I’m a big earbuds wearer in my everyday life, taking a pair of AirPod Pro 2 with me everywhere I go, but for obvious reasons, in the gaming world, I’d often stuck to bulky over-ear headphones. Ahead of Sony’s official wireless earbuds dropping later this year, Razer has dropped officially licensed PlayStation earbuds in the Hammerhead Hyperspeed earbuds that do a pretty fine job.

As far as connectivity goes, the earbuds connect to the PS5 via a USB-C dongle that means that latency is actually quite good when gaming. They can also simultaneously connect to a mobile device via Bluetooth which is great for taking calls or watching TikToks whilst gaming, but also great as it means you can take them out of the house to use for everyday life.

From a comfort level, they’re a little bit bigger than most in-ear earbuds, but they’re light and fit nicely with a range of tips included in the box.

You can’t have a premium audio experience without active noise cancelling and the Hammerhead Hyperspeed earbuds have both active noise cancelling with the ability to also use a transparency mode to let audio in at a heightened rate. It’s not the best noise cancelling that I’ve experienced, but it does a decent job due to the good fit of the earbuds.

BUY IT FROM: RAZER FOR $285.95 

Similarly, there’s dual noise cancelling microphones, which again, are pretty serviceable but not the best that you’ll find in a gaming headset, but you’re choosing comfort over having the best of the best.

The audio quality is pretty fantastic with a wide soundstage and decent bass listening to a range of games and music, I was pretty happy with the audio coming through the buds, but my only minor criticism being it was maybe on the softer side.

What I really love about Razer products is that they have great app connectivity, and the Hammerhead is no exception. You can connect to an app on your phone to quickly swap between ANC modes, change EQ settings and also a range of other settings and function on the fly.

This is especially useful in this case, as the controls on the Hammerhead aren’t the most intuitive and often a little hard to use, but this becomes a non-issue with the app being connected with Bluetooth.

It wouldn’t be a Razer product without RGB, and the Hammerhead earbuds both have the signature Razer logo with fully customisable RGB, which is a little over the top, but there if you want it.

@shannongrixti

The first wireless PS5 earbuds have arrived in the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed earbuds #PS5 #PlayStation5 #PlayStation #Headphones #Earbuds #Razer

? original sound – Shannon Grixti | Gaming & Tech

You can expect to get roughly 5-6 hours of charge with each earbud, and an additional 30 or so hours with the case, which makes for fairly long gaming sessions. Obviously, you can just put one of them back in the case to charge whilst gaming with the other as well.

Really, at $270, if you’re looking for a comfortable wireless earbuds experience, I recommend the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed earbuds, at least until we have more information about Sony’s official wireless earbuds.

The post Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed PS5 Wireless Earbuds Review – Pure Comfort appeared first on Press Start.

With how relentlessly busy life can sometimes be, I’ve found myself turning to mobile gaming more and more, only less for native mobile apps and more through things like Xbox Cloud Gaming and PlayStation’s Remote Play feature. Being able to easily access my library of console games during a commute or just from the comfort of my bed as I (poorly) attempt to turn in for the night is fantastic – especially with a decent controller attachment. And that’s where the Backbone One comes in.

I’ve wanted to test one of these things for a while now, and with Backbone firing up a supporting device and app for Android phone users, it was only a matter of time before it also introduced an Android-compatible version of its PlayStation Edition Backbone One. With native support for in PlayStation Remote Play app and themed to match the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller, it was finally time for me to become a Backbone user, and I’m pretty glad I did.

Immediate impressions of the Backbone One from a hardware perspective are of a sturdy, well-built and comfortable controller attachment that’s super easy to pop on and off your choice of Android phone through a USB-C connection at the bottom. It’s fairly light without feeling flimsy and the plastic has a feel that’s a decent enough replacement for the actual DualSense body. The headphone jack is placed under the left handle and under the right is a handy USB-C charging port for keeping your device juiced up while you play, or even to use it tethered to a larger device like a tablet – a feature that’s already come in handy at my desk multiple times.

Moving to the controls themselves, you’re definitely not getting quite the same experience as using a real DualSense controller with smaller and more shallow buttons and triggers, but it’s still pretty high quality stuff overall compared to the handful of other mobile controllers I’ve tried out. The d-pad is a bit squishy for my liking, and the equivalents to the share and options buttons are positioned annoyingly low and in second billing to Backbone’s own function keys, but it’s otherwise pretty great in the hand in the heat of action.

There’s also the matter of the lack of an equivalent to the DualSense controller’s touch pad. While it kind of makes sense given this is little more than a reskin of the regular Backbone One, calling this a PlayStation mobile controller is a tiny bit of a stretch when it’s missing a prominent button that’s become very commonly-used in games. You can still access the touchpad in PlayStation’s Remote Play app by double-tapping the screen but it’s a cumbersome solution that makes this version of the Backbone feel a touch incomplete. I get why Backbone couldn’t really, say, add a touch function to the back of the device for PlayStation users without creating an entirely new product in the process, but it’s a noticeable omission.

That aside, everything performs nicely with a fairly quick response and the Backbone One feels seriously comfortable and satisfying to use, so overall it’s still a great choice for anyone serious about mobile gaming and remote play. Aside from Xbox and PlayStation games, I also spent a bit of time with Honkai: Star Rail and Ubisoft’s new The Division: Resurgence, which both felt exactly like the console-level experience their respective developers want to impart once I had a console-like controller in hand.

The dedicated Backbone app is also a great little tool for organising games from all of the different services that Android supports, not just limited to PlayStation games but also Xbox, Steam and Google Play. You do get a customised PlayStation-flavoured experience in the app when using this version of the Backbone One though, which is nice. You can set the Backbone app to open automatically when you attach the controller, too, making it quick and easy to jump into a game via Remote Play.

Amusingly I did find myself drawn more often toward Xbox Game Pass games when playing with the Backbone One just because Xbox Cloud Gaming is so easy and has such a great available library – at which point having the PlayStation buttons on my controller as opposed to the usual Backbone One keys that match the Xbox layout felt a bit silly – but that’s hardly a fault of Backbone’s hardware or software and just something to consider if you’re tossing up between different versions of the controller. Whether you go for this PlayStation Edition or the standard variant, you’re going to have a pretty good time.

The post Backbone One PlayStation Edition (Android) Review – For The Mobile Players appeared first on Press Start.

The portable PC space has been moving at an even faster rate to what we’d been seeing previously. Just five months after reviewing the AYANEO 2, the company has followed up with the AYANEO 2S which really improves on the original, and takes it to the ASUS ROG Ally.

I’ll probably spend less time than I have in other reviews explaining how these portable PCs work but I’d highly recommend you check out my AYANEO 2 or AYANEO Air Plus review if you’re new to the space, and more time talking about the actual improvements on offer here as well as an early look at AYASPACE 2.0 that we’ve just received.

Many of the core AYANEO 2S features are the same as before. You’ve still got that gorgeous 1200p bezel-less display that is one of the best I’ve seen on any handheld, great ergonomics and a larger battery than what’s on offer in the ROG Ally.

The big reason for AYANEO releasing the AYANEO 2S is performance, and it definitely delivers that big of extra performance to bring it in line with the ASUS ROG Ally. The new AMD Ryzen 7 7840 processor as well as 32GB of ram is enough to really give it that extra bit of juice necessary for AAA gaming.

Whilst benchmarking five AAA games at 25w on high, I saw a 15-20% increase in performance on average, which was that little bit of extra juice required to really make the experience a lot smoother when playing AAA games.

Whilst the AYANEO 2 was fine in its performance, this really made me feel like I could push each game to the limit, with confidence that they’d perform well without any stuttering or having to further tweak settings. This might have to do with the extra 32GB of ram on offer as well in this particular version of the AYANEO 2S.

AYANEO 2S BENCHMARKS

25W TDP / 1200P / FSR 2 BALANCED / HIGH

• Forza Horizon 5 – 55 FPS
• Cyberpunk 2077 – 33 FPS
• Horizon – 53 FPS
• Returnal – 32 FPS
• F1 2022 – 62 FPS

A big part of the increased performance is that you can now get better performance at lower TDPs which in turn has a greater effect on battery life, particularly with indie games or whilst playing on lower settings.

When playing at 25W with 80% brightness, you can expect to get about an hour and 20 minutes of gameplay, which still isn’t great, but dropping that to 10-18w will put your mileage at 2-3 hours, which is acceptable.

Other improvements in the AYANEO 2S include the triggers, which have had their travel distance changed and are a lot less clicky than before.

The unit also runs a lot less hot due to a graphene patch and three copper heat dissipation. I noticed it was a lot less hot to touch whilst playing and the unit also runs quieter because it’s not as hot.

When I reviewed the ASUS ROG Ally, one of the things I really liked was the software, which I was so excited to get hands-on with an early beta version of AYASPACE 2.0. I’m really happy to report that it brings over many of the things that I loved about Armory Crate and really improves the overall experience.

Firstly, the whole experience just runs smoother even on 5w. Even though it’s still in beta, I didn’t experience a single crash or freeze. You can now easily control a lot more of the settings in the quick settings overlay, including changing TDP on the fly between presets. You can now also turn on a performance overlay with just one click in the quick settings menu.

The entire library system also just seems to be a lot cleaner and quicker to load games and also add them in as soon as they’re downloaded. It’s really fantastic to see AYANEO moving on this space, as I don’t know if anyone has ever questioned how fantastic their hardware is.

I’ve mentioned it in other reviews but the AYANEO docking station is a must-have if you’re using one of their devices. It can work with any of its products, but I can’t tell you how much this improved the experience. Not only did it mean that I could easily charge the device at all times, it also made connecting a monitor via HDMI as well as keyboards/mice a breeze.

As far as pricing goes, the AYANEO 2S is in early access at Indiegogo at the moment, and the prices are a lot more reasonable than they’ve ever been. You can expect to pay about $1,100 AUD for the entry level Geek 1S model and about $1,400 AUD for the entry level 2S model.

The post AYANEO 2S Review – Improvements Across The Board appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve been a desktop PC stalwart for as long as I can remember. I’ve used plenty of gaming-focused laptops in the past for one reason or another, but never felt compelled to go out and replace my Microsoft Surface or MacBook Pro with something more performant, or choose portability over just building myself a half-capable desktop rig. After spending a couple of weeks with the Lenovo Legion 7i Pro (Gen 8) though, I’m really starting to come around on what a “gaming” laptop is actually capable of and how far performance and features have come in a relatively manageable form factor.

The version of the Legion 7i Pro I tested retails for $5499 AUD and packs a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, 32GB of DDR5-5600MHz memory and a 1TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4, making it easily one of the most expensive and power-packed gaming laptops I’ve had the pleasure of using.

Despite all of this, it manages to look quite understated and nowhere near as “Hello I am a gamer” as I was expecting given the under-the-hood specs. It’s certainly got the angular flourishes and prominent grilles you’d associate with a gaming laptop but it’s an overall very premium aesthetic that I absolutely wouldn’t feel weird about breaking out in a meeting or at my local coffee shop.

Review Unit Specifications:

• CPU: 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX
• GPU: RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB GGDR6
• Panel: 16″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600), IPS, HDR400, 240Hz
• RAM: 32GB DDR5-5600MHz
• SSD: 1TB
• WLAN: Killer 802.11 2*2 AX + BT5.1
• Battery: 99.99Wh
• Keyboard: Per-key RGB

In terms of exterior hardware features, The Legion 7i Pro is well-appointed with the left side of the laptop packing a USB 3.2 Gen 1 and USB-C® 3.2 Gen 2 port, the right side hosting a combined headphone/mic jack and another USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, and a healthy row of ports lining the back with ethernet, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1, two more USB 3.2 Gen 1s and the power connector. One thing I’ll always love about power-focused portable machines is the generosity of ports, and that’s thankfully more than accurate of this one.

I will admit, the way that all of these ports sit alongside rows of conspicuously-port-shaped fan outlets on the sides and back had me embarrassingly trying to shove connectors into the laptop’s fans when I wasn’t looking properly, but I feel like that’s potentially more of a me problem than anything else. It all feels nicely sturdy at least, aside from a little more flex in the lid/display than I’d like.

Moving to the bits you’ll spend the most time looking at, I have a lot of love for the keyboard on this thing. The per-key RGB lighting is certainly attractive on first boot, but may or may not be something you further customise/switch off entirely depending on your tastes. It’s about as well laid-out as laptop keyboards go, with the 16″ form factor allowing for a numpad without things feeling too cramped – and I love a numpad. Key presses feel nice and tactile and satisfying with a nice sense of travel and bounceback for laptop keys. The track pad is similarly good, nice and generous in size, satisfying to press and in all of my use it’s been responsive and picks up gestures well.

Then of course, we move to the gorgeous 16″ IPS 240Hz display on the Legion 7i Pro, which is fantastic. I’ve played with more than a few high refresh rate IPS panels before, but as someone who spends most of their gaming time on an LG C2 OLED telly it’s usually an adjustment going to a comparatively dull IPS display. That’s why I was surprised and ecstatic to see some very impressive, vibrant images here with a nice amount of contrast and – although I’m far from an expert on the subject of how accurate they are – some fantastic-looking colours. My gut instinct was to plug the laptop into my TV to fire up some games, but after seeing it in all of its glory I actually spent quite a bit of time using just the Legion 7i Pro’s display. Cyberpunk 2077 in particular, with the ray-traced, neon-soaked streets of Night City, came up an absolute treat.

And of course, with this machine packing a cutting-edge NVIDIA RTX 4080 Laptop GPU with 12GB of GDDR6 memory, playing Cyberpunk 2077 with all of those graphical bells and whistles turned on is absolutely a possibility. Lenovo’s special AI-powered performance engine with its own proprietary chip dedicated to balancing and optimising performance based on long-term use is a hard one to cover off in a time-limited review, but whatever Lenovo’s doing under the hood is definitely working as the Legion 7i Pro is an absurdly performant bit of gear.

CD Projekt’s troubled open-world action RPG was an obvious choice to christen my experience with the laptop, and immediately came up a treat, putting up performance generally above the 60 FPS range at 1080p, with the Ultra visual preset with ray-tracing turned on and the RTX 4080’s fancy DLSS 3 image reconstruction tech turned off. Switching DLSS 3 on I could comfortably push the resolution up to match the laptop’s 2560×1600 WQXGA native display resolution and still hover around a whopping 100 FPS, at which point Night City truly sprang to life in a way that I was yet to witness from a “portable” machine.

Similarly, throwing anything somewhat demanding that I had on hand like Red Dead Redemption 2, Death Stranding, Control, Far Cry 6 and more all resulted in the Legion 7i Pro spitting out frames faster than the bars in Worldwide Choppers Song. Whether you’re playing on an external display or on the laptop’s gorgeous internal one, you’re going to have a great time gaming on this thing (there’s a reason it costs in excess of $5k). Tobii Eye Tracking is included as well, which not only adds a neat level of immersion to some games but can be used for various quality-of-life and privacy features in Windows 11.

With all of this gaming power, naturally, comes incredible productivity performance as well. Packing a 13th Generation Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU there really wasn’t anything I could throw at this thing to make it sweat. While I didn’t run it through any specific productivity benchmarks, I spent some time in various Adobe Creative Suite applications like Photoshop and Premiere and found working with large, complex files and rendering out 4K video to be as painless as I could hope. Given how much my personal desktop can struggle with media processing it was actually hard to part with the Legion 7i Pro when it was time to send the review unit back.

Battery life, as expected with the kinds of performance and cooling solutions packed into this beast, is nothing too impressive. You’d be extremely lucky to get more than an hour and a some change of untethered gaming, and with general day-to-day use at a medium display brightness I wasn’t getting more than a handful of hours of use before needing to reach for the bulky charging brick. This is, unsurprisingly, a “desktop replacement” in every sense of the term. At 2.8kg, it’s not the kind of thing I’d consider throwing in my backpack for a day trip, anyways.

If I have to leverage any genuine criticism in all of this, it’s that the Legion 7i Pro does get pretty hot and loud. If you’ve spent even 10 minutes researching your next gaming laptop purchase, that will in no way surprise you, but it’s quite considerable here. It’s not hot enough to be uncomfortable to use on a desk, and not loud enough to drown out its own (reasonably good) speakers if you crank the volume a bit, but it’s definitely noticeable and potentially among the more offensive I’ve come across in my limited time testing gaming laptops. Not a deal-breaker by any stretch, but worth mentioning all the same.

It’s also worth mentioning that alternate configurations of this machine are available, including a considerably more affordable RTX 4070 model that’ll no doubt still push out some impressive performance, and both are discounted on Lenovo’s own store at the time of writing.

The post Lenovo Legion 7i Pro (Gen 8) Review – Unbelievable Portable Power appeared first on Press Start.

The TV market has been hugely exciting this year with the likes of the Samsung S95C and Sony A95K bringing in the next generation of OLED in QD-OLED which takes brightness and vibrant to a whole new level. LG’s C range was what kicked it off though, and has become the go-to recommendation for any high-end TV over the last half a decade. This year’s LG C3 doesn’t do anything incredibly different to the C2/C1 that came before it, but it does make some smaller improvements to fix common complaints over the last few years.

I’m not going to spend a heap of time talking about the basic features of the LG C3. It really hasn’t changed a whole heap from the C2 and C1 (you can read those reviews HERE and HERE). It’s still a fantastic TV, but it’s definitely being left a little bit behind in the brightness and vibrance space by the likes of the Samsung S95C and Sony A95K (A95L to be released later this year as well). There’s also now a really clear gap between the C3 and G3 which is using WOLED technology to get that extra bit of added brightness and vibrance.

You’re still going to get a perfect contrast for inky blacks, and decent brightness with LG’s EVO brightness booster. It’s going to provide a perfect picture in dark rooms, but if you’re in a bright Australian room, the brightness (or lack of) as well as the glare is going to still be an issue, with other top-end models from other brands doing a better job at glare reduction due to the increased brightness and a glare reducing coating that just both aren’t on offer here. If you’re coming from an LED, you’ll still notice a big step-up with the C3 and won’t be disappointed, and a lot of this won’t be noticed unless you’re comparing side-by-side or have spent a considerable amount of time with the flagship TVs from other brands.

The actual TV design itself hasn’t changed too much. You’ve got an extremely slim top portion of the panel, with the a much thicker portion below it. Again, compared to the G3 and S95C, it’s no longer the most high-end experience, but if you’re just happy to put the TV on a stand, and not looking to wall mount, it doesn’t make the biggest of differences, and it’s still a nice looking TV with fairly thin bezels and a really understated design that will go well on any entertainment unit.

LG C3 OLED CURRENTLY ON SALE AT THE GOOD GUYS: 55″ – $2,795 / 65″ – $3,695

One of my complaints with LG OLEDs in the past was the fact that if you’re using a soundbar, you couldn’t fit it below the TV, and LG has remedied this in a really clever way. If you buy the matching SC9S soundbar, it comes with a bracket that essentially allows you to do away with the C3 stand that’s included in the box, instead attaching both the TV and the soundbar to a singular bracket that not only ensures that the TV has enough clearance over the soundbar, but it’s a much cleaner setup having just one bracket tying both together at the back. It’s a little bit cumbersome to attach at first, but it’s a really nice finish. It also works for wall-mounting if you’re choosing to do that. If you’re trying to pair it with other, thicker soundbars, the TV stand in the box will still have the TV sitting quite low.

The actual soundbar itself is a really nice addition as well. The sound that comes out of the C3 is serviceable, but it’s a huge improvement when you add the soundbar and added sub. It’s got three upfiring channels which is perfect for Dolby Atmos content and you also get an extra HDMI 2.1 port (in lieu of the one you take up in your TV).

Not to be outdone by Samsung and Sony’s TV/soundbar sync, LG has introduced WOW Orchestra which basically utilises both the speakers of the C3 and SC9S soundbar in unison to increase the soundstage. The implementation feels on-par to that of other brands and sounds great for some content and not so good for others, so just turn it on and off as you see fit, but overall, the soundbar gets a tick of approval from me in terms of design and how well it integrates with the TV as well as the improved sound.

My only criticism is that I’d like to have seen rears included as well at $1,499 to be on-par with the Q990C as you’re definitely going to want rears if you take your audio seriously. I would definitely recommend pairing this soundbar with the TV though, just due to how well it integrates both in a design sense, but also how seamless the whole experience is from a UI point of view.

Other changes to the C3 include a quick cards system which basically groups categories such as home, sport, gaming etc into cards that you can use to access content and also HDMI Quick Switching which will basically cut out the weird black screen between going from an input such as the PS5 to your Apple TV.

Outside of that, it’s pretty much the same WebOS experience, with the magic remote not changing a whole lot either. It’s still really easy to use and pretty easy to make your way around content, and whether you’re using the Wii-like pointer, or just standard buttons, it’s hard to go wrong.

All-in-all, the LG C3 is going to be the TV that most people go for, just because it improves on a TV that has been a really easy recommendation to any movie lover or gamer over the last 3-4 years. Looking at current pricing though, the Samsung S95C is already on sale at $3,140 which is $500 cheaper than a C3, so for me with the S95C being significantly brighter, having a much better design with the One Connect box and the ability to reach 144hz, that would be an easy recommendation for me. Similarly, the LG CS can be had for well under $2,000 and for the everyday person, you’re not going to see a huge difference between these two TVs, so it does make the C3 a harder sell.

The post LG C3 OLED TV + SC9S Soundbar Review – A Perfect Match appeared first on Press Start.

AYANEO has been pumping out devices in the last year or so and yet somehow, they’re still finding new product markets that hit a new demographic and totally change the feel of the device. Enter, the AYANEO Air Plus which has the same 6800U processor (at least in the version I tested) as the AYANEO 2, but a form factor that isn’t too dissimilar to that of the AYANEO Air Pro, but with a slightly larger display and high-end performance, it feels like the sweet spot between all of the devices that came before it.

The AYANEO Air Plus has a 6-inch 1080p touchscreen IPS display, so it’s a touch bigger than the 5.5-inch found in the Air Pro, and it also loses that gorgeous OLED display, but it’s still a fantastic looking display with decent brightness and great colour vibrance.

The larger display means that it’s slightly bigger than the Air Pro as well, but I think it feels really good in the hands, not quite as big as the AYANEO 2, and also coming in at 130 grams less in weight, making it more comfortable for long term sessions. Really, it’s just impressive that this type of performance can come out of a handheld of this size.

The Air Plus features hall sensing mini joysticks, which aren’t as good as the AYANEO 2 joysticks, but super comfortable to use for the size, it has hall trigger triggers which feel great to use, and face buttons which feel a little bit smaller and more cramped than I’d like but again, they provided great responsiveness and still felt good in the hands.

In terms of inputs, it’s pretty standard among AYANEO devices now. You’ve got a full function USB4 USB-C port on the top and bottom which is fantastic for charging or connecting to an external GPU, you’ve got your MicroSD card slot, a fingerprint reader on the top as well as some extra macro buttons on either side of the top can be customised with actions like bringing up your keyboard or task manager.

Just in case you haven’t heard about AYANEO devices before, they run Windows, with this particular model running Windows 11, so absolutely any game that can be played on a PC can be played on this device. This isn’t limited to just Steam, but any launcher including Xbox Game Pass, Epic Games Store, Rockstar, Ubisoft etc.

There’s a big range of AYANEO Air Plus devices. All can be found on the Indiegogo site HERE. The 6800U model that I tested is aimed at high-end AAA gaming, and is priced appropriately at $1,205 AUD, but it goes as low as $412 AUD for the Ryzen 3 7320U or Intel Adler Lake i3 1215U which are great for lower demanding games on the indie side or maybe some basic emulation.

This is a very capable gaming device. Whilst playing games such as Returnal, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last Of Us Part 1 at 25w with high settings at 1080p (with AMD FSR set to balanced), I was able to get near enough to 30FPS for all of them, with games such as Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon Zero Dawn and Forza Horizon 5 all pushing closer to 60 FPS, but you can expect to get even better performance if you’re happy to drop this down to 720p.

AYANEO AIR PLUS 6800U PERFORMANCE

1080 / High / AMD FSR: Balanced / 25w

• The Last Of Us Part 1 – 30 FPS
• Returnal: 27 FPS
• Horizon Zero Dawn 42 FPS
• Cyberpunk 2077: 27 FPS
• F1: 57 FPS
• Forza Horizon 5 – 51 FPS
• Red Dead Redemption 2 – 44 FPS

Battery life has been the big issue with any high-end Windows gaming device, and it’s not the worst that I’ve experienced with the AIR Plus. It has a larger 46.2Wh battery which lasted me about an hour playing at the 25w required to get a decent 1080p gaming experience, but when dropping to 20 watts I was able to push that to 90 minutes and you’d be looking at 2-3 hours when dropping this even further for indie games.

Whilst the AYANEO 2 got fairly hot when it launched (a heat dissipation kit has now been released), this isn’t really the case with the AIR Plus. The fans definitely ramp up which can get in the way of the speakers a little bit, but I’d rather that if it means keeping the actual unit cool in the hands.

As mentioned, the AYANEO Air Plus runs Windows 11 which is a huge positive for playing absolutely any game that you already own (and not just on Steam) as well as emulation, which obviously this machine excels at, but it’s also still a bit of a negative in the sense that Windows wasn’t really designed to be used with a touch screen. It’s absolutely fine if you’re just booting a game, and not an issue once you’re in, but it can still have its quirks if needing to navigate around, with it often being much easier to just pair a keyboard and mouse (which is super easy to do with Bluetooth or with a dongle).

AyaSpace is the device’s front-end loader, and it does a great job at providing an overlay with quick access to changing brightness and how much power you’re using, as well as sorting your games from all of your launchers and displaying them. There were still a few bugs, particularly when changing resolution or not loading games in, but it’s constantly being updated and worked on. As cool as a design feature that it is, I still found inconsistencies with the lighting up of the analogue sticks as well, particularly when having the device next to me and trying to sleep.

Ayaneo has launched a new multi docking station alongside this device, which is great for connecting the AYANEO Air Plus up to a monitor and playing games on the big screen or just using it for productivity. It can work with any of its products, but I can’t tell you how much this improved the experience. Not only did it mean that I could easily charge the device at all times, it also made connecting a monitor via HDMI as well as keyboards/mice a breeze. As I mentioned earlier, you could now literally use this as your daily driver without any issues, then pick it up to take it to bed and game.

This is just such an exciting space to watch and nobody is innovating faster than AYANEO who just keeps utilising the latest tech available in a number of form factors. It’ll be interesting to see how the soon to be released ASUS ROG Ally shakes up this market even further.

The AYANEO Air Plus is available on Indiegogo with early bird prices HERE. 

The post AYANEO Air Plus Review – Mighty Performance In A Great Form Factor appeared first on Press Start.

Valve introduced the Steam Deck 18 months ago and there has since been a sea of handheld PC devices that have arrived in all shapes and sizes. With the Steam Deck still not making its way to Australia, companies like AYANEO were left to bring their devices down under with the likes of the incredible AYANEO 2, but ASUS is the first company to truly tackle the worldwide market with its ASUS ROG Ally which will release in Australia on June 13th.

There was an immediate excitement when ASUS announced its new handheld just a few months ago, but it was met with reservation over what would presumably be an insanely high price. This didn’t eventuate with the unit coming in at $1,299 in Australia, which is very reasonable given the specs inside this handheld.

The ROG Ally has a 7-inch touchscreen screen with a 1080p/120hz refresh rate which is a big improvement on the competition. Whilst there are other 1080p handhelds, to my knowledge this is the first 120hz display in a Windows handheld, which is absolutely glorious for zipping around the screen, indie games or games such as COD: Modern Warfare 2 that can take advantage of frame rates beyond 60 FPS.

It also allows the ROG Ally to have VRR which is an absolute godsend in smoothing out frame rates which is a big deal in a device like this. The display is bright and vibrant, but maybe a touch less so than the AYANEO 2 when I compared them side-by-side. The speakers in this device are absolutely phenomenal as well, with the loudness being much more than necessary and it having a great amount of clarity and bass.

Another big difference is the weight of the device. In comparison to the Steam Deck’s 669 grams and the AYANEO 2’s 680 grams, the ROG ALLY comes in at 608 grams. This doesn’t sound like a big difference but at 10% lighter, and given the size of these devices, the Ally honestly feels super light in comparison to the AYANEO 2, and really makes for more comfortable sessions whilst holding the screen up in front of you in bed, or for longer periods of time. It was a huge point that ASUS wanted to drive home about the design of the Ally and it’s really worked out for the device.

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Otherwise, the Ally’s controls are as expected. The Ally closely mimics that of an Xbox controller which is a good thing as that’s mostly what Windows 11 recognises any connected controller as and displays on-screen controls accordingly. The only slight worry I have is the face buttons which actually feel quite good in the hands, but are quite low to the device, so I could see them potentially getting stuck.

The ASUS ROG Ally runs Windows 11 which is the biggest positive but also the most problematic part of the device. On one hand, it’s fantastic because you can play any game from any launcher, including Xbox Game Pass. If it plays on a Windows 11 laptop, more likely than not, it’ll play on the ROG Ally. The flip side of this is that it comes with the many quirks of Windows 11, which definitely was not built with a smaller touch-screen in mind, but you can connect a keyboard/mouse quite easily, and I’d definitely recommend doing that whilst you login to all of your launchers initially.

I had a few issues during my week with the device, which included losing display drivers and also the controller drivers, but these were swiftly fixed by either restarting the device or disabling and re-enabling the drivers. It’s also worth mentioning that this device is still in pre-release and has been receiving updates all week that have made the experience smoother. I only mention these problems because it is worth mentioning that this isn’t a Nintendo Switch-like experience where it’s pickup and play.

Just like any PC, there will be tinkering involved. Because this is literally a Windows 11 device, you can plug it into any monitor and it essentially becomes a PC. I was able to do this just using a USB-C cord to my monitor which was able to charge it and pass through 4K/60 video all with one cord.

Thankfully, your time spent in actual Windows 11 land will be minimal. ASUS has shipped the device with its own Armoury Crate SE software. This boots upon launch, and basically automatically loads in games as you download them from the variety of launchers that you install. It’s not without its glitches as well, but again, it has gotten a lot better even in the 10 days or so that I’ve had the device, so I have no doubt ASUS will continue to improve it.

Another great feature is Command Centre which basically is a quick menu that will overlay your game. You can use it to change brightness and sound as well as the resolution and frame rate and also do other more advanced things such as limit the frame rate or turn on AMD FSR to smooth frame rates further. You can also really handily turn on a real-time monitor to keep tabs on frame rate, temperature etc.

The actual gameplay experience with the ASUS ROG Ally is fairly phenomenal. I’ve reviewed a few AYANEO devices now, and have been blown away with how quickly these PC handhelds have come in just a year or so, but the ROG Ally is definitely the most solid experience that I’ve had so far. There are three (or technically four) power settings that can be used when computing or playing games. Silent (9w), Performance (15w) or Turbo (25w) which goes up to 30w when plugged into power.

I tested every AAA game that I played at 1080p with high settings with AMD FSR 2 set to balanced (where possible). I was utilising the 25w Turbo setting, which is pretty much essential when playing AAA games such as Returnal, Cyberpunk 2077 or Red Dead Redemption 2. When benchmarking, I was able to achieve frame rates of more than 30 FPS with every game that I tested, even hitting near 60 FPS with a few of the games. Again, this is running at high at 1080p, so if you want to push closer to the 60 and beyond, it’s absolutely achievable.

ASUS ROG ALLY BENCHMARKS:

1080p / high settings / balanced FSR / turbo (25w) mode

• Returnal – 30 FPS
• Cyberpunk 2077 – 32 FPS
• Horizon Zero Dawn – 50 FPS
• Forza Horizon 5 – 57 FPS
• Spider-Man Miles Morales – 47 FPS
• Red Dead Redemption 2 – 39 FPS
• F1 2022 – 69 FPS
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla- 56 FPS

I spent a lot of time playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and was just in constant amazement of how good the game looked and ran on a device that was not much bigger than a Nintendo Switch. I’d say the Ally really clicked for me though when playing Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 online. I was able to get 80 FPS+ on Turbo mode, fully taking advantage of that 120Hz display.

It ran without a hitch, and besides a slight downgrade in visuals from my PS5, it didn’t feel like a hampered experience in any way, so whilst I might not see myself playing a lot of high-end AAA games right through on the smaller screen, it’s absolutely a game-changer for games like Call of Duty or FIFA.

@shannongrixti

The ASUS ROG Ally is a super powerful Windows gaming handheld and it’s launching in Australia on June 13th for $1,299 AUD #ASUS #ASUSROGally #ROGally #steamdeck #windows11 #gaming #techtok

? original sound – Shannon Grixti | Gaming & Tech

What is really impressive as well is how well ASUS has done to distribute heat so that it comes out of the top and you don’t feel it in your hands at all, which is wildly different from the AYANEO 2. The fans are also super quiet to the point that you barely even hear them with the sound on.

Of course, this performance does come with a downside though and that is the battery life. Whilst the ROG Ally is a lot more powerful than the Steam Deck, because it’s a lot more locked down, Valve has been able to work some absolute sorcery in getting decent frame rates at lower power modes to last a good amount of hours whilst playing these games, which isn’t the case for the ROG Ally.

Whilst playing in the Turbo mode (25w), at the time of writing, you can expect to get about 45-50 minutes of battery life, which obviously isn’t ideal for use outside of the house, but it is fairly comparable with other Windows 11 devices such as the AYANEO 2 which lasts a bit longer at about 1 hour 10 minutes. Moving to performance mode, you’re able to push this to about 1 and a half hours and pushing to silent mode, you’re able to push it even further to 2.5 hours. These were all tested at about 80-90% brightness

ASUS ROG ALLY BATTERY LIFE:

Tested at 80% brightness

• Turbo Mode (25w): 45-55 minutes
• Performance Mode (15w): 1.5 hours
• Silent Mode (9w): 2.5 hours

This wasn’t at all surprising to me, but I’m sure these amounts will be surprising to a lot of you reading this. It’s just the price that has to be paid for such great performance. If you’re playing indie games, can definitely drop to those lower game modes, but at that point, I just worry that the experience is getting too close to the Nintendo Switch to justify the price tag. I played a good chunk of Planet of Lana in performance mode (15w) and was still able to get 60FPS, and dropping it to silent (9w) was still playable, so it absolutely is possible for these indie games to run incredibly well, if you’re wanting to extend battery life.

All-in-all, the release of the ASUS ROG Ally feels like a significant step forward in this category. It’s the second major company to join the space, and provides something totally different to that of the Steam Deck. It’ll be exciting to see where this space goes in the coming months and years, and I really hope ASUS continue to tinker with things and improve this device, as I feel like there is so much potential to still be realised, even beyond the fantastic experience that it is whilst gaming.

The ASUS ROG Ally is set to launch in Australia for $1,299 AUD on June 13th.

The post ASUS ROG Ally Review – A Big Leap Forward appeared first on Press Start.

For as long as I can reasonably remember (since 2015, a quick search has told me) there’s been one headset among many that’s commanded a great deal of respect and recommendation in the sub-$200 gaming headset space, and that’s the HyperX Cloud II. Since its original iteration and through various tweaks and new SKUs in the eight years following, it’s remained a staple in its weight class, and for good reason. Pairing better-than-average sound with good long-term comfort at a very reasonable price point has kept this thing in the mix for longer than most tech products could ever hope to stay on shelves. 

Nothing lasts forever though, and the reign of the HyperX Cloud II might finally be over, succeeded by the brand-spanking-new HyperX Cloud III.

The king is dead, long live the king.

Yes, HyperX has done the thing that I wasn’t sure they’d ever do and outright replaced their standard-bearing headset with a new iteration. More than just a change in connectivity or colour, it’s a shift in design alongside a hardware upgrade that brings the ageing Cloud II into a new generation. Importantly, it’s a successful venture. HyperX has managed to give their golden child the coming-of-age story it deserves in the Cloud III, with smart revisions that haven’t undermined what made its predecessor special.

Unboxing the HyperX Cloud III reveals a fairly stock-standard offering, with the headset itself along with the detachable microphone, small printed start guide and a 3.5mm AUX-to-USB-C adapter with an optional USB-A converter. The headset runs out to a fixed 3.5mm AUX cable so it can be plugged into the vast majority of PC/console/mobile devices either with an analog connection or with the USB adapter.

Design-wise, the Cloud III takes the same basic look of the Cloud II and gives it a bit of a modern refresh. Using similar materials throughout, it retains the rough size and construction of the previous model and its red, metallic arms but with slightly more rounded and sleek lines. The band and ear cushions are still using memory foam and leatherette material and while leatherette isn’t my first choice for these things it’s in keeping with tradition and noticeably softer than before. The microphone no longer wears a foam hat, but instead has a built-in mesh filter and comes with a handy LED mute indicator. A very basic combo of a volume scroll and a quick mute button embellish the cups on either side. 

All told, it’s a great little modernisation of the Cloud II’s look without completely sacrificing the existing visual identity. Importantly, it’s also still incredibly comfortable – much more so than the vast majority of other gaming headsets in its price class or even above. I’m someone whose ears heat up quite quickly, and I’ve always appreciated a good breathable fabric in that regard, but in terms of pure on-the-head fit and the comfort of the big, plush cups these are so good that the material feels like a non-issue. At just under 300g it’s a pretty standard weight, but never felt overbearing or tight on my unremarkably-sized noggin.

But while design and comfort are undeniably important in a headset, the true test is in the audio. The HyperX Cloud III has both the fortunate and unenviable position of following a headset that offered incredibly decent sound for its price point, with great balance and accuracy backed up by a better-than-average soundstage. Thankfully the Cloud III carries the torch superbly, once again building on the foundation laid without radically changing what people expect from it. With bigger, angled 53mm drivers and the introduction of DTS Headphone: X Spatial Audio the in-game experience is a whole level better while retaining the balance and positional chops that made the Cloud II so good for competitive PC gaming.

If you’re looking for a headset to really wow you in single-player blockbusters or the occasional movie, the Cloud III isn’t really working any harder than its predecessor, which is to say it’s probably not the best-geared for the task. This really is something for the competitive shooter crowd, offering a precise and clear auditory window into everything your opponents are doing. Footsteps, gunshots and everything in-between are clear-cut and easy to pick when it comes to direction and distance, proving why the Cloud II was an immediate go-to among the eSports elite.

Even if you’re not using the headset with a PC and getting DTS:X Spatial Audio there’s a very nice width and depth from the Cloud III that makes it a great wired option for something like a console, but it’s definitely good to have the option to further tweak the audio experience on Windows with the (admittedly fairly basic) HyperX NGENUITY software. NGENUITY doesn’t really stand up to some of the fancier software solutions from brands like SteelSeries or Razer, but luckily the headset sounds fantastic out-of-the-box which makes it a great multiplatform option.

The Cloud III’s microphone is an improvement on paper, going from a 6mm diameter to 10mm and offering “improved clarity” according to HyperX, and so far that seems to be a fair claim. It’s still a pretty standard headset mic among other pretty standard headset mics, but for the average person speaking with an inside voice it comes through nice and clear and actually does a pretty decent job of not picking up a lot of background noise. I was able to chat with friends with a TV going right near me and none of it bled into my comms, which is good. I tried shouting for a bit (sorry, pals) and it seems to blow out pretty easily at a raised volume but your mileage there will vary depending on how obnoxious you are.

At $159 AUD when it launches in Australia on May 31st, the HyperX Cloud III keeps confidently in step with the headset it’s replacing when it comes to bang-for-buck. There was little that could beat out the Cloud II in its price bracket, and that’s just as true here. That said, if you have a Cloud II that’s still going strong it probably doesn’t change the game enough to justify upgrading, but if you’re newly in the market for a sub-$200 gaming headset that works with a variety of devices and offers a genuine competitive edge with long-term comfort – don’t hesitate for a second.

The post HyperX Cloud III Review – A New Mid Range King Is Crowned appeared first on Press Start.

There was a time where I might have claimed that I “don’t need” PC speakers at my desk, that I “prefer” just to use headphones. And, at that time, I’d have meant it. More recently though, after having dabbled in external sound with Razer’s Leviathan V2 X PC soundbar, and especially now after spending some time with its flagship Razer Nommo V2 Pro speakers, I think I’ve become a convert. With this new set, I’m finally experiencing the kind of high-quality audio and gaming immersion that I usually get from my over-ear cans without having to sacrifice comfort over long periods – though at a cost I’m not sure everyone will be prepared to pay.

Unpacking the sizeable box that the Razer Nommo V2 Pro comes nestled in (and protected by a whole heap of cardboard and foam), first impressions are great. The two speakers are solid, with a good amount of heft and a matte black finish that seems to barely attract fingerprints. Like the older Razer Nommo speakers, they’re a unique cylindrical design, sitting on a fixed stand with a slightly-upturned angle. The included wireless subwoofer is similarly finished by a very nice matte black coat and feels a lot lighter than expected, though as you’ll read further down that bears no indication of its capabilities.

Design-wise, it’s a much more subtle look than the previous Nommo Pro, which featured a tall, cylindrical sub and speakers that sat on fairly high stalks with an extra cylinder on top for the tweeters. The new set definitely isn’t small by any measure, but it’s a more desk-friendly design overall than its predecessor. I’m really glad that a lot of Razer’s recent products have started to take a more understated and sleek design philosophy than its history of honestly garish, very gamer-y gear. The brand has really put a foot forward in making its products attractive to high-end users and then backing that up with high-end features and quality.

That is exactly the case here as well, as the Nommo V2 Pro’s two speakers deliver markedly excellent audio with crisp highs, a warm and detailed middle and rumbling bass with plenty of nuance (once you tone it down a little from the out-of-the-box setting) making for a fantastic experience. On paper, these have a very slightly less wide frequency response and are naturally missing the dedicated tweeters of the previous model, but they’re also around $200 cheaper and while I’ve never listened to the original Nommo Pro first-hand I can’t imagine there being a huge difference.

The first thing I did after setting these up was hit play on Sleep Token’s new record, Take Me Back To Eden, an album that swims through genres at an olympic pace, and it sounded every bit as gorgeous as I could’ve hoped. Even throwing something like the harsh tones and bold mix of 100 gecs’ Dumbest Girl Alive at the Nommo V2 Pro brought out sounds in the track I’d never noticed before, which is always a great sign. 

Music is likely just a small slice of the equation for a gaming audio solution though, and thanks to the THX Spatial Audio capabilities, the Razer Nommo V2 Pro delivers a definitively superb soundscape for games and movies, far better than I expected from two forward-firing speakers. This is absolutely a set of speakers designed for solo gaming/movie watching at a desk and not something that I’d recommend using to replace a proper soundbar/home theatre setup in the lounge room, but for the intended purpose they’re glorious. Doubly so in anything that benefits having preset THX Game Profiles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

It really is uncanny just how well these speakers can reproduce an incredibly accurate sense of 360° direction and subtle differences in distance when playing both certified and even non-certified games. They can also get loud at up to +99db, which is less a critique and more a warning to anyone with neighbours/cohabitants.

A lot of what makes the Nommo V2 Pro (and the rest of the Nommo V2 range) compelling in comparison to other alternatives is the simple integration with the Razer Synapse software. After I’d set them up, they instantly popped up in the Synapse suite and I was able to tweak things like the RGB lighting, power saving settings, full audio EQ as well as features like THX Spatial Audio and a neat but slightly underwhelming audio-monitoring lighting effect. I could also easily find all of my installed games and applications and give them individual audio presets to load whenever they were booted up.

As far as the RGB lighting goes (this being a Razer product, after all), I really dig the rear-projected ambient light from these. If you’re into expressing yourself through a desk full of different hues they do a great job of tying everything together with a bit of a fill of the back of your desk/wall without being obnoxious. At this higher end of the product line it would’ve been cool to maybe get multiple lighting zones per speaker but what’s here is great.

Pulling a lot of this together is the Razer Wireless Control Pod, a black disc-like device that looks a bit like a robot macaron and acts as the sole physical means of controller the Nommo V2 Pro and comes included in the box (or will soon be sold separately for anyone with the stripped-back Nommo V2 and Nommo V2 X). Featuring a textured, metallic metal top wheel that can be turned and clicked, as well as a single button on the base, this little gadget is actually surprisingly useful. With just the three inputs you’re able to control power, volume and mute, media playback, switch profiles and toggle between PC/bluetooth connection on a completely wireless little puck that’s lightweight, sits on a rubber pad so as not to slip with use and features a supposedly 8-month battery life off of the two included AA batteries.

The Razer Nommo V2 Pro is also compatible with PlayStation consoles via USB and mobile devices/Switch consoles via Bluetooth 5.3, meaning if you’re someone who has a console at their desk alongside a gaming PC you could feasibly switch with either a button press or quick cable swap – though when not connected to a PC with USB you’ll lose access to THX Spatial Audio which relies on the Razer Synapse software. That’s a pretty big compromise, and I definitely wouldn’t suggest picking these up solely for use with a console, but options are always welcome.

All told, the Razer Nommo V2 Pro has absolutely exceeded my expectations of what a set of desktop 2.1 PC gaming speakers could achieve in terms of both sound quality and immersion, but they come with a $699.95 price tag to match. It’s a clear drop from the previous Nommo Pro which went for upwards of $900, but it’s still a steep enough investment that it might give some people pause. If you’re rocking a gaming PC setup that cost more than a small car to put together and a set of fantastic-sounding speakers with impressive 360° spatial audio is the last piece of the puzzle though? Look absolutely no further.

The post Razer Nommo V2 Pro Review – Powerful And Immersive Desktop Sound appeared first on Press Start.

It’s absolutely no secret that LG has dominated the OLED space over the last half a decade or so in the TV space.

Without many OLED gaming monitor options, gamers opted to use the 55″ OLED TV as a monitor before LG released the 48″ and subsequent 42″ iterations, but they’ve now taken it one step further, releasing a 48″ OLED gaming monitor in its UltraGear line.

When talking pure visuals, you’d be hard pressed to tell the 48″ UltraGear OLED gaming monitor from the 48″ C2 OLED TV, but this is really the greatest compliment that I can give this monitor from a display point of view.  The blacks are still incredibly inky, colours are vibrant and with HDR10, you can expect similar levels of brightness in HDR.

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The two main differences between the 48GQ900-B UltraGear Monitor and LG’s C2 TV is the fact that the monitor has a matte, anti-glare screen, which some people might have an issue with and also the fact that unlike Samsung’s latest drop of monitors, there is no smart TV functionality out of the box, so you won’t be able to use it as a makeshift TV if you’re using it in a bedroom.

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There’s a couple of other features that are totally unique to the UltraGear 48″ monitor. First is the inclusion of an UltraGear Remote, which if I’m being honest, looks like something out of the 70s in terms of size, but it’s actually quite useful. Instead of reaching around and fiddling with buttons/a finicky knob on the monitor, you can use the remote to change things such as input, volume, change between game modes and such. It’s a really welcomed addition.

The other is what you’d expect to see in a gaming monitor, in the fact that there’s some serious RGBs on the chunkier bottom portion of the side profile. This can be customised between static colours or the usual RGB profiles.

When it comes to inputs, there’s 1 x HDMI 2.1 port and 2 HDMI 2.0 ports, as well as a Display Port and some USB up and down ports. With the PS5 connected, I was able to take advantage of 4K at 120Hz seamlessly, and it looked absolutely gorgeous.

The monitor has speakers which is really useful for those that might not have external speakers on their desk, and they’re really quite good too. I was getting a good amount of bass coming through whilst taking down infected in Resident Evil 4.

Whilst there are familiar features from LG’s OLED TV such as Game Bar which is still really useful here to quickly check that frame rate and VRR are enabled, there are more features that you’d expect to see in a gaming monitor such as an FPS counter, crosshair, and a black stabiliser, so if you’re wanting more of those settings that are more often on monitors, you should lean towards this over the 48″ C2. It also has NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium. You’re getting an 120Hz refresh rate (which can be overclocked to 138Hz) as well as a 0.1ms response time too.

I assume that a lot of people will be wondering whether to go for the 48″ C2 or 48″ 48GQ900 monitor, and that’s a hard one to answer, but I think the simple answer would be to go for whatever is cheaper. If you’re after a display that also acts as a TV, I feel like the C2 is the more obvious choice, but if you’re after more traditional monitor features, then this might be the way to go.

Regardless though, it’s just another way to buy what is one of the best displays both for general moving/tv show watching and also gaming, so you can’t go wrong either way.

The post LG 48″ UltraGear OLED Gaming Monitor Review – LG’s OLED Goodness In Monitor Form appeared first on Press Start.

Given the exploding popularity of “pro” PC gaming peripherals, ubiquitous PC accessories turned into ultra-engineered light shows with more features than a DJ Khaled album, more and more manufacturers seem to be coming to market with all manner of purposefully-designed gaming keyboards. With so much choice on shelves, it can be overwhelming trying to find the one bit of kit that suits all of a person’s needs. 

For that reason, there’s also a massive community of enthusiasts going the custom route, building mechanical keyboards from pre-fabricated parts. While building something yourself is immensely satisfying, the keyboard scene can be overwhelming and also doesn’t leave a lot of room for some of the features that the big manufacturers have run wild with like fancy lighting and displays. That’s where the latest from ASUS, the ROG Azoth, comes in – offering a top-notch keyboard with a full suite of features that also works as a great entry point to mechanical keyboard maintenance.

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Right from the outset, it’s clear that what you’re getting with the Azoth is a premium product. Opening the box reveals a content offering typical of ASUS, all-inclusive and well packaged with the keyboard itself draped in a protective cloth and a veritable toolkit of extra bits hidden underneath. I don’t know about you, but I’m always incredibly happy to open a new, expensive purchase and be greeted with carefully-designed and well-appointed packaging that has everything I could possibly need included and that first impression went swimmingly here.

One of the first things you’ll notice about the Azoth when taking it out of the box and setting it down for the first time is that it’s hefty. There’s a good amount of weight to it, owing to a metal top frame alongside everything packed into it. It means it’s not the most portable keyboard despite the 75% form factor, but it’s incredibly stable and sturdy on a desk and isn’t likely to budge an inch even during the most intense gaming sessions. There are two sets of feet on the bottom of the ROG Azoth, allowing for three different typing angles depending on your flavour of comfort.

When it comes to the actual typing experience this is easily one of the most tactile and satisfying I’ve had with a retail gaming keyboard. Thanks to the combination of the pre-lubed ROG NX mechanical switches that feel incredibly smooth and consistent in both the initial press and springback, plus multiple layers of silicon gaskets, pads and foam supporting them all, there’s both an effortlessness and an assuredness to every keystroke. 

I’m not going to pretend to understand all the science and engineering of it all, but the result is it feels just right with a ton of give and tactile response but almost nothing in the way of excessive noise or rattling. Whether I was typing up a lengthy keyboard review (guess which one??), fervently slinging out barbs in heated group chat debates or smashing the ever-loving shit out of it during some particularly brutal games of Stepmania, not only did every keystroke register without skipping a beat but the thing didn’t budge an inch on my desk. It’s a tiny tank.

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The keycaps and switches included with the ROG Azoth are great – ours came with red switches, which I’m a big fan of, and the keycaps are PBT doubleshot caps that feel nice and premium and should be plenty durable. Of course, one of the great features of this keyboard is how much freedom there is to change anything you don’t like, with hot-swappable switches and the included DIY kit that contains a switch opener, keycap puller, switch puller, lube station, brush, and lubricant making it simple (well, more simple than usual) to get into its guts and make it your own.

Of course, buying a $400 gaming keyboard only to rip out the included switches and buy more is an expensive proposition, and what’s already there will be great for most, but having the option and the tools right out of the gate is very novel.

By far my favourite feature of the ROG Azoth though, is the 2-inch grayscale OLED panel adorning the top-right of the keyboard, offering a window into a number of things from quick access to settings like RGB brightness, onboard profiles and media playback to system monitoring information, music visualisers or just whatever image or GIF you want to load in – like a looping animation of the mum from The Incredibles.

Next to the display is a super handy three-way control knob that can be used contextually to do things like scroll up/down and select items, control volume and mute, increase or decrease brightness and so on, while one more button on the side switches between the different sets of options. It works pretty well and comes in incredibly handy, though I did find myself accidentally pressing the control knob when I meant to push it up or down as those functions are quite stiff.

Tying all of this together is the ASUS ROG Armoury Crate software, which is about as good as most other hardware vendors’ proprietary software. It’s a bit bloated, both with how many fairly useless menus and features it throws at you as well as how system-intensive it can be, but it’s pretty intuitive when it comes to the features most people would use like RGB/display customisation, macros and individual profiles. I just wish there was a “lite” version that did away with all the game launcher and news type stuff to make it a bit more lean and zippy.

Back to better news though, and the final piece of the puzzle in the ROG Azoth’s connectivity options, which are excellent. There’s a wired USB option, Bluetooth with support for up to three devices at a time, and ASUS’ own “SpeedNova” wireless option which it says offers ultra-low latency and optimised power efficiency. 

ASUS reckons you’ll get over 2000 hours of use out of the keyboard in 2.4GHz wireless mode with the RGB and OLED display turned off. I haven’t been able to verify that number because I love RGBs and OLED displays, but in the few weeks I’ve been using it there hasn’t been a need to charge it, so that’s a great sign.

Header image: ASUS ROG UK.

The post ASUS ROG Azoth Review – An Enthusiast Gaming Keyboard For The Masses appeared first on Press Start.

I’m just gonna come out and say it – I have a very discerning bum when it comes to just about anything. Cushions, benches, toilet paper, whatever it is, my caboose is anything but loose. That’s probably why I’ve gone through as many office/gaming chair options as I have in the years that I’ve been at a desk on the regular, and why I’ll probably continue to do so. The good news is though, I think I’m going to be quite content for the foreseeable future with the Razer Iskur Fabric.

It’s that last word that stuck out to me right away when looking at this newer iteration of Razer’s foray into gaming furniture, because I can say with no hesitation that I’m not a fan of the synthetic leather upholstering of most other gaming chairs. Sure, fabric might not be as easy to keep clean (though Razer says this one’s spill-resistant), but it feels a heck of a lot nicer, it’s more temperate, and it looks far better. 

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A lot of that is going to come down to personal preference, of course, but with my gushing over fabric out of the way the rest of this review will focus on features that exist in Razer’s synthetic leather seats as well.

The most immediate realisation when the Iskur Fabric was dropped off at my door, is that it comes in a big ol’ box. Not unusual for a gaming chair, but definitely one of the more sizeable examples I’ve come across. Once I opened it up it was easy to see how it became so thicc, too, with a pretty astonishing amount of packaging material inside keeping everything well protected. 

You’ll be able to see in the below photo just how much leftover stuff there was for me to (responsibly) dispose of once I was done. If you’re someone with an aversion to waste, you might want to prepare yourself:

Setting the chair up was about as simple as most. It took myself and my partner maybe 20-25 minutes to put it all together, including unpacking and cleaning up the enormous amount of cardboard, foam and plastic. The hardest part was lining up the two main body pieces to then bolt them together, but everything else was as easy as sliding things into other things and securing them with the included tools. 

By far my favourite part of the entire experience was the comically-large instruction sheet, which could have easily just been a double-sided A4 but instead could double as a sun shade for your car’s windshield.

Once the thing was together and I was able to get buns-on with it, I realised just how much I’ve needed a much firmer cush’ for my tush. Like the fabric aspect, the relative hardness of the Iskur isn’t going to be for everyone, but it’s been great for me. There’s an XL version of the chair out there on the market, but even the standard one has a ton of room for booties and the racing seat-style design that’s ubiquitous with gaming chairs is incredibly comfortable in a multitude of sitting styles for long periods.

I’m especially impressed by how premium a lot of the Iskur Fabric looks and feels, though you’d hope so for an asking price of $799. The dark gray of the fabric and the understated embellishing (especially for Razer) make it come across as something you wouldn’t look twice at in a professional setting, and the metal accents on things like the excellent 4D armrest controls help sell that even further. 

The chair also comes with an optional memory foam head cushion at retail, though I can’t speak to its quality as my review unit was sadly sans cushion.

Adding to the list of premium features on the Iskur Fabric is an excellent lumbar support system, eschewing the stop-gap solutions of other chairs like attachable cushions or fixed supports for an adjustable system that can properly align to your spine. It’s as easy to adjust as anything else on the chair and I very quickly found the sweet spot for me and my poor, rarely cared-for back bones.

With a plethora of “gaming” chair options on the market with all manner of outrageous designs and questionable orthopedic support, it’s both welcome and mildly surprising that Razer has such an understated, premium and fully-featured seat on the market. The Razer Iskur Fabric isn’t cheap, or for everyone, but it’s been something of a holy grail in my search for a genuinely comfortable sitting situation that doesn’t look like it’s sponsored by G FUEL.

The post Razer Iskur Fabric Review – A High (Lum)bar For Gaming Chairs appeared first on Press Start.

SteelSeries announced its first speaker line last year, with the Arena 3 being a basic 2.0 setup, the Arena 9 being a complete 5.1 surround sound experience and the Arena 7 sitting in the middle with a great sound and some innovative features to boot.

The Arena 7 setup comes with two speakers (each with its own driver and tweeter) and a rather large subwoofer. The design of both are quite sleek and understated, which I rather like, but as soon as you turn them on, you realise that they’re not just an average set of speakers design-wise.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $457 ON AMAZON WITH FREE SHIPPING

The Arena 7s both have a 4-zone RGB lighting on the back of them, that you’re able to customise anywhere from just a basic standard colour, to cycling through the rainbow to reacting with a keyboard press. The speakers also tilt quite easily, so that you can get that perfect reflection off your wall.

Compared to something like the Philips Hue Play Bar, it’s offers roughly the same brightness, and exactly like the Play Bar, you’re able to use the SteelSeries GG app to replicate what is happening on your screen (PC only) for a pretty immersive experience. There are a few issues with the software though when it comes to the lighting portion, and I hope that this does improve with time given this a new market for SteelSeries.

As far as connectivity goes, you can connect the SteelSeries Arena 7 to your Windows or Apple PC as well as your PlayStation device via USB C or the optical/3.5mm ports. There’s also Bluetooth connectivity that is super easy to setup and you’re able to play music through Bluetooth whilst also using one of the other inputs. The speakers are controlled by the knob on the right speaker, with the bass amount being controlled on the subwoofer.

SteelSeries make some of the best headsets on the market, with the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless still being my favourite headset to ever release, and I was really hopeful that this would translate to its line of speakers and it most certainly does.

The speakers provide a good amount of crispness and volume when listening to music, and the 6.5″ down-firing subwoofer provides a huge amount of bass that is absolutely satisfying no matter what’s blasting through the speakers.

Its obviously worth mentioning that it is quite sizeable, so you will want to make sure you’ve got space under the desk or a place to put in, but thankfully, it is really understated with its all-black design, so it doesn’t stand out at all.

Really, if you’re already in the SteelSeries eco system and want a pair of speakers, it’s a no-brainer to buy into the Arena line, even if it’s starting with the Arena 3s, but the subwoofer in the 7s really are worth the jump in my opinion.

The post SteelSeries Arena 7 Speakers Review – Bold & Bassy appeared first on Press Start.

The idea of a “pro” gaming controller might still be alien to some, but with the advent of big-name entries into the market like the Xbox Elite Series 2 and the PlayStation DualSense Edge controller, it’s certainly feeling like a growing sector. Razer’s no stranger to the concept, having released more than a few pro-level controllers in the past, but the Wolverine V2 Pro – an officially licenced, wireless premium controller for the PS5 – might just be its boldest yet. And at an RRP of $475.95, it’s most expensive.

I’ve been putting the Razer Wolverine V2 Pro through its paces recently, in an effort to try to decipher whether or not that’s an appropriate amount of money to pay for this thing.

I’m hesitant to start making direct comparisons to PS5’s DualSense Edge controller this soon, but right off the bat the unboxing experience of the Razer Wolverine V2 Pro felt a little flat in comparison to Sony’s $150-cheaper alternative. Where that pad came packed inside an attractive and sturdy carrying case, complete with a 2.8m braided cable, a cable lock, four thumbstick caps and removable back paddles, Razer’s new controller sits in some protective foam with a 1.4m cable, the required wireless receiver and just two thumbstick caps.

Luckily once you’ve got the controller in-hand it’s clear that this is a well-made bit of kit. It’s surprisingly light for its size, especially compared to the rather dense Edge, but it feels sturdy and nicely finished with a matte body and textured grips that seem like they’ll hold up well to long-term use. I did notice that a couple of the rear switches on my review unit were loose enough that there was a consistent, audible ‘shake’ to them that occasionally wormed its way into my ear holes but hopefully that’s an exception rather than the norm. Asymmetrical thumbsticks are definitely a personal preference that may make or break the decision for some, but it’s definitely nice to have an option like this on the market.

