Hardware & Tech

Creative Pebble V2 Review – Small Yet Mighty

29Jan

By StuartNo Comments

Creative Pebble V2 Review – Small Yet Mighty

Creative is well known in the PC hardware market, for their affordable speakers as well as more high-end products. So when they reached out and said they had a set of the Pebble V2 that I could get my hands on, I jumped at the opportunity. So having received them just before Christmas it was time to put them to work through a multitude of scenarios. How did they sound? Well, let's take a deeper dive and find out! Features As with any speakers, generally, you look at performance overlooks (for the most part) and the Pebble V2 is no exception in this area. With a stereo 2.0 system in place, it uses USB-C to power that pair of 2" full-range drivers. Along with a high gain switch, so if your plugging the Pebble V2 into a 10W source then you will get the advantage of rich audio, with super...

Drown Tactile Headphones Preview – Audio Supercharged

9Dec

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Drown Tactile Headphones Preview – Audio Supercharged

While running the site here at Thumb Culture we have been lucky enough to get our hands on some great technology from some of the tippety top companies out there. From headphones to mice, we have sampled a very wide variety of hardware. In general you know kind of what to expect when something new comes onto the desk. Yes, there are different innovative technologies at work, but generally you know how to approach the review. Well, the innovative thinkers over at Drown may have just changed the headset/headphones game completely! Introducing the Drown Tactile Earphones! How are they different, I hear you asking? Well, let me try and explain in the most simplest to understand way. The Drown Tactile Earphones allow a higher level of precision when it comes to locating sounds relative to...

Qpad DX-80 Gaming Mouse – Sunglasses At The Ready!

3Dec

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech, PC Reviews

Qpad DX-80 Gaming Mouse – Sunglasses At The Ready!

The Qpad DX-80 gaming mouse, manufactured in the Czech Republic is the latest piece of hardware to be kindly received at TC HQ. Costing €49.90 direct from the Qpad website plus another €15 p&p to the UK, how does this multi-coloured mouse do? Starting with the packaging you can straight away see from the front what the RGB LED lit DX-80 is packing. We have an optical sensor, 7 buttons, upto 8000 dpi, a gold plated USB plug, 4000 frames per second and an onboard ARM processor. On the back of the box the spec is crammed 11 times in various languages, therefore, utilising a "one box for everywhere" design. Although this can be seen as a cost-saving, let's hope that this does not also reflect on the product itself. Sliding the ambidextrous DX-80 out from the box you are greet...

Roccat Horde Keyboard – Membranical To The Max

27Nov

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech, PC Reviews

Roccat Horde Keyboard – Membranical To The Max

When it comes to gaming keyboards you really only have one choice when it comes down to the best key actuation, and that is mechanical. Mechanical keys have always offered a faster response time than membrane when pressed, and tend to be on most gamer's desks. However, what if you cannot afford a mechanical gaming keyboard but would still like an upgrade on your quieter membrane version? Enter the Roccat Horde membranical gaming keyboard! No, I didn't just make up that word! Roccat has designed a wired gaming keyboard that allows the keys to have a fast midway actuation which in simple terms means that when you press a key, the fast response will allow the signal to be registered quicker than on a standard membrane keyboard. According to Roccat, the Horde will respond at 7.8ms ...

Roccat Khan AIMO Headset – Multi Directional Marvel

20Nov

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Roccat Khan AIMO Headset – Multi Directional Marvel

Back in 2018, Roccat brought out a successor to the Khan Pro headset, effectively upgrading from a stereo speaker system to an all-singing all-dancing Hi-Res 7.1 surround sound monster, also with the addition of some funky RGB lighting. Having a pretty basic soundcard on my PC, I was keen to see how the Roccat Khan AIMO would enhance my immersion when playing games as well as listening to movies. Shut your eyes, crank up that volume and let's dive in! Design & Comfort The Roccat Khan AIMO does not look massively spectacular as you remove it from the box. On first perception, there is a lot of black plastic and plush leather which did not make me want to say "wow look at these!" straightaway. The rigid mic boom can be swiveled from it's upright position (mic muted) to it's low...

