To commemorate Burmester’s late founder, Dieter Burmester, who would have turned 75 yesterday, Burmester Audiosysteme GmbH is announcing several new products to be released in 2021.
What’s new on the menu? Plenty, actually. Burmester is promising a slew of “new products such as music centres, power amplifiers, and a new turntable”.
In addition, Burmester states that its existing product lines, such as the Burmester Reference Line, will be “complemented and rounded off with new loudspeaker models”.
In 2020, the German high-end audio specialist presented the five-star premium surround sound system for the Porsche 911 and now the firm is concentrating its energies on its core products: hi-fi separates for the home.
In lieu of new imagery (and to showcase Burmester’s impressive history) the photo above is of the first ever Burmester product, the Burmester 777 – a preamp Dieter Burmester built himself from parts of medical machines and so-named because it was released on the seventh month in the year 1977. In 2007, the firm even released a 30th anniversary update in its honour, the Burmester 077. (Did we like it? Oh, you could say that. In our review, we concluded, “If you can afford it, buy it right now.”)
With High End Munich postponed until September this year for obvious reasons, we may miss out on a May reveal from Burmester – but of course, it’s not impossible.
“Dieter Burmester was a perfectionist who developed his components with a technical precision that is still unbeaten today,” said Marianne Burmester, the company’s managing director, adding, “Our ambition is to continue this uncompromising approach on behalf of delivering true sound.”
MORE:
See all our Burmester reviews
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It’s well documented that Intel’s 11th Generation Rocket Lake processors are not compatible with H410 and B460 motherboards. A new report from a Chinese forum (via momomo_us) claims that the upcoming 14nm chips might not even work on all Z490 motherboards.
The author has shared some compelling evidence why this is the case. In summary, the reasons boil down to the lack of support on a chipset and BIOS level, but more importantly, the design of the motherboard’s power delivery subsystem.
Chipset Segmentation
Intel Chipset (Image credit: Chiphell)
The first reason for the incompatibility resides in the chipset. Intel’s desktop 400-series family consists of six chipsets: Z490, W480, Q470, H470, B460 and H410. In a pre-Comet Lake leak, we learned that Intel had segmented the 400-series chipsets into two classifications. The Z490, W480, Q470 and H470 formed the Comet Lake PCH-H group, while the B460 and H410 chipsets belonged to the Comet Lake PCH-V group. While we never really found out the meaning for the suffix, we had presumed that the “H” represented High-Performance and the “V” meant Value. Now that we look back at the categories, it starts to make sense why the B460 and H410 chipsets don’t support Rocket Lake.
As the author explained, each processor possesses a CPU_ID that the chipset utilizes to identify the chip. Logically, the processor will not work if the chipset doesn’t recognize the CPU_ID. Apparently, the workaround is simple and consists of disabling the CPU_ID in the Intel Management Engine (ME) section of the BIOS. Motherboard vendors, such as Gigabyte, found a more elegant solution that consists of silently slipping a different chipset into its H410 motherboards.
Zero BIOS Support
ASRock Z590 Taichi BIOS (Image credit: Chiphell)
The BIOS also plays an important role in processor support. If the processor’s microcode isn’t in the database, the chip will obviously not work on the motherboard. Here’s where a bit of speculation comes in.
It’s possible that Intel had already decided that Comet Lake PCH-V chipsets will not support Rocket Lake so the processors weren’t taken into consideration during the development of the BIOS. Again, the answer is as easy as extracting the microcode from the Z590 BIOS and implanting it into the target motherboard. This isn’t a new practice either as motherboard vendors have been doing it for ages. For example, Soyo created an H310 motherboard that supported the previous generation of Intel processors behind the chipmaker’s back.
Inadequate Power Supply
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B460 vs Z590 (Image credit: Chiphell)
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ASRock Z590 Pro4 (Image credit: Chiphell)
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ASRock Z590 Pro4 (Image credit: Chiphell)
The last and probably the most important reason why Rocket Lake processors are locked out from 400-series motherboards has to do with the power delivery subsystem. The power delivery subsystem’s job is to convert the 12V and 5V voltages down to lower voltages that the processor can use. In this case, we have voltages, such as the Vcore (core), Vgt (core display), VCCSA (system agent), VCCIO (input and output), VCCM (memory), VCCST (maintenance voltage), VCCST_PLL (clock maintenance voltage), just to mention a few.
According to the author’s investigation, Comet Lake-S and Rocket Lake-S processors didn’t experience any changes in the Vcore and Vgt. The VCCSA and VCCIO voltages, however, has reportedly undergone a shift.
In an example, the forum user dissected the ASRock Z590 Pro4 motherboard to find a Reneas RAA229001 controller that controls the VCCSA voltage. The previous VCCSA controller, which operated in fixed mode, featured a single-phase PWM with a single-phase MOS and sometimes shared with the VCCIO.
With Rocket Lake-S, Intel seemingly changed the power delivery mode of the VCCSA to SVID. The author explained that the power supply voltage is the same as Vcore, therefore, the processor directly controls it. As a result, it’s not possible to share the power delivery or use another PWM. By force, you need a PWM IC that complies with Intel’s IMVP8 specifications. Motherboards the lack a SVID PWM controller cannot accommodate Rocket Lake-S chips.
On the topic of VCCIO, the review provided two circuit diagrams that contrast the B460 and Z590 motherboards. Based on his observations, the VCCIO for Rocket Lake-S is split into three parts: VCCIO_0, VCCIO_1_2. As you can see from the B460 motherboard, there is no connection lines to the VCCIO_1_2. It seems that Intel sets aside the RSVD pins in the LGA1200 socket to connect to the VCCIO_1_2. For reasons, which probably have to do with cost reduction, the RSVD pins for B460 and H410 motherboards are epty so there’s no power going to VCCIO_1_2, which feeds the PCIe and other interfaces.
The reviewer provided a list of Z490 motherboard that he thinks won’t support Rocket Lake chips. MSI’s Z490 S01 and Z490M S01 motherboards as well as ASRock’s Z490 Phantom Gaming 4, Z490 Pro4, Z490M Pro4, Z490M-ITX/ac and B460M Steel Legend are part of his list.
One of the first Android apps — ZXing Team’s Barcode Scanner, an app that predates the first official release of Android itself — is currently getting review-bombed on the Google Play Store. Hundreds of users are leaving 1-star reviews claiming a recent update spews unwanted ads, while nearly 200 more have come to the app’s defense with 5-star reviews of their own.
It’s not quite clear what’s going on here, but the prevailing theory is that the 100 million-download strong app is getting mistaken for another one with the same exact name — one that might have been a clone of ZXing’s app and one that did add malware in a recent update, according to digital security firm MalwareBytes.
MalwareBytes seems to be aware of the confusion; it updated its post yesterday to be extra clear that the bad barcode scanner app was this one, which came from a company called Lavabird. Google removed that app from the Play Store, so it wouldn’t be surprising if angry users searched for it and found the wrong one.
The sudden attention surprised the app’s co-creator, Sean Owen, who tells The Verge that he’s not worried about his reputation — simply because of how ridiculous he thinks the claims are.
“[T]his is such an old well-known app that I think anyone informed would guess it can’t be this app: it’s open source, for one. It hasn’t been updated in years. And there’s just no motive, to make an app for 13 years just to stick malware in at the end is an implausibly long game,” he says. The Google Play Store shows the app was last updated in February 2019.
