Tag Archives: Review

The Germans have gone budget. be quiet! has launched its new Pure Base 600 case as an entry-level model that sits below the Silent Base and Dark Base cases we saw in 2016 and 2017. As you will see in our video, our initial impressions were a bit … glum. …

In an increasingly saturated peripheral market, it can be hard for a new manufacturer to stand out and get some attention. ThunderX3, a subsidiary of Aerocool, are hoping that their TM50 mouse – complete with an Avago 3310 optical sensor, RGB lighting and an aluminium base – will be able to …

Many graphics card manufacturers now sell ‘hybrid' cards – cards which make use of a closed loop cooler as well as a traditional blower-style fan. Rather than shelling out the extra cash for one of those cards, however, Arctic think you should buy their Accelero Hybrid III-140 kit. It is designed …

iKBC are a Taiwanese company who are working with SeaSonic to bring their keyboards to market. Today we are looking at their F87 and F108 keyboards – the only difference between the two is that the F87 is 80% sized while the F108 is a full size board. As such, …

MSI's Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon is the company's take on a mid-range motherboard with features that will appeal to gamers. Noteworthy inclusions are a comprehensive set of RGB LEDs spread across the board, a design which caters for dual-GPU gamers, and the company's smart M.2 Shield cooling plate. You can …

While many peripheral makers are currently chasing down the RGB trend, there is still plenty of room in the market for a standard mechanical keyboard. Today, we are taking a look at the Speedlink Ultor, a mechanical keyboard offering up red switches, macro support and more, all wrapped up in …

In an increasingly saturated peripheral market, HyperX are hoping their new Cloud Stinger can become the ‘go-to' headset if you are on a budget. Priced at £49.99, it comes in cheaper than the acclaimed Cloud and Cloud II headsets while keeping familiar features from those devices, including memory foam ear pads …

Designed as an affordable and powerful NAS, the 2-bay TS-231P is the mid-range model of QNAP's latest family of NAS drives aimed at SOHO/Home use, the TS-x31P series. It's sandwiched between the single bay TS-131P and the flagship 4-bay TS-431P. All three models in the range are powered by an …

The storage arm of Corsair has been pretty quiet over the last few months; the last drive we looked at was the Neutron XTi high-end drive back in July 2016. But they are back with a bang at the sharp end with the Force MP500, the fastest SSD drive they …

You would be forgiven for not having heard of ThunderX3 – they are a subsidiary of case manufacturer Aerocool, with a distinct focus on the peripheral market. Today we are looking at the TH40 headset, notably equipped with LED earcups. Priced at just under the £50 mark, this headset faces …

The Corsair Scimitar Pro RGB is designed to be the pinnacle of the high-functioning, MMO/MOBA gaming mouse. It is engineered to provide high-speed, accurate movements, with double digit re-mappable buttons for almost unprecedented levels of functionality. The only reason I say ‘almost', is because the original Corsair Scimitar that we reviewed …

On the face of it, the new MasterBox 5t case from Cooler Master looks interesting because it is superficially similar to the much more expensive MasterCase Maker 5t with its nifty black and red colour scheme. The idea, clearly, is that enthusiasts who are in the market for a proper …

Gigabyte is introducing its Aorus brand to the desktop components market in an effort to segregate its higher-end product offerings. Aorus is to Gigabyte what ROG is to ASUS, or at least that's what the board maker is aiming for. We examine the high-end Aorus Z270X-Gaming 7 which is packed …

DinoPC has unleashed its latest Raptor gaming PC to coincide with CES in Las Vegas and the launch of Intel 7th Generation CPU technology aka Kaby Lake. The DinoPC Raptor 2 uses Core i7-7700K with dual GTX 1080 graphics cards, all wrapped up in a liquid cooling system that aims …

Kaby Lake is upon us. With Intel killing off its Tick-Tock product cycle in 2016, Kaby Lake ushers in the new ‘Optimisation' phase of a Process-Architecture-Optimisation strategy. What does that mean? Kaby Lake is effectively a barely tweaked version of Skylake which uses Intel's optimised 14nm+ process technology resulting in …

