Twitter user InstLatX64 has discovered a mysterious AMD 4700S processor that’s evidently part of an AMD 4700S Desktop Kit. It’s plausible that the developer kit is the same one that Microsoft was utilizing to develop one of its Xbox consoles.
Although not officially a member of the Ryzen family, we suspect that the AMD 4700S probably takes after the Ryzen 4000 (Renoir) mobile APUs. If that’s the case, the AMD 4700S should be employing AMD’s Zen 2 cores, meaning this could be an engineering sample of the processor that powers the Xbox Series X or Series S.
The Xbox Series X and Series S utilize a custom octa-core AMD Zen 2 processor. Other than the clock speeds, no official name was given to the chip. The one inside the Series X features a 3.8 GHz clock speed and 3.6 GHz clock with SMT, while the variant for the Series S is clocked at 3.6 GHz with a 3.4 GHz SMT clock.
A Geekbench 5 submission (via Leakbench), which dates back to March 29, shows the AMD 4700S with an eight-core, 16-thread configuration and 8MB of L3 cache. The obscure processor’s specifications coincide with mobile Renoir for sure. The AMD 4700S seemingly sports a 3.6 GHz base clock and 4 GHz boost clock. The desktop kit reportedly comes equipped with 16GB of memory as well.
The AMD 4700S scored 998 points and 8,589 points in the single-and multi-core benchmarks, respectively. For comparison, the Ryzen 9 4900HS, which is the Ryzen 4000 flagship, averaged 1,083 points in the single-core test and 6,994 points in the multi-core test. While the Ryzen 9 4900HS delivered up to 8.5% higher single-core performance, the AMD 4700S offered up to 22.8% higher multi-core performance.
What’s even stranger is that AMD recently released the firmware and corresponding drivers for the AMD 4700S Desktop Kit. There are drivers for the chipset, onboard audio and the Ethernet port. Digging a bit into the firmware, we found mentions of Cardinal, which could be the internal codename that AMD is using for this particular desktop kit. The files are dated yesterday (April 19), so they are very fresh.
Developer kits aren’t typically available to the general public. However, Finnish retailer Tulostintavaratalo has listed the AMD 4700S 8-Core Desktop Kit on its online store for €263.71 (~$317.38) with a delivery time spanning from 14 to 30 working days. While the AMD 4700S remains a mystery, it does appear that AMD is selling it in the retail channels.
(Pocket-lint) – Apple revealed the third generation of the iPad Pro 11 during an event in April 2021. The iPad Pro 11 (3rd gen) replaces the second generation model from 2020 and sits alongside the larger iPad Pro 12.9 – now in its fifth generation.
How does the new iPad Pro 11 compare to the old iPad Pro 11 though? We’ve run their specs up against each other to help you decide which is the right one for you, or whether you should upgrade.
What’s the same?
Design and display
Battery and audio
Rear camera
Colour options
There are a number of similarities between the iPad Pro 11 (2021) and the iPad Pro 11 (2020), including the overall design and measurements. Both models are available in the same Silver and Space Grey colour options and they both feature aluminium frames with squared edges and very slim bezels surrounding the display.
The top right corner of the rear in both models features a square camera housing, housing the same 12-megapixel wide and 10-megapixel ultra wide angle sensors across the two devices. Both models also come with an 11-inch Liquid Retina display with a 2388 x 1668 resolution for a pixel density of 264ppi and a max brightness of 600nits.
Other areas that stay the same across the two models include the four-speaker audio arrangement, 10-hour battery life, support for the second generation Apple Pencil, Face ID techonology and the LIDAR sensor.
What’s different?
Despite offering a number of similarities, the iPad Pro 11 (3rd gen) and iPad 11 Pro (2nd gen) do differ in a number of areas too, unsurpisingly.
Processor
As is typically the case with a new model, the iPad Pro 11 (3rd gen) comes with an upgraded chip. In this case, it’s the Apple M1 with 64-bit desktop class architecture. There’s an 8-core CPU, 8-core graphics and next-gen Neural Engine. There’s also a choice of 8GB RAM or 16GB RAM.
The second generation model meanwhile, runs on the A12Z Bionic chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture and Neural Engine. There are no RAM options.
5G capabilities
The third generation iPad Pro 11 comes with 5G capabilties. Both iPad Pro 11 models are available in Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi and Cellular models, but while the 2020 model offers 4G connectivity, the 2021 model comes with 5G capabilities.
Front camera
The third generation iPad Pro 11 comes with a 12-megapixel front TrueDepth with Ultra Wide camera , while the second generation model offers a 7-megapixel standard TrueDepth camera.
The new front camera on the 2021 iPad Pro 11 allows for extra features, including one called Centre Stage where the camera will track and follow you during a video call, like Facebook Portal offers. There’s also 2x optical zoom out and extended dynamic range for video up to 30fps on the third gen model.
Weight
The third-generation iPad Pro 11 is slightly lighter than its predecessor, weighing 466g compared to 471g in the Wi-Fi only model, and 470g compred to 473g in the Wi-Fi and Cellular model.
Storage options
The iPad Pro 11 (2021) comes in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB storage options across both Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi and Cellular. The iPad Pro 11 (2020) doesn’t come in a 2TB option.
Thunderbolt/USB 4 support
The iPad Pro 11 (3rd gen) is charged via Thunderbolt / USB 4, while the iPad Pro 11 (2nd Gen) is charged via USB-C.
Conclusion
The Apple iPad Pro 11 (2021) and the iPad Pro 11 (2020) feature the same design, along with the same rear camera, battery, audio capabilties, colour options and display, so for some, there will be no need to upgrade and you could save yourself some money opting for the older device if the newer features don’t matter too much to you.
Naturally there are some differences though. These differences come in the form of 5G capabilities on the third generation iPad Pro 11, along with the new M1 chip, RAM options, extra 2TB storage option, new front camera and Thunderbolt charging. If they are all important to you, the third gen model is likely worth upgrading to, or choosing over the 2nd gen model but make sure those upgrades are worth spending the extra cash for you.
In a press release for Apple’s new Tile-like AirTag tracker, the company has revealed that iOS 14.5 will officially arrive “starting next week” — as spotted by Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern. AirTags go on sale April 30th and will only work with devices running iOS 14.5 or higher. Likewise, watchOS 7.4 and macOS 11.3 will also launch next week, as they support new Apple Podcast feature updates.
Apple first launched the 14.5 beta to the public earlier this year in February alongside watchOS 7.4 beta (no word on whether that’s arriving soon, too). Along with AirTag support, it will implement Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency requirement, which mandates that developers ask for permission to track users for ad targeting. The feature was announced last year and met with sharp resistance from Facebook in particular, which argues that the move will harm small businesses that benefit from ad tracking.
iOS 14.5 also introduces some welcome inclusivity features, like the ability to change Siri’s voice and new skin tone options for some emoji. Another feature we’ve appreciated in our testing thus far is Siri’s ability to learn which audio-listening apps you prefer for certain activities. This stops short of letting you select a new default app, like picking Spotify for all of your streaming music requests, but it’s a helpful evolution in any case.