But he also isn’t ruling out the possibility that his code is being manipulated somehow, perhaps by hijacking the intents system that Android uses to let one app hand off tasks to another. “Many people claim it’s ‘definitely’ this app in a way I hadn’t seen before — and I’ve read thousands of comments over the years — so, who knows?”
Owen says he and his co-author Daniel Switken now regret their decision to make the app open source back in the day because of all the times it’s been cloned by companies trying to make a quick buck by adding ads or skins. “For a time we pursued some of the larger ones for OSS license / trademark problems, but, that was fewer than 10 out of the 100s I saw even many years ago,” Owen says.
This isn’t the first time his app has been mistaken for a bad clone, he says. “At some point a research paper claimed this app was phoning personal info to a third party site, and that caused another wave [of bad reviews], but, naturally the authors found they’d mixed up two similar apps.”
I redownloaded the OG Barcode Scanner app today for the first time in many years. When I launched it, the app warned me that it “was built for an older version of Android and may not work properly,” and I found it only works in landscape orientation. But I saw no ads, it sure scanned barcodes fast, and I haven’t seen any pop-ups or browser hijacking yet.
Testing out the original Barcode Scanner app on a modern Android phone. Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Right now, ZXing Team’s Barcode Scanner app sits at a solid 4.0 stars with nearly 640,000 reviews. Google did not reply to requests for comment about how it would handle the negative reviews.
Adobe is making it easier for multiple people to work on the same file in Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fresco. The three apps are getting a new feature called “invite to edit,” which will let you type in a collaborator’s email address to send them access to the file you’re working on.
Collaborators will not be able to work on the file live alongside you, but they will be able to open up your work, make changes of their own, save it, and have those changes sync back to your machine. If someone is already editing the file, the new user be given the choice to either make a copy or wait until the current editor is finished. It’s not quite Google Docs-style editing for Photoshop, but it should be easier than emailing a file back and forth.
The feature works with .PSD and .AI files saved to Adobe’s cloud. (It’s already available inside of Adobe XD as well.) It also supports version history, so you’ll be able to reverse course if a collaborator messes something up.
Adobe announced that this feature was in the works back in October. The company has been steadily building more collaboration features into Creative Cloud — the service tying its suite of apps together — in the hopes of making the platform quick, simple, and reliable enough that teams can count on it to move their documents around. Adobe recently updated a related feature that allows documents to be sent to others for review.
Today, we bring you our first review of a custom design Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card in the MSI RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio. When AMD originally announced the RX 6000 series “Big Navi,” with the RX 6900 XT release set for its own exclusive date, the company hadn’t made up its mind on whether to enable custom-design RX 6900 XT boards, which explains why it took some time for board partners to come up with custom designs. The MSI Radeon RX 6900 XT is the company’s flagship graphics card from the red team, designed to square off against NVIDIA’s fastest, such as the GeForce RTX 3080 or even RTX 3090. It supercharges the fully-unlocked “Big Navi” silicon with a custom-design PCB bolstered by a stronger VRM design, triple power inputs, and the company’s latest Tri-Frozr cooling solution.
The Radeon RX 6900 XT by AMD is the company’s fastest GPU from this generation, and the flagship product based on the new RDNA2 graphics architecture that debuted on next-gen consoles, before making it to the PC. This common architecture enables easy optimization of games to the PC platform, as they’re already optimized for the console hardware. RDNA2 is AMD’s first graphics architecture with full DirectX 12 Ultimate readiness, including real-time raytracing through Ray Accelerators, fixed-function hardware. The RX 6900 XT is based on the same 7 nm “Navi 21” silicon as the RX 6800 series, but maxes it out, with all its 5,120 stream processors enabled, as well as 80 Ray Accelerators, 320 TMUs, and 128 ROPs.
Real-time raytracing is the holy grail of consumer 3D graphics, and today’s GPU vendors have figured out how to combine conventional raster 3D with certain real-time raytraced elements, such as lighting, shadows, reflections, etc., to significantly increase realism. Even this much raytracing demands enormous amounts of compute power. AMD’s approach has been to deploy fixed-function hardware for the most compute-intensive part of the raytracing pipeline, while relying on a mighty SIMD setup for other raytracing-related tasks, such as denoising. A by-product of this approach is vastly improved raster 3D performance. Not only are the stream processors doubled over the previous generation RDNA, but they also run at significantly higher engine clocks.
AMD has also doubled the amount of memory to 16 GB and uses the fastest JEDEC-standard 16 Gbps GDDR6 memory, although the bus width is still 256-bit, yielding 512 GB/s memory bandwidth. AMD has worked around the bandwidth problem by deploying a fast on-die level 3 cache directly on the GPU, which it calls Infinity Cache. This 128 MB scratchpad for the GPU, when combined with the GDDR6 memory, belts out an effective bandwidth of 2 TB/s. AMD has also taken the opportunity to update the multimedia acceleration and display I/O capabilities of their GPUs.
MSI takes things a step ahead of AMD by giving the RX 6900 XT a powerful VRM solution that pulls power from three 8-pin PCIe power connectors, and using its premium Tri-Frozr cooling solution deployed across all Gaming X Trio graphics cards from both the RX 6000 and NVIDIA RTX 30 series. This cooler features a chunky aluminium fin-stack heatsink, the company’s latest generation TorX fans, a blinding amount of RGB bling, and other innovative features, such as a mechanism that counteracts PCB bending. MSI’s MSRP for the RX 6900 XT isn’t known, but we doubt it’s anywhere close to AMD’s original MSRP. We’re expecting this card to sell for $1800 or higher—that’s the price point of other premium-design RX 6900 XT cards on the market right now.
(Pocket-lint) – If you’re seeking proof that videogames are about way more than shooting people in the face, you could do a lot worse than check out Little Nightmares 2.
Despite only being between five and six hours long, it manages to be by turns scary, cute, inventive and thought-provoking, all the while providing plenty of distinctive and often challenging puzzles.
Arthouse horror
The first Little Nightmares game, released in 2017, put its developer Tarsier Studios firmly on the games industry map and garnered a number of awards.
The sequel, Little Nightmares 2, doesn’t mess with the formula it established – but positively throbs with the confidence of a developer that knows it’s onto something unique.
As in the original game, it combines puzzle-solving with platform-style gameplay, taking in stealth and hair-raising chase sequences, and even stretching to a couple of thoroughly idiosyncratic segments that essentially amount to boss-battles.
At its heart, it’s a puzzle game, but its gothic and often threatening vibe – rarely but brilliantly punctuated by uplifting moments – set it far apart from the puzzle-game norm. That said, it will feel quite familiar to anyone who played the first Little Nightmares game.
A new face in town
This time around, you also control a small child, called Mono, embarking on a quest for freedom and liberation. Mono’s journey starts in a swampy, somewhat foetid countryside area, where he swiftly hooks up with Six, the protagonist of the first game.
Bandai Namco
Escaping from a shotgun-wielding adult – seriously, all the adults in the game are scary, Fantastic Mr Fox this isn’t – the pair stumble into a beyond-dystopian city, and must make their way through localities including the creepiest school and hospital you will ever encounter.
You can’t control Six, but she comes in handy as a co-operative partner, offering leg-ups so Mono can reach otherwise inaccessible places, and catching him at the end of gaps he wouldn’t normally be able to jump over. Plus, she provides an emotional wrench whenever the pair are separated, and close observation of her behaviour can produce hints about how to solve some of the more head-scratching puzzles.
