or on the go.
Customer Rating
5
Peace of mind for my WWII Vet Grandfather
on April 10, 2024
Posted by: Bren
As the title of the review says, this device has given our whole family extreme peace of mind concerning my 97-years-old grandpa. He is an incredible example of his generations resilience; still living independently and managing most of his 0.8 acre properties minor tasks on his own. Alas, as the years have marched on, he now walks with a cane and has demonstrated occasional balancing issues. Neighbors and family check up on my grandpa almost every day of the week, but there has always been that nagging sense of worry that my grandpa is going to lose his balance when no one is around and have a nasty fall. Enter the Lively Mobile 2. Not only is the utility and features of this device some of the best I have ever seen, but the device itself is clearly intended for use by older or differently abled individuals who may struggle with fine motor skills or use of modern technology.
Everything about this Lively Mobile 2 is simple for day-to-day use. The functions of the device, including the fall detection lanyard (the best choice of wear for accurate fall detection) are designed for easy manipulation and use. The clasp of the lanyard is a clever magnetic male and female paring attached to a thick, comfortable lanyard cord that makes wear comfortable and easy. The magnet is perfectly tuned on the lanyard: it is strong enough to stay attached to the user even during bumpy and harsh moments like moving in or out of a car or wheelchair seat, but also with two handed gross motor manipulation to pull apart for removal during charging on the dock. The lanyard also has some elasticity to it so the device on the lanyard can simply be pulled over the head of the user rather than unclasping the lanyard. My grandfather and I have average, adult male circumference heads and we were able to pull the lanyard over our heads with eased. For those inclined or wishing to be more low profile, there is an included belt loop clip attachment. Just note, if fall detection is a goal of use with this device, the lanyard loop worn around the neck is the most reliable at detect falls.
The Lively mobile 2 also encourages use in the differently abled who may have poor eyesight or be hard of hearing. The included charging station has a tactile and raised “device health check” button that allows you to check the full status of the device, with an audible and clear female voice announcing, “No errors detected, your device is ready to use and fall detection is enabled.” If all is well and you have the fall detection feature in your plan. What a huge relief for those who may not be confident with various flashing light status indicators and such! The charging base is USB-C connector powered and an AC adapter with USB-C connector is included, meaning this is fully ready for charging and resulting use!
The device itself feels like excellent quality. It has a sturdy and high-quality exterior without weight too much as to feel like an aggravating weight on my grandpa’s neck. There is a tactile power button on the back of the device that powers the device off when pressed for 5 seconds or so. While powering off, an audible chime plays and the female voice says, “Your device is powering off”, allowing you to have that feedback if there are vision impairment issues or if this occurs accidently. I think an accidental shut down of the device is unlikely given the position and size of the power button, but it is good to know that there is a warning if this happens. When the device is powered on, there are flashing green indicators above a clear battery simple and connection symbol to give visual feedback that the device is indeed adequately charged and connected for use. The battery light while flash amber when the device needs charged and will flash red when it is critically low. The device’s voice announcer will also announce in a loud and clear voice, “Battery is low, please charge device”, when the battery is getting low.
The device is IPX7 rated which means it is for all intents and purposes, water-proof! The way I explained it to my grandfather is that he can shower, get caught in the rain, or have the device above the waterline in the bathtub, but it is best practice not to soak or submerge the device for too long. I also explained to him that he needs to gently shake the lively device to get water out of the microphone and speaker grills to help with audio transmission and to wipe the device completely dry before charging it on the base. Showers, bathrooms, and bath tubs are statistically some of the highest risk locations in the home for a fall, so it is a relief to know that this device is good to go for my grandpa during this critical use case.
Now, for the Urgent Response Button. This is the devoted, tactile button on the front of the device that many of us associate with this type of device. The user has a question, concern, or emergency in need of urgent response and presses this button. Via the speaker and mike array on the front of the device, a Lively agent is able to talk to you or your loved one to figure out the best plan up to and including activating your local emergency services response. Something important: if you or your loved one decide they want to test the urgent response to ensure it is working, make sure that you wait for an agent to answer and then tell the agent that you were just testing the device and are not in need of assistance. They are trained to activate EMS if you just hang up the device, so it is crucial.