Of course, this feature may or may not make it to the final release, but we do know now when we can expect to find out which features made the final cut. Apple doesn’t say specifically which day we can expect 14.5, but when it does, iPhone users will be able to download the update in their phone’s settings as always.
Apple has taken the wraps off its Apple TV 4K 2021. The latest version of Apple’s video streamer includes a host of new features including high frame rate HDR support at 60 frames per second and an all-new Siri Remote.
It’s powered by a new chip, the A12 Bionic, which debuted in 2018’s iPhone XS, XS Max and XR. Apple boldly claims using the A12 brings “a significant boost in graphics performance, video decoding, and audio processing” to the video streamer.
But the most eye-catching addition is a new colour balance feature that uses your iPhone’s sensors to optimise the video output for your particular TV. More specifically, it uses the light sensor in the iPhone to compare the colour balance to industry standards. The Apple TV 4K then automatically tweaks its picture output to allegedly deliver more accurate colours and better contrast based on the measurements it takes from your TV.
It’s certainly an interesting take on picture calibration, but we’ll have to see it working in the flesh to decide whether Apple’s method does actually make a difference and can actually improve picture quality.
Apple’s Siri Remote has been overhauled and is all-new for the Apple TV 4K 2021. It features a new clickpad control with five-way navigation which is also touch-enabled so you can swipe your way through menus.
Additionally, the outer ring of the new clickpad actually works as a jog wheel, so you can slide your thumb around the edge to skip through video content.
If you already own an Apple TV 4K box you can buy the new Siri Remote separately for £55. It also comes as standard with the Apple TV HD, also known as the fourth-generation Apple TV, which launched way back in 2015. This new combination costs £139.
The 2021 Apple TV 4K is available in 32GB and 64GB variants for £169/$179 and £189/$199 respectively. You’ll be able to pre-order from the 30th April, with the device going on sale during the second half of May.
MORE:
Apple’s new TV calibration feature is coming to older Apple TV models
Apple launches new Apple iPad Pro with Liquid Retina XDR screen and M1 chip
Good news if you’re an LG smart TV owner and also subscribe to Tidal. You now have access to a dedicated Tidal TV app.
The new app is compatible with 2018 to 2021 models running webOS versions 4.0 through 6.0 and can now be downloaded now from the LG Content Store.
The streaming service, which offers high-fidelity MQA audio, Sony 360 Reality Audio content, plus a growing Dolby Atmos Music library all through its HiFi tier, has been notably absent from LG TVs until now.
Thanks to the addition of the new app, though, Tidal users can now stream music through their LG TV and take advantage of Dolby Atmos content if their set or connected soundbar supports it.
Tidal’s Dolby Atmos music catalogue launched in 2019 and includes older releases remixed in the immersive format, such as Kraftwerk’s 3D The Catalogue, Hans Zimmer’s Live in Prague and R.E.M.’s Automatic For The People (25th Anniversary Edition), as well as newer hits like Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings, The Weeknd’s After Hours and 50+ genre-spanning playlists. A great excuse to spend a few more hours in front of your beloved LG G1 OLED.
MORE
10 of the best hi-res albums on Tidal Masters
Best music streaming services 2021: free streams to hi-res audio
I would like to thank DarkFlash for supplying the review sample.
DarkFlash is relatively new to the case market, having been established in 2016. They do offer quite a few clean, but solid ATX cases in interesting color choices, like pink or “NeoMint,” a gentle light green variant. While their previous products stayed true to ATX and M-ATX form factors with a few open frame variants, like the Blade-X or Knight K1, the DLH 21 we are reviewing in this article represents the brand’s first ITX enclosure. Also available in four colors, it offers a unique look and functional I/O, and even comes with subtle ARGB lighting built right into the base.
Specifications
DarkFlash DLH 21
Case Type:
SFF chassis
Material:
Steel and plastic
Weight:
N/A
Slots:
2
Drive Bays:
1x Internal 3.5″ 2x Internal 2.5″
Motherboard Form Factors:
Mini-ITX
Dimensions:
238.8 x 175 x 412 mm
Front Door/Cover:
N/A
Front Fans:
N/A
Rear Fans:
N/A
Top Fans:
1x 92 mm (included)
Bottom Fans:
N/A
Side Fans:
2x 120 mm (optional)
Front Radiator:
N/A
Rear Radiator:
N/A
Top Radiator:
N/A
Bottom Radiator:
N/A
Side Radiator:
240 mm
I/O:
1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C 2x USB 3.0 1x Audio combo plug
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On paper, the Surface Laptop 4 is a Surface Laptop 3 with better chips.
In look and feel, very little has changed from the last generation. Sure, there are differences here and there: the Laptop 4 is ever-so-slightly thinner, and there’s a new “Ice Blue” color option. But you get the same 3:2 touchscreen, the same port selection, and the same design.
The big changes are on the inside. You can configure both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch Surface Laptop models with either Intel’s 11th-Gen processors or AMD’s Ryzen 4000 processors. Microsoft promised that these improvements would deliver significantly better performance and battery life than the previous Surface generation.
So this review will largely focus on the new system’s performance. But my priority wasn’t to compare the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 that we received to its predecessor. For one, the Laptop 3 set a low performance bar — it had mediocre battery life, and couldn’t even play a 4K 60FPS video without stuttering, so even a competent budget laptop would blow that out of the water. But more importantly, there’s another company out there that recently made a huge chip upgrade to its flagship models, which has left most other 2020 chip upgrades in the dust: Apple, with its Arm-based M1. So my big question when looking at AMD’s new Ryzen 7 Surface Edition (also known as the AMD Ryzen 7 4980U Microsoft Surface Edition because of course it is) is: Does it beat Apple’s M1?
The answer is no. For the most part, it’s still not quite as good. But that may not matter to Surface Laptop 4 buyers — at least, not yet.
First, a quick tour of the Ryzen 7 Surface Edition. This chip isn’t AMD’s top gun; it’s part of the Ryzen 4000 generation, and the Ryzen 5000 mobile series has been out for a few months now. It’s a bit disappointing to see that the Surface is still using the older Ryzen chips, since much of the new generation is based on a new architecture (Zen 3, to the 4000 series’s Zen 2) that has delivered performance gains.
Of course, that doesn’t make the Ryzen 7 4980U a bad chip. Ryzen 4000 chips outperform Intel’s 10th Gen Comet Lake processors across the board. The 4980U in particular has eight cores, and AMD’s excellent Radeon integrated graphics. Note that the M1 also has eight cores, but those cores aren’t created equal. An easy way to think of it is that AMD’s chip has eight all-around-pretty-good cores, while Apple’s chip has four high-performance cores and four weaker cores. You’ll see that difference reflected in our benchmark results later on.