Minimalistic marvel
As in the first game, Little Nightmares 2’s controls are very minimal: Mono can run, jump grab and, at times, use items like a TV remote and a torch.
Bandai Namco
He can also use weapons, including axes and bits of pipe, although not exactly in the manner you would expect if playing an action game. Because they are adult-sized, they are too heavy for him to wield with any dexterity, so he drags them around behind him, and has to work his way up to each strike, so timing is paramount.
Details like that bring an incredibly tactile feeling to the game, a sense which is enhanced by superb sound design and music. The music would adorn many a horror movie, while the ambient sounds create a chilling atmosphere and, sometimes, contribute to the puzzle-solving that allows you to keep moving forward.
Rewarding the observant
Little Nightmares 2 is packed with puzzles that are wildly inventive, vary according to where you are in the game, and are extremely memorable. At times, you will find yourself embarking on periods of head-scratching, and the game definitely rewards the observant, but there’s a lot of satisfaction to be had when you figure out what has to be done in order to progress.
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Bandai Namco
Despite its wordlessness – Little Nightmares 2 contains not a single word of dialogue – it still manages to cleverly convey a story, and its overall approximation of the disturbing nightmares we’ve all experienced is punctuated by moments of uplift and even cuteness.
As you work your way through the city, you discover an adult population transfixed by whatever beams out of the screens of their televisions, to such an extent that if you turn one TV off, they will move to the next one – or if there isn’t another one at hand, pursue you relentlessly. Which triggers all manner of reflections about being in thrall to whatever is broadcast to us, no matter how poisonous it might be – a very topical theme.
Verdict
Although roughly twice as long as the original game, Little Nightmares 2 clocks in between five and six hours, so it still isn’t hugely substantial, but the presence of hats that Mono can wear hidden in off-the-beaten-track areas that you might well have failed to explore in your first play-through provides a certain amount of replay value.
If you appreciate games that strive to create a unique ambience, harbour ambitions to be seen as art rather than mere entertainment, and have a thought-provoking agenda, you’ll struggle to find anything that fits the bill better than Little Nightmares 2.
Traversing a world of nightmares has never been so much fun. Little Nightmares 2 is a thoroughly entertaining, truly nightmarish work of art.
In recent years, several representatives from PC case companies have told us that mini-ITX cases are a niche, without enough interest to be worth heavily investing in. Yet oddly, over that same period, more and more companies seem to be churning out these compact small form-factor (SFF) chassis.
The latest entry into the mini-ITX case space is the Meshlcious, from Ssupd (Sunny side up design), a new spinoff brand from Lian Li. As you might guess by the name, the Meshlicious is all about mesh–or nearly, as the case ships with one tempered-glass side panel, which can be attached to either the GPU or CPU side of the case. It will also be available in either black or white. Our review unit arrived dressed in black.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
At 14.17 x 9.65 x 6.55 inches, the Meshlicious is similar in size to the Jonsbo A4 case we used for the
RGBaby build
last year (the A4 is 13.39 x 10.75 x 6.65 inches), and much smaller than the last ITX case I built in,
Asus’ ROG Z11
(20.9 x 7.6 x 15.2 inches) pictured above. At $119 (MSRP) the Meshlicious is also much cheaper than either of those cases, while offering up lots of versatility (within the confines of its 14.67 liter volume), as well as a riser cable for showing off your graphics card. To help keep your components cool, it has mesh covering four of its six sides (or five if you spend $30 on a second mesh side panel to replace the glass side that ships in the box). As I found during testing, though, you’ll probably want to add at least one front intake fan.
Despite its small size, the Meshlicious supports graphics cards up to 12.6 inches and four-slots thick, thanks to a motherboard tray that can be slid forward or back to make room for thick cards. Just note that, as with all cases this small, there are a whole lot of limitations due to space constraints. Installing a long graphics card limits space for SATA storage, for instance. And while you can use a full-size ATX power supply, you may want to opt for a modular SFX PSU just so that there’s less excess cabling to hide. There’s really nowhere to hide excess bulky power cables.
Specifications
Type
Mid-ITX Tower
Motherboard Support
Mini-ITX
Dimensions (HxWxD, vertical orientation)
14.17 x 9.65 x 6.55 inches (360 x 245 x 166.4mm)
Max GPU Length
12.6 inches (320 mm)
CPU Cooler Height
2.87 inches (73mm) with 3-slot GPU, 2.09 inches (53 mm) with 4-slot GPU
External Bays
✗
Internal Bays
Up to 2x 3.5-inch and 3x 2.5-inch with SFF GPU, or 3x 2.5-inch with full-length GPU
Expansion Slots
1x
Front I/O
1x USB 3 Type-A, 1x USB-C
Other
Tempered Glass Side Panel
Front Fans
None (2x 120/140mm supported)
Rear Fans
None
Top Fans
None
Bottom Fans
None
Weight
8.16 pounds (3.7 kg)
Warranty
?
Panels Galore
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Working in the Meshlicious is fairly easy for an SFF chassis, thanks to its easily removable panels. Every side save for the bottom has one, and by default, all are mesh except for one side which is tempered glass with a moderate tint. As noted earlier, you can pop that glass side on either the motherboard side or the graphics card side, depending on which you want to show off.
Metal push pins hold all the sides on, and they stay on snugly and pop off with ease. This is a mechanism I wish more case makers would use, though I’m sure it works much better with small panels than it would with large full-ATX towers. The case and side panels are all steel (save for the glass panel) and reasonably thick and rigid. Nothing feels cheap or flimsy, which is nice given the case’s relatively low price for an ITX chassis.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With the side panels off, the Meshlicious becomes a minimal shell, housing a PCIe 3.0/4.0 riser cable for vertically mounting your graphics card, and a few cables for the top-panel connections. (The $119 version we tested has a PCIe 3.0 cable, but a $159 version with a PCIe 4.0 cable will also be available.)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Speaking of the top ports, things are fairly minimal (like the rest of the case’s design), with one USB 3 Type-A port and one Type-C. There’s no real need for an audio jack in a case this small, given that the audio ports around back are inches away from the front, and will generally deliver better audio than external ports would anyway.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The included accessories are also minimal, and include a bracket for mounting SATA drives, which you’ll need to leave in the box if using a long graphics card — as I did for this build. Also included is an angled HDMI cable, which you’ll need if using a full-size graphics card, as the Graphics card ports are at the bottom in this layout. The cable I got was quite short at just over three feet (not quite enough to make it to my arm-mounted test monitor), but a company rep told me Ssupd would make a change to include a longer cable (and larger zip ties) on future shipments, although initial versions will likely include what you see above. The zip ties included aren’t nearly big enough to wrangle the excess mess of power cables I encountered with my ATX power supply.
The silver aluminum bar above is a shorter mount for the motherboard tray. You’ll use this if installing a four-slot graphics card, to shift the tray more toward the motherboard side. Keep in mind that doing this also minimizes the cooler clearance, which is also quite limited to begin with. You get 2.87 inches of CPU cooler clearance as standard, which shrinks to 2.09 inches if you make room for a thicker card. That means if you’re using a 4-slot card, there will even be some AIO coolers you’ll need to avoid. As I used a slim Noctua air cooler (more on this below), the limited space here wasn’t an issue.
