Reviews 51924 Published by

Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

1MORE Spearhead VRX Gaming Headset Review
1MORE Spearhead VRX Gaming Headset Review
1MORE Spearhead VRX Review
ASRock X299 Taichi XE Motherboard Review
Battlefield V Open Beta Benchmarked
be quiet! Silent Base 601 Mid-Tower Chassis Review
be quiet! Silent Base 601 Review
Best of IFA 2018
BitFenix Formula Gold 750W Power Supply Review
Dell XPS 15 (9570) Review
Fnatic Flick 2 Gaming Mouse Review
GIGABYTE AORUS B450 I PRO WIFI Review
Gigabyte AORUS GP-AP850GM PSU Review
Marvel’s Spider-Man Review
Micronics Master M400 Mid-Tower Chassis Review
Mionix Wei Mechanical Keyboard Review
Mistel Barocco MD650L Review
Patriot EVLVR Thunderbolt 3 Portable Solid State Drive Review
Rachio Generation 2 Smart Sprinkler Controller Review



1MORE Spearhead VRX Gaming Headset Review

The range of audio products coming from 1MORE recently is simply staggering. They’ve not been on our radar for even a year, but since then, they’ve made a very lasting impression. Their in-ear headphones were the first THX-certified in-ears, and they blew us away with their performance. Then their on-ear headphones proved to be some of the most beautifully crafted and best sounding headphones we’ve ever used. It would be a real shame then for them not to complete the trilogy of greatness with their next review on eTeknix. They’ve gone all out yet again with their new Spearhead VRX gaming headset. It’s brimming with flagship build quality and features, while also pushing the envelope of innovation thanks to its head-tracking 3D surround sound and Maglev Graphene drivers. That’s a whole lot of hype in one paragraph, so let’s move on and look at the feature list below!

Read full article @ eTeknix

1MORE Spearhead VRX Gaming Headset Review

The freshly released 1MORE Spearhead VRX is the newest, technologically beefiest, and most expensive gaming headset 1MORE has to offer. It comes with a unique head-tracking unit that works in conjunction with an advanced DSP to achieve an immersive surround sound experience.

Read full article @ TechPowerUp

1MORE Spearhead VRX Review

They've already dipped their toes into the gaming pool with last year's Spearhead VR, but this year looks to be a bit different though as they are debuting three new gaming orientated headsets. Today we will be taking a look at their most premium flagship offering which is their Spearhead VRX. The VRX will be the successor to the VR and looks to improve upon the already stacked feature set.

Read full article @ Vortez

ASRock X299 Taichi XE Motherboard Review

Over the years, Intel has undoubtedly taken control of the entire PC desktop market. They offer specialized platforms to both mainstream and enthusiast consumers. Earlier this year, Intel released their 200-series platform for mainstream consumers and it turned out to be a modest jump in terms of performance and features, something that we have come to expect from Intel during recent years.

While mainstream desktop buyers got their platform cycle refresh earlier this year, enthusiasts are receiving the update in the second quarter. In 2014, Intel released X99 and it was a big leap in terms of features compared to X79. It was the first platform to feature support for DDR4 memory, something that mainstream consumers would get a whole year later. It was also the first platform that pushed the core count on Intel processors from 6 to 10. While expensive, the competitors had no answer to Intel’s enthusiast platform which gave Intel another market to take control over.

Read full article @ Wccftech

Battlefield V Open Beta Benchmarked

This week we were finally able to jump into Battlefield V for the first time, and of course, we spent more time benchmarking than we did enjoying the gameplay, so we have a few results for you... which we'll call a preview since we are testing the 'open beta' version of the game. The full thing is slated for release across major platforms in two months' time.

Read full article @ TechSpot

be quiet! Silent Base 601 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

The latest be quiet! chassis is here, and it comes as a big celebration of their first! Following on from the first Silent Base chassis from a few years ago, the new one is better than ever. With a relentless focus on acoustic performance, be quiet! are clearly living up to their name here. This chassis comes with full metal frame and panel construction to reduce unwanted vibrations. That does mean it’s going to be heavier, but for good reason. Add to that ultra-thick and premium noise dampening materials, quality dust filters, premium fans and more. If you’re one for showing off, they also make a tempered glass model. However, today we’ll be looking at the dual solid side panel version.

