Batlacit's stats
- Review count228
- Helpfulness votes918
- First reviewFebruary 13, 2016
- Last reviewJune 23, 2025
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.5
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- Answer count55
- Helpfulness votes100
- First answerSeptember 21, 2016
- Last answerJanuary 21, 2022
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Push your gears to the red line with TH8S Shifter Add-On: the sim racing shifter for next-level racing immersion sensations. TH8S Shifter Add-On features an "H"-pattern shift plate with 7 gears plus reverse gear, with direct gear shifting, allowing it to adapt to all types of games and vehicles with manual shifting (rally, trucks, GT, NASCAR). The 1.6"/4 cm metal shift lever and its ergonomic "sport-style" shift knob ensure responsiveness and precision for clean gear shifting. The frictionless H.E.A.R.T technology derived from Thrustmaster's high-end shifter, TH8A Shifter Add-On, ensures the same extreme level of precision throughout the product's lifespan. TH8S Shifter Add-On is compatible on PC with all racing wheels, and compatible on PS5, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S with Thrustmaster Force Feedback racing wheel bases.
Customer Rating
5
Fun addition to racing games
on September 29, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
Like many others, during the lockdown I took up sim racing as a way to trick myself into thinking I was getting out of the house. As part of this new hobby I picked up a Logitech racing wheel with pedals which has served me well. But let's face it - as efficient as they are, the flappy paddle gear shifters lack something compared to the more traditional stick shifter. So when the opportunity to add this to my rig came along, I was more than happy to try it out.
In my experience, Thrustmaster has always been the brand to go to for unassuming but very durable flight sticks. I'd never tried any of their driving accessories before though, and when I first took the shifter out of the box I'll admit I was a little worried. When you play in VR it's very easy to get caught up in the moment - which is why it's very important that any sim hardware be built to be able to take all of the abuse the real thing might in case someone uses more force than they really should. And I'll admit that my first impression was not great. Pretty much all the visible parts save for the stalk itself are plastic, and only a single screw clamp was provided for mounting. It was also very lightweight compared to the wheel and pedals I had, making me wonder how long it could possibly stand up to abuse. But after spending a few days with it, I've realized these fears were unfounded. While the case may be plastic there's a very solid frame underneath it, and it is very satisfyingly tactile as you slam the shifter home in each gear as you move through the progression. Thrustmaster has clearly done what they always do and invested everything into making the internals as reliable as possible. What's more setup worked great with no effort at all from me. Since I wasn't pairing it with a Thrustmaster wheel I simply attached the provided USB cable to use it as a standard input device and it was immediately recognized and configured in two of the three racing games I tried it out on. The fact that you don't have to pair it with another Thrustmaster device is a huge plus IMO, and something other companies should be learning from.
There are, however, a few downsides that should be mentioned. The biggest is the mounting solution. If you have a racing stand with a dedicated tray for you to permanently mount your shifter, you are going to be out of luck here. For some reason they did not include any mounting lugs, meaning you're stuck with the screw clamp and rubber friction pads to keep it in place on your stand or desk. Admittedly this does work well enough - I didn't have any issues with it sliding around once I got it clamped down, but rubber pads do eventually wear down and need to be replaced. Bolts really don't. And it's also hard to beat the cleaner look of a permanent mount. It would have been very nice to at least have the option.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The JBuds HD Webcam brings new focus to your virtual life. With high-definition images and natural sound, the attention will all be on you whether you’re leading a meeting, recording a vlog, or joining a virtual workshop. The crystal clear glass lens and dual omni-directional microphones give you serious performance, and the easy-to-use clip-on design fits seamlessly into any setup.
Customer Rating
5
Good basic webcam with some room for customization
on September 28, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
Webcams are one of those pieces of tech that can be a bit hard to talk about. Ultimately I don't know anyone who doesn't have something of a love-hate relationship with the things, particularly after endless and awkward Zoom meetings became the norm during the lockdowns. So what can you really say about something like the JBuds Cam, which elects not to try and reinvent the wheel but simply offer everything you need and not much more?