The 2.5-slot Zotac RTX 2080 Amp Extreme I used fit without adjusting the motherboard tray, but left little room between the side panel and the case fans. So I’d recommend either opting for the mesh panel on the GPU side or moving the motherboard back. 240 or 280 mm radiators (or just 120/140mm fans) are supported in the front for cooling your CPU. But note if adding a fan and radiator, things will likely get very tight, since this is also where your excess power cable slack also needs to go. Even if you just install intake fans here, you may have issues with cables pushing up against your fan blades. So you’ll need to take extra care to keep this from happening.
The case supports either SFX or larger ATX power supplies, although the bracket of an SFX power supply comes pre-installed. And I’d recommend using one of these smaller supplies if at all possible, since it will give you extra space and you’ll likely have less cable slack. I used a modular ATX Seasonic Focus PSU and wound up with a big ugly bundle of cables zip-tied together and no place to hide them.
The Meshlcious supports basically two distinct component layouts, each with a mini-ITX motherboard. You can either use a small-form-factor graphics card mounted horizontally, up to 8.3 inches (or less with a front radiator), or a longer full-sized GPU up to 12.6 inches mounted vertically (which is what I installed). With the former, you can also install a drive rail system for 3.5 or 2.5-inch drives. With averically mounted longer GPU you’re limited to mounting two 2.5-inch drives on the bottom of the case. Rather than go over the full details of possible layouts, here are a couple of diagrams, direct from Ssupd.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The build scenario I went with was a combination of these two, using an air cooler like in the image above, left with a long GPU (below, right).
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Building in the Ssupd Meshlicious
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With the four sides popped off in a matter of seconds, building in the Ssupd Meshlicious was fairly straightforward, at least at first.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
For the sake of simplicity, I carried over the core components from the Asus ROG Z11 case story, including an ROG Strix B550-I Gaming motherboard, an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU, a low-profile Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 chromax.Black CPU cooler, and the aforementioned Zotac RTX 2080 graphics card. We would have loved to upgrade to a Rzyen 5 CPU and a 30-series graphics card. But in case you haven’t noticed, both have been extremely scarce since launch, and for our purposes here, the existing parts work just fine.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
I dropped the motherboard in first, complete with the cooler and RAM. Next I tried to jam the ATX power supply in before realizing the SFX bracket comes pre-installed. I removed that via four screws, then slotted in the Seasonic ATX PSU in the area to the right in the image above. That went without issue, until I realized the GPU riser cable wasn’t fully extended on the other side, and was stuck behind my power supply. So I had to remove the PSU momentarily and secure the PCIe slot near the bottom of the case for the vertical RTX 2080. For smaller cards mounted horizontally, the cable gets mounted near the top.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
That done, I was ready to install the graphics card and the sole SATA SSD for this build, an attractive Team Group T-Force Delta Max RGB model that added some extra RGB to this case that ships without lighting or fans. In this configuration, another 2.5 inch drive can be mounted on the bottom, in a tight spot below the power supply. But for that you’ll need remove the PSU, or install it and connect the cables before installing the power supply. Again, for those who want to install more than two 2.5-inch drives here, you’ll need to use the drive bracket, which necessitates you also use a much shorter graphics card, mounted horizontally. But given many ITX motherboards include two M.2 slots (one often hidden on the back like with our Asus board), plus the ability to install two 2.5 inch drives on the floor of the Meshlicous, that should suffice for most setups. If you’re looking to install lots of storage drives, you probably aren’t also looking for a super compact case.
With everything installed in the Meshlicious,it was instantly clear that I had a bunch of excess cabling, mostly from the power supply, but some from the SATA drive (which also requires a USB cable for its light show). And given that the case is so small, there was no place to effectively hide the mess. Had I installed a radiator and fans in the front and used an SFX PSU with shorter cables, perhaps I could have hidden the cables along the back edge of the radiator. But of course the radiator, pump and fans would have introduced more cabling and taken up a fair amount of space itself.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
For the sake of hitting the launch day on this case, I bunched the cables together hastily with a few zip ties and velcro straps and called it a day. I clearly could have been a bit neater, but with the cables near the CPU/motherboard side of the case, they aren’t all that visible with either the tinted tempered-glass side over the GPU area, and even less so if you opt for using the mesh panel here.
Gaming and Conclusion
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Given that most of the sides on the Meshlicious are mesh, you could get away without adding intake fans for plenty of builds, as I did here. But adding at least one in the front would be a good idea. Either that, or if you’re using a large and powerful GPU, you might want to consider buying a second mesh side panel to replace the glass one — even if just during long gaming sessions. The panel can be popped off and replaced in just a few seconds.
After about a half hour of playing Borderlands 3 at high settings with the glass panel on, the panel got surprisingly hot, which isn’t exactly surprising given how close the fans are to the un-vented side panel. And while you could swap the side panels and put mesh in front of the graphics card, that would mean your glass panel is going to sit right up against the intake of your power supply. I don’t have to tell you that restricted airflow like that — at the very least — isn’t great for the longevity of your PSU.
Moving the motherboard tray back nearly an inch, as noted earlier, could alleviate this issue somewhat, but not if you’re using a graphics card that’s 3 slots or more thick. It would have been nice if Ssupd had included at least one fan to mount in the front, but I can also see why the company didn’t. Most people will likely either want to install a front radiator (which will come with a pair of fans on its own) or use specific fans, be they RGB or, say, quiet and efficient Noctua spinners.
And again, for many more modest builds with graphics card TDPs south of 200 watts, you could likely get by without any added fans. After all, the Meshlicious gets its name from the fact that three of its sides are all mesh by default. Opt for a fourth mesh side panel for an extra $30 and your CPU and GPU coolers shouldn’t have an issue dissipating heat themselves.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Just don’t expect the Meshlicious to be any quieter than your components of choice, especially if you opt to put the mesh panel in front of your graphics card. Just as small cases like this involve tradeoffs in terms of component support, a mesh-covered case is going to trade some noise for better thermal dissipation. You should always choose your components wisely. But if building in this Ssupd case is your aim, you’ll want to spend extra time making sure your parts will … mesh well with the Meshlicious.
The HP Spectre x360 has an attractive design and long battery life, though the 16:9 display feels dated. Its only performance downside is in bursty workloads, which we saw some issues with.
For
Sliim, attractive chassis
Solid speakers for a laptop
Long battery life
Still squeezes in a USB Type-A port
Against
16:9 display is dated, especially as a tablet
Not great with bursty performance
Difficult to upgrade
Sure, the
best ultrabooks and premium laptops
are tools, but you also want your computing device to look good. Design is important, after all.
The HP Spectre 360 13t ($949.99 to start, $1,249.99 as tested) continues to be one of the best-looking Windows devices out there, with a refined, thin design and clever port placement with both Thunderbolt 4 and USB Type-A.
But a tool also has to do the job well. With a 16:9 screen, the Spectre x360 can still, well, compute, but it doesn’t show as much as some others. And then there’s the question of whether or not this laptop can tame Intel’s latest Tiger Lake processors.
Design of the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
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HP’s Spectre lineup has had an aesthetic that would make a jeweler proud for the last few years. The Spectre x360 13t is no different there. The laptop, made from silver aluminum (it comes in black or blue for an extra cost), and has a reflective, modernized HP logo that I think the company should really start using on all of its products. But what makes it stand out are the cut-off corners near the back hinge, one of which has the power button while the other houses a Thunderbolt 4 port.
Those corners are always accessible, and easy enough to reach whether the laptop is being used as a notebook or a tablet.
