The transparent Corsair HX1000i SHIFT CRYSTAL and NVIDIA's doubled DGX Spark price
Five outlets reviewed a glass-fronted Corsair power supply today, the DGX Spark nearly doubled in price, and Apple's $299 HomeView is already a tough sell.
Five review outlets have now weighed in on the Corsair HX1000i SHIFT CRYSTAL, making it the most-reviewed product of the day. TechPowerUp, igor'sLAB, KitGuru, Hardware Busters, and Tom's Hardware all pulled the transparent, side-mounted modular unit from its box.
Here's the bit Corsair is actually pitching. It's the company's first PSU with per-pin overcurrent protection on the native 12V-2×6 GPU connector. Instead of watching the whole rail, it monitors each of the six power pins individually and can throttle or shut down if one pin is making a poor connection. igor'sLAB measured a shutdown after about 20 seconds at 9.9A, and an immediate cutoff at 18A. For what it's worth, that's a failure mode a conventional single-rail design simply can't see.
TechPowerUp: Corsair HX1000i Shift Crystal Review
Corsair HX1000i Shift Crystal makes a PSU into a showcase piece, with a clear shell, side-mounted cables, and a built in iCUE LINK hub. With advanced cooling and a digital architecture it delivers flat efficiency, excellent voltage regulation, and near-silent operation, plus PinProtect+ for smarter 12V-2x6 operation.
IgorsLAB: Corsair HX1000i SHIFT CRYSTAL Review: PinProtect+
The 1000 W power supply achieves Cybenetics Platinum and LAMBDA A+. In testing, PinProtect+ shuts down after about 20 seconds or immediately in the event of contact overload.
KitGuru: Corsair HX1000i Shift Crystal (2026) PSU Review
Today we take a look at one of Corsair’s more unusual power supplies, the HX1000i Shift Crystal. This 1000W unit features transparent panels on three sides, giving a clear view of the components inside. It combines the side-mounted modular connectors of the HXi Shift range with a 140mm RGB fan, individually sleeved cables and Cybenetics Platinum efficiency certification. Corsair also introduce their configurable PinProtect+ protection system for the 12V-2×6 connection.
Hardware Busters: Corsair HX1000i SHIFT CRYSTAL ATX v3.1 PSU Review
Corsair HX1000i SHIFT CRYSTAL tested for regulation, ripple, transients, efficiency, noise, and protection behavior.
Tom's Hardware: Corsair HX1000i Shift Crystal power supply review: 1000W Platinum efficiency with an eye-catching transparent aesthetic
Plus PinProtect+ and iCUE LINK system hub
The price is $339.99 in the US or £249.99 in the UK. Notably, that's identical to the regular, non-transparent HX1000i SHIFT, so the crystal shell comes with no premium attached.
That should be a bargain, and it mostly is. However, at the same time, two reviewers raised eyebrows at the internals. Hardware Busters noted it uses Elite capacitors rather than the Chemi-Con or Rubycon units you'd expect, and it trails the regular SHIFT in overall performance. Tom's Hardware made a similar point about the Taiwanese caps, calling it a "showpiece that backs its looks with substance" while flagging the same compromise.
Keep in mind that the 200mm-long chassis needs real depth and side clearance for those side-mounted connectors. Scores ranged from Hardware Busters at 8.2/10 to KitGuru at 9/10.
The DGX Spark went from a steal to a stretch
NVIDIA's DGX Spark is a desk-side AI computer built around the GB10 Grace Blackwell superchip, and it's a genuinely interesting piece of hardware that has gone sideways on pricing. The Founders Edition launched at €4,399. It now lists at around €7,999.
NVIDIA didn't spell out the reasoning in much detail, though it's no secret that the memory and storage market has been under serious strain lately. Either way, the math is stark. The Spark shares its 6,144 CUDA core count with a consumer RTX 5070. At the old price it was a bargain. Near €8,000, it's arguably competing with far more mature options.
The real draw of the Spark remains its 128GB of unified LPDDR5X memory. That's enough to load models too big for even an RTX 5090's 32GB of VRAM. You just pay for that capacity in bandwidth. The shared memory runs at 273 GB/s versus 672 GB/s on the 5070's GDDR7. You get more models to run, but not necessarily faster inference.
The Guru of 3D: NVIDIA DGX Spark Founders Edition Review: Blackwell AI on Your Desk
The NVIDIA DGX Spark Founders Edition brings the GB10 Grace Blackwell superchip and 128GB of unified memory to a compact desktop system built for local AI development.
NVIDIA DGX Spark Founders Edition Review: Blackwell AI on Your Desk
It doubles as either a standalone Linux desktop or a networked AI co-processor. NVIDIA Build ships "playbooks" for ComfyUI and Open WebUI, which makes setup easier than wading through raw configs. Linux familiarity still helps, though.
