nickcal's stats
- Review count328
- Helpfulness votes1,316
- First reviewFebruary 22, 2014
- Last reviewAugust 20, 2025
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.7
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- Answer count4
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- First answerMay 23, 2016
- Last answerSeptember 7, 2020
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Enter a new era of mobile gaming with the power of a full-fledged pro console controller. The Kishi Ultra forges into new terrain as the greatest mobile controller ever created. Meticulously designed with console-class ergonomics, immersive haptics, and Razer Chroma RGB, the Kishi Ultra delivers a true console experience with zero compromise.
Customer Rating
5
Best portable controller for phones and tablets
on August 23, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
Hello there, gamers; welcome to your portable playing machine. The Razer Kishi is an outstanding device that works with small tablets and phones. I have been using mine for a week and couldn’t be happier. It allows me to play on the go without packing an extra portable monitor controller or laptop. It’s lightweight and has all the buttons you could want for fast-paced shooting games. It even has a headphone jack, but I couldn’t test that as I only have Bluetooth headphones. It is nice to have included if a time arises when wired headphones are needed.
One downside is getting used to the extra buttons on the top of the Kishi, not the back. That was a weird flex by Razer. I’ve used the Kishi with my iPhone 15 Pro Max, Android phone, and my iPad mini. It’s fantastic and is like holding a normal Xbox controller.
There is a companion app that is not 100% necessary to use but it is nice because it gives you the ability to change your RGB colors and map the extra top buttons.
If you are looking for a great portable gaming handheld go with this as it doesn’t have flimsy sticks like other gamepads.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Experience better hearing today and save thousands ~ with clinic-quality hearing aids & licensed audiology services, at half the cost of in-person clinics. Meet our smallest, lightest, clinic-quality hearing aids. With the Select 500, you'll hear conversations clearly, know where sounds are coming from, and enjoy top-tier noise cancellation. Make hands-free calls with iOS and Android, and know that your hearing aids are ready for the future of connectivity with Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast. When you choose Jabra Enhance, you're not just getting hearing aids~you're getting a virtual audiology clinic with an in-house team of licensed hearing professionals, excited to help you hear better. Our Audiology Team uses clinical software to professionally program your hearing aids based on your audiogram or online hearing test, and are just a tap or call away, 7 days a week for unlimited adjustments. Jabra Enhance Select hearing aids for purchase and use in the United States only by adults 18+ with self-perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. Audiology Team programming and care available in the 50 United States and D.C. May not be able to custom program for certain types of hearing loss.
Customer Rating
5
The best OTC hearing aids available
on August 5, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
I've suffered with some form of hearing loss for more than half my life. I've been diagnosed with Sensorineural Sloping Hearing Loss in both ears, which is the most common type of hearing loss. It occurs when the inner ear or the actual hearing nerve itself becomes damaged. Over the years, I've tried different types of hearing assistance -- everything from the most simple pre-programmed one-size-fits-all hearing aids to the most advanced premium hearing aids that can be programmed remotely and pair to smartphones. I am currently using a set from ReSound, which is owned by the GN Group, the parent company Jabra. I learned when I started using ReSound hearing aids about six years ago that the Jabra and ReSound engineers work side by side to ensure that users get the best possible listening experience no matter what product they are using.
The Jabra Enhance Select 500 are a great set of OTC hearing aids and I'm extremely glad they are available. In my opinion, they are the next best thing to the premium prescription hearing aids people can get. I was able to set my two hearing aid sets next to each other and see the similarities in their features.
Unboxing and Setup
When I received the kit, I was in awe of everything that was included. In my pursuit of a decent, inexpensive hearing aid, I have used ones that are barely more than an amplifier and only comes with preset mode. This is what I was continuing to expect from other OTC hearing aids. The Jabra Enhance Select 500 was not that at all. The kit comes with the hearing aids, a charging case, wall charger and cable, several packets of ear domes, a cleaning kit, sport locks, a wax guard and receiver tool, and several manuals to follow. This was very similar to the kit I got with the ReSound hearing aids I have.