The 13.3-inch display has very thin bezels, but looks short and squat with a 16:9 aspect ratio. As more notebooks move to taller 16:10 displays, like the
Dell XPS 13
and
MacBook Pro
or a 3:2 display like the
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
, it makes the whole design here, not just the screen, seem a little cramped and dated. (HP does have a 3:2 Spectre x360 with the 14-inch version of this laptop, which we hope to be able to test soon.)
HP has packed in a full-size keyboard, including a row for home, page up, page down and end keys, and the rest of the construction is aluminum. This thing is built solid.
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While thicker notebooks may have more ports, HP hasn’t given up on USB Type-A here, which I really appreciate. The left side of the notebook has a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A with a drop-jaw hinge to squeeze it into the chassis, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The right side has two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one in the top-right corner), a kill switch for the camera, and a microSD card reader.
The Spectre x360 13 measures 12.08 x 7.66 x 0.67 inches and weighs 2.8 pounds. That makes it ever so slightly lighter than the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310, which is 2.9 pounds and 11.6 x 8.15 x 0.56 inches. The Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 is a slighter 2.7 pounds and 12 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches. Apple’s MacBook Pro, a clamshell, is 3 pounds and 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches.
HP Spectre x360 13-inch Specifications
CPU
Intel Core i7-1165G7
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Memory
16GB LPDDR4X-4266
Storage
512GB PCIe NVMe SSD with 32GB Intel Optane
Display
13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen
Networking
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5
Ports
2x Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, Headphone/microphone jack, microSD card reader
Camera
720p IR
Battery
60 WHr
Power Adapter
65 W
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Dimensions(WxDxH)
12.08 x 7.66 x 0.67 inches / 306.83 x 194.56 x 17.01 mm
Weight
2.8 pounds / 1.27 kg
Price (as configured)
$1,249.99
Productivity Performance HP Spectre x360 13-inch
The Spectre is the latest machine we’ve tested with Intel’s Core i7-1165G7 “Tiger Lake” mobile processors. Our configuration of the 2-in-1 has paired that with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB Intel SSD and 32GB of Intel Optane memory.
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On comparable versions of Geekbench 5, an overall performance benchmark, the Spectre had a single core-score of 1,574 and a multi-core score of 4,749. The ZenBook Flip S had a higher multi-core score (4,952) but a lower single-core score (1,512) with the same CPU. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, also with the same Core i7, has a far higher multi-core score (5,639) but a lower single-core score (1,532). On the same test, the MacBook Pro had a multi-core score of 5,925 and a single-core score of 1,316, and that was through Rosetta emulation that can decrease performance.
The Spectre transferred 25GB of files at a rate of 452.62 MBps, edging out the XPS 13 2-in-1. But the ZenBook Flip S out-performed here at 979.37
It took the Spectre x360 18 minutes and 39 seconds to complete our Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K video to 1080p. That’s faster than the ZenBook, though the XPS 13 2-in-1 had it beat, while the MacBook Pro was more than five minutes faster than the Spectre, even through Rosetta 2 emulation.
We also ran the Spectre through our stress test, which runs Cinebench R23 twenty times on a loop. The results were largely in the high 3,000’s, occasionally peaking over 4,000. Towards the end, it was a bit erratic. The CPU ran at an average of 2.52 GHz and an average temperature of 64.88 degrees Celsius (148.78 degrees Fahrenheit). HWInfo’s monitoring software detected several instances of cores’ power limits being exceeded.
Display on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch Specifications
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Our review unit has a 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 touchscreen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. That seems a bit squat, even outdated, compared to some competitors, which have moved on to 16:10 or 3:2 displays that are taller and show more of your work at once. It’s also more natural for tablet mode.
Part of my testing included watching the trailer for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Some explosions early in the trailer showed some intense burst of orange, though some scenes on a football field had fireworks that didn’t pop against the night sky as much as I would have liked to see. It’s usable, but not the best I’ve seen.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Spectre’s IPS display covered 67.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, in the range of the XPS 13 2-in-1 (70%). We reviewed the ZenBook Flip S with an OLED display that hit 113.1% (you can get the Spectre with OLED; see configurations below). Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro reached 78.3%.
HP’s display measured an average of 391 nits of brightness, beating the ZenBook, but falling short of the MacBook Pro and the XPS 13 2-in-1.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The keyboard on the Spectre x360 is comfortable, with a satisfying click (at least, as far as membranes go), that bounces up in a responsive fashion.
My bigger issue was the wristrest. The deck is a bit short, so my hands hung off it while I typed. I hit 88 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is a bit low for me; I’m generally in the high 90’s. It wasn’t because of the keyboard, but because I was floating my wrists in the air. A taller screen would require a longer deck, which could help solve this.
I would prefer that the 4.4 x 2.2 inch touchpad be a bit taller, but there’s also not any room for that on the device. Still, the vertical height was slightly limiting, and I often hit the edge of it. That said, the precision touchpad is sensitive enough that I was able to perform gestures, even with four fingers, without any issues.
Audio on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
For such a trim device, HP is offering up decent quality sound. The bottom-firing speakers, tuned by Bang & Olufsen, were clear with detailed sound. In Yellowcard’s “City of Devils,” the mix of violins, guitars, cymbals and drums were well leveled and textured, though, like many laptops, the bass wasn’t particularly perceptible.
The included Bang & Olufsen Audio control app helped that a bit when I switched to the Bass equalizer preset, but I preferred the overall mix of the default settings, which better highlighted the violins and vocals.
Upgradeability of the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
There are only two visible screws (a pair of Torx) on the bottom of the Spectre x360. If only things were that easy.
There are four additional Phillips-head screws beneath one of the laptop’s two adhesive-backed rubber feet. Removing the foot could potentially rip or tear it, making it difficult to replace later, so the average person probably shouldn’t attempt to open the laptop up.
Per HP’s maintenance manual for this laptop, the battery, Wi-Fi card and SSD are all replaceable if you do get in there, though the RAM is soldered down.
For most people, we recommend ensuring you get the configuration with enough storage and RAM to future proof it for you. Enthusiasts who can risk that rubber foot will find some upgradeable and repairable parts inside.
Battery Life on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
This 2-in-1 has some endurance. While it comes with a nice USB Type-C charger with a braided cable, you should be able to go quite a while without it. The Spectre ran for 12 hours and 32 minutes on our battery test, which continuously browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video over Wi-Fi, all at 150 nits of brightness.
It outlased both the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, which ran for 10:52, and the Asus ZenBook Flip S, which lasted 8:11. But Apple’s MacBook Pro, powered by its incredibly-efficient M1 processor, lasted four hours longer at 16:32.
Heat on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
Beyond internal temperatures, we took skin temperatures while we ran our Cinebench R23 stress test.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The center of the keyboard, between the G andH keys, measured 36.2 degrees Celsius (97.16 degrees Fahrenheit), though the keyboard was a cooler 29 degrees Celsius.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The hottest point on the bottom of the laptop hit 41.7 degrees Celsius (107.06 degrees Fahrenheit).
Webcam on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
The 720p camera in the Spectre x360’s bezel produces blurry images and doesn’t capture color well. In a shot at my desk, My blue eyes looked dark, my orange shirt muted, and the whole image was covered in visual noise.
Is it usable? Sure. But you may also want to consider buying best webcams for improved image quality. There’s a kill switch on the right side of the laptop for extra privacy when you’re not using the webcam.