Crucially, the buttons on the Wolverine V2 Pro feel fantastic to play with. The mechanical “Mecha-Tactile” face, shoulder and d-pad buttons have a wonderful, clicky press that not only actuates at lightning speeds but is genuinely addictive to use, basically emulating the responsive, tactile mouse clicks that PC players enjoy. The 8-way microswitch d-pad’s delightful clickiness makes it feel far more accurate and responsive than what just about any other controller offers. The triggers and analogue sticks are maybe a little less exciting to use, but both at least offer some degree of customisation with short-distance trigger stops that you can change individually on each and the aforementioned interchangeable thumbstick caps.

It’s hard to really gauge whether or not Razer’s Wolverine V2 Pro made me a better player while I was using it (the bar is so low that the science is just too unclear), I definitely felt like it could help me get better by pushing up the ceiling of performance. I’m not entirely convinced of the positioning of its two added shoulder buttons and four, neatly arranged back buttons for someone with small hands like myself but it’s more extra buttons than most. I do think that Hall Effect sensors in the thumbsticks would have been a superior inclusion and helped to justify the asking price, but they’re sadly not here.

And while most veteran players would argue that wired play is still the way to go, Razer’s argument in its HyperSpeed wireless connection is definitely a feasible alternative and it’s as easy as plugging the included USB receiver into the front or back ports on your PS5 and turning the controller on. Something the Wolverine V2 Pro can boast as a massive advantage over the DualSense family of controllers, including the Edge, is a battery that’ll last you more than one Destiny 2 raid. Battery life is rated at 10 hours with Chroma lighting on or a huge 28 hours with it off, and in my use I can corroborate that as being fairly spot-on. If your controller’s stamina is of any concern, this is a marked improvement and a major selling point in my eyes.

One big, on-the-box feature that can comfortably account for a portion of the asking price of the Wolverine V2 Pro is the official PlayStation licensing. Though, in practice this means far less than I was hoping. For a controller built in collaboration with PlayStation it’s disappointing that there’s no haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, built-in speaker or gyroscope – nothing that the competitive market it caters to would or should care about but all features the DualSense Edge still possesses. More annoyingly, the controller can’t be used to turn the PS5 console on – you’ll have to do that manually or through a HDMI-CEC compatible TV.

Since I’ve amassed a glut of PS5 controllers, I inevitably decided that I’d enjoy using the Wolverine V2 Pro with my PC – something that can easily be done by popping the HyperSpeed USB receiver into a free port and toggling the controller to “PC” mode on the back. After Windows recognised it, I jumped into the same Razer Synapse software I use to customise all of the other Razer peripherals plugged into my PC to start setting it up and customising it… only to find out I couldn’t do that.

Instead, any tweaks you want to make to the controller’s mappable buttons, performance or Chroma RGB lighting need to be done by syncing it up to the Razer Controller app on iOS or Android. Having to download an entirely separate app just to tweak a few settings felt like a step too far when Razer has an integrated ecosystem already, but I can definitely appreciate being able to do it from my phone if I’m, say, gaming in my lounge room or bringing the controller to a local tournament. So more choices would be nice, but the one available method is a good one.

In the Razer Controller app, you’re able to set up to four customisable profiles that can then be saved to the Wolverine V2 Pro itself and switched on the fly using a multifunction key underneath the PlayStation/power button. These profiles can contain settings for basic thumbstick sensitivity, the mapping of the two extra shoulder buttons and four back buttons and a single zone of Chroma RGB lighting. It’s a pretty barebones setup and definitely falls far short of competing controllers, plus it’s kind of a kick in the teeth that the example image of a Wolverine V2 Pro with Chroma RGB used right within the app suggests multi-zone lighting is a thing when it definitely is not.

And that’s the overall experience with Razer’s new PS5-licenced pro controller in a nutshell, really. What’s here is good, even great, with a premium build and comfort, good connectivity and some incredibly satisfying and responsive button switches making it a controller aimed squarely at pro players and absolutely nailing those fundamentals. At just shy of $500 though, it’s missing far too many features to recommend it over something like the DualSense Edge for those just wanting a flashier pad with all the bells and whistles.

The Razer Wolverine Pro V2 is available in Australian retailers now. Amazon currently has it at a discounted price of $449 with free shipping.

The post Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Review – A Solid But Compromised Pro Controller appeared first on Press Start.

When the original PlayStation VR arrived back in 2016, it shot into the then-burgeoning virtual reality market with hardware that was comfortable, accessible and – most importantly – affordable in comparison to its peers. That turned out to be the right move at the time, with the headset carving out a decent little piece of the VR market pie and commanding a decent amount of staying power in the years to come.

Fast forward almost seven years and the landscape is a little different for virtual reality tech. With high-end VR maturing and entry-level headsets like the Meta Quest 2 offering compelling, completely untethered VR experiences at a relatively modest price point there’s a lot more for PlayStation to prove with its follow-up effort. Dropping a little earlier into the life of the hardware it’s tied to and at a higher price point, the PlayStation VR2 feels like serious business in comparison to its predecessor. Sony successfully dipped its toes into the virtual waters and now it wants to swim with the sharks. It’s a good thing then, that the PS VR2’s teeth are as razor sharp as its visuals.

I went over a lot of this in my initial unboxing impressions (which you can read here) but it bears repeating – this is easily the most attractive, comfortable and well-constructed VR headsets I’ve used to date.

To begin with the headset itself is around 50g lighter than the first PS VR, but it’s also unburdened by the mess of cables and breakout boxes that made the previous iteration feel far bulkier than it actually was. This time around, there’s no extra box or HDMI passthrough or any of that junk. It’s just a single USB-C cable for the front of your PS5. A very, very long 4.5m USB-C cable that’s also surprisingly light and definitely will have enough give for most people to unknowingly wrap themselves in it a few times during play without any disaster striking.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $878 AT AMAZON WITH FREE SHIPPING.

Compared to the original PS VR’s IKEA-like setup, being able to simply take the thing out of the box, pop the cable into the front of the console and get playing is remarkable. I was worried that, having also used a Quest 2 quite a bit, the added cable would become an annoyance but I can’t say that I’ve even registered its existence more than once or twice during the time I’ve been playing.

Putting the headset on is a breeze, as well. Not a whole lot has changed from the last one, which is absolutely a good thing when that design was already fantastic. The headset is incredibly adjustable so once you slip it over your head by holding the button at the back and stretching it to accommodate your noggin, you simply spin a dial to tighten it up and then manoeuvre the front visor until it’s sitting comfortably in front of your eyes. Even with my fairly large glasses on I never once felt they were being pushed up against my face, with plenty of wiggle room. Crucially, the design of the rubber blinders around the lenses blocks out a ridiculous amount of ambient light.

Setting up the PS VR2 on the software side of things is also refreshingly easy and intuitive, with the headset’s mounted cameras and eye tracking technology doing a ton of the legwork. You’ll configure your play space simply by looking around you while it intelligently maps out walls, floors and any objects in the vicinity and creates a virtual boundary to keep you from punching nearby furniture in the heat of the moment. It’s in this step that you’ll also find out whether you’ve got the minimum required 2m x 2m clearance for “room scale” VR gameplay (essentially being able to physically move around a virtual space) or, if you live in an inner-city single bedroom apartment like me, are restricted to just the stationary standing/sitting experience.

One of the PlayStation VR2’s most interesting tricks, its eye tracking tech, also helps immensely with the initial setup by giving you an on-screen guide to how well-positioned the lenses are in relation to your pupils. With a combination of adjusting the position of the visor and turning the super-handy lens distance dial on the top of the visor you can very quickly get things looking just right for your eyes. Having eye tracking also enables the headset’s “foveated rendering” tech, which essentially allows games to render better detail in areas where you’re actively looking and dynamically scale back detail in areas you’re not – lending to better perceived visual quality and performance overall.

I can’t overstate how great the PlayStation VR2’s configuration and calibration process is in comparison to pretty well every other VR headset I’ve used. With just about any guesswork eliminated by the intelligent combination of hardware and software working together, I never once had to wonder whether I was getting the optimal experience.

Something I’ve been incredibly grateful for in my time with the PS VR2 is the ability to use its front-facing cameras as a window to the world outside of the headset. The surprisingly clear, black-and-white view is easily accessible just by pushing the Function button on the underside of the front visor which makes it easy to quickly reassess where you’re physically positioned in the room and if you’ve begun edging too close to a wall or bit of furniture, locate any controllers or people around you or even quickly jot down PlayStation VR2 review notes in your phone without having to remove the headset at all.

With the headset on and configured, one of the most immediately noticeable upgrades here is the pair of super-sharp 4K (2000 x 2040 per-eye) HDR OLED displays that represent a massive jump from the first PS VR and up there with some of the best resolutions that VR headsets have to offer. Aside from raw pixel count, the displays in the VR2 offer a fairly substantial 110 degree field of view and very decent brightness and colours. I’ve been particularly impressed with how little interference there is from the typical VR display issues like distortion and glare, with minimal god rays or “screen door” effect. It’s not completely without fault, there’s still a degree of softness to fine details like text and a bit of motion blur but overall it’s far superior to the likes of the Quest 2.

In the cinematic view, where the headset shows the regular PS5 home menu or any “flat” games or movies you might want to check out, is where I’m probably least inclined to choose the PS VR2’s display over simply using my OLED telly. The novelty of a floating cinema-esque screen in a virtual void that only you can see is novel enough if it’s your first time trying it out, but as sharp as the displays are for VR gaming they’re not quite fit for lengthy play sessions of regular titles.

RELATED: OUR HORIZON CALL OF THE MOUNTAIN REVIEW

One of my favourite inclusions, somewhat surprisingly to me, is the little in-ear headphones that come with the PS VR2. I’ll always opt for over-ear cans where possible, and fully expected to be opting for a slightly-awkward combo with my usual gaming headset, but I’m glad I gave these a go. For starters, they come attached to a little plastic bar that sits snugly into the back band to allow the buds to hang in just the right spot for the ears with no extra slack, and the headset even has a mounting port on each side to pop them into when you’re not using it.

They also sound great for an in-ear solution, with my playthrough of Horizon Call of the Mountain coming through with a good amount of crisp detail and juicy bass. Combined with the 3D audio processing and minimal physical interference it makes for a genuinely immersive audio experience out of the box – far and away more than I expected from some packed-in earphones.

The next piece of the hardware puzzle comes from the included Sense controllers. It’s hard to believe we ever made do with Sony’s decision to repurpose the godawful PS3 Move controllers for the original PlayStation VR, much less that they saw fit to sell them separately to the headset itself. Sure, it made the starter kit cheaper but having to tack on an extra $200ish to get a pair of Moves and the required camera on top sucked the joy out of that value proposition. We’re off to a much better start this time around with the controllers included in the box and no extra camera bits needed.

The Sense controllers a far more logical and comfortable design this time around, their hollow orb-like design ergonomically tailored to each hand to ensure every button is within reach and easy to read without the benefit of being able to see them, with your fingers naturally positioning around the analogue sticks, L1/R1 bumpers and L2/R2 triggers. It’s kind of like wearing a pair of sci-fi gloves with their stark black and white, orb-like design and I’m here for it. If you’ve used the Quest controllers in the past, the idea is similar here but a definite improvement again.

The Senses also pack in some especially neat features to bring a new level of immersion (and hopefully some neat future gameplay possibilities) to the table. Much like the PS5’s standard DualSense controller, they boast detailed haptic feedback along with adaptive triggers to simulate the feelings of your actions in games, something that Horizon Call of the Mountain uses to great effect. Being able to feel the difference between grabbing onto a rope and a stone ledge, or the tension of a bowstring that I’m pulling in real time adds a ton of immersion and really helps to remove the disconnect in your brain when grabbing or touching things in the virtual world isn’t mirrored in the physical realm. There are even haptics in the headset itself which are used to pretty good effect in games like Horizon and Thumper so I’m keen to see and feel more of that.

Something I’m hoping developers latch onto early and often is the finger tracking, which senses whether each of your fingers are gripping the controller to somewhat represent any in-game hands as close to your actual hands as possible. It’s fairly simplistic in what it understands about the positions of your fingers but being able to wave or throw up peace signs in something like Call of the Mountain is fun nonetheless. I’d be keen to see Sony work in some full hand-tracking ala the Quest 2 with potential software updates but for now what’s here could be used to decent effect.

With the cameras mounted into the front of the PS VR2’s visor, inside-out tracking means that not only is the whole thing a lot more simple to set up and use, it’s freakishly accurate and truly feels 1:1 at all times. Having spent a ton of time with the original PS VR I can’t overstate how wonderful it is to have motion controllers that are genuinely responsive and reliable, though that’s not to say the Senses are totally infallible. Lighting and environment are still crucial to getting the best experience, with everything performing its best in a well-lit space with as few errant lights and reflections as possible. 

While the overwhelming majority of my PS VR2 gameplay has been smooth sailing, I did notice that the reflection of my overhead lights on wooden floors or even the video output on my TV could often throw the cameras in my headset off. There’s an option in the settings to add a distinct border to the social screen so that the headset knows it’s looking at a TV which pretty much sorted that issue, but if you were hoping to get in some VR action with the Sense controllers in a dim or busy room you might have less luck – the system flat-out told me to go somewhere brighter when I tried to play at night with my lights off.

The other slight issue that was a constant in my PS VR2 experience was the 4-5 hour battery life of the Sense controllers. Granted, not many people are going to be playing VR titles for that long at a time, but it means that forgetting to charge them between sessions will very quickly kill the joy – especially considering that you only get one charging cable in the box. I’m sure most people will have at least one spare USB-C cable around the house but when the low battery notification specifically advises I charge both controllers together I can’t help but wonder if Sony’s hoping to subtly push people towards the $80 dual charger.

Of course, the thing that so many new gaming devices will live or die by is the quality of the available software, and the launch line-up is of particular importance when considering whether to drop north of $800 on an add-on to an already-expensive console. In this regard, the PS VR2 is doing just fine with a number of big ticket inclusions like Horizon Call of the Mountain, which is bloody excellent (you can read our review here), as well as free VR updates for games like Gran Turismo 7 and Resident Evil Village (which we haven’t been able to try just yet). Those three not only represent the “AAA” shelf in the PS VR2’s virtual suite, but they’re titles you won’t find on any other VR platform.

The rest of the VR2’s day one catalogue consists largely of games that have already graced the original PlayStation VR or other platforms like the Quest, meaning there’s maybe a little less excitement in the mix for VR veterans, but the upside is that it’s largely all top-notch stuff. The opportunity to play the likes of Moss/Moss Book II, Tetris Effect: Connected, Pistol Whip, After The Fall and other essential VR reading with the class-leading experience offered by the PS VR2 and the power of the PS5 is certainly not without merit.

The real test will be the long term, and how well the system is supported by exclusive titles and experiences not available on other, cheaper headsets. The hardware is exemplary, but if Sony wants players to hand over their credit cards past the initial period of launch excitement they need to compel them with equally exciting software.

The PlayStation VR2 releases on February 22nd, 2023.

PLAYSTATION VR2 PRE-ORDER LINKS:

• PlayStation VR2 Standard Kit – $878 with free shipping
• PlayStation VR2 Horizon Call of the Mountain Bundle – $958 with free shipping
• PlayStation VR2 Charging Station – $79 with free shipping

Lastly, if you’re looking for some quick recommendations for launch titles, we’ll have a more comprehensive rundown of our favourites over the coming days, but for now the standouts in the 15-ish games out of the launch line-up that I’ve had the time to play are:

The Best PlayStation VR Launch Games (So Far)

• Horizon Call of the Mountain
• Moss/Moss Book II
• Thumper
• Kayak VR: Mirage
• Cosmonious High
• Tentacular
• Song in the Smoke Rekindled
• Pistol Whip
• Tetris Effect: Connected
• Rez Infinite

The post PlayStation VR2 Review – Next-Gen VR Hardware Brimming With Potential appeared first on Press Start.

Not wanting to be complacent, Ayaneo has dropped its third handheld in the last 12 months. This began with with the Ayaneo Next, then the smaller Ayaneo Air Pro and now the company is taking things to the next level with the newly released Ayaneo 2 which has just hit Australian stores.

The Ayaneo 2 differs from its former two releases in the sense that it’s much more powerful than the Steam Deck and actually feels quite future proof in a lot of its features. The biggest barrier of entry is still the price at $2,099 AUD (grab it here), but at least as far as performance goes, it’s pushed ahead of what the Steam Deck offers.

In case you haven’t read one of my Ayaneo reviews before, these are Windows devices (in this case it comes pre-loaded with Windows 11) that can play games from any launcher, so you’re able to boot up the Xbox Game Pass app, or Steam, or Epic, or any emulator that you like.

The Ayaneo 2 has a 7-inch 1200p display that literally has no bezel, so as far as design goes, not only does the Ayaneo 2 feel great in the hands, it’s a much better looking device than the Ayaneo Next or other handhelds in this space. The biggest compliment that I can offer it is that it feels like the PlayStation Vita re-born.

Whilst other Ayaneo devices have been criticised for being behind or on par with the Steam Deck performance-wise, The Ayaneo 2 sports a Zen3+ 6800U chip which delivers much better raw power compared to the Steam Deck’s custom Zen2 chip, often offering a 15-25% increase in gaming performance.

This is evident when booting up the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 or Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales, I was able to get a lot closer to 60FPS at 800p than I ever have been with the other Ayaneo devices. It felt like a much smoother experience than I’ve had on these handhelds previously, and honestly just impressed with every game that I booted up.

Cranking it beyond what the Steam Deck is capable of to a resolution of 1200p to make full use of the display and this still kept most AAA games at around the 30FPS mark, which was still more than respectable. With AMD FSR getting more advanced and better utilised, this should only get better and better.

Since I got the device, I’ve played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in bed most nights, and it just runs flawlessly without ever feeling like I’m dying due to performance issues. This is absolutely the first time I’ve used one of these devices and not felt like I’ve had to dial down settings or look to get that extra bit of performance, with the device being more than capable with anything that I threw at it.

With 16GB of memory and a 1TB SSD, it’s just crazy to me how close these are getting to proper computers, with the specs honestly outperforming a lot of what most everyday people would use as their daily driver. Whilst I’ll talk about the multi docking station a little bit later, this was the first time I actually connected one of these devices to a display and used it for a few days as a computer, and it just worked flawlessly, which goes a bit further in terms of bang for buck.

BUY IT FROM AMAZON FOR $2,099 AUD

As far as inputs go on the device, there’s three USB-C ports, two which can be used for charging and one for data. There’s also a MicroSD slot to easily expand storage and a fingerprint sensor on the power button. You also get two USB-A to USB-C adaptors in the box for connecting keyboards, mice or other accessories that might not have USB-C ports. Pretty much everything that you’d ever need both for gaming or computing is included.

Where this device feels better than the Steam Deck or previous Ayaneo products is that not only does it perform really, really well with AAA games, but it also feels future proof. You can connect an external GPU enclosure to the unit, to beef it up at your desk, and the SSD can be replaced with another standard SSD, if you’re wanting to increase storage. Neither of these things are necessary out of the box, but knowing it can be upgraded goes a long way to knowing you’re going to get long-term value.

It’s no secret that battery life is an issue with any portable device, and once again, it was on the shorter side here. You’re looking at 1.5-2 hours with a AAA game pushing at a 1200p resolution with the grunt required for the performance that I’ve spoken about, with this being a lot longer for indie games. Ayaneo is making some good progress towards getting this higher with a new app called SmartTDP which really cleverly uses only the exact amount of power required to push the desired frame rates, resulting in a longer battery life, but don’t expect to use it on long haul flights and such without a power bank.

As mentioned, the Ayaneo 2 runs Windows 11 which is a huge positive for playing absolutely any game that you already own (and not just on Steam) as well as emulation, which obviously this machine excels at, but it’s also still a bit of a negative in the sense that Windows wasn’t really designed to be used with a touch screen. It’s absolutely fine if you’re just booting a game, and not an issue once you’re in, but it can still have its quirks if needing to navigate around, with it often being much easier to just pair a keyboard and mouse (which is super easy to do with Bluetooth or with a dongle).

AyaSpace is the device’s front-end loader, and it does a great job at providing an overlay with quick access to changing brightness and how much power you’re using, as well as sorting your games from all of your launchers and displaying them. There were still a few bugs, particularly when changing resolution or not loading games in, but it’s constantly being updated and worked on. As cool as a design feature that it is, I still found inconsistencies with the lighting up of the analogue sticks as well, particularly when having the device next to me and trying to sleep.

Ayaneo has launched a new multi docking station alongside this device. It can work with any of its products, but I can’t tell you how much this improved the experience. Not only did it mean that I could easily charge the device at all times, it also made connecting a monitor via HDMI as well as keyboards/mice a breeze. As I mentioned earlier, you could now literally use this as your daily driver without any issues, then pick it up to take it to bed and game.

Really though, this is a versatile portable Windows device, whether you’re playing the latest AAA games, doing some Photoshop work at your desk or wanting a really good emulation device, despite the fact that it’s expensive, it does feel great from a performance point of view, and a lot closer to the uncompromised handheld dream I’ve always had.

The post Ayaneo 2 Review – The Handheld Dream appeared first on Press Start.

The Elgato Stream Deck has quickly become synonymous with easy, customisable control solutions for streamers and content creators working from a desk at home. Simple interfaces tied to great software make them a natural fit into any workspace or flow and intuitive to use for live casts, but if the increasing popularity of products like the Razer Stream Controller (or the Loupedeck Live device it’s based on) is any indication, the people are ready for more. More, in this case, being dials and touchscreens. Enter the Elgato Stream Deck +.

The Stream Deck + is, in essence, Elgato’s answer to something like the Loupedeck, swapping out some of the buttons on the regular Stream Deck for four knobs and a four-panel touchscreen display to go with them. In the box, you get the Deck + itself (naturally) as well as the detachable stand and USB-C to USB-A cable. Nice and simple. Much like the Mk2 version of the standard Stream Deck, this one is fixed at a 45-degree angle and can technically be removed but you’ll have to break out a screwdriver to do it.

In what I assume was the desire to keep the whole front panel looking uniform and sensical, the width of buttons has been reduced from five on the standard Stream Deck to four on the Stream Deck + which means with only two rows there’s a total of eight customisable keys here versus 15. That’s a pretty significant reduction and probably the only real issue I have with this new take on the Deck. That said, they’re a bit bigger than the others which is nice, and depending on what you’re doing with them the dials and touchscreen can easily replace multiple keys, particularly through Elgato’s Dial Stacks.

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Dial Stacks allow you to assign multiple functions to a single dial, switching between them by pressing it in which also changes to the display on the touchscreen above it to reflect what setting you’re manipulating. It makes it super easy to, say, cycle through volume settings on multiple audio sources, change multiple values in an Adobe project or even set up your home smart lighting – I set each of the four dials to a different room in my apartment and switch between individual lights with a press which is honestly pretty neat and almost makes me want a second Stream Deck + just for home control stuff.

The dials themselves are great to use as well, with small but tactile ‘steps’ to each turn and a nice click to each press giving the brushed-metal knobs a very sleek and professional feel. Elgato has a handy page built into its Stream Deck Store that covers off a lot of the plugins that already support the dial/touchscreen combo, like a Discord Volume Mixer that can dynamically show you call participants and allow you to easily mix their levels on your end, or the Philips Hue plugin to easily switch and control lights, using the dials to adjust things like brightness and colour temperature.

The touchscreen bar on the Stream Deck + is fairly bright and sharp, much the same as what you get with the displays on the buttons above, although with the wider real estate there’s a lot of fun to be had coming up with attractive images and ways to display everything on it. You’re also saving more keys again here by being able to swipe the screen to change pages on the entire Deck, which would usually have taken up a precious slot on one of the buttons and feels natural to perform as an action. Having used the Razer Stream Controller previously I do miss the haptic feedback of the touch panels a little, but I’d absolutely cop that loss for the rest of what the Deck + has to offer.

On the software side of things, nothing much has changed. If you’ve used a Stream Deck before it’s all run through the exact same software suite, allowing users to drag and drop functions onto each key (and now the Dials as well), customise the keys with images and labels, download free plug-ins to add new functions and set up extra profiles/pages for different situations. The list of plug-ins available for the unique functions of the Deck + already seems to be growing nicely, but the longevity of it will heavily depend on that support.

I’ve been using the Stream Deck + in conjunction with Elgato’s Wave DX dynamic microphone and Wave XLR interface and there’s absolutely something to be said about the synergy of devices within the family. The company’s Wave Link audio solution is already great, and combined with the easy controls and integration of the Deck it’s made sitting down to record the Press Start Podcast every week or quickly and easily control OBS software with multiple sources an absolute breeze.

At the end of the day, whether or not the Stream Deck + is right for you will largely hinge on your need for the Dials and the incremental adjustment opportunities they provide. If your uses are more “binary” like activating transitions, switching things on/off or just hitting shortcuts then a standard Stream Deck should mostly suffice. If you’d like to instantly scale up your production potential and get something approaching your own mixing board without taking up a premium of space on your desk though, this is a very compelling option.

The post Elgato Stream Deck + Review – Dialled Up A Notch appeared first on Press Start.

As someone who wouldn’t remotely label themselves a “pro” gamer, the market of premium controllers like Xbox’s official Elite controllers or aftermarket pads from companies like SCUF has typically always eluded me. I love the feeling and construction of my Elite Series 2, but I can’t say that I’ve ever had the desire to mess with any of the added features that make its biggest selling points.

With PlayStation entering the fray with its own pro controller solution in the DualSense Edge though, I decided that maybe it was time to see just how much I could get out of a controller that costs about half as much as the console it’s designed for. After a good week of thorough use, I’m already struggling to go back to the regular DualSense – except for when the battery in my Edge dies and I have no other choice.

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The very first thing I noticed on PlayStation kindly sending me out a DualSense Edge for review is that the box it comes pack in is hefty. It’s markedly bigger than the normal DualSense box and significantly heavier, making it feel every bit imposing and important right from the moment you start to unbox it. Inside, everything is already neatly packed into the included carry case, a stark white and black number that exudes the PS5 aesthetic and will probably get very dirty very quickly if you’re frequently using it to cart the Edge around.

What you’re getting for your eye-watering $340 investment is the DualSense Edge controller itself (naturally), said carry case, a very nice 2.8m braided USB-C cable with an optional lock attachment, two extra pairs of analogue stick caps in the old PS3-style convex shape with high and low variants and two sets of optional back button attachments – one “paddle” style set and a smaller, half-dome set. It’s a decent amount of kit and somewhat in line with what you’d expect from the full Elite Series 2 package, although there are a couple of odd or disappointing choices in what’s included, but we’ll get to those a bit further down.

Picking up the DualSense Edge for the first time, it’s clear that all the heft isn’t just in the goodie bag of extras inside the box – the controller itself is quite weighty and solid. I wouldn’t call it heavy, but it’s definitely a discernible difference from the normie DualSense. It feels decidedly “premium”, like it’s made out of better stuff than most and built ready to tackle anything you throw at it. It definitely comes across in the hand as an expensive bit of gear, and it’s thoughtfully designed with flourishes like a textured grip at the back of the handles and on the L2/R2 triggers, shiny black finishes on the front face and buttons and a very handsome touch pad that’s a bit more angular and textured with little PlayStation icons.

Aside from aesthetic differences, the overall shape and fit of the Edge is pretty well on par with the existing DualSense which is a pretty commendable feat considering the amount of extra stuff packed into it. In additional to the usual fixtures this new take on Sony’s iconic controller includes two function (FN) buttons underneath the analogue sticks, trigger length sliders next to each set of shoulder buttons, and two slots to fit in either of the back button attachments that come with it.

Anyone who’s used a controller of this ilk will have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the lever-style back buttons, which are similar to what you’d find on the Elite controllers. More interesting are the half-dome variety which are smaller and seem to work better for people with a higher grip on the controller, for me these were definitely the preferred option but it’s great that there’s an alternative included. I very quickly found myself making use of the back buttons in Dead Space, where I mapped them to give me instant access to health and Isaac’s Stasis ability without having to take my fingers off the shoulder buttons. I also made use of being able to shorten the travel on the L2/R2 triggers to give my fingers a bit of reprieve when slinging spells in Forspoken, a nice little added comfort option that I hadn’t anticipated.

As far as the DualSense Edge’s analogue sticks go, it’s mostly good stuff. The sticks themselves are pretty well what you’d expect from the DualSense controller, of course with the point of difference that the tops can be swapped out with the PS3-esque convex ones included in the box. These come in standard and taller lengths for people that like to add some extra travel distance for games that beg extra nuance, but I’m a bit confused as to why we only get the taller option in the convex style caps. Surely it wouldn’t have taken much more effort to include a fourth set and give people taller versions of the default caps.

The biggest plus here though, is the user-serviceability of the DualSense Edge’s analogue stick modules, which can be entirely removed with a just a couple quick switch flips and replaced with brand new ones should your sticks succumb to the dreaded drift. Given the price point of the controller I almost would’ve expected PlayStation to opt for hall effect sensors over the drift-prone analogue equivalent, but at least it’s easy enough to pick up a $35 official replacement module and pop it in if you find yourself out of warranty and unwilling to shell out another $340.

Something I didn’t clock initially was the tiny release switch tucked away on the underside of the Edge to make the front faceplate pop off for getting at the modules. I’d gotten used to just (carefully) pulling the plates off of my standard PS5 controllers to swap them for aftermarket ones and automatically started doing the same here. Thankfully it doesn’t seem like it’s done any harm, but keep that in mind and learn from my mistake.

Aside from the impressive physical additions in the DualSense Edge, the software component is also largely a success. The FN buttons at the bottom of the pad are your gateway to a handful of shortcuts that help to tie the whole experience together alongside the UI integration on the PS5. The dedicated DualSense Edge settings menu on the PS5 allows users to adjust a heap of settings from completely reassigning buttons to adjusting deadzones for the triggers and sticks as well as sensitivity. All of these tweaks can be saved into custom profiles which can then be assigned to different combinations of the FN and face buttons to make quickly swapping between them a breeze. Combining the FN and d-pad buttons on the other hand makes it easy to quickly control PS5 audio settings when using an official headset, which I found immediately useful jumping into a party with some friends.

It does feel a little odd that both FN buttons have identical function. It makes sense from a comfort perspective when using them in combination with buttons on each end of the controller, but they still feel a touch redundant as two additional buttons that don’t actually add any new in-game functionality. Overall though, the software experience and ease of customisation and quick-switching is very impressive and a major selling point for picking up one of these official pro-style pads over a third-party offering. Hopefully down the line with firmware updates we’ll see the potential unlocked even further.

One thing that can’t easily be fixed or updated and stands out as one of the few sore points on the DualSense Edge is the little ol’ issue of battery life. The standard flavour of DualSense was already trailing behind just about every other controller when it came to its stamina, usually tapping out before hitting double digits in hours played. The Edge is no better in this regard, and if anything is slightly worse (as evidenced by the fact it’s physically smaller and holds less actual charge). I’ve found I get around 4-5 hours on a charge in games that utilise the full spectrum of haptic feedback/adaptive trigger features, though that can obviously be increased by switching those and other features off. For all the good that the Edge does, its poor battery life is a big detractor and could (and should) give many potential punters pause to pick one up.

Given the nice, long USB-C cable included it’s clear that there’s an expectation for users to opt for playing with the DualSense Edge plugged directly into the PS5 console, and that’s honestly a fine way to use it. I’m convinced that wireless latency isn’t that big an issue for 90% of players, even at higher skill levels, but the kinds of people investing in a controller like this would naturally gravitate towards a perceivably more reliable wired connection anyway. The included locking mechanism that you can attach to ensure the cable can’t accidentally be tugged out of your Edge is a nice inclusion, though the implication seems to be that people would rather risk their $800 console falling onto the floor than their controller skip a few beats if a pet or unruly housemate trips the cord.

The post PS5 DualSense Edge Review – A Feature-Packed Pro Controller That Nearly Nails It appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve gone through a few different streaming/podcast-focussed desktop microphones in recent years, like the original HyperX QuadCast and most recently the Elgato Wave:3, but since getting a dedicated audio mixer for my desk I’ve been keen to step away from USB-based condenser microphones to a dynamic solution that runs through XLR.

Enter: The Elgato Wave DX.

Unboxing this new microphone, Elgato’s first XLR-based and dynamic solution, was definitely in stark contrast to when I first opened up my Wave:3. It’s a comparatively humble offering – the simplistic and cylindrical block of the microphone itself, devoid of any buttons or dials, and the lack of any cables or a stand serving as an early reminder that this isn’t a standalone device.

Rather, the Wave DX is designed to fit nicely into a complete audio setup with a dedicated interface and mounting solution (more on that in a bit), and its understated design speaks volumes to this. If it weren’t for the logo on the side, which you can actually remove in order to switch which direction you’re mounting the microphone from, you’d be hard pressed to guess its brand of origin at all. If a clean desk aesthetic is your thing, and it’s certainly becoming mine, this is an attractive little number.

I’ll admit I was hesitant to make the change from a condenser microphone to a dynamic one, particularly given I use my mic primarily for recording the Press Start podcast, as the generally accepted rule is that condenser mics have an edge when it comes to picking up more nuanced sound and from wider angles. Given that I only ever record right in front of my mic though, and using the excellent low-profile Elgato Wave arm, I was keen to see how the dynamic Wave DX helped with eliminating background noise and allowing me to get a little louder and more excitable without worrying about the sensitive pickup.

The extra durability and light weight are a boon as well, and Elgato has very thoughtfully designed the microphone’s internals to negate the need for any extra, external pop filter or shock mount.

The Cheapest Elgato Wave DX Price: $159 at Amazon.

The result of all this is that the audio picked up by the Wave DX sounds brilliant. Everything I’ve recorded with it so far has sounded crisp, clear and often surprisingly rich for what I was expecting from a dynamic pickup. There’s some serious magic coming from the dynamic capsule that Elgato has used here (in collaboration with Lewitt Audio) to produce sound that’s very comparable to what I expect from my more expensive condenser microphone.

It’s really a best-of-both-worlds scenario which is a surprising and exciting thing to discover, and means I’m easily happy to make this my permanent desktop mic going forward. Very particular users might still want to look into an added pop filter/shock mount of some kind as I did find the internal solution wasn’t quite as effective especially given the encouragement to speak very loudly and closely into it, but overall it’s performed well above my expectations.

Another motivator for my trying out an XLR-based microphone solution has been the increased flexibility when it comes to my hardware and software setup. There’s definitely a case to be made for the convenience of a USB microphone like the Wave:3 with all of its onboard controls and plug-and-play nature, but the simplicity and connectivity of the Wave DX means it’s a lot easier to fit into a more complex configuration.

While Elgato obviously sells its own XLR interface (aptly name the Elgato Wave XLR) and offers an excellent audio software suite, I’m currently using a Razer Audio Mixer – a device that I love but haven’t been able to use to its full potential with a USB microphone. With the Wave DX, I was able to just plug straight into my mixer via XLR and immediately start using it and customising the sound through Razer’s mixing software.

Therein lies the crux of it though – if you’re considering a Wave DX, or any XLR mic, you’re gonna need some extra bits and pieces. Chances are if you’re specifically looking for an XLR mic it’s because you already have something going on but if you’re jumping in fresh then expect to spend a lot more than the $169 asking price for the Wave DX itself. You’re going to need some kind of interface, first and foremost, to plug the thing into and control it.

Again, Elgato sells its own solution with the Wave XLR which goes for $239, already costing more than the microphone itself but cheaper solutions exist and this mic doesn’t require any phantom power. You’ll also need to buy an XLR cable as there isn’t one provided, nor is there any kind of stand so you’ll also have to source a stand or arm of some kind. I attached mine to the same low-profile Elgato Wave Arm that I was using with my previous microphone, but like the interface you can absolutely source something cheaper.

What this means in all is that the Elgato Wave DX is an incredibly capable microphone with fantastic audio and an attractive design that, on its own, is also quite affordable. It’s the bits around it that’ll truly determine if this is the solution for you.

If you’ve got an XLR-ready setup or you’re keen to use a dedicated hardware interface/mixer and have the extras factored into your budget, I’d happily recommend the Wave DX as a worthy bit of gear, but if you’re just starting out in streaming or podcasting or desk space is at a premium then an all-inclusive solution like the similarly-excellent Wave:3 might be the way to go.

The post Elgato Wave DX Review – Simple But Powerful appeared first on Press Start.

Foldable displays felt like a dream just 3-4 years ago, but after Samsung dropped the first actual consumer foldables in the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip, it feels like the floodgates have well and truly opened in terms of what’s possible in the bendable space, and that’s never felt truer than my time with the Corsair Xeneon Flex OLED monitor.

Let’s get the fun part out of the way. The Corsair Xeneon Flex contains a 45-inch LG OLED monitor that (you might have already guessed it), can bend. Using a handle on each side, each side of the monitor can freely go from flat, to an 800R curve. Honestly, I can’t tell you how many times I flipped back and forth, just in pure disbelief that not only did it work as expected, I started to see the benefit of both modes.

Now, obviously I was pretty cautious even after dozens of times flipping back and forth, just purely because I’ve always been taught to show extra care with OLED displays. As far as the actual bending mechanic goes, the monitor will make an audible click when it’s reached that 800R curve, or back in its flat position, and to be honest, I definitely took a bit of extra care, just because this is the only prototype unit in Australia, but I really didn’t ever feel like the monitor was going to break.

Whilst the bending mechanic felt surprisingly durable, the only small criticism is in the fact that obviously bending a 45-inch monitor comes with a certain amount of weight, which often either made the monitor tilt down or up, or just provided a bit more of movement on the stand than I would have liked, but honestly, unless you’re literally bending back and forth several times an hour, it’s totally fine.

@alwaysonaus

The Corsair Xeneon Flex is a fully bendable monitor. #tech #monitor #gamingmonitor #techtok #foldable #xeneonflex

? SZA BIG BOYS – Some rat ??

Behind the features that I’m sure some might see as a gimmick, is not only a really good monitor, but honestly probably my favourite ultra-wide monitor that I’ve ever used. Let’s talk about inputs because not only is there a great amount here, but I really like what Corsair has done with placement.

On the back, there’s 2x HDMI 2.1 ports, 1x DP 1.4 port, 1 x USB-C DP port (that was able to charge my MacBook Air M2 using 30w of charge as well as provide full 1440p signal), as well as 2 x USB type-A). What Corsair have also cleverly done is put some of the USB hub ports on the front, so you’ve got 2 x USB type-A ports as well as easy access to the input button, power button and controller. I’ve always hated monitors with hard to reach buttons on the back of the display, and this cleverly builds them into the front of the stand.

Now, I know that a lot of people are going to struggle to see past the bendable element of this monitor, but whether you’re wanting to use the monitor in flat, curved or both, this is just a really damn good monitor. I’ve always loved ultrawide monitors for gaming, but those such as the Alienware 34″ QD-OLED monitor were just a little bit too small for my liking when it comes to productivity, and the Xeneon Flex felt absolutely perfect. When in its 800R curved position, it fit my field of vision perfectly, letting me have a huge amount of windows on screen (which I often do) without feeling cramped or like I needed a second monitor. When it the flat position, it did tend to feel a little on the wide side, but that’s why the bending element is so great.

This is a 1440P OLED display with a 240Hz refresh rate. It features an anti-reflective LG OLED panel, so it’s absolutely gorgeous in terms of vibrancy and blacks appearing inky, and the 240Hz refresh rate also means that you’ll be zipping around the screen (even if you’ll likely need an RTX 4080 to take advantage of it). I did notice when on whiter screens (likely due to brightness limited tech in OLEDs), that the brightness did leave a little bit desired, but this was less of a case with gaming.

Coming from a 4K monitor, the pixel density at this size at 3440 x 1440, did leave a little bit to be desired, especially in this price range, and if I could choose between being able to flex the display or that increase in pixel density, I think I would choose the latter. It wasn’t unusable by any stretch, but it was at the point where it was noticeable when I first started using it.

Honestly though, when reviewing tech, I always tend to think about how I can see something fitting into my everyday lifestyle, and given I spend a lot of time behind a computer, I’m generally fairly good at working out very quickly whether I like something or not, and as I write this review on this very monitor, I feel like it’s actually made me more productive and I’m dreading going back to my regular setup, so that’s saying something.

Obviously playing games such as Forza Horizon 5 or Marvel’s Spider-Man are just an absolute joy on this display too. Again, I felt I needed to play in curved to really make the most of it, but I can totally see how if somebody has this monitor in their bedroom, and want to watch a movie in bed, then flexing either one side to angle towards you or having it in flat would be something you’d want to consider.

The Corsair Xeneon Flex is set to launch in Australia in February with an RRP of $3,799 AUD. 

The post Corsair Xeneon Flex 45″ OLED Review – A Fantastic Ultrawide That’s Got Serious Flex appeared first on Press Start.

Earlier this year I reviewed the Ayaneo Next which was Ayaneo’s second portable console (first to make it to Australia), and definitely more of a Steam Deck competitor with its $2,000 price tag. The latest Ayaneo handheld to launch in Australia this week is the Ayaneo Air Pro, which comes with a much cheaper price tag, and a host of new features that make it much more compelling for the average gamer.

The biggest difference between units is the size. The Ayaneo Air Pro comes in at 224mm (w) x 89mm (h) x 29mm (d) and weighs 450g which puts it a very similar size to that of the Nintendo Switch Lite, which is extremely impressive given the technology inside this little console and the type of games it can run. In reality, size and weight are the only comparisons that can be made between the Nintendo Switch and Air Pro’s capabilities.

As soon as you boot the device, one of the standouts of the Air Pro is the display. It’s a 1080p 5.5″ AMOLED touchscreen display that is absolutely gorgeous. The blacks are extremely black, the colours are very vivid and everything just pops and looks that much better than the Ayaneo Next and other gaming devices. It really took me back to the days of the PlayStation Vita, which is the greatest compliment that I could give any handheld device.

It’s really just a gorgeous piece of tech, especially in the black variant that we’re getting in Australia, with customisable LED rings around the analogue sticks adding an extra bit of pop. These can be fully customised in terms of colours, effect and obviously turned off if you find them distracting.

When it comes to ergonomics, it really feels like Ayaneo has nailed that too with the Air Pro. You’ve obviously got your analogue sticks, D-Pad, four face buttons, two shoulder buttons and two triggers which all feel really within reach and not cramped at all. You’ve also got four customiseable face buttons that are mapped to things such as getting to Aya Space (the handheld’s custom game launcher) as well as start and select. Just like with the Next, there’s a fingerprint sensor in the power button which is used to get into Windows.

Something that’s really clever though is the fact that Ayaneo has added two very slim buttons that run along the top between the shoulder buttons that you can customise to things such as showing all your windows or getting to task manager.

In terms of connectivity, there’s a MicroSD port which is great for expanding beyond the 512GB SSD that is inside the Air Pro. You’ve got two USB-C ports (one top and bottom for each charging) and a 3.5mm headphone jack, although there’s Bluetooth built in to connect headphones wirelessly.

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As I established in my Ayaneo Next review, whilst these devices might appear similar to the likes of the Nintendo Switch on the surface, they’re much more akin to portable PCs in the sense that there’s more traditional PC components inside as well as fans and such to facilitate a more hardcore gaming experience.

In the case of the Air Pro, the device is running Windows 11 out of the box, and obviously, Windows wasn’t really designed for this type of portable experience, and as much as you’re able to use the touchscreen (which is very responsive), or connect a mouse/keyboard, you’ll want to be using Aya Aya Space or a custom launcher that has controller support to get around.

The Ayaneo Air Pro running Windows is still it’s biggest positive however, because unlike the Steam Deck which is primarily tied to Steam, the Air Pro  can not only run games from Steam, but it can also run games from Xbox Game Pass, Epic Games Store, EA, Ubisoft Connect, Rockstar Launcher, Battlenet or literally any other client that exists on Windows. That might sound small, but once you wrap your head around the fact that this device can seamlessly run literally any game that you could play on a PC without any limitations (or any that I could discover), it’s a pretty big deal, and completely changes your way of thinking in regards to portable gaming.

Aya Space acts a clever way to load all of your games into so that you can launch them right from the app and not having to rely on the Windows OS at all. You can also setup shortcuts, change inputs, look at how your CPU/GPU are running as well as install launchers right from the app. There’s also a really neat overlay that you can easily pull up over your game to quickly change power modes, change the brightness or launch into other apps. It’s still in beta, so it does have its fair share of bugs, but I was also able to load in other launchers such as Playnite which even allow you to create the Switch or PS5 theme with some lovely results. Just like everything else, the device running Windows 11 means that your options are literally endless.

As far as performance goes, the Ayaneo Air Pro has 5560U AMD Ryzen 5 graphics with 16gGB of ram. When it comes to indie games such as Cuphead, Hades or Dead Cells, you can expect to get 60FPS at 1080 whilst on the lower power modes, and even when compared to the Switch, it feels much more capable of an indie gaming device, but obviously you’re probably spending $1,200 to play AAA games on the go and thankfully, the Air Pro mostly delivers in this area too.

When you try to play AAA games such as Forza Horizon 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, God Of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man or the like, which are all games that I played on the Air Pro, you’ll want to be dropping your resolution to 720p and graphics to low, which will result in a performance of about 30-40 FPS, which is a little less than the numbers that I saw with the Next, but still really damn impressive given the size of this device and what we’re working with. AMD FSR 2 (AMD’s DLSS) is really helping do some of the heavy lifting here and will only improve performance with AI processing.

I will say that I’ve been using the Air Pro to play a lot of Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer, and it runs really smoothly and plays incredibly well on this smaller device. There we still moments where I was just in disbelief that I was able to play a game like that on a handheld that is as small as the Switch Lite. I’ll come back to it again, but unlike the Switch and even the Steam Deck, the greatest benefit of having an Ayaneo is the fact that you really don’t have to ever think about whether a game is on a certain store or compatible launcher. If it’s on PC, it’ll likely run to varying degrees and the freedom of that really can’t be overstated.

This is where battery life comes into it and is obviously one of the shortcomings for a device like this, where performance is more than acceptable but obviously running PC quality games will take its toll. Whilst you can expect to get a few hours of battery life for indie games at a lower TDP, once you crank that up to get AAA games running at an acceptable level, your battery life will deplete quickly where you can expect it to last about an hour and a half at most.

This is where the appeal does start to dwindle a little bit, as impressive as it is that these AAA games are able to run on a device like this, it does take the shine away a little bit knowing you’re only getting 60-90 minutes of game time without connecting to a power bank or being near a wall outlet. In saying that, if you’re someone who just travels a lot (and are going to be in hotel rooms away from your console) or wants to be able to play COD or FIFA comfortably in bed, this is where something like this might be worth it.

Another area where the Air Pro feels like a match made in heaven is for emulation. Again performance is just a bit below the Next (which is almost double the price), but it’s a really solid emulation machine across a wide variety of consoles.

The reality of all of this though is that the Ayaneo Air Pro is a really solid gaming device. It’s well-designed, games run well and the launcher is getting to a place where it feels quite stable and really improves the portable Windows experience. The future in this space is incredibly bright and this is absolutely another win for Ayaneo.

The Ayaneo Air Pro launches in Australia on December 20th. You can grab it on Amazon for $1,249 HERE.

The post Ayaneo Air Pro Review – OLED Portable PC Greatness appeared first on Press Start.

Without fail, every time I decide I’m ready to upgrade my desktop PC or laptop and go through the list of must-haves before I go shopping, I forget about sound. As a heavy Discord/Zoom user I’m more than often rocking a gaming headset, but it’s the times between those that I forget about. 

Whether it’s chilling out to some indie video games or travelling down a YouTube rabbit hole, there are plenty of reasons why I’d want external speakers hooked up to my computer over spending hours upon hours wearing my headset. Problem is, I like to keep a tidy and compact working space and most decent PC speaker offerings command a bit of space and a fair amount of cabling to be effective.d

When I first started shopping around for an audio solution for my desk, the Razer Leviathan V2 was definitely the leading choice. The “soundbar” form factor would fit in much better with my desk arrangement for starters, plus it could be connected via Bluetooth to make for less cable clutter. The only downside was that it came with a separate subwoofer that I just don’t have room for.

Enter: The Razer Leviathan V2 X. A more affordable version of the Leviathan V2 that removes the external sub and is more compact overall. Now we’re talking! Of course, you don’t get a smaller, cheaper version of something without making some sacrifices along the way and the Leviathan V2 X definitely doesn’t have the same audio chops as its big brother but after a couple of weeks of use I have to admit I’m impressed by what this little thing is capable of – and it looks great to boot.

Unboxing the Leviathan V2 X is a typically-Razer experience with the compact outer packaging revealing the bare essentials inside – a small instruction booklet, a USB-C cable and the soundbar itself. Frustratingly, discovering that the cable inside was USB-C on both ends meant I had to run down to my local JB Hi-Fi and pick up an adapter for my PC’s USB-A ports. 

If you’ve got an extra C-to-A cable lying around you could feasibly use that too, but the one Razer supplies has a handy 90-degree bend to fit flush into the back of the soundbar so I wanted to stick with that. An adapter or alternate cable packed-in would have been super handy, but this is the budget version of the Leviathan V2 after all, so a pared-back experience is somewhat expected.

Thankfully that single USB-C cable acts as both a data connection and power delivery to the Leviathan V2 X, which makes it a breeze to situate on a desk without cable mess. It’s got Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities too, meaning you can slam that USB-C cable into a nearby wall adapter and use it as a speaker for your mobile devices, if that’s your schtick. If you’re not going for a super-immersive, cinematic audio experience at your computer desk, then simple is good and simple is exactly what this soundbar delivers.

Outside of the Razer logo on the front and buttons on top for input switching, volume and power, the Leviathan V2 X is a svelte little number. It’s a Razer product so naturally it’s got Chroma RGB lighting, which you can control through the Razer Synapse PC suite or the Razer Audio App.

The Razer Audio App on mobile devices is quite handy, allowing you to customise the RGB lighting, including switching on a toggle that makes it somewhat reactive to the audio coming through, and also includes a graphic equaliser with a few useful presets. The Synapse software on PC is a bit more comprehensive, giving you these same features plus handy extra toggles like the ability to turn off the lighting when your PC’s display is turned off or to set a secondary audio output device to one of the soundbar’s physical buttons to make switching to something like a headset easy and painless. Both of those features have absolutely come in handy while I’ve been using the V2 X so they’re a nice, surprising boon to owning the device.

Of course the real question is how the Leviathan V2 X performs as a soundbar, especially given the small form factor, low power draw and affordable price point. Inside the Razer Leviathan V2 X are two full-range drivers and two passive radiators that Razer reckons can reach up to 90dB when at a 1m range, which is probably more than anyone would want in front of them at a desk. 

It lacks the sub and THX Spatial Audio capabilities of its bigger brother, but I was genuinely pleased with the sound it pumps out in spite of all of the above. It’s not a particularly rich or powerful audio experience but it sounds great in most games I played with plenty of clarity and decent performance at higher volumes. I maybe wouldn’t go using it as a main driver for listening to music but as a dedicated PC gaming speaker it’s perfectly decent.

All told, for less than $200 the Razer Leviathan V2 X represents decent value, especially if what you’re looking for is a half-decent audio experience without adding too much extra clutter and cables to your desk. You can definitely go bigger and better with something like the Leviathan V2 but this one’s small, simple and packs in some great features while punching above its weight class in sound. For someone like me, that’s about the best I can ask for.

Get yours here.

The post Razer Leviathan V2 X Review – Big Gaming Sound That’s Small In Size And Price appeared first on Press Start.

It’s been a good few years since I’ve tried to use an iPad for productivity/work purposes, with my iPad Mini (2021) being largely used for media viewing, light browsing and travel, but I was really impressed to see just how far the Apple iPad Pro has come with this year’s iteration.

The last time I tried to properly use an iPad Pro would have been 2-3 years ago, and whilst it was an extremely impressive device, I remember having to defer to my MacBook for certain things, whether it be Photoshop or having to upload anything, but now, due to advances with iPad tech and also iPadOS 16 as well as apps like Photoshop being available on the iPad Pro, I was able to pretty much work solely off my iPad Pro without it feeling weird or like I had to come up with workarounds to make it happen.

Whilst I didn’t spend a lot of time with the last model, I know that not a lot has changed when it comes to form-factor. The iPad Pro (2022) still has a gorgeous 12.9″ Liquid Retina XDR display (on the model I’m using) that is powered by over 10,000 Mini-LEDs and is capable of 120Hz refresh rates and 1,000 nits of brightness (1,600 peak). It goes without saying that this is still one of the best screens that you’ll find on any device. Any content or photos looks absolutely gorgeous and it’s just a genuine joy to use. The same goes for four speakers on the device, where even if you’re not using AirPods or other headphones, you’re still going to have a fantastic listening experience.

Not much has changed with the cameras either, with the 2022 model having a 12MP front facing TrueDepth camera that can be used for Centre Stage with FaceTime, and is also used for FaceID unlocking. On the back, there’s a 12MP wide camera and a 10MP ultra wide camera on the back. Something that is new to the 2022 model is ProRes video capture, and the power provided by the M2 chip is enough to edit it as well.

Speaking of that M2 chip, it’s crazy to think that the chip that is in this device is technically more powerful than what it is in my 14″ MacBook Pro. I’m not the biggest user of labour-intensive programs of DaVinci Resolve or Ocane X, but everything from exporting photos or videos to zipping around apps was just incredibly smooth. Obviously, if you’re not using this device for labour-intensive tasks, then it might be a little bit overkill, but it’s hard not to be impressed by what else is there.

THE MAGIC KEYBOARD + APPLE PENCIL (2ND GEN)

The iPad Pro (2022) is still compatible with the same 2nd Gen Apple Pencil, but it’s an even better experience now. Thanks to that M2 Chip, the iPad Pro can now detect when the Apple Pencil (2nd gen) is 12mm (or less) away from the screen. This allows you to see exactly where your stroke or cursor will tap on before you make the connection with the screen.

For instance, in drawing apps, you’ll be able to see exactly where you’ll make your mark. When just zipping around the regular Apple UI, your app icons will wiggle as you move around the screen. It’s not something most people will need to run out to upgrade for, but it does make that Apple Pencil experience even better.

This was also my first experience with the Magic Keyboard, and despite it’s hefty price tag, it really does take the iPad Pro from being just a powerful table to a 2-in-1 computing experience. The way that it seamlessly connects to your iPad Pro magnetically and pops the screen up to a viewable level, just makes it a joy to use the iPad more productively. The fact that it’s charged by the iPad Pro is obviously still genius as well.

The keyboard is great to type on, and the trackpad, whilst on the smaller side, is a great experience and reflected really well on-screen with a little cursor. I always dreamed of having a MacBook with a touch screen, but I feel like this mostly delivers on this dream, and truly does provide the best of both worlds. The only thing worth mentioning is that obviously, unlike a laptop, because all the internals are in the iPad, it does make the experience top-heavy, meaning it’s a lot harder to use in bed or on your lap.

All-in-all, though, the Magic Keyboard is a really fantastic accessory and of such a high-quality. Apple really thought of everything, even allowing you to charge your iPad (and keyboard) through a secondary USB-C port that is in the actual keyboard itself.

IPADOS 16

The iPad has always been a phenomenal experience since the first iteration, but it’s no secret that it’s really been held back on the software side, but that’s finally been turning in the last few years, and iPadOS 16 really pushes this forward even further.

There’s a lot of the same improvements that are featured in both iOS16 and MacOS Ventura, such as an improved photo experience, improvements to iMessage such as un-sending and editing messages and also improvements to Mail such as undoing a send and scheduling emails, but the real hero is Stage Manager.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Stage Manager in MacOS Ventura as I feel that the Mac multitasking experience is fine, but on iPad, with a screen this big, I actually feel like it does enhance the experience. basically, Stage Manager allows you to have multiple workspaces on the go at once, which are reflected on the left side of the screen, from there, you can have multiple apps in each stage and easily re-size them and even overlap them, which to my knowledge is the first time you’ve been able to do this on iPad.

You can even connect your iPad Pro to an external display to allow even more stages that can display independently on your external monitor, which adds even more to the productivity piece, and that M2 chip really allows you to do all of this without a huge fuss. I wouldn’t say that Stage Manager is a perfect experience, and I think we’ll see changes and improvements over the coming years, but I do think like the multi-tasking, computing experience is really getting better on iPad.

GAMING ON IPAD PRO

Obviously, thanks to that gorgeous display and great speakers that I touched on earlier, gaming on the iPad Pro is a fantastic experience, especially when paired with a controller (which can be any of the PlayStation/Xbox/Nintendo variety).

Playing games using the touch screen can be a little bit awkward given the size of the screen, but it’s not a heavy device and obviously you’ll feel extremely immersed given how large and vibrant the screen is.

Surprisingly, Stage Manager also works with most games, so you can quickly flick to another app to answer an email or a message, then flip straight back without any issue.

As I’ve touched on so many times before Apple Arcade is well worth the price of omission with a wealth of fantastic indie games or more well-known franchises such as the NBA 2K franchise or the several household names such as Sonic or Pac-Man in Apple Arcade exclusive adventures.

All-in-all, picking an iPad has never been a harder decision, because they all really feel like they’ve been moved into this next generation of iPad, in which all of these devices are great for productivity and leisure. What I can say for sure though is that if you’re somebody who is doing a lot of 3D modelling, or working with ProRes video, then the iPad Pro (2022) is going to be more than capable.

The post Apple iPad Pro (2022) Review – Fast & Functional appeared first on Press Start.

I was a huge PC gamer back in my early teen years, but as life got busy, I pivoted to consoles, turning a bit of a blind eye to the PC space, but the start of 2020 and working from home brought me back to the PC side with the RTX 2080 Super. I was impressed at the time given we were at the end of a console generation with the PS4 and Xbox One, but honestly, to think about how far we’ve come since then in the PC tech in just a few shorts years with the newly launched RTX 4080 blows my mind, especially when comparing to what current-gen consoles offer.

This isn’t going to be the most technical RTX 4080 review that you read, but it is going to be an honest comparison by an average gamer who spends quite a bit of time in the PC space, but still spends most nights primarily gaming on the PS5 and Xbox Series. One thing is for certain now is that’s more likely to change than ever before with the RTX 4080 as the sheer power on offer here and just ease of use that comes with plugging this big boy in, is something I’ve never experienced in the PC space. The results were instantly impressive and continued to blow me away as I kept loading up each game, particularly with the advancements made by DLSS 3.

THE DESIGN

The RTX 4080 Founders Edition follows in the footsteps of the RTX 3000 series and is quite frankly still one of the sexiest pieces of tech I’ve ever come acros. Everything from the unboxing experience, to seeing the premium feeling metal materials on the actual card itself is just a really high-end experience that you don’t get elsewhere.

The RTX 4080 FE still has its two blower fan type design, although the fans are much, much bigger, which results in some extremely impressive thermals, but also a much, much bigger physical foot print. In comparison to the RTX 3080 FE, the 4080 FE is 20mm longer, 25mm wider and a whopping 23mm thicker, which doesn’t sound like lot but results in a thickness that is 50% more than the RTX 3080. This is absolutely a 3-slot GPU that is going to require a larger case to slot it into, which isn’t a bad thing, but just something to be aware of as it’s definitely noticeably larger than the 3080 FE, and your current setup will need to be taken into consideration. This is likely to be a little bit more of a non-issue with aftermarket cards.

Thankfully, Mwave were able to come to my rescue by providing a case that the RTX 4080 FE could slot into with the Cooler Master Cosmos C700 which had the below specs:

• Intel Core i9-12900K
• 32GB DDR5 RAM
• Gigabyte Z690 AERO D
• CM Cosmos C700M EATX
• CM V Platinum Series 1300W
• Seagate FireCuda 530 1TB

Just like last year’s 3000 FE cards, NVIDIA has stuck with the tidy singular power cable that converts to 3x PCIe 8-pin cables to plug into your power supply. It now points upwards, which is a little better, but just like last year, does definitely take away from the really simplistic design of the card. I understand it’s not possible, but obviously I’d love the cords to be coming out the right side of the case to not take away from the design.

As far as ports go, it’s a very similar offering to last year’s models with three DP ports as well as one HDMI 2.1 port, so there’s really not shortage no matter how many devices you’re looking to plug into it.

DLSS 3 PERFORMANCE

If you’ve listened to my talking about tech on our podcast or read any other hardware reviews I’ve written, I couldn’t be a bigger fan of DLSS and what it has done for PC gaming. I want it everywhere as it just takes the stress out of worrying about frame rates and getting a smooth performance and that’s never been truer than what’s on offer with DLSS 3.

I’m not even going to try and pretend that I understand the full extent of the magic involved with DLSS 3, but basically, the 3 stands for three things: The brand new Frame Generation technology, Super Resolution (DLSS 2) as well as NVIDIA reflex. DLSS 3 is only available on the 4000 series cards thanks to the new ADA Lovelace architecture and the performance increase is instantly noticeable.