Roccat Kain 120 AIMO Review – Is This Perfection?

15Nov

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech, PC Reviews

Roccat Kain 120 AIMO Review – Is This Perfection?

Following on from the news back in August of Roccat's latest gaming mice, we have been lucky enough at TC HQ to obtain a Kain 120 AIMO to take for a test slide. Straight from the box the wired gaming mouse has a good weight to it, 89g to be exact. It doesn't feel too heavy to slide around, nor does it feel like a plastic box of air. The rubber gliders on the underside do a great job of allowing the mouse feel frictionless as it travels across the mousepad. The height of the mouse is a pleasant 4.3cm while the width is 6.5cm and the length is 12.4cm. It feels just the right size below my large hand. The Kain 120 AIMO comes with a 1.8m braided usb cable, great if your PC is on the floor or on the other side of the desk. The Kain 120 AIMO glows beautifully alongside the keyboar...

Razer Kraken TE Headset Review – Music To Your Ears

20May

By Stuart1 Comment

Gaming, Hardware & Tech

Razer Kraken TE Headset Review – Music To Your Ears

Having had the opportunity to try out a number of different headsets over the past 2 years, I jumped at the opportunity to get my hands on the new and updated Razer Kraken Tournament Edition headset. Receiving the box was almost like a birthday gift from an old friend, with its standard packaging including its "Welcome to Razer" letter making you feel right at home. Then came the first glimpse into the beauty of the Razer Kraken headset. With its bright green colour, it does come in other colours including the new Quartz range, it was a joy to look at. Being a fan of bright colours, this instantly became my favourite headset to use day to day. Being bright green is all fun and everything, but you came here to read about what the headset can do...right? Features So having a l...

Razer Cynosa Chroma Keyboard Review – Tappity Tappy Tap

14May

By StuartNo Comments

Gaming, Hardware & Tech

Razer Cynosa Chroma Keyboard Review – Tappity Tappy Tap

In a world dominated by which switches your mechanical keyboard has, and the aim to get the most accurate keypresses, it always amazes me when a company like Razer stays true to keyboards of old and releases a membrane keyboard. Yes a membrane keyboard, or to the lesser informed, a keyboard. We received the Cynosa Chroma recently and we wanted to see if it could replace our current keyboard (Razer Huntsman - read our review here) and become our everyday keyboard. Features Diving straight into what is considered to be the main features of the Razer Cynosa Chroma Soft cushioned keys with gaming-grade performance 104 individually customizable backlit keys Spill-resistant durable design 10 key roll-over with anti-ghosting The keys are the first thing that you would notice...

Roccat Suora FX Gaming Keyboard Review – Keystroke of Genius?

15Oct

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Roccat Suora FX Gaming Keyboard Review – Keystroke of Genius?

When it comes to building a gaming rig most of the money goes into the graphics card, cpu, ram and sexy 4K screen before there has been any consideration for the peripherals that you will be using to input your every command into your machine. The interface that you choose may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things however you could not be further from the truth when it comes to the ways they can be customised to ensure that you are playing at top efficiency. For mice I recently took a look at the Roccat Kone Aimo Gaming Mouse and was wowed at the different configurations that were possible when gaming to make the experience so much smoother. For the last few weeks I have been using the Roccat Suora FX Gaming Keyboard and it is seriously something else. The first thin...

Razer Seiren X Gaming Microphone Review – Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

19Jul

By StuartNo Comments

Gaming, Hardware & Tech

Razer Seiren X Gaming Microphone Review – Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

So we recently got our hands on the Razer Seiren X Gaming microphone and put it to work straight away. In The Box So as always with every Razer product, the unboxing is a very nice experience. Sliding back the flaps....on the box you are greeted with the standard "Welcome to the Razer Family" message, underneath you find the Razer Seiren X microphone, sitting there all pristine and delicious. Its cylindrical shape and solid metal base gives that premium feel, so when its sitting in front of you on your desk, you know you are in for a treat of an experience. Setting Up Setting up the Razer Seiren X couldn't be easier. Screw the base into the main unit, unless you are going to mount it on a boom arm, then using the bundled USB cable, you just stick it in.....Let your computer do its thin...