Out of the box, the hearing aids did have some charge to them, but I would recommend charging them to 100% before setting them up and using them. The hearing aids come with the receiver wire installed and a set of domes already on the ends. They are lightweight and the charging case is very compact. It is, in fact, the same charging case as the ReSound ONE hearing aids I own.
To set them up properly, you must download the Jabra Enhance Select app. I will point out that with iPhones, you can only have one hearing assistance device connected at a time. Since I already had the ReSound ONE hearing aids paired to my phone, I unpaired those so that I could set up the Enhance Select 500s. After I did, I went back into the ReSound app and it recognized the Jabra hearing aids. I didn't attempt to use that app with those hearing aids, but it was very interesting to see that happen given the relationship of the two companies to each other.
The pairing process was fairly simple and they hearing aids stayed connected once they were recognized by the iPhone. After getting the devices paired, I was able to walk through the adjustment steps in the app to get the hearing aids set up.
Remote Assistance
One of the huge benefits of using Jabra OTC hearing aids is the ability to use their remote assistance support personnel to get help with any issues you might have. I reached out to them when I was setting everything up. They walked me through the process and even explained why the two apps were so similar. The person I worked with was very knowledgeable and helpful to me. I also set up an appointment with an audiologist so that I can fine tune the hearing aids.
Experience
Nearly all of my high-end hearing is gone. I can't hear birds without assistance and it's very difficult for me to understand dialogue on televisions shows. The Jabra Enhance Select 500 hearing aids were able to elevate my hearing to a place where I could hear birds and dialogue was quite a bit easier to understand. There is still a difference between this level of OTC hearing aids and prescription hearing aids. The Enhance Select 500 are extremely comprehensive and a great OTC option for people with mild-moderate hearing loss. I would encourage everyone to get their hearing tested -- even if you think you don't have any issues. It gives you a baseline to judge future hearing tests from and the moment you start having issues, you don't have to wait. You can go get a set of OTC hearing aids so that you don't lose more hearing capacity. The Jabra Enhance Select 500 hearing aids are the best OTC option available.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Pairs perfectly with LG OLED B4, C4 and G4 series TVs. Welcome to 7-channel heaven! Give yourself the home theater setup you~ve always dreamed about with rich, immersive sound, exceptional clarity and intense bass. The S90TR 7.1.3ch, features a powerful array of left, right, center, rear speakers, plus subwoofer, that will transform how you experience your favorite entertainment.
Customer Rating
5
Outstanding sound system for LG set ups
on July 19, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
I’ve always liked the concept of soundbars. The idea that you can have theater-quality sound in your living room with a simple set up has always been appealing to me. Unfortunately, the execution has been somewhat lackluster given the interfaces between devices. Some systems just aren’t 100% compatible with each other and it makes for a disappointing experience. They have complicated interfaces and extra cabling that you have to hide. Fortunately, the LG S90TR Soundbar is a wireless system and set up is a breeze.
I am actually in the midst of redoing my office setup so adding this system into my entertainment area was perfect timing. I connected the soundbar system with my 65” LG 4K TV and started watching various videos to try out the various features.
Here are the things I really liked about this system.
Easy Setup - To say this system is easy to install is almost not enough to convey the simplicity of it. If you follow the power-up instructions (rear speakers, subwoofer, then soundbar), you shouldn’t have any issues with the system connecting the way it should. I think within about 30 seconds (probably less) the rear speakers and subwoofer were connected to the soundbar. It is a ‘wireless’ system in that there are no speaker wires that have to be run. Each piece has its own power cable, but they don’t have any large power adapter attached to them so they are easy to hide.
App Connected System - Even though the system comes with a remote, I really enjoyed the LG Soundbar app, too. It provides the user with an option for updating firmware as well as being able to see what mode you were using. There is no display on the front of the soundbar so it’s hard to tell what setting you are using without the app. I love being able to switch effortlessly between mode with a simple tap.
Sound Output - The sound quality is very impressive. I have a hearing impairment, which makes it difficult for me to hear dialogue and other higher pitched sounds. This soundbar system produced clear sound and I was able to discern voices from other background sounds. One thing that helped a lot was the Clear Voice Pro preset mode. It brought the vocal track to the front and dropped all the other sounds to the background. This was great for me and my fiance said it didn’t make her experience less enjoyable. It was a good measured preset as were the other modes we tried.