I don’t think it’d be unfair to say that the 3080 was a great entry point to 4K gaming, but it still felt like it wasn’t the fully realised experience in the sense that you couldn’t comfortably reach 4K 60FPS with absolutely every AAA game without having to compromise in certain areas, but with the 4080 and DLSS 3, not only is this a reality, but it goes far beyond that.

The greatest compliment that I can give the RTX 4080 is that it makes playing games on PC effortless. There wasn’t a single time during any of my testing where I felt like a game was stuttering, or that I needed to lower my settings, or turn off ray-tracing. It just worked, each and every time and felt like the ultimate 4K gaming experience.

Cyberpunk 2077 is still one of the great examples of stunning graphics within an open world and DLSS 3 allows you to stroll through the world in the way it was intended in full 4K with Psycho Ray-Tracing on. With DLSS 3, it runs at an extremely acceptable 92 FPS (with DLSS 3 set to balanced). Without DLSS 3, you’d be looking 29 FPS which means that DLSS 3 is providing more than 3x the performance, and that’s only going to improve with further improvements. With Cyberpunk 2077 running on the same settings on a 3080 using DLSS 2, we were able to achieve roughly 45 FPS, so it’s double the performance on a 4080 with DLSS 3.

A Plague Tale: Requiem is another great example. The game looks phenomenal and was able to run at 120FPS in 4K utilising DLSS 3 in our testing, which was over 2x the performance that we saw without DLSS 3, which ran at 58 FPS. The performance is buttery smooth and almost unbelievable. Coming from the PS5 version, the different is honestly night and day.

Microsoft Flight Simulator was yet another fantastic example, which has been plagued with performance issues even with the 3090, but I was now able to soar through the sky at 143 FPS at 4K with DLSS 3, which was again almost 2.5x the performance that I saw with DLSS 3 turned off at 60 FPS.

Another game worth calling out is F1 2022 which saw more than a 2x increase at 153 FPS with DLSS 3 turned on which dropped to a still acceptable 70 FPS without it. Taking every corner felt very smooth without a single bit of slowdown.

Other games tested such as Bright Memory Infinite, Destroy All Humans 2, F.I.S.T and Loopmancer all saw similar improvements of 2-3x with DLSS 3 turned on and all comfortable saw frame rates of beyond 144FPS in 4K. NVIDIA has said that there are over 35 DLSS 3 games in development and I can only hope that’s just the beginning.

Even with these insane results, the RTX 4080 FE was always running smoothly quiet and barely broke out of the mid 50s temperature wise, only cracking 60 degrees twice in well over 50 tests ran. Comparing power usage to that of the 3080, its significant less too, which is impressive given the results.

DLSS 2 PERFORMANCE & AV1 ENCODING

Even games that haven’t yet been optimised for DLSS 3 still ran incredibly well with almost all of the game that I tested still almost achieving 144 FPS.

Modern Warfare 2 was one worth calling out with the campaign achieving 157 FPS with DLSS turned on and 108 FPS without. This is almost double that of the 3080 performance which sits at around 80 FPS.

This was similar for PlayStation’s first-party offering on PC with Death Stranding, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn all sitting around the 144 FPS mark or beyond in some cases.

Games such as Gears 5 and Gears Tactics both reached 134 FPS and 114 FPS respectively, which is roughly a 1.5-1.8x increase on what we saw with 3080 performance, but I suspect that once more games get the DLSS 3 treatment, the performance boosts will be less what we’re seeing here.

As far as the 4080 goes for creative individuals, I’ve got no doubt that if you’re rendering 3D models or 4K video, you’re going to have a fantastic time with this GPU. There’s also now dual AV1 video encoders on board which means that you can stream at higher resolutions with the likes of Discord.

IS THE 4080 WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION?

There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the RTX 4080 is going to provide the 4K experience that we’ve been waiting for over the last few years, but you’re definitely going to be paying a premium for it. Given the RTX 4080 FE is going to be $2,200 AUD (but won’t be available here), it’s only reasonable to expect that third-party cards will start at $2,400 AUD and beyond. This is double what you can currently get a 3080 for, so the question remains is the 4080 worth the price of admission?

That’s a tricky question to answer. The easy answer is that you won’t be disappointed for even a single moment with the RTX 4080, but If you’ve already got a 3080, this will be dependant on how you feel your performance has been this far. If you’ve got a 4K/144hz monitor, you’ll absolutely be taking advantage of those extra frames with an RTX 4080, but if you’ve only got a 4K/60Hz monitor, then you might be content with what you have, and the extra frames (and money) might be lost on you.

If you’re in the market for a new GPU and you’re tossing up between the two, that’s going to be a much harder decision. 3080 prices have gone down quite a lot, and aren’t fetching anywhere near the insane prices that we saw during the middle of covid, but then again, with the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 getting an RTX Overdrive mode, and there clearly being more boundaries that can be pushed, if you’re all-in on PC gaming, you might be better off future proofing with an RTX 4080 or waiting for the inevitable 4070/4070 Ti.

The post NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition Review – 4K Gaming Without Compromise appeared first on Press Start.

This year has been an interesting one for headsets, with the likes of SteelSeries, Sony and Razer all dropping new flagship models. This time, Turtle Beach has dropped its new flagship headset, the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max.

Whilst the headset has opted to stick with the more traditional gaming headset style and features, not opting to incorporate new features such as active noise cancellation, it’s a really solid gaming headset that has great versatility.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $299 WITH FREE SHIPPING FROM AMAZON

Without doubt the best thing about the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max is that the Xbox version is compatible with both the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC/Mac as well as smart phones and other devices through bluetooth connectivity. This huge range of compatibility is so rare in this day and age, so it’s great to see Turtle Beach accomplishing that.

This is done through a USB dongle that can flick between Xbox mode and a standard USB transmitting mode (for everything else). It’s an extremely pain free setup and connection for any of the consoles listed above. Obviously, Xbox is where you’re going to get the most feature-complete experience with the likes of game/chat balance (something still limited to PlayStation official headsets on the PlayStation side) as well surround sound on Xbox.

To be totally honest, from a design point of view, I wouldn’t say the Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max has quite evolved into an everyday headsets as much as some of the other high-end alternatives on the market, but I also don’t think this was the intention with Turtle Beach clearly targeting the hardcore gamers, and that’s probably a smart move. The navy with gold detailing isn’t particularly a combo I’d have put together, but it’s a bold move and I kind of appreciate that.

The frame and ear-cups feel incredibly premium and although I was sceptical of the “glasses friendly” marketing, I was surprised how weightless the headset felt on my head thanks to the fact that the company has cleverly put softer foam in the section of ear cups that sit where your glasses do on your head. The actual headband itself is a little bit stiffer than what I’m used to, but it didn’t feel anywhere near as uncomfortable as I might have thought on first glance.

One of the things I loved most about this particular headset is how much customisation you have over controls. On the left hand size, you can turn the headset on/off, control the volume, you have a secondary volume slider that isn’t wasted solely on game/chat (if you’re off Xbox), but can also be used to control Bluetooth audio, mic monitoring or even Superhuman hearing. My only complaint was that absolutely every button and volume dial is smacked up against each other super closely on one side of the headset, which does make the ease of use a little bit worse when you have to double check which you’re using.

You can make a tonne of these adjustments using the companion smartphone app, which I absolutely adored, and wish that every high-end headset had. Not only can you easily check the likes of battery percentage, you can make many of the previously mentioned customisations and even more adjustments such as mic monitoring levels and the adjustment of EQ and Super Human volume.

Speaking of Super Human, it’s been a trait of Turtle Beach headsets for years, and I’d forgotten how good it is for the likes of Call Of Duty, where hearing the most faintest of noises is the difference between getting the kill or be killed.

Sound in general in the headset was crisp with clear bass. I went back and forth between God of War Ragnarok and listening to music on the headset, and felt really satisfied with the sound coming through them. Even though there’s no active noise cancelling, the cups do a great job of blocking out any outside noise.

Bluetooth in a headset is a necessity for me these days and whilst there’s been some hit and miss integrations this year, the Stealth 700 Gen 2 allows you to hear both your game and Bluetooth device at the same time which is great for listening to a quick voice memo or making a call whilst gaming. The flip microphone also means that you can hide it away neatly or whip it out on the fly.

Battery life was marketed at 40+ hours and I’d say that the headset meets this target. Like most these days, there’s USB-C so the option for fast-charging is there as well, which is most welcomed.

If you’re a fan of Turtle Beach and looking for an upgrade, you won’t be disappointed with the Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max which pushes things forward nicely, but still feeling firmly in the Turtle Beach family.

The post Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX Headset Review – Maximum Compatibility appeared first on Press Start.

The Apple TV has been around since before smart TVs were in every household, and whilst a lot of functionality within this magical little box now exists in most TVs, there’s something really special about everything it has to offer in its new form.

It’s very rare that Apple products come down in price (especially in this economy), but that’s exactly what’s happened with the Apple TV 4K (2022) model. The 64GB (Wi-Fi) is now double the storage of last year’s model at $219 (down from $249 for 32GB last year) whilst the brand new 128GB model (Wi-Fi + Ethernet) will set you back $249 ($279 for 64GB last year).

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $219 (WI-FI 64GB) / $249 (WIFI & ETHERNET/128GB)

I can’t think of a time where the value of Apple TV has ever been better at launch, especially if you’re all-in on the Apple ecosystem. I feel relatively confident that this will be the box that Apple stick with for at least a few years, as it feels feature complete and in-line with the rest of the current product lineup.

Not only has the price of the new Apple TV dropped, it also now comes in a brand new 20% smaller, fanless design which results in 30% less power usage. It also incorporates the new A15 Bionic chip which is what powers the brand new iPhone 14 and last years iPhone 13 line, which is great for gaming (we’ll talk about that more later).

Last year’s Apple TV model brought with it a brand new Siri Remote which was miles better than the one from a few iterations ago. It not only feels a lot more solid in the hand, but it now allows you to use either tactile buttons or glide your thumb across the touchpad in order to browse content. It also features a Siri button on the side for easy access. This year, it now also features USB-C charging instead of lighting, which is great news as we’re that little bit closer to the entire line of Apple products being USB-C.

This was my first time setting up a new Apple TV out of the box in at least 2-3 years, and I was more than pleasantly surprised just how easy it was to get going. I simply had to bring my iPhone close to the Apple TV and there wasn’t much else before my iCloud account was connected and everything was ready to go. I do wish that it had pulled across signed in experiences for streaming apps (outside of Apple TV+), but I assume there’d be some privacy issue for why this isn’t the case, and thankfully most easily allow you to enter a code from your phone app for easy integration.

I was quickly able to use the colour balance feature which basically uses the light sensor in your iPhone to adjust the colour of your image to provide a more accurate picture. I was really pleasantly surprised with the before and after results as someone who loves a great image, but isn’t too clued into accurate colours and how to achieve them, so taking the guess work out of it in this magical Apple way is perfect.

What is abundantly clear immediately after launching into the new Apple TV 4K (2022) home screen with tvOS 16.1 is just how much the entire Apple experience is unified across the entire ecosystem. Whether it be wanting to view your photos, do a work-out, listen to music, the experience is largely the same across iPad, iPhone, Mac and now the Apple TV, with nothing feeling as though it’s missing or wildly different to how it works on those other platforms.

This is also evident with the implementation of Siri in tvOS 16.1 which is not only more helpful than ever, but also shows information such as the weather or takes you directly to certain shows in a much more easy to digest pop-up, and also feels more in-line with the improved Siri experienced we’ve come to know on other Apple devices.

I’m a big, big smart home person. Every single light in our house is smart controlled, as are other everyday items such as our air conditioner and driveway gate, and we’ve also got a number of smart home enabled cameras, which I was pleasantly surprised to see are easily accessible on the Apple TV, with picture-in-picture mode or notifications able to be accessed as well. Being able to quickly use the Siri button on the remote, rather than open my phone was also super handy. The brand new Matter smart home standard is also supported in the new Apple TV 4K (2022), although I haven’t converted my system over yet, but adding another Home hub to the mix, is never a bad thing.

Whilst last year’s Apple TV 4K had Dolby Vision support, as a Samsung QLED owner, that didn’t do much for me, but they’ve now added HDR10+ with the new model, which is super helpful for those of us whose TV manufacturers aren’t utilising Dolby Vision standards.

I spoke about how I feel that Apple Arcade gets glossed over when it comes to discussing games in my recent iPhone 14 Plus review, but it’d be really hard for anyone to gloss over Apple’s efforts into the gaming space on the Apple TV 4K (2022) model.

Firstly, you can now sync up to four PS4/PS5 controllers, Xbox Series X controllers, your Nintendo Switch Pro/Joy-Con controllers as well as classic Nintendo 64/SNES/NES Nintendo Switch controllers. Not only can you sync any of these controllers, but you can use any combination of them together, to play the great array of games on offer both on Apple Arcade and the App Store.

Now, even with the A15 Bionic chip, which does provide really solid performance, you’re still not getting a full AAA console experience, but if you’re somebody who wants to experience a wealth of fantastic indie games or more well-known franchises such as the NBA 2K franchise or the several household names such as Sonic or Pac-Man in Apple Arcade exclusive adventures, there’s more than enough here, and everything on offer runs really, really well.

The beauty of Apple Arcade is that there are no in-app purchases, so you can trust your kids in front of the TV, without them hitting any paywalls or making accidental purchases. There’s a load of great games on there, and even if you’re a seasoned console or PC gamer, I can guarantee there’s still more than a handful of titles that you’ll get a kick out of, with more being added weekly.

Something that Apple is doing better than any of the big three as well is cloud saves. Being able to literally put down a controller (or the remote) with my Apple TV and jump back into a game on my iPhone or iPad and have the progress there is even better than what I’ve found on Xbox.

I think it’s a fair criticism to say that the Apple TV wasn’t being realised to its full potential for a few of the earlier iterations, but it feels like it’s firing on all cylinders now and fits perfectly into Apple’s suite of products. If you’re in the ecosystem and want a much better way to explore the digital age of TV, it’s really hard to go past the Apple TV, especially at this new, lower price point.

The post Apple TV 4K (2022) Review – Better Value And Performance appeared first on Press Start.

Apple has this year done away with the iPhone Mini, instead returning to a large max size in its standard iPhone 14 line, dubbed the iPhone 14 Plus. Whilst it’s missing some of the newer, more innovative features of the iPhone 14 Pro line such as the Dynamic Island and Always-On display, the iPhone 14 Plus is an extremely capable device and one of the most polished iPhone releases to date.

Coming from an iPhone 13 Pro Max, I actually really like the glossy back design of the iPhone 14 Plus. I’ve been using the purple model, and I really love how understated it is, and also the fact that it carries the colour around to the sides of the device for a really well-thought out finish. The front glass now features a tough ceramic shield with the actual case made of aluminium which feels premium.

The display on the iPhone 14 Plus is absolutely stunning. It’s a 6.7″ Super Retina XDR OLED display with a peak brightness of 800 nits (1200 when viewing HDR content). It’s not quite as bright as the new 14 Pro, but if you’re just an everyday iPhone user, you’ll be more than thrilled with this display. The notch that that was featured on the iPhone 13 is still there on the 14 Plus with the new dynamic island and always-on display being reserved for the Pro line.

The massive display really brings iOS 16 to life with the plethora of new wallpaper options and widget functionality finally coming to iPhone really shining on that gorgeous new display.

When it comes to battery life, Apple says that this is the best battery life for an iPhone to date, and that was my experience too. Apple says that you can expect up to 26 hours of video playback with the iPhone 14 Plus, and I definitely noticed getting a full day (and a few more extra hours) to that of the iPhone 13 Plus. I can say without doubt that when it comes to battery life, you won’t be disappointed.

The other area where there’s still a big difference between the standard 14 line and the 14 Pro range are the cameras. There’s still two lenses in a diagonal formation, meaning that you get one rear 12MP main camera as well as an 12MP ultra-wide lens, but there’s some big improvement from last year’s model.

Whilst it’s not quite the 48MP lens of the 14 Pro, a new main camera sensor will let in 49 percent more light according to Apple resulting in up to 2.5x better low-light photos on the main camera and up to 2x better low-light photos on the ultra wide camera. There’s also a brighter True Tone flash lets in more consistent lighting.

Just like other iPhones in recent times, it’s really hard to take a bad photo with the iPhone 14 Plus due to just how well Apple brings hardware and software together to allow you to take gorgeous photos with ease. Whilst I’d maybe like to see a few more of advancements brought over from the Pro line, it’s still hard to fault the cameras in this iPhone.

Apple has gone big on safety innovations this year, and they’ve been rolled out to the iPhone 14 Plus as well. Features such Crash Detection which can tell when you’ve been in a car crash and automatically call emergency services as Emergency SOS (launching only in US at the moment) which lets you text with emergency services through satellite connection are just a few ways that Apple is looking to help you if you’re stranded in an unfortunate event.

The iPhone 14 Plus features the same A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 last year, and whilst that feels like a bit of an odd decision considering this is somewhere we normally see parity across the entire line, it’s still an extremely capable chip, especially for gaming.

I know that Xbox Game Pass gets a great wrap, but Apple Acrade is just as good (from a mobile point of view), with a growing number of premium games both from recognisable franchises as well as new ones. Exclusive titles such as Shovel Knight Dig, NBa 2K23 Arcade Edition, Jetpack Joyride 2, Sonic Dash, Amazing Bomberman, Cooking Mama: Cuisine and Crossy Road Castle to name a few, but there’s honestly dozens if not hundreds of games that are worth playing that rival what’s on the Switch from a third-party/indie perspective.

There’s also a number of other free-to-play titles such as Genshin Impact, Apex Legends and Call Of Duty: Mobile which play fantastic on the iPhone 14 Plus thanks to the big display. Whether, you’re an hardcore gamer that just wants a quick fix on the go, or whether you’re playing exclusive on mobile devices, you’re really sorted across both Apple Arcade and the general App store.

All-in-all, the iPhone 14 Plus doesn’t hugely reinvent the wheel from what we saw last year, but  improvements to battery life and cameras as well as some other iterative improvements really make for a great phone that will suit all iPhone users, both casual users and the high-end.

The post iPhone 14 Plus Review – Big And Beautiful appeared first on Press Start.

As gaming headsets get flashier, and exponentially more expensive, it’s easy to forget that there’s also some serious competition in the budget and entry-level space. Chances are that if you’ve got less than $100 to spend on your first serious gaming headset or as a gift for a loved one, the sheer number of options on the market can be just as headache-inducing as deciding exactly how much RGB is enough to justify dropping a week’s pay. Allow me to make the choice that little bit easier, then, because the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 is the best headset I’ve used in its class.

The original Cloud Stinger was something of a hit for its incredibly affordable asking price and more-than-decent sound, essentially bringing one of gaming tech’s most revered headset brands to even more ears in the process. The Cloud Stinger 2 takes that success and runs with it, updating everything from the build to the speaker performance to wring every last bit of audio joy out of the deal. Much like its predecessor, initial unboxed impressions are that of a cheap headset. The all-plastic construction and barebones design might be initially off-putting but let me tell you a thing – this is a comfortable bloody headset.

While plenty of budget-friendly gaming headsets try to stretch themselves thin and sacrifice comfort for flashier aesthetics or premium features, the Cloud Stinger 2 keeps things simple. The band? Just some chunky plastic with a little flex to it. The cups? Classic design with simple rotation. The pads? Chuck some memory foam and pleather on those bad boys and call it a day. It’s the headset equivalent of an IKEA couch – cheap and indistinguishable but just lovely to slip into for a few hours of gaming. The smooth-sliding steel band of the old Cloud Stinger has been ditched in favour of more plastic, but the notched size adjustment complete with etched measurements to get both sides just right is a great trade-off in my eyes.

On the headset itself you’ll find scant few flourishes.  There’s the 2m non-detachable 3.5mm audio cable, a boom mic on a swivel (with an automatic mute), a single volume dial and… well, that’s it. HyperX has opted to keep things as simple as humanly possible and for good reason – nearly every cent of the meagre amount you’ve paid to put the the Cloud Stinger 2 on your head has gone to its audio performance above all else.

In The Box: Along with the headset, HyperX provides a 15cm analogue splitter cable for those who can’t use the single, TRRS connection, an optional windsock for the headset’s boom mic and a code to activate 2 years worth of DTS Headphone:X spatial audio for use on a PC (though you can obviously use any other compatible virtual surround solution).

There’s no denying that this isn’t a premium, $600+ headset pumping Dolby Atmos audio through highly-tuned audio where you’ll hear the sweat squelching between your enemies’ inner thighs as they approach, but for the gap in price they’re damned well close enough. HyperX has been giving consumers an auditory experience far better than what they paid for since the first Cloud headset and they haven’t given up on this notion even at the low end of the scale. It’s definitely less dynamic and experiential as what I’m used to but for the no-frills use and comfort I’ve genuinely chucked them on from time to time even with a better alternative sitting on the same desk.

As far as the microphone and chat experience goes, it’s… good enough? In this category it’s hard to ask for too much, so your online friends will just have to accept that you’ll sound a touch muffled and with just a little persistent white noise, but again you could do far, far worse for similar money. This truly is a headset marketed at parents with younger kids or teens and gamers on a budget that just want some throw-around cans for the odd game of COD or FIFA, not pro players or streamers, and the chat experience reflects that.

And that’s it, really. Being a headset with a single, 3.5mm audio connection there really isn’t much else here in the way of customisation or buzzword features but that suits the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 just fine. Barring some modern phones and tablets, you can slam this thing into whatever your heart desires and get a comfortable, decent-sounding experience out of the gate. There’s something simple and comforting about that, especially when the outlay is so small for the privilege.

I’m loath to keep suggesting that the Cloud Stinger 2 is great “for the price” but it’s the simple truth – you could pay the same for a competing headset and get less, or even pay more and still get less in some key areas. If you’re after flashy lighting effects, wireless connectivity, noise-cancelling microphones or built-in cup holders you won’t find any of that here, but if it’s simplicity, comfort and more-than-decent sound that you desire you’ll get all of that without breaking the bank.

The HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 is out now with an RRP of $89. Head here to the official website to find out where to pick one up for yourself!

The post HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 Review – Competitive Sound And Comfort For Less appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve always been a big smart watch user, even before the days of the Apple Watch, previously owning a Pebble watch, which was more about style than function but ushered in a wave of smart watches that quickly went from a niche tech product to something that exists on the wrists of hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Enter the Google Pixel Watch, Google’s new smart watch that changes things up with a circular design (that I actually really love) and pairs perfectly with its new Pixel resurgence that we’ve seen over the last few years.

A lot of what we see with the Pixel Watch is super familiar to those that have used the Apple Watch, and this starts with the pairing process that is extremely easy to get going. Bringing the Pixel Watch to a Pixel device (I used the new 7 Pro) quickly brought up a prompt to pair the devices. This was as simple as getting a prompt to download the Pixel Watch app, selecting the apps that you’d like to go across, turning on Google Assistant and checking for any updates.

Then, depending on whether you chose the LTE version or Wi-Fi, you’ll be prompted to set up your carrier for use away from your phone, and then you’ll connect your Fitbit account (which we’ll talk about later).

You’re then quickly taught a few simple tips about the Watch, starting with how to attach and detach bands, and this also felt familiar, but more seamless than what we’ve seen with the Apple Watch. You simply push the band against the edge of the device, lining it up with a little button that presses in and pull it to the side and it seamlessly lines up with no visible edges.

Right from announce, I absolutely adored the circular design, which mimics the design of a classic watch rather than a screen on the wrist, and after a week or so of using the device I’m still a big fan, but can definitely understand the limitations.

The screen is a 1.2″ AMOLED always-on display, and if you’re displaying more of the basic watch faces the fairly large bezel isn’t at all visible and looks like it’s an edge-to-edge display, that quite frankly, looks gorgeous. It’s when you want to display either a photo or when you’re browsing through the UI that the the circular display becomes a bit distracting. I can deal with it as a first iteration product, but I hope this does get better as the years go on.

There’s a really good amount of watch faces at launch and obviously you can take advantage of third-party watch faces from the Play Store too. Google has clearly sussed the competition and learned what works and rolled that out here, with a number of faces ranging from incredibly simple to those with a huge amount of complications, and there weren’t too many I couldn’t see myself using.

My absolute favourite feature on the Google Pixel Watch was the Tiles feature. Whilst swiping left and right on the Apple Watch display just takes you between watch faces, Google has cleverly made it so swiping left and right from the watch face on the Pixel Watch takes you between tiles that are basically full screen glances on things such as weather, Google Maps (with favourite destinations), your Google Home app, FitBit sleep/fitness measurements, calendar appointments and a timer to name a few. Whilst I’ve been guilty of not using my Watch for a whole lot other than exercise and checking the time in the past, the way that Tiles displays information/glances of apps in a very easy to access way is a game changer for me.

Pulling down from the top of the screen gives you a bunch of quick setting icons such as a flash light, the ability to active your Google Wallet, find your phone, adjust brightness or turn bedtime mode on. Everything is labelled very clearly, and I can’t think of anything else from a settings point of view that I didn’t know how to access.

Otherwise, receiving notifications and getting your way around the watch felt like a really familiar experience, with the scroll wheel on the side serving as a tactile way to scroll through your app list. I will say it has quite a bit more resistance and spring back than the Watch one, which I quite liked. The other button on the side is used to activate Google Assistant (which you can also do using your voice).

Google says that the battery life of the Pixel Watch is roughly 24 hours, and that’s pretty much exactly what I got with my device, even after turning the display to Always On, doing a few work-outs and replying to messages and such with the Watch too, so I was pleasantly surprised on this front. Charging is done utilising a magnetised charger that comes in the box, and whilst I was actually able to get the device to recognise a QI charger and even my Apple Watch charger, it charged to varying degrees.

The benefit of Google owning Fitbit is that whilst this very much feels like a Pixel watch, it instantly has all of the features that we’ve seen other watches take years to get, and does it a lot better than those watches too.

Tracking steps is much better on this watch than other devices, with steps literally increasing in real time with each step that you take, which I found to be much more motivating than with the Apple Watch. Your heart rate is also measured at all times, rather than at certain times of the day, which you might not need, but if you are needing to monitor your heart rate it’s certainly nice to have, and obviously sleep tracking works brilliantly and all synced up nicely to the Fitbit app.

The best compliment that I can give this watch from a health and fitness point of view is that it just works, and presents information really well in a way that’s not only easy to understand, but also wants to make me focus more on my health and fitness in a positive way.

All-in-all, the Google Pixel Watch is a really solid first attempt at a smart watch by Google. Outside of a few instances where the UI was a bit laggy, it was a relatively pain free experience that I think a lot of Pixel users will enjoy and see as a great extension of the Google ecosystem.

The Google Pixel Watch is out today and will set you back $549 for the Wi-Fi version or $649 for the LTE version. 

The post Google Pixel Watch Review – A Solid Foundation appeared first on Press Start.

I was a massive fan of the Google Pixel 6 Pro last year, and after a week with both the Google Pixel 7 Pro and Google Pixel 7, it’s very clear that Google hasn’t reinvented the wheel here, but instead make a number of iterative improvements that come together to make already fantastic phones that little bit better.

The one thing that was up for contention last year was the two tone design of both phones, which I actually loved from an aesthetics point of view, but can totally see how it wasn’t for everyone. Whilst the camera bar/bump is definitely still there on the 7 and 7 Pro, it’s much more sophisticated this time around.

Whilst I really like the fact that the phone is now the same colour above and below the camera bump, I actually think I preferred the design of the old bump, which was glass before, but is now a metallic polished aluminium on the 7 Pro and a silky matte finish on the 7. I don’t think it looks bad (and definitely prefer the 7’s matte finish over the glossy aluminium), but I just think there was a certain futuristic look of the glass design, which I assume it was changed due to scratching or lens flare complaints which aren’t existent with the new design. I did notice a definitive smudginess on the camera bump that was I don’t recall facing last year.

From the front, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the 7/7 Pro and last year’s models, except for the fact that Google has gone with a much more muted colour palette this year in Obsidian and Snow (White/Black) as well as Lemongrass and Hazel shades that are exclusively to the 7 and 7 Pro respectively.

As far as displays go, the Pixel 7 sports a 6.3″ Full HD+ 90Hz display that is capable of 1,400 nits of peak brightness whilst the Pixel 7 Pro has a 6.7″ Quad HD+ LTPO OLED 120hz display with a higher peak brightness of 1,500 hits. I didn’t notice the 6 Pro being not bright enough last year, but that extra 25% of brightness definitely comes in handy when out in the sun, even more so for the Pixel 7 Pro. The 7 Pro still has it’s slightly curved screen that is a little less pronounced this year, but it’s definitely more than noticeable when compared to the flat screen of the 7.

The front also features the same hole punch camera design, which to a lot of people’s happiness also adds Face Unlock in addition to the same under-screen fingerprint sensor that we saw in last year’s models. It’s really easy to setup, and I found that it works most of the time, but you’ll definitely want both forms of unlocking setup, as there were times in darker environments or when I was laying on a bad angle, that the face unlock didn’t work first time around, but I very quickly got in the habit of still picking my phone up with the thumb over the fingerprint sensor.

Just like last year, the camera systems in these two phones are where there really starts to be a great deal of difference, so if you’re somebody who likes to take a lot of photos, you should definitely be looking at the 7 Pro. Whilst we applauded the Pixel 6 Pro last year for its fantastic photo taking abilities coupled with great features such as Face Unblur, Magic Eraser and Night Sight (which now works a lot better and faster with the Tensor G2 chip), the whole system has been taken even further with the 7 Pro.

There’s still three lenses, a 50 MP main lens, a 48 MP telephoto lens as well as a 12 MP ultrawide lens. Whilst on paper, it sounds like a familiar story, there have been improvements made under the hood, which just make this phone an absolute joy to take photos on.

You’re now getting 5x optical zoom (4x on the 6 Pro) and a 30x high resolution zoom (20x on the 6 Pro). There’s also a new 2x optical zoom which cleverly crops 5x zoomed in image back to 2x (similar to what we’ve seen on this year’s iPhones).

Also exclusive to the 7 Pro camera system is a new Macro Focus mode which automatically turns on when you get close enough to the subject. It’s probably not something you’ll be using every day, but it’s great to have and means that with the 7 Pro you can feel confident in going anywhere from an insane ultrawide photo where you need to fit in as much as possible into the shot and then get as close as possible to another subject (such as a plant or animal), and have the confidence to both of these things and everything in between.

When looking at the Pixel 7’s camera system, there’s not a whole lot different to the Pixel 6. Just like last year, you’re missing out on the must-have 48 MP telephoto lens which means no optical 5x zoom or 30x super zoom, and you’re not getting Macro photography either.

You’re still getting a 50 MP main lens as well as a 12 MP ultrawide lens, and technically, photos should look better with the Tensor G2 chip. You’re also getting the aforementioned new Photo Unblur feature, and existing features such as Magic Eraser and Night Sight. The fact of the matter is, the camera system in the Pixel 7 is still fantastic if you’re upgrading from a 5 and below or other Android phones, but don’t expect to be blown away if you’re upgrading from a Pixel 6.

Whilst the front camera hasn’t seen a huge improvement on the Pixel 7 Pro, this is one area that has been improved on the Pixel 7. It’s now jumped from 8 MP to 10.8 MP which is a decent jump and will no doubt make these photos look even sharper.

Another big area of improvement on both the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro is its video taking capability. Both are now compatible of shooting in 10-Bit HDR and both have a new feature called Cinematic Blur, which is very similar to that of the iPhone 13/14. Basically, it will dynamically focus as you shoot content in order to blur the background of what’s not in focus, meaning you can from say, shooting your dog, to your partner and it will auto adjust the focus the entire way to give it a more cinematic feel. It’s just another feather in Google’s photography cap.

Traditionally, I’m not an Android user in my day-to-day life, but the Pixel 6 Pro did a lot to change that way of thinking and the Pixel 7/7 Pro really did even more to change that. The Google Tensor G2 chip made everything juts that little bit more snappier and the improved battery life of the Pixel 7 Pro in particular really impressed me, lasting an entire day without any issues.

I knew it was going to a big ask for Google to blow me away with the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro like they did last year with the Pixel 6 Pro, but that speaks more to just how good last year’s phones were, more-so than what’s on offer this year. This year’s lineup when paired with the Google Pixel Watch feels like it further cements Google’s second wind in this space, and the future is incredibly bright for Google’s entire ecosystem of products.

The Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7 Pro are out today and start at $999 and $1,299 respectively. You can grab them HERE.

The post Google Pixel 7/7 Pro Review – Improving On An Already Great Product appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve been using the AirPods since they first came out and have never looked back. They’re perfect for any situation, whether that be on a work call, walking the dogs or laying in bed to watch something on my iPad as I try to sleep. This went a step further with the first-gen AirPods Pro which replaced my noise cancelling headset on any flight or environment where I’d want to cancel out noise and quickly became my all-purpose headset.

Unlike most tech products, there was nothing that glaringly stood out as something that I desperately wanted improved with a new gen of AirPods Pro, but Apple has managed to deliver a 2nd gen product that does the unthinkable and improves on a bunch of areas, that I honestly never knew that I wanted, but could never live without now.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $369 AT AMAZON

Firstly, let’s talk about the noise cancelling, which was fantastic on the original set, but is even better now thanks to the H2 chip. Just by chance I had two flights to Sydney days apart, one before I had the 2nd gen set, which served as a great test between how the two fared in an area where everybody wants noise cancelling, in an airplane. I was honestly super impressed with how much better the 2nd gen AirPod Pros did at blocking out the idle noise of the plane engine, not that I’d ever had a huge issue with the performance of the original set, but this was miles ahead in terms of just totally drowning it out and letting me enjoy what I was watching on my phone.

Apple didn’t stop there though. The 2nd gen set also improves transparency with a new Adaptive Transparency mode, which basically means that the AirPod Pros can now drown out loud noises such as a car horn or sirens, whilst still letting through noises such as voices or maybe an announcement on a train. Even more importantly though, transparency mode now feels more natural, rather than voices being beamed very loudly into your ears, it feels just like it would without wearing any headphones.

By all means, unless you’re someone who flies often or feels like the original AirPod Pros just aren’t cutting it in the noise cancelling department, there’s no need to run out today to buy a 2nd gen pair, but know that if and when you do, you’ll be getting a much superior set of headphones in the noise cancelling department.

Looking at the actual AirPods Pro 2nd gen design, you’d be hard pressed to find a difference aesthetically, but there’s a few key differences. You can now use touch controls by either swiping up or down on the actual stem of the AirPods Pro to turn the volume up or down, which is great for when you don’t have your phone on you. There’s also a new XS tip in the box for those that had maybe tried the AirPods Pros previously and had an issue with the fit.

Battery life is another one that I’ve never really had a problem with on the original AirPod Pros, but Apple has increased the battery life in the AirPods Pro 2nd gen. You now get up to six hours of listening time with noise cancelling on and up to 30 hours of listening taking the charging case into account. This is a six hour increase over the original pair, and I definitely noticed getting a few extra days out of my AirPods Pro without needing to charge them.

The case is now a MagSafe charging case which can also be charged by your Apple Watch charger. Something that is extremely clever is a new built-in speaker in the actual case itself, so not only do you get an audible ding when you place your AirPods Pro 2nd gen charging case on a charger (which I really love), you can obviously now find your actual case using Find My with the speaker playing a surprisingly loud noise and also flashing in darkness.  You can also locate its exact location in the same way you can an Air Tag, with your iPhone guiding you directly to the case.

The charging case also now incorporates a lanyard loop so that you can attach your case to a bag or just have something tangible to hold onto. Unfortunately, no actual strap is included in the box, and surprisingly, Apple hasn’t made one, but there’s already a few options available and obviously it’s a fairly standard loop.

When it comes to actual sound quality, I never had a huge issue with how the original set sounded, although everything feels that little bit richer and clearer with the AirPods 2 and obviously, takes advantage of Personalised Spatial Audio which uses your iPhone to take capture the shape of your ears to deliver an even more immersive experience.

All-in-all, the AirPods Pro 2nd gen incorporates a bunch of really clever features that all work together to further Apple’s lead in having one of the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market. They’re incredibly easy to use, perform great under noise environments and also sound fantastic.

The post Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) Review – An Even Better Experience appeared first on Press Start.

When I reviewed the Google Pixel 6 Pro almost a year ago, I was blown away by just how good hardware and software came together to create one of the best phones that I’ve ever used. Google has now followed it up with the cheaper Pixel 6a that retains many of the same features as a much more affordable price point.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $646 FROM AMAZON

Whilst the Google Pixel 6 Pro has a 6.7″ 120Hz Quad HD+ display and the 6 a 6.4″ Full HD 90Hz display, the Pixel 6a has a smaller 6.1 full HD/60HZ display that honestly is more than fine for the average consumer. It has a very similar pixel density and HDR support, but obviously without that 90/120Hz support, you should expect that scrolling will probably feel just as smooth as the phone that you’re upgrading from.

It also has the same great features such as high brightness mode as well as an always-on display, which means you won’t miss anything important with now playing and at a glance visible as soon as you touch the phone. Unlike the 6 Pro, the 6a has a completely flat screen which a lot of people actually prefer.

The design of all three phones is similar with the 6a coming in Black/White/Green and coming in at a slightly smaller size than the 6 due to its smaller display. The display of the 6a takes up majority of the screen with the same hole punch front camera design and the other cameras sit on a bar that sticks out on the back of the display. Whilst the back of the 6/6 Pro was glass, the back of the of the 6a is composite, which is no doubt a cost saver, but not a massive deal to most. Whilst the 6 Pro had a curved design, the 6a follows the 6 with a flat front screen.

Obviously, just like the 6 and 6 Pro there’s no facial recognition on the camera, but you still have the same under display finger print sensor which I really like. It’s extremely accurate and I never had any issues with the phone unlocking.

When it comes to battery life, the 6a actually fares better than the 6 and 6 Pro with 72 hours of battery life in extreme battery saver life (48 hours on the 6/6Pro). This is likely due to its smaller display and likely due to the lower refresh rate of the screen. There is no fast charing here though and also no wireless charging or battery share which is featured on both the 6/6 Pro. The wireless charging in particular would have been nice to see as it’s become so common with devices now.

I absolutely loved both the cameras and the camera features on the 6 Pro and whilst taking photos on the 6a is still a great experience, this is where things start to differ quite dramatically (more-so when compared to the 6 Pro). The 6a has dual cameras, a 12.2 mega pixel main camera and a 12 mega pixel ultrawide camera. This is quite a big difference to the Pixel 6 which also has dual cameras, but one is a 50 mega pixel main camera and a 12 mega pixel ultra wide camera. Obviously, the 6 Pro blows both out of the water with three cameras (the third being a 48 mega pixel telephoto lense with 4x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom).

Thankfully, many of the same features such as Magic Eraser, Real Tone, Night Sight, Face Unblur, Cinematic Pan and Portrait Mode are all here and still really easy to use and all produce really good results for the casual photo taker. The only one missing is Motion Blur, which to be honest, is the one I probably used least when using the 6 Pro.

When it comes to the front camera, the 6a has the same as the 6 which is an 8 mega pixel camera which honestly produces really nice results, particularly when in good sun light.

The Pixel 6a uses the same Google Tensor chip that was found in the 6 and 6 Pro with the only other differences being ram and storage. The 6a comes with 6GB of ram which is a drop from 8GB/12GB (6/6Pro), but honestly you won’t notice a major difference doing most everyday tasks. The 6a is also locked at 128GB storage whilst the 6 and 6 Pro provided more options, so that might be a dealbreaker, although with Google’s great Cloud functionality, hopefully less so than other phones.

Google pushed security in a big way when the 6 and 6 Pro launched and it’s still the same case here. The Privacy Dashboard will tell you which apps have been using key device functionality such as location, camera and microphone in the last 24 hours whilst the Security Hub will tell you of any password breaches and the like. A new Personal Safety feature lets you tell Google to check in with you after a set amount of time (such as walking late at night) and will call emergency services if you don’t respond to the alert. For those that are not wanting their mics and cameras to be live at all times, Google has added tiles to the quick settings so that you can quickly enable or disable too.

All-in-all, I’m still a massive fan of this phone for $749 (can currently be had for $640 from Amazon) which is $250+ cheaper than the 6 and a whopping $550+ cheaper than the 6 Pro. I can see it being a massive upgrade from most other Android phones both in terms of hardware and software. The only thing that could lower its value proposition is the drop in price of the 6 and 6 Pro when the 7 and 7 Pro release, but as of right now, you can’t really go wrong as phone that is great for all users at a great price point.

The post Google Pixel 6a Review – Greatness On A Budget appeared first on Press Start.

We’ve covered Samsung’s Odyssey monitors quite extensively over the years and whilst I’ve always marvelled at the size of them, I’ve always wondered how practical they are in most every day setups due to their ultra-wide nature. Straight away this was what interested me about Samsung’s newly announced 55″ Odyssey Ark. The fact that it is now a 16:9 display and also the fact that it’s just as much of a TV as well as a monitor.

I obviously had seen pictures of this monitor as well as videos of it in action when it was announced, but I hadn’t appreciated just how much of a hybrid display this is, combining the best parts of the Samsung Odyssey monitors with Samsung’s very good QLED Mini LED TVs.

The TV utilises the One Connect box which provides it with four HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB ports, ethernet and optical. There’s no DisplayPort if that’s of interest to you. It also runs Samsungs Tizen TV operating system which means you can literally access the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Binge as well as the Xbox Cloud Gaming app right from the TV without needing an Xbox.

For me, the fact that this doubles as a TV as well as an insanely good gaming monitor puts it above the other Odyssey monitor and actually makes it a viable purchase for someone who wants a really great TV/monitor that will work in a bedroom, smaller apartment or an office that doubles as a gaming cave.

Speaking about that ginormous 55″ display, I was expecting to be overwhelmed by it, but the fact that it is has an 1000R curve partnered with the fact that it’s a 16:9 display means that you really do feel immersed in what you’re seeing on screen. It’s perfect for being able to sit back with a controller or a mouse or keyboard, but obviously you want to make sure you’ve got enough room on your desk as you want to make sure you’re not sitting right up against the display.

The Ark uses a 4K Mini LED display, which we’ve seen on the Neo QLED TVs and thanks to the 1,056 dimming zones, the blacks were deep with the picture being absolutely vibrant and full of colour no matter if I was playing a game or watching something on Netflix. It is capable of 165Hz refresh rates too, so you’re sorted for gaming.

It’s the type of thing that you have to see in person and use yourself to understand, because photos simply won’t do it justice, but the huge size of this TV, coupled with the curve and then coupled with the fact that it’s 16:9 instead of 32:9 like the other popular Odyssey monitors means that you really feel immersed on what you’re seeing on screen. If you sit at the right distance, you really feel like your entire line of sight and peripheral vision is covered by screen real estate. I’d liken it to feeling like you’re wearing a virtual reality headset, without obviously being able to physically move to change what you’re seeing on screen.

This worked really well for games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, Far Cry New Dawn and Destiny 2, which all felt really immersive, visually gorgeous and honestly just popped on the screen. I’ve got one of the high-end Mini LED NEO QLED TVs in my house and as far as picture quality goes, this matches it easily.

The display takes advantage of Samsung’s matte displays which is utilised in their latest Frame TVs which means there’s no reflections. The room I was using the display in was fully surrounded by windows and even when I opened the shades, there wasn’t a hint of glare from any angle, although due to the large curve, you will want to be sitting in front of it.

If you’re wanting to use the monitor in portrait mode, you’re able to literally lift it and spin it, and Samsung’s auto rotation software will spin the entire screen, regardless of whether you’re playing a PC game or watching a TV show. I would love to have seen the auto rotating technology that was used in Samsung’s Sero TV, but maybe we’ll see that down the line with future models.

Rotating the monitor into portrait mode feels like a totally different experience. When you’re using it in portrait, Samsung call this Cockpit mode, because it literally feels like you’re in a cockpit with the huge curve of the monitor that’s even more pronounced in portrait mode. You can utilise the Multi View technology that we’ve seen on Samsung TVs in the last 3-4 years in portrait mode (landscape too).

You can then stack three displays using the Multi View function, so for instance you might have your PC connected, be watching YouTube and Samsung Smart TV+. It was a very innovative idea, and one that felt like it could be useful but I’d love to see Multi View fleshed out more, maybe with the addition of some other native apps or the ability to use more than one actual input.

It’s probably no surprise but the Odyssey Ark had probably the best speakers that I’ve heard in a gaming monitor (and probably TVs too). Utilising four corner speakers and two central wolfers as well as Dolby Atmos, the sound not only felt like it was around you due to the curve of the monitor, but it was also just super loud and full of bass. You’d absolutely be happy with the sound quality out of these without needing a soundbar or external speaker setup.

One of my favourite parts of the Samsung Odyssey Ark is the innovative new Ark Dial controller. Whilst you can also use the included regular TV remote to control your display, if you’re at your desk, you’d be using the Ark Dial which lets you quickly use the buttons to access Multi View, bring up the Game Bar, get to settings quickly, change the volume, but the most important new feature is one called Flex Move Screen.

This allows you to quickly change the screen size anywhere from the full-size 55″ to 27″ as well as move the screen around the display. This might be for when you’re not gaming and want to use the screen for productivity but feeling overwhelmed by the 55″ display.

You can also change the aspect ratio to 21:9 or 32:9 making it a similar experience to that of the Super Ultrawide Odyssey monitors. Thanks to the MiniLED display, the deep blacks do a great job of making the rest of the display fade into the shadows, and honestly, I think it’s much better starting with a 16:9 display and having the ability to go to 21:9 or 32:9 rather than being stuck at these ultrawide resolutions.

When you make the picture smaller than 55″ or rotate into portrait mode, you can use something Samsung called Active Ambient. This basically turns the TV into a Philips Hue Sync type situation where Samsung will take the colours on whatever you’re watching and project them around the image to make it feel more immersive. I did find it bit distracting at times, but it’s nice to have for certain viewing environments.

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect going into my time with the Odyssey Ark, but I came out of it being really excited about this new display category that blends the best of gaming monitors and TVs to create one display that seamlessly goes between productivity and a really high quality gaming/monitor display.

55″ might be a little too big for most people, but I really hope Samsung stick with this concept and maybe roll it out to some smaller options, as whilst I can see the huge display being a drawcard initially, I actually think a lot of the functionality such as the Ark Dial, Cockpit mode as well as the beautiful Matte MiniLED display being really appealing in general to a lot of people.

The Samsung Odyssey Ark Gaming will be available in Australia on October 24, 2022 at an RRP of $4499. It’s available for pre-order now with some great pre-order offers. Harvey Norman is a bonus giving $1000 gift card and Samsung is giving a special edition Secretlab gaming chart and a Samsung 980 Pro NVME SSD.

The post We Went Hands-On With Samsung’s New 55″ Odyssey Ark Gaming Monitor And Here’s Our Thoughts appeared first on Press Start.

Sony’s premium InZONE gaming line has now launched in Australia and after a few solid weeks of use, I’m ready to talk about my experience with the inZONE H9. It’s been a great year for headsets with the likes of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and Razer Barracuda Pro both dropping, but if you’re a PS5 owner (and I suspect most of you reading this review will be), it’s pretty hard to go past the Sony InZONE H9 which offers many of the same features of the two aforementioned headsets but just pairs with the PS5 in ways that those other headsets can’t.

Whilst I went on the record saying that the Arctis Nova Pro was my favourite headset to ever release and I still think that’s definitely the case, at absolutely no fault of SteelSeries, it lacks the ability to control game/chat audio on the actual headset as well as show things such as battery life and volume on-screen whilst using it with a PS5.

Because the InZONE H9 is an official Sony product, it allows you to not only adjust game/chat audio on the headset (and have it show it on-screen), but it also gives visual indicators on screen that show you whether your headset is muted, or if you’ve got low battery or just how high or low your volume is. They’re not must-have features, but they’re really nice to have and would probably push me into wanting to use the H9 over the Arctis Nova Pro as my daily driver on the PS5.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $348 WITH FREE DELIVERY FROM AMAZON

When it comes to the design, it’s a bit hit and miss in my opinion. The headset is super light and extremely comfortable utilising the Sony XM5’s soft leather earcups/band and even with glasses never felt like a burden to wear. Whilst I appreciate that the design does tie into that of the PS5s, the sheer size of them means that whilst it’s a great sounding headset with bluetooth connectivity and noise cancelling, I don’t feel like you’d ever wear them out of the house, which is a shame given the price point and the fact that they very much could double as an every day headset as well as a dedicated gaming headset.

I really liked how easy to access all the controls are on the actual headset as well, with noise cancelling having its own button, an easy to reach volume wheel, game/chat balance buttons as well as a dedicated power button and Bluetooth buttons. They’re all a really good distance apart too, so that even after a few minutes with the headset, I wasn’t second guessing myself. The microphone can’t be detached, but it does mute when flipped up, which is handy.

It’s probably no surprise given the Sony XM3-5s have some of the best noise cancelling in consumer headphones and that the insides of the inZONE H9 have similar insides to that of the XM3s, but noise cancelling was really great on this particular headset and probably better than the others that I’ve mentioned in this review. Whilst the sounds of your game are likely to drown out a fair amount of noise, the active noise cancelling went the extra mile to drown my sausage dogs barking out or my husband scrolling through TikToks on the couch to me. All the same, being able to quickly switch to transparency mode to have a quick conversation was also really appreciated, and worked well.

I was even more impressed when I went over to the InZONE Hub PC software which had more customisation than any headset software I’ve ever used presented in a really consumer friendly way. Initially when using the headset with the PS5, I was annoyed that the noise cancelling button flicked between on, off or ambient (letting noise in), because for me, I only would ever want noise cancelling on, or people’s voices heightened through ambient mode when somebody in my house is trying to talk to me, and low and behold, I was able to customise it using the software it so that this button would make it flick between noise cancelling on or ambient only.

I was also able to customise things such as what would happened when the headset first turned on, which is minor, but totally allows for people to customise exactly how they want to use their headset, and I appreciate that.

The post Sony INZONE H9 Wireless Gaming Headset Review – The Perfect PS5 Companion appeared first on Press Start.

I’m mainly a console gamer these days. My daily computer is a light, speedy little MacBook Air. It can’t do much gaming, but it doesn’t really need to. As far as portable computers go, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is about as far as you can get from my little daily machine. It’s hefty, it’s got a stonking great battery and a powerful gaming-centric CPU and graphics combo that eats most games I throw at it for breakfast. At the same time it’s high refresh rate, high resolution screen combined with a pleasant keyboard and great trackpad make it a nice machine for productivity and time wasting as well. It’s a machine focused on gaming that won’t get in your way when you need it for other things.

This Legion is smartly designed, with just a little bit of the aggressive gamer-aesthetic you might expect from a gaming laptop. When it’s closed you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a much more boring machine. The lid has little ornamentation aside from a big LEGION logo at the top, however looking closer you’ll see the industrial looking exhaust vents that hint at the gamer focus of this machine. Open it up and turn it on, and you’ll know this is no business machine. An RGB backlit keyboard shimmers in a rainbow pattern, and a high refresh rate screen just begs to be gamed on. It’s a very attractive design, just enough notes to let you know it’s a gaming laptop without going over the top.

That screen though is quite a thing to behold. The 2560 x 1600 resolution 16-inch screen makes text and game elements look razor sharp. It’s not quite a 4K resolution, but I think this is a great middle ground where you get markedly better performance from the hardware than you would if it had a 4K screen. It’s a high refresh rate display as well, topping out at 165Hz. Everything is just *nicer* with this fast display. Playing games at high frame rates makes things just feel ultra responsive, and even just doing basic Windows things like using the Start menu and scrolling in a web browser feel ridiculously smooth. It even supports HDR400 and Dolby Vision so watching shows and movies in supported apps like Netflix looks fantastic. The speakers on the computer make for an adequate, if not spectacular experience. They’re a little thin sounding without a huge deal of presence – somehow the speakers in my ultrathin Mac sound deeper and fuller. They will do the job for Netflix in bed, but I definitely preferred a set of headphones when I could.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: STARTING AT $2,899 AUD

Powering all these sights and sounds is a pretty capable set of hardware. The model I tested had a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070Ti graphics chip – and it blew me away with how well it played games I threw at it. Maxed out Forza Horizon 5 and I was getting 80-90fps, between 110-190 in Deep Rock Galactic, 60fps with Fortnite maxed out and an easy 100-130fps with a couple of tweaks. The high refresh rate screen is well paired with this graphics chip since it can push frame rates well in excess of the standard 60 without sacrificing visuals in many games. While you’re doing all this gaming the fans will spin up to be audible. I’ve heard much more jarring fans in other gaming laptops for sure, this one isn’t an annoying kind of fan noise – just loud enough to be noticeable. While doing less intensive tasks like web browsing or watching videos I found the fans barely audible.

As a tool for getting things done, the Legion is pretty great in most areas. The keyboard is a pleasant kind of spongey with a pleasing amount of key travel and a nice tactile feel. The trackpad is large and feels great to use. My fingers would glide over it’s surface with just the right amount of friction, and it’s among the nicest trackpads I’ve used with Windows’ multi-finger gestures. It’s got about every port you could reasonably expect on a portable machine including a full Thunderbolt 4/USB4 port which is fantastic for docking stations, some USB C ports, USB A ports, a full-sized HDMI 2.1 for connecting to the latest TVs, an ethernet jack for wired networking and a headphone/mic combo jack. It’s even equipped with Wifi 6E radios so if you have the absolute latest in Wifi you can make full use of it here. As far as equipment goes, it has about everything you could want and then some.

About the only downside I found with the machine was its battery life. It has a whopper-sized 80 watt hour battery, but with the power demands of the Intel and Nvidia chips on board even it can’t keep them fed for all that long. Doing regular non-gaming tasks like web browsing, watching video on YouTube and playing music over Spotify drained the battery in a little over 3 hours – though using Microsoft Edge rather than Chrome or Firefox helped eke a little more time from the battery. Coming from a laptop that I can do the same things with and not need to find a charger all day, the difference was noticeable.

While gaming the system has a host of features designed to limit performance and get some more life from the battery, but having games limited to 30fps or less felt like a last resort, definitely not the way I’d like to play if I had any other choice. Thankfully the machine charges quickly with the supplied (absolutely huge) AC adapter. Lenovo claims 80% charge in 30 minutes and I found my experience to be pretty close. With the performance on battery being severly limited I consider this a laptop that is easy to move between different desks but not one I’d regularly use for gaming on battery. Even doing pretty tame tasks you’ll be looking for a power outlet by lunch time.

The battery life is really my only frustration with this otherwise fantastic machine. It’s conservatively styled but can be customised to be a bit wild with it’s lighting if you want that. The keyboard and trackpad are delightful to use for productivity and general use and the screen is fantastic. The high resolution and refresh rate elevate everything you do from high-intensity gaming to moving windows around on the desktop. It’s a damn good display. The amount of game-focused hardware Lenovo have crammed in here makes for a wonderfully capable gaming machine as well, showing no signs of struggling under any game I threw at it.

The post Lenovo Legion 5i Pro (Gen 7) Review – Take Power With You appeared first on Press Start.

TCL has surprised me with its C835 Mini LED TV. Alongside the likes of Samsung, Sony and LG, I’d always associated TCL with more reserved, budget-friendly specifications and quality. However, with features that felt prohibitively expensive just a couple of years ago, the TCL Mini LED C835 ushers in next-gen TV tech with a favourable price tag, giving other major manufacturers a run for their money.

The Cheapest TCL C835 Mini LED TV Prices: 55″ – $1,595 / 65″ – $2,395 / 75″ – $3,195

The Display

Rattling off the specs makes for impressive reading: a Quantum Dot Mini LED display, full array local dimming, a 144Hz refresh rate, HDMI 2.1 ports, VRR and ALLM support, ONKYO speakers with an in-built subwoofer, support for Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced content, and Google TV. 

But it’s first and foremost the display where the TCL C835 Mini LED shines. 

And ‘shines’ is right; this thing is bright! The 4K Quantum Dot Mini LED screen works wonders for brightness and colours in both well-lit and dim environments, so much so that I needed to crank the brightness way down with the lights off.

Firing up IMAX Enhanced content such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on Disney+ looks incredible once you navigate through the picture settings to disable motion smoothing. HDR10+ and Dolby Vision certification, which settings that automatically adjust to the displayed content, ensure you’re getting the best picture without messing around with options too much. The glossy finish is a touch reflective but allows the colours to pop.  

Full array local dimming with hundreds of zones results in decent blacks that aren’t OLED-level inky but more than sufficient for a fantastic movie-watching experience. If you’re concerned about burn-in or an OLED holding up in a sun-soaked living space, a screen such as this would be worth considering.

Gaming Features

Of course, the gaming experience on the TCL C835 Mini LED is excellent.

The Quantum Dot Mini LED tech and HDR mean colour-rich games such as Horizon Forbidden West look stunning. Full array local dimming also ups the scare factor of horror games like The Quarry. The contrast looked amazing and greatly improved the experience compared to the similarly priced gaming monitor on which I’d previously been playing the game.

Support of 4K 120 frames per second gaming, with automatic low latency support (ALLM) and a variable refresh rate (VRR), mean your not skimping out on all the next-gen features of your latest console via one of the two included HDMI 2.1 ports. 144Hz is possible through one of the ports with HDMI 2.1 compatibly gaming PC too

TCL’s game bar allows you to tweak some settings on the fly, display a stat bar and access an in-built aiming aid that adds crosshairs to your screen. However, I largely left the gaming settings alone; messing with the picture settings and disabling ALLM resulted in too big an increase in response time it immediately had me switching back. 

The Design

Whilst the specs of the TCL C835 Mini LED feel premium, it’s perhaps the design of the TV where the comparatively low price point is a bit more noticeable.

Alongside the competition, the C835 is a touch on the thicker side. Although the bezel is nice and thin, if you’re looking for something to wall mount and sit flush against the wall, this likely isn’t a candidate. Resting it on an entertainment unit is no problem; the included stand is nice and minimal, but mine, unfortunately, came with a couple of dints and the white rubber feet that are visible from the front otherwise break the clean metallic grey finish.

The in-built ONKYO speaker system complete with subwoofer is commendable for this price point — and will get you buy should you be putting off a soundbar purchase — but paled in comparison to the entry-level hi-fi system I coupled with the screen. 

My only other complaint with regard to the design is the location of the ports which are mostly all aligned on the right edge of the screen whilst facing it. The power connector is the only exception, stretching to the opposite side of the screen. Althought they’re easy enough to stretch across the back and route down through the stand, doing so means you lose a good half a metre or so of cable length.

Streaming & Smart Capabilities

Google TV makes for a solid experience navigating the TCL C835 Mini LED’s menus. Content and settings are easily accessible, even if it wasn’t always clear looking through the options what picture settings the automatic adjustments to displayed content were locking off and altering.

Although it shouldn’t come as a shock given how well it handles the picture, I was also pleasantly surprised by how decent the processor was for the price. Scrolling through the menus feels snappy and apps open and load content sharply.

I was a big fan of the remote control too. Devoid of any motion tracking or any gimmicks like that, the simple remote includes all the keys you need, including dedicated streaming buttons for Netflix, Stan, Prime Video, Disney+ and YouTube. The only hindrance is the button for the TCL Channel I never touched.

Setup was effortless, and connecting the TV to my Google Home was easy. Support for Alexa and Apple HomeKit is also a welcome addition. Almost all the apps I required game pre-installed, but thanks to the broad compatibility Google TV offers, everything else you may need is only a button press or two away. 

The post TCL C835 Mini LED TV Review – All You Need Without Breaking The Budget appeared first on Press Start.

It feels like everybody is going through a complete refresh of its headset range at the moment with the likes of SteelSeries and Sony both introducing high-end models with noise cancelling. It’s now Razer’s turn to do the same with the brand new high-end Razer Barracuda Pro.

Much like the SteelSeries Arcos Nova Pro Wireless, Razer’s very clear objective with with the design of this headset both aesthetically and feature-wise was to make it so that it was a great gaming headset, but also one that would double as the perfect headset for work, play or travel.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $439 FROM MWAVE.

The design of the headset is all black and quite sleek looking, although quite a bit chunkier and heavier than a few of the counterparts that I’ve used, but I actually dig the design. The stainless steel headband is able to be expanded out to fit a wide variety of head sizes, the headband has a good amount of cushioning and the memory foam cushions are not only comfortable but do a great job or blocking noise out (even without nose cancelling). It felt big on my head, but not necessarily in an uncomfortable way.

The Barracuda Pro come with a USB-C dongle and is compatible with your PC, PS5/PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Just like both Sony/SteelSeries headsets, it can also connect to a Bluetooth device, but it’s handled a little bit differently to these two devices. Razer has opted to make it so that whilst you can connect to both your gaming console and a Bluetooth device (such as your phone) at the same time, you have to swap between them and can’t listen to both at the same time. You can also set it so that a call can automatically switch, which you might either love or hate.