Image quality is on the upper edge of what I'd expect from a modern desktop webcam. Images are sharp and motion is clear provided you've got good lighting. If you don't colors do tend to get washed out somewhat, but it should be fine for most use cases. Audio is likewise acceptable. It can't rival a dedicated mic or headset, but you also won't have to worry about being heard and feedback wasn't a significant problem with the right settings. Overall build quality is likewise good. It's certainly on the chunky side and permanently affixed to its monitor clip (which admittedly doesn't have a ton of range to adjust the angle) which comes with a built in screw mount in case you need to set it up on a tripod. Standout features here are the braided USB cable and swappable magnetic faceplate - which lets you use either a dark gray or light gray fabric to better match your home setup.
It doesn't have everything you might want. There's no support for Windows Hello, facial tracking, or any kind of auto focus. But it's nonetheless a very solid choice for a cheap, reliable desktop webcam.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Get loud on the go. Motif II A.N.C. offers huge sound, in a tiny package. Its sleek charging case packs a punch by powering your headphones with 30 hours playtime to be unleashed whenever you want. With active noise cancellation, block out those crowded train rides and rowdy streets to dive into your music without distraction. For a quick conversation, switch over to transparency mode and let the outside in. As well as an added microphone, Motif II A.N.C. comes ready for BT LE Audio, so you’ll be better connected than ever before. For an even more customised listening experience, download the Marshall app. With Motif II A.N.C., you’re always ready for the road.
Customer Rating
4
Stylish, well made earbuds
on September 20, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
I think most people's first impressions on seeing these earbuds will probably be "wow, these look GOOD." Marshall has clearly rejected current design trends of smooth, minimalist plastic casings that blend into the background. Everything from the leathery finish on the case mimicking their iconic amps to the satisfyingly tactile metal knurling on the earbuds' stems is designed to make a clear statement. What that statement is (other than a fondness for guitar amps) I'm not quite sure of though.
It probably won't surprise you after that description to learn that these things have a little bit of heft to them. At first, my assumption was that this might be a problem and that they'd be prone to falling out. But much to my surprise, this hasn't been an issue. The earbuds comfortably nestle into my ear canals, and remain fixed in place as I walk around with them. I'm still a little nervous to try prolonged jogging, truth be told, but a few small tests around my yard failed to shake them free. Assuming you take the time to install the correct tips for your ears, I'd say that these score high for comfort.
Sound quality, as one might expect from this brand, is equally good. The bass response is just a little weaker than some of the other earbuds I've tried, however both music and speech comes through clear and has a sound balance that overall I'd characterize as satisfying. Indeed there was really only one area that I found performance slightly lacking: the active noise cancellation. I don't quite know what happened here. Earbud ANC has gotten very good in the last few years, to the point where it's almost as good as what you could get on some of the older headsets. But the ANC here just felt underwhelming. AC and engine noise was significantly muffled, but remained clearly audible nonetheless. And most other ambient sound was very hit or miss in regards to what got blocked and what didn't. That said, there is one advantage that might be worth considering: I felt very little of the inner ear pressure that typically comes with ANC earbuds and headphones, even after a full hour of use. So if you're someone who's particularly sensitive to such things, you may find it easier to handle these earbuds for prolonged periods.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Know the real you with the Venu 3 smartwatch, the ultimate on-wrist coach designed to support your goals — whatever they may be. Featuring a bright, colorful display and up to 14 days of battery life, this GPS smartwatch is purpose-built with advanced health and fitness features to help you better understand your body. Body Battery energy monitoring helps you keep your energy levels in check with personalized insights based on sleep, naps, stress, workouts and more. Improve the quality of your sleep with personalized sleep coaching and nap detection plus even more details such as HRV status (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked). During the day, switch up your activities with animated workouts and more than 30 built-in sports apps — including for active wheelchair users — plus advanced training features to keep you going strong. With its built-in speaker and microphone, the Venu 3 smartwatch makes it easy to make and take calls right from your wrist when paired to your smartphone — and even reply to texts by using your phone’s voice assistant. Plus, enjoy connectivity features such as music storage, Garmin Pay contactless payments (with a supported country and payment network) and more.