Who am I to have written this review? I am a healthcare worker, TIN program professional reviewer, and a grandson who loves his greatest-generation grandpa deeply. I hope this review has helped you and inspires the same confidence in you that it has for me.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Improving on its legendary predecessor in every way, COROS Pace 3 packs an even more powerful punch. Track your training and recovery with a technologically advanced watch that's lightweight and comfortable, with outstanding data accuracy, and backed by the industry-leading COROS training software system. COROS Pace 3 paves the way to discover your potential.
Customer Rating
5
An amazing choice for fitness and exercise nuts!
on March 26, 2024
Posted by: Bren
This watch is an excellent choice for fitness and exercise enthusiasts who want to enjoy the convenience and precision of tracking their activities and goals on a smart watch without the bloat and excesses in price, features, and distractions associated with smart watches of the “typical” sort from bigger makers like Apple etc.
From the moment I pulled this watch out of the box and started to handle it, I was in love. The included standard watch band feels amazing and is so breathable. I could tell immediately that I was going to have no need to get a different band for my sweaty wrists as this is exactly what I look for in a watch band. Furthermore, something I like about this band is that there is no exposed metal to snag or scratch surfaces, like a laptop deck, when you have this watch on. The watch itself has a handsome and not overly obnoxious sporty appeal.
The watch is incredibly easy to set up. I downloaded the COROS app and paired the watch to the phone following all the instructions. The watch came with about 75% battery life, so I had no concern about charging it before getting started. As I have gotten more familiar with the watch and its features, I have no problem recommending it to even less tech savvy potential owners like my dad who just doesn’t want to fool around with too many bells and whistles. To bridge this gap, every major feature is accessible via the crown dial and side button, or by utilizing the touch screen of the device! This watch was very thoughtfully made.
While the screen of the Pace 3 is not the prettiest, the is the point: what it sacrifices in eye popping colors and beauty, your trade off is that you gain excellent battery life and have a device that is not going to scorch your retinas every time you bring it up to your eyes to check your workout progress. The battery is rated for 15 days of daily use and I am seeing every indication in my experiences that this is true!
One of the features I really like on the watch is that it has an easy to use lock out feature that you can toggle on and off. This means if you are doing a really intense workout, you are not going to have to worry about accidentally pausing your workout or starting a lap when you don’t want to.
I used this throughout a few active days of my week. I cycled, ran, went for walks, and went about my everyday activities. This watch tracked all my metrics with astounding accuracy, including the built in GPS that tracked my outdoor walks and bike rides. I am thrilled with this watch I would even feel comfortable leaving my smartphone at home while I go on a “unplugged” bike ride or run.
I used this throughout a few active days of my week. I cycled, ran, went for walks, and went about my everyday activities. This watch tracked all my metrics with astounding accuracy, including the built in GPS that tracked my outdoor walks and bike rides. I am thrilled with this watch I would even feel comfortable leaving my smartphone at home while I go on a “unplugged” bike ride or run.
Speaking of smartphones, while this watch focuses on exercise and fitness, it does not totally toss out smart convenience features. You do have the option to have call alerts, text read outs, and other device alerts sent to the watch. I found this annoying more than anything since you can’t act upon the notifications like you can with an Apple Watch, so your decision whether to use this notification feature may vary.
Altogether, I can heartily recommend this watch to anyone who finds the above-described features of interest as an exercise watch. Between the battery life, convenience of use, and rugged yet elegant build quality, this watch is here to suit a wide variety of users with great alacrity!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Jabra Elite 5 true wireless earbuds are made to help you put the world on pause, and then reconnect in a second. Block out ambient noise with powerful Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), or stay in touch from wherever your day takes you with 6-microphone call technology. With our 6mm speakers, and range of audio enhancing codecs, you~ll be lost in goosebump-inducing, heart-racing, soaring sound. The beat goes on with up to 7 hours of battery in the buds and up to a total of 28 hours with the Qi-certified wireless charging case. The fast charge feature will give you an hour of power in just 10 minutes. Extend your battery life even further with mono mode by using one bud while the other one charges.
Customer Rating
5
A decent choice among mid-range wireless earbuds!
on March 24, 2024
Posted by: Bren
TLDR: To start off this review, I just want to begin with the honest qualifier that in a vacuum where these earbuds are the only available wireless earbuds available, the Jabra Elite 5 earbuds are excellent. However, in an abundant market of excellent earbuds made by a wide variety of manufacturers, these Jabra Elite 5 earbuds are absolutely average wireless earbuds in almost every metric that comes to mind. The price: average. The build quality: average. Noise canceling: average. Audio quality: Average. Altogether, just some very average and generally unoffensive, yet uninspired earbuds in the market in 2024.