In addition to that processor, the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 I reviewed comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It costs $1,699. The most comparable M1 MacBook Pro is also $1,699. If you’re not looking to spend that much, you can get the 15-inch Laptop 4 for as low as $1,299 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which puts it neck-in-neck with the entry-level MacBook Pro, but with a bigger screen. The 13.5-inch Laptop 4 is priced more closely to the fanless MacBook Air, starting at $999 for a Ryzen 5 4680U, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. Then, there are the Intel models. You can get a 13.5-inch system with a Core i5 starting at $1,299 (also with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage), and a 15-inch system with a Core i7 starting at $1,799 (16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage). It’s all quite confusing, so I recommend visiting Microsoft’s site for yourself to mix and match.
The 13.5-inch model comes in Platinum, Ice Blue Alcantara, Matte Black, and Sandstone. The 15-incher comes in Platinum and Matte Black.
To see how our test system stacks up, I ran various synthetic benchmarks as well as a 5-minute, 33-second 4K video export in Premiere Pro. See the results below:
Surface Laptop 4 15-inch benchmarks
Benchmark
Score
Benchmark
Score
Cinebench R23 Multi
8144
Cinebench R23 Single
1242
Cinebench R23 Multi looped for 30 minutes
8077
Geekbench 5 CPU Multi
7028
Geekbench 5 CPU Single
1163
Geekbench 5 OpenCL / Compute
14393
PugetBench for Premiere Pro
176
Right off the bat, this system is a huge improvement over the Surface Laptop 3. It took 16 minutes and 33 seconds on the video export, where its predecessor took over three hours. (16:33 is a slower time than we’ve seen from many Intel models, but that’s expected since AMD chips don’t support Intel’s Quick Sync.) The Laptop 4 also beats multi-core synthetic results we’ve seen from Intel’s top Tiger Lake chips in the MSI Prestige 14 Evo and the Vaio Z, as well as the 16-inch Intel-based MacBook Pro,
Intel models max out at a quad-core Core i7-1185G7.
But the more interesting comparison is to the M1 machines. The Surface Laptop 4 solidly beats both the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air on Cinebench R23 Multi, and that task alone — it lost to both machines on every other test we ran, including all three Geekbench tests, the Puget for Premiere Pro benchmark, and the Premiere Pro export. That may seem confusing but (again) it makes sense when you think about the architecture of both chips — the Ryzen chip does better on the task where it can show off all eight of its powerful cores. That indicates that you’ll do well with the Surface Book if you’re running heavy multicore workloads, where you’re more suited to the M1 if you’re primarily doing pretty much anything else.
Of course, that’s far from the whole story. The reality is that most people who want a 15-inch screen probably don’t care if there’s a better-performing 13-inch machine floating around. And the MacBook that’s comparable in size — the MacBook Pro 16 — is significantly more expensive than the Surface Laptop 4, and comes with older Intel chips. So why am I comparing this device to M1 systems, you may ask? Really, I’m benching this laptop against an imaginary 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro, which (rumor has it) will launch sometime in the third quarter of this year. Given the results I’m seeing here, the release of a machine like that would make the Surface Laptop 4 a tougher purchase to justify.
That said, there are two big advantages the Ryzen-powered Surface Laptop 4 could very well have over a 16-inch M1 MacBook. The first is battery life. I got an average of 10 hours and 52 minutes using this device as my primary driver, which is some of the best battery life I’ve ever seen from a 15-inch laptop, and one of the best results I’ve seen from a laptop this year. That beats both of the M1 MacBooks, and destroys the 16-inch Intel MacBook as well. If there’s an area where Microsoft really makes its case, it’s here.
The Laptop 4 also knocks cooling out of the park. The Laptop 4’s fans did a really excellent job cooling the system. Throughout my fairly standard load of office multitasking (including around a dozen Chrome tabs, Spotify streaming, and the like), the chassis remained downright cold. During the more intense tests I ran, the CPU remained steadily in the mid-70s (Celsius) with occasional spikes up to the mid-80s — jumps up to 90 were rare. I was able to run our 4K video export several times in a row without any negative impact on results, and I didn’t see a huge dip in Cinebench results over a 30-minute loop either.
The screen maxed out at 370 nits — a bit dim for outdoor use, as you can see here.
If you’re a fan of the 15-inch Surface Laptop’s design, you’ll be happy to know it hasn’t changed much. One of the big advantages of this device is how thin and light it is, at just 0.58 inches thick and 3.4 pounds. For context, it’s almost a pound lighter than the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and over half a pound lighter than the lightest Dell XPS 15. It’s actually only a bit heavier than the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
With that said, those who aren’t diehard Surface fans may find the Laptop 4’s design a tad dated. In particular, the bezels around the 3:2 screen are quite chunky. That makes sense on a convertible device like the Surface Book 3 or the Surface Pro 7, which you need to be able to hold as a tablet, but doesn’t fit as well on a clamshell. If you put the Laptop 4 next to any member of the XPS line, you’ll see how much sleeker and more modern the latter looks. That doesn’t mean the Laptop 4 is ugly; it’s just falling further behind other Windows laptops each year.
The port selection is also the same, which is good news and bad news. The Laptop 4 retains a USB-A port, which I stubbornly believe is still a necessity for modern laptops (looking at you, Apple and Dell). But there is just one, and neither the Intel or AMD model supports Thunderbolt on their lone USB-C ports, which is disappointing on a laptop at this price. The Surface Laptop could certainly do with more port options, even if it’s competitive with what Apple and Dell are offering in terms of numbers. (In addition to the USB-A and USB-C, you get a headphone jack and Microsoft’s proprietary charging port.)
The Windows Hello webcam is fine, delivering a serviceable picture, and the dual far-field microphones had no trouble picking up my voice. The speakers, which now support Dolby Atmos 9, sound quite clear, with good volume and bass and percussion that are audible (though not booming). Despite having Atmos speakers, our Laptop 4 unit didn’t come preloaded with Dolby Atmos software or anything similar to tune the audio.
All 15-inch models have an aluminum body.
My least favorite part of this laptop is the keyboard. It’s just a bit flat and mushy for my taste. I respect that some people prefer wider, flatter keycaps, of course. But I would take an XPS 15, MacBook, or Surface Book keyboard over this one — it’s just not quite as snappy or satisfying.
Overall, it’s tough to identify a true competitor to the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4. Put it next to a Windows workstation like the $1,200 entry-level Dell XPS 15 and the Surface wins on power, battery life, and weight. It’s a good purchase for someone who wants an excellent combination of efficiency and multicore performance in a 15-inch chassis, but doesn’t need the grunt of a discrete GPU.
The keyboard is backlit and has 1.3 mm of travel.
