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Reviews, tutorials and articles about hardware components, laptops, smartphones, computers, and gadgets of all kinds. Learn how to manage your hardware and its settings.

HyperX Pulsefire FPS review: Aim or twitch, the end will always be a frag

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston, is well known for its high-quality RAM, flash memory sticks, and gaming headsets. We've also seen them design and create a mechanical keyboard recently, but we've never seen a gaming mouse coming out of their factories. Things have changed for the better and this spring the company did that too. The first gaming mouse bearing the HyperX logo is called HyperX Pulsefire FPS, and

Reviewing the ASUS ROG Strix Impact - A "no-fuss, no-frills" gaming mouse

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
The ASUS ROG Strix Impact is one of the newest additions to the family of gaming accessories of the Republic of Gamers brand. It is a what you would call an entry-level gaming mouse, without the bells and whistles of its pricier brethren. But does that make it an uninspiring choice? Not necessarily! Here's what the ASUS ROG Strix Impact gaming mouse has to offer, along with an affordable price:

Reviewing the TP-Link UP525 Fast USB Charger - Quick charge your family's gadgets

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
We received an interesting device for testing, called TP-Link 5-Port Fast USB Charger (UP525). As its name accurately suggests, this is a charger that allows you to simultaneously charge up to five different devices using USB cables. The manufacturing company also says that it benefits from an exclusive technology that allows it to fast charge - up to 65% faster than normal - the devices connected to it. We used

What is exFAT and why is it useful?

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
Did you hear about exFAT? It is the new kid in town when it comes to file systems that are used on flash drives and mobile devices. If you are both a Windows and a Mac OS user, you are probably familiar with exFAT, but if you are not, chances are you have never used this file system. Either way, if you want to know what it is, when and

Microsoft ships the new Surface Pro. 11 things you need to know!

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
As of June 15th, 2017, Microsoft ships the new Surface Pro, which everyone thought would be named Surface Pro 5. Microsoft has decided to quit numbering this device, and it offers a new version, without any number attached to its name, but with many improvements. If you want to see what is new about the Surface Pro and whether it fits your needs, read this article: [DC-SUMMARY-BREAK] First, the Surface

Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition review - What does the 2017 update improve?

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
Aspire V 17 Nitro is Acer's top laptop series designed for gamers who are interested in the ultimate performance at a reasonable price. The series is not new and it has recently received a refresh. In 2017, Acer bundles the latest Kaby Lake processors from Intel, as well as the latest graphics card from NVIDIA. We received for testing one of the best models that Acer has produced, with highly

Kingston DataTraveler microDuo 3C - Dual memory stick with USB Type C and USB 3.0 connectivity

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
USB Type-C is getting a lot of traction, and it is used on many smartphones, tablets, and ultrabooks. Even gaming laptops now include a USB Type-C port. This new port is tiny, fast and it can also be used for charging your devices. However, it poses one challenge: you can't use traditional USB flash drives on computers and devices that have USB Type-C. To respond to this challenge, Kingston has

Game Mode in Windows 10: Testing real-life performance in modern games

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
One of the most marketed features of Windows 10 Creators Update is the new Game Mode. This feature promises to improve the gaming experience for all the Windows 10 users, regardless of whether they have a new high-end computer or an older, slower device. What's not clear though is whether Game Mode actually works and helps increase the number of frames per second rendered by the games you play. As

Reviewing the Samsung 750 EVO - high-performance for moderate pricing

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
Solid state drives (SSD) are one of the best solutions for improving the performance and the speed of our computers. That's because they are always faster than traditional hard drives with spinning discs. One of the major SSD manufacturers today is Samsung, a company which is known by everyone, especially for their smartphones. These last few days, we tested their Samsung 750 EVO solid state drive: a device that promises
tutorial 11 things you can do to fix webcam issues on Skype

11 things you can do to fix webcam issues on Skype

Are you having problems with your webcam while using Skype? You can hear the people to whom you speak, but they can't see you? Or maybe the only thing they can see are blurred lines or gray images? Whether you use an external webcam that's connected to a USB port on your computer, or you rely on the built-in webcam from your notebook, there

Reviewing the HyperX Alloy FPS mechanical gaming keyboard: minimalism always wins!

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
When we hear about HyperX, we instantly think about memory modules, solid state drives or USB flash drives. But, in the last few years, Kingston - the mother company - decided it was time for HyperX to become a brand known worldwide for gaming accessories too. We recently saw their Cloud Stinger gaming headset at work, and we were pleased with what it had to offer. As you can imagine,

Reviewing the Acer Aspire VX 15 - Redefining the price per performance ratio

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
Not long ago, Acer released one of their first gaming laptops of 2017: the Acer Aspire VX 15. It's a machine that packs powerful hardware and promises that it won't empty all your pockets. We received it for testing over the last week and, after playing a lot on it, and putting it to the test against more than a few benchmarking apps, we are now ready to share our
article What are the F1, F2, F3 to F12 keyboard keys used for?

What are the F1, F2, F3 to F12 keyboard keys used for?

If you have used a computer, then you have also used a computer keyboard. And if that's true, you surely saw and probably also used its function keys. They are the F1, F2 to F12 keys that are found on the top row of most keyboards. Although you're likely to know what a few of these keys do, there could be some F keys

How many key presses and mouse clicks do you perform in a day?

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
Do you need to know how many keys you press in a day? What about how many clicks you make with your mouse? Do you want to get stats about how you use your computer? Luckily, there is an app called WhatPulse which works on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, that you can use to gather the necessary data to answer these questions. Here's how it works and what

Reviewing the IronKey D300 - Durability meets hardware encryption!

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
IronKey is a solid brand in the world of data privacy and security. The company develops mostly encrypted storage solutions like USB memory sticks. Since February 2016, they have been acquired by Kingston and now they have also entered the retail space. One of the first few encrypted USB drives that are aimed both at consumers and businesses is the IronKey D300. It's a USB 3.0 memory stick that's waterproof,

How to troubleshoot problems with the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
Not many people know about the DirectX Diagnostic Tool ( dxdiag.exe ) that is included in every modern version of Windows. With it, you can identify the source of the problems you may have with the hardware used by multimedia applications, such as video games or audio and video players. In this tutorial you will learn how to start the DirectX Diagnostic Tool and how to use it to gather

Review Mio Cyclo 200 - Is it the best in bicycle navigation?

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
Are you into cycling? Do you ride your bike frequently? Have you considered purchasing a GPS device for tracking your rides and getting instructions on how to go to one place or another? Do you want a device that you can mount on your bike and use to navigate through cycling trails? If you do, then you've no doubt encountered products like Mio Cyclo 200, which promises the best experience

Review Mio Spirit 8500 LM - A good GPS car navigation system and travel companion

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
It's been awhile since we've looked at a GPS car navigation system from a critic's point of view, but that time has finally come, as a few weeks ago we received the new Mio Spirit 8500 LM for testing . This one's a device that is yet to be found in stores , but which will soon be and which promises to be big and fast, as well as forever
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