Unboxing and set up was not the best experience I have had with a set of earbuds in any recent reviews. The earbuds were packed up nicely in sustainable, earth friendly packing materials. Setting up the headphones was actually rather a bother. When I first pulled the earbuds out of their case, I was annoyed to find a feature some manufactures implement of placing a plastic protection film over the earbuds that prevents them from making contact with the charging contacts in the case. As such, I had to peel these off and charge the earbuds before I even got to get my review started. Admittedly, the charging was quick, but then I came to my next nuisance of having annoyances with getting it paired to my iPhone. I have reviewed over half a dozen types of higher end wireless earbuds in the last year or two. In that time, I have found most earbuds to be highly intuitive to connect to my phone. These ones were not. After a few stubborn attempts, I finally capitulated and followed the instructions to download the Jabra Sound+ app.
Once I had the app installed and running, I was able to follow the instructions and get the earbuds connected to my phone. The app is actually decent. It is very straightforward to navigate and has some good offerings in the way of customizing these earbuds to suit your preferences, including the audio balance in the form of the “Music Presets” widget. I am generally a neutral or balanced audio guy, but I found that these earbuds sounded just a little bland on a neutral balance. The “Energize” music preset is the selection you want if you want to get a bit more out of these earbuds in the way of music audio quality. As soon as I did that, I began to enjoy an audio experience in all genres of music from rock to dubstep to country music that was far more dynamic and silken honey to the ears. The Sound of Silence sang by Disturbed’s David Draiman is represented beautifully by these earbuds. Breathe Again by Pop Evil kicks your teeth in at the drop at the 54 second mark in the song (which is why I love using that song for audio testing). Without Me by Eminem is awesome in these earbuds with the Energize music preset. Altogether, a great audio experience once adjustments in EQ were made via the presets!
A cool feature that these Jabra Elite 5 earbuds boast via the Sound+ app is the ability to customize the strength of the Active Noise Canceling feature. This is a nice alternative to some earbuds that are all or nothing with their noise canceling. This means you could turn up the strength to max in a situation like a plane or bus commute or turn it down in a relatively quieter but chatty café. The maximum strength noise canceling is about equal in most respects to my old first gen Airpods Pro earbuds which is actually a major compliment as those were some of the best ANC earbuds in the business when they came out. The newest generation Airpods Pro are far better at noise canceling, however. The passthrough or “HearThrough” setting could probably use a firmware update. The microphone array on the earbuds just isn’t bringing enough audio through even on full strength and your own voice is muffled and your ears still sound plugged. Definitely needs an adjustment which I am certain can be accomplished over the air via a firmware update.
Now, for some general housekeeping and observations to wrap up the review. The case is no larger than an Apple Airpods Pro case (fitted in a dbrand protective case). That is good as I already think that size case approaches the “too large for tight jeans” realm and therefore that is win for Jabra. The case itself is fine, bringing the total hours of use on the earbuds with charges to 28 hours and offering wireless and USB-C charging capability; perfectly suited to 2024 standards. The only flaws I want to point out is that the hinge of the lid is a little flexy and the lid itself is very thin when compared to other cases like the Airpods Pro case. This may present a concern for longevity if you are abusive to your earbuds case.
The build quality of everything else including the earbuds themselves feels amazing. I love the tactile and perfectly tuned click of the Jabra Elite 5 buttons on each earbud. I can press them with relative ease and force without feeling like I am having to shove the earbud into my ear canal.
Altogether, I feel that Jabra has added yet another decent, worthy of purchase earbud entry into their huge and convoluted inventory of options over the years. It is cool to see that this Danish company is keeping up with the advancement of wireless earbud technology and they are doing their part to keep up with the market movements with their lineup of products. Definitely consider these earbuds if you are not wanting to direct your dollars towards one of the bigger market shareholders and DEFINITELY consider these if they go on sale, they would be an amazing bargain at any price lower than listed retail!
Thanks for reading and I hope this review has helped!
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 :(
8 years, 8 months ago
by
Bren