Whilst it sounds like a minor thing, I actually really would have liked the ability to have audio sources coming through Bluetooth and dongle at once. With other headsets that have dual simultaneous connection, I like to be able to watch a few Tiktoks between round of games, listens to quick audio memos or listen to music without having to take my headset off. It’s quite clear that the technology is there given the headset can do both connections at once, and thankfully it is really easy to swap between them (with a button on the headset), but it feels like a missed opportunity to me.

I really love having active noise cancelling on a gaming headset, and the Barracuda Pro actually does a pretty good job with its noise cancelling. Whilst it’s still not at the level of a good Bose headset or the Sony XM range, I actually think it did a slightly better job at blocking out certain noises than the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless did (unsure if this is due to better isolation of noise from the cups or noise cancelling tech), but I also really enjoyed the ease of use when swapping between modes. Unlike the Arctis Nova Pro, which I found finnicky, there is a very clear audible voice to tell you which mode you’re swapping to, and also a dedicated button to do so. Outside noise cancelling, there’s also ambient mode which lets sounds in from the outside and amplifies them using the headsets microphones.

Another thing I really loved about this headset over the others is that Razer’s companion smartphone app which lets you quickly change between noise cancelling modes, equalisation modes, the ability to turn off incoming calls swapping the headset to Bluetooth modes as well as update the headset. Another small thing  thatI found weird though is that even when you’re connected via Bluetooth, you actually need to be on that headset mode to control the headset, which isn’t so useful if you’re using your PS5.

When it comes to the microphone, the Barracuda Pro does not have a boom mic, instead opting to use beamforming noise-cancelling microphones. To be honest, I was surprised how good the microphones sound and how good of a job they do with cutting out the outside noise. I don’t think it quite rivals other high-end headsets that have a boom mic, but it does a really good job for what’s in the cans, and I can totally understand how the design was more what they were going for with this headset.

Battery life on the Barracuda Pro is advertised as about 40 hours and that was about my experience (maybe a few hours less). Something I did find odd is that the headset will start audibly warning you about the battery being low hours and hours before they actually die, which is super annoying, given it interrupts whatever you’re listening to. It’s worth mentioning that there is no 3.5mm jack, so there is no option to use this headset in wired mode, so once you’re out of battery, that’s it. If you’re also wanting to use these in an Airplane, you’d be flat out of luck without some kind of Bluetooth attachment.

The headset can’t be folded down at all, but included in the box is a sturdy case for your Barracuda Pro, which is definitely appreciated as this headset is definitely designed to be taken out of the house and used on your commute so to keep your investment protected is a great inclusion. It even have has a place for your cables which is appreciated.

Both when gaming and listening to music the Barracuda Pro sounded crisp in the right places with a good amount of bass, but I couldn’t help but feel like there was a little bit of a lack of punch especially when compared to the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, although this is a $250 cheaper headset, so that needs to be taken into consideration.

All-in-All, the Barracuda Pro Wireless gaming headset feels like a solid step for Razer. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless which can simultaneously connect to two devices, has dual batteries and can also connect to both consoles, but it does do a lot right and comes in at a decent amount below price-wise.

The post Razer Barracuda Pro Wireless Gaming Headset Review – Another High End Contender appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve always been a bit torn on ultrawide monitors. On one hand, they create an immersive gaming experience like no other, but for productivity, I’d always prefer two screens. The Dell Alienware 34″ QD-OLED is definitely the most tempted that I’ve been to rock an ultrawide full time, due to its QD-OLED display and great HDR performance.

When it comes to the design, it almost looks like this monitor takes design cues from the PS5 with its mix of white and blacks to really look futuristic. It’s got a 1800R curve which is pretty standard for ultrawide gaming and probably just the right amount of curve without it feeling like the monitor is taking up too much desk space. There’s RGB lights on the back, power button, logo and other parts of the monitor which can all be changed or turned off completely using the OSD.

WHERE TO BUY: DEALL FOR $2,299 AUD (GOES AS LOW AS $1600 OCCASIONALLY)

As far as ports go, there is one DisplayPort, two HDMI ports and a four port USB hub. It’s worth mentioning that the ports aren’t HDMI 2.1, which will mean there will be limitations if using a HDMI cord. You’ve got a power button on the right and an easily controlled OSD by use of a little joystick thats in the centre of the screen at the bottom and provides an easy way to adjust all the settings that you need.

The setup of this monitor is insanely easy, with you simply needing to click it into a stand and twist a little screw with your fingers, you’re able to swivel the monitor from left to right and also put it higher or lower on the stand easily.

If you’re an avid gamer, it’s absolutely no secret at this point that OLEDs are the best for gaming, but we just haven’t seen them in monitors (outside of the LG C1 OLED), but not only has Alienware gone and put an OLED display in this monitor, but it has gone a step further and put a QD-OLED in its display, so not only do you get the perfect blacks, you’ll also theoretically get a brighter display. We’ve only seen this tech in the new Samsung QD-OLED that has launched in America, and I believe this is the first and only monitor to use the tech so far.

Straight away when booting up the monitor, and going straight to a YouTube video, I’m amazed with how inky the blacks are you. You always realise just how grey blacks can look once you look at an OLED display, so from that point of view, if you’re somebody who owns an OLED TV and want that same experience for gaming, then this makes sense as an upgrade. One of the first things I watched on this monitor was the new God of War Ragnarok trailer and as soon as I saw that PlayStation Studios logo which is about as harsh as a test as they come (with a white logo on a pitch black screen), I was reminded just how impressive an OLED is.

The Alienware 34″ QD-OLED can reach a peak brightness of 1000 nits which whilst is still on the entry level side in TV land, is incredibly high compared to almost all monitors on the market, and right where you’d want to be to even bother with HDR in a PC space. Really this is the point at which you’re really being able to take advantage of HDR, and then once you pair that with the inky blacks of an OLED, it is a premium PC gaming experience. This is without doubt the best HDR experience I’ve had with a monitor, and I hope it’s the beginning of brighter panels across the board.

Playing games such as God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn or Resident Evil 3 felt like a brand new experience whilst playing them using this monitor. Not only did I feel that the QD-OLED display provided better blacks and brighter/more vivid colours than what I’m used to, this paired with the ultrawide 3440×1440/175Hz display took it to the next level. Obviously, the one downside to spending over $2,000 on a monitor like this is that it’s not going to be great for your PS5/Xbox Series X if you’re wanting to use it for console gaming. These consoles can’t take of the ultrawide display and it’s not a 4K monitor, so you’re missing out on that aspect too.

Obviously, whilst Windows is still making good strides in terms of HDR implementation, it’s still not great when using it outside of gaming, but this is a Windows problem and not on this fantastic performing monitor at all. The monitor has smart HDR built in meaning it can detect when HDR input is being received and turn it on and off accordingly.

It’s worth mentioning that given this is an OLED monitor, and the fact that you’re using it with PC elements that will remain on screen there is a pixel refresh feature that will slightly move all the elements on screen to ensure you don’t get burn-in. This feature pops up automatically every so often and I’d recommend using it. Another thing that I noticed (and has been a gripe with other OLEDs that I’ve used) is that the screen is quite reflective, especially when using it in a bright room with dark scenes.

The post Dell Alienware AW3423DW 34″ QD-OLED Monitor Review – Big And Bright With Perfect Blacks appeared first on Press Start.

I don’t know about you, but throughout the different stages of my life so far, all I have ever wanted is a portable gaming device that can play anything current that I’m able to play on consoles or PC. It feels like we’ve been so close so many times with the likes of the PlayStation Vita bringing graphical fidelity unlike anything we had seen before it, or the more obvious one being the Nintendo Switch which started out with some really great AAA support but now could only dream of playing the latest third party games. Enter, the Aya Neo Next which despite its hefty price tag, has been able to handle absolutely any game I’ve thrown at it with flying colours and has quickly changed the way that I game in the space of a few short weeks.

I’m going to preface this review by saying that I haven’t been able to use a Steam Deck at this point due to obvious reasons, but I feel like I’ve read enough about it at this point to be able to compare the experience well enough for the purpose of evaluating the Aya Neo Next with the Steam Deck’s existence in mind.

Out of the box, the Aya Neo Next is a solid device in the hands. It’s obviously thicker than a Nintendo Switch but not quite as hefty as a Steam Deck (going off specs). It feels heavy in the hands, but nowhere near to the point as what I was expecting given there’s literally a mini PC inside of this thing. It feels more like a portable PC gaming experience than the Switch given the fact that there’s very obviously fans spinning and a decent amount of heat, but neither ever got in the way of my experience.

As far as controls go there’s two analogue sticks, a D-pad, four face buttons, two triggers and bumpers, start/select buttons and two custom buttons (one which takes you to the custom Aya Neo OS) and another which you can customise to literally anything (task manager/show desktop, on-screen keyboard etc). There’s also volume buttons on top as well as a power button that also has a built-in finger print reader, so you can literally place your finger on top to get straight into the device from sleep. Aya Neo has been big on the fact that this device uses hall effect sensor joysticks/triggers which is supposed to prevent the stick drift we see on other devices. It’s too soon for me to comment but I will say that the overall experience is probably better than that of the Switch in terms of responsiveness. There’s also a good vibration motor and a built in gyroscope, which I’d say are similar experiences to that of the Switch.

BUY IT FROM: $2,089 FROM AMAZON

The Next features a 7.0″ 1280×800 5 point IPS display which is a tad sharper than the Nintendo Switch and brighter on paper. The touch screen is extremely responsive, but obviously, due to the fact that this device uses Windows can be a little finnicky at times given Windows was created primarily for a mouse/keyboard, but when you’re selecting a game or using it to choose a menu item, it was always accurate and nice to have.

As far as ports go, theres a USB-C port on the top and bottom, so that if you’re charging and want to be sending a signal to an external display, or have a mouse/keyboard dongle connected, you can still do that whilst charging. Or maybe you just want to be using either the top of bottom port for charging depending on the position that you’re sitting/laying in. Regardless, the versatility is welcome. There’s also Bluetooth 5.2 and WiFi 6 capability, so again, given this is a Windows device, you’re able to connect any Bluetooth controller or mouse/keyboard and it’ll work exactly as you’d expect.

THE SPECS:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5825U – ZEN 3, 7nm, 8-core, 16-thread – Base 2.0 GHz, Max 4.5 GHz
• GPU: AMD Radeon Vega 8 2000MHz
• MEMORY: 16GB LPDDR4x 4266MHz
• STORAGE: 1TB / 2TB M.2 (NVMe) 2280
• DISPLAY: 1280 X 800, 5-Point Capacitive Touch 7.0 Inch LCD IPs
• DIMENSIONS: 267 x 112 x 30 mm, 720g
• PORTS: Full Function Type C x 2 / Audio jack / finger print scanner
• BATTERY: 3.85V 4100mAh
• CONNECTIVITY: WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2

The biggest difference between the Steam Deck and Aya Neo Next is that the Aya Neo Next runs Windows 10 out of the box meaning it can not only run games from Steam, but it can also run games from Xbox Game Pass, Epic Games Store, EA, Ubisoft Connect, Rockstar Launcher, Battlenet or literally any other client that exists on Windows. That might sound small, but once you wrap your head around the fact that this device can seamlessly run literally any game that you could play on a PC without any limitations (or any that I could discover), it’s a pretty big deal, and completely changes your way of thinking in regards to portable gaming.

This is evident in the fact that I was able to go from playing God of War to Forza Horizon 5, to a little bit of emulation to some Fall Guys all whilst downloading other games that I was eager to try in between. The best way I’d describe the experience is that you literally don’t have to think about “can I do this?” or “is this game on this console”. Literally anything you can think of will play on this device if it runs on a PC.

Whilst Windows runs totally fine on the Aya Neo Next, the company has also created a front loader called Aya Space. This acts a clever way to load all of your games into so that you can launch them right from the app and not having to rely on the Windows OS at all. You can also setup shortcuts, change inputs, look at how your CPU/GPU are running as well as install launchers right from the app. There’s also a really neat overlay that you can easily pull up over your game to quickly change power modes, change the brightness or launch into other apps. It’s still in beta, so it does have its fair share of bugs, but I was also able to load in other launchers such as Playnite which even allow you to create the Switch or PS5 theme with some lovely results. Just like everything else, the device running Windows 10 means that your options are literally endless.

As far as performance goes, I’d probably put the device at somewhere between a PS4 and PS4 Pro. I’ve seen a lot of people comparing it to the Nintendo Switch, but let me make this clear, it isn’t even in the same league. Even games such as Fall Guys, Doom Eternal and The Witcher 3 that can run on the Nintendo Switch are totally different experiences to what you’re getting here, which particularly in the way of Fall Guys, which I’ve been spending a lot of time with is a solid 60FPS experience playing at the full resolution on the Aya Neo Next, and definitely not the case on the Switch.

As far as my testing goes, games such as God of War will get roughly 35FPS on low, whilst Cyberpunk 2077 will get 38-45 FPS on medium but games such as Forza Horizon 5 and Doom Eternal are able to get a solid 60FPS on low/medium respectively, and you’re able to crank this up to medium and still maintain above 30 FPS. Whilst AMD’s FidelityFX isn’t quite up to the standards of NVIDIA DLSS yet, obviously games that support it natively will go a long way to getting even better performance. Aya Neo Space has also got a feature where FSR can be toggled on and off with any game, although there were times where this either would or wouldn’t work, but I expect this to get better with time.

Two of the biggest wow moments I had with this console were Grand Theft Auto V, which obviously is an old game at this point, but runs flawlessly at 60FPS without even breaking a sweat, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which was the one game I expected to not be playable, being able to run at a comfortable 30 FPS without either feeling like watered down experiences.

Are you going to be using this device to play AAA games 100% of the time? Probably not, but the fact that you can make more progress in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla or Forza Horizon 5 in bed, play a couple of rounds of Fall Guys or replay titles such as God of War does make for a great experience and I can actually see it changing the way a lot of people game. With the way that cloud saves are absolutely seamless now with the likes of Steam and Xbox, it really does make gaming away from your main screen incredibly easy, and with the more than capable performance of this device, feels like you’re not getting a diminished experience.

GAMES TESTED:

All games tested using Game Mode (22w) and using AMD FSR where possible

• God Of War – 35 FPS – Low – Balanced
• Overwatch 2 – 55-60 FPS – Medium
• Fall Guys – 60FPS – High
• Cyberpunk 2077 – 38-43 FPS – Medium
• GTA V – 60 FPS – Normal
• Doom Eternal – 60 FPS- Medium
• Halo Infinite – 40 FPS
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – 35 FPS – Medium
• Resident Evil 2 – 60 FPS – High
• Dying Light 2 – 35 FPS – Low
• Death Stranding – 35 FPS

Again, I haven’t used a Steam Deck, but I believe as far as GPU performance goes, this will come out a few frames below it in most instances, due to a slightly lower powered GPU, but if you’re into emulation the Aya Neo Next has a superior CPU which makes for a better emulation experience. Whether you’re into emulating Wii/Gamecube games with Dolphin or wanting to even try emulate more powerful systems such as the PS3/360 or even the Nintendo Switch, the Aya Neo Next does a really great job at whatever you want to throw at it. I’m not sure a better emulation device on the market exists in this form factor.

There are four power modes on the Aya Neo Next which you can easily change via the overlay when playing a game. These all change the amount of wattage that the system is drawing on which means you’ll get increased performance but obviously your battery will drain faster. It’s great to have this feature as you can easily ramp it up or down if you feel like you’re easily hitting 60FPS or want to try and get a little bit more out of the system.

If there was one area I’d like to see improved its battery life, but I understand why it is how it is. If you’re playing a AAA game such as God of War or Grand Theft Auto V, you can expect two hours or so before you need to charge up. Playing a game such as Fall Guys, will get you about three hours and playing indie games such as Hades will get you upwards of four to five hours. Obviously, this is all dependant on things such as brightness and which power mode you’re on, and it being a Windows device, there’s a lot you can play around with to increase your mileage.

The biggest barrier of entry is without doubt the price, and without knowing when the Steam Deck is releasing here or what the price tag will be makes assessing this product that little bit harder. At the $2,000 price point for the Next (the Air which is releasing later this year is going to be cheaper), I fully understand that it isn’t for everyone, but I can also appreciate that making a product like this isn’t cheap, especially when you’re not getting any kickback from being able to sell games on your own storefront.

If you could buy a Steam Deck in Australia right now and it was significantly cheaper, obviously the value proposition of this device would decrease, but there’s no sign of the Steam Deck releasing in Australia the moment, and it’s hard for me to believe that we won’t see it here with a significant mark-up at retail. It also can’t be understated that as much as this device Windows 10 does have the same niggling issues as it does on a PC, it allows you to play absolutely anything you want from any launcher including Xbox Game Pass which means that whilst you might be paying above, you’re going to save that money with the likes of Xbox Game Pass.

Whilst the Aya Neo Next is more than competent as a portable PC gaming device that offers the ability to play literally anything, I’m more excited about what’s to come in the future in the portable space. It’s great to see companies like this really pushing the portable space into areas that I honestly never thought would have been possible even a few years ago. Whilst the Nintendo Switch opened the door on this type of portable experience, it’s definitely left a lot to desire in the years following, and I’m so glad to see that potential being fulfilled by other manufacturers. Aya Neo isn’t resting on its laurels. It’s already got the cheaper Aya Neo 2 coming later this year with a more powerful GPU and it’s recently announced the Aya Neo Next 2 which will seemingly take things even further in the way of providing an even more powerful system that works great away from home but then can also connect to a display for a great PC gaming experience.

The Aya Neo Next launches in Australia in late August for $2,089. It will be available at the likes of Amazon, Big W, EB Games, JB HI-Fi, Harvey Norman and The Gamesmen. 

The post Aya Neo Next Review – A Powerful And Versatile Portable PC Gaming Experience appeared first on Press Start.

It’s no secret at this point that if you’re after a new TV that will provide the inkiest blacks, natural colours, great connectivity and a stunning design that an LG OLED will be the first cab off the rank. Our review of last year’s LG C1 OLED confirmed as much, and not much has changed this time around. People are generally looking for major improvements or cutting edge technology when shopping for a new TV, but much like last year the biggest praise we can heap on LG’s OLED offering is that what came before was already so close to perfect that there’s very little they could do better this time around.

And yet, with the new C2 OLED they’ve gone and outdone themselves again.

This year, the LG C2 OLED range comes in six sizes with a 42″, 48″, 55″, 65″, 77″ and 83″. The stand design on the 65″ model has been streamlined significantly from the CX/C1, it’s now a lot narrower and less deep at the back, but also sits a bit higher which is sure to be a huge relief for those of us who sit a soundbar in front of the TV. The back of the panel itself is still incredibly thin at the top while the chunky part of the chassis containing the electronics sits at the bottom half. This time around, all of the ports have been moved to the side of the TV which makes cable management and wall mounting much easier. From the front, this is an incredibly attractive TV with virtually no borders. This is definitely one of the most premium-looking TVs I’ve laid eyes on, and the whole thing is freakishly light as well.

NEXT-GEN COMPATIBILITY AND GAME OPTIMISER

Just like last year’s C1 model, you’ll get four HDMI 2.1 ports with the LG C2, which means if you’ve got a PS5, Xbox Series X and a 3000 series GPU, you’re sorted. Whilst some manufacturers are still catching up with their HDMI port compatibility, LG has made it so that you can plug any HDMI 2.1 compatible device into any of its full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports and get an equally great result. This means that with a PS5 or Xbox Series X, you can access 4K at 120FPS with HDR enabled whilst taking advantage of Variable Refresh Rates and Auto Low Latency Modes. The TV supports both NVIDIA G-Sync as well as AMD FreeSync Premium so every base is covered when it comes to playing games on this display.

Last year’s Game Optimiser menu makes a return and functions largely the same, with some slight tweaks. Like before, when you press on the settings menu whilst there’s a console connected, instead of getting the generic settings popup, you’ll get one dedicated to gaming. This means that you can check out your frame rate on the fly, adjust the black stabilizer, turn on G-Sync and low latency modes or quickly go to the broader Game Optimiser menu which allows you to adjust things such as your HDR settings and the like. It’s a small thing in the grand scheme, but being able to quickly see how your TV is performing with your consoles or PC at a glance and quickly find your preferred settings is very welcome.

THE IMAGE QUALITY

If you’re looking for true-to-life picture that’s almost perfect out of the box, there are few consumer-level sets on the market as impressive as this (bar LG’s own top-of-the-line G2). With the C2 being an OLED TV, it means that every pixel is self-lit which means you’re going to have the inkiest, deepest blacks and truly vibrant colours. Every year we see more and more innovations from other display technologies that bring them closer to the dream of infinite contrast that OLED offers, but nothing beats the real thing.

That’s especially true when you consider that LG is making huge strides to bridge the one gap between its OLED technology and other solutions on the market – brightness. Because of the limitations of power and thermals, OLED panels have traditionally been significantly dimmer at peak brightness compared to the various takes on LCD panels out there, making them perfectly suitable for dark theatre room environments but a hassle in brightly-lit areas. That’s far less of a concern now though, with the “evo” panel in the C2 offering further improved brightness over the C1. Looking at the plethora of side-by-side comparisons and benchmarks available elsewhere it’s not a huge margin over the previous model but as someone coming off of an older LG B8 OLED the difference in brightness here is astronomical and easily makes this TV viable for viewing in just about any environment.

Whilst gaming or watching HDR movie content, the picture here is a genuine marvel. The blacks are cosmically deep, HDR really pops, with the TVs implementation of HGiG being excellent and perfectly lining up with the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s in-built calibrations. The greatest compliment we can give this TV when gaming or doing just about anything is that everything just works how it’s supposed to out of the box. It’s really fool proof, down to the TV literally recognising that you’re plugging in a console and automatically setting up everything how it needs to be.

Usually when I get a new TV I spend literal hours setting up and tweaking everything to suit the viewing environment and what I’m playing through it, but with my C2 I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the picture settings because I’m incredibly happy with how it all looks from the outset. I used to hate booting up a new HDR-ready video game and having to guess my way through those brightness calibration screens, but so far none of them have given me any grief since.

Something I was keen to check out for myself is the C2’s compatibility with new gaming-focussed technologies like Variable Rate Refresh, 120Hz refresh rates and pushes towards low input latency. The great news is the TV does all of this stuff excellently. Both my PS5 and Xbox Series X instantly detected that the display was capable and adjusted their output settings to match, meaning I could get right to firing up games like Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart to marvel at their 120Hz/40FPS output options as well as performance modes that look impossibly smooth with VRR enabled. Input latency across the board is incredibly good as well, with multiple step settings in the Game Optimiser to push it right down.

As usual, burn-in is always something OLED owners are going to have in the back of their minds as a possibility when gaming, but I can personally say after using my previous LG OLED for years and now the C2 I’ve only ever noticed a minimal amount of very temporary image retention and no actual burn-in. There are a bunch of technologies and settings on the TV to ensure the odds are negligible at best so it’s nothing I’d worry about unless you somehow planned on using it as your main monitor for everyday PC use.

What I’m still not quite a fan of is the LG’s aggressive backlight control, which can occasionally look funky on scenes with very bright screen coverage as it dims in and out to match the displays overall peak brightness. It’s far less noticeable here than the older models though, especially when there’s as much brightness overhead as you get here.

THE USER INTERFACE

The LG C2 carries across the newer iteration of LG’s WebOS Smart TV interface from last year’s models – you’ve got one home screen that not only has all of your apps and HDMI sources on it, but it’ll also cleverly show you top picks from the variety of streaming services, and allow you to continue watching programs without even jumping into those apps. It’s slightly disappointing to see there’s still no dedicated Google Cast capabilities, but all the apps you’d want are here from Netflix to Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Kayo, Binge and Apple TV+. If you’re an Apple user, you’ve still got the option of easily casting content with AirPlay as well.

My only real gripe with the UI on the C2 is that I couldn’t find a way to have the TV boot straight into the excellent Home Dashboard, which lets you see all your inputs as well as access content directly from your phone and control all your home’s smart lighting and devices from one sexy-looking screen. It’s a minor complaint and only comes down to how much I love the Home Dashboard as an all-in-one home control solution right there on the big screen in my lounge.

The staple LG Magic Remote is largely unchanged from last year and still one of the best proprietary TV remotes around, and I’ve grown to love it even more since discovering that I can use it as a mouse pointer with the TV’s native GeForce Now app to quite literally use it as a pointer for games that I’m streaming. Pointer controls for strategy or point-and-click games? Wiimote-style controls for FPSes?? Count me in!

What this all amounts to at the end of the day is the C2 quite deftly carries on the already-stellar legacy of the C1 as a consumer-level OLED TV that possesses unbeatable image quality and great gaming features. It might not be a huge step-up from its predecessor – I certainly wouldn’t go upgrading if you’ve got last year’s model – but coming from an older LG OLED or another display technology you’re going to be wowed. When it comes to gaming, there’s no other TV I’d sooner recommend.

The post LG OLED evo C2 65″ TV Review – A Brighter Future For An Already Excellent TV appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve been using the SteelSeries Aerox 3 wireless as my main driver in the office for roughly a year and haven’t had too many complaints with its ultralight and futuristic design, but if you told me that another wireless mouse would come out, weighing even less whilst retaining a more traditional design, I wouldn’t have believed you, but that’s exactly what Razer has don with the Viper V2 Pro.

The Razer Viper V2 Pro follows in the footsteps of the original, which was regarded as one of the best lightweight mice, but Razer has somehow managed to strip off 20% of the weight. This has been done through design choices such as the removal of right side buttons, RGB, built-in grips and a number of other component changes. Now, if you looked at any of these in isolation, you probably wouldn’t feel a difference in weight, but all of these minor changes result in a mouse that’s lighter than I ever thought possible.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $259 FROM RAZER.COM

Razer has been using a tennis ball in its marketing of the new Viper V2 Pro, simply due to the fact that this mouse comes in at around the same weight, which is very, very impressive. My first reaction when pulling the mouse out of the box was that there was absolutely no way that a battery could be inside, yet somehow Razer has packed a battery that lasts roughly 80 hours. Design-wise, the materials used don’t feel overly premium, but the build quality is still fantastic.

I was then quite sceptical for house a mouse without much weight to it would feel, and my concerns were quickly eased after a few hours. The mouse glides across my desk, and I’m able to get from one side of my 32″ monitor all the way to the other side my second screen in seconds. This is also thanks to the Razer Focus Pro 30K optical sensor, which Razer has touted as the world’s most precise optical sensor, and honestly, I wouldn’t normally pay too much attention to this, but even at higher sensitivity, I never found myself overshooting or undershooting, instead always landing exactly where intended.

Similarly, whilst I’m no pro, booting up games such as Apex Legends had me feeling like I was more in control of my reticule, rather than just flailing all over the place. I can really see how if you’re a fan of a light mouse that this would benefit both gaming performance and productivity. The clickyness of the left and right buttons, whilst on the noisier side also definitely feel really responsive.

As far as buttons go, there’s two on the left-hand side, your left and right mouse button as well as a scroll real that has a good amount of tactility to it and works well. There’s also a very small power button on the bottom that also acts as a way of changing the DPI. When compared to Razer’s other mice and other lightweight mice on the market such as the mentioned Aerox 3, it is a largely no frills mouse, but I actually like that Razer has leaned into this for pure performance.

When it comes to software, the mouse has onboard memory so that it’ll remember your settings from PC to PC, and obviously it can be connected to Razer Synapse to customise everything from what each button does, to sensitivity and polling rate, as well as changing how quickly it goes into standby or lower power mode.

THE SPECS

SENSOR	Focus Pro 30K Optical Sensor
MAX SENSITIVITY (DPI)	30000
MAX SPEED (IPS)	750
MAX ACCELERATION (G)	70
PROGRAMMABLE BUTTONS	5
SWITCH TYPE	Optical Mouse Switches Gen-3
SWITCH LIFECYCLE	90-million Clicks
ON-BOARD MEMORY PROFILES	1
MOUSE FEET	100% PTFE
CABLE	Razer Speedflex Cable USB Type-C
TILT SCROLL WHEEL	None
SIZES	Length: 126.7 mm / 4.99″ Grip Width: 57.6 mm / 2.27″ Height: 37.8 mm / 1.49″
WEIGHT	58 g

The post Razer Viper V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse Review – Light And Responsive appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve been a big fan of Sonos products for many, many years. You’ll find a Sonos product in most rooms of my house just because of how easy their products are to use, how seamless they sync together and how good their speakers sound, but it’s true that they’re pricier than most. This is what excites me most about the Sonos Ray, which is Sonos’ most affordable soundbar yet and a product that I can see a lot of people looking at as their first potential Sonos product.

At roughly 55cm in width, it comes in at half the size of the Sonos Arc, so just from a size point of view, this is going to fit on a lot more entertainment units, and also can be hidden away much more easily thanks to all of the speakers being front firing. Thankfully, the design (available in both black and white) has a metal grille on the front similar to the Beam V2 and the Arc, which means that it’s not a cloth design and won’t catch all that dust.

When it comes to connections, Sonos has opted to take away the HDMI port from the Sonos Ray and instead just featuring an Optical port. Obviously, this might be a nuisance for some but fact of the matter is, most TVs have an optical port that can connect to the soundbar, and it’s just as seamless as using HDMI for the most part.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $399 FROM THE SONOS WEBSITE.

The Sonos Ray is literally perfect for a smaller living area or a bedroom. I opted to test it in my bedroom connected to a 43″ Samsung Frame and the difference was immense. I was able to hear voices with a lot more clarity, the bass from the speakers was evident and obviously, I was then able to seamlessly connected my Ray my Sonos system and play audio through the soundbar over both Apple Airplay and through the Sonos Wi-Fi system.

When it comes to sound, I’d put this somewhere between the Sonos One and the Beam V2. You’re going to get a much more rounded sound than that of the Sonos One, but then you’re missing newer features such as Dolby Atmos and an amp and a midwoofer in the Beam V2. Honestly though, for most people, you’ll struggle to tell the difference between the Beam V2 and the Ray in most instances, especially at a $200 price difference.

Another feature that you’re missing out on is a microphone which means you’re not able to make use of Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Sonos’ upcoming voice assistant. That might be an issue if you’re looking to use these features in the room that this soundbar is in, but the omission isn’t a huge surprise given the price cut.

The biggest and best thing about getting into the Sonos ecosystem is how easy everything is to setup and use and then keep adding to. You can easily add two Sonos Ones to the Sonos Ray to create surrounds, add a sub for even more base or just add other speakers in other rooms to have music seamlessly blaring through the whole house.

The setup of this device is just ridiculously easy too. You simply just need to grab the Sonos app, and the Ray will instantly show up, before you can control things such as TV volume as well as play music from the likes of TuneIn Radio, Spotify and Apple Music. If you’re purely wanting to control your TV, most TV remotes will control the soundbar directly too.

A couple of other features I want to call out are Night Sound which will reduce loud effects and enhance the quieter ones and Speech Enhancement which can amplify voices. I know these sound like features that you won’t use, but when they’re so easily accessible in the app, you’ll find yourself more likely to use them than with other soundbars.

All-in-all, it’d be hard not to recommend the Sonos Ray for $399 if the $599 price tag of the Sonos Beam is too steep, or if you simply don’t have the room for the larger soundbar. I haven’t heard of anybody regretting getting into the Sonos ecosystem and I don’t see this changing with the Sonos Ray.

The Sonos Ray launches on June 7th. You can grab it for $399 from the Sonos website. 

The post Sonos Ray Soundbar Review – Big Sound At A Smaller Cost appeared first on Press Start.

Finding a headset with absolutely every feature that you need feels like a near impossible task these days, with certain products having some features, but sacrificing on audio quality or battery life or visa versa. The brand new SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gaming headset has pretty much every feature you can think of, and some that you won’t have known that you needed until now.

THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $513 FOR PRO WIRELESS (USE CODE DUKE) / $389 FOR PRO (USE CODE DUKE)

The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless comes in a wireless and a wired variant, and then there’s two versions of each: an Xbox specific version and a standard version. If you’ve got both a PS5/PS4 as well as an Xbox Series X, you’ll want the Xbox branded version as only this model can be used with both the Xbox and PlayStation at once, whilst the standard one can be connected to the PS5/PS4/Switch/PC, but not an Xbox. It’s very hard to find a headset that works with literally any and every console in your cabinet, let alone one that lets you connect two at once and easily go between the two, but this does it and does it well.

Firstly, I want to talk about the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless which is the most feature rich gaming headset that I’ve used, and in particular, if you’ve got an Xbox Series X and a PS5, the ability to connect the two and switch on the fly via the included DAC is a gamechanger. It’s worth noticing that there’s two USB-C ports, once that specifically allows you to connect an Xbox console and the other which allows connection of a PS5/PS4/Switch/PC. If you don’t own an Xbox, but want to connect at least two of the other platforms mentioned, you should stick with the non-Xbox version as that allows you to connect any two at once (but no Xbox). There’s also line in for connecting the headset to improve audio quality again, and line out to connect an external set of speakers to, so that you can control them with a DAC.

The DAC also acts as a battery charger for your backup battery. If you’ve had a SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless, you’d be familiar with SteelSeries’ infinite battery system. Unlike other headsets, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless includes two physical batteries, so that you can always be charging a backup battery in the DAC for endless battery life. Each battery lasts roughly 22 hours, and the headset battery can also be charged in the headset with a USB-C port cleverly hidden under the other ear plate.

The other huge new addition to this headset, which hasn’t been in any other gaming headset that I’ve used is Active Noise Cancelling. If you’ve used a high-end Bose or Sony headset, you would know that ANC is a huge positive for these headsets, and thankfully, you get the whole shebang on this headset. You can go between noise cancelling on, off and even transparency which lets you let in sound from the outside world, that is amplified using the microphones in the headsets. The noise cancelling is strengthened by four microphones on and around the headset that allow the outside noises to be cancelled out.

In terms of how much it blocks out, it’s probably ever so slightly behind the Bose QuietComfort, but it was more than good enough with music playing or gunshots blaring from your preferred console. I was able to be in the office with 10-12 people around as well as music blaring through the office speakers and completely drown this out with my own music. Similarly, I have two sausage dogs whose bark often interrupt my sessions, but the ANC did a great job of removing the bass from their bark, so it was barely an issue. Another very minor gripe is that I wish that switching between each of the modes were a little bit clearer, but once you get used to the audio cues, you’re good to go, and obviously the DAC shows you what you have turned off and on and you’re able to make adjustments easily enough if you’ve got that near you too.

I’ll be honest in saying that I’m not the biggest audiophile, but as far as audio quality goes, I can’t recall another gaming headset that has provided such good bass and clarity when it comes to listening to music and gaming audio. Paired with ANC and the SteelSeries GG software that we’ll talk about a bit later, it’s an experience that’s hard to fault, and one that I imagine anyone will be happy with.

Another feature that has been more common on recent SteelSeries headsets is Bluetooth, and that’s here too. Being able to play your PS5 or Xbox Series X, with your mobile connected, so that you can take calls, or watch a quick TikTok whilst waiting for your party to join is a genuine gamechanger and a feature that I could never live without.

The design of the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless takes things beyond what we’ve seen in a SteelSeries headset before as well. As with previous models, you’re able to adjust the tension on the band between three different sizes (this is done by holes rather than velcro now) and the actual earcups are finally height adjustable now, with you having free range of the height of both sides of your headset.

The design of most gaming headsets mean that you’d know want to wear them on a work Zoom call let alone out of the house, but SteelSeries have known that if someone is spending $600 and above on a headset, then you’ll want to use it in all aspects of life, especially due to the fact that you have noise cancelling and such. This is why they’ve made the decision to make this headset all black, and even the Xbox version forgoes the inclusion of any green elements, opting to go for a sleek black. Whilst it’s still a bit bulkier than other non-gaming headsets, it’s still probably the nicest premium gaming headset that I can think of. The boom microphone also retracts perfectly back into the headset, giving the illusion that this is a lifestyle headset first, and a gaming headset second, from the design point of view.

As far as connectivity goes, this headset really shines when connected to an Xbox Series X/S or PC. Don’t get me wrong, they work fine when connected to a PS5, but PlayStation has still restricted any headset other than its own from using a chatmix dial, where connecting on Xbox brings it straight up on the DAC and allows you to adjust the chatmix by pressing in the volume dial.

PC is where this headset really goes to another level, particularly when they’re wired, which makes the audio quality even better. A new piece of software called Sonar which is built into SteelSeries GG really takes the audio game to the next level. Not only do you get 360 degree spatial audio (similar to that of PS5 3D audio), but there’s also a number of EQ presets for a number of AAA games that really change the way that you hear things, with more seemingly on the way. Using GG, you’re also able to enable AI Noise cancelling which takes away the background noise of keyboard clocks and such.

All-in-all, outside of a few very minor picky issues with this headset, I can’t think of another headset that does anywhere near as much as it does, and extremely well at that. The fact that it is compatible with PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox, PC, has two batteries that both give you 22 hours of game time, has Active Noise Cancelling that almost rivals the best, Bluetooth compatibility as well as really good sound to boot makes it extremely compelling. The only barrier of entry is the $650 price point for the wireless version (or $513 using code DUKE here), but I feel really, really confident in saying that this will be the last headset that you will need for some time.

THE ARCTIS NOVA PRO (WIRED VERSION)

I also got to spend some time with the Arctis Nova Pro Xbox Edition which is the wired version of this headset. It has the exact same drivers, meaning it has fantastic sound, and also has a smaller DAC with many of the same features. Because it’s wired, obviously there’s no batteries or Bluetooth and there’s also no Active Noise Cancelling, so if you’re a PC user, or have a PS5/Xbox Series X at your desk, I’d recommend it, but honestly for the extra $100-200, I’d recommend just optiong for the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless if the budget allows ($389 for Arctis Nova Pro using code DUKE).

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro and Arctis Nova Pro Wireless are available now from SteelSeries.com. You can expect to pay$513 for Pro Wireless (USE CODE DUKE) and $389 for the Pro (USE CODE DUKE). They will launch in Australia in mid-July for $499.95 and $649.95 respectively.

The post SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Gaming Headset Review – The Most Feature Packed Headset On The Market appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember, and whilst games have evolved and incorporated many new forms of technology, whether it be season passes, always online functionality, patches or DLC, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t miss just sitting down to play a game, without having to download a 100gb piece of software or an update every second day.

This is what excited me most about Playdate, a brand new portable console by Panic, the publisher behind titles such as Untitled Goose Game and Firewatch. As soon as you turn the handheld on, everything just works, and is delivered into the palm of your hands. The basic concept (or what the makers are calling season one) is that with your Playdate purchase, you get 24 games included, but not immediately. Rather than handing these to you all at once, each week for the 12 weeks following the turning on of the new handheld, you’ll get two games per week. This could be anything from a platformer, to a fully fledged RPG to a music creator, some of which take advantage of all of the features of the handheld, or others that rely heavily on features such as the crank.

If you’ve held an old-school Gameboy before, then the Playdate will feel familiar. The Playdate is a portable handheld device with a D-Pad, A/B buttons, a 2.7″ black and white screen (that isn’t backlit) as well as a crank, which is not only its most unique feature, but also the most compelling after going hands-on. In some games, the crank is definitely used in a gimmicky way, but in others, it allows you to make precise movements that simply wouldn’t be possible with any other input mechanic. It’s also used in quite a few games to scroll text and such, which not only felt more natural, but also had me reading in-game text more like a book, scrolling at my own pace, rather than just pressing the A button over and over again.

The Playdate feels great in the hands, with the build quality feeling more like a Nintendo product rather than some cheap knock-off. Whilst the screen is gorgeous in the right lighting, I’d be lying if I said that there wasn’t more than a handful of times that I wanted to use the Playdate, either in bed at night, or sitting in non-direct light in my house, and was just left unable to see the screen in a way that would do the game justice. This was worse more often than not when I was looking at white on black backgrounds, and I fully appreciate why there isn’t a backlight in this tiny device, but I’d hope in the future that we at least see some third-party or official accessory that either shines a light on the display, or just somehow makes it more visible in less than perfect situations.

There’s also an accelerometer built into the device, which wasn’t used as often as the crank, but it’s a great thing to have in a modern portable console. The speaker is also surprisingly good given how small and light this device is, but there’s also a headphone jack, as well as a microphone built in, so really all grounds are covered, for future use. When it comes to battery life, Panic suggests that it lasts about 8 hours and I’d say that’s roughly in-line with my experience. There’s also a clock display that is on the screen whenever your device is sleeping (you can choose between analogue and digital) and you’ll get roughly 14 days standby using this, but no doubt this is to be used with the dock that is set to launch post release.

Any console is going to live and die by its software, and whilst I can see the potential in the hardware, and absolutely love the concept of getting 24 games free with the console and having them delivered to you over a 12 week roll-out, the downside of this is that not everything will be for everyone. As mentioned, there’s 24 games in season one (you can find them all here), some are as simple as Whitewater Wipeout which literally has you just using the crank to try and ride waves in order to beat your highscore or Boogie Loops which is literally a basic music mixer. The great thing is that even if you boot into a game and don’t like it, nothing has been wasted (outside of the initial hardware purchase).

When the games did resonate, boy did I find myself struggling to take my mind off of them. Games such as Pick Pack Pup which is a clever puzzler about a removalist doggo or Crank’s Time Travel Adventure which has you only using the crank in order to control a robot who needs to make his date by a certain time. Both were insanely simple, both in their premise and gameplay mechanic, but that was part of their charm, and what kept me coming back. Are they games that could exist on other platforms? Probably, but there was just something so special about playing these games on a handheld that felt like it was from the 90s. There weren’t huge, expansive worlds to explore or dozens of mechanics to navigate, it was just fun gaming in its purest form.

It might sound weird, but this really did at times, feel like if Nintendo released the Gameboy in 2022, and then had a bunch of games designed for it with modern sensibilities. It’s a really interesting blend of old-school hardware with a bunch of really cool Indie developers developing games for it, with the learnings of the past 20 or 30 years.

Whilst we don’t know if there will be further seasons of games, you’re able to sideload games really easily via the Playdate website. I was able to do this with the first paid Playdate released for a game called Bloom (it’s $10 USD). Panic has also announced a marketplace app called Catalog which will presumably let you download free/paid games post-release.

There’s a host of other software that’s already available too, such as Playdate Mirror which lets you plug your Playdate into your PC and instantly have it mirrored on a display, so that you can use a controller, capture content or livestream to platforms. It worked flawlessly and honestly better than most software from larger publishers. There’s also Pulp which allows talented people to easily build games for the Playdate.

Everything about the Playdate oozes polish, and I’d recommend the handheld for any gamer, if it weren’t for two things. The price which is almost $300 AUD with shipping, which again does include 24 games, but is still a decent price to pay, and also the fact that if you were to order one today, you won’t be able to get one until 2023 (unless production magically improves before then).

What I will say though is that if you can get your hand on one of these devices, even for a few weeks for a friend as such, you’re going to be in for a good time, and not for the fact that a lot of these games couldn’t be played on another console, but just because it really does feel like a perfect blend of retro gaming with modern games, without the constant need to play online or update your games. It’s a really fun time.

The post Playdate Review – What’s Old Is New Again appeared first on Press Start.

I came to the conclusion in my Galaxy S22+ review that Samsung has finally made a great default phone. One that has most everything you’d expect from a smartphone and not much else. They haven’t left people in search of the ridiculous high end in the dark though – if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want the standard, who wants every feature but the kitchen sink in your phone, the S22 Ultra is here for you.

When you first pick up the phone, the size of the screen and the device itself is immediately apparent. This is one chunky slab of phone. With a screen measuring 6.8 inches corner to corner, 1440 x 3088 pixels of resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and with HDR10 capability – this screen has about every spec you could feasibly want out of a phone. And it looks as great as the specs would lead you to believe. It’s bright, punchy and scrolling is smooth as hell. HDR video in particular looks damn incredible.

Given how fantastic this screen is though, it’s a real shame it’s shaped the way it is. Similar to Samsung’s displays dating back to the S6 Edge, the screen cascades off the sides in a way that looks awesome in photos but in use does nothing but make the experience of using the phone worse. Text and images warp as they wrap around the edge, light catches the curve in a way that can obscure what you’re looking at on screen, and compared to the standard S22 the curved edge makes the phone way harder to actually hold on to. With a phone this big you want every bit of help you can get, and this curved screen just made me worried I was gonna drop the phone every time I used it. I really hope Samsung moves past this Note style shape for the next Ultra – it really adds a whole bunch of problems to what otherwise is one of the best screens you can get on a phone.

I try not to get too hyperbolic in my reviews, but far out – the 10x zoom lens on this camera system is something I will miss in every phone that doesn’t have it from now on. Most phones with ‘telephoto’ lens options go somewhere between 2x and 3x, which is nice but often you can get similar shots by just taking a few steps closer to your subject. The 10x lens though? It let me get shots that I just literally could not have got otherwise. Sitting on one edge of a football oval and getting perfectly clear shots of the scoreboard over a hundred metres away blew me away. To be fair, the shots from the telephoto often don’t hold up quite as well as ones from the standard ‘wide’ camera – but it’s just so nice to have an entirely new tool in the kit for getting new and interesting photos from a phone.

The other cameras in the set take fantastic photos as well – like the standard S22 the wide camera uses Samsung’s  Adaptive Pixel tech to take photos with the massive high-resolution sensor (108MP in this case) and then bin them down to 12MP to get more detail and better lighting in your shots. Even the selfie camera is overkill at an absurd 40MP, but this kind of phone is where the absurd lives. Your selfies will be more detailed than they’ve ever been.

While it’s not technically a Galaxy Note, the Ultra has clearly been passed the Note torch. It’s a Note in shape, a Note in size, and carries along with it the most Note-defining accessory – the S Pen. It’s an accessory I’ve always been curious to try but never figured I would find much use for. Samsung has given it some near useless gimmick features – does anyone really want to wave a stylus like a magic wand to turn up the phone’s volume? – but alongside this is some genuine utility you won’t find anywhere else. Tap the screen with the Pen while the phone is asleep, and you’ll start taking a quick note that will be saved to your Notes app. You can use the pen to select portions of the screen to screenshot and easily mark up screenshots or documents. It surprised me by being useful as a mouse cursor for remoting into a desktop computer at home – having a hover state and a click makes it a pretty great way to interface with non-mobile optimised interfaces like a home server, something I would never have predicted to be as useful as it is.

While I could pretty universally recommend the S22+, the Ultra needs a bit more nuance. It’s way more expensive, and you get an array features for the extra cash that run from outright gimmick to genuinely useful – but it’s not a home-run of a phone. The physical form of the phone to me is worse in most ways that matter compared to the S22. From the curved screen obscuring content and making the phone harder to hold to the camera package just kind of jutting out of the phone – the physical design choices made with this phone feels clumsy compared to the other phones in the S22 lineup.

You can find the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra on Amazon with free delivery, or check out the full Samsung Galaxy S22 range at the Samsung Store.

The post Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Phone Review – Worthy Of Note appeared first on Press Start.

Screens that cascade over the edge like a waterfall, cameras with adjustable apertures, iffy retina scanners – Samsung is no stranger to adding oddball features to it’s Galaxy line of phones to see what sticks. The S22 is almost strange in that it doesn’t really have a novel tentpole feature. Instead of focusing on a party trick this year, the S22 phones are refreshingly regular. It makes for a dependable default, the kind of phone that does most everything well without being weighed down by extra guff. It’s got everything most people could want out of a phone, and should last a long time doing it.

The screen is the first thing that hits you with this phone. It’s bright, vivid and fast. It’s a 6.6 inch 1080p AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate that makes scrolling loaded feeds look smoother than on standard screens and text and images easier to see clearly while scrolling. By default the screen is a bit too vivid for my tastes, like a TV in a shop that’s got all it’s colours turned up to max – but thankfully you can switch it to a ‘Natural’ colour profile in settings. A feature that almost feels silly to mention but makes a world of difference is that the screen on the S22+ is totally flat. Your content is all visible, no awkward reflections or content flowing over the edge, and you won’t have to spend absurd amounts to get decent screen protectors. It’s a return to normal that I’m glad Samsung chose to make.

The S22+ is a big phone, but it’s design makes it as easy to hold as I could imagine for a phone of this size. The flat screen means you’re not worrying about false touches while trying to hold it and the subtly curved side rails make for a phone that nestles comfortably into the hand. It’s rather fetching in looks as well. The camera bump is integrated into the side rail in a way that looks like it’s properly part of the phone rather than kinda bolted on like the cameras of many other flagships.

That camera takes fairly fantastic photos. Using a technique Samsung calls Adaptive Pixel it takes adjacent pixels from the 50 megapixel sensor and combines them in to one – letting each of these combined pixels take in more light when needed to get a brighter, more pleasing and more detailed 12MP picture. You can choose to take full 50MP photos if you want to, but this will result in worse performance in lower light and much, much larger files. All this is when using the middle ‘Wide’ camera, there is also a 12MP Ultrawide camera for when you want to capture more of a scene, and a 10MP 3x Telephoto lens for when you just can’t get close enough to a subject and need to zoom in.

Each of the lenses is capable of the Night Mode photography feature, and I found this resulted in pleasing low-light shots as long as the subject was relatively still. Shots from the 10MP selfie camera on the front are crisp and detailed too, once you turn off the default smoothing filters. The video camera can record in 4K at 60 frames per second, as well as a wild 8K at 24 frames per second. There does seem to be a bit of shutter lag which is unfortunate. It’s tiny, but can make it feel like you’re missing a shot even if you tapped the shutter at the right time.

The heart behind all this screen and camera is more than powerful enough to keep things moving at a good pace. I never noticed the phone missing frames, navigation was silky smooth. Playing games like Legends of Runeterra or Need for Speed No Limits never seemed to stress the phone out. With this high performance chip I was worried the battery life might take a hit, but I found it able to get through a day of my very heavy usage pattern of constant music streaming over mobile to bluetooth, some occasional gaming and scrolling social feeds, and not hit the 20% mark until I’d had about 4-5 hours of screen time. I found it lasts an extra couple of hours compared to my year-old iPhone 12 Pro, which is not entirely surprising given how much bigger it is but a useful point of reference nonetheless.

One thing I was looking forward to most was the nice level of customisation offered by OneUI and Android 12 with ‘Material You’. The idea is that you can coordinate your interface and icon colours with your wallpaper so it looks cohesive and really yours. In my experience, this works well enough but not quite as well as I’d hoped it would. It themes standard Android elements wonderfully – the Quick Setting pull down, dialer and supported apps will all take on your chosen colour palette. Unfortunately the option to theme app icons doesn’t work nearly as well since almost no third party apps support it. Material You doesn’t quite live up to the promises it makes of personalising your entire phone, but it is lovely to have supported apps and screens all consistently coloured according to your chosen vibe.

You can find the Samsung Galaxy S22+ on Amazon with free delivery, or check out the full Samsung Galaxy S22 range at the Samsung Store.

The post Samsung Galaxy S22+ Phone Review – A Great Default appeared first on Press Start.

SteelSeries has recently dropped the Apex 3 TKL keyboard locally, taking 2020’s value-packed Apex 3 and shrinking it down to a tenkeyless form factor. We’ve been putting the new little brother of the family through its paces, but obviously most of what we liked about the original version still applies so here’s a refresher on what we had to say about the Apex 3:

“From the outside, The Apex 3 looks a lot like the Apex 5 in terms of quality. It’s made out of a polymer frame, so feels quite study in terms of build. Interestingly enough, this keyboard is supposed to be water and dust resistant at an IP32 standard. Obviously, I didn’t flood it with water, but I tested it with a few spills and found that it didn’t impact performance whatsoever.

Unlike the Apex 5 keyboard, the Apex 3 has whisper quiet keys, which I actually found really nice to type on. It’s also a nice change from a lot of the other gaming keyboards that are quite loud to use, especially at night or in the company of other people. I found that this was a nice happy medium between a quiet key and a key that feels great to type on. Typing was always accurate whilst using this keyboard, but the keys are quite tall in terms of how they sit on the keyboard, and do have a high actuation point. In terms of gaming, it’s definitely a little bit of a slower press compared to other keys, but it’s still decent.”

All of that goes for the Apex 3 TKL, which takes the same membrane keyboard design with the company’s “Whisper Quiet” switches and IP32 water resistance and shrinks it down by roughly 8cm width by ditching the numpad. You still get the same multimedia controls, now in place of the last three top-row keys, meaning the TKL has a total of 20 less keys than the standard Apex 3. For whatever reason it also doesn’t ship with the same magnetic wrist rest that comes with the full sized version which probably won’t be a huge loss for most.

Like the full-sized equivalent, the TKL version of the Apex 3 trades the per-key RGB lighting of more expensive keyboards for zoned lights, but because it’s smaller overall there are just eight zones instead of ten. You’re still able to customise these zones with 16.8 million possible colours and a selection of effects as always, and SteelSeries GG/Engine is a joy to use for setting up macros, adjusting the polling rate or just messing around with the RGB.

Although it’s firmly entry-level I can see the Apex 3 TKL really suiting budget-conscious competitive gamers who want a compact, durable keyboard to throw in a bag and take to events. For similar reasons it’d also make a great addition to younger gamers’ first setups with spill resistance and a price tag that won’t break the family bank.

SPECS

• Price: $129 AUD
• Top Material: High Quality Polymer Frame
• Anti-ghosting: Gaming Grade
• Illumination: 8-Zone RGB Illumination
• Weight: 639 gm
• Height: 40 mm
• Width: 364 mm
• Depth: 150 mm
• Key Type & Name: SteelSeries Whisper-Quiet Switches
• Key Lifetime: 20 Million Keypresses

The post SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL Gaming Keyboard Review – Same Affordable Good Looks With More Desk Space appeared first on Press Start.

When it comes to the more premium TV experiences, at least in Australia, TCL took longer than most to make the jump from wallet-friendly entry level products to the sorts of screens that could comfortably sit alongside the big players in the 4K and 8K space. You may know them better as Samsung and LG. This is worth stating up front because the TCL 65″ X925 Mini Led 8K Google TV aims pretty high in both the feature department and that of wanting to blow you away with its picture quality and out-of-the-box sound.

And when you’re talking about the sort of TV that will stream the latest content in 4K and be the recipient of a super-fast HDMI 2.1 cable connected to either a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series console, or even modern PC, seeing words like Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in the same sentence carries a fair bit of weight. And in terms of 4K entertainment, the TCL X925 excels. Thanks in part to the decent colour accuracy across its main picture modes, support for things like Dolby Vision (the TV will automatically switch whenever it detects a Dolby Vision source), and impressive black-levels thanks to the Mini LED tech lighting it all. Which also leads to some truly bright and impressive HDR.

There’s even some IMAX branding in here.

Okay, so the HDR is good. That’s nice but one of the first things people actually ask about whenever they’re looking at a high-end TV for all of their next-gen entertainment is related to black levels. The LG OLED range has pretty much changed the game in this very specific way. The black level question is kind of weird too. How good does this TV look when there’s no image on the screen? A sentiment born from the fact that LCD and LED backlight technology has traditionally sucked. It was all about Plasma back in the olden times, before OLED showed up. Grey, washed out, colour bleeding. That was LCD-based tech. Not quite up to the refined standards of a TV connoisseur.

As with QLED the answer for TCL is to ramp up the lighting zones and do so with Mini LED technology so the black levels remain untouched. What we’ve got here is a big step up from where we were even a couple of years ago, and it’s immediately noticeable. The black levels  on this TCL TV, especially when watching a movie or series or playing cinematic games, are superb. Our compliments to the chef. Not quite OLED, but then again what is.

So far, so good. And when you factor in TCL’s affordable-for-a-high-end price-point for the X925, you might be thinking that this is case-closed. Don’t bother spending thousands for only a little bit more, you’re sorted. And sometimes, spend more for a display that doesn’t support native 8K content. Which this TCL TV does, it’s in the name.

Okay so where it falters, just to get this side of the TCL 65″ X925 Mini Led 8K Google TV review out of the way, is in its upscaling capabilities, comparatively poor viewing angles, and overall out of whack uniformity when it comes to white-balance and even some colour saturation. At least on the unit reviewed here. 

That last bit there basically means that some parts of the screen are brighter than others. Not all that noticeable but here. Still though, if you’re of the sort that’s looking for a display purely for 4K gaming and streaming high-def content, where you’re sitting directly in-front of the screen, then these downsides won’t affect you. Until someone comes round, decides to watch some free-to-air “HD” programming, and you’re taken aback at just how, well, not great it all looks. Or, you know, you like to game on a docked Nintendo Switch.

One great feature is that the TCL X925 comes equipped with an Onkyo soundbar and subwoofer on the back as part of the build. The results are on par with decent off-the-shelf soundbars, which is great, though it does mean the TV is heavy. Like, real heavy. Interestingly, TCL also sent me a TCL Ray-Danz TS9030 3.1 Dolby Atmos soundbar with wireless subwoofer to check out and the difference was noticeable. So yeah, you get great out-of-the-box sound thanks to the Onkyo magic but there’s a definite step up if you opt for a more premium audio experience.

The key thing for a display like this though is how it handles all of the HDMI 2.1 content you can throw at it. In taking the time to lug a GeForce RTX 3090 equipped PC rig over to check out some native 8K gaming on a fairly sizable screen, the results were incredible for the most part. And in the age of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series consoles, this TV is ready to do its part. VRR support is here (48Hz and up) in addition to HDR10, Dolby Vision HDR, and full 4K 120Hz for the handful of titles that can actually run at that level of performance. But hey, it’s future proofing in a way because even though the 8K portion of the TCL X925 story is a chapter that you’ll most likely skip on the account of 8K not really being a thing yet – 4K 60 and even 4K 120 is becoming the norm.

Well, for those with the latest consoles and PC graphics.

For this review the first game I fired up was Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart on PlayStation 5 followed by Spider-Man Miles Morales and then Returnal. A trio of 4K titles perfect for checking out colour accuracy, brightness, fast motion, and the more cinematic aspects of a display. It’s here where the 4K chops of the TCL X925 shine bright, the HDR impresses, and the overall experience is that of gaming on a high-end TV. Even though colours aren’t perfect (something that had me tweaking settings for quite some time) there’s a clarity that never fades when dealing with a 4K source.

Elsewhere, the competitive side of the TCL X925 is good, but not amazing. The response times and latency unfortunately isn’t on par with more competitive offerings. It’s still serviceable and more than enough for most to not even notice but this is a side of the display I can see TCL improving as newer models arrive on the scene. 

This might read like an abrupt conclusion but let’s talk about the UI, setup, and installation process, which was all smooth thanks to TCL opting for the Google TV approach. With a Google account setup is a breeze, especially if you’re plugged into the Goolge-sphere as it can be handled from a smartphone. Or easy-to-read on-screen prompts. When it comes to the UI and operating system side, the TCL X925 is great. This might be personal preference (thanks in part to using an NVIDIA Shield for years now), but the Google TV interface is clean, slick, fast, and great for all apps. Compared to the competition, or non-Google TVs, to me it’s enough of a selling point to warrant an investment. 

The post TCL 65″ X925 Mini LED 8K Google TV Review – TCL’s Best Panel to Date appeared first on Press Start.

In the past few years I’ve had a weird obsession with portable projectors. The ability to have a 100″ screen anywhere in your house or yard with total portability has been something that we couldn’t achieve until these little devices hit the market, and they’re growing in popularity for good reason. These have continually got better with time, and the improvements that we’ve seen in this market all come together in Samsung’s new portable projector, The Freestyle.

I can’t recall a time in recent memory where I sat down to write about a new piece of tech and genuinely didn’t know where to start, just because there’s so many exciting things to talk about with this device. I’ve used maybe three portable projectors for an extended amount of time at this point, most recently spending a good amount of time with the BenQ GV1 and what immediately stood out is how easy everything is with Samsung’s The Freestyle and how it just works.

The portable projector is capable of projecting a 1080p/60FPS image anywhere from 30″ to 100″ with the latter requiring a distance of 2.7m between the wall and the projector. Finding a surface is made easier by the stand that the projector sits on, which allows you to easily adjust at any angle from pointing downwards, directly at a wall or straight to the ceiling. Whilst most other portable projectors that I’ve used need to be directly pointed at a wall at a perfectly straight angle, The Freestyle has Auto Focus, Auto Keystoning and Auto Leveling. This means that you can literally point it at any angle or surface and it will automatically focus and create a rectangle image that has the correct proportions.

From there, you can play with the focus manually in order to get a perfectly sharp image. I would recommend doing this if you’re leaving it somewhere for an extended amount of time as the auto focus often isn’t as sharp as it can be with manual adjustment, but it still does a really damn good job and if you’re just moving it from room to room, you’d be more than happy with the result it throws out. I was genuinely surprised with some of the angles it was able to accommodate for and still provide a near perfectly rectangle image. Using other portable projectors has resulted in needing to have the device directly in front of where it’s projected. Moving The Freestyle from the kitchen to watch something on the wall whilst moving dinner, then to the bedroom was as simple as moving it into another room and plugging it in. You can even point The Freestyle at your ceiling and it will automatically project and adjust.