Powerful System - I have been very impressed by the power behind this system. It has a total of 670W, which is a little less than the previous soundbar I was using, which had a total of 800W. But, this LG system provides features such as 3D spatial sound, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which make it sound and feel like a much more powerful system.
I would not hesitate this to anyone looking to make an upgrade in sound systems. It has a sleek design and comes equipped with a lot of valuable features that can benefit anyone looking to enjoy theater-like sound in their home.
App Connected System - Even though the system comes with a remote, I really enjoyed the LG Soundbar app, too. It provides the user with an option for updating firmware as well as being able to see what mode you were using. There is no display on the front of the soundbar so it’s hard to tell what setting you are using without the app. I love being able to switch effortlessly between mode with a simple tap.
Sound Output - The sound quality is very impressive. I have a hearing impairment, which makes it difficult for me to hear dialogue and other higher pitched sounds. This soundbar system produced clear sound and I was able to discern voices from other background sounds. One thing that helped a lot was the Clear Voice Pro preset mode. It brought the vocal track to the front and dropped all the other sounds to the background. This was great for me and my fiance said it didn’t make her experience less enjoyable. It was a good measured preset as were the other modes we tried.
Powerful System - I have been very impressed by the power behind this system. It has a total of 670W, which is a little less than the previous soundbar I was using, which had a total of 800W. But, this LG system provides features such as 3D spatial sound, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which make it sound and feel like a much more powerful system.
I would not hesitate this to anyone looking to make an upgrade in sound systems. It has a sleek design and comes equipped with a lot of valuable features that can benefit anyone looking to enjoy theater-like sound in their home.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The most flexible laptop, reimagined ~ Surface Pro helps you get the most out of your day with accelerated performance that unlocks a new AI era to enable Copilot experiences, and battery life~ to keep you going all-day long. All wrapped up in an ultra-portable design that can replace your tablet, your laptop, and does more than you could ever imagine.
Customer Rating
5
A remarkable tablet PC
on July 1, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
I’ve been intrigued by the Microsoft Surface for many years but I haven’t had the chance to try it out until now. I’m an Apple user for the most part but I do use Windows machines for gaming and my fiancé uses them sometimes for work. But neither of us have had the chance to try out the flagship tablet from Microsoft.
My fiancé was immediately taken with it. She said the screen was breathtaking and one of the first things she wanted to try was watching high-quality video on it. We set up Netflix and Disney+ on it and watched some videos. The speaker quality is very good on the Surface Pro and we didn’t feel the need to immediately connect it to external speakers.
The tablet comes with a full version of Windows 11 on it. My fiancé works with software developers so she’s done a lot of prompt training with bots and she asked a variety of questions to Copilot+. It was quick with responses and one of the things that we both really liked was that it provided references for where it found its answers. We tried image creation and looking up answers to some basic questions and it worked just as well as ChatGPT. The best part is that it’s integrated into the system. There are other system enhancements that Copilot+ provides, but they are a work in progress.
We ran a Geekbench test on it to see how it compared to the benchmark. The single-core score was 2440 and the multi-core score was 13196. Both of these scores surpassed the top Android device listed in Geekbench’s Benchmark Charts (Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 2.3 GHz) and was in line with Intel Core i5 13th and 14th generation processors.
The tablet is quiet and it doesn’t seem to get overly hot — even with prolonged use. The battery life is very good. We had it on standby for a couple of days and it still had 18% battery left when we picked it up again. It seems to be very efficient power-wise. The only thing I would change about its power features is its charging method. While it will charge using USB-C the charging option that came with it is a magnetic connector and a two-part power supply/cable that is quite bulky to lug around. The Surface Pro is sleek and easy to transport — except for the charging cable.
One of the most remarkable things about this tablet is that it’s running Windows 11 — and running it very well. It’s a fluid experience and even though there was pre-installed software on it, the system didn’t seem to be bogged down at all.