Customer Rating
5
A top tier fitness tracker that's also a watch
on September 20, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
I’ve been using a smart watch more or less daily for several years now and have tried several different brands over that time. This was my first experience with Garmin’s take on the concept, and I have to say it surprised me in several ways. Rather than leaning into the more traditional smart features, Garmin instead chose to put the health and fitness features at the forefront. And while it is a little weird to get used to coming from a more traditional smart watch, I think there’s a lot that someone looking for a step up from more basic fitness trackers might find to love.
The first thing that drew my attention upon taking it out of the box was the screen – which is just as big across as the largest of the current generation of flagship watches. However interestingly enough it’s paired with a somewhat slimmer body, making it look significantly smaller on the wrist. The band is made of high quality silicone and is extremely adjustable, though not exceptionally breathable. But since it uses standard quick-release lugs to attach it to the body it would be fairly easy to replace if the amount of sweat that builds up underneath it becomes a problem. Controls are all handled via the touch screen (which is vibrant, colorful, and very responsive) and three buttons along one side. There’s also a surprisingly good sounding speaker and mic combo to take calls, use a virtual assistant, or even listen to music if you find yourself lacking a pair of earbuds to pair with it.
As far as usability goes, it’s a big departure from what I’m used to with WearOS devices. To start with, almost all the commands are mapped to a variety of button combos that I found a bit hard to memorize and the watch doesn’t do much to teach you about them when starting up. The user experience is also very focused on the fitness tracking features. Notifications are present but not immediately available without going through two menus, customization and settings adjustments more or less have to be taken care of on the app in the paired phone, and the integration with Android at least is a bit less seamless than I was used to. I discovered early on that certain apps which provide real time updates to their notifications end up spamming the watch, requiring you to block them to keep the thing from becoming unbearable. And watch face selection is certainly much more limited – though to be fair still quite acceptable in my opinion. I wouldn’t call any of it a deal breaker by any means, but it’s definitely a device with a learning curve.
Moving onto what the device does best, however, there’s a lot of good things to highlight. The fitness tracking features are top notch, with sensors like a barometer to help alert you to sudden shifts in the weather while you’re out on a hike. The fitness apps I tried generally make very good use of them too – and the GPS performance is exemplary (as one might expect, given Garmin’s history as a company.) I am somewhat concerned that there doesn’t seem to be an official rating for waterproofing, but according to the company it should be able to stand up to most things you might encounter on trails and I can confirm that getting splashed or partly submerged for brief periods doesn’t seem to be a problem. One particularly interesting feature I experimented with is the “body battery” meter, which takes into account activity levels and sleep quality to give you a heads up as to how much energy you might be able to expend before becoming fatigued. While I can’t say it’s perfect it did at least roughly line up with when I found myself needing to stop for a break – and again seems like a great thing to have when you’re out hiking and may be trying to decide when to turn back or stop for the night to make camp. It also gets high marks for battery life – which can easily last several days with a bit of power management.
In conclusion, the Venu 3 is probably not a watch for everyone. But for a very particular type of user – someone who is very active, enjoys the outdoors, and isn’t necessarily looking for an extension of their phone – it’s probably going to be sitting at the top of a very short list of smart watch options.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Charge your vehicle on the go with the Rexing Level 1 Portable EV Charger (16A, 110-240V). Our charger is equipped with a NEMA 5-15 plug for Level 1 charging, perfect for use with a standard household outlet. Pair with a voltage transformer or a 110V outlet for increased charging options. Experience faster charging times with 110V AC input power and a maximum current of 16A. Get back on the road faster with Rexing.
Customer Rating
5
Basic, effective EV charger
on September 12, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
One of the more annoying trends in EVs lately is the decision to stop bundling level 1 chargers with them. While it's true that technically one can get by without one these days, I maintain that charging up your car at home overnight is still by far the most convenient and cost effective way to make sure you stay topped up. This level 1 charger from Rexing is a very good, if somewhat basic, option for your EV that you can get without having to pay a premium for a first party option from the dealer.