But that window of opportunity may be closing, because there’s very likely a larger M1 MacBook Pro on the way. I think there’s a good argument that people in the group described above (who don’t need a device right this second) should sit back and wait to see what Apple does in the next few months before committing to Microsoft’s machine, provided they don’t have a hard preference for operating systems.
On the other hand, even if the larger MacBook Pro is spectacular, there are some advantages the Laptop 4 will certainly retain (it runs Windows, and it’s built like a Surface Laptop) and some it will probably retain (it’ll likely be lighter than the MacBook Pro 16). And, of course, plenty of people need a laptop right now. In today’s market, among today’s 15-inch laptops, the Surface Laptop 4 is a pretty damn good buy. Microsoft didn’t change much about the outside — but on the inside, it really pulled through.
Picture the scene. It’s summer, lockdowns are easing, and you’re ready to venture back out into the world. You’re feeling brave after a year stuck inside, brave enough that you’ve picked out an all-white outfit. You read up on how to make the color work in the likes of Vogueand GQ, but suddenly, disaster strikes. You notice something. “The Verge’s top rated wireless headphones!” you exclaim to no-one in particular, “they’re only available in black, blue, or this weird dork-ass beige?!”
It’s ok, don’t fret. Sony is releasing a limited edition of the WH-1000XM4 headphones in all white. Better still, it’s real white, not that orthopedic brown Sony’s being trying to pass off as “silver” all these years. Sony promises these “Silent White” headphones will be “even more stain-resistant,” which will hopefully help keep them looking pristine for at least a little while. Unfortunately they’re limited edition, and will only be available while stock lasts.
Internally these are the same as the excellent WH-1000XM4 headphones the company released last year. That means you’re getting excellent audio quality, noise cancellation, and mic performance, and the ability to pair with two devices simultaneously.
The white headphones will be available in Europe from May for €430/£400, but there’s no sign of the color on Sony’s US site as of this writing. We’ve contacted the company to ask about US availability.
The gaming audio company EPOS has debuted a new wired gaming headset called the H3. It’s not as exciting as its GTW 270 truly wireless earbuds for gaming, and depending on your needs, its short list of features might not be worth its $119 price. But a few things stick out in the H3’s favor after spending a few days with it.
EPOS has a knack for using a rotating dial for volume controls on its headsets, and if you read my review of Microsoft’s excellent Xbox Wireless Headset, you know I’m all about dials. On the outside of the H3’s right earcup, there’s a dial controlling the volume that’s easy to adjust with two fingers. Opposite that, on the left earcup, there’s an articulating boom microphone that can be muted when it’s in the up position. Any time it’s lowered, the mic will be on, unless you mute it on your device.
I also like that these have broad compatibility with consoles, mobile devices, and PC — not that they’re the first to do this. The H3 includes two swappable braided cables, one made for PC that extends from the headset and splits into a dedicated audio 3.5mm plug and a microphone plug (most desktops and some gaming laptops feature both of these ports). There’s also a cable that outputs to a single 3.5mm plug that can go into a phone, a controller, a PC, an Oculus Quest 2, or any other device you own with this kind of audio jack. I do wish that EPOS included a 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter to broaden compatibility further for devices that lack a headphone jack.
On the right side of the H3, you’ll find this volume knob.EPOS
You don’t have to spend $119 on a wired gaming headset to get features like the ones I explained above, but the H3’s comfort and sound performance help to justify their price. The earcups fit snug around my head, but not too snug, and they have a wide range of motion (though they don’t swivel to lay flat on the chest.) The headband’s size adjustments snap into place and don’t move, even when I yank the headset off. The passive noise isolation of the ear cups is decent, partially because of the closed-back design, but its plush pads do a better-than-average job at keeping outside sounds out because the cups can be tilted to fit your head shape. I’m short on qualms about the build quality, though the earcups might not be as good a fit for people who have larger ears.
The H3 is a solid performer when it comes to gaming and listening to music. Its closed-back earcups provide a clear, balanced sound without an overwhelming amount of bass. Yet, the palpable bass line in “Book of Slim” by Gene Harris & The Three Sounds came through just fine. Switching over to games, I was happy with how games like Ratchet & Clank (2016) and Ghost of Tsushima sounded on the H3 while connected to a PS5 controller. The sound quality rivals many of the sub-$150 headsets I’ve tried in my gaming headset buying guide.
The mic is muted when it’s flipped up, as it is in the picture.EPOS
The microphone quality is also solid for the price, picking up all of the little details in my voice. It’s easy to tell my “p’s” from the “t’s” in voice recordings. It sounded crisp when connected to my PC, and within Google’s Recorder app while plugged into my Pixel 3 via a USB-C dongle. I got similarly good results plugged into my PS5 controller. Though, I wouldn’t suggest this headset over a dedicated microphone, if you’re planning on making any podcast appearances soon.
Other than the USB-C adapter that I wish was included, the other big omission from the H3 compared to other headsets in its price range is the lack of microphone monitoring. I love being able to hear my own voice, but I swear I’m not a narcissist. Monitoring is useful to hear someone yelling for you across the room when you’re distracted in a game.
If you aren’t totally sold on going wireless for your gaming headset because you don’t want another device to recharge, or some other reason, the H3 is a solid alternative. Its sound quality and comfort mostly make up for not having many features. That said, its price borders on what you’ll pay for one of several good wireless gaming headsets that have many more features.
Back in 2018, I reviewed the EIZO FlexScan EV2785, a 27-inch office monitor equipped with a high-quality 4K IPS panel and a nice set of productivity-oriented features. Judging by the model number, you’d expect the FlexScan EV2795 to be its direct successor, but this is a completely different beast in more ways than one.
While it shares some features with the EV2785, it’s still a productivity-oriented monitor with a 27-inch screen diagonal. The FlexScan EV2795 comes with a 2,560×1,440 (so-called “2K”) IPS panel, USB-C port, which transforms it into a capable docking station for modern USB-C laptops, an additional USB-C output for daisy-chaining, which is a great way to reduce cable clutter in dual-monitor setups, a three-port USB 3.1 hub, and various technologies aimed at reducing eye strain and lowering power consumption. It even has a built-in KVM switch together with an integrated Ethernet port, so it will happily connect to your work and home computers simultaneously with a single set of connected peripherals and switch between them seamlessly.
If you’re an avid gamer, the EIZO FlexScan EV2795 won’t interest you since it has no such aspirations. Even though it offers a reasonable 5 ms response time, it’s equipped with a 60 Hz panel and doesn’t use any kind of adaptive synchronization.
The FlexScan EV2795 is available in black (EV2795-BK) or white (EV2795-WT), with matching black or white cables.