As far as power goes, unlike some other portable projectors Samsung’s The Freestyle doesn’t have a battery built in, relying on power from a USB-C adaptor. You can connect a USB-C PD battery pack to provide power if you’re wanting to take it outside. I managed to get about 2-3 hours out of a 26,000MaH power bank, and there’s no drop in brightness like when you’re normally running off a battery. Samsung is also releasing a base that will act as a power bank as well as a lightbulb socket connector that will allow you to project at your ceiling or onto a table. When it comes to connections on the device you’ve got the USB-C connector (for power) as well as Micro HDMI port, so you’ll need a Micro HDMI to HDMI adaptor to connect a gaming console or the like (roughly $10).

Samsung has rated the brightness of The Freestyle at 550 LED Lumens which is hard to compare to other projects which use the ANSI measurement. I’d say it’s about on par with what I’ve experienced with other portable projectors. During the day, you’re probably going to be able to use it at shorter distances to the wall, with the device really shining once the lights go out. Obviously don’t expect to be able to use it outside in the middle of the day. The projector also supports HDR. You’re probably not going to see the huge benefits compared to something like a Samsung QLED, but it’s still nice to have.  Whilst I wasn’t able to test it due to the pre-release nature, the projector also has a Smart Calibration feature which uses your mobile phone in order to adjust the projector’s brightness and colour settings based on our wall and surrounding environment.

The Freestyle has a 360 degree 5W speaker built in as well as the ability to connect to other speakers via Bluetooth. I was really surprised at how loud and clear this thing can get. If you’ve got a good Bluetooth speaker, you’ll probably want to connect it, but if you’re outside watching a movie or in bed, then you’ll definitely be impressed with the volume coming out.

Controlling the device is as simple as using the remote (the pre-release once we’ve got currently is just a standard Samsung TV which works just fine, with the final release remote being smaller and skinnier) or using the touch buttons on the front of the device which allow you to quickly adjust volume or power on or off the device. You can also connect it to the Samsung Smart Things app in order to control it remotely.

Something I’ve really struggled with when using other projectors is connectivity utilising apps.  Whilst other portable projectors require you to connect an external streaming device because they’re missing the likes of Netflix or Australian streaming services, everything that you’ve come to expect on your Samsung TV is here. That includes big players like Apple TV+, Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video but also smaller Australian apps like Binge, Kayo, Stan, 7 Plus, 10 Play and 9now. The UI can be a little bit slow at times, but hopefully this is something that can be improved with updates.

You’re also able to utilise Apple AirPlay to send a signal from your Apple device direct to the projector and if you’ve got a Samsung TV, there’s a nifty little feature called TV Access where you can send signal from your TV, whether that be the antenna connection or a HDMI device and even control your TV directly through the projector. It’s obviously not going to be the main way you watch anything, but if you simply want to watch FTA TV in your bedroom, it’s certainly good enough. There’s also Amazon Alexa and Samsung Bixby built in so that you can control the projector and other products in your home.

When it comes to gaming, this probably isn’t going to become your next-gen PS5/Xbox Series X driver, but it’s more than fine for connecting the Nintendo Switch to if you’re looking to play Mario Kart on a 100″ screen outdoors or on absolutely any wall. Just like any Samsung TV, there’s a Game Mode which will improve latency and there’s also the ability to fully adjust the image and get really nitty gritty into the settings. As of right now it doesn’t accept a 4K signal, so if you are using your PS5/Xbox Series X, you’ll need to make sure it’s outputting at 1080p.

There’s some other features which you probably won’t be using daily but are nifty to have. Ambient Mode allows you to project a number of varying image/videos onto your wall/ceiling. These include things such as a neon Happy Birthday sign, or a fireplace on your wall, or stars that project onto your ceiling or even sceneries that can act as windows. The included lens cap also can make the projector act as a smart light to create ambience. I’m really excited to see how Samsung evolve this over time.

All-in-all, I can really see Samsung’s The Freestyle being a hit among different demographics, whether that be somebody who wants a second screen in their bedroom, or somebody that has people over often and wants to project something outdoors. The fact that it’s so easy to use and comes built-in with everything that you need makes it a winner, with the price point probably going to be the only thing that is a deterrent for most at $1,299 AUD, but obviously future iterations and sales bring that down quite quickly.

The Samsung Freestyle hits stores on February 10th for $1,299. If you pre-order from Samsung, you can get a free travel case. 

The post Samsung The Freestyle Portable Projector Review – Fun And Versatile appeared first on Press Start.

It takes quite a lot for a monitor to impress me these days, but I’ve been using the MSI Optix 32″ gaming monitor for roughly three months and it’s been a genuine joy for a multitude of reasons. It’s very rare for a monitor to meet every single need but this one quite simply does and then some. It’s a 4K IPS monitor with two HDMI 2.1 ports, a 144Hz refresh rate and HDR600 meaning that no matter what you throw at it, whether that be entry level PC gaming or next-gen gaming on your PS5/Xbox Series X, it’ll simply work, and work really damn well.

The design of the monitor is fairly understated which I personally like. The entire design is black, with the bezel not being the slimmest that I’ve seen but still slim enough to really let the image shine. The stand is fully adjustable so that you can easily change the height within 100mm. It has tilt/swivel functionality and there’s also a VESA mount on the back for easy mounting.

If you do want a bit of bling, there’s an RGB light on the back of the monitor that can reflect colours against your wall. It’s a great touch for those that want that extra bit of RGB, without it being in your face to the point that it can’t be turned off if you have a more minimal setup.

My biggest gripe with a lot of monitors is that out of the box, they don’t look great, and this is clearly something that MSI has focused on with the MPG321UR-QD. It’s a big call, but I feel like this is the least that I’ve had to play with the image settings on any TV/monitor display that I’ve owned in order to land on an image that I’m totally happy with. The monitor has a 97% DCI-P3 and 143% SRGB colour accuracy and it also has a Quantum Dot display which allows for brighter, more vivid colours.

HDR on monitors is normally pretty lacklustre, but the MPG321UR-QD has HDR600 support, which still won’t stand up to your high-end TVs, but it’s pretty great compared to most other monitors on the market. It’s just high enough to the point that you’ll actually see the benefits of HDR, which is is what you’d expect of a monitor in this price range. Being an IPS monitor, your blacks aren’t going to be as deep as what you’d see on A VA monitor or an OLED, but it still performed pretty well. The viewing angle was superb with very little glare which is important to me as I run a two monitor setup. You’ve also got full G-Sync or FreeSync support depending on which you’re using.

The monitor is capable of display 144Hz refresh rates with a 1ms response time, but the biggest selling point here is the fact that it’s 4K compatible with two HDMI 2.1 ports that can take advantage of the full 48 Gbps bandwidth. This means that you’ll be able to take advantage of 4K/1080p & 120Hz for the PS5 and 4K/1440p/1080p and 120Hz with Xbox Series X. Aside from the two HDMI 2.1 ports, there’s also a DisplayPort 1.4 port as well as a USB-C port with 14w power delivery. Outside of that there’s six USB-A 2.0 ports and three USB-C 2.0 ports as well as a microphone jack, headphone jack and an audio combo jack. I had to triple check the ports on the monitor as no stone has been left unturned in making sure that you’e got more than enough ports to connect multiple systems to this display.

That is the biggest selling point of this monitor. Whilst you’re playing a premium, you can rest happy in the fact that it will be able to do absolutely anything that you throw at it. If you’re gaming on a PC, plugging in a next-gen console or just using it for work, you’ll be able to do all of those things without thinking twice. As far as I can tell, it is the most feature complete monitor on the market currently.

Sometimes monitor OSDs can be downright awful, but this isn’t the case here. The OSD is controlled using a 5 way navigator control that despite it being on the back of the monitor is super easy to control to change display settings, quickly get to another source or mess around with many of the extra features that MSI has provided.

There’s been absolutely no shortage in extras that have been provided from a functionality point of view. The Auto Brightness Control allows you to change the brightness of your monitor based on time of the day whilst the Ambient RGB Light sensor can best set your colours based on the lighting conditions.

Optix Scope can magnify the centre of the screen at 1.5x – 4x magnifications which might be useful in the most demanding gaming scenarios, whilst Smart Crosshair will put an on-screen scope on-screen that can cleverly change based on what’s on the screen at any given time.  There’s also a picture-in-picture mode for those that might want to multitask and MSI advises that the monitor has improved Anti-Flicker tech and will provide less blue light for more comfortable viewing environments.

The MSI Optix MPG321UR-QD gaming monitor is available at Mwave for $1,599. You can find it HERE.

THE FULL SPECS:

The post MSI Optix MPG321UR-QD 32″ 4K/HDMI 2.1 Gaming Monitor Review – Simply The Best appeared first on Press Start.

I spend a lot of time at my desk. Whether it’s working, chatting with friends over Discord or playing games (still technically work for me). When it became obvious that I was going to be working from home, I thought it was time to look at my desk situation, and in came Omnidesk. The company was one of the first trendy standing desk creators on the market and have stood the test of time.

I had the chance to test out the Omnidesk Pro 2020 and was impressed with everything from setup, to stability to just how much it improved my day to day life and productivity.

I went with the Large size (153×76) and chose Natural Hevea from the Wildwood collection. It’s a nicer light wood . The desk itself came with three boxes (plus two bonus boxes for some extras that came along wit the desk that I’ll touch on later). The table top was obviously in a box, and super well packaged given it was a heavy piece of wood, and two boxes containing the legs, motor and all of that good stuff, which again were all really clearly labelled and well packaged as to not get damaged.

Whilst the desk does require you to build everything, requiring you to do everything from attaching the legs, and brackets that they attach into, it was really straight forward thanks to the provided instruction manual that runs through each step and very clearly details which parts are needed at what step. It did get a little bit confusing one or two steps, but each of my minor concerns were alleviated very quickly by referring to both the instruction manual.

After popping your legs on (which is the bulk of the operation), you’re instructed to attach the small Omnidesk control panel (on either the left or right side) before plugging it into the control box and then subsequently to your mains power. Flipping the desk for the first time after popping the legs on revealed a very solid desk that feels like it has been professionally built, rather than me shoddily banging it together, and naturally the White Ash wood selection that I had chosen looks absolutely gorgeous, as I’m sure the other hardwood options do too.

If the starting price of $1,300 for the hardwood range is a bit above your a bit above your price range (I really think it’s worth the extra money), Omnidesk have other variations starting at $900 for standing desks with extremely similar functionality, but obviously not that premium hardwood finish. There’s obviously other static desks and even RGB gaming desks that you can find HERE.

Plugging the Omnidesk desk in is where the fun really began. This specific model has an improved motor that is capable of lifting up to 130kg of weight at 43mm per second. It’s able to quickly move from a seated height of 60 cm to a standing height of 125 cm and you’re able to manually adjust the height or you can assign a pre-selected height to the four numbered buttons on the control panel.

I was a little bit unsure how much I’d opt to stand up before getting the desk, but I found myself standing at least once in the morning and then for the entire afternoon and left it in the standing position during the evening, so that if I did come and go from my desk to quickly write an article, I could just walk up to it, smash out what I needed and then walk away without spending too much time seated at my desk.

CABLE MANAGEMENT

The best part about the standing desk was without doubt cable management. The Omnidesk has a cut out on top of the desk at the back, which is something I haven’t seen on other desks. Omnidesk also give you a little block that can fill it in to ensure that there’s no a ginormous gap in your desk.

There’s also an integrated cable channel which I believe comes as a free extra now. This allows you to run all of your cords into the channel at the back without them hanging down. You can also fit a few power boards into these channels so that cables can run straight through the desk without causing any mess.

The Omnidesk also comes with a bunch of cable ties and such to neatly sort your cables. I’ll admit, my setup still needs a bit of work, but as you can see in the image of my desk, none of these cables are visible even though you’d probably never believe it by looking at this close-up photo.

DUAL MONITOR MOUNT

The Omnidesk Arc Pro Dual monitor mount is an added extra that will set you back $220. Again, it’s not a mandatory purchase but it makes everything look so much nicer and allows you to place your monitors exactly where you want them.

Both arms have built in cable management, which again, really just allows you to have every single cable out of the way, and allows you to have not a single cable visible apart from the main power cord that needs to connect from your desk to mains power.

I was able to fit a 32? in landscape as well as 27? in portrait and still have them exactly where I needed them. Unlike other dual mounts, the process for putting my monitors on this mount was much easier, with minimal screwing required.

WHO SHOULD OPT FOR AN OMNIDESK STANDING DESK?

I think in this day and age, if you’re spending more than an hour or two at a desk either for work or for gaming, it’s worth looking at an electric standing desk. Not only does it allow you to hide your cables perfectly and look damn nice, you’ll be surprised with how much standing up at intervals throughout the day can improve how your body feels and also keep your motivation lasting longer.

You can find the full range of Omnidesks HERE. 

The post Omnidesk Pro Standing Desk Review – A Big Improvement To Daily Life appeared first on Press Start.

Editor’s Note: This review was conducted on an earlier firmware version on the monitor. HDR issues mentioned below are said to now be addressed through the latest firmware update available. 

Ultrawide gaming monitors have become one of the best options for PC gaming over the last few years. The wider resolution and aspect ratio makes for more immersive gaming experiences while offering a competitive advantage in games that have native support. Having had the brilliant Acer Predator x34p for over a year, I was absolutely blown away when I made the jump to Samsung’s 49” Odyssey Neo G9. It’s not without its issues, of course, but the Odyssey Neo is one of the most feature-complete super ultrawides currently on the market.

Currently retailing between $2,500 – $3,000 AUD, the Odyssey Neo G9 represents a significant investment – suitable for enthusiasts who want to splash the cash on top-of-the-line parts and peripherals. What you get, though, is a monitor packed to the brim with gaming-focussed features.

The monitor sports full G-Sync support, a 240Hz refresh rate with 1ms response time, 1000R curvature and a 32:9 aspect ratio that makes games more immersive than ever. This all combines nicely with Samsung’s patented Quantum Matrix Technology, as the Odyssey Neo uses Quantum Mini LEDs to power its display. This tech is seen in the company’s NeoQLED TVs, and the vibrancy of the display was something that I immediately noticed. Games looked incredible, especially those with high contrast art design like Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Psychonauts 2.

One thing I didn’t particularly like about the monitor was its HDR support. This has been widely documented online, but HDR continues to look bang average and washed out when compared to what the monitor can output in SDR. Sadly, even with Quantum HDR2000 the Odyssey Neo requires some further finetuning — whether that’s through software updates or a hardware refresh — to fully enjoy HDR content and games. With that said, Windows still struggles with HDR gaming in general and so I wasn’t particularly surprised to see this trend continue with the Odyssey Neo. That said, a new firmware update for the monitor is said to address these issues — I haven’t been able to test this, however.

The monitor includes a great range of I/O options, including one DisplayPort 1.4 input, two HDMI 2.1 inputs, two USB ports and a headphone jack — everything you’d really need to set yourself up with a range of gaming consoles and a PC. Something else I really liked was the fact the power cable didn’t have an external power brick, something I loathed about my previous ultrawide.

Being able to run games at the wonderfully insane 5120×1440 resolution and 32:9 aspect ratio takes some serious GPU grunt. And that’s the biggest thing to note with the Odyssey Neo – you’ll need quite a bit of power to fully enjoy everything the monitor has to offer.

That said, gaming experiences on the monitor are spectacular. Older titles like Garry’s Mod and Left 4 Dead are reinvigorated thanks to the huge bump in resolution, while games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator are on another level entirely. Flying across Naples was particularly breathtaking thanks to sheer amount of screen real estate – allowing me to take in the sights and sounds of the beautiful city in a more immersive way.

Competitive titles perform extremely well on the Odyssey Neo thanks to the 240hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. My go-to title, Rocket League, natively supports the aspect ratio and resolution, allowing me to get a comprehensive look at the pitch without having to adjust my camera at all. This allowed me to align runs and defensive blocks with relative ease compared to what I was used to with other monitors.

Call of Duty: Warzone and Fortnite required some extra grunt in the GPU to run well, however with a powerful graphics card in tow they played brilliantly. I felt as if I had a bit of an edge in the latter, as there were multiple occasions I spotted someone trying to flank me, allowing me to quickly adjust and take the tactical advantage.

When it was time to engage in productivity work, the Odyssey Neo performed excellently. Having an ultrawide for productivity tasks alone is worth it, and that was even more apparent thanks to the monitor’s 49” display. I was able to edit multiple word documents without having to open or close any of them, all the while having Netflix streaming in another window. It was awesome not having to juggle anything around.

Samsung’s 49” Odyssey Neo G9 has everything you could really want in a great gaming monitor, and then some. The 240hz refresh rate makes for especially snappy experiences in competitive titles, while the 32:9 aspect ratio and wider screen size makes immersion in games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn all the more impressive. While it does need some refinement with its HDR implementation, there’s not much else I’d say stood out as problematic with the monitor. It’s quite an investment, of course, but if you have the budget for it and want to give your GPU a proper test – there’s no better way to do it.

The post Samsung 49” Odyssey Neo G9 Review – An Ultrafine Super Ultrawide appeared first on Press Start.

I’m not going to sugar-coat it. My initial experience with GeForce Now was iffy as hell. What I first met was a service that could’ve just as easily been named ‘GeForce Now Go and Make a Coffee Because I’m Not Ready to Underwhelm You Yet.’

That being said, with time, troubleshooting and a patch, I managed to turn all that around. Please allow me to take you on the journey…

Before we begin, however, let’s make the proper introductions. GeForce Now, a game streaming service that launched State-side back in Feb 2020, recently found residence in this lovely sunburnt land of ours. It’s out of beta. You can play it GeForce Now-now.

We are of course talking about dedicated local servers, too – something that’s very, very mandatory for tech that’s as “distance to data centre” reliant as this. To meet that need, Nvidia engaged the services of Pentanet, a primarily Western Australia based ISP who have privately built Perth’s largest and fastest growing fixed wireless network. They also have some of the requisite infrastructure in place somewhere here in Sydney, too.

The basic gist of this product is simple. Using an Internet enabled device, you’ll jack into one of Pentanet’s respectably beefy on-site “rigs”, access your existing library of games (Epic, Steam or Ubi), and then stream it back to a local device of your choosing. Understandably, there’s always a certain amount of latency involved, but otherwise the experience is supposed to be fairly seamless for all but the most anal retentive, frame-counting gamer.

In slightly more layman’s terms: play games that usually require a HAL-9000 to look this good…but deployed on your potato. Said root vegetable could be your smartphone, a tablet, a laptop or a browser-enabled TV. Also, your controls will be handled by either a Bluetooth controller, wireless mouse and keyboard, or those touchscreen control mappings that my kids somehow expertly play Minecraft with.

Pentanet recommends users play over a wired Ethernet connection for best results, with a 25mbps minimum connection for 1080/60fps gaming, “at least” 15mbps for 720p/60fps gaming, and membership comes in two tiers.

Basic (free) let’s you do 1-hour sessions, but you’re in for a bit of a queue during peak times. Priority, meanwhile, can be a monthly subscription for $19.99/month or a yearly deal that works out to $17.99/month, and comes with a range of first-class citizen benefits. Obviously, you’ll now skip cues quicker than a Maccas Karen who’s been dealt a less-than-happy-meal. Your max session time is quadrupled, too.

More importantly, everything will look shmicker. You get access to NVIDIA’s RTX platforms which include dedicated RT Cores for ray tracing and Tensor Cores for AI that enable groundbreaking graphical technologies at breakthrough speeds.

GETTING SET UP

The setup phase wins points for being quick and relatively pain-free. You simply download the dedicated desktop client or app, enter your GeForce Now deets, and then set about entering (and two-factor approving) the info pertaining to your other Steam/Ubi/Epic accounts.

If you have games in your library that are supported, GeForce Now will auto-populate a Library tab for you. The current list of what’s supported is about 400-odd at the time of writing, though I wouldn’t call it bleeding edge in terms of new release title support. I did however appreciate the access to freebie games like Apex Legends, Rocket League and the like. (Note: the full list is here)

It’s also worth noting that GeForce Now has a gamified launcher ecosystem. Doing things — be it adding a profile pic, surrendering your likes and dislikes, etc — will earn you XP, levels and little rewards. That may amuse some, but I lost interest quick, right after it asked me to do three surveys in a row.

Once you’ve selected the game of your choosing, you’ll simply click launch and enter a queue. Mileage is going to vary greatly here. The most I ever waited was 5 minutes on Basic as I watched the “users ahead” tick down to 0. With Priority, I was often instantaneously zipped to the virtualized desktop of a GeForce Now rig.

A BUMPY RIDE

Now, it’s worth noting that I didn’t begin my GeForce Now relationship in the Beta phase. I wasn’t privy to what was behind the curtain until that red material parted on opening hour one (4 p.m. local time). I have to say, it looked like a few key pieces of scenery had yet to be rolled onto the stage and the odd actor was in a state of undress.

First of all, my two network speed tests (Google’s and speedtest.net) were more or less matching one another, but varied wildly from the metrics shown in the dedicated GeForce Now client. When I was rocking 89 Mbps down, 35 Mbps up and 6ms ping, Now insisted my ping was spot on, but my bandwidth was somewhere between 28 to 47 Mbps. The solution to that issue: I was told not to trust the metrics as they’re not currently giving real world feedback. Shrugging man emoticon.

Unfortunately, something was definitely screwy here. When I linked my Steam account to the service and dialled into Witcher 3, I was greeted with a rig not exactly raring to go. Using that machines Steam frontend, I had to physically download all 12GB of CDPR’s masterpiece onto that GeForce’s rig, and then bloody well wait for it all to install.

Like Grandpa Simpson, I found myself yelling at the cloud.

Honestly, my gaming experience did not improve 20 minutes later, when I could finally actually play my game. Though I had the client set to Balanced (“takes full advantage of available bandwidth to deliver the best possible image and gameplay”), I was greeted with a rather mosaic, smudgy looking picture.

If I squinted at the screen in George Costanza fashion, I saw something that resembled Geralt kneeling at a main menu campfire. Mind you, it could also have been a horse or Seinfeld’s cousin Jeffrey.

Sure enough, every visual option in The Witcher 3 was cranked to Ultra and the game itself was surprisingly playable and responsive – but it was still a dog’s breakfast, visually. That opening balcony vista looking out over Kaer Morhen? I could have thrown up off of it.

Fortunately, this false start represented the lowest point of my experience. Like many new babies, GeForce Now had some teething issues that I managed to first salve and then solve. Quick example: I never had to go through the “virtual installation rigmarole” ever again, which leads me to believe it was a one-off bug.

The first pro tip I can give you for Now – yes, do ignore the inbuilt metrics but also do not trust the Balanced setting to do its job. Upon switching things to Custom and boosting to the maximum of 1920 x 1080 @ 60 FPS and a Max bitrate of 50 Mbps, the main course of a much more appetising visual feast started to roll my way.

I certainly wouldn’t recommend playing anything on a 60-inch 4K TV (I quickly dropped down to the next smallest TV in my house, a 1080p 32-inch). If you ignore that advice and persist, you’ll find everything in your immediate vicinity – like HUD, gun arm and weapon – to be acceptably crisp. However, everything beyond 5 metres of in-game vision gets a little too cubist and artefact-y around the edges. Motion only exacerbates this.

On the 32-inch (and later on my 16-inch laptop screen), a maxed out Destiny 2 looked more than presentable. More importantly, it served as the perfect test case for my input latency experiments. I’m moderately ashamed to say that I’ve sunk almost quadruple digit hours into this franchise. My brain just knows how my hunter – and Bungie’s phenomenally kinetic gunplay – should feel through my fingertips.

What I got wasn’t 100% the same feedback and response expected. But it was so close to the real thing, something in me recalibrated inside of 5 minutes, and it was the usual dreg shredding blastfest.

Would I play elite level Trials of Osiris multiplayer through this service? No. Would I run the risk of being booted from a pick up group due to me under-performing in a raid? Also no. I would, however, happily play “everyday Destiny 2” via Now with my regular, understanding fireteam mates. This performs absolutely well enough for low-stakes missions and smashing out those daily bounties.

Mind you, I did feel the sting of that session timer. Picture it: Now has politely told me I have ten minutes left, but I’ve just started a lucrative Public Event with some randos. Sure enough and though I fought like a demonic Zavala, the client boots me from the server when I’m metres away from that limited-time victory loot chest.

It also has to be said that I got a perfectly decent experience across a wide variety of devices, game genres, connection types (wired / wireless) and distances to my router. And some of the time that was with at least one other member in the household cranking Netflix, Spotify or something else.

THE BIG QUESTION…

Is GeForce Now for you? Honestly, that depends on two major factors. The first, obviously, pertains to your internet bandwidth and your distance to wherever Pentanet has its two main servers. Personally, I was testing from the foot of the Blue Mountains, on the western fringe of the Greater Sydney Region, using a 100Mbps/40Mbps plan and it worked remarkably well.

The second note is a question of options. Are you, like many of us, already resting on a large Steam pile of shame? Or possibly an Epic account that you probably only ever log into to redeem the free weekly games on? If not, would you perhaps be better served going the route of the competing Xbox Cloud Gaming service that is not BYOG[ames]?

After a very ignominious start, GeForce Now managed to become — for the most part — GeForce Wow for me. Providing I played using a decent connection and a sensibly-sized screen, the visuals and responsiveness I got were quite impressive.

If you’re out on the go with a very generous data plan, or you’ve been banished from your PC or main telly because it’s been commandeered for lame, significant other purposes, then having GeForce as a backup can be a godsend. This here is a fairly priced, viable replacement alternative to keep you in the sweet spot of gaming.

Will it work as well for you? Thankfully, you can figure that out for your own good self – go and try GeForce Now for nada before deciding to subscribe.

The post GeForce Now Review – A Decent Alternative appeared first on Press Start.

I had always been aware of the daggy manual standing desk accessories that you saw in offices prior to last year, but the pandemic made me really look at my home office setup situation and after doing a bit of research I was surprised to see just how accessible fully functional standing desks had become.

A friend had alerted me to a brand called Desky, and soon enough, I found a 1500mm wide Desky Hardwood in White Ash at my doorstep. The desk itself came with three boxes (plus two bonus boxes for some extras that came along wit the desk that I’ll touch on later). The table top was obviously in a box, and super well packaged given it was a heavy piece of wood, and two boxes containing the legs, motor and all of that good stuff, which again were all really clearly labelled and well packaged as to not get damaged.

Whilst the desk does require you to build everything, requiring you to do everything from attaching the legs, and brackets that they attach into, it was really straight forward thanks to an email that Desky send that has an instructional video as well as a physical instruction manual that runs through each step and very clearly details which parts are needed at what step. It did get a little bit confusing one or two steps, but each of my minor concerns were alleviated very quickly by referring to both the instruction manual and video.

After popping your legs on (which is the bulk of the operation), you’re instructed to attach the small Desky control panel (on either the left or right side) before plugging it into the control box and then subsequently to your mains power. Flipping the desk for the first time after popping the legs on revealed a very solid desk that feels like it has been professionally built, rather than me shoddily banging it together, and naturally the White Ash wood selection that I had chosen looks absolutely gorgeous, as I’m sure the other hardwood options do too.

If the starting price of $1,199 for the hardwood range is a bit above your a bit above your price range (I really think it’s worth the extra money) the Desky electric standing desks do start at $549, with extremely similar functionality, but obviously no that premium hardwood finish.

Plugging the Desky desk is where the fun really began. This specific model has a Dual Lifting System that is capable of lifting up to 140kg of weight at 36mm per second. It’s able to quickly move from a seated height of 60 cm to a standing height of 125 cm and you’re able to manually adjust the height or you can assign a pre-selected height to the four numbered buttons on the control panel.

I was a little bit unsure how much I’d opt to stand up before getting the desk, but I found myself standing at least once in the morning and then for the entire afternoon and left it in the standing position during the evening, so that if I did come and go from my desk to quickly write an article, I could just walk up to it, smash out what I needed and then walk away without spending too much time seated at my desk.

DESKY’S CABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM + BUILT IN POWER POINTS

One of the best parts about getting into the Desky ecosystem is the fact that they provide so many accessories and extras that seamlessly work with the desk that you’ve invested in. I opted to get an integrated cable channel + 8 built-in power ports. I’d at last recommend that you get the integrated cable channel which lets you neatly run all your cords at the back of the desk, without messily having cords hanging everywhere.

You can take that one step further with what quickly became one of my favourite parts of the Desky experience. This is the built-in powerboards, that seamlessly snap into the integrated cable channel.  You can opt for either 4 or 8 ($138/$228) and the magic of this is that you can literally run one cord from your desk to mains power, and then have literally everything on your desk plug straight into the built in power adaptors at the back of your desk. You could probably achieve something similar by taping power boards to the bottom of your desk, but this option is that seamless that I really think it’s worth the extra money.

Desky also provides a bunch of cable ties and such to neatly sort your cables. I’ll admit, my setup still needs a bit of work, but as you can see in the image of my desk, none of these cables are visible even though you’d probably never believe it by looking at this close-up photo.

DESKY’S DUAL MONITOR ARM

The other added extra I decided to go for was the Desky Dual Monitor Arm, which is a little bit pricey at $269 but did really finish this setup nicely. It allowed me to seamlessly place two monitors (a 32″ and 27″) straight into two gas lift arms and seamlessly adjust them to the exact position I was after. The mount seamlessly clamps onto the back of your desk and feels really solid on the desk with no wiggle.

Both arms have built in cable management, which again, really just allows you to have every single cable out of the way, and allows you to have not a single cable visible apart from the main power cord that needs to connect from your desk to mains power.

Desky says that this one supports up to 10kg and 27″ wide, but I was able to fit a 32″ in landscape as well as 27″ in portrait and still have them exactly where I needed them. Unlike other dual mounts, the process for putting my monitors on this mount was much easier, with minimal screwing required.

WHO SHOULD OPT FOR A DESKY STANDING DESK?

I think in this day and age, if you’re spending more than an hour or two at a desk either for work or for gaming, it’s worth looking at an electric standing desk. Not only does it allow you to hide your cables perfectly and look damn nice, you’ll be surprised with how much standing up at intervals throughout the day can improve how your body feels and also keep your motivation lasting longer.

If you’re wanting something a bit more shiny, Desky do have a number of gaming desks too, which have LEDs and the likes. You can find that range HERE.

The post Desky Standing Desk Review – Simple Brilliance appeared first on Press Start.

Over the past few years Samsung’s QLED line has undoubtedly been getting closer to OLED in terms of black levels, whilst retaining superior brightness, and that gap has never been closer than this year. This year, in addition to its standard QLED line, Samsung has introduced the Neo QLED line, which is led by the flagship QN900A model. The Neo QLED line incorporates Mini LED technology to further improve black levels whilst mushing brightness to new levels.

The first thing to talk about is undoubtedly the design of the TV. The thing you’ll instantly notice is the bezel or lack thereof. It’s virtually invisible at 0.2cm (yep you’re reading that right). It’s unmatched in terms of bezel to picture ratio, which makes the image pop all that much more. If you’re mounting this TV using Samsung’s no gap mount, you’ll struggle to see any kind of bezel on the wall in comparison to the image. Similarly, the thickness of the TV is 1.6cm and whilst OLED TVs get a lot thinner at their thinnest point, this is one consistent thickness the whole way down, which in my opinion makes for a nicer design, especially when wall mounting so you can have that even finish down the wall.

When it comes to ports, the QN900A has four HDMI 2.1 ports, which is obviously much appreciated if you’ve got more than one next-gen consoles. You’ll also find 3 USB ports, an ethernet port and an antenna port. These are connected via the new Slim One Connect box, which is a much, much slimmer version of Samsung’s One Connect box that now can either be integrated into the back of the stand with a shorter cord or still in your entertainment unit using the longer cord.

It’s not only HDMI 2.1 support that makes this a great option for gamers, Samsung has clearly had the gamer in mind this year, with the introduction of a new game bar, which turns on automatically when game mode is turned on. By holding down the play button, you can get game bar to pop up. It lets you adjust things such as input lag, see if you’re in 60 or 120 FPS mode, turn HDR on or off and adjust other things such as VRR. Something that’s new this year as well is the option to run at wide or ultra wide if you’re using a compatible PC.

I was as eager as ever to get my hands on the QN900A to test out Mini LED. Samsung had really hit out of the park with its last few flagship TV releases, so I was keen to see how that fared with this new technology. Mini LED should technically result in a brighter picture whilst keeping your blacks dark thanks to smaller LED modules that allow for more accurate local dimming and this was definitely my experience.

Whilst watching 4K movies, I’d go out on a limb and say that the QN900A is extremely close to, if not the best picture that I’ve seen on a TV. It’s able to retain those inky blacks whilst providing the brightest image that I’ve seen on a TV. The QN900A is capable of somewhere around 4000 nits, which in comparison to the 1000 nits that an OLED is currently capable of, really puts into perspective just how bright this TV can get. Coupled with that infinity display that’s bezel-less really makes the image pop.

This TV is absolutely going to shine when watching 4K (or the limited 8K) content in HDR. Given this TV is capable of Quantum HDR 64x, it’s going to absolutely blow your socks off in those brighter scenes. It was a genuine joy to watch movies on this TV and I found myself going back to some older classics to rewatch them on this large, bright display.

In game mode, the TV still performed really well, with incredible brightness which made the image pop. The blacks did take a little bit of a hit at times, given some of that local dimming needs to be turned off to ensure a low input lag, but I was still really impressed. It does require a little bit more tweaking than an OLED, but once it’s right, it’ll blow anybody away.

In pitch black viewing environments, OLED is still going to have a slight edge over QLED in black levels, but an area which the QN900A really outperformed the OLED was in a natural viewing environment. Whether I had the blinds open, or lamps on at night, the glare on the QN900A was minimal, and thanks to those huge brightness levels, I never felt like I was reaching to close the blinds, or felt that the image could have been just a tad brighter.

The speakers on the QN900A have been placed on the back just because of how slim and minimal the design is and I was actually really impressed with how well it sounded given the thinness of this display. Obviously, you’ll still want a soundbar, and the good thing is that Samsung has introduced Q Symphony which allows you to have audio from both the TV and soundbar at the same time to increase immersion. I thought it’d be gimmicky, but it actually works well to create a fuller sound in your room.

In terms of intelligence, if you’re somebody who likes to let the TV do all the thinking, there’s a number of options here that will take care of that. The new processor is capable of taking care of picture settings on the fly with Adaptive Picture and the same for sound too. As with the last few years, you’ve also got Ambient Mode which will allow you to display art or the time matched with your wall colour on the back of the display, which looks great when hung on the wall.

When it comes to streaming, Samsung has it all. Unlike LG, Samsung TVs do have the likes of Binge and Kayo as well as essentials such as Disney+, Netflix, Stan and Prime Video. The U.I is super easy to use and really quick as well, which is important with any TV let alone one in this price tag.

The post Samsung QN900A Neo QLED 8K TV Review – Big, Bright And Beautiful appeared first on Press Start.

I’ll be honest in the fact that I haven’t had much experience with Google Pixel phones before this last week. I’ve always heard really great things and expected it to be a great experience, but what I got with the Google Pixel 6 Pro really exceeded my expectations.

The design won’t be for everyone but it’s certainly striking. On the front, you’re met with a 6.7″ QHD+ 120hz display, which is one of the most stunning phone displays that I’ve seen, right up there with the iPhone 13 Pro. As with other smart phones, the Pixel Pro 6 is able to toggle its refresh rate up or down depending on the content that you’re viewing to save battery. The display curves ever so slightly around the front, which makes for a futuristic feeling device.

Within the display, you’ve got a tiny camera cut-out, which I much prefer to a notch, and a fingerprint reader under the display, which again, I prefer to unlocking using your camera (but I’d still rather the Pixel 6 Pro had face unlock as well).

Turning the phone around is where things get a bit contentious. All three colours have a three tone design. I’ve been using Stormy Black which is absolutely delicious looking, but the thing that quite obviously stands out is that camera bump. I don’t really mind it (especially given how good the photos are which we’ll get into shortly), but I did have at least a couple of people voice their distain for it after seeing it in real life. The biggest concern point for me is that without a case, these lenses are probably going to get scratched up as they’re the point obviously hitting the surface first.

The Google Pixel 6 Pro is probably the slimmest flagship phone that I’ve ever used, which is nice as it feels quite light, which is welcomed given the size of the display, but the fact that it’s light, coupled with the back being quite slippery, means you’ll want to put a case on this thing as soon as you get it.

Turning the phone on, you’ll immediately realise that Google has gone all in on personalisation (even more so than usual). The phone does a great job at taking colours from your set wallpaper and rolling them out to everything from you app icons, to widgets colourings to the clock face on your lock screen. It’s a super simple idea that just works, and for someone who is so into aesthetics, I had a ball playing with different wallpapers to find what suited me best.

Similarly, the phone seemed to do a really great job of showing me the information and notifications that I wanted to see, always popping my Nest Doorbell alerts to the top of notifications and showing me things such as the weather exactly when I wanted to see it. 

The Google Pixel 6 uses Google’s new Tensor processor and it just makes everything that much more pleasant. No matter what I opened up or did on the Pixel 6 Pro, Tensor never struggled to keep up. That’s what I expect from a flagship phone in 2021, but that was just the beginning.

You’d expect Google to have the smartest phone on the market given the company’s status, and the Pixel 6 Pro delivers. I was in constant disbelief how well Assistant was able to transcribe my voice whilst using the Pixel 6 Pro. Whilst messaging, you literally don’t need to touch buttons at all, with Google able to undo, send, clear or stop on the fly just by using your voice.

The Tensor smarts doesn’t stop there either. You’re able to translate foreign messages, take a photo and have Google translate the words, or even record a foreign language and have Google Pixel 6 read it back to you in your requested language. It’s not perfect 100% of the time, but it’s pretty damn close and I can only imagine it’s going to get better with time. Whilst I haven’t had a huge chance to use them, Google has introduced its Call Screen and Hold For Me features in Australia which are able to not only able to screen incoming scam calls, but Google A.I can also literally sit on hold for you and let you know when the call is ready.

Just by looking at the specs it’s no secret that Google went all in on its camera system this year. On the Pixel 6 Pro, you’ve got three lenses on the back. A 50 MP wide camera, a 48 MP telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom and a 12 MP ultrawide camera with a 114 degree field of view.

The best compliment that I can give this phone is that it’s really hard to take a bad photo. The improved sensors mixed with the Google Tensor processor means that the phone will do everything in its power to ensure that a good snap is taken.

The three lenses provide so many options in capturing your shot. You’re able to scroll from 0.7 to 1x to 2x to 4x in an instant to grab your shot, each providing just as much clarity and vibrancy as the next. When compared to the iPhone 13 Pro camera, I’d say that the Pixel 6 Pro wins out on clarity and vibrancy, whilst the iPhone 13 Pro camera is maybe just a tad more realistic and natural looking.

Portrait mode on the Google Pixel 6 Pro is a massive winner, it was able to really provide more depth than the iPhone could, getting closer to DSLR than every imaginable. Everybody that I showed the photos too were super impressed.

When it comes to night mode on the Google Pixel 6 Pro, the phone will automatically sense that not enough natural light is coming into the sensor and presumably use A.I in order to brighten up the shot in the right places. It was fairly good experience, but iPhone 13 Pro faired maybe a tad better at highlighting the correct part of the shot without as much blur, but the Pixel 6 Pro was no slouch either.

On the front there’s an 11.1 MP camera with a 94 degree ultrawide field of view. This allows you to take ultrawide selfies on the Pixel 6 Pro, which in turn allows you to fit more people in, or maybe that object that’s just out of frame.

There’s a couple of cool little features that the camera introduces too. Magic Eraser uses Google Tensor to removed unwanted people or objects out of your photo. In seconds, I was able to remove an unwanted cord out of a shot, as well as my doubles partner on the Tennis court. I’m really excited to see where this technology goes in the next couple of years.

Motion Mode is in beta, and was a bit more hit and miss, but it resulted in some cool looking shots. Action Pan focuses on a moving subject, whilst blurring the background, whilst long exposure keeps the lens open in order to give you a super artistic photos. I can’t see either shot being used a whole lot, but it’s really cool to see companies keep pushing these phone cameras in new directions.

Google is pushing security and privacy in a big way with the Pixel 6 and it shows. The Privacy Dashboard will tell you which apps have been using key device functionality such as location, camera and microphone in the last 24 hours whilst the Security Hub will tell you of any password breaches and the like. A new Personal Safety feature lets you tell Google to check in with you after a set amount of time (such as walking late at night) and will call emergency services if you don’t respond to the alert. For those that are not wanting their mics and cameras to be live ta all times, Google has added tiles to the quick settings so that you can quickly enable or disable too.

Google says that the Pixel 6 Pro has an all-day battery life and that’s pretty much what I experienced, with the phone maybe coming in at at a few hours lighter of use than the iPhone 13 Pro (which is to be expected given the 13 pro is quite a bit chunkier). There’s no charger in the box, but you can buy a 30w fast charger separately, and interestingly enough, my Apple MagSafe charger stuck to the Pixel 6 Pro and charged it too.

all-in-all, I was really impressed with my time using the Google Pixel 6 pro. The phone’s design, Google Tensor and cleverly implemented features come together to create a phone that’s one of the best that has hit the market.

The post Google Pixel 6 Pro Review – A Best In Class Personalised Experience appeared first on Press Start.

When Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch OLED earlier this year, I was as confused as most as I discovered that there weren’t any performance upgrades. I was still really optimistic, as I know that gaming on an OLED screen is second to none, and I’m somebody that spends majority of my time with my Switch in handheld mode.

Picking up the console for the first time, everything feels familiar. In the hands, the Switch OLED feels almost identical apart from the fact that the back feels a lot more matte, which provides a decent amount of grip. Size wise, despite the fact that there’s a much larger screen, the Switch remains almost identical, which I’m super thankful for, because I think if it were any larger, it would have been a much tougher sell on the portability side.

This is the real gamechanger. At first glance, or looking at images of the console, you don’t get a grasp of how much that bigger screen with a much smaller bezel, will make the Switch OLED in handheld mode a much better option than it was before. Not only is the screen bigger, without the Switch gaining any size physically, that OLED display is downright gorgeous.

Here’s The Nintendo Switch OLED And OG Nintendo Switch Compared In Photos

The PlayStation VITA is probably my favourite portable console of all time thanks to its beautiful OLED, and the now the Nintendo Switch OLED takes that crown. It’s extremely easy to palm the OLED screen off as not much of an improvement, but coupled with the increased size of the screen, it makes a massive difference. The blacks are now as deep as the eye can see, which was demonstrated perfectly whilst playing Metroid Dread, which is a game that makes a lot of use of black space throughout the level design (more on that in my Metroid Dread review here).

What’s much more impressive though is the screen’s vividness, which is mostly due to a new OLED exclusive ‘Console Screen Vividness’ setting that can be turned on or off. This is hugely beneficial for Nintendo games, that really rely on vibrant colours and flatter, less realistic graphics. Everything pops more, and going back to games such as Mario Kart 8, Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild made them feel new again (check out a bunch of comparison shots here).

There was a lot of the concern for the Switch OLED losing even more pixel density due to the larger screen but everything looks crisper somehow. My guess would be that Nintendo has turned up the sharpness or contrast, which makes everything look better. The best part of all of this is that there’s no messing with TV settings, what you’re getting is the best possible version of these Switch games.

It’s worth mentioning that the screen is fully glossy now (which is normal for an OLED display). This means that you might get more glare on your screen than with the older Switch, but I found that the increased brightness more than made up for this.

Another major improvement is the kickstand, and again, I believe that this improvement will have more people actively whipping their Joy-Con off and popping the Switch down on a table. Rather than the pokey little stand that was on the old Switch, the new stand goes the full length of the Switch and seems to be made of a much more durable material.

When it comes to the new Nintendo Switch dock, there’s not a lot of change here. We have the inclusion of an ethernet port which is great for increasing download speeds or ensuring you have the most stable connection whilst playing Super Smash Bros, but don’t expect any change in the way of output to your TV. In fact, you can literally use this dock with the original Switch or your old dock with the Switch OLED.

The Switch OLED has double the internal storage at 64GB, which is actually really welcomed. Nintendo has said that the Switch OLED has better acoustics resulting in better sound, but to be honest, I never had an issue with how the original sounded, and I didn’t notice too much of an improvement here.

All of these things probably aren’t must-haves for those that already own a Switch (particularly the newer model with the bigger battery), but I can guarantee that once you see a Switch OLED in person or hold one in your hands, you’ll never want to go back to the original one. You’ll have yourself wondering how you ever used the original Switch for the last four years.

The post Nintendo Switch OLED Review – The Best Portable Experience Yet appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve always been a big fan of Sonos. Whilst their products might be priced above the competition, they’re reliable, easy to use and provide a great sound out of the box. As a long-time user of the Sonos Beam, I was very eager to get my hands (and ears) onto the second gen unit.

The first thing that caught my eye when taking it out of the box is that despite it looking almost identical to the Gen 1 unit from afar, Sonos has opted for a polycarbonate grille this time around. This is a huge difference from fabric that was used in the original. Not only does it provide a cleaner design, but it actually captures way less dust and is much easier to clean.

Setting up Sonos devices has never been particularly hard compared to other brands, but it’s made even easier with the Sonos Beam Gen 2 thanks to NFC support. You literally just have to bring your phone next to the Beam, with the Sonos app open, and that’s enough to link it to your Sonos account. Then it’s just about plugging the soundbar into your eArc HDMI port and you’re good to go.

If you’re somebody who hasn’t had Sonos before, I can understand you wondering why people get into the ecosystem and then fall in love. The simplest explanation I have is that it just works. There’s no worrying about Bluetooth connections dropping out, or struggling to connect to play music. The app user experience is second to none in terms of going from playing music (through either the app or AirPlay) to playing what’s on your TV. You can easily change on the fly using the app, or Amazon Alexa/Google Home to tell Sonos to switch inputs.

Whilst the core makeup of the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is the same as the original, it’s the fact that the processor is 40% faster paired with the fact that the Gen 2 now has five speakers arrays (compared to the three in the original) that allows the Beam to process the height information required to deliver that Dolby Atmos experience.

Coming from testing Samsung’s Q950A 11.1.4 channel soundbar, I’d already had a taste of the Dolby Atmos life, and I was excited to see how a much smaller soundbar fared. In short, coming in at much smaller in size, and at $699 the Sonos Beam Gen 2 is a great Dolby Atmos soundbar. I was thoroughly impressed with how it was able to throw sounds across the room and high above me considering it has significantly less channels than the aforementioned Q950A. For instance the Beam Gen 2, was able to project the sound of helicopters or fireworks in the sky above my ear level in the room, whilst keeping voices crisp in the centre channel in front of me.

Compared to something like the Samsung Q950A which has 11 channels and is more than double the size, it’s a bit of a milder experience when it comes to Dolby Atmos, but I’m more than confident that booting up the Beam Gen 2 for the first time with a compatible Dolby Atmos movie, you’ll instantly understand right away why Dolby Atmos is a game changing experience for your home entertainment experience.

When it comes to music, the Sonos experience is hard to beat and that’s definitely the case with the Beam Gen 2. Whilst loading up Lil Nas X’s latest album, I was instantly surprised just how clear the audio was whilst delivering a really solid bass. There’s just no denying that this small soundbar can pack a punch whilst delivering super crisp audio.

Gaming is much the same. It’s a great experience regardless of whether you’re playing Call of Duty, or something a lot more chill like Ori and the Will of the Wisps. I’d highly recommend pairing it with a couple of surrounds to get the full experience. There’s also a Sonos Sub, but honestly, you’ll be surprised with how well the Beam is at providing a rich bass experience on its own.

A couple of other features I want to call out are Night Sound which will reduce loud effects and enhance the quieter ones and Speech Enhancement which can amplify voices. I know these sound like features that you won’t use, but when they’re so easily accessible in the app, you’ll find yourself more likely to use them than with other soundbars.

It’s really hard not to recommend Sonos to those looking to upgrade their home audio game at the moment. With the out of box audio experience, the ability to easily further fine tune exactly for your home with True Play and the easy to use app experience, it’s just a no-brainer choice for most. If you’ve got an original Beam, you might not be too inclined to upgrade, but I’d definitely recommending trying to check out a Beam 2 with Dolby Atmos just to see how important that experience is to you.

The Sonos Beam Gen 2 is available on October 5th in black or white. You can grab it from Sonos HERE.

The post Sonos Beam Gen 2 Review – Small And Mighty appeared first on Press Start.

The microphone market is fairly cluttered these days with most peripheral companies having one that seemingly offers the same specs as many others. What I tend to look for when choosing a microphone is ease of use, a simple design and great sounding audio out of the box and that’s exactly what the EPOS B20 delivers.

Right out of the box, I loved the design of the EPOS B20. It’s all black, made of a nice aluminium material, no over the top lights, so it’ll be perfect for both streaming as well as taking work calls (something that I’ve come to use my microphone more than anything else). The stand simply screws into the bottom of the microphone and does allow for a bit of movement, but doesn’t allow the microphone to go up or down. As far as input goes there’s USB-C (always welcome) and a 3.5mm headphone jack for real-time monitoring which is always great to have.

The next most important thing to me with a microphone are the controls and this is often an instant make or break. Thankfully, the EPOS B20 has everything you’ll ever need right on the microphone. You can control the volume coming through the microphone, your gain, and and easily mute yourself complete with an LED indicator. It always surprises how that some microphones still seem to lack a mute button. It’s key to me to be able to visibly see right in front of me that I’ve muted when on calls or gaming.

There’s also the ability to change between four microphone patterns, which provides great versatility. Cardioid is probably what you’ll use most of the time, great for podcasting and general calls, bidirectional is great for recording conversations or podcasts (when you only have one microphone) whilst omnidirectional will just record everything around you. Realistically, most people won’t use all of these, but it’s great that a $300 microphone can work well in any situation.

Plugging in the microphone, it was instantly recognised and ready to go. I always like to test microphones without playing too much with the gain and software, and the EPOS B20 sounded really nicely with a nice fullness to my voice without picking up too much background noise. There’s a little bit of magic to finding the speed spot in terms of what gain to set and how far to distance yourself from the microphone. The gain knob is an endless loop control which doesn’t make things too easy in terms of making minor adjustments either.

The microphone can be paired with the EPOS Gaming Suite, which I recommend doing. It unlocks the ability to customise your vocal tones with custom presets, as well as adjust things like gain, your noise gate and noise cancellation. I would say compared to the likes of the Elgato Wave, the software does leave you wanting more, so hopefully EPOS work a little bit more on the software side of things. An example of this is requiring the microphone’s headphone jack to be set as the default speaker in order for the microphone to show up in the software.

All-in-all, anybody can buy this microphone knowing that it’ll satisfy their audio needs no matter what the environment. Most microphones these days only offer to serve one purpose, whilst the EPOS B20 is really versatile and easy to use.

The EPOS B20 gaming microphone is currently available at Mwave for $179.

The post EPOS B20 Microphone Review – Simple And Sleek appeared first on Press Start.

The ideal mouse really is a matter of personal preference. I play various games on my PC and have always required a multi-purpose mouse: one suitable regardless of the game I’m playing. I’ve always been on the lookout for one that’s comfortable and durable, with enough programmable buttons to map to the harder-to-reach keys on the keyboard.

For years, the Logitech G502 has been my go-to. Good as it was, a couple of the keys on the side were slightly awkward to reach, and the angular design had a habit of collecting dust and grime. So when SteelSeries revealed their Rival 5 mouse, with their typical sleek, black design and a different approach with the buttons on the side, I was eager to get my hands on one.

Having used the mouse as my daily driver for the last couple of months, it has not disappointed me.

As someone that pretty heavily palms their mouse, the mouse is comfortable to use for hours at a time. I’ve not had any hand or wrist complaints. It’s lightweight, at just 85g, but still feels premium. Its matte black finish looks good as new months later, even with my penchant for snacking at my desk.

Much like SteelSeries entire range of products, the sleek, black design straddles the boundary between more professional, high-end tech and your typically garish gaming peripherals. Of course, there’s plenty of customisable RGB on the mouse to make it stand out on your desk, but from most angles, it’s elegant and understated.

It’s on the left-hand side the gaming credentials are apparent. Five programmable buttons sit within reach of your thumb: one pressed by extending your thumb forward and the other by scrunching it towards your index finger. It’s that latter movement I’ve taken issue with before, but with one button serving as a switch you push up or down, the Rival 5 frees up space and makes the configuration much more comfortable.

If I were to make a complaint, it’s that the big button reached by extending your thumb is a fraction too far away. Edging even just a few millimetres back would make me avoid having to shift my grip slightly to make use of it, but the experience will vary depending on hand size.

Whereas with other mice, I’ve usually had one or two buttons too uncomfortable to reach they have gone unutilised, I have made use of all the buttons on this mouse. Easily configured via SteelSeries’ newly improved GG software, you can set up numerous profiles, have them automatically enable when certain apps open, and tailor sensitivity levels within each. Should you want to go to the extent of adjusting acceleration, angle snapping and polling rate, you can do that too. It’s all very painless to use.

The post SteelSeries Rival 5 Review – Style & Substance appeared first on Press Start.

It’s no secret at this point that if you’re after a new TV that will provide the inkiest blacks, natural colours, great connectivity and a stunning design that an LG OLED will be the first cab off the rank. Our review of last year’s LG CX OLED confirmed as much, and not much has changed this time around. People are generally looking for major improvements or cutting edge technology when shopping for a a new TV, and the biggest compliment I can offer LG is that it just wasn’t necessary for them to reinvent the wheel with the C1. What LG has done instead is incorporate a few minor improvements that even further enhance the OLED experience.

This year, the LG C1 OLED range comes in 48″, 55″, 65″, 77″ and 83″. The design hasn’t changed at all from last year, meaning you’ll get an insanely thin design at top half of the TV, with majority of the thickness at the bottom. This creates a really nice side profile. The TV sits quite low again meaning that if you’ve got a sound bar, it’ll likely block a tiny bit of the display.

NEXT-GEN COMPATIBILITY AND GAME OPTIMISER

Just like last year’s CX model, you’ll get four HDMI 2.1 ports with the LG C1, which means if you’ve got a PS5, Xbox Series X and a 3000 series GPU, you’re sorted. Whilst other manufacturers have opted for one or two HDMI 2.1 ports, LG has made it so that you can plug any HDMI 2.1 compatible device into any of its HDMI 2.1 ports and get an equally great result. This means that with a PS5 or Xbox Series X, you can access 4K at 120FPS with HDR enabled whilst taking advantage of Variable Refresh Rates and Auto Low Latency Modes. The TV supports both NVIDIA G-Sync as well as AMD FreeSync Premium so every base is covered when it comes to playing games on this display.

The brand new Game Optimiser menu is a small, but brilliant change. Now, when you press on the settings menu whilst there’s a console connected, instead of getting the generic settings popup, you’ll get one dedicated to gaming. This means that you can check out your frame rate on the fly, adjust your black stabilities, turn on AMD Free Sync or Low Latency or quickly go to the broader Game optimiser menu which allows you to adjust things such as your HDR settings and the like. It might not sound like much of an improvement but it genuinely shows that LG cares about the gamer, and it means not having to trawl through levels of settings just to get the important information that you want.

THE IMAGE QUALITY

I’m just going to say it: if you’re looking for true-to-life picture that’s almost perfect out of the box, I don’t think you’ll find a better TV on the market. With the C1 being an OLED TV, it means that every pixel is self-lit which means you’re going to have the inkiest, deepest blacks without blooming ever occurring. Other TVs have definitely gotten close to this through processing techniques, but there’s still nothing quite like an OLED. This is particularly evident in darker scenes, or scenes that take in space where there’s an obvious contract between a dark sky and stars.

Dolby Vision means that the HDR performance is going to be impressive, but this is probably the one area where I continue to feel a tad let down at times. In a perfect setup, with your blinds closed and all lights off, you won’t beat an OLED, but if you prefer to watch TV with mood lighting or during the day, the LG OLEDs still can’t match the likes of Samsung’s QLED range, which this year have gone to a whole new level of brightness. It definitely doesn’t look bad, but I’ve always got it in the back of my mind that it could be brighter. Another part of this is the fact that the display is super reflective, which again, not a big problem in ideal viewing conditions, but playing during the day in a well-lit room was definitely not ideal.

Whilst gaming, the picture absolutely delights. The blacks are inky, HDR really pops, with the TVs implementation of HGiG being excellent and perfectly lining up with the PS5 & Xbox Series X’s in-built calibrations. The greatest compliment I can give this TV when gaming is that everything just works how it’s supposed to out of the box. It’s really fool proof, down to the TV literally recognising that you’re plugging in a console and automatically setting up everything how it needs to be.

It was when I played through Resident Evil Village that I realised just integral an OLED can be to the gaming experience. Darker areas of the game were inky black, but then you’d come across a lantern that would light up portions of the screen without any blooming. Jumping back into Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut gave me the opposite experience, with colours vibrantly popping through. I played through Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart right before I got this TV, and jumping over to it on the OLED (with the ability to go through all of the graphical options) showed me somewhere down the track, owning an HDMI 2.1 TV is probably going to be essential to a hardcore gaming experience.

Burn-in is always going to be hard to comment on when you’re reviewing a product over a short amount of time. I know it’s a genuine concern for a lot of OLED buyers, and it’s not something I’ve experienced. I also know first-hand that LG has implemented a number of measures over the years to make this better, with things such as pixel shifting and logo dimming helping. I’d say that you need to make your own call this based on how often you’re playing the same game and the length of time that you’re playing for, but I wouldn’t expect it to be an immediate concern.

THE NEW USER INTERFACE

The other main difference with the LG C1 is the new user interface. I wouldn’t say the UI on the CX was bad, but it definitely didn’t feel as integrated as some other TVs that I’ve used. This is fixed with the C1. Now, you’ve got one home screen that not only has all of your apps and HDMI sources on it, but it’ll also cleverly show you top picks from the variety of streaming services, and allow you to continue watching programs without even jumping into those apps. It’s worth mentioning that whilst the majority of streaming apps are on the TV, there’s still no Kayo or Binge, which surprised me and as someone who uses Binge every weekend, it definitely was a bit of an annoyance.

Just like last years model, the TV also has access to Amazon Alexa as well as Google Assistant, and you’re also able to add your various smart home devices to the TV, so this can really become your home hub if you choose it to be. You can also easily AirPlay content from your iPhone and connect the TV to your Apple Home, which is great for turning your TV on or off with routines. To go with the new UI, there’s also a new Magic Remote. There’s a microphone built-in for the aforementioned smart home features and there’s also an NFC chip built-in so that you can send your content from your phone straight to the TV.

All-in-all, my main key takeaway after a month or so with the LG C1 OLED is that everything feels thought out. It genuinely seems as though LG looked at what could be improved and implemented these features providing a much tighter experience that makes everything that little bit easier.

The post LG C1 OLED 65″ TV Review – A Near Flawless TV Made Even Better appeared first on Press Start.

Never one to value appropriate posture or prolonged comfort, I’ve often opted for cheaper solutions for slouching in front of my computer. Hand-me-downs, dining-turned-office chairs, and, most recently, a surprisingly lush tub study chair from those lovely Swedes. Having read that MSI searched for inspiration in race car seats to design their new gaming chair, I was excited to sink in and discover a comfort I’d never thought possible at a desk. 

The first thing I noticed straight out of the box is that assembly, while still pretty simple, isn’t as straightforward as a lot of MSI’s contemporaries, although you’re not forced to break out the tools with the box supplying all you’ll need. After about forty minutes of labour and a scare with a near-stripped bolt, I had the chair together and ready to cradle my carriage. 

I immediately noticed that the game has a real premium, sporty feel to it. The frame and base are heavy, sturdy, and feel as though it’s more than prepared to go the distance. The seat itself is a union of faux leather, which I’ll always have reservations about in terms of longevity, as well as a lush, comfortable velvet that feels super nice to touch. So although I can’t speak to what condition this seat will be in after thousands of work hours, it’s at least super comfortable with plenty of possibilities to adjust it to suit your body type.

A lot of ergonomic consideration was taken in assuring this seat’s shape conforms wonderfully to the human back and spine. It hugs the shoulders for maximum support, while the adjustable lower back and neck cushions can be worked into your posture, creating a level of classy comfort I didn’t expect. I’ve almost had to retrain my brain as I feel compelled to lean forward as I always have, but that feels like a betrayal of the support the MAG CH130 X provides.

Finding the right height, afforded by the chair’s class-four gas lift mechanism, is imperative also. The rears of my legs felt thrashed after using the seat at too high a setting. Once I lowered it, letting my heels touch the ground, everything fell into place. It might be an obvious thing but I’d hate for someone to use it as I did initially out of necessity due to desk height only to limp away from the experience.  