The charger itself isn't doing anything particularly unusual here. The 16A output is pretty typical for a level one charger, so a charging session is going to require several hours (unlike with a more powerful level 2 charger, which requires a 240v circuit to be added to your home.) The charger is built to be either thrown in your trunk using the convenient carrying bag or semi-permanently mounted on the wall using a few screw posts (not provided.) The cables are sturdy and long enough to work in a typical 2-car garage without issue, while still offering a relatively compact form factor for taking on the go. Some telemetry is available on the charger's screen, but I'll admit I usually forgot to look at it. Again, with level 1 chargers you're usually plugging it in at the end of the day so it can work overnight. I kind of take it as a given that it'll be ready to go after 8 hours.
Frankly, it's a little hard to say much more about it. This is not a product that's trying to reinvent the wheel or dazzle you with features. It's a straightforward utilitarian attempt to fill a niche. The basic functionality is all here, which makes it an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a level 1 EV charging solution.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Meet the Ninja Thirsti Drink System. Personalize flavor and fizz to create thousands of still and sparkling drinks at the touch of a button. 20+ flavors, 2 flavor strengths, 3 fizz levels, and 4 drink sizes. Dispense directly into your favorite cup. Includes CO2 Canister and a variety of Flavored Water Drops. Enjoy a single flavor or combine two flavors to create your signature drink.
Customer Rating
5
Ninja Soda
on September 5, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
Ninja has a well earned reputation for producing slightly over-engineered, highly stylish kitchen appliances. Their first foray into home carbonation systems continues the trend. The Thirsti checks pretty much all the boxes I could hope for, and offers a compelling alternative to current soda water makers for those willing to devote the space to it.
In the box you get the machine itself, a single CO2 cylinder, two water reservoirs, and an 8 pack of randomly selected flavorings. Any additional accessories can be ordered online and I suspect will be appearing in stores soon if they haven't already. The instructions recommend keeping two additional CO2 cylinders on hand so that you can make full use of their mail in replacement program, where you swap two empties for two full cylinders. All in all, it's pretty standard fare. Where things start to get interesting is in how the reservoirs are used. Rather than carbonating an entire bottle of water at a time the machine is designed to carbonate and dispense water in 6oz increments directly into your glass of choice while simultaneously mixing in the flavor.
I have to say that this is a huge improvement over my previous carbonation system. Anyone who's tried to mix in soda syrups or the like without causing the whole thing to fizz up and overflow can attest that it's oftentimes more art than science. There is none of that with the Thirsti. Everything comes out perfectly mixed to the strength I like it with just a few button presses. The machine even effectively cleans up after itself by sending a burst of plain water through the nozzle at the end to purge any remaining flavorings. Even the reservoirs are well thought out - with color changing valves at the bottom that turn blue when the water's gotten cold enough for carbonating. It's a very well put together package that looks quite sharp on my counter.
As for the flavorings themselves, I found the mix I got to be very pleasant. The current lineup definitely leans more into unsweetened sparkling water flavors than soda, but they're all quite pleasant and if you turn up the intensity of the flavor it definitely feels a bit more soda-like for those who prefer their water with unwise amounts of sugar. That said variety is definitely lacking a bit here at the moment. It looks like some of the flavors mentioned in the manual/recipe book haven't actually released yet, and there's no third party options at this time. The caffeinated offerings are particularly sparse, with only three options at the time of writing. Good news is that there's no reason you can't buy flavored syrups or the like to mix with the water the old fashioned way - but I do hope that we won't have to wait too long before seeing some new offerings like colas, additional fruit flavorings, or the like. For those who don't like their water flavored at all - I think you'll be happy with what you get. I've certainly seem more powerful carbonation systems, but none that are quite so consistent as this. You always get a decent amount of bubbles that stick around for several minutes at the minimum. And best of all - the machine is almost quiet while it works.