Overall, the Surface Pro Snapdrago X Plus is a remarkable device that provides a high level of productivity for the end-user. We certainly like having it as an additional machine in our home.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Next-level versatility comes in the perfect pair ~ Surface Slim Pen (2nd Edition) stores securely and recharges in the premium keyboard, featuring a large glass touchpad and luxurious, Alcantara material covering. Ready to pair with Surface Pro (11th Edition), Surface Pro 9 and Surface Pro 8.*
Customer Rating
5
Good accessories, but could use improvement
on July 1, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
I’ve been a tablet user since the 1st iPad was released. I loved it when Apple announced the Apple Pencil and I’ve been using it consistently ever since. I also value a matching keyboard for the tablet and when I got the Surface Pro Snapdragon X Plus, I really wanted the keyboard and pencil to be included as a bundle. This was unfortunately not the case. Aside from that roadblock, I have to say that the design of the keyboard and slim pen are quite nice. I like how they seem to fit as an ecosystem.
The pen is, of course, designed to lay flat for storage and portability. The only downside to that is it’s a little different to be using something flat to write with. I’m used to round pens and pencils and picking up the Slim Pen felt foreign to me. I did get used to it after a little while, but it was a learning curve I had to overcome. The pen has good sensitivity and responsiveness with the screen of the Surface. I doodled a bit in paint and used it to markup a PDF and it worked well for those purposes.
The keyboard attaches to the tablet magnetically and gets its power from that connector. The inside of the keyboard matches the outside — both sides have a soft microfiber cloth as a liner. The keys are nice to type on and while I don’t feel they are a replacement for a standard keyboard, they get the job done for the tablet.
The keyboard is only one piece. It folds over to cover the screen of the tablet, but the back of the Surface Pro is still exposed. The kickstand of the device is part of the tablet’s back and not the keyboard. This was a surprise to me as I’m used to the keyboard accessory being a protective cover for the tablet, as well. It’s not a bad design — it was just surprising.
In my opinion, these accessories are a must-have if you are getting the Surface Pro. They turn a good tablet into a great computer alternative.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Unlock 100+ game audio presets with Arctis Nova 5P 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 PS, PC, Switch, and mobile with a USB-C wireless dongle.
Customer Rating
5
Exceptional gaming headphones
on June 25, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
For the past three years, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect gaming headphones to accompany my Call of Duty: Mobile adventures. I’ve used just about every type of headphones and tried out different connection methods and until I used the Arctis Nova 5P gaming headset, I just didn’t find what I was looking for. Part of what’s tricky for me is that I’m hard of hearing and even premium headsets sometimes aren’t clear enough for me. But the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5P are.
COMFORT
I’ve used these headphones for a little over a week now. I’ve had some incredibly long gaming sessions with the average probably being around 5-6 hours at a time. They have remained comfortable to me during even the longest sessions. I sometimes end up with a lot of heat around my ears, but these ear cups have a steady temperature that hasn’t ever seemed to hot to me. They are soft and cover my ears comfortably. The headband is flexible, but sturdy and I rate these among the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever used.
CONNECTIVITY
These headphones connect via Bluetooth or through a 2.4Ghz USB-C receiver. I’ve used both. In the past this has been problematic because the Bluetooth connection sometimes doesn’t give users the highest sound quality. In this case, I noticed that the sound quality was equally good using Bluetooth as it was using the receiver. Plus I was able to use the mobile app for the equalizer.
SOUND QUALITY
I’ve used SteelSeries gaming headsets before and I’ve always been impressed with them, but the Nova 5P actually surpass any other headsets I’ve used. One of the things that’s really important to me is clarity. My hearing impairment (high-end hearing loss) makes it difficult for me to understand certain sounds sometimes — especially if there are a lot of sounds happening all at once. This is why premium sound quality is essential for me to have in order to enjoy gameplay. I use Discord while I’m playing to be able to communicate with my teammates and other headphones (some very high-end quality) will lower the game volume while keeping the Discord chat high. The Nova 5P headset kept everything mixed really well so I wasn’t missing anything. In fact, the sound quality made it possible for me to hear incoming opponents more clearly than other headphones did.
