Hardware & Tech

16Mar

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

HyperX Cloud Stinger Headset Review

HyperX is the manufacturer of some of the best gaming headsets out there, and I’ve had the opportunity of testing this amazing bit of kit that is a must for your gaming needs; also your head will thank you but, we will get more into that later. The Cloud Stinger has been a consideration for serious gamers on a budget for some time now, and for good reason — the headphones come at only £50 but, are they worth it, or should you keep saving up? I put them to the test to find out. Specifications The HyperX Cloud Stinger gaming headset has the following features and specifications: Lightweight headset with 90-degree rotating ear cups 50mm directional drivers for audio precision HyperX signature memory foam Adjustable steel slider Intuitive volume c...

15Feb

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Razer Raiju Review – Taking Control

We recently got the chance to have an extended time with the Razer Raiju controller and what better way to report the findings back to you, than to write a review! After all it's kind of our thing here....reviews. In The Box So first things first, inside the box you get a nice little note from Razer saying thanks for purchasing your new Razer Raiju controller. This is a neat little touch and brings a little bit of humanity to the product and the company. So moving deeper we find a case to store your Razer Raiju inside and keep safe, a USB braided cable that slots into the back of the controller, a small screw driver for removing those extra buttons on the back and then the standard Razer stickers for adorning your walls, ceiling, furniture or cat. Thumb Culture in no way endors...

5Feb

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Snakebyte Pro Range Review

Recently through the Thumb Culture door came the Snakebyte PRO range of products, this included a keyboard, mouse and a nice mouse pad, apparently all designed for the pro gamer. Now whilst I am definitely not a pro gamer, I thought it would be poignant to take each of these products for a ride in the day to day working that goes on in my office. Including some graphics design, video editing as well as general internet stuff and a splattering of gaming here and there. Let's dive into the snake pit and take a look at the products. Snakebyte Key:Board PRO With mechanical feel keys this keyboard definitely gives a satisfying click to your key presses, although when you are typing a document out this clicking can be a little annoying, but eventually you get desensitised to the sound and ...

Razer Thresher 7.1 Review – Is it a cut above the rest?

24Jan

By Stuart2 Comments

Hardware & Tech

Razer Thresher 7.1 Review – Is it a cut above the rest?

After taking the delivery of the Razer Thresher 7.1 Wireless headset I was excited to see what they sounded like. Along with the quick facts on the box promising up to 16 hours of charge, lag-free wireless and a retractable boom mic I was excited. Was my excitement short lived or did Razer deliver a great headset, lets find out Build First off the bat lets talk about the construction. Taking the unit out of the box I was surprised at how light the headset was, compared to my current headset (Turtle Beach Stealth 520) it feels a crazy amount lighter. The construction is mostly plastic, but this doesn't mean that the product feels cheap, quite the opposite in fact. It looks premium, it feels sturdy and I didn't feel that at any time the plastic would snap or shear off. With noise-isolating...

Official Sony PlayStation Gaming Glasses Review

9Nov

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech, PlayStation Reviews

Official Sony PlayStation Gaming Glasses Review

Recently through the post at Thumb Culture we received a pair of the Official Sony PlayStation Gaming Glasses, designed by our good friends over at Numskull and delivered from our pals over at Yellow Bulldog. They looked good and with the promise of reducing eye strain on my gaming marathons, what isn't to like about these. Let's take a closer look. On the packaging of the Gaming Glasses we are given an insight into what these revolutionary goggles are designed to do for you. Lot's of taglines that could all be total horse doo-dee but lets see, Improve Vision, Play Harder, Play Longer. These are a few of the killer lines that get gamers' excited I guess. But what do they mean! Play Longer - Lightweight and stylish frame for prolonged comfort during marathon gaming sessions. Imp...

7Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Recon 150 Vs XO Three – The Showdown

Turtle Beach have given us two headsets to compare and see which is better for you the consumer. There are a number of factors to take into account for headsets. I'm going to look at the things that you ask us here at Thumb Culture all the time. Things like Design, Build Quality, Sound Quality and Comfort. Today I am comparing the Turtle Beach Recon 150 Headset aimed at the PC and PlayStation Market and the Turtle Beach XO Three Headset aimed at the Xbox One and PC Market. Both headsets are recommended for ages 13+ for some reason. Design First thing with both Turtle Beach headsets are they look identical except for the colour scheme. The Turtle Beach Recon 150 are black with blue and the Turtle Beach XO Three are black and a fluorescent yellow/green. The design of both Turtle Bea...

Fanatec CSL Elite Wheel Review – What A Wheel

12Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Fanatec CSL Elite Wheel Review – What A Wheel

Having spent a number of hours, a large number of hours racing using the Fanatec CSL Elite wheel it was about time I gave my review of the hardware. Firstly I need to say a big thank you to the people over at Fanatec for being so generous with their hardware and providing us a CSL Elite setup and for making this article series possible. Videos will be going up on the YouTube channel which will include unboxing and setup as well as just some random fun videos that hopefully you will enjoy. Thanks and enjoy the article. Now this review is going to vary from the usual reviews you will see on the site and I will attempt to split it into a few different categories. So bear with me as this all comes together. First Impressions When you start to open the box on your shiny new CSL Elite wheel...

Steering Wheel Series – The Fanatec Hardware

15Sep

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Steering Wheel Series – The Fanatec Hardware

Having been a huge fan of the racing game genre for a long time, I consider myself to be a decent racer when it comes to using the controller. Playing games like Project Cars, Driveclub, GT, and many more, I always felt like something was missing. Could a steering wheel make me better? This was a big question that always rocked around inside my head, and finally i decided to find out. After reaching out to the good people at Fanatec who generously donated some brilliant hardware it was time to finally find out if using a wheel made me better. The Hardware For this I am using the Fanatec CSL Elite PS4 Starter Kit, with an additional Loadcell kit. To those of you that aren't familiar with this allow me to elaborate. The Fanatec CSL Elite Racing wheel is officially licensed for use...

A Journey Of Headset Discovery – Which One Will You Choose?

9Dec

By StuartNo Comments

Features, Hardware & Tech

A Journey Of Headset Discovery – Which One Will You Choose?

So with all the talk surrounding 4k, HDR, Pixel count, something seems to have been under the radar for a while and that is your ears. Not yours specifically, but the stuff that goes into them...more precisely sound. There are so many different options out there and at massively differing price points its a scary world to decide what headset you want to buy with your hard-earned money. Then you have to decide which brand you are going to ally with, be it Astro's, Turtle Beach, Razer, Tritton, Senheisser or Sony (other brands are available). Once you have a rough idea of who you want to go with then you have to think about what can that headset do for you, be it surround sound in differing levels and qualities, then do you have a closed cup or open cup headset. As you can imagine the hea...