What's less likely to improve over time though is the amount of space the system takes up. There's no getting around it: the thirsty has a fairly large footprint for a machine of this type, and the need to keep the water chilled means it's going to be taking up space both on your counter and fridge. It's easily twice the size of my old Soda Stream, though it does make up for it somewhat by dispensing with the need to store water bottles. It's also a little on the heavy side thanks to the CO2 cylinder, so it's not necessarily the best appliance to be hauling out as needed.
Ultimately, the Thirsti is an easy recommendation for me provided that Ninja keeps working to push out new flavors and options for us.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Introducing the Lucyd Lyte Earthbound, the ultimate Bluetooth audio sunglasses for both men and women. These smart sunglasses feature a sleek and stylish design, with high-gloss acetate or titanium frames and featherlight internal components for optimal optical quality. The four speakers embedded in the temples provide lush, hi-fi open-ear music and calls, with a Quadrasonic sound that guarantees crisp and enjoyable sound. The touch controls on each temple of the glasses enable a selection of high-utility controls, including call answering, play/pause, track skip, volume adjustment, and voice assistant activation. Compatible with Alexa and Siri, you can make your voice command easily and make your life more convenient. These Bluetooth audio sunglasses also provide all-day battery life with up to 12 hours of playback per charge and over 160 hours of standby connection time. The typical user who listens to 1-2 hours of music daily will only need to charge the glasses once a week. Our smart eyewear sunglasses with Bluetooth come standard with high-quality, TAC-polarized UV400 sunglass lenses with a fashionable gradient finish, which can protect your eyes from harmful UV rays. Additionally, these smart audio glasses are rated IP-56 water resistant, so you can take them poolside or to other outdoor activities without any worries. The dual noise-canceling microphones improve call quality with enhanced clarity and ergonomics for longer-duration calls, and Bluetooth 5.2 technology allows for quick pairing and a 100-foot connectivity range. Upgrade your listening experience with the Lucyd Lyte Earthbound Bluetooth audio sunglasses today.
Customer Rating
3
A Lot to Like - But Lacking Polish
on September 3, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
I love my smart sunglasses. But with most of them, it's hard to avoid a sense that you're using an early proof of concept for a much better product. Key features aren't quite there, others aren't reliable, and you're often being asked to make unreasonable tradeoffs to work around the eccentricities of a particular design. I had high hopes that the Lucyd Lytes would be the product to break this cycle - offering a design that doesn't call attention to itself, replaceable lenses, and a decent set of specs. However once again I find myself with a feeling that I need to wait a few years for the final version to come out.
There are a lot of things here that are easy to like. Right out of the gate it avoids one of the most common issues with smart glasses by using proper weight distribution for the frame. A lot of the current crop of glasses are so desperate to find the space needed for all their electronics and battery that they either end up concentrating too much weight at the front (in which case they slowly slide down the front of your face) or producing big, bulky ear hooks that either squeeze your head or push against the back of your ears constantly. Lucyd avoids both by cleverly hiding everything along the entire length of the arms, giving them a balance much closer to that of conventional non-smart glasses. This does mean that the glasses arms are chunky all the way down, but thanks to how the frame is designed it isn't as obvious as you might think when you're actually wearing them. This automatically moves them near to the top of my list as far as comfort goes. I could easily see myself wearing these frames all day as regular glasses without complaint. Also, the included polarized lenses are top notch and offer a nice transition from the top to bottom of the lenses.
