Hardware & Tech

6Nov

By StuartNo Comments

HYTE X50 Air PC Case Review

You might have seen HYTE doing the rounds on social media. Showing off cases with fancy screens on the side, all made of glass. In fact you may have read some of our articles about them too. Well, recently the PR team got in touch and offered us their newest case to get hands on with; the HYTE X50 Air. When it arrived, one thing was for sure: this was a heavy case. And even heavier with the PC components inside. Full disclosure, I didn't actually transfer my PC components into this case yet. I fully intend to transplant my current setup into this case, but with a couple of upgrades on the horizon, I thought it best to wait. HYTE Bringing Something New So what do you usually look for in a case? Sheer size, or just the ease of access? The HYTE X50 Air has both in abundance, with plenty ...

Edifier ES850NB Wireless Headphones Review

31Oct

By NathanNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Edifier ES850NB Wireless Headphones Review

The market is flooded with wireless ANC headphones nowadays, from the likes of Sony, Bose and Sennheiser to name a few. Not only producing premium products but midrange and budget offerings as well to suit each individual buyers needs. The midrange market is often seen as the sweet spot for audio amateurs and enthusiasts alike. With buyers looking to find that premium performing product for a competitive price. Enter Edifier and the ES850NB. We’re big fans of Edifier here at Thumb Culture. Retailing at £149.99 let’s dive in and check out their latest wireless ANC headphones to see how they stack up against so much competition. Battery life for days! We’re big fans of Edifier here at Thumb Culture. Retailing at £149.99 let’s dive in and check out their latest wireless ANC headphones to se...

30Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Razer Blackwidow V4 Low-Profile Hyperspeed Review

Unless you've been living under a rock, you may well see the whole host of announcements that Razer have been putting out there. This one has been out a little while, but we were lucky enough to get to check out the Blackwidow V4 Low-Profile Hyperspeed keyboard. Wow, what a title! We've been making use of this one for the past few weeks, and I will say it's been a great keyboard to get to know. What makes it worth its £199.99 price tag, though? Well, let me help you with that. Blackwidow By Name Only So with all Razer keyboards, there are always a whole host of features. A lot of them, you might be wondering what they mean, and I'm going to do my best to highlight the top features of the keyboard for you. No fluff and straight to the point. So let's go! Design Features First thing to m...

29Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

UGREEN NASync DH4300 Plus Review

You may have seen our news piece announcing the launch of the DH2300 Plus. In the meantime, while we're waiting for our review unit, UGREEN sent us their NASync DH4300 Plus to see what the fuss was all about. So let us check out just why you should be switching to local backups instead of online cloud based systems. Leaving The Cloud So as I've alluded to above, using a NAS is a great alternative to using a cloud based system. Find out more information below. Design Features As you get the UGREEN NASync DH4300 Plus out of the box, you are greeted with a sleek metallic grey box. Within the removable lid you are greeted with 4 hard drive bays. These can either be filled with 3.5 inch hard drives, or the smaller 2.5 inch ones. I didn't try a mix but I'll be honest, the unit will probably ...

28Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

RIG R5 Spear Pro HS Review

When you get contacted by the team at Nacon about their newest headset, the RIG R5 Spear Pro HS, you just have to listen. With a brand-new look, we just couldn't resist, and here we are a few weeks later. After extensive testing, we're ready to deliver our thoughts and let you know whether this headset should be top of your Christmas list or not. New RIG, Same Sound Now, before we get too far into this review, let's talk about the price point. At less than £70, this shocked me, especially sitting through the marketing presentation and hearing a lot of buzzwords. I was waiting for a much higher price point. So now that my flabber has been ghasted, let's jump into the main section of this review. Design Features Straight away, you might notice something with the RIG R5 Spear Pro HS, it's...

26Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Sony Inzone H9 Headset Review

With the release of the Inzone H9 II back in August, we thought we'd see whether the previous iteration, the Sony Inzone H9, was still worth a purchase. So even with it's bigger brother having been released, just what did this headset offer to a gamer who enjoys loud explosions, as well as clear music? Let's find out. I'm in the Inzone...ahem. Costing a mere £199.99 on the Sony official website, you can class this headset as a bit of an investment. Is it really worth it, though? Is it worth such a high price point? We'll give you the lowdown on the main features and then let you decide. Design Features Coming in black or white, we were lucky enough to get the colour that matches our lovely PlayStation 5 Pro. Getting up and running was easy, simply plug in the included USB dongle and tu...

KontrolFreek: Minecraft Creeper Edition Thumbsticks Review

15Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

KontrolFreek: Minecraft Creeper Edition Thumbsticks Review

The vast majority of you reading this will already know what KontrolFreek Thumbsticks are. They are small rubber caps that aim to improve grip, accuracy and even the look of your controller. We were lucky enough to be sent a set of the PlayStation 5 and Switch 2 versions of the Minecraft ones. Arriving in the post in all their bright green glory we got to work. You Can’t Kontrol Everything The science is there; raising the height of the thumbsticks means that you have more control over the small inputs that you can carry out. It all makes sense, but it does take a little bit of getting used to at first. There are a number of designs out there as well as different purposes. For example, I used to have a set that were designed to give you more control when playing a racing game. ...

Cable Guys Offer Perfect Halloween Gamer Gift

14Oct

By CharlotteNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Cable Guys Offer Perfect Halloween Gamer Gift

It's that time of year where TikTok is full of Boo Basket videos and inspiration for the best Halloween gifts. Or maybe that's just my timeline? Anyway, here I was wishing for someone to get me the perfect Halloween gift, when the lovely people at EXG Pro asked me to take a look at their Cable Guys Pumpkin King Jack and Monkey Bomb controller holders. Both are sufficiently spooky looking so of course I said yes. What's This? If you're a regular reader of the Collectibles Section here on Thumb Culture you'll know I've reviewed and written about a fair few Cable Guys products. Most recently the One Piece Luffy Controller Holder. I'm doing things a little different today, a two for one as it were. So let's get into it. Monkey Bomb Controller Holder Now I am not a Call of Duty player, ...

Turtle Beach Racer Wireless Wheel Review

13Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Turtle Beach Racer Wireless Wheel Review

Have you ever wanted to play the latest racing game on your PC but were never able to? Whether it is because you don't have space for a sim rig, or even because you don't have a desk. Well, the Turtle Beach Racer Wireless Wheel aims to change that. This fancy wireless wheel looks to fill gaps in the market that have only been reserved for traditional controllers. Wheeling Out The Big Guns Retailing at £139.99, the Turtle Beach Racer Wireless Wheel is cheaper than most of the other steering wheels out there. However, does it give you the same racing experience, or does it leave you wanting? Let's find out! Design Features Let's start off with the wireless facts. With a battery life of up to 30 hours, you can play and charge just by plugging it into your computer. Giving you plenty of li...

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 Gengar Edition Headset Review

24Sep

By CharlotteNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 Gengar Edition Headset Review

The Razer Kraken Kitty V2 Gengar Edition has been available outside of Asia for just over a month now. Although currently out of stock due to popular demand, the headset will usually set you back £150 from the Razer website. I remember watching this launch across select countries in 2024 and being heartbroken I would seemingly never get my hands on it. Then a year on a magical parcel turned up from Razer, and I've never been more excited about a headset. Who doesn't want to rep their favourite chunky ghost Pokémon during work calls and gaming sessions?! It's Mischief Time! Now we all know how I felt about the wireless version of these Kitty headphones. If you missed it, they got a Thumb Culture Silver Award and I was less than impressed by the sound quality. Whilst this may be the same h...