This feature-heavy chair provides a lot of configurative changes for whatever mood you’re in. If you’re burning the midnight oil and the compulsion overcomes you to sleep right there in your chair, this chair supports a pretty considerable recline angle that should give your rest an airplane-like quality. It’s not a feature I’d ever opt for over a bed, but options matter. I particularly love the arm-rests on this chair which absorb the weight or point of your forearms and elbows, depending on how you sit. With a small release latch, you’re able to move them up and down to rest at whatever height you prefer. A similar latch would have been useful on the armrests’ front and back axis as I often found myself adjusting them by accident when using them for leverage to shift my weight. 

All in all, there’s a lot to like about the MAG CH130 X. Despite being a bit of a pill to put together, the build of the chair is precisely where your money is going if you’re looking to buy it. It’s hard to decide which is more premium, the one-piece base or the beautifully contoured seat with its elegant stitching that brings the velvet and faux leather together as one. Though I’ve still got concerns about the faux leather, which is infamous for flaking and tearing over time, I think it’s still an exceptionally well-made and comfortable chair for its price.

The post MSI MAG CH130 X Gaming Chair Review – Classy Comfort appeared first on Press Start.

I had only recently discovered the portable projector market, and honestly thought it was too good to be true, but after getting hands-on with BenQ’s GV1 Portable Projector, I couldn’t believe that such a brilliant display could come out of such a small device.

The BenQ GV1 is equipped with a 470p display that is capable of 200 lumens of brightness and whilst this doesn’t sound like a lot, I was pleasantly surprised with how well it fared for use in not only my bedroom but also to use as being projected on outdoor surfaces at night time.

If you’re somebody who spends a lot of times outdoors, camping as such or somebody who wants to project an image onto a wall outside of your house, then this little projector is perfect. It’ll get you roughly four hours of battery life, and there’s an in-built speaker too, so all you need is the projector and you’re set.

When it comes to getting content onto the projector there’s a number of options. If you’re wanting to connect an external device, the GV1 projector has a USB-C port, so any USB-C device can easily be connected. There’s also a HDMI to USB-C converter in the box, which is what I used to connect my Apple TV 4K, and it felt like the best experience. This would result in me turning the projector on and my Apple TV being there ready to go. Depending on your setup, I was able to connect the Apple TV to my HomePod in my bedroom, but honestly the speakers in the projector themselves really give a nice kick. So much so that BenQ has given this projector a dedicated Bluetooth mode which is easily accessible on the top.

Obviously, you won’t be playing any 4K games on the GV1, but to take it to parties with your Nintendo Switch will be super handy. I was able to whip it out to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at other people’s houses with ease and project a large enough image so that everybody could see.

If you’re somewhere where there’s Wi-Fi then there’s a built-in apps such as YouTube which can be downloaded from the built-in Aptoide store, although apps such s Netflix and Disney Plus were available but not compatible.

You’re also able to AirPlay content from your iOS device, although this seemed to be limited to either music or YouTube content with content from other platforms such as Netflix weren’t available. If you’re on Android you can do the same using Google Cast.

If you’re wanting to connect an external device, the GV1 projector has a USB-C port, so any USB-C device can easily be connected. There’s also a HDMI to USB-C converter in the box, which is what I used to connect my Apple TV 4K, and it felt like the best experience. This would result in me turning the projector on and my Apple TV being there ready to go. Depending on your setup, I was able to connect the Apple TV to my HomePod in my bedroom, but honestly the speakers in the projector themselves really give a nice kick. So much so that BenQ has given this projector a dedicated Bluetooth mode which is easily accessible on the top.

The real positives of this device is how easy it is to put anywhere and setup, it’s stable without the need for any kind of tripod. It has a 15 degree tilt so that you can aim it up or down at your surface and it has auto keystone which will automatically adjust the vertical sides of the screen. There’s a little wheel on the size that allows you to get the focus correctly, and it can be a little bit fiddly at times, but once you get it right, the picture looks great.

All-in-all, I think that portable projectors are about to take off in a big way. I was really expecting the quality of something like this to be worse, but the picture is bright, the speakers are very vibrant and it’s super easy to use.

The post BenQ GV1 Portable Projector Review – Portable Display At Its Best appeared first on Press Start.

Gaming laptops are a ridiculously diverse tech category, one where the same amount of money can get you a full range of different experiences. From chunky, 17″ beasts packed with RGBs to everyday machines with moderately-capable internals there’s a ton of choice, but it’s rare for a gaming laptop to be everything at once. That is, unless you can afford to drop a small fortune on something like the 2021 iteration of the Razer Blade 15 Advanced, a super-powered gaming machine that’ll handle anything thrown its way while being thin, light and sleek enough to double as a professional notebook.

We’ve been able to put the Blade 15 Advanced through its paces and get a feel for what roughly $5K AUD gets you in a premium gaming machine, and came away very impressed – with one or two caveats.

THE PRICES:

• Razer Blade 15 Base Model (3060) starts at $3,149
• Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model (3070) starts at $4,549
• Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model (3080) starts at $5,299

DESIGN

The first thing you’ll notice on unboxing the Razer Blade 15 Advanced is how handsome it is. The understated, stark black brushed metal chassis is something I appreciate from Razer’s modern Blade laptops, a far cry from its often gaudy and very gamer-looking peripherals. There’s a big green Razer logo that lights up on the back, sure, but if you switched it – and the keyboard’s RGBs – off you’d easily mistake it for a professional notebook. At a touch over 2kg it’s not exactly ultrabook-light (nor should it be) but it’s undeniably svelte compared to other gaming notebooks in its class. It also feels fantastic in-hand, with a solid metal chassis that perfectly drives home that fact this machine is premium as hell. All told this is probably the nicest-looking gaming laptop that I’ve ever encountered, and something that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to whip out in an office or meeting.

The all-in-one glass trackpad, while not something I’d use unless I had no other option, is certainly one of the more comfortable and reliable that I’ve used. It’s surprisingly smooth to navigate with and has plenty of room to move, and I found using gestures to be far more consistent than my day-to-day laptop. The only thing that brings the trackpad experience down are the sharp edges on the chassis directly underneath. Not everyone will position their wrists in the same way, and again a mouse will always be preferable anyway, but I found it immediately uncomfortable to use in my natural position and had to adjust accordingly.

The laptop’s keyboard is about what you’d expect with decent-enough chiclet keys that are nicely spaced, have okay travel and aren’t as mushy as some others that I’ve used. If I had one gripe about the hands-on experience of the Blade 15 Advanced it’s that it attracts fingerprints like nobody’s business, so you’re going to want to have a cleaning solution handy to keep it looking fresh.

On the sides of the machine its various ports include three USB Type-A ports, a USB-C and a Thunderbolt 3 type-C port, HDMI 2.1, SD card reader, combined 3.5mm audio jack as well as the power and kensington lock ports. It’s a fairly standard array, but should suffice for most users. Anyone hoping to use it as an office workhorse or dedicated streaming machine might soon scramble for a good external dock like the Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma, though.

Booting up the Blade 15 Advanced for the first time showcases one of its biggest draws – the beautiful 15.6″ display that features, in our review unit, a ridiculous 360Hz refresh rate and 1080p resolution. The panel itself is top-notch with vivid colours and a good level of brightness even at the halfway setting, as well as HDR support for content that displays it. There’s also an option for a 2K screen with a 240Hz refresh which, in my opinion, is the better option for anyone that wants the flexibility of being able to play and watch in high resolutions or high framerates. There’s no denying that 360Hz is impressive, but CS:GO aside I definitely struggled to find anything that would actually take advantage of it. It’s worth noting as well that the default Windows experience will only display in 60Hz with NVIDIA Optimus enabled, which intelligently switches to the integrated Intel GPU when the dedicated RTX isn’t necessary.

The integrated camera is about as good as you’d expect from a notebook, though having an RTX card inside means NVIDIA Broadcast is on hand to work its magic, where the background blur/replacement/removal effects still work surprisingly well even with a less-than-stellar camera feed.

THUNDERBOLT DOCK 4

Alongside the Blade 15 Advanced laptop we were also able to test out Razer’s new Thunderbolt Dock 4 Chroma, a fully featured USB-C dock with an array of extra ports as well as Thunderbolt 4 pass-through charging and, of course, Chroma lighting. The dock itself is small and sleek, similarly able to slide into any environment like the Blade, and even has its own multi-zone underglow RGB lighting that’s programmable with Razer’s software.

The powered dock adds a whopping four Thunderbolt 4 ports, three more USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, another 3.5mm combined audio jack and SD card slot as well as gigabit ethernet, making it an incredibly versatile addition. It’s not cheap at an RRP of $639 AUD, but I quickly found it invaluable in getting the most of the Blade 15 Advanced in testing thanks to both the added connectivity as well as dual 4K monitor output (or single 8K video, if you somehow needed it).

While it can power a connected notebook via USB-C passthrough, opening up the possibility of carrying your daily computer sans power brick with the dock waiting for you at work, there are obviously some limitations. There isn’t enough juice to keep the a power-thirsty machine like the Blade 15 Advanced from dipping into its internal battery, for example, meaning you’ll be running both devices with their bricks, but as a desktop replacement solution the Thunderbolt Dock 4 Chroma still makes a great accompaniment to any of Razer’s laptops.

RAZER SYNAPSE

On the software side of things, Razer Synapse does an excellent job of bringing everything together and giving users control over their performance, peripherals and pretty lights all in one suite. Everything can be tweaked from NVIDIA Optimus implementation to preferred power usage and fan speeds whether plugged in or on-battery.

Tabbing across to Chroma Studio you’ll find an immense range of options to customise both the lighting on the laptop as well as any connected and compatible accessories. While I didn’t have any Razer gaming peripherals on-hand to test this out I did have the Thunderbolt Dock 4 Chroma and was excited to discover that the studio gives you a virtual desk layout where you can easily visualise what your setup will look like while you’re messing with RGB settings. Or, you could optionally chuck on the Chroma Visualiser and let the software sync the lighting to your music, movies and games.

Dedicated software solutions for performance and lighting profiles are ubiquitous with gaming hardware these days, but I really appreciate how Synapse ties everything together in one spot and offers a great level of control.

PERFORMANCE

Given what’s under the hood, it wasn’t unreasonable to expect the Blade 15 Advanced to fly through everything I could throw at it, which absolutely proved to be the case. General use is as snappy as you’d assume, and (should you decide to turn off NVIDIA Optimus) unbelievably fluid on the 360Hz display in our review unit. I was able to browse the web, chat in Discord, spit out some renders in After Effects while also using Photoshop without it so much as breaking a sweat, so there’s no doubting its suitability as a laptop for work and play.

Under a more intense load it’s about as loud and hot than I expected from such beefy specs in a fairly tight build, though there’s always going to be a degree of it with a gaming laptop like this. If anything the fan was more noticeable during general use, kicking in at unexpected times. The fans have something of a high-pitched whine to them which is probably more off-putting than anything else. Putting the laptop under immense stress with games such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Cyberpunk 2077 cranked up to their max settings results in quite a bit of noise and heat, naturally, and I wouldn’t go sitting it on my lap during these moments for fear of burns, but it doesn’t skip a beat. A happy middle ground that still utilises the huge overhead afforded by the specs would be to wind the fans down a touch in the Razer Synapse suite and play at mid-high settings for a comfortable overall experience.

Using the thankfully-not-enormous power brick with its proprietary connection to the laptop, a full charge takes a snappy hour-and-a-half which seems impressive given its thirst for power. While not exactly scientific, my ‘how much can I get done before reaching for the charger’ tests yielded impressive results. At half brightness and using Optimus, with lighting and everything still switched on, I managed to work, browse the web and watch the odd YouTube video for nearly six hours. Obviously, switching to the Nvidia GPU and utilising the 360hz panel cuts that down significantly, especially for gaming. Running a game sans charger, as with most gaming laptops, is not entirely feasible with the Blade 15 Advanced draining completely after just over an hour of play off of the battery. You could likely extend that a little if you had it plugged into the aforementioned dock, but since that’s got its own power brick anyway it’s probably not much help.

While similarly un-scientific an analysis, I spent a good amount of time putting the laptop through its paces with the games that I had on hand and came away very impressed with its overall performance, especially given the form factor. Running at 1080p to match the display’s native resolution I was able to max out the visual settings and still achieve framerates well above 60fps on everything that I played, even with ray-tracing enabled.

Ghostrunner, a favourite of mine from last year that absolutely crippled my desktop computer topped out at 80+FPS at ‘epic’ settings with RT on and DLSS on the Quality setting. Likewise, Horizon Zero Dawn saw me roaming its gorgeous open world with nary a drop below 80FPS at ‘ultimate’ settings. Resident Evil Village proved a little trickier thanks to the cut-down 8GB of VRAM on the mobile version of the RTX 3080, meaning I couldn’t totally max it out but even pushing it to its theoretical limits saw roughly 70FPS outdoors and up to 100fps in simpler scenes. I may have been a little cocky in trying out Final Fantasy XV with all of its over-the-top extra NVIDIA technologies switched on, but once I relented to leaving those alone I got a solid 70+ in the notoriously-fussy JRPG with everything else maxed.

Of course all of the games I tried also benefited from blazing fast load times thanks to the included 1TB SSD as well as the panel’s capabilities to produce vivid images supporting HDR where available. The bottom line is that, while power and thermal restrictions are obviously going to impact a gaming laptop in more ways than a desktop rig, this machine breezes through current games at ridiculous settings and will likely continue to do so for many years to come.

Hooking the Blade 15 Advanced up to the UWQHD monitor that’s usually attached to my home desktop further blew me away as it chewed through games that the (admittedly modest) mini-ITX build would typically struggle with at 3440×1440. The specs don’t compare even closely, but it’s still a marvel that Razer has been able to push so much performance out of such a sleek machine without it losing its (literal and figurative) cool. Of course, it’s a machine that retails for a full four times more than what I spent building said desktop so the expectations are there.

And that’s the crux of it, really. If you’re seeking top-tier performance in an attractive and comparatively portable form factor then the Razer Blade 15 Advanced has got the goods – you’ll just need to be prepared to pay for them. At around $5K AUD (depending on where you shop) for the model we’ve covered here it’s not exactly within reach of the average punter but there’s no question that every dollar of that asking price has been justified in its engineering. Given the choice, I’d sooner opt for the 240hz model with QHD panel for a better balance of fast frames and high resolution, but there’s no denying that the FHD 360hz panel featured is a mighty impressive call to arms in a gaming laptop.

SPECS

• Intel 10th Gen i7-10875H Processor (8 cores/16 threads up to 5.1GHz)
• 1TB SSD PCIe + one extra M.2 PCIe slot
• 32GB DDR4 RAM
• GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (8GB GDDR6 VRAM)
• 16″ FHD 360Hz display, 2ms, up to 100% sRGB

The post Razer Blade 15 Advanced Gaming Laptop & Thunderbolt Dock 4 Review – A Beastly Gaming Machine appeared first on Press Start.

Alienware continues to hit it out of the park with their gaming laptops. I was incredibly impressed with last year’s m15 R4, and that sense of power meets portability doesn’t change with this year’s high-spec 2021 model. Having spent close to a month churning through productivity work and heavy bouts of gaming, the 2021 model continues to improve on the fundamentals of a great gaming laptop.

The sleek design seen in the recent wave of Alienware gaming laptops understandably doesn’t change this year, and that’s for the better. I’m a big fan of the futuristic design the company have gone with over the last couple of years, cramming high-spec tech within a sleek frame. It’s a far-gone change from what used to be the go-to for the brand, though that is definitely for the best — you still get a lot of cooling space for the machine to breathe while the design isn’t an ugly behemoth from yesteryear.

Cooling space is needed, too. Packing an 8-Core Intel i7-10870H, a GeForce RTX 3080, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, the top-of-the-line 2021 Alienware m15 R4 is an absolute beast of a machine. Whether it’s productivity work, high-level video editing or gaming, this laptop has more than enough under the hood to be the jack of all trades you’d need.

Unsurprisingly, there’s a good amount of I/O on the machine. The laptop packs a dedicated ethernet port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a Thunderbolt 3 port, a microSD card reader slot, a 3.5mm audio combo jack, an HDMI 2.1b port, while also sporting a MiniDisplay Port (1.4).

A notable change from last year’s model comes by the way of the laptop’s webcam. Tobii Eye Tracking is only included in the OLED screen models this time around, making for a run of the mill webcam above the screen in the m15 R4 I received. I never found much interest in the tech, though, so this omission isn’t something that had any negative impact on my experience with the laptop. It’s something that I found interesting for a few hours but was never a feature I cared much for.

Something I do really care for is the laptop’s screen, which is an absolute treat. A 300hz refresh rate accompanies a full HD 1080p IPS display, and, when games hit that higher refresh mark, there’s nothing quite like it. While the display has a 3ms response time, titles like the ever-excellent Rocket League – where quick movement and last-minute changes in direction are vital – felt extremely responsive when using a gamepad, while Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War was great to play through with the M&K combo. Neither would consistently maintain such a high frame rate, but having the headroom to support over 120fps was something I appreciated.

Gaming performance across most of the games I played was excellent, as is to be expected. Titles like Horizon Zero Dawn and Cyberpunk 2077, both on ultra settings at 1080p, averaged around 94fps and 70fps respectively, whereas the vanilla Metro Exodus easily maintained a constant 65fps with ray tracing on ultra. For some reason Metro Exodus’ Enhanced Edition wouldn’t update in my Steam library so I didn’t have a chance to check out the performance on that version of the game. Grand Theft Auto V, one of my go-to performance testers, stood no chance against the m15’s spec, easily averaging over 80fps. In short, the i7-10870H and RTX 3080 combo is one that will stand the test of time – whether it’s AAA or indie, solid gaming performance shouldn’t be a concern for years to come.

Fan performance wasn’t particularly surprising given what’s under the hood. The m15 makes quite a bit of noise when put under pressure, though the noise of the fans aren’t as loud as other gaming laptops on the market. There’s an audible hum while you play anything strenuous, though this is all mitigated through headphones. I would recommend a pair of decent PC speakers if you were looking at gaming without headphones, however, as the hum of the fans can be distracting during gameplay. Cooling is important, of course, and while the computer did get hot – especially around the WASD keys and fan grills above the keyboard — I found the fan cooling performance to be excellent.

On the topic of keyboards, I found the typing experience on the m15 to be great, too. Once again, the keyboard is tactile and has a great actuation point that allowed me to type at my normal typing speed without floundering about. I found the typing experience to be much better than my current gaming laptop, the 2020 Razer Blade Advanced, as the layout and spacing between keys is a bit more generous than Razer’s offering. Perhaps more importantly, the m15 is perfect for those who want to balance exceptional gaming performance with regular office or education use.

Using the m15 as a productivity and gaming machine over the last month has made me appreciate just how bloody nice is to have a gaming laptop that packs so much power within the chassis while working with the thin and light design philosophy. My tower rarely got any attention throughout the month, and I think it’s becoming extremely easy to make the justification to purchase a gaming laptop rather than build a tower. The price difference is still there, of course, but the sheer power and portability of the m15 makes it a great long-term investment – especially when it houses a top-level processor and graphics card. There’s nothing quite like being able to hit the road and travel with the knowledge that when it comes to dedicated downtime I can still fire up a round of Warzone or dive deep into Geralt’s adventures in The Witcher 3.

My time with Alienware’s m15 R4 has been great. The 2021 model houses some top-level spec and sticks with the company’s striking lunar design, expertly pairing power with portability. The new 300hz IPS display makes gaming an absolute treat for titles that support it, while the omission of Tobii Eye Tracking in this configuration is something I doubt many users will miss.

You’ll be shelling out quite a bit for this piece of kit, especially when comparing parts to build a traditional gaming tower, but there’s certainly long-term value here.

The post Alienware 2021 m15 R4 Review – A Portable Powerhouse appeared first on Press Start.

Webcams have become all more important in the last 12-18 months with working from home becoming the only viable option for so many. Last year, I took a look at the Logitech Streamcam, which saw me through a lot of the year, but after testing the Razer Kiyo Pro over the last few weeks, it has certain qualities that I really like.

Just like the Streamcam, the webcam is super easy to setup, working as soon as you plugging it in. It instantly provides a 1080P/60FPS image at 2.1 megapixels that looks great out of the box, but the magic quickly becomes apparent when you download Razer Synapse.

From here, you’re able to activate HDR at 30FPS which will instantly provide more realistic colours and better backlighting, so you won’t be overexposed if near a window or out of focus (my work space has a massive window behind me that often completely blows out my image). It won’t be for everyone as it is a little bit more dull than having HDR off (just like playing a game) but for the average professional, this webcam when utilising HDR will provide one of the most realistic, good looking images.

Another really great thing about the Kiyo Pro is that it has an adjustable FOV that can be changed between three settings. Narrow will be fairly zoomed in on your immediate space, medium will zoom out a tad and wide will provide a good look at your office/gaming setup which is great if you’ve got a lot of gaming memorabilia behind you. It’s super easy to change between these on the fly to find out which suits you best.

The webcam connects via USB A which won’t be to everyone’s delight (Anything with USB-C gets a huge tick in my books) and it does come with a manual privacy cover which you can place over your webcam just to triple ensure that nobody can see you. The stand is super versatile and can be placed either over your monitor or hot shoed onto a tripod, or just plain-old used as a stand on a desk. The webcam is really steady and swivels nicely too.

Whilst I really like Razer Synapse and it has most of the options I needed, I’d love to see it incorporate more broadcasting options to be in-line with Logitech Capture. The fact that you can use Logitech Capture to add text over your webcam, split screen with open apps and a host of other features means that it’s an OBS-like software for newcomers to use.

All-in-all though, if you’re happy to drop the $300+ for the Razer Kiyo Pro, you won’t be disappointed with the quality that you get. It really is a full-proof way to get high quality visuals from your home office/studio.

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A new TV brand called Caixun has entered the market. They’re stocked exclusively on Amazon, and I was fairly hesitant, but after using their high-end Series S Android TV model, I was actually quite impressed with it. As a secondary TV being one for the bedroom, garage or second living room, you’ll struggle to find better bang for back.

Pulling the TV out of the box, you won’t be blown away by the design, but it’s actually fairly thin, the bezels are quite thin and there’s nothing that stands our or makes the TV feel cheap looking. The legs screw in easily to the bottom and again, are a nice feature that won’t look off in any room.

As far as inputs go, there’s three HDMI ins (obviously you’re not getting HDMI 2.1 in a TV like this), an ethernet port, two USB ports and a TV antenna port. You’ve also got Wi-Fi built in and I had no issues with signal strength during my testing.

The TV is running Android TV OS9 and that’s the biggest benefit. It means that you have access to the Google Play store which means that you have access to pretty muuch every smart TV app that you’ll need including the big hitters such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime but also Australian apps such as Stan, Kayo, Binge and iView, 10play, Seven Plus and the likes. The only omission that I could think of was the Apple TV app, which is still slowly rolling out.

Whilst using the TV to navigate the Store and between apps, there was the occasional slowdown, which I presume is due to the chip inside and the fact that it’s not running the latest version of Android OS, but honestly, for most people it will be fine.

There’s also a Chromecast built in, so you can send anything from YouTube on your phone for viewing. There’s also a Microphone in the remote, so you’re able to use Hey Google to change inputs, head to streaming apps or change the volume. Speaking of the microphone, it has everything you need with Netflix and YouTube buttons at your finger tips as well.

In terms of picture quality, this isn’t going to rival the likes of Samsung’s QLED or LG’s OLED but it actually did impress me for the price range. You’re getting a 4K/60Hz display with HDR10+ so the highlights in both games and movies were honestly great, but obviously due to no local dimming on the tv, the area where the display is let down is obviously the black levels and blooming, which even the most expensive LEDs struggle to handle still.

Out of the box, the TV did require a little bit of calibrating in terms of the automictic settings (mainly to do with colour), but I was able to get a picture that I was relatively happy with once I started playing around.

If you’re using it for general gaming in your garage or gaming room, the TV does have a game mode and handles input lag and motion quite well, so there weren’t any huge issues there.

The speakers in the TV were a lot better than other budget TVs that I have used with it being able to get quite loud and still remaining clear when listening to music or dialogue. Obviously, if you’re somebody who wants crystal clear sound, then you can pair a soundbar with this TV.

When it comes to pricing, you’re looking at $459 for the 43“, $549 for the 50″ and $649 for the 55″ model. You won’t find thing cheaper at JB Hi-Fi and the like, so it all depends on if you want to spend more for a name, or if you’re looking for the cheapest.

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Gaming laptops have always been viewed as these huge, chunky laptops with average battery life and far less performance capability than their desktop counterparts, but that’s all changing due to smarter design choices and new technology.

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is the first laptop in the new AMD Ryzen Mobile 5000 H-Series line of Legion laptops (which range from super slim to all-out performance) and it manages to deliver the best of both worlds. It provides a somewhat slim laptop, one of the best screens that I’ve ever used for gaming and performance that I’d be more than happy to use as my daily driver, both for work and high-end gaming.

THE DESIGN

The laptop itself can’t reasonably be described as thin but chassis design has certainly come a long way in the last five to ten years. Measuring 2.7cm at its thickest point and weighing 2.45kg, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro doesn’t feel like a brick to lift and actually feels premium in its design and build quality. As far as weight goes, it’s definitely still heavy, so if you’re looking for something ultra light, this probably isn’t it, but it’s definitely better than other laptops that I’ve used. It differs from Lenovo’s previous laptops in the sense that it has a Storm Grey design, which is made from aluminium and embellished with a newly designed illuminated Legion logo on the back.

Opening the laptop is where things really start to get impressive. The screen on this laptop blows any other laptop screen that I’ve used out of the water and displayed better colour accuracy than my high-end TV. The Legion 5 Pro has a 16-inch display with a 16:10 ratio, which means you’re getting some extra pixels at the top and bottom of the screen. It displays at a native resolution of 2560 x 1600 with a buttery smooth 165Hz refresh rate. It’s also capable of 500-nits of brightness (along with Dolby Vision), meaning you still won’t get the best HDR quality, but it’s a hell of a lot better than you’ll get with most gaming monitors.

This all sounds impressive on paper but you can also see it in action whether you’re simply scrolling social media and web browsing or playing a brand new game like Outriders. The high refresh rate makes using this screen a genuine joy and the slim bezel coupled with the high brightness and accurate colours is extremely immersive. I’d genuinely struggle to go back to any other laptop screen now.

Lenovo laptops have always been applauded for their keyboards and this one is no different. Whilst the keys are a little low for my liking, they’re accurate and don’t feel like they’ll break over time. There’s a larger trackpad than what we’ve seen on previous Legion laptops, which seems to be one of the main criticisms of the laptop’s design. You’ve also got a full-sized Numpad, which I personally don’t use, but I know is a must-have for many users.

As far as ports go, there’s little room for improvement and you’d be hard-pressed to find any essential connections missing from this design. On the back of the chassis, you’ve got the AC power port, 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port (one that’s always on), an HDMI 2.1 port, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port and an ethernet port. On the right side you’ve got 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port your manual webcam shutter switch whilst on the left side you’ve got your headphone/mic port and 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port.

THE PERFORMANCE

The new Lenovo Legion 5 Pro absolutely blew me away when it came to performance. I use a 3080 in my daily desktop driver and was surprised how well the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro compared, considering it’s a laptop.

The laptop has Lenovo Q Control 4.0 which allows you to change between three modes on the fly by pressing the FN + Q buttons. Quiet mode is exactly that. You’ll forgo the roaring fans to have a silent experience that seldom comes with owning a gaming laptop. The balanced mode takes advantage of NVIDIA Advanced and allows you to let your system decide whether to use the GPU or CPU to provide a great balance between performance and battery life.

You’re also able to use Nvidia Experience to set up their version of Whisper Mode and battery life-saving modes, which will limit frame rate in games to have your laptop sounding quieter or preserving the battery.

Performance mode is where the laptop really shines and what you’ll want to be using when gaming. It’s only available when the laptop is plugged into the AC adapter and this will bring higher CPU voltage, higher fan speeds and naturally, the laptop will be louder (imagine two PS4 Pros strapped together) but it will also deliver full use of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU and 140w NVIDIA RTX 3070 GPU.

All of the below benchmarks were measured while playing in performance mode at the laptop’s native resolutions (2560 x 1600 / 1920 x 1200). All games were set to Ultra High and both ray-tracing and DLSS were turned on where possible.

The biggest takeaway from using this laptop for gaming is that we’re finally at a point where this laptop could become your all-in-one gaming device. The fact that I was able to get almost 60FPS whilst playing games such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla or Watch Dogs Legion at 1600p means that I really wouldn’t need to have any other gaming device. The fact that I could play Horizon Zero Dawn at well over 60FPS whilst having the game look 10x better than it did on PS4 is still unbelievable to me.

NVIDIA has been pushing DLSS in a big way and it’s clear at this point that it is the future of gaming. DLSS uses deep learning to upscale lower resolution images to provide more stable frame rates without losing too much image quality (this is getting better over time). With DLSS enabled, I was able to get over 130FPS with Outriders at 1080p, which definitely impressed me. I’m really not sure how a laptop of this size can reach these highs on a technical level, but our friends over at AusGamers have done a really great deep dive into the tech behind the RTX 30 series laptop GPUs.

Whilst playing in quiet mode, there was a drop in performance but honestly nowhere near as much as I expected. Playing Control and Watch Dogs Legion, the drop in frames was somewhere between 4-6 FPS, so if you’re somewhere where you’d need to be quiet, I could definitely see this being useful. Obviously, if you’re playing less intensive games such as Celeste or Among Us, you’ll be more than fine staying in this quiet mode for extended gaming sessions.

I was impressed with the battery life, at 50% brightness and just going about my day as normal, I was seeing roughly four hours of battery life on quiet mode. Obviously, whilst gaming and utilising the dedicated GPU, the battery percentage is going to go down a lot quicker. It’s worth mentioning that there is quite a significant external power brick, so it’s not as simple as just throwing the laptop in your bag with a small charger.

The speakers on the laptop can get fairly loud. There’s not a huge amount of bass but the laptop comes inbuilt with Nahimic software which instantly makes it sound better. You can change between custom presets and turn on virtual surround sound which instantly made a difference, providing a more fuller sound.

When it comes to the price, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16″ starts at $2,499 with an RTX 3060. If you’re wanting an RTX 3070 you’re looking at an extra $300. You can find the range HERE. More laptops in the Legion range are coming soon and you will be able to find those HERE. 

All-in-all, if you’ve waited until this year to buy a gaming laptop, you’ve made a great choice and you’ll enjoy the advancements in tech that have evolved over the last year or so, not to mention you’re going to get a much better bang for your buck.

THE SPECS

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8GB
• MEMORY: 2 x 8GB DDR4-3200
• STORAGE: 1TB SSD M.2 2280
• DISPLAY: 16.0″ WQXGA IPS 500nits Anti-glare, 165Hz, 100% sRGB, Dolby Vision, HDR 400,

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Choosing a headset has become one of the most confusing things about owning a video game console and it hasn’t been made any easier with next-gen consoles. We saw the Pulse 3D Headset launch alongside the PS5 and a comparative headset was missing for the Xbox Series X/S until today’s release of the Xbox Wireless Headset.

Taking the headset out of the box, it feels absolutely premium. For only $150, there was a chance it could have felt cheap, but it’s certainly not the case. The band feels durable, the earcups are an extremely comfortable fake leather that can also be taken off and replaced and the fit feels exceptional, without pressing down too much on my glasses. In terms of build quality and fit, I’d put this ahead of the Pulse 3D Headset, which is the same price. You’re not getting any kind of noise-cancelling with this headset, which is to be expected for the price, but it does a good job of blocking out external sounds.

My absolute favourite thing about the headsets is how accessible the buttons (or lack of them) are. I really dislike how many buttons there are on the Pulse 3D headset and the fact that they’re all on one side but on the Xbox Wireless Headset, the entire earcups act as volume controls, so your right cup controls the main volume whilst the left earcup does your game/chat balance.

You’ve also got an easy to access mute button on the microphone as well as a button to turn the headset on and off (complete with a matching startup tone to what you’d be used to with your Xbox Series X). As far as buttons go, that’s literally it and compared to other units on the market, that’s a godsend. Xbox has kept it simple and that’s exactly what you want with a headset. Even on day one, I was never second-guessing where to find one of the buttons or how to turn my chat volume up. It’s perfectly designed.

The headset is incredibly easy to pair to either your Xbox Series X/S or PC and all it takes is just holding down the power button to set it into pairing mode. Your Xbox or PC will then recognise the headset and connect each and every time it powers on. You can also connect the headset to multiple devices at once, meaning that you can connect to your mobile via Bluetooth whilst playing on your Xbox, and hear both devices at once, which is really helpful. You can also connect the headset to an Xbox wireless adaptor, which I highly recommend if you’re using a PC as it’s just going to be more stable than Bluetooth.

As far as battery life goes, Xbox says that you can expect 15 hours out of the headset, and I can vouch for this. There are longer-lasting headsets on the market, but again, at this price point, 15 hours is as good as you’d expect if not better and you’re also able to play with a wired connection via the included USB-C cable. When it comes to connectivity, you won’t be able to use this headset with your PS5/PS4 or Nintendo Switch as there’s no dongle (and no 3.5mm line in), so it’s purely connecting via Bluetooth which PlayStation and Nintendo don’t allow on their devices. That’s one reason why I’d point you towards the SteelSeries Arctis 7X as an alternative, even though it’s nearly double the price. With the Arctis 7X, you’re going to be able to use it with all of your devices.

The microphone on the headset is usable but not the best. Where it differs from others of its kind, however, is the fact that it has an auto-mute feature that will basically filter out unwanted noise, which is useful for when you’re crunching on some snacks, or have a fan in the background when you’re not talking. This was fairly hit and miss whilst I was testing it, with the headset doing a good job of recognising me not talking most of the time, but still letting some noise through occasionally. The sensitivity can be controlled by the Xbox Accessories app on Xbox/PC, so it might just need some adjusting. The microphone has a little LED, at the end, which will tell you when you’re muted or not. It can get a little bit distracting as it’s white, but this can be dimmed via the Accessories app.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good this headset sounds for $150. Whilst it doesn’t experience the deep bass that I got with the SteelSeries Arctis 7X or SteelSeries Arctis 9, those headsets are more than double the price. What I did get though, was an exceptionally crisp sound even when at the loudest volume. The difference between these and something like the Arctis 7X is probably closer than it should be given the price difference. The headset is compatible with spacial sound codecs such as Windows Sonic, DTS Headphone:X and Dolby Atmos. You get six months of Dolby Atmos with the headset, which I used and was really happy with the results when playing games such as Forza Horizon 4 and The Medium.

I did experience a little bit of delay at times, and the Bluetooth connection did cutout a time or two, but I hope that these improve with software updates as time goes on. For the most part, it’s going to be very, very hard to not recommend these to any Xbox Series X owner, for the price and the features that you’re getting. It’s ridiculously easy to pair the headset to all of your devices (PC/Xbox/mobile) and everything performs exactly as you’d expect, if not better.

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I’m not picky when it comes to my type of mouse by any means, but getting the SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless into my hands felt good instantly. Coming from quite a chunky, heavy mouse, the weight of the Aerox 3 felt like a relief and the shape of the mouse molded perfectly to the hands.

There’s two versions of this mouse. The wireless version is 66g with the wired version coming in at 57g. When it comes to pricing, the standard Aerox 3 Wired will set you back $119 AUD whilst the Aerox 3 Wireless is a little bit more at $189 (currently $143 on Amazon)

When I’m at a PC, I’m generally doing quite a few things at once. If I’m covering an event, that generally means having multiple screens open at once in order to write an article, churn something out of Photoshop and post it onto socials. That’s where the Aerox 3 Wireless really shined for me. Being able to zip across multiple tabs on both of my monitors was helped by the fact that this mouse is shockingly light.

One area where the Aerox 3 Wireless really shines is its battery life, which is impressive to say the least. SteelSeries says that you can get roughly 200 hours of battery life in Bluetooth mode or 80+ hours with the included dongle. I have to say, I’ve rarely had to charge this mouse at all in the few months that I’ve been using it, which is exactly what I want from a wireless mouse.

The design of the Aerox 3 is stunning. Not only do the holes in the mouse aid with the weight factor, but they really elevate the design, with the RGB blasting through the holes. There’s also a RGB strip alongside the base of the mouse, which is split into three customisable segments.

In regards to buttons on the mouse, you’ve got your left/right click, the two buttons on the left hand side that you can customise, a scroll wheel and a button below the scroll wheel to quickly change sensitive levels (between 400 CPI and 3200 CPI).

I have to say, there was something that really annoyed me. Normally, you can just move a mouse to wake it up, but with the Aerox 3 Wireless, you have to actually click a button in order to get it to wake from sleep. This is a big adjustment for me and I’m sure it has to do with preserving the battery, but just feels like an extra unnecessary step that I’ve not experienced with other mice.

As I’ve touched on in other SteelSeries reviews, SteelSeries Engine really improves the experience by easily allowing you to change things such as mouse sensitivity levels, customise the buttons on the mouse, polling rates, how long it takes for the mouse to go to sleep and how long you want the lights to stay active before they dim.

Included with the mouse is a dongle to connect via 2.4ghz, a USB-C charging cable (I’m so glad we’re seeing more devices utilise USB-C. You also get an extension adaptor for instances where you might need that extra little bit of distance to get the dongle closer to your mouse. I loved the versaility between having Bluetooth and utilising the dongle as I meant that I could easily take the mouse between my home office and work without needing to carry the dongle.

THE SPECS

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I’ve never fully understood the fascination with gaming chairs, but I’ve been testing out Andaseat’s Dark Demon gaming chair for the last month or so, and I kind of understand it now. Despite the fact that they’re larger than most office chairs, they provide a decent amonut of support and flexibility to suit most body types.

There weren’t a huge amount of bells and whistles during the unboxing process. All of the parts were clearly labeled with instructions well laid out. In terms of putting the chair together it took roughly 15-20 minutes and went ahead without any issues.

The first thing I noticed was how smooth the glide of the wheels were. Coming from an IKEA chair that had an insanely awful lock on its wheels, the oversized wheels made absolutely no noise when rolling, didn’t scratch up my wooden floors and felt like they gave just the right amount of resistance when rolling around.

I tested the all black synthetic leather version of the chair and thought that the design was fairly nice and understated compared to most gaming chairs. I would have maybe likes a little less branding, but at least it’s inoffensive and hard to go wrong with a black/white combo. I found the material really easy to wipe down with a cloth, which is important when I’m spending so much time at my desk.

Impressions of the comfort of the chair are about what I expected. It’s an incredibly solid chair thanks to the steel frame, but I must admit, I would probably prefer something a little bit softer. You don’t exactly sink into the chair, which is what I’d normally like. I wouldn’t say it was uncomfortable to sit on, but just that it definitely is a firmer feel.

This was a similar case for the included head pillow and lumbar support cushion. These two were what I was excited about experiencing most with a gaming chair, and whilst it felt like they added support, they felt a little bit too hard for my taste, with not a lot of movements when I pressed against them. I would have proffered a softer memory foam that I can rest back into. There’s also not a lot of adjustability in them given they both have to strap onto one set spot.

If you’re somebody who wants to be able to put your backrest all the way back, this is possible with the Dark Demon as it goes all the way to 160 degrees and can sit upright at 90 degrees. I never felt like I was going to tip over when adjusting the back no matter how far I went back which is a positive. Obviously, you can lift the and drop the chair to any height with the hydraulic system.

I’m somebody who likes to be able to sort of rock in my chair (it’s an annoying habit) and the Dark Demon has the ability to change the resistance of how much you can rock back and forth via a knob under the seat. There’s also a handle on the right to quickly lock it into place to stop this from happening.

The arm rests on this chair are probably the best that I’ve experienced on a chair. They can go up and down, forwards and backwards, you can turn them in or out and you can also push them closer to you body or away from your body. My only wish was that I would have preferred them be even closer to my body. I like to keep my arms closer to my side and have my elbows on the arm rests and this just wasn’t possible with how they were setup.

All-in-all, if you’re after a study gaming chair, the Andaseat Dark Demon will definitely get the job done. It reclines, comes with a lumbar and neck pillow and allows you to adjust the armrests. I did lack a little bit of comfort when it came to certain areas, but it’s all going to come down to what you prefer in your chair.

The Andaseat Dark Demon is available to purchase on Amazon. You can find the listing right HERE.

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The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid wireless gaming earbuds excited me more than any headset that has come across my desk in a while. I’m a huge fan of wireless earbuds, using a pair of Apple AirPods quite regular for listening to music on my iPhone, but there hasn’t really been anything comparable in the gaming space, until now.

The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid wireless earbuds can connect in two ways. It comes with a low latency dongle that can plug into your PC, Nintendo Switch or PS4/PS5 in order to transmit audio wirelessly from your console to the earbuds. You’re advised to also use the included USB-A to USB-C extension cable to ensure that there’s no interference between your PC/PS5 and the dongle.  You can also connect to your mobile phone or PC via Bluetooth (a version will also be released without the dongle if you’re just looking to use them in this way).

In terms of the pairing process, plugging the dongle in to the Nintendo Switch or PS5  resulted in them connecting instantly with volume being able to be controlled via either console. It’s worth mentioning that the microphones in these earbuds don’t work when you’re using the dongle, which actually isn’t a huge deal when using the PS5 as you can use the microphone in the controller, but it’s definitely a bit of a head scratcher as there are dual microphones inside the earbuds. It’s something I’d like to have seen and something I hope they can add in an update or future iteration.

Included in the box are four sized tips (extra small, small, medium and large) which you can use to find your perfect fit which is important with in-ear earbuds. I’m not a huge fan of in-ear earbuds normally, but these are actually really comfortable molding to the ear better than most. They’re super lightweight and don’t stick out of your ears too much, meaning you’ll forget about them being in a few a minute or two.

When it comes to audio quality the GTW 270 earbuds sounded pretty damn good. In comparison to the AirPod Pros, I’d easily put them on-par if not ahead audio quality wise. Playing games such as Call of Duty or Apex Legends, the bass was really pounding thanks to the great seal provided by the in-ear buds. Listening to music was a similar experience, with really well balanced audio coming through.

These headphones don’t have active noise cancelling, but honestly, I didn’t feel like I missed it at all. As long as you get the tip size correct, even when not playing music, my surroundings were blocked out really well. It might be a different story on a plane or such, but I wasn’t able to test this for obvious reasons.

You can expect to get roughly four hours on a charge with the earbuds, but the charging case will give you roughly 20 hours of battery life, before it needs to be recharged via USB. In terms of build quality, the earbuds and charging case are really nice. EPOS has opted for a gunmetal grey which oozes premium an both the charging case and the earbuds are the perfect size.

I’ve had a few glitches here and there with the dongles in terms of a slight crackle or them momentarily losing connection with the earbuds, but this is a new product line for EPOS so no doubt it’ll get better with software updates along the way.

When it comes to price. The GTW270 Hybrid will set you back $350 which is definitely not cheap. Really, it comes down to whether you want completely wireless in-ear headphones that are useable both with mobile as well as your gaming consoles. There’s not a lot there on the market that will provide the versatility in an in-ear format.

Another area that I feel can be improved on is the EPOS Gaming Suite software itself. It’s fairly basic compared to most other software, but I’m hopeful we’ll see improvements in that area this year.

If you’re coming from something like Apple’s AirPods, things aren’t as seamless. For instance, only the right earbud has bluetooth capability meaning you have to always have the right earbud in to connect. Obviously, you’re going to be wearing both 90% of the time, but still worth noting.

All-in-all, I’ve been using these as my daily headphones for almost everything gaming and work related over the last few weeks. It’s a really exciting product and it’s a product line that I can’t help but feel will only get better with time.

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The PS5 headset situation is honestly fairly dire. Unless you’re using PlayStation’s own Pulse 3D headset, you’re going to be missing functionality in existing headsets or those marketed for use with the PS5 (much like the Astro A20 Gen 2 headset).

Headsets that previously took advantage of two channel audio through the use of the optical port and USB port can no longer do so due to the fact that the PS5 has no optical port.  This means that high-end headsets such as the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless or Astro A50 will no longer perform to their full capability. It also means that there isn’t a single headset on the market (to my knowledge) that can take advantage of a game/chat audio slider outside of PlayStation’s own Pulse 3D headset.

This is a damn shame, because the Astro A20 Gen 2 is a great mid-range headset that is a little held back by the current limitations that Sony has put on headset manufacturers. The Astro A20 headset fits really nicely. It’s a little bit heavier than most headsets, but the super soft padding on the top of the band as well as the adjustability means that it’ll sit snug on your head.

In terms of the buttons on the headset, they’re well laid out which is one of the most important things on a headset for me. You’ve got the power button, a volume wheel which is easy to access, buttons to increase/decrease game or chat balance (which don’t currently work due to Sony’s limitations with the PS5 and can still be controlled via PS5 OS) and an EQ button that changes between three preset settings (Astro for general gaming, PRO for high detail and Studio for music/movies).

Playing games with this headset is an absolute joy. The Pulse 3D headset isn’t bad, but I noticed a huge improvement as soon as I put these on. Footsteps in Fortnite became clearer, gunshots in Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War became crisper and everything sounded a little less tinny. If you’ve currently got the original version of this headset, you’ll notice a decent improvement thanks to Astro’s V2 audio engine.

One of the biggest criticisms that I have of PlayStation’s own Pulse 3D Audio headset (outside of the horrific button placements) is the microphone which was a pretty big letdown. Thankfully, not only does the Astro A20 Gen 2’s microphone sound a lot better, but it also has a flip to mute microphone rather than a button. Although, my team mates did mention that they could hear themselves a little through the microphone although this was fixed by turning it down on the PS5 settings.

As far as connecting these up to my PS5, I just had to plug in the USB dongle and away I went. Astro has been pretty clever with the creation of these and you can buy a second dongle for your Xbox Series X in order to go back and forth between the two consoles. Whilst I couldn’t test this, some people online have mentioned that it is a bit fiddly and you do have to do a bit of fairing if you’re going back and forth.

Battery life is advised to be at around 15 hours and that’s exactly what I got. They are charged by USB-C (thankfully) and another minor gripe I have is the fact that it doesn’t let you know once they’re completed charging. It is minor, but worth mentioning.

Honestly, if you’re after audio quality and comfort and the game/chat audio slider issue doesn’t bother you, then I’d be going for these. They feel a lot more premium than the Pulse 3D headset and sound a lot better too. When it comes to price, you can currently grab the Astro A20 for roughly $279. You can grab the PS5 version HERE and the Xbox Series X version HERE. 

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Sometimes you just don’t realise how average the things you’re using are, until you upgrade and experience a whole new world. For instance, my original monitor setup at home was a stock-standard DELL flatscreen monitor, as well as an ancient (HDMI and VGA only) LG Flatron screen. They both did their job as expected, but of course I knew much better was out there.

What I didn’t realise though, is how much of a difference that “better” quality would make. Prepare yourselves for the MSI Optix 27” MAG274QRF-QD, a monitor with so many acronyms and technical terms attached to it that it’ll make your eyes pop almost as much as the colours do. This monitor was designed with esports in mind – a 27” flat screen with a huge 2560×1440 WQHD (wide quad high definition) resolution offering a refresh rate of 165hz, on a Rapid IPS panel. The one drawback that some may find (though it didn’t cause me any issues) is a brightness rating of 300 nits – which coupled with the anti-glare screen did a decent job even in the sunniest conditions.

In simple terms – it is sharp, vivid, and showcases ultra high definition. Add in a strip of RGBs on the back for extra speed, and you’ve got yourself a complete package monitor that does everything you need it to and more. The screen has an anti-glare coating that also can be viewed from multiple angles without any issues, and when attached to the stand the monitor can rotate, rise and tilt to give you that perfect viewing spot. To top it off, the design of the monitor is simple and sturdy – no ridiculous stand shapes, or garish patterns; the design is minimalistic yet retains the MSI flair the brand is known for. There are bezels around the edge of the screen, but they are narrow and smooth enough to not be noticed.

In day-to-day operations the minor quirks are instantly noticeable compared to standard monitors – scrolling through pages or moving objects around the screen is smooth and almost strange when you’ve been using a screen with such a low refresh rate. The monitor comes with your standard connection inputs (no HDMI 2.1 sadly) as well as a USB Type-B connector to supply power to the additional USB ports. Hitting up YouTube for a few 4K videos just to view the colour range it outputs and was blown away not only by the clarity but by the range. Reds and oranges absolutely pop off the screen, while blues and greens are rich and vibrant – viewing things on this monitor was almost like experiencing colours for the first time, and realising what the difference is between a basic monitor and a top of the range device can be.

Getting into gameplay, I don’t think I’ve ever had to turn ON so many options in gaming menus to allow games to look so good on-screen. Boosting the settings to maximum in Rocket League and turning on v-sync options I was presented with a smooth and clear depiction of my car, with colours that absolutely popped. MSI’s Adaptive-Sync feature helps with switching from game-to-game. When I first got my hands on the monitor it wasn’t wasn’t G-Sync compatible, but after several updates it became G-Sync compatible, which is definitely a plus in many peoples’ books.

MSI have also announced compatibility with their Gaming OSD app, which allows users to customise and switch monitor modes on the fly – unfortunately at the time of writing, the only thing the app would display for me is “Cannot detect supported monitors” when connected with DisplayPort and USB at the same time. The app allows you to change features on the fly without navigating the menus via the physical buttons. Thankfully the majority of options for the onboard menu can be selected using the neat little red joystick toggle that sits on the back of the monitor, allowing for customised quick-change options or displaying refresh and frame rates on screen.

WE LOVE BRINGING YOU THE BEST GAMING AND TECH BARGAINS. WE MAY GET A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE SALE THROUGH AFFILIATE PARTNERSHIPS

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The lead-up to the launch of the PlayStation 5 has been fascinating. We’ve been drip-fed information quite late in the peace about this console, which led me to believe that Sony might be withholding information or that from a UI point of view that things weren’t so different, but when it comes to the PlayStation 5 it’s the complete opposite. There’s a lot of innovation and definitely still a few limitations.

MORE PS5 REVIEW COVERAGE:

• PlayStation 5 Review
• Spider-Man Miles Morales Review
• Astro’s Playroom Review 
• The PS5 Doesn’t Let You Store PS5 Games On External Hard Drives
• A Small Amount Of PS4 Games Don’t Run Properly On PS5
• All Of Your Burning PS5 Questions Answered
• The PS5 Activities Feature Is PlayStation’s Answer To Quick Resume And It’s Also A Game Changer
• The PS5 Tells Your Your Play Time For All PS5 And PS4 Games
• The PS5 Comes With 667GB Of Usable Storage
• Here’s Ghost Of Tsushima, God Of War And Days Gone Running At 60FPS On The PS5

USER INTERFACE

I want to start with the PS5’s user interface because there’s a lot of big and small changes, most for the better. Firstly, I just want to say how stunning the entire UI is. It’s got a more muted colour scheme, and it’s full of animations in stunning 4K. The PS5 retains a cross-media bar of sorts, and it looks fairly barebones but it places your games front and centre and that’s exactly how it should be.

Your media apps are split out into a separate part of the UI meaning that your games and media apps will never interchange.

Sony’s idea is that you never really visit this main part of the UI—unless you need to visit the PlayStation Store—but instead go to the Control Centre. This is brought up by tapping on the PlayStation button. It’s interchangeable and houses things such as a game switcher (which is not PlayStation’s equivalent of Quick Resume), notifications, game base (your friends/party), audio, microphone, controller, profile, and power for your console. You can also add other things such as your music, network settings, broadcasting, and accessibility.

I really enjoy the Control Centre. It’s much better than the sidebar that was on the PS4, and it has literally everything that you need with only a few presses of a button. It’s worth mentioning that this is the only way to access your friends list/party list and for some odd reason, your party chats (or messages threads) will appear above your friends list.

Another little awesome tidbit about the UI is that it has a fantastic universal search function which allows you to search for a friend, game in your library, or something in the store all in the same place, meaning that you can find what you need without having to go through countless menus.

ACTIVITIES

Also in the Control Centre, as well as in each game’s own hub, are Activities. This was shown off a little bit in the UI reveal, but I believe it’s set to completely change how we play games. Whilst the PlayStation 5 doesn’t have Quick Resume (which is odd given it has a quick game switcher), Activities essentially replaces the need for this, and I might actually prefer it.

Say you’re playing Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and you want to jump into Devil May Cry V: Special Edition, you can literally just go to Devil May Cry in your XMB, go down to Activities under the game icon and continue your game within seconds, without ever touching a menu. If you then want to go back to Spider-Man and want to jump straight into a specific side mission or challenge, you once again can go back in just a few seconds, without ever touching a menu. Astro’s Playroom, which is centered around collectibles, tells you how much percentage you’ve completed in each level, and lets you jump straight to it from the Activities menu as well.

This has the potential to completely change how we play games. With open-worlds, it makes maps less necessary and it’ll mean that we won’t need to be jumping through menus on Call of Duty or FIFA to get where we need to go. There are a few other really cool scenarios where games use this cleverly, that I, unfortunately, can’t talk about at the moment, but it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

Another part of Activities is tips. Every game that I played on PlayStation 5 provided helpful tip videos for the specific part of the game that I was currently up to. Whether it was finding a certain collectible or strategies to beating a particular boss, they were all there ready and waiting. This obviously won’t be to everyone’s taste, but for a game like Demon’s Souls, I don’t think too many people are going to be complaining.

PS5 GAMES AND THE DUALSENSE FACTOR

My impressions of the DualSense controller just from a feel and comfort point of view is really positive. As with the DualShock 4 controller, it has an internal battery, that seems to last between 5-7 hours and it can be charged with the USB-C cable included in the box. The controller has a lot more weight to it, it’s larger, and definitely fits in the hands much better than the DualShock 4 did.

While you can read our full Astro’s Playroom and Spider-Man: Miles Morales reviews here, it feels as though Sony picked up right where they left off with PlayStation 4 and its controller, creating games that feel unique and purpose made for their platform. Overall, my experience of playing games on the PlayStation 5 and using the DualSense has been really positive one so far.

The DualSense controller really makes these games feel new. The haptic feedback provided in the controller really helps immersion and brings the games to life. Whether it’s the weighted feeling of running through sand in Astro’s or feeling every little web-sling through New York City, the Adaptive Triggers add an extra layer of wow-factor. I worried it’d be annoying or fade into the background as time went on, but it just doesn’t.

Lastly, the speaker in the controller has always felt like a bit of a weird addition but, matched with the haptics and Adaptive Triggers, all three combine to really bring the controller to life, and create a sensory experience that I didn’t know I needed. I really feel that once you play a game with all three of these things, it’s going to be hard to go back to a controller with just standard vibration.

Similarly, games such as Devil May Cry V: Special Edition take advantage of the PlayStation 5 hardware with a plethora of performance modes and super-quick loading that makes dying not so much of a pain. We haven’t yet got our hands on Demon’s Soul and Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and there are a few more games that we can’t talk about quite yet, so we’ll have more on this later.

BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY

When it comes to backwards compatibility, Sony has done well with the PlayStation 5, but I don’t know if I’d go as far as saying they’ve done as well as Microsoft has done with the Xbox Series X. The new hardware breathes new life into first-party games such as Ghost of Tsushima, Days Gone and God of War, just to name a few, all run at a glorious 60FPS.

Library management has come a long way in that all of your already owned games are right there in your library, ready to be downloaded at the tap of a button, and I plugged my external hard drive right in from my PlayStation 4 and all of those games were ready to boot as well.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the actual compatibility of some older games, it’s not quite the dream that Sony laid out with the list of 10 games that wouldn’t be compatible. These games don’t boot, but there are other games that don’t run as intended.

As Ubisoft mentioned, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate had huge issues with textures and lighting and Ape Escape 2, a personal favourite of mine, was also pretty much unplayable with textures wigging out. This is still a really isolated experience and, for the most part, all games that I tried loaded quicker and ran better than they did on PlayStation 4, but it’s too important not to mention.

The other area where I was a little bit disappointed with the PlayStation 5 is in save management. My saves were all there in the cloud, but I still had to go through way too many sub-menus in the settings to get to them.

Loading PS4 games off of my external hard drive would just boot them as if I’d never played them before and I don’t feel like that’s good enough in 2020. I had no issues getting my saves once I downloaded them all, but I really wish there was some way of automating this process so that if I download a game from the cloud, it’d also automatically download my save along with it.

INTERNAL/EXTERNAL STORAGE

I’ve got some fairly bad news. The PS5 comes with just 640GB of usable storage, which is definitely fine for launch, but that’s going to run out fairly quickly. Unfortunately, whilst you can use an external hard drive for PS4 games (you can also set it to be the default place for PS4 games to install), you cannot store PS5 games on an external hard drive.

The option to move them simply doesn’t exist. It’s a bit of a weird one, but with Sony going leaning so hard into the aforementioned Activities function, I can see why having all games on the internal is important. It’s also worth mentioning that PS4 games can’t be transferred back and forth in the background like they can on Xbox Series X. You’re unable to leave the screen until it’s completed.

I also tried to put the Samsung 980 Pro, originally considered the only likely candidate for day one internal storage for the console, into the PlayStation 5 and was made to take it out before it would successfully boot. This led me to believe that it’s not possible on day one to use an NVME SSD with your PlayStation 5, meaning that there is no way to expand the storage for games just yet.

Sony is obviously wary of how much space games are taking up, so they’ve done something fairly clever in the fact that the game only installs the audio files for your default language, and then gives you the ability to download optional audio files in the UI. This doesn’t solve the problem, but it definitely helps it.

COMPATIBILITY/AUDIO

There’s definitely going to be a few areas where people are let down when it comes to compatibility. Firstly, the PlayStation 5 doesn’t support a 1440p output. It’s still just 1080p or 4K. I understand why they’ve made that decision, but I know that a lot of people were after it. Secondly, if you’ve got a headset that uses the optical port, I’ve got good and bad news.

You’ll still be able to plug that headset in via USB but, as far as I can tell, no headset with a chat/game mix knob will let you use the knob anymore.

Thankfully, there is a really great solution to handle this and it worked with every microphone that I tested. The PS5 UI Control Center now has a game/chat audio slider that works really well. The DualSense controller also has a microphone and lets you chat with other people through your controller. It’s actually really clear and super helpful as well.

CREATE BUTTON/SHARE OPTIONS

The PS5 gives more options for sharing content than any console on the market. You can choose to record in wither 4K or 1080p in either WEBM or MP4 format, you can choose to turn HDR on or off, choose to include your microphone audio or party audio, and this is all just from the Control Centre. You can also set your console to always be recording up to the most recent hour of gameplay, which you can then edit in Share Factory so that it’s always there for when you’re wanting to save something that’s just happened.

LOAD SPEEDS

I already spoke about Activities, and how they utilise the super-fast SSD to get you where you want to go faster than ever, but, in general, the speeds of the PlayStation 5 are mind-blowingly good. Turning the console on from rest mode brings the home screen up before you even have to chance to remove your finger from the button while the console loads games faster than I’ve ever experienced. Where loading into a save took between up to twenty seconds on PlayStation 4, it now literally takes less than two seconds.

Loading into a level of Astro’s Playroom is instant if you’re already the game (and near instant if you’re occupied with another game) and dying doesn’t feel as brutal because you’re instantly back into the action. Devil May Cry V: Special Edition literally only gets about 10% through the loading bar before it loads you into a level, taking roughly two to three seconds tops (as you can see below).

Here are some PS5 vs. PS4 load speed comparisons for you:

• Days Gone took 40 seconds to load into the game on PS5 (1 minute, 40 seconds on PS4) and 20 seconds to load into a save (40 seconds on PS4)
• Spider-Man: Miles Morales took roughly less than 3 seconds to load into my save on PS5 (18 seconds on PS4)
• Ghost of Tsushima took 26 seconds to load into the game on PS5 (44 seconds on PS4) and 4 seconds to fast travel (7 seconds on PS4)

When you’re talking boot times, It’s super fast too taking only 18 seconds from the moment you turn the PS5 on to being in the UI. If you’re in rest mode, it only takes just a measly nine seconds to be in your UI screen. Your TV will barely be able to even beat it to switching the channel if your TV auto switches HDMI ports.

CONSOLE DESIGN

I’ve honestly come to love the PS5 design. Sure, it’s big, but it makes a statement and I kind of appreciate that. It fits into my entertainment unit and once you’ve walked into the room a few times, you kind of forget about the size.

The really good news is that this thing runs whisper-quiet and, as far as I can tell, runs cooler than the Xbox Series X. After a day or two of using it, I stopped and thought to myself that I hadn’t checked how noisy it is, and that’s because it has never made a peep.

