The near-simultaneous launches of Windows 10 and Intel’s Skylake processors means a new generation of hardware and software is upon us. The Z170 chipset in particular which has launched with Skylake brings a new set of technologies to desktop computers, particularly faster M.2 PCI-Express storage and DDR4 memory. Chillblast has …
Read More »PowerNAS Business Mini Review
If you are a fan of model names that describe a product in a fair amount of detail then the PowerNAS Business Mini will be right up your street. PowerNAS offers three families of NAS and this model is loaded with Windows Server 2012 R2 for the business market. It …
Read More »How does Metal Gear Solid V hold up on the PC?
Konami gave us plenty of cause for concern in the run up to the launch of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The unexpected drama that has occurred between Hideo Kojima and Konami in recent months cast some doubt over the final product, particularly where the PC port is concerned. …
Read More »Review a 120GB, 240GB and 480GB OCZ Trion SSD with KitGuru
Is your rig running a little slow? Have you been holding off on investing in an SSD? Then we have the perfect competition for you as we are giving away three OCZ Trion SSDs! All we ask in return is that you provide a ‘reader review' of the hardware. We …
Read More »Silverstone Case, PSU and cooling competition winner announced
Although KitGuru may give away a Steam game to a smart-aleck caption writer every single week, we also run much bigger and more elaborate competitions with more impressive prizes. Like the Silverstone giveaway of a Milo ML06-E mini ITX chassis, 450w SFX 80Plus Gold rated Power Supply and Argon AR06 Low …
Read More »KitGuru Complete Guide to Workstations – Part 4
So far in this series, we have made some initial tests and conclusions about the balance between CPU and graphics in a workstation, and then focused specifically on the types of application covered by the industry-standard SPECviewperf 12.02 tests. In this article, we turn our attention to two very significant …
Read More »Amkov AMK5000S 1080p Sports Action Camera Review
You can spend a small fortune on an action cam or you score this Amkov AMK5000S for £70 in the UK. Indeed Gearbest, the company that sent us the AMK5000S, sells the cam for US$70 which is even cheaper. That's pretty amazing when you consider the package includes a waterproof …
Read More »Tesoro Kuven Pro 5.1 Gaming Headset Review
Today we are going to take a look at one of the latest headsets from Tesoro, the Kuven Pro. It seeks to differentiate itself from the competition through a ‘real 5.1 surround sound' offering which features a series of four separate driver units within each earcup to mimic a surround …
Read More »Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI Motherboard Review
Gigabyte's Z170XP-SLI is aiming to tempt users looking for a motherboard that offers the Z170 platform's core features, but without requiring a significant cash outlay. In the Z170XP-SLI, Gigabyte offers one of the lowest cost boards to support SLI, while also retaining features such as USB 3.1, USB Type-C, and …
Read More »Asus ZenBook UX305 Ultrabook Review
The ZenBook UX305 is the latest Ultrabook offering from Asus. When I last reviewed one of their products – the hybrid T300 Chi – it greatly impressed me. The UX305 is a similar device, with a Core M processor, 8GB RAM and another SanDisk M.2 SSD. This time, however, it …
Read More »Logitech G303 Daedalus Apex RGB Mouse Review
Earlier on in the year we took a look at the Logitech G302, the first mouse from the company to use its new spring tension system for more responsive button clicks. However, it did have some limitations with a low DPI setting and a lack of lighting customization. Today, we are …
Read More »Jam Titanium Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Speaker Review
When it comes to buying a wireless speaker to give your smartphone a little more oomph whilst playing music, many people merely look at the price and buy the most affordable one. However that is not going to do justice to the ever improving media quality that is available to consumers, …
Read More »Seagate Personal Cloud 2 Bay Review
The Personal Cloud from Seagate is essentially a NAS system, but it is not marketed as such. Aimed at families, it allows users to store all their files in a central location and access them anywhere. With plug-and-play functionality, you simply attach the Personal Cloud to your router via an …
Read More »Cooler Master MasterCase 5 & Pro 5 Review
At KitGuru we have covered MasterCase 5 from the time it appeared at Computex and again during our recent visit to the Cooler Master European HQ. It has been a long few months and now it is time to get away from words about concepts and instead dish up a …
Read More »First they came for the cheaters. Why Ashley Madison hack is bad news
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a socialist,” begins the poetic version of Pastor Martin Niemöller's famous statement about the cowardice of German intellectuals during the rise of the Nazi party. It's a speech that has many applications when the topic of free …
Read More »Palit GTX 950 2GB StormX Dual Review