Apple's HomeView is already the most polarizing gadget of the day
The HomeView is Apple's 7-inch square smart-home hub, launching November 13, 2026. MacRumors' Dan Barbera spent a week with it ahead of that date and asked the question everyone had already started asking: is it worth $299?
On paper it does a fair amount. It runs Siri, controls the smart home, handles FaceTime, and plays music through an aluminum speaker base. There's no App Store, but CarPlay-enabled apps like Spotify and Apple Music Classical do show up. The square display tilts on a stainless steel hinge, which looks reasonable on a kitchen counter or nightstand.
MacRumors: Is Apple's All-New HomeView Smart Home Hub Worth $299?
On our YouTube channel today, Dan Barbera shared a review of Apple's all-new HomeView smart home hub ahead of the device launching on Friday. Subscribe to MacRumors on YouTube Barbera spent the past week testing the HomeView and has shared his impressions, so be sure to watch our video above to hear what he thinks. As a refresher, the HomeView features a 7-inch square display connected to an aluminum speaker base by a stainless steel tilting hinge.
Review: Is Apple's All-New HomeView Smart Home Hub Worth $299?
The reception hasn't been kind. MacRumors forum comments skew hard negative, with a steady stream of "worthless" and "not worth $299" replies. People keep landing on the old "why isn't this an iPad" take, a conversation HomeKit has been hearing for years. Apple has acknowledged some software issues and promised a HomeView update to fix Siri behavior, so it may well be worth waiting for that patch.
A lighter sweep of the rest
The Formula V-Line Air Power G9 Duo is shaping up to be a strong case entry. eTeknix calls the chassis lineup one of the most interesting in years, and this dual-chamber mid-tower keeps that reputation with swappable glass or mesh front panels, 360mm radiator support top and bottom, and E-ATX compatibility. It ships with four pre-installed ARGB fans.
eTeknix: Formula V-Line Air Power G9 Duo PA Case Review
Formula V-Line already impressed us with their new cases at Computex 2026, and the Formula V-Line Air Power G10 PC Case which we recently reviewed, is already one of the most interesting cases we’ve…
Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 5 gets both a redesign and user-replaceable batteries, which is a real sustainability win. APH Networks describes the sound as an "enjoyable slight V-shaped character" and praises the pocket able case. Bluetooth 6.0 brings aptX Lossless, and battery life tops out at 12 hours with the ANC off.
APH Networks: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 Review
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 shows refinement and polish we have come to appreciate from the lineup. Physically, it is a step in a new physical direction. Gone are the notable edges and flat surfaces and in its place is a jelly bean shape. The charging case is sleek and easily pocketable. Internally, we have the latest Bluetooth 6.0 and support for Qualcomm’s aptX codecs and its variants. Durability is strong with an IP54 rating, although it is not necessarily made for active use cases. One aspect I really appreciate is the inclusion of user-replaceable batteries. Even if it is limited to proprietary battery options, it still is less wasteful to replace a battery instead of the entire unit. In performance, the audio capabilities of the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 are impressive. The overall sound has an enjoyable slight V-shaped character.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 Review (Page 1 of 4) | APH Networks
Corsair's HS80 v2 MAX wireless headset nails almost everything but the mic. TweakTown rates it 80% at about $199. You get a 50mm driver upgrade, dual 2.4GHz-plus-Bluetooth connectivity, and up to 130 hours of battery on Bluetooth. But the mic is a clear downgrade from the original, with a narrowed 100-8,000 Hz frequency response that earns "average" chat ratings. That stings on a $200 headset.
TweakTown: Corsair HS80 v2 MAX Wireless Gaming Headset Review
The Corsair HS80 v2 MAX improves sound, battery life, and comfort over the original. However, its downgraded microphone makes it fall a little short.
If you want a docking station, igor'sLAB looked at the Baseus Spacemate RD1 Plus, a 14-in-1 unit with an integrated smart display and a built-in 120W GaN power supply. It runs warm, macOS multi-monitor support is limited, and at ~€270 it's on the pricey side. Worth a look if you prize front-port accessibility, though.
IgorsLAB: Baseus Spacemate RD1 Plus review: Dock with 4K/120 Hz
The Baseus Spacemate RD1 Plus impresses in our review with plenty of ports, a GaN power supply and a practical smart display. It runs warm and is relatively expensive.
For someone running a serious home network, Funky Kit scored the EnGenius ESG620 at 8.6/10 at roughly $1,195. You get dual WAN load balancing, PoE+, cloud management, and a five-year warranty. The catch: you'll need extra licenses to unlock all its features, and its price scored lowest across the categories reviewed.
Funky Kit: EnGenius ESG620 Multi-Gig 8-Port VPN Router Review
Today we start our adventure with EnGenius, which focuses on small-business and enterprise networking products, but some of them fit homes perfectly. Especially in larger spaces, the EnGenius ecosystem can be a great option. Our first review covers the ESG620, a gateway with broad functionality, from routing and network management.
EnGenius ESG620 Multi-Gig 8-Port VPN Router Review - Funky Kit