Specifications
Eizo FlexScan EV2795
Screen Size
27″
Native Resolution
2,560×1,440 (16:9)
Panel Technology
IPS, 8-bit (10-bit LUT)
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Brightness
350 nits
Contrast
1,000:1 (static)
Viewing Angles
178° (horizontal) / 178° (vertical)
Response Time
5 ms (GtG)
Adjustability
Tilt (-5° to 35°), height (176,6 mm), pivot (90°, both directions), swivel (344°)
Video Inputs
1x DisplayPort 1.3, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 (DisplayPort Alt Mode, 70 W Power Delivery)
Video Outputs
1x USB-C (daisy chain)
USB Upstream Ports
1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 (DisplayPort Alt Mode, 70 W Power Delivery), 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-B
USB Downstream Ports
1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 (DisplayPort Alt Mode, 15 W Power Delivery), 3x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
Facebook is going all in on audio. The company announced multiple products on Monday that emphasize voice content over text, images, or video. The products will be released over the next few months and, in some cases, will start with a limited set of people.
Most notably, Facebook is indeed launching a competitor to the buzzy social audio app Clubhouse with a feature called Live Audio Rooms, which will be available this summer. It’ll first roll out to groups and public figures as a test, but it will eventually make its way to Messenger, too, so people can hang out with friends. Users will be able to record their conversations and distribute them, and eventually, people can charge for access to these rooms through either a subscription or one-time fee.
To get people to join, Facebook says it’s introducing an Audio Creator Fund to “support emerging audio creators.” All of these conversations can also be turned into “Soundbites,” a forthcoming feature that allows people to create and share shortform audio clips along with an algorithmic feed to promote them. Think TikTok, but with audio clips.
The Soundbite creation tool will let people put effects on their voices.Image: Facebook
Soundbites will live within the broader News Feed. Users will be able to record them in a separate tool within Facebook, which the company describes as a “sound studio in your pocket.” In a chat with Casey Newton, the author of Platformer and a contributing editor at The Verge, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg equated Soundbites to Reels, Instagram’s TikTok competitor, but for audio.
He also added that he likes audio over video or images because it allows people to multitask and host longer, nuanced conversations.
“The high-level picture here is that we think that audio is, of course, also going to be a first-class medium, and that there are all these different products to build across this whole spectrum,” Zuckerberg said.
Facebook also plans to take on a bigger role in podcasting. The company says it’ll start recommending shows and episodes based on people’s interests and that people can comment on them and recommend them to friends. The company says 170 million people on Facebook are connected to a page that’s linked to a specific podcast, and more than 35 million people are members of fan groups around podcasts.
Facebook wants to support podcasts with direct monetization.Image: Facebook
Zuckerberg says a partnership with Spotify is forthcoming, too, which will bring the company’s player over to Facebook, letting people stream music and podcasts from their News Feed. Zuckerberg emphasized that this feature is for music. But still, Facebook users will be able to share Spotify podcasts and let people listen without having to leave the Facebook world — they just have to link their accounts.
“Our ambition has always been to make Spotify ubiquitous across platforms and devices — bringing music and podcasts to more people — and our new integration with Facebook is another step in these efforts,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to a continued partnership with Facebook, fueling audio discovery around the world.”
Finally, Facebook’s tipping system, Stars, will be coming to Live Audio Rooms as well as for individual creators and public figures.
How serious Facebook is about audio and whether users actually want it over other formats is still unclear. On one hand, the audio industry is hot right now, with most major tech companies wading into the broader podcasting industry. Clubhouse and other audio startups have also made live audio a popular way to interact, and already, multiple big platforms have integrated the format into their apps.
On the other hand, live audio has clearly found its moment during the pandemic, when everyone’s been starved of human interaction and mostly confined to their homes. Podcasting offers edited, on-demand conversations, which people have enjoyed for years, but whether the live formats will survive remains an open question. Facebook has also routinely gone all in on a format, only for it to languish. It went for longform video with IGTV but has since pivoted to a focus on Reels. It launched and subsidized Facebook Live content, which has since mostly fallen by the wayside. The same could happen for audio, but Facebook is clearly using its size to try to make its mark on the industry.
Fitbit has announced its new Luxe fitness tracker that looks like a more fashion-focused take on the Inspire 2. It leaked last week, but Fitbit is making it official with the news that the Luxe is available for preorder starting today, April 19th, for $149.95. This cost includes six months of the Fitbit Premium service, which usually costs $9.99 per month. The service recently launched the new Mindful Method program created by Deepak Chopra that packs in over 30 audio and video sessions on mindfulness and wellness.
A specific release date for the Luxe hasn’t been shared, but the company is aiming for a spring launch, so it shouldn’t be too long of a wait.
The Luxe was designed for “a diverse range of wrist sizes and skin tones for 24/7 wear.” Fitbit says the Luxe is its thinnest touchscreen tracker yet, and the company thinks most people should be able to sleep comfortably with it on. To that end, you won’t need to charge it every night, as Fitbit claims it’ll last up to five days per charge.
The Luxe includes an interchangeable silicone strap with several size adjustments. Other straps will be available at launch, including silicone bands in a few colors for $29.95 each, woven fabric bands for $34.95, leather bands for $49.95, stainless steel mesh bands for $79.95, going all the way up to $99.95 for stainless steel link bracelets from luxury jewelry brand Gorjana. If you just want the Luxe with the Gorjana band, a limited-edition version of the tracker costing $199.95 will include one starting in June.
The Fitbit Luxe in black.Image: Fitbit
The Luxe is angled toward people who want their fitness tracker to be taken for jewelry. The company even went as far as using a metal injection molding process to craft the Luxe’s stainless steel case, which is apparently a traditional technique for jewelry-making.
The Luxe is a buttonless tracker, and inputs are delegated to its color OLED touchscreen. Like its previous smartwatches and trackers, Fitbit’s Luxe will be supported for iOS and Android devices. It’ll also support Google Fast Pair to pair more quickly to Android devices. The Luxe supports connected GPS while paired to your phone, so you’ll need to bring your phone along if you want to track runs or walks. If having built-in GPS is important to you, Fitbit’s Charge 4 includes that and other features like Fitbit Pay and Spotify controls.
Fitbit is using this launch to announce that the Luxe, along with the company’s other heart rate-enabled trackers and watches, support the companion app’s Stress Management Score that assesses your activity level, sleep schedule, and heart rate to help you manage stress. Through the app, the Luxe can track a host of other metrics, like your breathing pattern, your resting and variable heart rate, skin temperature, mood, sleep, and menstrual cycles. Sometime after launch, it’ll be able to record your blood oxygen levels (Sp02).
With a Ryzen 9 5900X and an RTX 3080, both liquid-cooled for quiet operation in a compact case, Corsair’s One a200 is easy to recommend–if you can afford it and find it in stock. Just know that your upgrade options are more limited than larger gaming rigs.
For
+ Top-end performance
+ Space-saving, quiet shell
+ Liquid-cooled GPU and CPU
Against
– Expensive
– Limited upgrade options
For a whole host of reasons, AMD’s
Ryzen 9 5900X
and Nvidia’s
RTX 3080
have been two of the hardest-to-find PC components since late last year. But Corsair has combined them both in a handy, compact, liquid-cooled bundle it calls the Corsair One a200.