Nvidia has launched the GTX 950 to combat AMD's R7 370 at the £129 price point. We take a look at Palit's factory-overclocked, dual-fan GTX 950 2GB StormX Dual graphics card to see what sort of performance the solution can offer. We have taken a more in-depth look at the …
Read More »Asus STRIX Gaming GTX 950 2GB DC2 OC Review
Nvidia's Maxwell GPU architecture has been well-received by enthusiasts and gamers. One of the most promising features for Nvidia has been the architecture's ability to scale positively from low-end to high-end hardware, showing competitive performance and positive power consumption numbers along the way. But the gap between a £100 GTX …
Read More »DinoPC Raptor Watercooled System Review
The Raptor is a watercooled gaming system from DinoPC that combines an unlocked Haswell-E Core i7 with dual GTX 980Ti graphics cards. That's an overclocked CPU with an extra Gigahertz of grunt and two overclocked graphics cards, each running at 1220MHz instead of the usual 1000MHz. Speed is very much …
Read More »Ozone Argon Gaming Mouse Review
eSports is becoming more and more popular by the day and in turn, so are team-based competitive games. This is something that gaming peripheral companies have definitely noticed. Today, we are taking a look at the Ozone Argon, an ambidextrous mouse aimed at competitive gamers. There are two variants of this …
Read More »Vodafone Smart Prime 6 Smartphone Review
Only a few weeks ago we took a look at the Smart ultra 6 – a great smartphone from Vodafone, which has unbelievable power for a fantastic price. Today we review its smaller brother, the Smart prime 6. Priced at £80, it is £45 cheaper than the ultra 6. Is …
Read More »Win a stunning Deepcool Tristellar case, 750W PSU and Liquid Cooler
Without doubt, one of the most unusual chassis we have ever seen in the KitGuru Labs is the Deepcool Tristellar. It combines unique styling with solid engineering and the ability to comfortably integrate proper gaming hardware – for a price. But this sort of chassis shouldn't be restricted to reviewers and those with …
Read More »Give MSI a shout out and you will be rewarded
This is a big summer for system builders thanks to the recent launch of Intel's Skylake processors and the Z170 platform. If you happen to be jumping on the Skylake bandwagon with an MSI Z170 motherboard, then MSI would like to hear your feedback and in exchange, you could win …
Read More »ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6+ Motherboard Review
Exploiting the Skylake CPUs for their allure to gamers, ASRock's Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6+ is a motherboard that targets the enthusiast gaming audience by offering a wide range of the bells and whistles they may desire. Can pumped-up audio, a Killer NIC, strong multi-GPU support, and high-speed storage interfaces persuade …
Read More »Cherry MX 6.0 Keyboard Review
Cherry is a name that should be familiar to any PC user. It makes the MX switches which have shown up in just about every gamer and typist's high-end keyboard over the past decade. Today we look at a board of its own design, featuring the same switches with a brand new …
Read More »Seagate 2TB Backup Plus Slim Portable Drive Review
The Seagate 2TB Backup Plus Slim Portable Drive is, as you have probably figured out, a 2TB USB 3.0 external hard drive. Aimed squarely at the modern computer user, it is thin, portable and even allows users to back up their phone's storage over WiFi. Priced at a shade under £75, …
Read More »QNAP TS-453mini NAS Review
It may not be immediately apparent that the QNAP TS-453mini is a NAS that accommodates up to four 3.5-inch hard drives. Its tiny footprint (200mmx151mm) requires the bare minimum of shelf space, however that isn't the natural environment for this particular NAS. Take a look on the rear and you'll …
Read More »Corsair Gaming STRAFE mechanical keyboard review
Corsair Gaming dismayed long-time fans last year when it dropped its famous sales logo in favour of a tribal tattoo. Following fan outrage however, it has made a comeback on the latest line up of products, like the STRAFE gaming keyboard that we are looking at today. Featuring everyone's favourite Cherry …
Read More »Asus EA-AC87 4×4 wireless bridge review
Supporting 4×4 quad-stream 802.11ac speeds, the Asus EA-AC87 is a wireless bridge that’s designed to compliment the RT-AC87U router, as one of the few ways to get the fastest possible performance from it. It’s capable of more than that, as it also doubles up as an access point, used to …
Read More »OCUK Titan Riptide X99 System Review
Intel launched Skylake this week and obviously much of KitGuru's focus has been on the new architecture and supporting motherboards from partners such as ASUS. But what if you need more processing cores and a gaming system that has greater potential to double up as a personal workstation? Overclockers UK …
Read More »KitGuru Complete Guide to PC Workstations – Part 3
In the second part of this series, we presented some initial tests to illustrate how CPU and graphics can affect different types of performance in a PC workstation. In this third part, we focus down on one particular, industry-standard benchmark that puts a workstation through a range of tests with …
Read More »