Unfortunately, past this point I have less praise to offer. There really just isn't any other way to say it: the audio quality on these glasses is poor. I know, glasses like this are never going to be able to match a decent pair of earbuds. The tech just doesn't lend itself to good bass response or noise isolation. But I've tried enough of these smart glasses at this point to know that we can still do better than this. The speakers are distinctly tinny sounding, and the closest they get to any kind of bass reproduction is the buzzing you can feel in your temples at higher volume. This might still be acceptable if the audio was really clear, but even turned up all the way it sounds distant and can easily get lost among background noise in your environment. They're no good for music, and only just good enough for spoken word content. I'd thought that maybe they could still redeem themselves with good mic performance, however in my side by side recording test I got better results with my phone's mic being used in speakerphone mode. Finally, the way you interact with the glasses feels very rudimentary too. Part of how these glasses get that good weight distribution is by forgoing any kind of physical connection between the two arms, which would require running wires for power and data through the front of the frame. Instead each arm is essentially an independent module with its own battery and audio controller, chained together to operate as a pair via a wireless connection. It works quite well - but it's also a complicated approach that seems to have left it with rather limited smarts for everything else. There are no touch sensitive elements on the frames or pre-processing for a virtual assistant to process voice commands. Instead there is just one very crunchy little momentary contact switch placed on the bottom of each arm just behind the hinge. What these buttons do are highly dependent on context and how long they're pressed down, and while there's some promise to that approach it's just not nearly as intuitive as some other approaches I've seen when it comes to basic tasks like changing volume or navigating a playlist.
Given this, it's very hard for me to recommend the product in its current form. They're certainly on the right track here, particularly in regards to being wearable glasses. But the smart platform needs work in practically every area.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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PRO X TKL is the next generation of the Logitech G PRO keyboard. It was designed in collaboration with the world’s best esports players—and engineered to win. PRO X TKL helps players eliminate every barrier between them and the win with the speed and reliability of LIGHTSPEED wireless technology and a sleek, tenkeyless design. It’s been battle-tested, pro-approved, and built to win championships at the highest levels of competition.
Customer Rating
5
Logitech delivers again
on September 3, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
Not that long ago, I was ready to write off Logitech's gaming keyboards. Don't get me wrong they were perfectly serviceable devices, but compared to what you could get from some of their competitors they felt fairly uninspired and lifeless. Then seemingly out of nowhere they released their new low profile GL clicky switches and used them to build what is probably the best wireless mechanical keyboard on the market. The Pro X TKL shows that they're determined to build on that momentum with a slightly more refined looking offering.
The general design and layout here is very similar to the G915 keyboard that preceded it, however they've toned down a lot of the more aggressive notes to suggest a more refined, professional device. Brushed aluminum has given away to a simple matte black with small silver highlights, the clicky blue switches have been replaced with dampened browns more suitable to an office, and the volume rocker has a soft touch rubber coating applied and a bit more resistance to allow for greater precision. The deck has also been thickened to allow for more battery and a heavier typing base. And, in a big step up, it comes inside molded hard carrying case so you can throw it in your bag and bring it with you to the office or wherever you may want to go. The full sized keycaps are well built with a clear legend that completely disappears when the lights are out - just in case you want to show off your touch typing skills with a stealth board. All in all it's a very sharp piece of kit, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find them starting to pop up in offices.
Initial setup is about as painless as can be. There are three options: use the included lightspeed dongle, bluetooth, or a wired connection. Of the wireless options the lightspeed dongle definitely offers the best reliability and responsiveness, but Bluetooth performance is frankly better than I expected here. Even at high typing speeds I didn't encounter any issues with characters being logged in the wrong order or the connection dropping. You will need to use a utility to update the RGB profiles - though if you like a uniform soft blue you may be content with the profile that it comes out of the box with. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that G-Hub has been updated to recognize this model yet so I couldn't do anything with the RGB functions yet - but based on my past experiences with other keyboards I can say that while Logiteech may not offer configuration utilities that are quite as robust as offerings from the like of Razer or Corsair it's not hard to set up basic effects or load in fresh user profiles.
As far as the typing experience goes, I think it's a safe bet that if you like the standard Cherry MX Brown typing feel you'll like the GL Browns too. They're maybe just a touch lighter in terms of actuation pressure, and have the same springiness on the return. There's really no good way to know what switches are best for you without going out and actually trying them out though - so if this is your first mechanical keyboard you should definitely try to head into a store and try one for yourself before making a final decision.