BATTERY LIFE
As I mentioned I’ve used these headphones for long periods of time. I charge them up every night when I’m done playing, but I’ve not had an issue with them dying on me in the middle of a session. I do love the fact that they have a fast-charge option (6 hours of use in 15 minutes). The only thing that might make the battery life better is if the Nova 5P came with a spare battery that you swap out.
CONCLUSION
The SteelSeries Nova 5P is a great headset for gaming. I’ve also used it just for playing music and it’s been quite enjoyable for that purpose, too. The headset offers great sound quality and is comfortable to use even for longer periods of time. It’s a great choice — especially if you want to use it for multiple platforms.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The new GIGABYTE AORUS 16X sets a new standard for gaming excellence. Powered by Intel Core processor and AI-accelerated NVIDIA~ GeForce RTX laptop GPU, it guarantees unparalleled performance. The integrated AI Nexus enhances power management, gaming, and generative-AI experiences for both gamers and creators. Empowered by WINDFORCE Infinity cooling technology, this laptop achieves a remarkable slim profile while asserting dominance in the gaming world with unparalleled performance.
Customer Rating
4
A very capable gaming laptop
on June 11, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
In the past few months I’ve had more experience with PC gaming laptops then I care to admit. I bounced from one to another trying to find the right fit. While many laptops have similar features, there is a lot to be said for the hardware build and branded software components as differentiators between brands. This is my first experience with a Gigabyte computer and for the most part, it has been a very positive one. Here are some of my main takeaways.
The fan kicks on frequently. I noticed this when I first setup the laptop, and then again every time I restarted the computer. While that is fairly normal, I also noticed it when the laptop was sitting idle and then again when I had closed the lid to put it into standby mode.
The power adapter is a barrel-style plug. It does not sit flush against the side of the laptop. I’m not a big fan of this because it can easily become detached or even broken.
The laptop case is hefty, but I really like the feel because it doesn’t seem as though it will get knocked around easily.
The screen looks amazing — even just with system tools running. I was even more impressed when I tried out a game and some videos on it.
The speakers sounded great — much better than the average laptop speakers.
When I started the laptop for the first time, there was a dialog box that read, “The computer goes to windows update, driver install and optimization settings; please be patient to wait the reboot after settings completing.” I assume this was part of the system software, but I’ve never seen something like this pop-up upon setup.
The Gigabyte Control Center is a basic operation dashboard, but it works really well. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles — just the functions you need.
The keyboard is very nice to type on but the right-shift key is shorter than I’m used to and so I mistyped quite a bit while I was working.
One of the other observations I had was that even though I declined the OneDrive and Microsoft 365 free trials, those software packages were still installed on the computer — in multiple languages. Aside from that, I was impressed that there were only 70 background tasks running once the computer was up and running.
The power adapter is a barrel-style plug. It does not sit flush against the side of the laptop. I’m not a big fan of this because it can easily become detached or even broken.
The laptop case is hefty, but I really like the feel because it doesn’t seem as though it will get knocked around easily.
The screen looks amazing — even just with system tools running. I was even more impressed when I tried out a game and some videos on it.
The speakers sounded great — much better than the average laptop speakers.
When I started the laptop for the first time, there was a dialog box that read, “The computer goes to windows update, driver install and optimization settings; please be patient to wait the reboot after settings completing.” I assume this was part of the system software, but I’ve never seen something like this pop-up upon setup.
The Gigabyte Control Center is a basic operation dashboard, but it works really well. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles — just the functions you need.
The keyboard is very nice to type on but the right-shift key is shorter than I’m used to and so I mistyped quite a bit while I was working.
One of the other observations I had was that even though I declined the OneDrive and Microsoft 365 free trials, those software packages were still installed on the computer — in multiple languages. Aside from that, I was impressed that there were only 70 background tasks running once the computer was up and running.
Because it’s a ‘gaming’ laptop, I did some real-world play tests with Warzone. The game ran smoothly and I didn’t experience any lag. In addition to the gameplay test, I ran two benchmarking tests — Geekbench and Novabench. The scores were 2609 Single Core / 15625 Multi-Core (Geekbench) and 4246 Overall / 2456 CPU / 1161 GPU (Novabench).