The company’s vertically-oriented One desktop
debuted in 2018
and has since been regularly updated to accommodate current high-end components. This time around, the options include either AMD or Intel’s latest processors (the latter called the One i200), and Nvidia’s penultimate consumer GPU, the RTX 3080.
Not much has changed in terms of the system’s design, other than the addition of a USB Type-C port up front (where an HDMI port was on previous models). But with liquid cooling handling thermals for both the CPU and graphics in a still-impressively compact package, there’s really little reason to change what was already one of the
best gaming PCs
for those who want something small.
The only real concern is pricing. At $3,799 as tested (including 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 2TB HDD), you’re definitely paying a premium for the compact design and slick, quiet cooling. But with the scarcity of these core components and the RTX 3080 regularly
selling for well over $2,000 on its own on eBay
, it’s tough to discern what constitutes ‘value’ in the gaming desktop world at the moment. You may be able to find a system with similar components for less, but it won’t likely be this small or slick.
Design of the Corsair One a200
Just like the
One i160
model we looked at in 2019, the Corsair One a200 is a quite compact (14.96 x 7.87 x 6.93 inches) tower of matte-black metal with RGB LED lines running down its front. To get some sense of how small this system is compared to more traditional gaming rigs, we called
Alienware’s Aurora R11
“fairly compact” when we reviewed it, and it’s 18.9 x 17 x 8.8 inches, taking up more than twice the desk space of Corsair’s One a200.
The 750-watt SFX power supply in the a200 is mounted at the bottom, pulling in air that’s expelled at the top with the help of a fan. And the heat from the CPU and GPU will mostly be expelled out either side, as both are liquid cooled, with radiators mounted against the side panels.
The primary external difference with the updated a200 over previous models is the replacement of an HDMI port that used to live up front next to the headphone/mic combo jack and pair of USB-A ports. It’s been replaced with a USB-C port. That makes for three front-facing USB ports, a surprising amount of front-panel connectivity for a system so compact. But there are only six more USB ports around back (more on that shortly).
Overall, while the design of the One a200 is pretty familiar at this point, it still looks and feels great, with all the external panels made out of metal. Just note that the matte finish does easily pick up finger smudges.
Front: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C ; Combination Mic/Headphone Jack; Rear: 4x USB USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A, Type-C), Ethernet, HD Audio, 3x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI
Video Output
(3) DisplayPort 1.4a (1) HDMI 2.1
Power Supply
750W Corsair SFX 80 Plus Platinum
Case
Corsair One Aluminum/Steel
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-Bit
Dimensions
14.96 x 7.87 x 6.937 inches (380 x 200 x 176 mm)
Price As Configured
$3,799
Ports and Upgradability of the Corsair One a200
Since the Corsair One a200 is built around a compact Mini-ITX motherboard (specifically the ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax), you won’t quite get the same amount of ports that you would expect with a larger desktop. Since we already covered the three USB ports and audio jack up front, let’s take a look at the back.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Here you’ll find four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A ports, plus two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (one Type-A and one Type-C). Also here is a 2.5 Gb Ethernet jack, three analog audio connections and connectors for the small antennae. The ASrock board also includes a pair of video connectors, but since you’ll want to use the ports on RTX 3080 instead, Corsair has blocked them off behind the I/O plate so most people wouldn’t even know they’re there.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The video connections from the RTX 3080 graphics card live next to the Corsair SF750 power supply, and come in the form of three DisplayPort 1.4a ports and a single HDMI 2.1 connector.
As for internal upgradability, you can get at most of the parts if you’re comfortable dismantling expensive PC hardware. But you can’t add any RAM or storage without swapping out what’s already there (or at least without removing the whole motherboard, more on that soon). That said, the 32GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 RAM, 1TB PCIe 4.0 Force MP600 SSD and 2TB Seagate 2.5-inch hard drive that’s already here are a potent cadre of components. If you need more RAM and storage (as well as more CPU cores), there’s a $4,199 configuration we’ll detail later.
To get inside the Corsair One a200, you don’t need any tools, but you’ll want to be a bit careful. Press a button at the rear top of the case (you have to press it quite hard) and the top, which also houses a fan, will pop up. But before you go yanking it away in haste, note that it’s attached via a fan cable that you can disconnect after first fishing the plug out from a hole inside the case.
To access the rest of the system you’ll have to remove two screws from each side. But again, don’t be careless, as radiators are attached to both side panels via short tubes, so the sides are a bit like upside-down gull-wing doors. You can’t really remove them without disconnecting the cooling plates from the CPU and GPU.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
It’s fairly easy to remove the RAM, although the 32GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 occupies both of the slots. The 2TB Seagate 2.5-inch hard drive is also accessible from the left side, wedged under the PCIe riser cable that’s routed to the GPU on the other side.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
At least the 1TB Force MP600 SSD on this model is mounted on the front of the motherboard under a heatsink, rather than behind the board on the i160 version we looked at a couple years ago.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
You can open the right panel as well, though there’s not much to do here as the space is taken up by the GPU, a large radiator and a pair of fans mounted on the heatsink to move the RTX 3080’s heat through the radiator and out the vents on the side.
As with previous models, you should be able to replace the RTX 3080 with an air-cooled graphics card at some point, provided it has axial rather than blower-style cooling, and that it fits within the physical constraints of the chassis. But given that the RTX 3080 is the
best graphics card
you can buy, you may be ready for a whole new system by the time you start thinking about swapping out the graphics card here.
Aside from wishing there were more USB ports on the motherboard, I have no real complaints about the hardware here. If I were spending this much, I’d prefer a 2TB SSD, but at least the 1TB model Corsair has included is a PCIe 4.0 drive for the best speed possible. Technically the ASRock motherboard here has a second PCIe 3.0 M.2 slot, where you could install a second SSD. But it’s housed on the back of the motherboard, which would mean fairly major disassembly in cramped quarters, and remember that you’d have to disconnect the pump/cooling plate from the CPU before even attempting to do that.
Gaming Performance on the Corsair One a200
With AMD’s 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X and Nvidia’s RTX 3080 running the gaming show inside Corsair’s One a200 — and both of them liquid-cooled — we expected Corsair’s compact power tower to spit out impressive frame rates.
We pitted the a200 against
MSI’s Aegis RS 11th
, which also has an RX 3080 but an 8-core Intel Rocket Lake Core i7-11700K, and a couple other recent gaming rigs we’ve tested.
Alienware’s Aurora Ryzen Edition R10
sports a stepped down Ryzen 7 5800X and a
Radeon RX 6800XT
. And
HP’s Omen 30L
, which we looked at near the end of 2020, was outfitted with a last-generation Intel Core i9-10900K and an RTX 3080 to call its own.