In terms of ports, it’s hard to complain with 2 x USB 3.0 ports on the back as well as a USB-C/USB 2.0 port on the front. Another thing worth mentioning, and I don’t know if it’s because the PlayStation Network is receiving an upgrade, but this thing was downloading my games a lot faster than my PlayStation 4 ever did. It’s a much-welcomed upgrade given we’re most likely going to be downloading and deleting a lot of PS5 games.

CONCLUSION

The PlayStation 5 has definitely met and has the potential to exceed my hopes and expectations for the next generation. The DualSense controller brings more immersion and is a solid improvement on the DualShock 4, my first taste of higher framerates and ray tracing has been fantastic and the load speeds are absolutely wonderful. New UI elements such as Activities and Control Centre also make everyday tasks easier and open up new opportunities as well.

There’s still a decent way to go in improving on things such as cloud saves and storage options, which will hopefully be rectified as time goes on. As a starting point and with the software line-up that it has for the remainder of 2020 as well as 2021, it looks like Sony isn’t easing up on the stronghold it already had thanks to the PlayStation 4.

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One of the hardest things to find as a gamer is a headset that works with everything, especially if you own all three consoles and a PC. The SteelSeries Arctis 7X wireless gaming headset is as close as you’re going to get in terms of compatibility across the board.

The headset is Xbox branded and will be marketed towards Xbox Series X/Xbox One owners, with the headset itself having green detailing on the band that compliments the console perfectly. Comfort is a must for me with headsets, and the Arctis 7X delivers. It’s a lightweight headset, and the customiseable band has an adjustable ski suspension design that means that it’s never placing any unnecessary pressure on your head. I really rate all of the SteelSeries headsets for comfort. I use them all day for work, and then game with them and I never feel any sort of tension or headache after long periods of use.

The controls on this headset are one of the main reasons why I love it. It has a volume slider on the left, a chat mix slider on the right, a mute button that you can’t accidentally hit and a simple on/off button that also displays how much battery is left in an easy to read what. Everything you need is within reach with you never having to second guess yourself, due to the volume and chaxmix sliders being on opposite sides.

In the box, you get a USB-C dongle, a USB-A to USB-C converter (for consoles that don’t have USB-C), a Micro USB cable to for charging, and a 3.5mm cord for wired audio. The multitude of connectors in the box is the main reason that it’s compatible with every console that I tested it with.

If you’re wanting to use it with the Xbox Series X, you just need to leave the USB-C dongle in the default Xbox position, plug it into your converter and your Xbox Series X will instantly recognise it as your headset, with your game audio instantly routing through the headset.

Surprisingly, the headset works wirelessly with Nintendo Switch as well. If you’re wanting to use it in handheld mode, you just need to use the USB C dongle straight into the bottom of the Switch. If you’re playing on docked mode, you’ll need to use the converter.

It’s rare to find a headset that’s compatible with both PlayStation and Xbox. SteelSeries says that it’s compatible with the PS4/PS5. At the moment, I could only test it with the PS4, and it worked perfectly. I was able to get game audio and chat with friends. The only feature missing was the fact that the I couldn’t use the chat mix on the right side of the headset to balance my game/chat audio on PS4, but this is because the PS4 handles chat audio in a separate way to that Xbox

Battery life is rated at 24 hours, and I’ve never had a SteelSeries headset that hasn’t been able to meet the battery life advertised. The rectractable microphone is great quality, with the people on the other end telling me that I was coming through crisply. There’s also microphone monitoring that you can manage through the SteelSeries Engine on PC.

In terms of sound quality, everything sounded great. There’s not a whole lot of noise isolation, so if you’re someone who likes everything completely blocked out they might not be for you. SteelSeries Engine means that you can customise everything that’s coming through and it works well as always.

Currently, the SteelSeries Arctis 7X isn’t available to purchase locally in Australia (hopefully that’ll change soon). You can purchase it from SteelSeries.com for about $250 AUD (plus shipping).

The post SteelSeries Arctis 7X Wireless Gaming Headset Review – Perfect For Xbox Series X With Great Compatibility Everywhere appeared first on Press Start.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is Samsung’s next flagship phone. It’s big, bold and packed full of features which are all evident before you even turn the phone on. It offers everything you need in a phone in productivity, whilst pushing the boundaries in some key areas to ensure that things like playing games and watching movies are top notch.

BUY IT ON

THE DESIGN

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra comes in three colours: Mythic Black, Mystic Bronze and Mystic White. I had the chance to spend the last few weeks with the Mystic Bronze, and whilst I normally would go for a plain and simple black phone, I actually really warmed to it. It’s eye-catching, but not too in your face, and it screams premium.

The phone is massive coming in at 16cm tall and 8cm wide. It’s by far the largest phone that I’ve ever used, but it’s worth it for the stunning edge to edge display. In terms of how the screen handles the front camera, it fades into the background when the screen is off and on. That large, vibrant display is great for sitting on social media, answering emails or playing games, but the size of the phone can start to feel a little awkward in the hands after a while. Obviously, if you’re grabbing this phone, you probably know what it’s like to own a larger phone, and Samsung has definitely gotten the most out of it in terms of screen real estate for the size of the phone.

In terms of design, the only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the camera bump. It sticks out a lot more than I can remember on any the phone, and due to the fact there’s three lenses, it’s actually a considerable bump. The phone doesn’t sit flat when on a table and has quite a decent rock to it. Once again, not a deal-breaker, but definitely something worth noting.

THE SCREEN

Samsung has struck a deal with Xbox over the last few year, first bringing Forza Street to the Samsung line of mobiles, and now announcing that Xbox Game Pass streaming will be supported on the Galaxy Note 20 line. Unfortunately, we won’t have this service here when it launches next month, but it’s incredibly easy to see why Xbox wanted to partnered with Samsung to have these devices be the preferred way to experience Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming.

The AMOLED Infinity display is by far the most stunning display that I’ve seen on a mobile device. From the moment I turned it on I was seriously impressed by the deep blacks and vibrant colours that the display produces with its 1500 Nits display.  I’ve recently become a PC gamer, and realised just how much a 144hz display can make a difference. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has a 120Hz display that is instantly noticeable. Scrolling through your apps or Twitter feed is enough to make you see just how smooth this display is, but booting up something like Call of Duty Mobile or Forza Street will make it hard to move away from a screen like this for mobile gaming.

The display is adaptive meaning that it can shift between 60hz and 120hz on the fly to save on things like battery life. It’s also worth mentioning that the display can only do adaptive motion smoothness in the FHD+ resolution (2316 x 1080) and not QQHD+ (3088 x 1440).

GAMING AND PERFORMANCE

I’m not much of a mobile gamer, but I expect that to change in the future with cloud gaming becoming more of a reality. Putting this device through its paces, I was pleasantly pleased with the likes of Call of Duty Mobile, Fortnite and Forza Street which didn’t miss a beat whilst playing. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has the fastest processor of any Galaxy phone and it has a new cooling system to ensure that it can handle the most advanced of games. I never felt it struggling during multitasking between games and other apps. There’s also a Wi-Fi optimiser which helps get low latency, which is going to help hugely when Cloud gaming.

The Note 20 Ultra has a 4,500 mAh battery which Samsung advises can last the day. Being stuck in lockdown, I didn’t get to put it through its paces in a real world situation as I’d normally like to, but with a heavy use, I did get somewhere between 8-10 hours with the phone, with the 120Hz display mode turned on.

The fingerprint and camera readers both worked for me more often than now, I was super impressed with how quickly the phone recognised one or the other before letting me into the phone.

THE CAMERAS

The Galaxy 20 Note Ultra has three cameras. A Wide lens that’s capable of taking 108MP photos, an ultrawide lens which is capable of taking 12MP photos and a Telephoto lens which has an optical zoom of 5x (with the ability to go to 50x zoom). Samsung’s Smart Take function will allow you to take a variety of photos/videos with one tap, utilising all three lenses.

Taking photos with all three lenses provided a vibrant and colourful photo. Whilst an iPhone will typically take a more natural looking photo, all of my photos that I took with the Galaxy Ultra Note 20 (mostly photos of my sausage dogs) were highly sharpened and full of colour, which actually suits how I like my photos to look quite well.

Night Mode is still a thing, and it definitely goes a long way to taking good photos in low light, but obviously performance will differ depending on what you’re trying to focus on. The selfie camera is able to take 10MP selfies, and I didn’t find it to be too amazing, but definitely passable. The phone is capable of recording 8K video and it performs as well as you’d expect, with good stability and great quality video being the end result.

THE S PEN

One of the main reasons to purchase a Galaxy Note is the pen, and the S-Pen is better than ever in this model. Firstly, writing just feels smoother because of that 120Hz display and latency has been reduced, making the motion feel more one to one, but there’s a bunch of new features that make the pen more useful.

Within the notes app, you can now write on an angle and have the app automatically straighten it, which works a lot better than I was expecting. You can easily turn scribbles into text as well now, and with my illegible writing, that’s no easy task. You can write on your lock screen just by popping out your pen, then add the notes to your Notes app. You can also quickly take a screenshot on an article and write notes straight onto it.

There’s five new Air action gestures, which has you waving your S-Pen in front of your screen to performa actions. These gestures allow you to go back, to your recents app, go to the home screen, go to the smart select screen or capture a screenshot and write on it. They all work really well, and are super helpful.

It’s all of the things that I’ve talked about that make the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G one of the most feature packed phones on the market. Everything it does, it does well, and if you’re a fan of bigger phones, you’re going to hard-pressed to find one better. Obviously, the price does factor in and it isn’t cheap starting at $1,999 AUD.

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 20 ULTRA SPECS

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I’ve never been hugely into collecting LEGO (unless it’s for a franchise that I really love). It wasn’t until LEGO Dimensions, that I became hugely addicted because of the building and interactive elements. That’s what had me instantly intrigued about LEGO Super Mario. All of these beloved Nintendo characters in LEGO formation thrown together with hugely impressive innovative technology.

Ripping open the starter course, your first task is to build Mario, which at first, doesn’t look that out of the ordinary, but once he’s built and turned on, you realise just how much tech is packed into the little guy. He’s got screens for eyes, a screen on his chest (which we’ll get to in a bit), bluetooth connectivity, a speaker and the ability to scan both colours and RFID tags.

This is just the beginning of how this experience differs from a regular LEGO build. From this point onwards, you almost never touch a physical booklet again, instead using special LEGO Mario app that will interactively walk you through building every part of the course, including enemies and obstacles before then creatively showing you how to piece it all together to create an interactive Mario course from start to finish.

Personally, the digital aspect took a little bit of the joy out of building for me, but I definitely understand why it was necessary here, and once I started building the parts, and adding elements, I definitely learned to love and appreciate the app a lot more. I also got a lot of great ideas from the app, which does a great job of serving up other people’s builds and providing weekly challenges.

The starter course comes with all the necessary things needed to create a Mario course (no matter how big or small). You get a starting pipe, which is what starts the countdown timer for your level, the end flag pole, which marks completes the level, a number of red, blue and green course bricks, Bowser Jr, a goomba and a number of unique obstacles.

It doesn’t sound all that complex, but it’s surprisingly deep. Mario recognises whether he’s stepping on either grass, water or fire, by a symbol on the screen of his chest as well as letting out audible noises (obviously he’s not too happy if you keep him on fire for too long).

Similarly, the obstacles all provide different challenges for Mario. For instance, the cloud one will have you floating Mario through the air (complete with the cloud music) whilst the spinning block will have you spin Mario around, without him falling off to collect coins. It’s something you have to experience to fully understand. I know it sounds silly, and you’ll probably feel silly playing out the actions as well, but it works, and really damn well at that.

Enemies also all have RFID tags on the back of them and provide different responses based on how you hit them. Some larger enemies like Bowser Jr takes more hits to take down, and will often come with a contraption to throw them off of the course, for instance, Bowser Jr has a contraption that allows him to be thrown out of the castle.

At the completion of every level, your coins are tallied up and sent back to your app. You can then take a photo of the level that you’ve created and upload it onto the internet for others to take inspiration from. The fun really begins when you start adding expansion sets, and I was super surprised with how much fun was packed into the few I received.

For instance, the Piranha Plant Power Slide Expansion Set, has you balancing Mario in a cart between two Piranha Plants collecting bonus coins depending on the length of time that you can avoid each Piranha Plant, with Mario visibly and audibly taking damage when you smash either end.

Similarly, the Boomer Bill Barrage Expansion set has you dodging Boomer Bills whilst they spin around you. The Toad’s Treasure Hunt Expansion is one of the biggest (both in terms of bricks and functionality) and has you pulling down contraptions to find special blocks, and looking throughout trees for blocks. All of the other expansion sets look to bring equally exciting obstacles, and beloved characters such as Bowser, Yoshi and Toad. It’s going to quickly add up price-wise, once you start adding these into your trolley.

There’s also Power-Up packs in the former of Builder Mario, Cat Mario and Fire Mario, which allow you to earn extra coins by having Mario climb walls or fly through the sky, and there’s 10 blind character packs which have a range of characters from multiple Mario generations.

LEGO Super Mario is definitely suited at younger players. If you’ve got kids, or nephew/nieces, then this is absolutely a no-brainer. It’s obviously fun for anyone to build, and the tech absolutely blew my mind, so I can only imagine what it would do for kids. It’s a great way to introduce kids to the world of Mario. If you’re an adult you’re probably not going to spend hours upon hours playing with each set if you’re an adult, but there’s definitely still fun to be had, and the characters will look mighty nice on your shelf.

LEGO Super Mario releases on August 1st. The Starter Course cost $89.99, Expansion Sets cost between $49.99-$199.99, Power-Up Packs cost $12.99 and Character Packs cost $5.99. You can preorder the starter pack HERE.

The post LEGO Super Mario Review – Impressive And Fun Tech For The Whole Family appeared first on Press Start.

It’s no secret that OLED has been the holy grail of televisions for the last 4-5 years, with LG heavily backing the technology and improving on it year on year. With 2020 being a year that many people will be looking to upgrade their TVs with the release of the PS5/Xbox Series X, it’ll be hard to find a better TV to upgrade to if you’ve got the money to drop. The LG CX OLED isn’t a huge improvement over the C9 that came before it, but it didn’t need to be, because the C9 was already a close to perfect TV in so many people’s eyes.

THE DESIGN

The CX design is going to look fantastic in any setup. The TV sits on a brushed metal stand, with a super thin black bezel around the entire screen, allowing the image to pop even more. From the side, it’s insanely thin, with the screen being 47mm thin at it’s smallest part, and 251mm at it’s thickness part near the base of the TV.

The CX doesn’t have a one-connect box, with all ports instead located on the right side of the back of the TV unit. There’s four HDMI 2.1 ports (we’ll touch on the importance of this for next-gen gaming a little bit later), an antenna input, a 3.5mm headphone jack input, three USB 2.0 inputs, a component input, an Ethernet port and a optical cable input.

The magic remote is unlike the remote that you’ll normally find with your TV. At first glance, it looks like a standard remote, but once you pick it up, you realise that you can use it like a magic wand in order to effortlessly point at your TV. The scroll wheel is hugely useful as well for quickly changing the volume or scrolling through lists of content.

The only gripe I have with the design is the fact that it’s sits extremely low on your TV unit, meaning that if you’ve got the TV sitting on the stand, you won’t be able to fit a soundbar below the screen without it overlapping. This isn’t a big deal if you’re mounting the TV or have a designated spot below it to put your soundbar onto.

IMAGE QUALITY

It goes without saying that you’re going to be incredibly happy with the picture quality of the LG CX OLED when coming from almost any other TV. The unit is an OLED meaning that every pixel is self-lit, which means you’re going to have the inkiest, deepest blacks, without blooming occurring (bright spots next to dark spots) as every pixel is able to be lit individually of the one next to it. You only need to load the opening crawl of a Star Wars movie to see the yellow text and stars situated against the pure black screen to know that your investment has been worth it.

Both Dolby Vision and HDR performance are both fantastic too. Whilst the LG CX OLED can’t go as bright as some of the other non OLED competitors on the market (mainly Samsung’s QLED range), it still does a great job in HDR/Dolby Vision modes providing clarity between bright/dark objects that are situated close to or within each other.

There’s a number of different pictures modes that come pre-installed on the TV including Standard, Vivid, APS, Cinema, Cricket, Game, HDR Effect, ISF Bright Room and ISF Dark Room. Most of these modes extend to HDR and Dolby Vision settings as well. A brand new Filmmaker Mode will let movies play out in the way that the Director intended them to without motion smoothing and allowing you to control the image to greatest extents.

Dolby Vision IQ will intelligently adjust the brightness, colour and contrast based on what content is playing on the screen and the lighting around you. Similarly, the Alpha 9 Gen3 AI Processor will not only upscale content to 4K, but will also change the picture and sound settings based on what you’re watching and intelligently turn on things such as Game Mode.

READY FOR NEXT GEN GAMING

If you’re looking to drop $4,500 on a TV that will be ready on day one for both PS5 and the Xbox Series X, then it’s hard to find a TV more suitable than the LG CX range. The TV has four HDMI 2.1 ports (I don’t believe any other TV on the market outside of LG’s OLED range has four) meaning that you’ll be ready for 4K gaming at 120FPS and you’ll also be able to utilise things such as a Variable Refresh Rate and Auto Low Latency modes.

You’ll also get insanely low response times whilst using Game Mode and the TV also has HGIG support. HGiG is a new industry HDR standard that has been put together by the likes of Sony and Microsoft in order to create a common ground for HDR implementation. Playing through The Last Of Us Part II on the CX was a phenomenal experience. Heading through Seattle for the first time looked absolutely fantastic, but the OLED screen really allowed those darker scenes (particular the train station) to absolutely shine.

The LG OLED range is also the only TV range to be G-Sync compatible (typically something you find in gaming monitors). Whilst the next-gen consoles won’t be G-Sync compatible (they’ll support Free Sync which this TV is set to get in an update), if you’re connecting a PC to your TV, there aren’t many better choices other than the LG CX. This means that you’ll be able to play your games and have the monitor match the frame rate, without skipping frames.

Burn-in has been largely improved over the last few years, but due to the fact that this is an OLED, obviously there is a chance that you could experience burn-in down the track, if you’re playing a lot of the same game. LG has put quite a few measures in place (in terms of things such as pixel shift and dimming), but it’s always a possibility. The only other downside to this screen is the fact that it’s highly reflective, so if you’re watching or playing in a room with lots of windows, it might be hard to see during the day.

USER INTERFACE AND SMART HOME

The CX WebOS User Interface has a lot to love. The home dashboard has all of your inputs, any USB devices or media servers that you’ve got connected as well as your smart home hub that you have connected. Pressing the home button on your remote whilst viewing anything will bring up your little magic bar of goodness. Every app that you want is right there. Netflix, YouTube, Disney Plus, Stan, Apple TV, Prime Video, Twitch and all of the local apps such as 7 Plus, 9 Now, ABC iView and SBS. Everything loads quickly, and I didn’t have any issues whilst loading apps.

Syncing with your Apple device is insanely easy. You just sync the two from the AirPlay setting section on your phone, then can shoot audio or video at your TV aimlessly and have it show up in a matter of sections. You can also utilise Apple HomeKit to use the Home app on your iPhone to control your TV.

The ThinQ AI smart home functionality of the LG CX is also great, with the combination of Samsung Bixby/Amazon Alexa/Google Home functionality and the Home Dashboard, I was able to easily sync up my Philips Hue/Lifx lights and control them via my remote or built in voice commands.

The LG CX OLED an Art Gallery function built in, so you can display rotating art work whilst you aren’t watching anything on the TV. Your TV blending into your home decor has become more of a desire over the last few years, and this is a great feature to make your TV look like a stylish piece of furniture, rather than a big, black screen.

The sound quality of the LG CX is about as good as you’re going to get from a TV. It definitely won’t blow you away, and if you’re investing this much money into a TV, I’d highly recommend you grab a soundbar to go with it.

The post LG CX OLED 65″ TV Review – Next-Gen Ready appeared first on Press Start.

SteelSeries latest line is both colourful but also more affordable. Similar to the Apex 5 Keyboard that we reviewed recently, the Apex 3 Gaming Keyboard and Rival 3 Gaming Mouse are both cheaper than the rest of the SteelSeries offering, but also oozes the same quality and finish that the SteelSeries brand is known for.

APEX 3 GAMING KEYBOARD

From the outside, The Apex 3 looks a lot like the Apex 5 in terms of quality. It’s made out of a polymer frame, so feels quite study in terms of build. Interestingly enough, this keyboard is supposed to be water and dust resistant at an IP32 standard. Obviously, I didn’t flood it with water, but I tested it with a few spills and found that it didn’t impact performance whatsoever.

Unlike the Apex 5 keyboard, the Apex 3 has whisper quiet keys, which I actually found really nice to type on. It’s also a nice change from a lot of the other gaming keyboards that are quite loud to use, especially at night or in the company of other people. I found that this was a nice happy medium between a quiet key and a key that feels great to type on. Typing was always accurate whilst using this keyboard, but the keys are quite tall in terms of how they sit on the keyboard, and do have a high actuation point. In terms of gaming, it’s definitely a little bit of a slower press compared to other keys, but it’s still decent.

Unlike the Apex 5, the Apex 3 doesn’t have per-key RGB. It has a 10-zone RGB illumination, which you can customise with a lot of the same effects that you’ll be used to if you’ve used other SteelSeries keyboards. I actually really liked the design of the RGB in this keyboard. I found it to be brighter and more vibrant than other keyboards that I’ve used. As always, SteelSeries Engine is a joy to use and it’s where you’ll customise absolutely everything to do with this keyboard, in terms of setting macros, the poling rate or just messing around with the RGB.

The keyboard comes with a really nice magnetic wrist rest, which I found to be an absolute joy to use, but I understand that some people absolutely loathe wrist rests. Luckily, it snaps on hand off incredibly easily, so it’s there if you want to use it.

In terms of extra, there’s also dedicated multimedia buttons. There’s a singular button which you can program to control media and also a wheel which you can use to adjust volume. There’s also three-way cable routing at the base of the keyboard.

SPECS

• Price: $149
• Top Material: High Quality Polymer Frame
• Anti-ghosting: Gaming Grade
• Illumination: 10-Zone RGB Illumination
• Weight: 0.8KG
• Height: 39.69 mm
• Width: 444.7 mm
• Depth: 151.62 mm
• Key Type & Name: SteelSeries Whisper-Quiet Switches
• Key Lifetime: 20 Million Keypresses

RIVAL 3 GAMING MOUSE

Similar to the Apex 3 keyboard, the Rival 3 Gaming Mouse is made out of Polymer. It weighs just 77g meaning it’ll glide around your desk with no worries. It has SteelSeries’ new TrueMove Core Sensor which can track at up to 8,500 dpi (you can read more about HERE). The mouse is also rated for 60 million clicks. 

In terms of comfort, I use the fingertip grip so I found it extremely comfortable to use. SteelSeries also recommends the claw grip for this type of mouse as well, but if you’re a palm grip user, you might want to look elsewhere. You’ve got two buttons on the side which you can customise using SteelSeries Engine and also a button on the top below the scroll wheel that will let you change sensitivity.

The RGB in this mouse is the brightest I’ve seen. You can customise three zones on the base of the mouse, which looks pretty cool one you find your perfect colour combo and you can also customise the logo.

The mouse allows you to save things like polling rate, keybinds as well as 5CPIs directly onto the mouse, meaning you can take it with you and use the mouse anywhere without the need for SteelSeries Engine. As we’ve mentioned above, the RGB and other customisations can be made through the SteelSeries Engine which is a genuine joy to use.

SPECS

• Price: $79
• Sensor: SteelSeries TrueMove Core
• Sensor Type: Optical
• CPI: 100–8,500 in 100 CPI Increments
• IPS: 300, on SteelSeries QcK surfaces
• Acceleration: 35G
• Polling Rate 1000Hz 1 ms
• Grip Style Claw or Fingertip
• Number of Buttons 6
• Switch Type SteelSeries mechanical switches, rated for 60 million clicks
• Illumination 3 RGB Zones, Independently Controlled
• Weight 77g (2.7oz) without cable
• Length 120.60mm / 4.75 inches
• Width 58.30mm / 2.30 inches (front), 67.00mm / 2.64 inches (back)
• Height 21.50mm / 0.85 inches (front), 37.90mm / 1.49 inches (back)
• Rubber Cable Length 1.8m / 6 feet

The post SteelSeries Apex 3 Gaming Keyboard And Rival 3 Gaming Mouse Review – Colourful And Affordable appeared first on Press Start.

The Logitech StreamCam is the company’s latest effort in the webcam market. It’s aimed at gamers/creatives who stream or record videos, but I can actually see it being useful almost anyone who needs to a webcam, which is likely to be a lot of people in today’s climate. It comes in at $229.95 in Australia, but there’s a handful of features which definitely make it worth the price tag.

Unboxing the Logitech StreamCam, I was surprised with how small and petite the actual unit is. Coming in either black or white, it’s got a softer fabric at the front of it, which makes it look a lot less harsh than your typical webcam. The actual webcam sits in a little holder that allows it to be flipped into either 9:16 or 16:9 (portrait or landscape) modes quite easily (which is something I haven’t seen another webcam do). The webcam itself can also be tilted and panned quite easily in the holder, and Logitech has also included a tripod mount.

In terms of connectivity, you can only connect via USB-C which might be an issue for people without those ports, but obviously USB-C is far superior to any other connectivity, and I’m glad that Logitech went with this connector.

When it comes to video quality. I constantly had people telling me how great I looked on the other end. The webcam is capable of 1080p and 60FPS, but it’s some of the other features that really enhance how you look on screen.

The webcam has auto focus and auto white balance which will mean that you look great from the get-go without any tweaking, but the magic of this webcam really comes to live when using Logitech’s new software which is called ‘Logi Capture’.

Using Logi Capture, you can easily change settings such as the frame rate, turn on backlight correction (which makes a huge difference if you sit in front of a window such as I do), and also turn on things such as image stabilisation and auto framing, which are all great features to have when using a webcam.

As I mentioned earlier, turning the webcam around allows you to shoot full HD vertical video, and Logi Capture will instantly recognise this change and turn your webcam feed into 9:16. This won’t be useful for most people, but it’s a nice touch and with more content being shot in 9:16, that type of content is definitely going to be more popular going forward.

Obviously, if you’re a seasoned streamer, you’re going to be using something such as OBS, but if  you’re just starting out, Logi Capture provides some incredibly easy ways to use things like text overlays, effects or borders to jazz up your stream a bit.

Even more impressively though, you can easily set scenes complete with transitions which I’ve found super useful for video calls. For instance, you can easily screen share certain windows whilst still keeping yourself in the corner of the screen.

When it comes to audio, there’s dual front-facing microphones, and they’re more than serviceable when it comes to video calls and the like, but you won’t want to use this webcam for audio if you’re broadcasting. The microphones can be a little bit quiet, and there’s a bit of an audible crackle, but it’s fairly on par with other webcams that I’ve used.

The post Logitech StreamCam Review – Stunning Quality In A Small Package appeared first on Press Start.

Alienware’s finally ditched the bulky designs of its older laptop models in favour of something as stylish as it is powerful. Housing some of the best tech you can currently get under the hood, the m15 and m17 range of laptops can handle anything and everything — whether that’s recent titles like Doom Eternal and Resident Evil 3 or an old favourite like The Witcher 3. It’s not all perfect, of course, but Alienware’s come some way in laying the groundwork for a fantastic set of gaming laptops.

Sporting the futuristic look the brand’s known for without the bloat and overwhelming size, Alienware’s finally delivered a design that won’t immediately yell ‘gaming laptop’ in a uni classroom or coffee shop. It’s not as stealthy as something like a Razer Blade or MSI GS65, but it’s certainly an upgrade from the hulking size and RGB-laiden Alienware laptops from yesteryear.

What matters most isn’t the looks in this range of tech, of course. And I’m pleased to report that the Alienware m15 — the unit I’ve had for the last few weeks — delivers brilliant gaming performance across a multitude of genres and titles. My model, while a little older compared to the upcoming suite of new gaming laptops, was kitted out with an RTX 2080 Max-Q (a graphics card specifically designed for thin and light gaming laptops, which axes quite a bit of a traditional 2080’s power in the process), a 240hz 15.6” IPS 1080p display, 16GB of DDR4 RAM running at 2666mhz and a 9th generation Intel i7-9750H processor. Impressive specs by any stretch, which also drives the price of this particular model up to around $4,500+ AUD at the time of writing, depending on where you can get it. 

What you get from something like this, though, is a truly fantastic portable piece of kit. Being able to take the m15 around my two-storey townhouse and play on the dining table, on the TV, or even at a mate’s place (if we weren’t in such a dire circumstance right now) opens up a range of possibilities for multiplayer gaming and, of course, single-player play too. Further to this, games like Rocket League and Left 4 Dead 2 ran incredibly smooth, putting that 240hz screen to proper use. More demanding titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Doom Eternal were less inclined to take full advantage of the display’s capabilities, but regularly tapped into triple-digit framerates without a sweat — a massive win for anyone used to playing at 60fps.

The display itself, while falling into the same caveats as most IPS displays with a bit of IPS glow and some ghosting, was also great to play on. The colours were vibrant, the contrast was great after some fiddling around in-game and I found the 7ms response time paired with the 240hz refresh rate to feel generally fine to game on. Coming from a 4k60hz BenQ monitor paired with my current tower, the change from a 4ms to 7ms response time wasn’t as noticeable as I expected.

Playing a game like Doom or Modern Warfare on the laptop’s trackpad was never an option, of course, and it’s important to note I was also sent out a few Alienware peripherals to pair up with the m15 to fully kit out my setup. The two headsets the local team sent out, the AW988 and the 510H, worked great. I particularly liked the dynamic sound you’d get out of the latter, making games like Doom especially immersive across all facets of gameplay.

As well as this, the wired Elite Mouse complimented the laptop well. It felt great in the hand and had a nice weight to it (which can also be adjusted). While basic when compared to some other flagship mice on the market, I found the simplicity complimented the design nicely. The macro buttons on the left-hand side of the mouse allowed me to perform quick actions in games like Doom and Modern Warfare, with a variety of DPI options on offer to fully cater to my play style. 

General productivity tasks thrived on the m15, too. The laptop’s trackpad was very responsive, making for a seamless experience browsing the web, organising files and navigating through documents. The keyboard was also fantastic, sporting tactical feedback with responsive actuation. The keyboard’s equipped with fully customizable per-key backlighting, of course, allowing me to program specific profiles depending on what I was playing.

The only major issue that I had with the laptop — which will come with any gaming laptop — was the battery life. It was an expectation that gaming while on battery power would drain the laptop in under an hour, and that expectation was met. I did, however, expect more than 2-3 hours of battery life while doing the aforementioned productivity tasks. Even at 50% brightness and scaling the display’s refresh rate to 60hz, battery life was, for the most part, quite poor when compared to other gaming laptops on the market. 

As well as this, the 512GB SSD struggles given the sheer size of games these days. Installing Red Dead Redemption 2, Forza Horizon 4 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare effectively filled the entire drive. Luckily enough you can upgrade the SSD if you’re a little tech savvy, and I’d certainly recommend at least moving up to 1TB if you intend on using this laptop as your main driver for games and productivity.

It should come as no surprise to know the m15 makes a bit of noise during performance-heavy tasks, such as gaming or rendering videos. Like most gaming laptops, it’s advised to always have a lapboard or chill mat hooked up as the internals do get quite hot — with the CPU regularly hitting 80 degrees during any session of a AAA title. The surface temperature never reflects the internal temps, but the keyboard and general frame become quite warm to the touch. 

In saying that, I was impressed at the general noise levels from the fans given I’m used to the high-pitched, loud buzzing emanating from my older MSI GS65 Stealth laptop. The fan noise was a lot more subdued with the m15 even during the most intensive levels of Doom Eternal, and generally stayed a lot quieter than most gaming laptops I’ve spent a decent amount of time with. 

With a piece of kit like this, I found it hard not to be genuinely impressed with how well it performed during my testing. I played through a bunch of titles over the few weeks I had it and it never really let me down. Further, it’s mighty impressive to deal somewhat comparable results with what I’d regularly get out of my tower — which is equipped with an RTX 2080, 32GB of DDR4 ram and an i7-8700k. While it’ll never fully hold a candle to that machine, it was refreshing to be able to take my games with me anywhere I went, even if it meant a bit of quick setup with the hulking charging brick and peripherals. 

The m15 feels like such a refreshing change for Alienware. Gone are the days of hulking machines and in comes a design that’s as eye-catching as it is powerful. It’s an expensive investment, no doubt, but that’s to be expected with the internals and the portability of the machine. It’s one of the best gaming laptops out there right now, and with work at home setups becoming a norm this year I can’t see it being a bad purchase for both office and gaming use for the foreseeable future, or a purchase for those wanting to jump into PC gaming on a portable level. With the next set of gaming laptops with updated CPUs and GPUs bound for release soon, you may even be able to pick it up at a bargain price. 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0s15Tw3HbSvkvJ1IlMFVrG

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External HDDs have come a long way over the last few years. When I opened up the box of the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch, I couldn’t believe how small it was. Weighing in at just 57 grams and sizing up at a measly 85mm wide, 57mm tall and 8mm thick, this isn’t much larger than your credit card.

It comes in 500gb, 1tb and 2tb variants with the 500gb version setting you back $279 and the 1tb version costing $439 (I couldn’t find the 2TB version listed in Australia). The 500gb version comes in black/silver whilst the 1tb comes in black. I tested the 500gb silver for review purposes. In the box, you get a USB-C to USB-C cord as well as  USB-A to USB-C cord.

To make the most of this SSD you’ll need a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 Port on your computer and an internal NVME is also preferred. During testing, I managed to get a read speed of 1007 MB/s and a write speed of 859 MB/s which is just below the advertised read/write speeds of 1,050/1,000 MB/s. Honestly though, when connecting to a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port on my PC, the speeds I experienced were always insanely fast. I’ve been using this little thing to transfer games from my Lenovo laptop (after downloading at work) to my home gaming PC, and it’s an absolute breeze.

I also tested with both PS4 and Xbox One and speeds were definitely better than what you’d get from a standard external HDD, but the PS4 and Xbox One ports can’t take full advantage of the speed in this fast drive. It’s also dependent on you having an SSD loaded into your console, so things get expensive quickly. Obviously, gaming off of this on your PC is great experience, and a little treat for what you can expect the next-gen consoles to look like.

You may have noticed by now, but the SSD has a little fingerprint reader, which glows when you plug in your SSD. By default, this as well as the password protection are turned off, but this can be turned on by using the ‘Samsung Portable SSD’ software on a Mac/PC/Android device.

If your device is locked, upon into a Mac/PC, you’ll be presented with the software on the SSD at all times (as you need it to get back into the device with your fingerprint). Once you’ve unlocked the device, these software files will disapear and you’ll then be able to read your actual files and write to the SSD. Setup is incredibly easy, and if you’re looking to secure your files, this is a great way to do it. The best part about this is that if you just want to use this as a standard SSD with no security, you can do that too.

The SSD works really well across all of my devices. I actually have a MacBook, a Windows PC and I’ve also tested with an Android device and it seamlessly had my files on all platforms. Speed obviously varied a little bit, but it’s a great little SSD to carry around. On the flipside, if you’re using it as a SSD to play games of, you’re going to find a lot of joy there too. The best thing about this little SSD is the versatility. You’d think it’s underpowered by looking at it, but it’s anything but.

The post Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch Review – Small And Mighty appeared first on Press Start.

The SteelSeries APEX Pro Keyboard is probably my favourite keyboard to type on. It’s what I write 98% of these articles on and the customisation, as well as how the keys feel under your fingers is second to none. Understandably though, it’s probably little bit out of most price ranges coming in at $399. That’s where SteelSeries new range comes in. The newly released Apex 3 and Apex 5 keyboards retain a lot of the same quality features that SteelSeries’ high-end offering contain, but at a way more consumer friendly price point. The Apex 3 is just $129 whilst the Apex 5 is $219. The SteelSeries Apex 5 Gaming Keyboard manages to find a really nice middle ground between price, high-end feel and an impressive list of features.

Looking at the $399 Apex Pro and The $219 Apex 5, you’d be hard pressed to seperate them from the outside. The SteelSeries Apex 5 Keyboard’s Chassis is constructed from Aircraft Aluminum, which means that it has a decent amount of weight to it, it looks great on your desk and you don’t get that cheap plastic look and feel.

The SteelSeries Apex 5 is a joy to type on (although nothing is going to feel as good as the more premium APEX Pro). The keyboard has Hybrid Blue Mechanical Switch which is a first for SteelSeries’ keyboard lineup. The keys are matte which feel great to press, and there’s a very satisfying click that comes from each press of the key. This makes for extremely accurate typing, but the clickyness is quite audible, so definitely be mindful of that if you’re in an office, or have housemates that are in close proximity to you. All-in-all, there’s a great sense of responsiveness when using this keyboard, and that will be the most important thing to most.

From a gaming point of view, there’s not a lot else you could ask for. Playing games such as Doom Eternal and soon to be released Resident Evil 3, I was extremely happy with the responsiveness and able to find my way around the keyboard with ease. The only omission is the lack of macro keys on the keyboard, which might be important for some hardcore MMO players.

The keyboard is also incredibly comfortable to use, which is definitely helped by the premium magnetic wrist that magnetically clips onto the bottom of the keyboard. This is obviously great for wrist support and it’s nice and soft. You’re also able to cable manage via three different tracks at the top of the keyboard, which means that you’ll hopefully be able to hide your cable as much as possible on your desk.

The Apex 5 keyboard has a lot to be excited about in the way of extra features. Similarly to that of the Apex Pro, there’s an OLED Smart Display. Yes, the keyboard has an OLED screen in the top right corner. You can use it to view the current song playing, check out the volume and view Discord/game information. This is also how you can quickly change some of the settings, including changing the profile (there’s five on board the keyboard), changing the RGB options, but the most important use of all, is the ability to have a GIF display. It’s definitely a bit of a silly feature, but nothing will impress a friend or colleague like a GIF running on your keyboard OLED screen.

The keyboard has a clickable metal roller and a media key, so you’re able quickly pause a song, mute your sound or adjust your volume with ease. The roller in particular is hugely useful, and it’s huge meaning that you don’t have to second guess where it is on your keyboard. It’s great for that moment when you’re in-game and quickly need to lower your volume headset to quickly chat to someone without getting out of the game.

The Apex 5 has per-key RGB illumination and it’s definitely vibrant, but not the brightest keyboard I’ve seen. The SteelSeries Engine software is incredibly easy to use and is a huge selling point of any SteelSeries product. Using the SteelSeries Engine, you’re able to reprogram any key on the entire keyboard, which is obviously a huge advantage. You can also manage your onboard profiles, macros and almost anything else that you can think of customising. The software can make or break any piece of tech, and thankfully there are no qualms with the SteelSeries Engine software.

The post SteelSeries Apex 5 Gaming Keyboard Review – Impressive Features For Less appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve had gone through quite a few monitors over the years, but none has intrigued me more than BenQ’s EX2780Q. Everything from the bronze accents of the monitor to the fact that it comes with a remote (and a nifty little remote holder) instantly help the monitor stand out from the competition. Then under the hood you have a vibrant IPS display (with BenQ’s new HDRi technology) which is paired treVolo speakers that sound pretty damn great.

THE DESIGN

The BenQ EX2780Q has a slim black border, with the speaker portion of the monitor and the stand being a bronze/champagne colour. At first I wasn’t sure if I’d love it, but I have to say, after a while on my desk, it looks way more high-end than your standard all-black monitor. The colour definitely looks more overstated in images, but once it’s on your desk, it’s a nice blend of class with an extra bit of pizazz  In terms of navigating your way around the monitor’s well-laid out settings, there’s a volume wheel (for those incredibly speakers that we’ll talk about later) and a 5-key navigator (which you won’t be using much due to the nifty included remote) for working your way around. In the way of ports, you’ve got two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DP 1.4 port, USB-C port and a headphone jack.

Putting the monitor on the stand is incredibly easy. It’s just two parts (the monitor and the stand) which go together using screws. The stand also helps with cable management and there’s a standard VESA mount there for mounting the monitor on your own stand or mount. I was a little bit disappointed to see that you can’t adjust the height of this monitor. Considering it packs in some features that simply outclass other monitors, I was definitely a little underwhelmed with the fact that there’s no height adjustment (something that should be included on any monitor let alone one that will set you back this amount. In the box, you can expect to get a power cord, the monitor, a stand, a HDMI 2.0 cable as well as a USB Type-C cable. You’ll also find a remote (which we’ll touch on a little bit later), a remote holder and the stand.

THE SCREEN

The screen on the BenQ EX2780Q is pretty damn great. If you’re upgrading from an older monitor, you’re in for a treat with the EX2780Q sporting a 2560×1440 resolution, 144 refresh rate and an IPS panel. You can also take advantage of Freesync and we’ve also confirmed that the monitor is G-Sync compatible (even if it doesn’t have Nvidia’s seal of approval). The colour accuracy is superb (which is important to me as a former Graphic Designer) sand the contrast ratio seemed decent enough to me. View-ability from different angles is fantastic, due to the fact that it’s an IPS monitor, so there won’t be any issues there.

The monitor is able to achieve a brightness of 400 nits which means that it’s Display HDR400 certified. There’s three HDR modes on this monitor. The regular ‘Display HDR’ as well as ‘Game HDRi’ and ‘Cinema HDRi’. The two latter modes are BenQ’s proprietary of HDR called ‘HDRi’. BenQ’s HDRi technology basically uses a built-in sensor which detects ambient lighting and then also looks at what’s on-screen to give you the best possible HDR experience. BenQ says that HDRi aims to get even more detail out of darker scenes, without overexposing the brighter parts of a scene.

Playing games on my PS4 Pro as well as Windows 10, the image definitely pops more in HDRi modes, providing more clarity, better contrast and more vibrant colours. However, the constant automatic dimming/brightning of the display (which is necessary for HDRi to work) was a little off-putting, and HDR support in Windows 10 is still atrocious, which unfortunately means you’ll needing to be turning the HDR/HDRi modes on and off if you choose to go down that path. The monitor has a Black eQualizer which helps increase visibility in dark scenes (and this can be used with HDR off), the ability to change colour vibrant and a number of game modes to choose from.

THE REMOTE

The worst thing about monitors are normally the controls. They’re always tiny or hidden behind the monitor and you can almost never see what you’re doing. BenQ has included a remote with the Ex2780Q and I don’t think I could ever go back to not having a remote for my monitor. You can change the input, turn HDR on/off, access the menu, turn the low blue light setting on/off, change your sound profile, control volume or quickly mute what’s happening. It seems like such a minor thing and I’m sure many people would be questioning why you’d need a remote for a monitor, but it works. It’s really practical and super handy.

THE SPEAKERS

If you’re putting together a brand new PC and you’re looking for an all-in-one monitor, this is the reason you should go for the BenQ EX2780Q. This monitor has a TreVolo sound system which includes 2.1 channel speakers and a 5w subwoofers. All I’m currently rocking for sound in my setup is this monitor. It’s the best speaker system that I’ve heard in a monitor and it’s perfect for listening to music, watching YouTube videos and playing games casually.

There’s five sound modes, which you can change using the 5-Key control or remote control. They are Game, Cinema, Pop, Dialog and Rock. I definitely swing between Game, Cinema and Pop depending on whether I’m gaming, watching YouTube videos or listening to music. Obviously, if you’ve gone and spent a bunch of money on a killer sound system for your PC, then this might deter you from grabbing this monitor, but if not, rest assured that you’re getting a solid speaker. As mentioned earlier, there’s a dedicated volume knob, which is easy to access or you’ve got your remote to change volume or mute.

THE SPECS:

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Sony’s announcement of the back button attachment was fairly surprising. With only months left in the generation, and similar licensed products existing on the market for years (as well as the Xbox Elite Controller), it’s not clear why Sony waited so long to introduce such a product, but it works well, and I’m now incredibly hopeful that this is our first glimpse at the DualShock 5. I’ve already had a bunch of people ask what this accessory does and fairly simply, it is designed to add two extra buttons to your controller that can be used in any game.

Pulling the Back Button Attachment out of the box, it’s incredibly tiny. It slips onto the bottom of your controller via that tiny port on the bottom (that has gone unused for all of these years) and also into the 3.5mm audio jack. This is in order to provide audio out through the attachment. It’s easy enough to get on and off, whilst still remaining sturdy on the controller (without ever feeling loose or that it’s going to fall off).

There’s two buttons on the back of the attachment, that end up sitting exactly where your ring fingers are. My hand positioning on the controller did require a little bit of an adjustment, and the controller does feel noticeable bulkier (thanks to the OLED screen on the attachment), particularly around the PlayStation button, but for the most part, it seamlessly fits into your existing DualShock 4 experience that you’ve known for the last six or so years.

The buttons can only be pressed on the outer sides, which means that it’s almost impossible to hit them accidentally. This means that you do have to get your finger positioning right, which does take a little getting used to, but it’s a better solution than having the whole physical button acting as the trigger. The buttons feel really tactile, and give off a satisfying click, so you’re never wondering if you’ve actually hit the buttons.

The attachment has three different profiles by default, and you can set each button to be programmed to a variety of 16 different uses (Triangle, Square, Cross, Circle, D-Pad Left, Up, Right, Down, L1, L2, L3, R1, R2, R3, Options, Nothing Set).

This may surprised you, but the attachment has an OLED screen that is used to change profiles and set profiles. Double tapping the screen will change between the three profiles and a long press of the screen will allow you to hold down either button to cycle through the 16 available presets. It is a bit over the top, but it does work well and means you don’t have to use any external software in order to set your button presets. It also only stays on for a few seconds, which means that it doesn’t drain the battery more than required.

Something worth mentioning is that because the button charging port is taken up, you won’t be able to use the official DualShock 4 charging dock (which launched alongside the console) or any other charging dock that uses the bottom port. You will need to use the Micro-USB port that is on top of the controller to charge it.

Over the weekend I spent a good amount of time playing Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare with the Back Button Attachment and once I got used to it, it definitely helped my gameplay. I was able to keep my two thumbs on the analogue sticks, my index finger and middle finger on the four triggers and use my ring fingers on the back buttons to reload and change weapons. This meant that my thumbs never had to leave the analogue sticks.

I was finding myself going back to pressing the regular button, as obviously the DualShock has had largely the same buttons for 20 years, so it’s definitely an adjustment to change your muscle memory, but once I did, I found that my gameplay was significantly improved.

Now, the Back Button Attachment is $50 and obviously this is a pretty decent amount of money, but I’d definitely suggest it’s worth the price of upgrading if you play games that require you to have your fingers on a decent amount of buttons at any given time. I’d think that this is a way of making the DualShock 4 more forwards compatible as well, so hopefully this won’t be redundant when next-gen rolls around.

The post DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment Review – A Small But Impactful Improvement appeared first on Press Start.

It feels like a no brainer to have a decent headphone and mic these days, but where do you even start? There are a plethora of brands out there offering the latest features, ultimate comfort, clear communication quality and whatever else they can fit over your ears, but which one is the right one?

This has been the question I’ve been toying with over the last few months, trying to round out my setup with the perfect set of headphones. I’ve tried different styles and setups in the past from USB mic and headphone combos to standard console branded headsets – but there’s always been something lacking, whether that’s mic quality, discomfort or time it takes to actually setup and get going.

So here I am on a journey to find the perfect gaming headset for my setup and I’m starting with Turtle Beach’s Stealth 600. Turtle Beach are a reputable brand, favoured by many gamers, streamers and pros alike and who, in my experience, have had some very good sounding headphones in the past. So the 600’s felt like a good place to start being one of Turtle Beach’s entry level headsets.

SETUP

The 600’s have a super simple setup – plug in the usb transmitter into your PS4 and turn on the headphones. Done. Literally that’s it. They are already paired out of the box, so you will be good to drop with the squad before you even ready up. There has been a couple of times where I’ve turned on my Playstation and the headset and it hasn’t seemed to pair with the transmitter properly, but it’s been a quick “turn off and on” again fix via the headset.

COMFORT

The 600’s have pull down adjustability and a mesh cushioning around each ear as well as across the head rail, all of which give solid comfort around your head. Even after extensive gaming sessions, there was no feeling of sore ears or a sore head as with other headsets I’ve tried in the past and the 90 degree turning ability from the Left and Right ears made it very easy to rest the 600’s across the shoulders when taking a quick break. There is a possibility of the mesh lining to potentially cause some friction marks around the ears due to its texture and as the headset does wriggle a little with excessive head movement. But that is very dependent on how much head thrashing you do whilst gaming.

SOUND

The first big difference I noticed with the 600’s was the sound quality. Previously I had been rocking a pair of headphones which I still think have pretty decent sound, but these Turtle Beach’s changed my gaming life. TLDR: the 600’s sound took me straight to #1 position on match leaderboards in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Technically the 600’s have 6 different sound presets available:

• 4 EQ Presets – Signature Sound, Bass Boost, Bass + Treble Boost, Vocal Boost
• Superhuman Hearing
• Virtual Surround Sound

The 4 EQ presets pretty much do exactly what they are labelled as, no surprises there. Superhuman hearing is a feature a couple people had mentioned to me about the headphones, but I found that if anything it was a fancy name to a gain boost preset. Essentially it’s advertised to “pinpoint quiet audio cues like enemy footsteps and weapon reloads” which absolutely it does, but that’s because it’s your “Turn it to 11!” notch. Where my ears found the most pleasure and the preset that up my gameplay 10x was the virtual surround sound. Instantly I went from thinking I was hearing where enemies were pretty well to absolute god mode and “that person you yell at in a match because there is absolutely no way they could have known you where there” – but here’s the secret, they do know your there because VIRTUAL SURROUND SOUND.

I was blown away by how accurately the sound this entry level headset pumps out could pinpoint enemy movement. Literally game changing!

MIC/COMMUNICATION

The mic and communication quality of my setup has always been a high priority, which is probably why Virtual Surround Sound blew me away so much. As I play quite a bit with my fellow Press Start team members, as well as record and make content for the socials, the mic quality has always needed to be clear, but also have a solid balance with gameplay audio. And this is probably where my biggest gripe comes from with this headset.

Firstly, what it does well. The 600’s have a flip to activate microphone, meaning you flip it down to turn on and flip it back up to mute. I found this feature very useful and easy when playing, as in the past I’ve had either a button on the back of an ear, which was often hard to find, or with a USB mic, I would have to jump into the group chat and actually turn my mic level off. It also has two very easy to find and use dials at the back of the left ear – one for overall volume and one for your microphone volume (how much you can hear yourself through your mic). The microphone quality is also nice and clear in comparison to other headsets at the same pricing. I did a little test with my previous headset (similar pricing) and the 600’s – the old headset mic sounds like I’m talking with my head inside a toilet, muffled but weirdly echo-y at the same time; the 600’s mic is crystal clear, still a little echo due to the room I was in, but it actually sounded like I was in a normal room, not down a toilet.

However – and this is a point which had the Press Start team in a hot debate for several hours – where the audio and mic combination of Turtle Beach’s Stealth 600’s let it down is in the fact that there is no seperate dial for voice chat volume. Which means if you have a party chat happening with some very vocal players, you’ll either need to tell them to turn down their mic or just suffer the ear bleeding screams of them dying, winning, taking revenge. The volume dial on the headset dials up or down the overall volume, meaning on playstation as either just chat audio or all audio is sent through headphones, when you turn up the volume you turn up both gameplay and chat volume.

Yes, party chat as a “Non-Party Audio to Party Audio” slider – but come on, that thing really does not do anything. The only thing this headset is missing is just one dial – Gameplay/Chat Balance. Other headsets in its price bracket have this dial or button on them, but Turtle Beach has decided to forgo it on the 600’s. It seems like a weird choice to me to put in a Microphone Volume dial instead of a Gameplay/Chat Balance dial, as how much I can hear myself through the mic is something I can definitely live without over a well balanced chat and gameplay setup. At first I thought I just hadn’t set it up right, but upon trolling the internet it does indeed seem like my worst fears were correct.

Don’t get me wrong, there are work-arounds, like asking your squad mates to turn down their mic, or using in-game chat and features like in Modern Warfare where you can adjust the chat volume parameters. But having this easily accessible on the back of my ear which I am in full control over is just hard not to live without (especially after having a headset which could do this, but lacked in other areas).

The post Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Headset Review – A Good Starting Point appeared first on Press Start.

If you’re looking for an easy way to liven up your living area or office space, then look no further, because the LIFX range of smart light products are a fantastic way to do so.

The best part about the LIFX products is that they don’t need any kind of hub. They operate on your wifi network, which means that you can just plug and play the products that you desire without any hidden costs. They cooperate really well with the likes of Google Home as well as Apple Homekit and once again, you don’t need anything extra to use the lights with these devices.

I have to admit that there is a little bit more of a delay than what I’ve been used to with other products, but this could just be down to the fact that I’ve got a lot of products running on my router.

As far as the LIFX app goes, it’s pretty fantastic as well. There’s a bunch of pre-set colour themes and you can set both the globes and the strip to automatically come on in the morning and follow a pre-set path of warm/cool light (based on time of the day) before slowly turning off in the evening.

THE LIFX Z STRIP

I opted to place this behind my 65″ TV. It took a 2m strip as well as a 1m extension, which easily stuck to the back of my TV (arounds the top and sides). This resulted in an incredibly bright and vivid backlight that made absolutely anything on my TV pop. The strip is so bright that I normally have it running at about 50% at night. I’d be confident that at 100%, you could run them during the day time.

The LIFX Z Strip is different to similar products for the fact that you can easily customise literally every individual LED in the strip. This means that you can have different colours on the sides/top as opposed to the entire strip being one colour. Obviously, if you’re looking to have a cold or warm white running, it still looks fantastic too. This is what I have running most of the time and it not only lights up the room, but makes everything on the screen absolutely pop.

THE LIFX A60 BULB

The A60 bulb is a fantastic way to turn absolutely any lamp into a smart lamp. As mentioned before, you don’t need any extra hub which means that you can literally purchase one of these and plug it into any compatible screw lamp in order to completely change the lighting of your living room.

It’s incredibly bright and can be customised to show over 16 million colours. I’ve got both the A60 bulb and the LIFX Z light strip positioned next to each other, which works well as you can control both devices together using either the LIFX app or the Apple Home app.

Overall, if you’re looking for a way to get into the smart home market (it’s extremely addictive), there’s no better way than with LIFX. You literally just need to purchase the products you need without any hidden costs and they’re incredibly easy to set up and control with the LIFX app or the smart speakers that you’ve got lying around the house.

The post LIFX Z Strip & A60 Bulb Review – Liven Up Your Gaming Area appeared first on Press Start.

The pursuit of immersion has taken us to some weird places. I wonder what archaeologists, thousands of years from now, will make of the swathe of plastic steering wheels, guitars and tennis bats we’ve used for gaming purposes. Peripherals always seem a little odd at first. I’m sure in 1997, when the Rumble Pak was introduced for the Nintendo 64, there were a few raised eyebrows.

As time has passed, however, we’ve become accustomed to force feedback in our controllers and it has become ever more precise, allowing us to feel every bullet fired and bump in the road. A feature that might have once seemed odd is now commonplace. So, when Razer came to me with a headset that rumbled, a headset that had haptic feedback built into the earcups, I tried to remain open-minded.

It’s hard to deny that the Razer’s Nari Ultimate wireless headset is unlike any other. Featuring their ‘Hypersense’ technology, the headset reacts to your game’s sounds, rumbling with every impact. Anything that makes a significant sound causes the earcup to vibrate against your head, endeavouring to push immersion further. In a sense, it works. Gunshots hit a little harder and bass feels a little punchier, but only because the headset is bringing a physicality to sound that I’ve not experienced before.

It also disguises what is rather unimpressive sound quality. It’s not terrible, and will of course likely be a noticeable improvement if you’re using a significantly cheaper headset, but at $350 you ought to be expecting the premium stuff. It lacks the depth I’d want, all the sound feeling a little muddled and washed out. It’s worth noting there’s not a great deal of noise isolation, and the headset does bleed audio rather substantially too.

The ‘Hypersense’ is a neat gimmick, but ultimately it is little more than that; a gimmick. Unfortunately, it’s inconsistent and struggles to distinguish between heavy bass, a blast or various audio cues. The sound design in games in increasingly complex and sadly the haptic feedback struggles to handle it. At times it feels somewhat natural but at other times it feels uncomfortable. Never quite as bad as the dentist drilling into your teeth, but not far off.

Fortunately, the Razer Synapse software – which has had a significant facelift in the current 3.0 beta – offers plenty of control over the headset. Using it on PC and making full use of the companion software is where the headset shines. You can take full control over the 3D audio positioning and dial back the haptic feedback, or more importantly, turn it off altogether. I was very impressed with the suite of mixing and EQ controls and the wireless functionality, that allows chat and game audio to be separated into two channels via the one USB output.

Whilst it is compatible with consoles, sadly the features don’t extend that far. Audio and game chat are merged into the one channel, making the headsets inbuilt balance control knob obsolete. Of course, you can manage that using the console’s own software, but on my PlayStation, there was only so far I could bring down party chat, which always felt a little loud. My preference is always a headset that makes use of a console’s optical audio output and USB output to separate the channels.

Otherwise, I can’t overly fault the headset. It’s well-built and feels solid. It’s got an enormous form factor (I would never make use of the included AUX cord and take this out and about) but is lightweight and comfortable for long play sessions, in part to its loose-fitting design. I like that the boom mic recoils within the headset and there’s a little cavity to store the USB adapter. The battery life and range is real decent too, it’s just a pity they opted for a micro-USB charging input, the worst of all the USB inputs to be honest. The grey and black combination of plastic and metal is very much my aesthetic and the customisable glowing Razer logo on each earcup reps the brand well without being obnoxious.

The post Razer Nari Ultimate Review – Vibrating Earcups? appeared first on Press Start.

The BenQ EX3501R is a 35″ Ultrawide Curved Monitor, which is way bigger than any monitor I’ve previously had. Obviously with the monitor being 35″, I was expecting it to be fairly massive, but it wasn’t until I was pulling the BenQ 35″ Ultrawide Curved Monitor out of the box, that I realised just how big this thing is.

Out of the box, it feels really well built and sturdy which is important in a monitor. You can adjust the height of it quite easily by lifting it up and down. The cables loop through a hole in the stand which is great for cable management. I was a bit hesitant with having a curved monitor, but given it’s ultra wide, it actually works really well given its subtlety. The bezels are a metal grey and incredibly slim and the stand is a nice looking silver.

In the box, you get a health dose of cables including a HDMI cable, Mini DP to DP cable and a USB C cable, so you should be set to connect almost anything to the monitor without needing anything else. In the way of ports you’ve got a DP port, 2 x HDMI ports, a USB 3.0 port, two USB C ports and a headphone jack.I’ve never owned an Ultrawide monitor before, and was a little worried about having such a wide monitor on my desk, but I don’t think I’ll ever go back. From a pure productivity point of view, it’s actually life-changing. Being able to have your emails up, with your Twitter feed and then another one or two windows really allows you to be more productive and have everything you need on screen at once.

The monitor boasts a massive 3440×1440 resolution which is fantastic for productivity, but doesn’t necessarily translate to console gaming. Connecting my PlayStation 4 Pro I was able to get a resolution of 1440p (or 2,560 x 1,440). Whilst I can understand that the black bars on either side of the screen whilst gaming can be an issue, I didn’t find it to be painful at all.

The screen has a 100Hz refresh rate, so ghosting on screen was never an issue. I’m incredibly picky when it comes to colour and contrast, especially given I’ve got a top of the range TV that I can play my PS4 Pro on, but this screen impressed me that much, that I ended up picking up a second PS4 Pro, so I could game on it at all times.

The monitor boasts HDR which is serviceable, but I actually preferred keeping it off. It’s worth messing with, but HDR is something that will differ based on personal preferences, so give it a go and see how you find the image.

Something that is important to me with monitors is how easy it is to set your own custom shortcuts to change inputs, screen options and display settings and it’s something that this BenQ monitor does really well. You can set up two-three shortcuts and everything is really easy to navigate. Something I would have liked to see is being able to have inputs remember display settings rather than having to keep swapping between.

Picture in Picture is also an option, which I found myself using occasionally. With the screen being so wide, you can have your computer and console running side by side, or in the corner. It doesn’t work perfectly (given the differences in aspect rations), but it’s serviceable enough.

I spend somewhere between 10-12 hours in front of a screen daily, so managing the brightness of the screen is important. Brightness Intelligence Plus is something that BenQ is really pushing. It’s featured in this monitor and it works an absolute treat. It can detect the light levels and temperature in your room and will automatically adjust the on-screen brightness and colours around it. That means that if you’ve got a window open during the day, it’ll heighten the brightness, and then dim it at night. You can have this happen automatically in the background without you knowing, or you can have it represented with a meter in the bottom right of the screen (it’ll tell you when it makes slight changes).