Read full article @ eTeknix

be quiet! Silent Base 601 Review

This round we’re checking out the new be quiet! Silent Base 601, a mid-tower PC chassis and the successor to the Silent Base 600, which we reviewed at Guru3D almost three years ago (and that’s a long time in this market). At first glance, it looks more similar to another case from this German manufacturer (the Dark Base 700) than to its own predecessor. Based on a metal chassis, the new Silent Base 601 case comes in a windowed or non-windowed version, with the highlighting on the front available in different colours. Along with high-grade dampening materials on the panels (up to 10 millimeters thick), angled intake air vents on the front support Silent Base’s near-quiet operation. Two pre-installed Pure Wings 2 140mm PWM fans ensure efficient cooling, while a PSU shroud and HDD slot covers give the interior a clean look. Out of the box, the Silent Base 601 can take up to three HDDs or six SSDs. be quiet! has provided a review sample with orange accents and without a side window (definitely a better choice for silence lovers).

„Silent Base was be quiet’s first PC case series. Technological advancements of later be quiet! PC cases helped mold the new Silent Base 601. This latest generation of Silent Base cases is the perfect choice when it comes to combining silent cooling and best-in-class usability, two qualities that help drive be quiet’s development process, leading to several familiar as well as unique features. Silent Base’s frame and panels are made entirely of metal, decreasing sound-inducing vibrations to an absolute minimum. In addition, for those who enjoy PC build related aesthetics, Silent Base 601 comes with tempered glass-windowed side panel or a sound-insulated metal side panel for true silence enthusiasts, and is available in three highlighted colors: black, orange and silver. As a mid-sized mid tower chassis, Silent Base 601 targets PC enthusiasts and system builders seeking the right hardware to conveniently build the quietest systems”

Read full article @ The Guru of 3D

Best of IFA 2018

Once again, the tech industry descended on Berlin with an overwhelming number of gadgets. As hundreds of exhibitors were spread across thousands of square feet of space, finding the show's highlight products wasn't easy. But we spent days trawling through IFA to discover the best it had to offer.

Read full article @ TechSpot

BitFenix Formula Gold 750W Power Supply Review

Earlier this year we looked at the BitFenix Whisper M 850W power supply and today we are taking a detailed look at the BitFenix Formula Gold 750W unit. With a lower price point the Formula Gold Series is targeted towards mainstream consumers. The most obvious difference between these two units is the Formula God Series has all fixed cables while the Whisper M Series comes with modular cables. The Formula Gold power supplies use a 120mm cooling fan that spins all the time while the Whisper M units incorporate a 135mm fan with semi-fanless operation. And last but not least is a difference in warranty period. The Formula Gold Series are backed with a 5-year warranty while the Whisper M units come with a 7-year warranty.

Formed in 2014 and based in New Taipei, Taiwan, BitFenix started their PC hardware business with a focus on power supplies, cases, lighting accessories, and LED fans targeted towards enthusiasts, gamers and modders. They currently have four different power supply lines: the Formula Gold, BitFenix BPA, Whisper M, and the Fury. The Formula Gold series includes four models: 450W, 550W, 650W and 750W.

Read full article @ PC Perspective

Dell XPS 15 (9570) Review

The Dell XPS 15 should look familiar if you're a regular HotHardware reader. We’ve seen various iterations of this power-users’ mobile PC over the past few years, usually with an Editors’ Choice logo pegged at the end of the review. The latest version keeps that winning streak alive, thanks to new, more powerful six-core Coffee Lake-based Intel Core processor options and robust NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics...

Read full article @ HotHardware

Fnatic Flick 2 Gaming Mouse Review

Hello everyone, I am here bringing you the first of two mouse reviews in fairly quick succession.

Fnatic have been around a few years now and acquired Func to get their hands on some pretty decent mouse tech. As time goes on Fnatic continue to redesign and improve these along with offering a range of other peripherals.

The Flick 2 is one of their latest releases and follows some familiar design trends, which is no bad thing. Before delving into some pictures let’s grab a list of specs.

Read full article @ Play3r

GIGABYTE AORUS B450 I PRO WIFI Review

While the AORUS board measures only 170mm x 170mm, the 2700X can still be equipped, giving any small form-factor system a healthy number of cores for processing work of any kind, providing you can cool the chip sufficiently, obviously. Not only are you capable of running massive CPUs, we also get four SATA connections, an M.2 slot with a sizeable heatsink and twin-antenna WiFi.

Read full article @ Vortez

Gigabyte AORUS GP-AP850GM PSU Review

The Aorus GP-AP850GM is a distinctive looking power supply featuring a fully modular cable design along with 80 PLUS Gold and ETA-A efficiency certifications. Gigabyte chose to cooperate with a lesser known OEM partner, MEIC, and we are curious to check this platform’s performance.