Software and Warranty on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
Most of the software preinstalled on the Spectre is from HP itself. The most important is HP Command Center, a one-stop-shop to choose between performance presets, network prioritization for applications and system information. The others include HP Support Assistant (which I think could be rolled into Command Center), HP Privacy Settings and a link to the user manual for the laptop. There’s also MyHP, which gives you easy access to your serial numbers and a bunch of short tutorials for Windows and Microsoft Office.
Of course, there’s still the bloat that comes with most Windows 10 installs, like Spotify, Hulu, Roblox and Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure.
HP sells the 13-inch Spectre x360 with a 1-year warranty that can be extended at an additional cost.
HP Spectre x360 13-inch Configurations
We tested the Spectre x360 with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage with 32GB of Intel Optane memory and a 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen. All of that comes for $1,249.99.
The base model is $949.99, with an Intel Core i5-1135G7, 8GB of RAM, a 1080p screen and a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
Many of the components are configurable. You can go up to a
4K
UHD OLED touch screen (add $180), or opt for FHD
OLED
(add $30) or even WLED with Sure View Privacy (a $60 extra.) Storage goes up to a 2TB PCIe SSD. If you don’t want the silver color, you can pay $10 for black or $20 extra for blue.
The most expensive version, with a “Poseidon blue” chassis, Windows 10 Pro and the maximum specs runs $1,869.99.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
In its latest iteration, the 13-inch HP Spectre x360 continues to be an attractive choice, quite literally. The Spectre remains one of the best-looking notebooks on the market, and it’s sleek and trim. Its battery life is impressive, and the Bang & Olufsen audio is pretty good for a 2-in-1 laptop.
While many ultrabook owners may not use their laptops for the most intense workloads, those who do may notice the issues we saw in our Cinebench gauntlet. That’s not a huge issue for day-to-day use, but enthusiasts or power users may seek other options.
If you’re looking for a convertible 2-in-1, the go-to continues to be the
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1
, which offers strong performance and a taller, 16:10 display that works better as a tablet. You will, however, give up the full-sized USB Type-A port. HP also offers a comfier keyboard, in this author’s opinion, though a short wrist rest mars the typing experience.
But if a mix of style and endurace strikes your fancy, the Spectre x360 should be under consideration, though I’m hoping we can check out the 14-inch, 3:2 version soon.
Remember when EVGA first got into peripherals? The company made a big splash with their Torq X10 and X5 mice, which are still sold today, and complemented those with the launch of their first keyboard in the LCD display-integrated Z10. It must have sold enough to merit an RGB version, the Z10 RGB, which we took a look at last year. As of the time of this review, you can’t find either Z10 variants on the EVGA website, so LCD display experiment was short-lived. It’s a good thing then that EVGA did not give up and in fact has a whole new lineup of keyboards (and mice) launching today. Today, we take a look at their new flagship keyboard and thanks again to EVGA for sending the review samples to TechPowerUp!
The EVGA Z20 is a new ID from the company and a departure from the older Z10 RGB in nearly every way. We have a new case design, additional keys, no LCD display, a nice wrist rest, new switches, and a little something under the Left Alt key to detect user movement and wake up/put the keyboard to sleep. That’s right, we have a Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensor integrated here, so EVGA continues to be wacky, and willing to try out new things, which I am all for it. Let’s go through the EVGA Z20 in detail by examining all these features in this review beginning with a look at the specifications in the table below.
Specifications
EVGA Z20 Keyboard
Layout:
>104-key modified US ANSI layout, other language support depending on region
Material:
ABS plastic case and keycaps, steel plate
Macro Support:
Yes
Weight (total):
1.13 kg/2.49 lbs.
Wrist Rest:
Yes, removable
Anti-ghosting:
Full N-Key rollover USB
Media Keys:
Dedicated playback and volume control
Cable Length:
6 ft/1.8 m
Software:
Yes
Switch Type:
Choice of A4Tech Light Strike LK linear or tactile optical-mechanical RGB switch
Mustafa Mahmoud 20 hours ago Featured Tech News, PC, Software & Gaming
Historically, SEGA’s support for the PC platform has been underwhelming, especially when it comes to certain franchises. The publisher has slowly been improving on that front, bringing titles such as Persona 4 Golden to the platform. Next, it looks like a number of Sonic titles may also find their way onto PC soon.
In a LinkedIn post by the Director of Production Services at SEGA of America (as discovered by ResetEra user ‘stealthyfrog’), the publisher is reportedly set to “port popular Sonic titles to new-to-SEGA PC platforms, expanding availability of Sonic titles to a wider digital audience.”
Many of Sonic’s most popular titles never made their way onto the PC platform, for one reason or another. Titles such as Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colours, Sonic Lost World and more never received a PC release, meaning that these games are now stuck on old hardware.
Furthermore, SEGA delisted a number of Sonic titles which received “average” review scores back in 2010, making some of these games even harder to find and play nowadays. While much of Sonic’s history has been mired with mediocre releases, each game has its own set of fans who would undoubtedly enjoy seeing these games come to a modern platform.
It will be interesting to see which games SEGA is referring to specifically, and what store front the publisher will release these onto.
KitGuru says: Do you enjoy playing Sonic games? Which is your favourite? What other SEGA franchise would you like to see come to PC? Let us know down below.
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Simon Crisp 1 day ago Featured Tech Reviews, Professional, Reviews, SSD Drives
Kingston’s DC450R is part of the company’s extensive Enterprise SSD range and has been designed for handling read-centric workloads in data centres. We review the 3.84TB model, priced around the £440 mark for UK buyers.
The DC450R is available in five capacities at the time of writing: 480GB, 960GB, 1.92TB, 3.84TB (the drive we are looking at here) and the massive 7.68TB flagship drive. At the heart of the drive is a Phison PS3112-S12DC controller which looks after 3D TLC NAND.
Sequential read performance is quoted as up to 560MB/s across the range. Sequential write performance varies with capacity. The entry-level 480GB is up to 510MB/s, the 960GB and 1.92TB models are up to 530MB/s, the 3.84TB drive up to 525MB/s with the 7.68TB model the slowest in the line-up at up to 504MB/s.
When it comes to 4K random read performance all the range bar one are rated as up to 99,000 IOPS, the exception being the 960GB model which is rated at up to 98,000 IOPS. Random writes are a bit of a mix. The 1.92TB drive has the fastest random write rating at up to 28,000 IOPS, while the slowest is the 480GB model at 17,000 IOPS. The 960GB and 3.84TB drives are both rated as up to 26,000 IOPS with the 7.68TB flagship rated at up to 19,000 IOPS.
Power consumption for the 3.84TB is stated as 1.48W for Max/Avr reads, 3.93W for average writes and 5.5W for maximum writes with an idle figure of 1.3W.
Endurance for the 3.84TB drive is quoted as 2,823TB which works out at 0.4 DWPD over the length of the 5-year warranty Kingston back the drive with.
Physical Specifications:
Usable Capacities: 3.84TB.
NAND Components: 3D TLC NAND.
NAND Controller: Phison PS3112-S12DC.
Cache: DDR4-2666.
Interface: Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/s (SATA III).
Form Factor: 2.5in, 7mm.
Dimensions: 69.9 x 100 x7mm.
Drive Weight: 92.3g
Firmware Version: SCEKH3.3.