While the Corsair One a200 didn’t walk away from the impressive competition, it was almost always in the lead in our gaming tests. And that’s all the more impressive given most of the systems it competes with are much larger.
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On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (highest settings), the game ran at 147 fps at 1080p on the One a200, and 57 fps at 4K. The former ties it with the Aegis for first place here, and the latter beats both the Aegis and the Omen 30L, just slightly, giving Corsair’s system an uncontested win.
In Grand Theft Auto V (very high settings), the Corsair system basically repeated its previous performance, tying the MSI machine at 1080p and pulling one frame ahead of both the Omen and the MSI at 4K.
On the Far Cry New Dawn benchmark, the MSI Aegis pulled ahead at 1080p by 11 fps, but the One a200 still managed to tie the MSI and HP systems at 4K.
After trailing a bit in Far Cry at 1080p, the One a200 pulled ahead in Red Dead Redemption 2 (medium settings) at the same resolution, with its score of 117 fps beating everything else. And at 4K, the Corsair system’s 51 fps was again one frame ahead of both the MSI and Alienware systems.
Last up in Borderlands 3 (badass settings), the Corsair system stayed true to its impressive form. Its score of 137 fps at 1080 was a frame ahead of the MSI (and ahead of everything else). And at 4K, its score of 59 fps was only tied by the HP Omen.
Aside from the One a200’s gaming performance being impressive for its size, this is also one of the quietest high-end gaming rigs I’ve tested in a long time. Lots of heat shot out of the top of the tower while I played the Ancient Gods expansion of Doom Eternal, but fan noise was a constant low-end whirr. The large fan at the top does its job without doing much to make itself known, and the radiators on either side help move heat out of the case without adding to the impressively quiet noise floor.
We also subjected the Corsair One a200 to our Metro Exodus stress test gauntlet, in which we run the benchmark at the Extreme preset 15 times to simulate roughly half an hour of gaming. The Corsair tower ran the game at an average of 71.13 fps, with very little variation. The system started out the test at 71.37 fps on the first run, and dipped just to 71.05 fps on the final run. That’s a change of just a third of a frame per second throughout our stress test. It’s clear both in terms of consistent performance and low noise levels that the One a200’s cooling system is excelling at its job.
During the Metro Exodus runs, the CPU ran at an average clock speed of 4.2 GHz and an average temperature of 74.9 degrees Celsius (166.8 degrees Fahrenheit). The GPU’s average clock speed was 1.81 GHz, with an average temperature of 68.7 degrees Celsius (155.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Productivity Performance
While the Ryzen 9 5900X isn’t quite as potentially speedy on paper as the top-end 5950X (thanks to a slightly lower top boost clock and four fewer cores), it’s still a very powerful 12-core CPU. And paired with Nvidia’s RTX 3080, along with 32GB of RAM and a fast PCIe 4.0 SSD, the Corsair One a200 is just as potent in productivity and workstation tasks as it is playing games.
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On Geekbench 5, an overall performance benchmark, the Corsair system was just behind the leading systems in the single-core tests, with its score of 1,652. But on the multi-core test, it’s 11,968 was well ahead of everything else.
The Corsair PCIe Gen 4 SSD in the a200 blew past competing systems, transferring our 25GB of files at a rate of 1.27 GBps, with only the HP Omen’s WD SSD also managing to get close to the 1GBps mark.
And on our Handbrake video editing test, the Corsair One a200 transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in an impressive 4 minutes and 44 seconds, while all the other systems took well more than 5 minutes to complete the same task. Video editors in particular will be able to make good use of this system’s 12 cores and 24 threads of CPU might.
Software and Warranty for the Corsair One a200
The Corsair One a200 ships with a two-year warranty (plus lifetime customer support) and very little pre-installed software. Aside from Windows 10 Home, you get the company’s iCue software, which can be used to control both the lights as well as the system fans. The company even seems to have avoided the usual bloat of streaming apps and casual games like Candy Crush, which ship with almost all Windows machines these days.
Configuration Options for the Corsair One a200
If you’re after the AMD-powered Corsair a200 specifically, you have two configuration options. There’s the model we tested (Corsair One a200 CS-90200212), with a 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, 2TB hard drive, and an RTX 3080 for $3,799. Or you can pay $400 more ($4,199) to step up to the 16-core Ryzen 5950X and double the RAM and SSD to 64GB and 2TB respectively (Corsair One Pro a200 CS-9040010). The latter configuration is overkill for gaming, but the extra storage, RAM and four more CPU cores are well worth the extra money if you can actually make use of them.
For those who aren’t wedded to AMD, there’s also the Intel-based Corsair One i200, which now includes 11th Gen “Rocket Lake” CPU options, with up to a Core i9-11900K and an RTX 3080, albeit running on a last-gen Z490 platform. It starts a little lower at $3,599. But that model is currently out of stock with any current-generation Intel and Nvidia components, leaving exact pricing up in the air as of publicatioon.
We tried to do some comparison pricing, and were able to find a similarly equipped HP Omen 30L, as HP often sells gaming rigs on the more-affordable side of the spectrum. But when we wrote this, all Omen 30L systems with current-generation graphics cards were sold out on HP’s site. We were able to
find an Omen 30L on Amazon
with an RTX 3080 and an Intel Core i9-10850K, along with similar RAM and storage as our Corsair a200, for $3,459. That’s about $340 less than the a200, but the Omen 30L is also much larger than the a200 and has a now last-generation CPU with fewer cores, plus a slower SSD.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With one of
the best CPUs
and graphics cards, both liquid cooled and quiet, in an attractive, compact package, Corsair’s One a200 offers a whole lot to like. The $3,799 asking price is certainly daunting, but in these times when that graphics card alone is selling on eBay regularly for more than $2,000, the Ryzen 9 5900X often sells for close to $800, and even most desktops with current-gen graphics cards are mostly sold out, it’s tough to which high-end gaming rig is more or less of a bargain than something else.
If you spend some time looking you can probably find a system with similar specs as the Corsair One a200 for a bit less. But unless and until the ongoing mining craze subsides, that system probably won’t cost substantially less than Corsair’s pricing. And with its impressively compact shell, quiet operation, and top-end performance in both gaming and productivity, the a200 is easy to recommend for those who can afford it. Just know that upgrading will be a bit more difficult and limiting than with a larger desktop, and if you need lots of USB ports, you may want to invest in a hub.
Reddit unveiled its take on a Clubhouse-like social audio product on Monday, called Reddit Talk. The company is billing Monday’s announcement as a “sneak preview,” and if you want to try it out when it’s ready, you can put yourself on the waitlist.
Based on Reddit’s description and images shared by the company, Reddit Talk appears to look a lot like Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and other social audio products. Talks will “live” within subreddits, according to Reddit.
Reddit’s new Talk feature.Image: Reddit
During the initial tests, only subreddit moderators will be able to initiate a Talk, and Talk hosts will have the ability to invite, mute, and remove speakers. While only mods can kick off Talks in the beginning, anyone on iOS and Android can listen to one.