It has been quite some time since our last encounter with a Gigabyte PSU. Although this company is huge and a major player with graphics cards, mainboards and laptops it keeps a very low profile in the power supply market. Probably now that Asus, a major competitor, will enter this field for good with the ROG Thor models, Gigabyte have started enriching its power supply portfolio.

The Aorus P850W and P750W models were announced several weeks ago, however we still can’t seem to locate any availability via UK or USA etailers online.

Read full article @ KitGuru

Marvel’s Spider-Man Review

Few superhero games have been as widely anticipated as that of Marvel’s Spider-Man in recent years. The best selling comic book hero hasn’t seen his own solo adventure in a few years, having been seen in titles such as Ultimate Alliance and Marvel Heroes but nothing on his own for most of the PS4 generation. Insomniac has already seen success once before with an open-world city and fast traversal in Sunset Overdrive, so are they the perfect studio to pick up the superhero mantle and try their hand at making a new game based on Marvel’s Spider-Man?

Read full article @ Wccftech

Micronics Master M400 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Out of the blue, we were asked to look at some gear from a company called Micronics. Not knowing anything about them, we looked at a couple of links they had sent to us and agreed to have a look. Without a single bit of information on the company previous to this request, we ventured out into the internet to look them up and see what they were all about. We found that they are a Korean company that has changed names a few times, were established way back in 1996, and at this time, have quite the assortment of components including PSUs, cases, peripherals, fans, AIO PCs, and there is even a section for CPU coolers, although it is empty at this time.

Read full article @ TweakTown

Mionix Wei Mechanical Keyboard Review

Smaller and more feature-rich than its predecessor the Zibal 60 the new Wei Mechanical Keyboard by Mionix is not only ideal for professionals looking for a durable model but thanks to its RGB per-key illumination and extra available keycaps it may also appeal to gamers.

Different types of consumers have different needs and although that's normal and certainly not something new i think that it's far more evident in the electronics industry in general. Of course the same applies for consumers in the PC market and so although gamers tend to place looks and features above durability/build quality when out to get new peripherals like mechanical keyboards the exact opposite stands true for professionals and in some cases even enthusiasts. For good or bad most keyboard manufacturers have shifted their focus towards the design and release of gaming oriented feature-rich models (the gaming industry does seem to be more profitable in this segment of the market) which may not be the best choice for people who are after superior build quality. Mionix has released several durable products over the years aimed at both gamers and professionals alike and today finally on our test bed we have their Wei Mechanical Keyboard.

Mionix is based in Malmo, Sweden and creates high quality, well designed gaming hardware products. Mionix is a company with ridiculous ambitions that is set on changing the desk experience. For billions of people the peripherals on our desk are either toned in black plastic or grey aluminums. Our soul mission is to make the desk a fresh place.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Mistel Barocco MD650L Review

Now that low-profile switches have hit the mechanical keyboard market, it was only a matter of time until we saw Cherry's own solution trickle into consumer keyboards. That time has finally come with the high-end enthusiast keyboard from Mistel. We looked at their split MD600 RGB last year. Today, we?re looking at its slim, lighting-free successor, the MD650L. Is this the ergonomic keyboard you've been waiting for?

Read full article @ MMORPG

Patriot EVLVR Thunderbolt 3 Portable Solid State Drive Review

This past year we saw the introduction of many USB 3.1 solid state drives.  These became extremely popular and are great for portable game drives, video and photo editing drives, and more because of their size and speed.  This year we are going to see the introduction of many Thunderbolt 3 portable solid state drives.  This gives you the ability to take advantage of the 40Gbps speed of Thunderbolt 3, which is three times faster than USB 3.1 (10Gbps).  Patriot was one of the first to announce a Thunderbolt 3 portable solid state drive in their EVLVR.  Today we are checking out the 1TB version of the drive, which boasts speeds of 1600 MB/s read and 1000 MB/s write.  Let's take a look at this drive and see if it sets a new standard for portable solid state drives.

Read full article @ ThinkComputers.org

Rachio Generation 2 Smart Sprinkler Controller Review

I put a “smart” sprinkler controller on my shopping list a long time ago, but it was not until last month when I woke up to the sound of rain and saw that my sprinklers were on! I decided it was time to take action. Part of the reason why I had not before, is that there are so many options available, and I could not devote the necessary amount of time to research all of the different choices. Finally provided with sufficient motivation, I put in the effort and opted for the $199 SRP (~$170 street) eight zone Rachio Generation 2 “Smart Sprinkler Controller”.

Read full article @ MissingRemote