For casual gamers, this laptop will do just fine. It’s got enough CPU / GPU power to manage most gaming tasks as well as standard work/school tasks. The nicest feature about this laptop is it price as it is highly competitive and much more budget-friendly than other gaming laptops.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Homey Pro (Early 2023) is the next generation of smart home hub. It is packed with state-of-the-art technology to talk to and unify your smart home devices. It is compatible with WiFi, Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, Z-Wave Plus, Infrared, Matter, and Thread technologies. So it works with over 50,000 devices from more than 1,000 brands~and counting. Use Homey Flow within the Homey app and make all your devices work together seamlessly, And when you use Homey Pro in conjunction with the Homey Bridge (sold separately), you can extend wireless coverage throughout your home.
Customer Rating
5
Helpful, easy to use smart home hub
on June 10, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
For the past decade, I’ve worked hard to integrate smart lighting into my home but I’ve struggled with finding the best app to control it all. I have tried using Apple’s Home but it just lacks something when it comes to the user interface. I love being able to set up automations for turning on and off lights but the Home app doesn’t exactly make it easy. So I like the idea of using a third-party option like Homey Pro.
The device itself is round and puck-like in shape. It is a bit larger than an Apple TV but it has an RGB ring light around the bottom of it. The instructions suggest that users should give the unit a little space because putting objects on top of it might block infrared signals that it needs to communicate with smart devices. I typically like to hide my device hubs inside a cabinet or under a shelf, but since this specifically suggested that you should keep it out in the open, I made a place for it in my office, which is close to our Internet router and centrally located in the house.
One of my concerns going into this setup was whether or not I could use the Homey Pro with my Home App. As it turns out, you can. The initial set up of the Homey Pro is very simple. You plug it in, set up an account, connect it to your network, and let it do its updates. After the unit has initialized, you can add your smart devices to it.
Starting out, I added one of our Nanoleaf installations to it. I didn’t want to migrated everything until I knew it worked with HomeKit. The Homey Pro app automatically detected the compatible devices on my network and to add the Nanoleaf installation to the Homey Pro, I only had to do a restart. I was concerned I would have to do a reset of the device, but I didn’t. That meant that the device stayed connected to my Home App, too!
When it came to setting up an automation, Homey Pro made it very, very easy. You go to Flows in the app and then complete a simple walk through of IF/Than statements. I set up the Nanoleaf to turn on and off at certain times of the day. To test the Flow I set the time the light would turn off for only a few minutes later and when that time came, the light turned off. It was a much easier process than setting up an automation in the Home App.
While I haven’t had this device very long, I’m very impressed by its performance. I love the app interface and how easy it is to connect devices and set up their automations. Even though Homey Pro is already compatible with many smart devices, I’m looking forward to seeing even more rolled out. Since I have a lot of devices I’m slowly migrating them into Homey Pro, which I would suggest if you are nervous about how it all will work. I’ve had many false starts with smart home apps and hubs so I’m just treading cautiously. So far, I’m very happy with it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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A perfect blend of form and function, the Lenovo IdeaCentre 3, powered by the latest Intel processors, has an ultra-compact design that fits seamlessly into any home. With blazing SSD storage and lightning-fast connectivity, you can connect, make, and share effortlessly with all your friends and family.
Customer Rating
5
Great PC for the right user
on June 4, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
I’m typically not a Windows person but I have been delving into the platform lately for gaming purposes and I’ve made an interesting hobby out of trying to make my PC machines as efficient as possible by eliminating bloatware from them. One of my favorite new machines has been the Lenovo Legion 9 gaming laptop. It’s powerful but the machine runs very efficiently — even before removing any programs from it. When I got this IdeaCentre mini tower, I was very excited to give it a whirl since I have a new found love of the Lenovo brand.
When I unboxed the tower, I was shocked to find such a small tower. It’s very space-efficient and could fit most places. I currently have it just sitting on my desktop and it doesn’t clutter up the space at all. The tower comes with a basic wired keyboard and mouse. They aren’t great, but they work. One thing I would suggest to anyone purchasing this computer is to upgrade these accessories to something that will last longer. In addition to the keyboard and mouse, the IdeaCentre comes with a power cable and some documentation. There are no other cables though. I had to use my own HDMI cable to connect it to my monitor.