All in all, this is another extremely impressive offering from Logitech.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Ambush at the peak-point, overlooking the enemy and about to march strongly, Bravo 15 is ready to ignite the gaming world. Combining the latest AMD Ryzen 7735HS processor and AMD Radeon RX 6550M graphics together, Bravo 15 satisfies the gamer's imagination in gaming. With the MSI exclusive thermal solution - Cooler Boost 5, empower the full performance of CPU and GPU. Also the 144Hz gaming display provides sharp and smooth visuals so gamers never miss a beat. Take advantage of Bravo 15 and soar like thunderbird in the game battlefield!
Customer Rating
5
Affordable, Chunky Gaming
on September 3, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
The Bravo 15 isn't a laptop that sets out to do everything. MSI's engineers were clearly on a mission when they designed this: produce a gaming laptop that does everything it needs to while still being broadly affordable. And, in my opinion, they've succeeded on that. It's not without its warts or downsides, but as cheap gaming rigs go the value proposition here is hard to beat.
First up: the overall build. Over the last few years we've seen more and more gaming laptops being released in ultralight form factors, with even some of the larger desktop replacement units thinning out by taking advantage of new vapor chamber cooling layouts. The Bravo goes a different way. it's a chunky laptop with tons of internal volume for air circulation and a heavy metal frame holding everything together. It does offer a solid chassis for typing, room for a full sized ethernet jack, and decent cooling performance, but at the cost of portability. Also worth considering is that pretty much all the casing is made of plastic - I do have some concerns that the ventilated base plate in particular is a weak spot (particularly if it were pressed up against anything sharp. On the plus side though the material doesn't pick up fingerprints, hides dust fairly well, and doesn't transfer heat nearly as much as laptops with metal cases when it's sitting on your legs. Overall so long as you're willing to invest in an appropriately sized and padded case for when the machine isn't living on your desk, I think it'll work fine for most users.
As far as performance goes, the laptop does quite well for itself in both benchmarks and real world gaming tests. As 3D Mark shows there's a LOT of CPU power in here, and while the GPU is less impressive it's still quite capable of handling most modern titles at 1080 resolutions (even though some may require turning down the settings a bit. And they've put a very good panel on the laptop as well, so you've got sharp lines, minimal ghosting, and decently bright colors. Performance out of the box is often only half the story with systems like this though: just as important is how much room they give you to improve it over time. And here the Bravo does better than most. Since it's not being engineered for thinness it's not doing what a lot of laptops are these days and splitting system memory between soldered and socketed - it's got two socketed SODIMMs meaning you can cram up to 64gb of RAM in should you feel inclined as well as giving it some extra high speed storage. Only downside is that it doesn't have a thunderbolt port, so you can't easily bump up the specs with an eGPU.
As far as incidentals go - there's not too much to say. There's certainly a bit more bloatware included than I'd like (particularly the "gaming" version of Norton) but that's more or less to be expected when dealing with a budget laptop of any sort, and easily stripped out. The keyboard is pleasant to type on, well lit, and does include a small numeric keypad. The placement of the FN modifier key is a little awkward on the right side as it forces you to use two hands for the most common keyboard shortcuts, but otherwise has no issues. There are also a few neat tricks provided by MSI and SteelSeries, like a function to use one or more bluetooth speakers to set yourself up a portable surround sound solution. And the WiFI 6E adapter provided appears to be both fast and stable. Only downside is the battery. With how much weight and room there is to play with here I kind of expected the laptop to be able to work all day on a charge when handling non-gaming tasks. But in practice, it can do about half that. So you might want to keep the AC adapter close to hand.
All in all, I give the Bravo 15 high marks for what it is. I see it as the ideal gaming rig for a student or an only occasional traveler.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Annihilate your competition with this ASUS ROG gaming desktop. The Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM deliver rapid performance during fast-paced action, while the 1TB SSD provide plenty of storage for large files and downloads. This Bluetooth-enabled ASUS ROG gaming computer features an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card for tear-free rendering of 4K games.