The Gigabyte Ultra Gaming motherboard is a fairly new model which was first released for the Z170 chipset shortly after Computex 2016. Only half a year later and Gigabyte has released a Z270 variant of the Ultra Gaming, the Z270X-Ultra Gaming, to coincide with the launch of Intel's new Kaby …

Today sees the launch of Intel's new Z270 chipset and the Kaby Lake CPUs. There's no change to the LGA 1151 socket but the new chipset brings with it additional features that may tempt users into an upgrade over their ageing system. ASRock's Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming K6 sits towards the …

The Maximus IX Formula is the latest top-tier ASUS Republic of Gamers motherboard for Intel's new Kaby Lake CPUs and Z270 chipset. While below the Maximus IX Extreme in the ROG product hierarchy, the Formula is likely to be more popular as it targets a lower price, has a more …

QNAP's latest TVS NAS series, the TVS-473 sits under the company's SMB midrange label and is available as four, six and eight-bay units. The TVS-473 is the 4-bay entry level model of the series; a 4-bay NAS that so packed full of features it can be used for just about …

The Edifier CineSound B3 soundbar is designed to sit under (or above) your TV and deliver noticeably improved audio playback – when compared to your TV's inbuilt speakers. However, it also offers Bluetooth functionality, allowing you to connect a phone, tablet or what-have-you and use it for general music playback, …

Corsair produces excellent, high-end gaming peripherals but it knows not everyone will want to spend £70 on a mouse or £150 on a keyboard. Enter the Corsair Harpoon RGB- this mouse comes with the multi-coloured lighting of high-end gaming peripherals, without the monstrous price tag. At just £28, the Harpoon is one …

Biostar isn't the first brand that comes to mind for a mid-range gaming motherboard as the big four, ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI, dominate this segment. However, with the Racing Z170 GT7 motherboard Biostar is throwing its hat into the ring. Biostar's Racing Z170 GT7 isn't just another mid-range gaming …

PNY might be a new comer to the world of peripheral making, but it is gunning hard for the competitive market of gaming mice with its first effort: the Riot 01. It has an eye catching colour scheme, an ergonomic shape and some neat lighting options that are rather impressive …

Kolink may be a new name to many KitGuru readers, but today we are looking at their Aviator V case. Priced at £46.99 it is aimed squarely at the budget audience, but still has some exciting features to offer. First and foremost of these is the panoramic acrylic side panel, …

Very rarely in the world of PC tech does a product come along and win universal acclaim. The original Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is one such product, having built up a legendary status over the past few years. It has won our KitGuru Reader Award for best CPU air …

The Raijintek Paean is a case/test bench aimed at the enthusiast watercooling market. I say ‘case/test bench' as it is a halfway house between the two – it can be laid horizontally, allowing easy access to the motherboard, or vertically, as with a traditional chassis. Either way, the Paean is an open frame chassis …

Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5t (the ‘t’ stands for Turbo) can trace its heritage directly from the original MasterCase 5 via the Pro 5 to the Maker 5. The most obvious visual change to previous models is the addition of glass panels on both side of the case. Maker 5 …

While we usually tend to focus on gaming peripherals for the PC specifically, today we are taking a look at the Kingston HyperX CloudX Headset, a revision of the Cloud II designed with the Xbox One in mind. The HyperX Cloud II is widely considered to be one of the …

EKWB are a well-known brand in the enthusiast PC market. Their custom watercooling gear looks amazing and is of top quality – but for a beginner, building a custom loop can be a daunting and confusing process. That is why EKWB have released their Predator 280 all-in-one cooler – it is …

There are three main types of TFT panel in regular use – TN, IPS/PLS and VA – and none of them are perfect for every situation. Like IPS/PLS, the VA type isn’t so often found in gaming monitors because of slow pixel response and motion artefacts, although its contrast, black …