After the computer updated and was up and running it only had 62 background processes running. There were 52 applications pre-installed including McAfee and Microsoft Office 365. Even if you decline the trial the applications are still installed on the machine. So that’s one of the first things I did — remove the unnecessary programs that I didn’t want.
Then I did a few benchmarking tests including — Geekbench and Novabench.
Geekbench gave it a rating of 2374 for single-core and 6754 for multi-core. The single-core score is in line with the benchmarks for the i5-14400 but the multi-core score was 41% lower than the benchmark shown by Geekbench’s data. The Novabench score was 2279. The report provided by Novabench showed that the IdeaCentre performed 82% betther than all systems that were tested. Relative performance of the CPU and GPU were below the expected range but the temperature, power, clock speed, bottleneck and stutter were all within normal range.
In addition to the benchmarking tools, I did a few real world tests. Since this computer is intended for basic users, I did some basic tasks like Internet browsing, word processing, and watching videos. Since there is only 8GB of RAM on this system, I didn’t feel that it could handle any advanced gaming but I did attempt to play Counter Strike 2. It loaded but very slowly and it had a horrible stutter. So, I immediately exited the game and uninstalled it.
The computer didn’t seem to have any problems playing videos through Netflix. I did have to connect it to external speakers though. I used a set of Bluetooth speakers that are set up on my desk. While they didn’t have any issue connecting, it did seem like the audio was slightly out of sync. The video quality was very good though — even blown up to full screen. The same was true of YouTube, but the audio didn’t seem as out of sync.
Word Processing and Internet Browsing were super easy with the IdeaCentre. It didn’t seem to take many processes at all. I’m a big fan of this tiny tower. It’s budget-friendly and very easy to use — as long as you use it for the right tasks. I think it’s great for school or basic office work but it might end up feeling sluggish if you attempt to do any photo/video editing. It might work with some basic games, but nothing too graphic intensive. All in all, it’s a solid PC.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Dreo Pedestal Fan with Remote, PolyFan 613S, 43'' Quiet Standing Fan for Home Bedroom, 120~+105~ Smart Oscillating Floor Fans with Wi-Fi/Voice Control, Works with Alexa/Google, 6 Modes, 8 Speeds
Customer Rating
5
Powerful, affordable fan
on April 27, 2024
Posted by: nickcal
We struggle with climate control in our house quite a bit. The back room of our house gets a lot warmer while the front room is cooler. And when the back room is cooler, the front room is warmer. It’s a constant battle and I’ve been looking for a fan like this to help control the temperature in my office (the front of the house)since it’s where I spend a lot of my time.
This Dreo fan has a lot of things going for it. First, it’s very affordable. Even though you can get a decent oscillating pedestal fan for a lower price, this one is remote controlled AND has a companion app. The app has its limitations, but it does allow me to do the basic controls from my phone. For those added benefits, I am willing to invest more into a fan of this caliber. Plus, this fan doesn’t just oscillate side to side — it moves up and down, too. This makes a big difference in air flow.
Second, this fan is very powerful. Once I got it set up, the default power was 5. I turned it down to 1 and was still able to feel the cool breeze coming from it while I sat at my desk — approximately 10 feet away from the fan. I was impressed with the amount of air this fan can move in a room. It really did help to keep my office from feeling stuffy and stagnant.
Third, the Dreo fan is very quiet. This was a surprise to me considering how powerful it is. Could I hear the air pushed from the unit? Yes, but there wasn’t an annoying motor noise coming from it. Because this fan is so quiet it is ideal for workspaces because it doesn’t distract you or cause an inordinate amount of ambient noise.
The fan is very easy to assemble. I only had to attach the stand to the base and tighten one bolt in the bottom. I will say that the place where the power cable is inserted is a bit strange. It’s about halfway up the stand and I would have rather seen it be toward the bottom of the stand so that you could hide it better. In addition to that, the fan head is large. So, you need to plan for that when you are deciding where it is going to live.
All in all, this Dreo smart fan is a great option for living or work spaces. It’s affordable and really does make a difference in how an environment feels.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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