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HyperX delivers a headset that’s meant to roll out of the box and into service. The Cloud Revolver offers 7.1 surround sound for gaming and wide soundscape, and listening to music is a great experience. But the price tag is a stumbling block for what you get in the box.
For
Great audio clarity
Steel lends it fantastic build quality
Solid sound out-of-the-box
Against
Very few audio tweaking options
Can make ears a little warm
Expensive for the offering
The HyperX Cloud Revolver + 7.1 gets some things right in its quest to compete among the best gaming headsets. Compared to some of its other offerings, like the HyperX Cloud II Wireless, the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 offers more and higher quality memory foam, as well as firm steel. And despite the smaller drivers, HyperX promises a stronger, more robust sound scape on the Cloud Revolver 7.1 than some of its other offerings.
But at $150, this is an odd product. Although it’s wired, it’s the same price as the Cloud II Wireless, which offers similar features, like virtual 7.1 surround sound and a detachable noise-cancelling microphone.
The Cloud Revolver + 7.1 comes with an audio-boosting digital signal processor (DSP) via a handy USB sound card that also provides audio controls and virtual 7.1 surround sound. But it’s surround sound and audio in general isn’t tweak-friendly, keeping the package simple but hard to perfect.
HyperX Cloud Revolver + 7.1 Specs
Driver Type
50mm neodymium
Impedance
32 Ohms
Frequency Response
10 Hz-23.2 KHz
Microphone Type
Detachable condenser noise-cancelling
Connectivity
USB Type-A or 3.5mm
Weight
Headset-only: 0.83 pounds (375g)
Headset, mic, cable: 1 pound (452g)
Cords
6.67 feet (2.03m) USB-A cable and 7.1 dongle
3.33 feet (1m) 3.5mm
Lighting
None
Software
HyperX Ngenuity (Beta)
Design and Comfort
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The HyperX Cloud Revolver + 7.1 is an update of an older design: the original HyperX Cloud Revolver released in 2016. The general build remains the same, though HyperX has removed all the color from the overall design. While the original was black matte plastic and steel with red HyperX red highlights, the 2021 edition saps all the color. Instead, the highlights are in a simple, understated white. There’s no RGB on this headset, just crisp, clean black and white.
A single piece of steel runs across the entire headband from ear cup to ear cup. Not only is that the most striking part of the design, it also provides stability. Underneath that steel band is an adjustable smaller band that sits on top of your head. That band is made of leatherette and memory foam, providing a smooth cushion for the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 to rest upon.
The ear cups themselves are pretty hefty, with a design that looks like speakers on the outside flanked by the steel fins of the headband. On the inside of the ear cups, you’ll find more leatherette and memory foam. There’s more foam here than in some of HyperX’s cheaper headset models. There are no controls on the ear cups—no volume roller or mute button here—but there is a 3.5mm jack for the detachable microphone. The mic itself is flexible but can’t be slid into a position where it’s out of your face and lacks any indicator for when it’s muted.
All told, while it’s not the lightest headset I’ve tested, the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 feels pretty good. The headset itself is 0.83 pounds (375g), but the distribution of weight is fantastic. It sits light on the top of your head, and any clamping pressure around the ears is lessened by the memory foam pads. I have a pretty big head though, and I get the feeling it might be too roomy for those with tiny heads—the metal band is around 9 inches across, and the gap between the earcup pads is around 6-6.5 inches. There’s also not a ton of twist in ear cups, and for long sessions I could feel the insides getting a little warm.
The Cloud Revolver is a fully-wired headset. There’s a braided cable that runs from the left ear cup that cannot be detached. It’s around 3.33 feet (1m) in length, ending in a 3.5mm jack. HyperX only specs the headset to work with PC and PS4, but with the 3.5mm connection it should work with an Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4 (PS4) and PlayStation 5 (PS5).
Then there’s the USB sound card. It has a 3.5mm jack for plugging in the headset and ends in a USB Type-A connector for use with your PC. With the box, you get boosted audio via a digital signal processing sound card, as well as the ability to use virtual 7.1 surround sound. This plugs into your PC, PS4, or PS5. On the sound card dongle, you’ll find volume controls for the headset and microphone, a mute button on the side and a big button for activating the 7.1 surround sound capabilities. The mute button and 7.1 button both light up, letting you know which mode you’re in for each feature. The dongle also has a clip on the back for attaching to your shirt or pants to keep it in handy.
Cloud Revolver + 7.1 Audio Performance
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
HyperX markets the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 as a “studio-grade” headset. It has 50mm drivers, in line with most of its competition, but sports a larger frequency range than most. The can stretches from 10 Hz to 23.2 kHz, giving it an edge on both ends against some in this price range. That means a relatively wide soundscape.
There is one problem though. This headset utilizes HyperX’s own version of virtual 7.1 surround sound. There’s no tweaking and no equalizer available in HyperX’s software suite. And there’s no support for something like DTS Headphone:X or Dolby surround. HyperX’s 7.1 utilizes Windows Sonic on PC for any tweaks; the problem I have is that while Windows Sonic is great for positioning, I find the overall audio quality and available settings are far better on DTS Headphone:X or Dolby. The company did have a version of this headset that had Dolby support, the Cloud Revolver S, but that product doesn’t look like it’s being produced anymore. The headset we’re reviewing is essentially a non-Dolby rebrand of the S.
I loaded up Hitman 3; One of the new levels in this entry in the series, Berlin, is an excellent test with 7.1 on. The level takes place in an underground club hidden in a derelict power plant. Voices came through on the headset clearly, from the correct virtual channels with no distortion. The real test was below though. As you round the stairs into the club proper, there’s loud, booming techno music playing, with a good meaty bass beat to it. Even among the cacophony, Hitman 3 is still great about allowing you to hear audio dialog that may point to future assassinations. It’s a pretty chaotic scene in terms of sound, especially with the ebb and flow of the techno as you move around the environment, and the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 handled it well.
The Cloud Revolver + 7.1 is only guaranteed to work with PC and PS4, as per HyperX. But my PS5 recognized it immediately in sound devices when I plugged it in via USB. I didn’t have any sound initially, leading me to assume it didn’t work, but the trick with the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 is the audio controls on the dongle work independently of the system volume. You can have the system volume up, but the dongle volume down, and hear nothing.
Playing Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, I found the system’s 3D audio worked well with the Cloud Revolver + 7.1. Walking around the city to get a feel of the directional sound, I could walk around a running car and clearly hear the engine humming along from the correct direction.
In terms of clarity, I could hear every thwip of the web-shooters alongside the whipping winds, the low bass beat of the soundtrack and even J. Jonah Jameson’s annoying radio broadcast. However, I did notice a little loss of clarity in the highs, with strings in the ambient soundtrack blending a bit with some of the city’s sounds.
The first music track I tried on the headset was Jason Derulo’s “Lifestyle.” It works well as a test case because of the transition from the early parts of the song. You have the thrumming of the bass guitar contrasted with Derulo’s vocals, which are then joined by accompaniment and staccato claps. Once the chunky bass in the chorus comes in, the song is playing on nearly every level. It’s got a little bit of everything.
Listening to the track on the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 allowed me to test the difference in the standard stereo versus the 7.1 surround. In stereo, there was wonderful differentiation and clarity between the different parts of the song. The wider soundscape really showed up to play. Switching to surround sound, it was clear that HyperX’s solution pushes the mids back, really playing up the highs and lows.