The BenQ EX3501R will set you back about $1000, which is a pretty significant figure. What you’re getting is a beautiful monitor that shines under any circumstance. It aids productivity with its ultrawide screen and looks absolutely phenomenal when gaming thanks to its quality colours and brightness/contrast.

The post BenQ EX3501R 35″ Ultrawide Curved Monitor Review appeared first on Press Start.

The Nvidia Shield TV is without doubt the most versatile gaming experience that you can have on your TV. With the ability to play games from the Android store, stream games from your PC or stream some of the greatest content, it’s a worthy addition to any living room setup.

THE DESIGN

Included in the box is your Shield TV unit, the Shield Remote and the Shield Controller. The device itself is tiny and looks incredibly sleek, with the actual unit itself and the remote/controller sharing the same black matte/shiny design features. The unit has two USB ports, a HDMI port, a ethernet port and the power port.

The controller feels great in the hands, it has all of the buttons you’d expect with four shoulder buttons, four face buttons, a D-Pad, and all the buttons you need to navigate the Android interface. It has a hands-free mic for Google Assistant, a headset jack for audio out, dual vibration and lasts for an extremely impressive 60 hours (and can be charged using the included Micro USB charging cable).

The remote on the other had is equally great for when you want to sit back and turn on one the many streaming apps or navigate the Android store. It connects via Bluetooth., but it also has an IR blaster to control your TV or sound-bar. It’s also got a microphone for voice search and unlike the controller, it’s powered by a coin cell battery but lasts a long time before it needs to be replaced.

THE EXPERIENCE

The Shield TV is both 4K and HDR capable, meaning that if you’re using one of the many streaming apps, such as Netflix/Stan, you’re going to get a top tier experience. The fact that Google Assistant is built in means that you can use either the remote or the controller to get to where you want to go without having to navigate the UI. In saying that, the UI is beautiful and also incredibly easy to use. It’s extremely intuitive, that if you’ve got other family members that aren’t necessarily gaming orientated, they’ll still find it easy to navigate to where they need to go.

In terms of games, you’ve got two options. You can either stream games to your PC using Nvidia GameStream which supports games such as Battlefield 1 or Overwatch. It works well over high-speed wifi or ethernet and supports full 4K/60FPS as well as features such as full haptic feedback using the Nvidia Shield Controller.

There’s also a Nvidia Tegra X1 built in which is great for games using the Android Store. This sin’t something you’ll find in any other streaming product and allows you to play games like the latest Tomb Raider or Resident Evil. The choices of games is a little but underwhelming, but hopefully this gets better with time.

The gaming experience here probably doesn’t compete with the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, but I’m not sure that it’s meant to. As an all-in-one device that handles 4k/HDR and lets you stream games from your PC, and also play Android games, it offers a versatility that no other streaming devices can provide.

The post Nvidia Shield TV Review – The Ultimate TV Gaming Experience appeared first on Press Start.

Without technology, we simply wouldn’t have games. The two go hand-in-hand but so often gaming-centric technology is bogged down with so many bells and whistles it would put Santa’s sleigh to shame. Much to my own embarrassment, I once owned a keyboard with a plug-in fan designed to keep your hand cool deep into a PC gaming session. 

So when I got my hands on the Razer Phone 2, their second foray into the smartphone market, I was sceptical. Was it just be another overly embellished, more-style-than-substance device hoping to scoop some extra bucks out of the pockets of gamers? Or, perhaps, behind the chroma colours and marketing slogans, could there be a phone worthy of being a daily driver?

I’m pleased to report, the Razer Phone 2 is very much the latter. Having used the phone as my daily driver some time, I can see why someone other than a gamer might desire this impressive device for more than “the winning edge.”

Of course, it is unquestionably built for gamers. The powerhouse of a phone with 5.7” 120Hz 1440×2560 display, with support for HDR, means games look and run exceptionally well. Playing graphically intense games like Asphalt 9, Shadowgun Legends, Fortnite and Into the Dead 2 was a breeze. Thanks to inbuilt optimisation controls, the ease with which the games ran astounded me as I’d become accustomed to some stutter on portable gaming devices, let alone my other phones. Despite the addition of ‘vapor chamber cooling’ it did get a little warm at times, but not dangerously so.

A familiar Razer feature, the customisable chroma light-up logo on the glass back, appears at face value an over-the-top, unnecessary addition but is a welcome inclusion. Whatever cost is added to the phone (the sum of which is on par with rival flagship devices), it is worth it for the looks of envy from other phone users as they admire the range of colours pulsing out of the back of your phone.

These jealous looks aren’t nearly as fun as the sheer joy that is flicking smoothly through your social feeds as high refresh rate. You can set it at a max of 120Hz, or lower if you want to conserve battery life, but 90Hz or above results in a silky scrolling experience that has to be seen to be appreciated. I can’t compliment this screen enough really. Watching videos, playing games or going through your messages all looks and feels gorgeous.

But I’m divided on the design of the phone itself. I love looking at it, sat parallel to the edge of my desk; it’s indicative of Razer’s obsession with sharpness and clarity, and kind of monolithic, reminiscent of the mysterious black monuments in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Its sharp, rectangular shape that doesn’t stray far from what I guess is the default slab shape of a smartphone.

However, sat in the palm of your hand it is slightly uncomfortable. With essentially no curve to its corners, I feel I’m always fighting to get a good grip on it. Instead, I feel like I’m sort of balancing it on my fingertips. Some might put this down to its size, but it’s not substantially bigger than my S8+ or the Samsung Note’s I’ve used in the past, and I don’t recall the same level of awkwardness with those.

Holding it horizontally does work well though. I’m able to tuck the corners under my knuckles easily, making for a pretty painless Netflix experience on the go. The front-facing speakers, which are common practice these days, are commendable but are loud but default. Dialogue sounds alright on it, but it was hard to avoid a tinny sound playing any music. Furthermore, the grills covering them are prone to collecting dust and bits of grit which look rather unsightly on the face of your device.

I should shout out the placement of the lock button and the volumes keys though, which are conveniently placed for the thumb and forefingers respectively for right-handed individuals such as myself. The fingerprint sensing lock button is flush with the edge of the phone, which, fair warning, may make a case a little annoying.

But you’ll likely need one. The Phone 2 is glass backed to enable wireless charging with its (sold separately) wireless charger, also equipped with chroma lighting, because of course. Glass backs are, sadly, the way to go these days so we may just have to put up with the constant threat of shattering the back of our phones.

The glass back is to facilitate the addition of wireless charging to the phone. I experienced some difficulty using my own wireless charging pads, both on my bedside table and in my car, as the charging coils on the phone are situated on the lower half of the device, rather than being centred as I have become accustomed to. This suits Razer’s own Chroma-enabled wireless charging dock, which the phone slots into vertically, but on a flat charging pad, I had to balance the phone’s lower end on the pad with the top half hanging off. It was a bit fiddly to get it sitting in the right spot.

However, you ought not to worry too much as the battery life is refreshingly good. Gone are the days when my battery would limp through the day and need an evening refill if I were to be heading out after work. With casual use, the battery lasts you well into the evening and into the next day, but the included USB-C to USB-C charger does wonders in quickly topping it back up in a push.

The camera is up to standard as well. It’s 12 MP rear camera and 8 MP front-facing didn’t blow me away, but they certainly didn’t disappoint either. Portraits and close-ups look clean and crisp, with colours popping nicely on the Razer Phone 2’s gorgeous screen. The camera comes equipped with all the functionality you’d expect from a smartphone camera, and I was impressed by its low-light performance. I challenged it photographing and videoing some fireworks and was pleased with the results.

With everything considered, the Razer Phone 2 is a joy to use. It comes installed with basically stock Android, with just a couple of Razer additions facilitating optimisation and custom themes, as well as Google’s suite of pretty staple applications. There’s this beautiful theme of simplicity to the phone, which carries through its hardware and software. Razer has crammed in everything they felt necessary but omitted the novelty that usually muddles other devices.

The post Razer Phone 2 Review – Powerful Simplicity appeared first on Press Start.

The headphone market is more saturated than ever and it takes a really special set of headphones to wow me, but I’m happy to report that the Sennheiser GSP 600 has done just that.

Comfort is massive for me, it’s the first thing you notice when you put a headset on and it’s something that never changes overtime (for the most part). I was curious to see how the GSP 600 would fare comfort-wise, as obviously it’s got quite a big frame. As soon as I put the GSP600 on my head, I was delighted with just comfortable they were.

This is largely due to the fact that not only due you have complete control over how far they go down each side of your face (which is fairly standard these days), you can also customise the amount of pressure based on a little slider that sits on the top of the headset. It’s great for those that like a looser fit, or those that wear glasses like myself, but largely, if you want a much tighter experience (which is better for keeping external sounds out), then obviously there’s the option to tighten it up.

The GSP 600 is wired, which is what I prefer these days. Due to the fact that the PS4 and Xbox One now have audio export straight from the controller, the cord doesn’t bother me anywhere near as much as my headset battery dying mid play session. I get that some people will want a wireless headset, so obviously if you’re after something wire-free, there’s better places to spend your money.

That’s the other part of it. These headphones are quality right down to the packaging. The price tag on them is $399.95, so this isn’t to be unexpected. Little touches like the advanced metal hinge system as well as the cooling suede that is on the headset cups are nice little touches that you won’t find on low-mid range headsets.

Sennheiser is obviously known for audio quality and that’s exactly what you’re getting here. There’s a decent amount of bass, and everything sounds crystal clear through these headphones. Nothing every sounded murky and voice chat always came through crisp and clean.

The boom mic lets you mute yourself and all of my party mates were quick to comment on just how clear I was coming through the other end, which is obviously important for gaming these days. The volume is controlled through a dial that sits on the right side of the headphones. It’s easy enough to reach, but one little annoyance that I had was not being able to control voice chat on my headset, which obviously isn’t a major issue but just something I’d like at this price point.

The post Sennheiser GSP 600 Headset Review – Quality And Comfort appeared first on Press Start.

No matter the digital content you consume, never underestimate the importance of sound. After all, there is as much audio as there is visual in the audio-visual experience. Video games are no exception. Hyper X seems perfectly aware of this sonic significance when it comes to video games, albeit with competitive gaming largely in mind, and deliver a fine sonic experience with their Cloud Flight headset.

Their premium stereo wireless gaming headset – aptly named the Cloud Flight – services much of the needs of gamers when it comes to audio. Sound quality is very impressive, as you would hope it would be, with plenty of depth and solid bass delivery. The included 3.5mm jack and input allows you to connect it up off-battery to an array of devices via cable, making the headset is more versatile than some of its competitors. I enjoyed removing the detachable mic and using the Cloud Flights out and about listening to music on my phone putting them through their paces.

The aptly named Cloud Flights are nice and light, and although the headband is relatively inflexible, they remained comfortable during my long play sessions. I did not experience any irritation or soreness, the Cloud Flights catering for larger heads like mine with plenty of room for expansion. Despite being almost entirely constructed of plastic, they feel solid and the red glowing Hyper X logo cut into the silicon on the ear cups makes them look appropriately pro-gamer. Pressing the mute button positioned on the side of the left earcup with a solid click has an element of satisfaction to it. I couldn’t help but feel the power button required to be held just a bit too long to register.

However, the plug-n-play wireless functionality of the headset was immensely user-friendly. A simple USB dongle slots right into your PC, PS4 or Xbox One, connecting you up almost immediately. The range was amazingly impressive too. With supposedly 20 metres of wireless range, I could wander about my house and fetch snacks from the kitchen upstairs whilst continuing a conversation with my mates in the party chat.

The obvious downside of the simple USB dongle is that there is no split audio output; everything runs through the same channel. This means you cannot adjust the audio balance between game and chat volume levels from the headset itself on the fly, but only through the software. Additionally, although possible through just a USB connection, the Cloud Flight is a stereo headset and therefore lacks surround sound. Those after better directional audio may need to look at headsets simulating surround sound, such as Hyper X’s Cloud Revolver S with similar USB plug-n-play functionality.

Such bells and whistles may come at the cost of the ease-of-use and convenience the Cloud Flights provide. The battery life on them is immense. Able to be charged directly from your console via a micro-USB connection (cleverly the same cable used to charge most controllers) Hyper X claim the Cloud Flights have an approximate 30 hours of battery life. I wouldn’t doubt them; I used the headset across consecutive sessions of use without bothering to charge them in between.

The post Hyper X Cloud Flight Review – Hassle Free appeared first on Press Start.

It’ll be impossible for me to express my admiration for Florence as eloquently as Emma Wilder did in her charming critique, but I’ll shoot for the stars nonetheless. The debut release from Mountains, a new studio headed up by Monument Valley‘s Ken Wong, is a beautiful visual novel that encapsulates the rollercoaster ride that is young love, breaking free of routine and the pursuit of happiness.

The game’s opening chapter has us wrestling with the banalities of everyday life — the daily grind. It all rings true. Hitting snooze, the sleepy-eyed brushing of teeth and the morning commute. Through a series of mind-numbing prompts, Florence perfectly captures a life without love. It’s bleak with a distinct absence of colour. It’s only thanks to a flat phone battery that protagonist Florence Yeoh disconnects from this rut she’s caught in and takes in the life that has, until now, been passing her by. On cue, a busking cellist, Krish, whisks Florence off of her feet in a fantastical scene that is one of the game’s most pleasing.

It’s love at first sight, that old cliché. This love is characterised by the welcome wash of the colour yellow which is symbolic of hope and happiness, it creates a sense that everything is okay.

As a visual novel, Florence is astounding in the ways it keeps interaction varied and evergreen. One-digit is all you’ll ever need throughout Florence‘s 40-minute runtime, whether you’re piecing together a fractured childhood memory in the form of a butterfly drawing or you’re just phoning home to confide in your once overbearing mother about your failing relationship.

As a game built for a more casual audience, these prompts aren’t ever difficult to execute. That said, some of the game’s choices can be stressful, despite not impacting the story whatsoever. Florence is like Telltale’s The Walking Dead, its storytelling is so wonderful and complex that even this illusion of choice can lead to emotionally taxing results. There’s a scene midway through the game when Krish packs up his things and moves into Florence’s small apartment. Due to the limited space, you’re tasked with sweating over who’s keepsakes are more worthy of shelf-space. Relationships are like unlit, winding roads. If you lapse and lose interest in what’s around the bend, it’s likely that it’s going to be all over. Florence illustrates this in a profound way, even going so far as to demonstrate how the smallest things, like decor, can be tough.

Florence isn’t about Hollywood love and happily ever afters, it’s real and grounded and it knows that, for most people, that first love isn’t the last. It seems inevitable that you’ll love, endure heartbreak and, if you’re game, love again. That’s life and Florence manages to capture these formative experiences better than most films could hope to. I couldn’t help but recall Damien Chazelle’s La La Land which also refused to subscribe to the archetypal happy ending. I’d personally argue that it was happy, though protagonists Seb and Mia don’t end up together they each realise their dream. It’s a bigger picture ending that showcased that while letting go can feel like the hardest thing in the world, it invariably leads to better things, just as it does for Florence Yeoh.

Kevin Penkin’s score reaches lofty heights and was high on a long list of things I adored about Florence. Regardless of mood, it commands your undivided attention, its soaring themes slipping past the bone to warm the cockles of your heart. It works hand-in-hand with the game’s lovely illustrated art style. Were it a graphic novel, I’d define it as a page-turner.

Florence was developed in Melbourne, Australia and is the debut release of Mountains. It’s available now on iOS.

The post Florence Review – A Love Letter To Love appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve had my hands on the Xbox One X for just over a week now. I’m not quite ready to lock in my final opinion so far, just due to the lack of new releases that are Xbox One X enhanced (at this stage), but I feel like I’ve spent enough time with the console to give solid impressions and help you decide on whether the Xbox One X is for you.

THE CONSOLE IS BEAUTIFUL

It’s honestly hard to believe just how small the Xbox One X is. In terms of design, I think this is the sleekest console to hit the market. When you compare it to the behemoth that is the original Xbox One and even the PlayStation 4 Pro, it’s quite remarkable just how small and high-end looking this little unit is. It has a noticeable weight to it, but this won’t matter too much unless you know that you’re going to be transporting your console frequently.

IT’S WHISPER QUIET

The Xbox One X is supposedly the world’s most powerful console, and that would make me think that it’s probably going to be a noisy one, but it’s whisper quiet. Compared to the PlayStation 4 Pro and most other consoles I’ve ever had in my entertainment unit, it was hard to believe just how silent this little unit is even when games are being powered in 4K.

ENHANCED GAMES ARE CLEARLY LAID OUT

One of the biggest gripes that I had with PlayStation 4 Pro at launch was the fact that enhanced games weren’t clearly defined (or when they’re upgraded, you’re not aware unless you go through and read patch notes).

I live and breathe gaming 24/7 and yet I still find it difficult to keep up with the status of enhanced games. It’s unrealistic to expect regular consumers who aren’t completely immersed in the world of live gaming news to stay updated on which games in their library are enhanced.

Thankfully, Xbox has come up with a solution that seems to work (at least momentarily). The Xbox One X sorts your games into designated categories; Xbox One / Xbox One X Enhanced / Xbox and Xbox 360 and as soon as a game in your library receives an Xbox One X update, it shifts into the Xbox One X enhanced section.

SOME FLAGSHIP ENHANCED TITLES ARE MISSING

Xbox claims that seventy games will be enhanced at launch, but I’ve been a little bit surprised with what has been available to reviewers in the last week. Until a few days ago, it was only Gears of War 4 that was enhanced. With every passing day, more and more titles have become enhanced but it’s pretty mind-blowing to think that the likes of Forza 7, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Shadow of War and some other key titles haven’t been updated yet. Whilst I’ve played these titles at preview events and have faith that they’ll be brilliant on the One X, it has to be mentioned that they’re not currently available. You can find the full list of titles that are constantly being updated RIGHT HERE.

GEARS 4 MIGHT BE THE BEST-LOOKING CONSOLE GAME (IN 4K)

Thankfully, Xbox knew that they had an absolute gem in Gears 4. Now, don’t get me wrong, Gears 4 looked incredible at release, but this game blew my mind on the Xbox One X. With 4K resolution, HDR, dynamic shadows, enhanced light shafts and increased draw distances, this is one of the best-looking, if not the best, console games that I’ve ever played. Everything looks that little bit nicer. There are more details on all of the characters and environments, there are particles floating around that I don’t recall seeing when I played on the OG Xbox One and boy, those storms look absolutely insane.

It’s important to keep in mind that Gears 4 offers a linear gameplay experience, the game’s environments are relatively contained, unlike the expansive open-worlds offered by titles such as Assassin’s Creed: Origins and The Witcher 3. When it comes to deciding which of the Xbox One X enhanced titles looks the absolute best, I think the final outcome will be heavily influenced by this distinction.

The other game of notability is Super Lucky’s Tale. It’s a colourful, vibrant game and I can’t help but feel that it greatly benefits from Xbox One X. The colours pop and the worlds look Pixar-like. I can’t even imagine how a game like Super Mario Odyssey would look on this console (not to take away from how incredible Odyssey is).

In saying that, I think it’s important to point out that in terms of graphical fidelity, don’t expect much more (if any) of a difference than what you got with PlayStation 4 to Pro. This is not a PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 type jump in graphics, so don’t buy this console expecting it to completely change the way your games look.

Gears 4 lets you harness the power of Xbox One X by improving visuals (4K and improved textures) or by improving performance (60 frames per second in campaign/Horde and some minor graphical improvements). I hope that developers continue to give choice in how gamers harness power. Whilst some people might not care about the shininess of 4K resolution, they might want smoother frame rates. It’s very clear at this point that we’re still a little way off native 4K/60FPS on a console, so allowing gamers to get the most out of these units appears to be the most important thing. It’s also great when developers are transparent about exactly how they’re using the extra power. What annoys me most about the PlayStation 4 Pro/Xbox One X is the ambiguity behind the enhancements.

DOWNLOADS ARE FAST

One of the things that worried me most was the fact that I had to download these games onto my Xbox One X with Broadband internet. Games like Gears 4 that surpass 80gb and Quantum Break that is more than 100GB when you factor in the 4K texture patch. Honestly, the speeds on my Xbox One X never dropped. Whether it was thanks to the 5 GHz network compatibility, or better a wireless chip, I’ve never seen games download on a console so damn fast.

THE UI IS FASTER, BUT STILL CLUNKY

I’ve never been a massive fan of the Xbox One UI. It’s come a long, long way since day one, and the new UI, which is unified across the Xbox console family, runs way faster than I remember it running on the Xbox One, but it’s still a little bit clunky. Things can often be hard to find, and certain menus will hang or seem glitchy at times, so hopefully, Xbox continues to improve this dashboard, rather than constantly implementing new ones, as I think it’s the closest they’ve gotten to getting it right.

WHERE’S THE ELITE CONTROLLER?

This might seem quite petty, but I really think that the Xbox One X price tag would be more justified if it included an Elite Controller. The way that Xbox have marketed this premium console has led me to believe that they want this to be the go-to console for hardcore gamers, and I feel like the experience would have been improved with an Elite controller. I understand that they’re probably selling this console by breaking even (or even at a loss), but I just think that these two products would have gone perfectly together.

SHOULD YOU BUY THE XBOX ONE X?

I know that a lot of people are going to be asking whether the Xbox One X is worth the $650, and I honestly think it depends on the individual. If you’re somebody that plays your Xbox One every single day, have the compatible hardware (4K TV, etc.) and have the money to drop, then definitely look at purchasing it, but don’t expect to plug the console in and have a completely revolutionary gaming experience. In saying that, it’s a fantastic looking console that does everything more efficiently than any Xbox to come before it, so it’s hard not to recommend that somebody buy the Xbox One X based on the promise that games are going to look and run better than other consoles (which, so far, is definitely the case).

2018 for Xbox needs to be about exclusives and a diverse lineup of games. If there’s a mix of games that utilise the raw power that is within the Xbox One X, then it might just be the magical combination to take the Xbox brand to the next level.

EDITOR’S NOTE: These are not our final impressions of the Xbox One X. Whilst it’s completely possible that they might not change, we’d rather reserve final judgement until we’ve played Forza 7, Assassin’s Creed Origin’s, Shadow of War and other flagship Xbox One X enhanced titles.

The post Xbox One X Review – So Far, Pretty Good appeared first on Press Start.

Astro headsets have always been among the best gaming headsets, but affordability as always been a barrier of entry for most gamers. This is no longer the case, as the new Astro A10 Headset retails for a decent $99.95. This is well below both the Astro A40 ($349) and Astro A50 ($479), but there’s qualities in this headset which make it a no-brainer for those looking to take a step up into the premium headset market, without the jump in price.

SIMPLE DESIGN, MAXIMUM COMFORT

I’ve come from using the Astro A50 headset which is wonderfully designed and the Astro A10 (whilst completely different), definitely doesn’t look too bad. The headset is made of all-plastic, which sounds like a bad thing but it really doesn’t look too bad. It’s not overly bulky which is important for me when wearing a headset and it also doesn’t feel too heavy, even after prolonged use.

The headset also feels quite indestructible. Obviously, I’ve only been using it for a few weeks but the band, which appears to be made of rubber/plastic was able to twist and turn in any direction without feeling like it was in jeopardy of breaking or snapping. This band also plays a huge part in its comfort due to the fact that it moulds to the shape of your head and also returns to its original shape after use.The customisability of the ear cups is one of my favourite parts of the A50 kit. Unsurprisingly, the same level of customisability (or any) can be found here and there’s definitely a concern that these could crack or break over time, but providing you’re not overly rough with them, they feel like they’d hold up. These headphones aren’t noise cancelling which isn’t surprising for the price, but the ear cups do a really good job in keeping the sound in and blocking external noises out.

Coming from using a wireless headset for the past few years, I was reminded by how much I actually like a wired headset. You’re able to plug it in, never have to worry about keeping it charged and you don’t have to worry about any interference or connection issues.

GREAT AUDIO WITH LIMITATIONS

The sound of the Astro A10 is crisp and clear. Playing first-person shooters, I was able to perfectly distinguish sounds whether they were quiet moments or loud explosions. There’s no virtual surround sound which might be a deal broker for those who heavily play FPS online.

Another area I found the A10s to be slightly weaker than the A50 was the maximum volume levels. I like my games to be quite loud (my other half constantly yells at me for the TV being too loud) and I found myself trying to turn the headset up even further quite often. This was never an issue with my A50 and I swapped back and forth and there’s definitely a very noticeable difference in maximum volume levels.Another worry for me prior to using these headphones was the chat audio. It’s always been crystal clear with Astro’s premium line of headphones and it appears to be the a similar story with the A10. You’ve got a microphone that flips up to mute and it provides fairly clear voice to gamers on the other end.

Sound mixing and general volume control is definitely the worst part of this headset experience. You’re able to use a tiny little scroll wheel to adjust the main volume but there’s no way to adjust chat audio (or the split between both) without using your consoles UI. For Xbox users, you can purchase the M60 which will allow you to change the split of chat to game volume, but PS4 users are left in the dark.

The post Astro A10 Headset Review – Affordable Quality appeared first on Press Start.

Anybody that knows me would know that I’m a prolific Mac user. It seriously would take a great Windows laptop to even half convince me to think about converting and the GIGABYTE Aero 15 has honestly really made me consider it.

THE DESIGN

The thing that surprised me most about the AERO 15 was its design. Now, Apple Macs have had the most well-designed laptops in the past, but it’s very clear to me after using this product that the gap is narrowing.

It’s 1.9cm thick and weight only 2.1kg, but it’s the stunning 1080p 15.6” display that puts this laptop in a class of its own. The overall design didn’t feel that much larger than my 13” MacBook Pro and this is partly due to the fact that the screen (which is significantly larger) has a ridiculously small bezel at 5mm wide. Every time I’d open it up, I’d be in awe over just how beautiful that screen looked. It’s one of the most immersive experiences that I’ve had whilst using a laptop, especially when watching videos or playing games. It’s worth mentioning that this laptop is perfect for creative professional as it’s got one of the most accurate displays (colour-wise) that I’ve had the pleasure of using.In Australia, the laptop comes in Black and Orange. The tester unit that I had was orange, and it was a little bit too much for me, but I can totally see it appealing to some. It stands out and plays well to the vibrant nature of the screen. You’ve also got a vibrant RGB Fusion Keyboard which is highly customisable. I found the default setting to be a little distracting, but thankfully changing it is an absolute breeze.

VERSATILITY

Another area where this laptop absolutely excels is the amount of ports  on offer. It’s no secret that Apple have removed almost every port from their computers (and this appears to be the way with most new-age laptops) but Gigabyte are going the opposite way and it has to be commended

Port-wise, it boasts an impressive: 3 x USB 3.0 , 1 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x Thunderbolt 3, 1 x USB-C, 1 x SD Card Reader, 1 x Ethernet Jack, 1 x Mini DP and a headphone jack. I’d challenge you to find a laptop that provides you with this much versatility. Sure, you might not need a lot of these points (all the time), but I can also say with confidence that you’d never need to think about carrying around a handful of dongles.Gigabyte claim that the laptop can hold a charge for roughly 10 hours. My experience was a little less than this, but I was able to comfortably get through an entire day of work, which is quite impressive given the weight and size of the laptop. The charger is also light and portable and has a USB 3.0 port for further charging of your devices.

FOR THE GAMERS

The AERO 15 packs a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and it was able to play almost anything I threw at it. I was able to play Overwatch and PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS quite comfortably. There’s also 16gb of ram as well as a 512gb SSD which should be more than enough for most people.

What impressed me most about this tiny package was the fact that I was able to use my Oculus Rift with ease. The portability of the laptop meant that I was able to take my Oculus Rift out with me with the comfort of knowing that this system was capable of running most (not all) virtual reality applications.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

In Australia, you can pick up the AERO 15.6” in both Black and Orange. By default, it comes with 16gb of RAM and a 512gb SSD. It’s available now and will set you back $2,899 from mWave Australia. This sounds like a lot, but you can feel confident in the fact that this nifty little unit will have more than what most people need and it’s sure to keep you happy for more than a few years. I’d say it’s definitely something that creative professionals and moderate gamers should look at picking up.

The post Gigabyte AERO 15 Laptop Review – Everything You Need and More appeared first on Press Start.

One of the main worries prior to the Nintendo Switch releasing was the fact that the Joy-Con Grip included with the console would not charge the Joy-Con. This was alleviated by the fact that the Nintendo Switch tablet kept the Joy-Con charged at given time, even when out of the dock. It’s also a non-issue due to the fact that the Joy-Con can retain charge for 15+ hours.

Well, if you’ve ran into the issue of your Joy-Con losing charge, or looking for a way to charge that second pair of Joy-Con, then there’s no better solution than the PowerA Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Stand.

Honestly, I’m always a little sceptical when using third-party accessories, but I’m really impressed with the quality of this product. You’d be fooled into believing that it is a Nintendo-made product. The weight of the product out of the box is really sturdy.

The product works exactly how you’d expect. You can slide in anywhere between 1-4 Nintendo Switch Joy-Con and you’ll get a red light if they’re charging and a green light once it’s fully charged.

Pulling the Joy-Con in and out of the dock is incredibly seamless. There’s no Nintendo Switch “click” which you’ll be more than used to hearing.

Arguably the best thing about the Joy-Con Charging Station is the fact that it plugs straight into one of the Nintendo Switch USB ports, and continues to charge even when the tablet isn’t in the actual dock. There’s also a wind up USB cord in the bottom which means you won’t have any access cord showing in your entertainment unit.

CONCLUSION

In the future, I can see the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Station being really useful. As games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Arms are released and your collection of Joy-Con grows, you’ll need somewhere to reliably charge your Joy-Con. There’s currently no better option than this product.

The Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Stand is available on April 12th for $49.95

The post Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Stand Review – Forever Charged appeared first on Press Start.

The Joy-Con Grip that comes in the Nintendo Switch box serves its purpose, but it’s definitely not the most comfortable controller that I’ve ever used.

Well, PowerA has released their own Joy-Con Comfort Grip which is officially licensed by Nintendo and surprisingly, despite it looking almost identical, there’s actually some minor changes that make it a much appreciated improvement.

Priced at $19.95 and available in red and black, the PowerA Joy-Con Comfort Grip does look a little cheap out of the box. It doesn’t have quite the same quality finish as the official Joy-Con Comfort Grip. Personally, I like the red, and will consider getting an extra red Joy-Con to rock it properly.

Where it does excel though, is in the comfort area. As mentioned earlier, the Joy-Con Grip isn’t uncomfortable, but it is different. Once I used the PowerA Grip, I realised that the difference is in the added ridge at the top of the controller which makes all the difference. My hands now feels like it’s in a much more familiar position and reaching both the ZL/L and ZR/R buttons feel much more natural. This grip is much more similar to that of a DualShock 4 or Xbox One controller, and it makes all the difference.

Also, if you’re looking for a grip to charge your Joy-Cons, this one won’t do it, so you really have to weigh up added comfort vs the ability to charge your Joy-Cons with the Joy-Con Charging Grip (which is priced at $39.95). It does have the indicator icons to easily tell which player you are, so that’s much appreciated.

CONCLUSION

At the end of the day, there’s not a lot to say about the PowerA Joy-Con Comfort Grip. It feels much more comfortable than the Joy-Con Grip in the Nintendo Switch box, with some minor changes making your hand mould more comfortably. If you’re looking for a second Grip for that second set of Joy-Cons, we’d recommend this. However, if you’re looking for a grip to charge your Joy-Cons, then it might be worth paying the extra $20.

The post PowerA Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Comfort Grip Red Review – A Solid Improvement appeared first on Press Start.

Honestly, there’s a lot to like about the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo is marketing it as a home console, which it is definitely competent at being, but where it excels and goes far beyond what any other gaming device has been able to do is in its ability to successfully  take that full home console experience on the road. It’s a literal game-changer.

In Handheld Mode, which consists of a Joy-Con sitting on either side of the slick and solid tablet, you’ll be able to enjoy an identical experience to what you’d be looking at in front of your TV. The Legend of Zelda, for instance, feels incredible on the go. At first, it almost doesn’t feel real that you’re able to leave the house and take the experience with you. This is in-part due to the fact that the Wii U took a half step towards taking gameplay off the TV, but the Nintendo Switch snatches this dream and smashes it out of the park.

Every single component of the Nintendo Switch from the tablet, to the Joy-Cons, to the controller grip, to the dock feels well-designed and well-thought out. Everything serves a clear purpose and promises to deliver on future experiences. The actual unit itself is sleek and comfortable to carry, which is important given that it’s most compelling aspect is that it’s a hybrid portable/home console. The screen on the Nintendo Switch is much more vibrant and sharper than the Wii U and 3DS screen and the capacitive multi-touch display is as responsive as you’d expect from a smartphone.

I suspect that people will be disappointed with the battery life when playing The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild. You’re going to get about 2 and a half hours, and it’s really noticeable just how fast the percentage drops. However, I think it’s really important to reiterate just how impressive this piece of technology actually is. Once you get a game like Zelda in your hands and realise that you’re playing one of the most extensive open-world game ever created on-the-go, you’ll realise that Nintendo has created a technical masterpiece.

The Joy-Cons feel comfortable in the hand both individually, in Handheld Mode or using the Joy-Con grip. It’s really important to note that you’re literally getting two controllers in the box. Using a Joy-Con on the side might not be the optimal way to play, but it’s enough for co-op games such as SnipperClips and Mario Kart, and I have no doubt that Nintendo will continue to at least make it an option in most games going forward. Yes, the Pro Controller is definitely a much better controller than what you get in the box. You can read more about that here.

The Joy-Cons are a serious piece of tech, they have an enhanced form of vibration which is Nintendo is calling HD Rumble. It’s definitely more noticeable and much more distinct than regular rumble. It’s also got built-in gyroscopes, NFC support and an IR sensor. It’s pretty impressive when you realise that they’re a quarter the size of a Wii Remote.

The latch mechanism that the Nintendo Switch integrates into a lot of its hardware has been successful for me so far. It’s simple to slide the Joy-Cons on and off the various parts of hardware and it just makes sense. The Nintendo Switch tablet will seamlessly charge the Joy-Cons when they’re attached, even if it’s not connected to power. This means that you should never run out of charge on the actual controllers, which is neat. There’s also a kickstand built into the Nintendo Switch. Yes, it is quite flimsy but it’s just another notch on the versatility scale.

The actual switching functionality between playing on the handheld screen and the TV screen is seamless, but can be improved. Placing the Nintendo Switch into the dock immediately puts your gameplay onto the TV screen, and takes a moment or two to show up back on the Nintendo Switch once you take it out of the dock. There’s also a green light on the front of the dock to let you know that the content is outputting to your TV, so you don’t accidentally leave it running.

There’s definitely some small oddities that need to be ironed out. It doesn’t appear that you can wake the Switch using either Joy-Cons or the Pro Controller, which sounds like a major first-world problem, but it doesn’t seem like it would have been that hard to implement. Secondly, it might just be my TV unit, but even when my Nintendo Switch is in Sleep mode, it still manages to change the channel to the connected input for absolutely no reason and yes, I’ve turned off any auto HDMI switching functionality, but even so, it shouldn’t happen when in sleep mode.

There’s another fundamental problem with the Nintendo Switch in TV Mode. There’s no way (that I can tell) to use headphones when playing this way. Currently, the Nintendo Switch has no option for bluetooth headphones and none of the controllers have audio-in, so you’re left with no other option (besides some silly workarounds) to listen to your TV or surround sound regardless of your living conditions.

The User Interface is an important part of any great gaming experience and I can comfortably say without a shadow of doubt that the UI on the Nintendo Switch, whilst still incredibly barebones, is the most clean and smooth UI that we’ve seen on a Nintendo console. The games are front and centre on the home-screen with easy-access to a helpful news section, your eShop, album, settings and more.

Everything is snappy and the games, as well as everything else that matters, are at the forefront. It’s extremely quick to wake from sleep, and being able to continue on with your game straight away at any given-time is honestly incredible. It’s mostly evident when using the Capture button just how fast this console is. It works an absolute treat. Nintendo has kept it all about the games in this aspect. No more Miiverse, no more Streetpass and surprisingly, the Mii functionality is hidden deep in the Settings page. 

CONCLUSION

I’m really excited to see where Nintendo take the Nintendo Switch in the next 12 months. I believe that this console has a chance to do great things and genuinely change the way that we play games. There’s still some teething issues to sort out but it’s the innovative control schemes, the ability to seamlessly take your game on the go with no repercussions and that Nintendo charm that exists in whatever they create that makes me think that this console will be a massive success. It’s an improvement on the Nintendo Wii U in every way and I’m convinced that Nintendo are on the right path.

The post Nintendo Switch Review – The Foundation Of A Must-have Console appeared first on Press Start.

TAKE YOUR GAMING TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH THE NACON REVOLUTION PRO CONTROLLER

Since the release of the Xbox One Elite Controller, Sony gamers have been longing for a pro controller on the PlayStation 4. Gamers were previously able to go through companies such as Scuf, who literally customise official controllers but these weren’t easily accessible in stores.

Many thought that with the announcement of the PlayStation 4 Pro 4, Sony would release a Pro controller, instead opting to make minor adjustments to the DualShock 4. They have relied on two tech companies to create a more pro solution, one being the Nacon Revolution Pro Controller which is priced at $179 AUD.

Essentially, the first thing you’ll notice about the Nacon Revolution Pro Controller is that it is a wired controller, which may turn people off, but this is due to the fact that this controller is aimed at hardcore and competitive players. It’s well-known that a wired controller removes any form of interference and lag in transmission, which is essential for competitive and online play. The 3m wire is removable and can be stored within the beautiful case that you get with the controller.

The Nacon Revolution Pro controller is incredibly well-built. It’s made of a sturdy material, the analogue sticks are primarily metal which means that they hopefully shouldn’t wear away as quickly as the DualShock 4. You also 3 different weight presets in order to find your ultimate controller comfort.

Similarly to the Xbox One Elite Controller, The Nacon Revolution Pro Controller sports two buttons on the rear of the controller. This is a god-send for first-person shooters and felt much more natural for the reflexes when aiming and firing. These buttons can essentially be pushed on either side making them customisable to four different buttons. I also found them incredible useful for things such as running and melee attacks, instead of the unreliable L3 and R3 buttons.

The Nacon Revolution Pro Controller sports Asymmetrical sticks which might not be to PlayStation gamers tastes, but it’s much preferred in the competitive space. The left stick is concave whilst the right is convex. This is so you can easily keep your thumb placed on the left stick to move whilst marginally nudging your thumb on the right stick to make minor adjustments whilst aiming. I noticed that the sticks are a tiny bit longer on the Revolution Pro controller. This shouldn’t be an issue for most people, and I found that it allowed for a little bit more control and comfortability.

The d-pad on the Nacon Revolution Pro felt very weird and oddly cheap to me. I’m not one for fighting games and the like, but it definitely felt like there would be some issues with precision. For weapon wheels and such, I could understand why sliding your thumb around would be better suited to this less separated d-pad.

All buttons are customisable and you’re able to save four different profiles with the Nacon Revolution software. You can also change the responsiveness of the analogue sticks and triggers. It’s worth noting for primarily Mac users that this software isn’t available at this stage. Whilst the controller will remain fully compatible with your PS4, you’ll use some of the compatibility options if you’ve only got a Mac at your disposal. I would have liked to have seen some kind of software built in to the PS4 to easily sync up your settings. Obviously Microsoft are able to handle this better with the Xbox One Elite controller as it is a first-party controller.

You’ve also got all of the regular DualShock functionality such as the options button, share button, touchpad, PlayStation button and even the light bar. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack as you’d find in the DualShock 4. It’s worth noting that despite having these similarities, it isn’t recognised as a DualShock 4 and doesn’t register as one on Steam.

CONCLUSION

The Nacon Revolution Pro PS4 Controller is definitely superior to the DualShock 4. For competitive players and those who take their gaming seriously, it’s a welcome set up in both quality and precision. The fact that it’s priced at $179 AUD and is wired definitely puts it out of the casual market. If you’re looking to take your gaming to the next level and want a more premium feeling controller, then this might be the one you’re looking for.

The post Nacon Revolution Pro Controller PS4 Review – The Controller Hardcore Gamers Deserve appeared first on Press Start.

The PlayStation 4 Pro is an exciting new chapter in the PlayStation journey which marks the first time we’ve seen a true mid-generation hardware upgrade. The PS4 Pro was revealed to confusion, but after spending a few days with the console, it’s now a lot clearer just how it will benefit our gaming life, but unfortunately, it’s still very different on a game-by-game basis.

The console itself is now all-matte, which I actually really appreciate. My cover plate on the original PS4 is incredibly scratched up and constantly getting smudged, so I feel that the PS4 Pro will better handle wear and tear. That extra ridge isn’t as bad as I initially thought it would be and the console soon blends into your gaming setup.

From a hardware perspective, not a lot has changed. We now have an added USB port at the back, which definitely helps for PlayStation VR owners. The console finally supports 5 GHz Wifi. We’ve got 1 GB more of standard RAM, which is being used to run the OS in glorious 4K. The Pro is only available with a 1 TB hard drive, which will be enough for some, but Sony has made it even easier to upgrade than before. There’s a bunch of smaller enhancements too. Remote Play will now stream in 1080p/60FPS, share video at 1080p/30FPS and you can stream to Twitch at 1080p/60fps.

PS4 Pro users will see an increase when gaming in 1080p too. For instance inFAMOUS: First Light and Second Son will allow the game to run at a more solid framerate. Ratchet and Clank will take advantage in the form of better resolution, which is down-scaled to 1080p. Rise of the Tomb Raider is able to provide a smooth experience in 1080p and 60FPS. This is a trend that I’d like to see continue.

When it comes to PlayStation VR, improvements are noticeable but they won’t change the core experience. Obviously, the resolution of the actual VR headset won’t be increased, that’s a limitation of the headset itself rather than the actual console. There’s a small handful of games that have already been patched including Battlezone, REZ Infinite, Bound and Robinson: The Journey. You’ll be able to experience things such as improved lighting, more detail and a higher resolution in some more graphical intensive games.

It’s also important to note that if you’re wanting to take advantage of HDR, you’ll need to go direct from your PlayStation 4 Pro to your TV. The PS VR processing box is capable of processing a 4K signal, but not HDR.

But, the real draw card of the PlayStation 4 Pro is increased visual fidelity in the form of 4K and HDR. I’d like to preface this part of the review by saying that if you own a 4K TV with HDR, then you should absolutely look to upgrade to a PlayStation 4 Pro at some point. Games that utilise the PS4 Pro power to increase resolution and implement HDR such as Uncharted 4 and inFAMOUS: First Light, will see a great deal of difference.

inFAMOUS: First Light allows you to choose between HDR/NON-HDR and improved resolution/framerate. Flicking between an improved resolution and framerate quickly allowed me to see just how big of a difference the increased resolution made in the menus alone. Anti-aliasing is improved, text was instantly sharper and didn’t have any weird pixelation around the edges. It made everything pop that little bit more and allowed specks of lightness to be crisper and more recognisable than what I’d have witnessed on a regular PS4 console. Uncharted on the other hand only allows you to flick between HDR/NON HDR which makes quite a big difference in recognising minor details. For instance, with HDR on, you can clearly see the detail in the sun and the sky. This is due to the fact that HDR allows every pixel to be lit up individually so you’re able to get darker detail amongst bright light.

There’s supposedly a great number of games that will support PlayStation 4 Pro, but I became confused as I tried more games. The main issue with PlayStation 4 Pro is that there is not yet any standard in handling the 4K/HDR improvements. Sure, it’s great that developers can utilise the power in a number of different ways, but there isn’t great communication. For instance, NBA 2K17 allegedly runs at native 4K with HDR implemented, but there is absolutely no way for me to know. There’s no obvious menu option that grants me any choice on how to utilise the extra power such as there was for inFAMOUS: First Light. From what I can tell, most patch notes don’t really reference the PlayStation 4 Pro and if they do, they don’t mention what the exact improvements are. I think there needs to be greater consistency to avoid confusing general consumers.

Games such as Titanfall, Battlefield 1 and FIFA 17 are all no different. There isn’t any indication on whether they’re PS4 Pro compatible and if they are, there’s absolutely zero information on what the precise improvements are. Sure, you could find this information online but it just feels like it’s too far away from what console gamers have come to expect. There’s something nice about putting a disc in and knowing what you’re going to get without having to worry about whether you’ve correctly set up the console to best utilise the 4K, HDR, improved framerate or all of the above.

An exception is Rise of the Tomb Raider, which does a great job at this with providing three distinct options in the settings. You’re able to play in 4K whilst limiting the frame rate to 30FPS, 60FPS and 1080p or 1080p and 30FPS with increased visual effects. In my opinion this is the benchmark and quite frankly, what I expect going forward. Gamers should be able to choose what improvements they see and if this were the case, I’d have no hesitating in recommending a PS4 Pro to every current PS4 owner.

I have no doubt that Sony’s first party studios will do an excellent job with PlayStation 4 Pro. I got to witness a new Horizon: Zero Dawn demo which showed off the huge benefits of PlayStation 4 Pro with clearer objects in the distance, and more realistic lighting, but I’m still really unsure about how third parties will continue to utilise the console going forward.

CONCLUSION

The PlayStation 4 Pro is the most powerful console on the market and is definitely better than the PlayStation 4 in every way. If you’re buying a PlayStation 4 for the first time tomorrow, you’re getting an absolutely fantastic and futuristic console in the PS4 Pro, regardless of whether you have a 4K TV or not. If you already own a PS4 then it gets a little bit murkier. If you play your PS4 every day, then you’re likely a good candidate for the upgrade with everything running just a little bit smoother. If you’re a casual gamer, then I’d recommend playing the waiting game to see how the majority of developers utilise the extra power.

The post PlayStation 4 Pro Review – The Most Powerful (and Confusing) Console Yet appeared first on Press Start.

I’ve used a lot of different gaming headsets in my time, but the LucidSound LS30 headset oozed a premium feel whilst remaining easy to use and incredibly functional.

In the box, you get the headset, the USB base station, a removable boom mic, a USB charging cable, 360 chat cable, an Xbox One chat cable, an optical cable and a quick-start guide. I thought it was important to list everything due to the fact that this headset is compatible with just about every gaming platform out of the box, which is incredibly rare for a pair of headsets these days. The amount of cables is daunting at first, but the quick-start guide does a good job of helping you set up depending on which platform you’re gaming on.

Honestly, the first thing that struck me upon getting them out of the box is the fact that these don’t look like a gaming headset which is actually a good thing. Yes, they’re a little bulky but they look slick both in black and rose gold.

Not only is the headset stylish, it fits snug on your head. I wear glasses, so it’s important for a headset not to push too tightly on my head, a job that the LS30 exceeds at. In saying that, it’s equally important for them to stay on without falling down over time, a job that the LS30 also manages to nail.

One of my favourite things about the LS30, was just how easy it was to change both the chat and game audio. The left and right cups entirely make up dials which allow you to easily adjust both the chat and game audio based on which ear you twist. A small detail but an important one. There’s nothing worse than fiddling around looking to find volume controls. Similarly, you’re able to quickly mute your mic or game audio completely by pushing on the sides of the cup.

I’m not an audiophile, but the sound quality of the LS30 felt beyond anything else that I’ve used when gaming. The sound was crisp, whilst still remaining deep enough to the point that I felt every single gunshot. The microphone quality is another point that blew me away. You’re able to use a microphone with the boom mic or the inbuilt microphone, but it was the quality of the boom mic that wowed my entire party. Without me saying anything, they proceeded to ask why I sounded so good, before I quickly realised that I was wearing the LS30 for the first time.

Whilst it won’t be an important point for a lot of buyers, I thought that it was worth mentioning that the LS 30 headset works quite well with PlayStation VR. Connecting via the provided 3.5mm cable, you’re able to get 3D audio, which sounds absolutely glorious. The more important thing is that the headset is quite comfortable to wear on top of the PlayStation VR headset.

Another important sticking point is the incredible battery life which lasts about 15 hours. There’s nothing more frustrating than your headset dying mid-battle, which will be a rare occurrence with the LS 30. There’s no dock included in the box, so it’s a really good thing that the headset has a decent battery.

CONCLUSION

The LucidSound LS30 is a really solid headset. Coming in at $249AUD, you can definitely spend a lot less and a lot more on a pair of headset, but the LS30 feels well-priced for a wireless headset that is stylish, easy to use and has a brilliant battery. You won’t be disappointed.

The post LucidSound LS30 Review – A New Generation Of Premium Gaming Audio appeared first on Press Start.

Foul Play is a rather curious little side-scrolling brawler developed by the independent studio Mediatonic, originally released onto PC and Xbox 360 in 2013, but now freshly ported to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. It’s a neat, value-for-money package with an ingenious concept, but sadly doesn’t quite hit the mark.The game centres around of a series of theatrical plays, starring daemon-hunter, Baron Dashforth, and his side-kick, Scampwick, as them embark on a number of crusades (or plays) with an interconnected story. There’s not much in the way of story, but honestly more than I expected. It was easy enough to follow – a rare achievement for games of its genre – and had me engaged, without ever being memorable.I found the game’s concept far more interesting. As your staging a play, an audience is always visible in the foreground of the game. Combos, chained attacks and varied stunts will excite the crowd and generate you additional points and power ups. There’s no health meter perse, just a bar indicating audience satisfaction. As it dips lower, there is greater pressure to string together some attacks and get them off their feet again.This concept felt fresh and original, bring with it a number of nifty presentation elements that brought a smile to my face. Scenes are constructed by panels and backdrops on pulleys replicating an authentic theatre scene transition. Ever enemy you fight is really an actor in a costume, meaning the sea monsters and androids you fight are clearly just people in a budget costume. Defeated enemies often scramble off stage, or gets the Vaudeville Hook. Frequently, a moustached Stagehand can be spotted out of position or supporting cast forget lines. It’s unique and enjoyable, guaranteeing a chuckle or two.

The HUD is rather well designed too with all the information in regards to combos and power-ups clearly visible in the heat of battle. Reminders of the challenges you are able to complete in any given area pop-up, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to score some extra points and complete all aspects of the level.Unfortunately that’s the extent to which I can praise the game’s presentation. Sound design is sub-par, there’s not voice acting which would be forgivable if there was a more diverse and interesting soundtrack, or more variety of sound effects. Animations seemed stunted and textures occasionally lost resolution. The art style itself didn’t quite to it for me; part of me feels like the game would have suited a hand-drawn approach that was a little rougher around the edges, rather than the more polished digital approach.

I’m so thankful to see cloud saves there in the cross-play game but rather strangely it has trouble downloading the saves. Updating the save each time I booted up the game took a few attempts before it worked, which had me nervous it was going to lose my save file.The brawler gameplay mechanics are relatively tight. There is sufficient variety to your attacks and combos feel tight. The parrying system, which is central to the game’s combat, sadly is not as tight. You must hit the parry button for every enemy launching an attack; a single press of the parry button will not block simultaneous attacks, or a successful parry will not make you impervious to an attack soon after.The combat is simple and enjoyable, you can comfortably button mash you way through the game and I honestly found this passivity translated to easy fun without much frustration. There is very little variety to enemy types (there are essentially only three) and hence you’re never really asked to change your approach to combat. However, harder difficulties, heaps of challenges and a decent trophy list ensure heaps of replay-ability. I greatly appreciate seeing co-op, both locally and online. It’s a game well suited for smashing through with friends.Foul Play has a lot to like. It’s different, a simple source of fun, playable on both your PS4 and Vita, has co-op and substantial amounts of replay-ability. Ultimately, that makes it a package well worth its $14.95 AUD price tag. It doesn’t quite go the extra mile to a memorable, must-play experience – there are brawlers out there that I’d recommend more so that this one – but its theatrical approach is inventive enough that I definitely got a kick out of the game.

The post Foul Play Review appeared first on Press Start.

The GAEMS Vanguard is a serious piece of tech. The first thing you will notice upon taking the unit out of the box is just how sleek the device is. The hard shell of the exterior is incredible sturdy yet amazingly light-weight for what the unit is. The unit itself without any console is around 5kg. The device is incredibly easy to carry with either a shoulder strap or handle for carrying. The unit is built into fitting into your carry-on luggage. The case is extremely well-designed and doesn’t have any unnecessary components weighing it down, or making it any bigger than it needs to be.

Unfortunately the only issue that I had with the unit was opening and closing it. The unit uses two claps to secure it closed which open and shut easy enough but unfortunately, there is nothing to hold onto when opening the unit, which can sometimes be quite tricky. This won’t be an issue if you’re using the device for in one spot for long periods of time like I was.

Another small gripe that I have with the system is the inability to run the cords whilst the unit is closed. This is probably not something that a lot of people would have an issue with but i’d love to be able to close this up every night without having to unplug the cords and leaving them loose along the floor.

The GAEMS Vanguard sports a beautiful 19-inch 1080i LED screen. It is matte which means that it works well in direct sunlight and has a wide 170-degree viewing angle which makes it better than the stereotypical LED display. Input-wise, it features a HDMI port, two stereo output jacks and an AC out port. The buttons on the system allow you to adjust brightness, sound, turn the system on and off and and also navigate the menu.

The most surprising thing about the unit for me was the incredible stereo speakers. For such a small unit, they’re surprisingly rich in sound and add to the gaming experience. I assumed that i’d need to use headphones with it but this simply isn’t the case, they’re just as good, if not better as my TV speakers.

The Vanguard houses the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One complete with the ability to house one or two controllers and any necessary cords. Naturally, the Xbox One feels the most snug inside the device but it’s still completely useable. The PS4 fits very well also and goes nicely with the unit and considering the power-brick is internal, this suits the unit even better.

Using the Vanguard is incredibly simple; just plug your device in and turn the device on either by the power button located below the screen or via the small, yet functional remote. You’re able to modify the usual display and audio settings such as brightness, colour and contrast. Overall I found the screen quality to be exceptional. I was really worried that it’d be a worse gaming experience moving away from my high-end LED television but this simply wasn’t the case. I was just as happy sitting in front of the GAEMS Vanguard and actually felt that it was a completely immersive experience.

The unit is small enough when closed to fit under a couch, bed or basically anywhere else that you’d like to put it. My primary use for the Vanguard is probably different to a lot of other gamers and this is why I couldn’t recommend it enough. I live in a small apartment with only one TV and over the last month, the unit has changed my gaming life. I’m able to put this on the floor, or next to my bed and use any of my gaming consoles in order to play on an amazing quality screen at any time. I’ve been able to fit in so many lengthy gaming sessions that I wouldn’t have been able to fit in before.

The post Review: GAEMS Vanguard appeared first on Press Start.

The first reaction that you will have to the PlayStation TV is that it’s overwhelmingly small. The PlayStation TV sizes up at 65mm wide, 105mm tall and just 13.6mm deep. It weighs an almost unnoticeable 110 grams. Pictures really don’t do this little device justice. I can’t recall any other electronic device on the market that packs as much functionality as this does for the size. The Apple TV would be the thing closest to it in terms of functionality and size however it would still about 4-5 times the size.

The PlayStation TV has a smooth matte black finish with a simple Playstation logo embossed into the system. It’s extremely minimal and will hide within any entertainment setup. At the rear, the device sports a power button, ethernet port, HDMI port, power port and a proprietary Vita memory card slot. On the side is the Vita cart slot.

Included in the box is the unit itself, power cable, HDMI cable and a Vita case with 3 downloadable Vita games in it. These are OlliOlli, Worms Revolution Extreme and Velocity Ultra. In Australia, the device isn’t purchasable with any controller. The device is compatible with any Dualshock 3 or 4.

The device itself has 1gb of storage which is just enough to fit your 3 downloadable games and that’s it. This has been a major criticism of the Vita since the device launched and it’s even more present here. The device already comes in at $149.95 which is almost double what you can get the device for in other countries. Almost every single person that buys this device is going to need a Vita memory card of some sort which is going to set you back at least another $25. Add a controller for those casual entry level gamers and you’re going to be set back well over $200.

The PlayStation TV was originally branded as the Vita TV in Japan and for most hardcore gamers, that’s what this device will be. There are quite a few gems on Vita that gamers have sunk 100s of hours in to and would’ve loved nothing more than to be able to play these games on their TV. For games like Persona and Freedom Wars, this device is absolutely perfect. You’re able to sit down and play these great games for hours on end with the comfort of a Dualshock 4 controller. It’s also worth noting that it’s incredibly easy to then take your game on the go with either the use of the PS Plus Cloud OR by swapping your memory card back and fourth either ease.

The main feature of the PlayStation tv for myself was being able to Remote Play from my PS4 to another room. This has always worked great on my Vita however the lack of the R2/L2 triggers and clickable analogue sticks has always made it an underwhelming experience. You’re able to use Remote Play on the Playstation TV in 720p/30FPS but unfortunately it’s almost unusable when connecting wirelessly. I’m not really sure why this is the case as connection wise, it’s flawless on the Vita. It works great once connected via ethernet cord however this isn’t going to be a possible option for most people who want to use this in another room. Hopefully this can be smoothed out with further firmware updates.

Another oddity about the PlayStation TV is the lack of games that are compatible with the device. The first thing that I did when I got the device set up was put my 64gb Vita memory card in. It took me about 5-6 games before I finally found one that was compatible. Games such as Uncharted, Little Big Planet and Tearaway all aren’t supported on the PlayStation TV. I understand that a lot of these games rely heavily on the PS Vita features however it completely makes you wonder about why this device was created in the first place.

Thankfully, there are a number of PS1/PSP titles that make this worth purchasing to the ultimate casual gamer or possibly someone that wants something smaller in their bedroom without needing to move their PS4 away from their main theater system. The compatible with these systems are a lot better and there is a ton of great games to replay or discover for the first time.

Another missed opportunity with the device is the lack of entertainment functionality. It would be a much more compelling device to the casual gamer if there was the ability to access entertainment networks such as Foxtel, Netflix and a variety of Free-To-Air catchup services. A lot of people are yet to upgrade their TV so this would be a great way for people to spend a minimal amount of money in order to access a great all-rounded entertainment device. In America, the PS TV can be used for PlayStation Now. This is also a great use of the device as it allows gamers to play PS3 games via streaming. Hopefully once internet in Australia improves and the service becomes available, we’ll be able to take advtanage of it as well.

The PlayStation TV has the potential to be the perfect entry device into gaming. Unfortunately the lack of polish and available features as well as a slightly high price-point will keep it from reaching it’s ultimate potential in the short term. I’d still recommend it for the ultimate Vita RPG fan or those that want a PlayStation device in another room. I’d highly recommend that you check what’s compatible before purchasing.

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The D-Link DIR-868L follows the latest trend of design from D-Link. It’s cylindrical in shape and comes in white, black, red and blue. On the front of the router, there are two green LEDS that indicate power and internet status. There are no other status lights which is sure to annoy some people. On the back, there are four LAN ports, one WAN port, and a USB 3.0 port. There’s also a power button and a WPS button. Included in the box is the router, easy install guide, ethernet cable and AC adaptor.

The DIR-868 features dual band 2.4GHz and 5GHz. For those that aren’t aware, a 5 GHz signal that has low interference can carry up to 450mbps whilst a 2.4 GHz connection can carry up to 300mbps  but at a much larger range. It’s a well known fact that 5GHz works well when the device is in clear range of the router, but does not pass well through solid objects. D-Link give you the option to run both alongside each other or you’re able to turn them on and off individually from the back.

As with all of the latest D-Link routers, setting up the DIR-868L was incredibly easy. I was able to do this wirelessly from my computer but was also able to set the router up and also update it from an One-Touch iPhone app without the need for any computer. This was extremely beneficial to me as I don’t have any computers with ethernet ports.

I was able to use the DIR-868L with my NBN connection with absolutely no issues. Obviously the router is more than capable of working with a standard cable connection but getting connected with the NBN was as easy as plugging my ethernet cord into the WAN port.

The speeds from this router were some of the best that I have ever experienced. This is to be expected as the router uses AC1750 technology. In my smaller house, the router was absolutely more than necessary. Range was always at 100% and local speeds were at the fastest possible.

D-Link have also recently released a few other iPhone apps for their users. The mydlink Lite app allows you to connect monitor your network remotely as well as check current internet speeds. The D-Link SmartPlay app allows you to play videos off a connected USB or hard drive. Both apps work well without doing anything too extraordinary.

Gaming with the DIR-868L was an absolute joy. I had faced some problems with port blocking and disconnections with previous routers but I was extremely happy with the reliability of the router. Speed and range were never an issue.

The D-Link DIR-868 is one of the top of the line routers on the market. It’s a great looking router that I’d highly recommend to anybody who’s facing issues with range and speed when using there current router. It’s probably more than what most smaller households will need but if you’re looking for a router without having to worry about the technical side, the DIR-868L is definitely for you.

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