Customer Rating
5
Solid prebuilt with some room to grow
on July 7, 2023
Posted by: Batlacit
Gamers have always had a bit of a contentious relationship with pre-built desktops. A lot of manufacturers have a bad habit of building for spec sheets rather than sensible part selection which can result crippling bottlenecks, limited expansion options, or something that's ludicrously underpowered. ASUS manages to avoid a lot of the common pitfalls in this desktop, leveraging their significant experience producing parts for the enthusiast market to produce a gaming desktop that stands well above typical prebuilt desktops but, sadly, does come with its own quirks that need to be dealt with.
First, let's talk about the case. It's a fairly typical "gamer" case, albeit in a thinner form factor than most are used to seeing. And I have to say that it does check most of the boxes for what your typical gamer is looking for. It's striking, has plenty of programmable RGB accents, a built in headphone hook, and a gorgeous tempered glass panel showing off the internals. It also includes a two-part carrying handle (an adjustable strap at the back and a rigid handhold under the chin) to make it easy to move around to LAN parties or dorm rooms. But it is also, unfortunately, the weakest part of the system by far. While it's definitely a massive improvement on some of the previous ROG case designs I've seen, ventilation is still very much hit or miss here. As far as I can tell it's using a negative pressure layout, with two big 120mm fans in the ceiling serving as the exhaust and a single 80mm fan in the rear pulling air in. None of these intakes are filtered, and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to pop off the panel at the top for cleaning. Meanwhile the power supply is given a dedicated intake and exhaust, which I'd normally applaud if not for the fact that the intake sits so close to the ground that it's almost completely choked off (and probably just wouldn't work at all on carpet.) When I first looked at it, I thought it would probably be intolerably noisy given that smaller fans usually need to run at speeds high enough to produce an audible whine to do anything. I'm surprised to say, though, that it's actually pretty quiet while running. Case temps do get quite hot though under both synthetic and real life workloads, and results showed that even with the water cooler the CPU was running into its thermal limit after just a few minutes. Finally, it's missing a lot of small quality of life features you'll often see on enthusiast hardware like thumbscrews to secure body panels, extra space for cable routing/management, or mounting trays for HDDs or SATA SSDs (though there do appear to be brackets for them in a few places.) All of this combined makes me fairly confident that a case replacement is likely in the machine's future if I want to do any significant upgrades.
Moving on though, things start to look a lot better. As mentioned, ASUS has a history with enthusiast tier hardware. And they've used some of it to build out this machine. You get an unlocked i7, a very decent upper-mid tier ASUS motherboard, an enthusiast tier dual-fan 3070, and a fully modular power supply with 750 watts and a gold efficiency rating. The power supply and CPU in particular are easy to overlook, but worth a lot in my opinion. I can count on one hand the number of off the shelf desktops that have come with a halfway decent power supply, let alone a modular one. And even if you don't plan to overclock the system, just the fact that it's rated for it means it's a step above the standard chips in terms of manufacturing quality. These two factors mean that you can likely expect a small but significant improvement to system stability and the useful life of the machine, and are very much worth spending a little extra to get.
So, now that we've covered build quality, how does it actually perform?
Overall, very well. It does struggle somewhat in synthetic loads - mostly I believe because of the cooling issues inherent to this case design. But you'd be hard pressed to notice this in real-world use. Cyberpunk 2077 with the settings cranked all the way up and Raytracing set to overdrive easily managed 60+ FPS at 1080p, even during longer gameplay sessions. Temperatures definitely were in the high range, but never got too concerning or forced the system to throttle back enough to significantly impair gaming performance. And, I'll admit, there are a lot of gamers I know (myself included) who might get excited at the prospect of spending a little extra time and money to make some improvements and unlock the full potential of this hardware. With a little care, this could easily serve as your primary gaming machine for at least the next five years or so.
Overall despite the issues I have with cooling performance and the case design, this is a pretty easy desktop for me to recommend. If you want to just set it on your (elevated, hopefully very smooth) desk and run it as is for the next five years, you can. And if you want to rip out the parts and rebuild it into a finely tuned beast of a custom gaming rig, you can. ASUS has delivered a solid foundation for your gaming experience here, which in my opinion would be a great starter PC for someone looking to ease themselves into the world of enthusiast hardware and what it can offer you.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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