Across few other tracks, I actually found aspects of the music that was missing in my day-to-day headset. Gfriend’s “Labyrinth” had a sort of alternating high xylophone-style sound in the background of the chorus I never noticed before. And the understated low piano in the bridge of Clean Bandit’s “Higher” was suddenly apparent. There’s just an excellent amount of separation and clarity to the overall sound on this headset. It’s probably one of the better music listening experiences at this price point.
Microphone
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The microphone on the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 is a unidirectional condenser mic that you can detach from the headset. My recordings sounded pretty good, though they came across a little warm overall. Vocal clarity was pretty good, but there was still audible popping.
Noise cancellation, meanwhile, was decent. The headset took care of a good amount of environmental sound. There was someone mowing the lawn outside of my apartment, for example, and that wasn’t in the recording much. My local television noise also didn’t come through on recordings.
The boom mic is flexible, allowing for decent placement in front of your mouth. I also actually prefer having the mic mute on the dongle because it means you’re not getting a noise in your recording trying to mute your mic.
HyperX specs the Cloud Revolver + 7.1’s mic for a frequency response of 50 Hz – 7.7 kHz.
Software
HyperX has beta software, NGenuity, that works with many of its gaming peripherals, including some headsets. The Cloud Revolver + 7.1, however, is not meant to work with any software. Instead, HyperX targets this at users who want a simple plug-and-play package. But those who like to tweak their audio or want to address any perceived weaknesses in the Cloud Revolver + 7.1’s performance is out of luck.
If you want to do any virtual speaker positioning regarding the 7.1 surround sound, you can use the standard Windows menus via Windows Sonic.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With the Cloud Revolver + 7.1, HyperX has crafted cans with great build quality, effective virtual 7.1 surround sound support, a nice wide soundscape and versatility through its two connection options (3.5mm or USB Type-A).It also delivers one of the better music-listening experiences I’ve had in the $150 price range.
However, the virtual 7.1 surround sound here is a step down from the immersive feel and customization options premium competitors, like Dolby, offer. And HyperX’s lack of audio tweaking options means you’re essentially stuck with what you get out of the box. The company could gain some ground simply by fixing that.
There are more customizable options with advanced surround sound for less. As of writing, Logitech Pro X is about $20 cheaper than our review focus, and you get DTS Headphone X 2.0 support, an extensive audio equalizer and Blue microphone audio tweaks via Logitech software. The Razer BlackShark V2 offers THX Spatial Audio for a whopping $50 less. And that’s all before you even get into wireless headset options, which are pretty price-competitive these days.
Sure, I might love listening to music on the Cloud Revolver + 7.1, but a gaming headset is more than that. And frankly, HyperX is still behind the competition in terms of bells-and-whistles.
But if you’re not into tweaking and just want something that offers decent virtual surround sound and covers a wide range of frequencies out of the box while sitting comfortably on your noggin, the Cloud Revolver + 7.1 is worth a look.
SteelSeries is a Denmark-based peripherals company founded in 2001. The Aerox 3 Wireless is essentially a lightweight, more premium, rechargeable version of the Rival 3 Wireless (click here for our review). Equipped with the same 18,000 CPI TrueMove Air sensor, the Aerox 3 Wireless is capable of wired and wireless operation over either low-latency 2.4 GHz or long-endurance Bluetooth 5.0. SteelSeries promises battery life of up to 200 hours using Bluetooth, and the 67 g lightweight construction is IP54-certified, providing water resistance and protection from dust, dirt, oil, or fur. That goes for the main button switches as well, which are rated for 80 million clicks. The Aerox Wireless also features a particularly flexible USB Type-C charging cable. Lastly, full RGB lighting is included, as are the usual customization options through SteelSeries Engine.
Ever since I first got involved in the world of custom (think anything outside of OEM) keyboards, there have been three companies on my bucket list: Topre from Japan, Varmilo from China, and Leopold from Korea. I came close to the former with a Cooler Master keyboard review, and Leopold almost came through two years ago. Varmilo was a unicorn though, even after having visited them in person at Computex 2018 and Computex 2019. So you can imagine my surprise when I was contacted by them last year about bringing eyes on their latest switches, the electrostatic capacitive version 2 range (EC V2). The company’s slogan is “keyboard artist,” so there was no way I was covering their keyboards until I was reunited with my full camera setup. Here we are then to take a look at the first Varmilo entry in the TPU review database, and thanks again to the company for sending a review sample.
Varmilo is a Chinese company owned by Shenzhen Zhihaihe Technology Co., Ltd. and founded in 2012. They have within the last few years introduced special-themed designs for keyboards, going all the way from case to keycap and switch design. The company thus sought to showcase their new EC V2 switches on several of their themed keyboards to get the word out. One of these, and a very recent theme too, is Beijing Opera. Varmilo sought to celebrate the history of the Beijing Opera and Hanfu culture here, and this line comes in 65%, 80%, and 110% versions. We have here the TKL 80% (which some companies also call 85% or simply just tenkeyless) and will go through the keyboard and switches in detail in this review beginning with a look at the specifications below.
Specifications
Varmilo MA87M Beijing Opera Keyboard
Layout:
87-key TKL form factor in a US ANSI layout
Material:
ABS plastic case, PBT plastic keycaps, and steel plate
Macro Support:
No
Weight:
1.8 kg/4 lbs.
Wrist Rest:
No
Anti-ghosting:
Full N-Key rollover USB
Media Keys:
Available as a layered function
Dimensions:
134 (L) x 356 (W) x 33 (H) mm
Cable Length:
6 ft/1.8 m
Software:
No
Switch Type:
Choice of Varmilo EC V2 Sakura, Rose, or Daisy electrostatic capacitive switch
Samsung’s new line of Galaxy S21 smartphones launched less than two weeks ago, but Amazon, B&H Photo, and Best Buy have already marked down the phones to their lowest prices to date, with up to $200 in savings.
If the Galaxy S21 is the phone you’re looking for, you can grab an unlocked model with 128GB of storage for only $700 or a 256GB model for $750. It includes a 6.2-inch 1080p screen with refresh rates of up to 120Hz and is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. My colleague, Dieter Bohn, praised the Galaxy S21 in his review for having a fast processor, nice screen, and good battery life.
The S21 Plus normally starts at $1,000, but you can grab an unlocked model with 128GB of storage for $800 or a 256GB model for $850. It includes a 6.7-inch 1080p screen with adaptive refresh rates of up to 120Hz. The Galaxy S21 Plus also includes a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens on the back, in addition to a 10-megapixel selfie camera on the front. As my colleague Chaim Gartenberg points out in his hands-on, the S21 Plus no longer has a depth sensor.
Lastly, Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, is on sale starting at $1,000 if you want an unlocked 128GB model, $1,050 if you want 256GB of storage, and $1,180 if you want the highest storage configuration available for this phone, which is 512GB.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the only phone in the S21 line to include support for Samsung’s stylus, the S Pen, a first for the S-line of smartphones. The S21 Ultra also includes a 108-megapixel sensor. In his review, Dieter praised the S21 Ultra’s battery life and camera system.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (128GB, unlocked)
$1,000
$1,200
17% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
The flagship model in the Galaxy S21 line includes a 6.8-inch 3200 x 1440 OLED display, support for the S Pen Stylus, 12GB of RAM, and five image sensors, including a 108-megapixel sensor.
$1,000
at Amazon
$1,000
at B&H Photo
$1,000
at Best Buy
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