Reddit Talk mod tools.Image: Reddit
The company says it is “testing ways” for hosts to customize how Talks look with emojis and different background colors, and users will be able to change their avatar, too.
Reddit joins Twitter, Slack, Discord, LinkedIn, and Spotify in announcing a social audio feature. Mashable first broke word that Reddit was working on a social audio feature on April 9th.
(Pocket-lint) – There aren’t a great many high-resolution gaming headsets out there, but the devices that do exist can make a real difference to your gaming experience. That extra audio range provides more immersion and also helps with things like hearing footsteps in competitive shooters.
The Asus ROG Delta S sports a high-resolution Quad DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) and MQA technology that promises “true to life” audio. So on paper it should be fantastic, but is it? We’ve been gaming and listening to find out.
Best PC gaming headsets: The best wired, wireless and surround sound headsets around
Lightweight comfortable design with RGB
Detachable microphone
Lightweight 300g frame
Braided 1.5m USB-C cable, 1m USB 2.0 adapter
ROG Hybrid ear cushions / protein leather cushions with fast-cool memory foam padding
The first thing that struck us about the Asus ROG Delta S upon wearing it for the first time was the comfort. This headset comes with a flexible headband and earcup design that extends nicely over the head and sits in a satisfying way over the ears. But more importantly, it sports D-shaped ergonomic ear cushions, with a choice of either a protein leather or ROG Hybrid finish backed by fast-cool memory foam padding.
Pocket-lint
Both these ear cushions are included in the box, giving you a choice of what to use – but they’re equally comfortable in our mind. The protein leather cushions do a better job of blocking out external noise though, which means you can focus on the sound.
The D-shaped cushions fit nicely over the ears and they’re both deep and wide enough to not put unnecessary pressure on your ears either. This, combined with the nicely padded headband and the lightweight over ear design, result in a headset that’s comfortable to wear all day for work and then into the evening for gaming.
Comfort and convenience go hand-in-hand with this headset. As standard it has a USB-C connection, which means you can use it with your Android phone or Nintendo Switch and still get great sound. Alternatively, there’s an adapter that converts it to USB-A with ease, meaning you can connect it to even more devices. The detachable mic also gives you the choice of whether you use the provided one or opt for something external.
Best microphones for video calling, podcasting and streaming
On the outside of the headset there’s a couple of RGB lighting zones on each earcup: a ring around the outer plate and the ROG logo. This lighting can be adjusted within the Armoury Crate software – there’s a few different effects including static, breathing, strobe, colour cycle and, of course, rainbow. The headset itself also has a hardware button to set it to three different modes – on, off or soundwave. Soundwave makes the lights respond to your voice when you’re talking, which might appeal to streamers.
Pocket-lint
One thing we were impressed with is the RGB lighting works even when plugged into a smartphone, which is a fairly unusual feature. So yes, you can have RGB on the go with this headset. If you really want to show off your passion for gaming when outside the house. But there’s the option to turn it off too if you don’t want to look like a mobile disco.
Satisfying high-resolution audio
50mm Neodymium magnet drivers
20Hz-40KHz frequency response
Hi-Res ESS 9281 Quad DAC
MQA rendering technology
24-bit, 96KHz sample rate
Virtual 7.1 surround sound
Custom audio profiles
The main selling point of the Asus ROG Delta S is the inclusion of the Hi-Res ESS 9281 Quad DAC and MQA rendering technology (which stands for ‘Master Quality Authenticated’). This tech means that with Tidal Masters recordings you can enjoy some seriously satisfying sound quality.
Pocket-lint
We thoroughly enjoyed listening to music this way on a Google Pixel 5. The audio is rich, warm, and has a superb range to it. If you’ve never heard hi-resolution audio before, you’ll soon notice new elements to your favourite tracks that you’ve never heard before.
Best USB-C headphones for Android phones 2021
By Dan Grabham
·
That same logic applies to gaming too. Plug the headset into a PC, set the 24-bit/96KHz sample rate in Windows sound settings, tweak the equaliser (EQ) in ROG Armoury Crate and get your game on.
Suddenly you’ll find a wider audio range than you’ve heard before. This is great as it often means you can pick up on important sounds more easily. The footsteps of enemies in games like Rainbow Six Siege or Warzone, for example, are much easier to hear and discern their direction from within the game world.
That said, we did feel like this headset oddly isn’t as bassy or as rich as other high-res headsets we’ve tried. Strangely, music is richer than when gaming. And though you can adjust the EQ settings and sound profiles within Armoury Crate, we just feel like it lacks some of the richness we’d expect at this price point.
That said, the virtual surround sound is good and combined with high-res audio it delivers great positional awareness. This headset is also insanely loud. So if you feel like you struggle to hear with other headsets then the ROG Delta S won’t disappoint.
AI-powered mic?
AI-noise cancellation
Unidirectional pick up pattern
100Hz to 10KHz frequency response
Noise gate, perfect voice, other settings in Armoury Crate
The Asus ROG Delta S has a flexbile, detachable unidirectional microphone included in the box. This mic offers AI-powered noise cancellation that’s designed to block out external noise and help keep your voice in focus.
We weren’t overly impressed with the mic on this headset, though, but it’s far from the worst we’ve tried.
You can adjust settings for noise gate, perfect voice and the AI noise-cancellation in the Armoury Crate software. But we found our voice was captured more clearly when we didn’t use those settings. This is going to depend on your environment of course, but the quality of the audio can certainly be tweaked in various ways with ease.
Verdict
The Asus ROG Delta S is a comfortable and easy-to-wear gaming headset that sounds fantastic when listening to high-res music on Tidal.
However, for our ears the audio lacks depth when gaming. It’s not as rich or as bassy as we’d like, but there are plenty of settings to play around with and tweak to your preference.
The included microphone is also not as good as, say, that included on the Corsair Virtuoso – so we’d highly recommend a proper mic as an alternative.
All told, the Asus ROG Delta S is a mixed bag. We love that it works with multiple different devices – a benefit of that USB-C/USB-A connection option – and for music it’s absolutely fantastic. But it’s just not quite as on point for gaming audio.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Corsair Virtuoso RGB
squirrel_widget_167882
A fantastic alternative thanks to a superior microphone and more connection options with 3.5mm, wireless and USB-A. It’s not as comfortable as the ROG Delta S, but is more impressive in a number of ways and also delivers high-res audio that’s fantastic on PC.
Pocket-lint
Audeze Penrose
squirrel_widget_3762273
This is a wireless version of the company’s Mobius headset. It features massive 100mm Planar Magnetic drivers and a broadcast-quality microphone. It also works well on PC and PS5 and offers 2.4Ghz wireless, Bluetooth connectivity and 3.5mm options too.
Writing by Adrian Willings. Editing by Mike Lowe.
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