VIZIO SmartCast M50-E1 UHD Display Front

17 November 201717 January 2018DisplaysBy Olin Coles

VIZIO SmartCast M50-E1 4K UHD HDR Display Review

Not all that long ago, high definition 1080p image resolution was heralded as the biggest entertainment improvement since the DVD. Technology continued to tick ahead and, before Blu-ray ever truly became a household standard, ultra high-definition 4K (2160p) displays arrived on scene, and later High Dynamic Range. With Ultra HD Blu-ray and streaming video content now offered in Ultra HD, it makes sense to upgrade. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we test the 50″ VIZIO SmartCast M50-E1 UHD HDR home theater display with Google Chromecast built-in.

6 November 20173 May 2018CasesBy Tom Jaskulka

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift X Case Review

The premium Enthoo-series mini-ITX case developed as “Project 217” has a new name: the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift X. Initially announced during CES 2017, the pair of small form factor computer cases have finally made their retail appearance in October 2017. Part of the Enthoo Evolv series, the Shift X showcases many of the same design elements in a fresh new form factor. Benchmark Reviews has been given the opportunity to take a closer look at the larger Shift X (Model PH-ES217XE_AG) – with room for custom cooling loops, 280mm radiators, high-end graphics cards and the looks to match, will the Shift X find a spot in your next build? Let’s take a look.

ESCAM QF220 WiFi Doorbell IP Camera Front Angle

29 October 201717 January 2018ReviewsBy Olin Coles

ESCAM QF220 WiFi Doorbell IP Camera Review

Hundreds of dollars in electronics and appliances were taken off our doorstep, and we hadn’t taken precautions to prevent the crime or alert ourselves to criminal presence. Our home alarm system alerts us to intruders inside the residence, but cameras weren’t in a position to detect somebody at the doorstep. Apparently this scenario is all too common: protection on the inside, but nothing on the outside. I decided to remedy this weakness by adding a wireless doorbell camera. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the ESCAM QF220 WiFi doorbell IP camera.

26 October 201717 January 2018CasesBy David Shields

Corsair Carbide SPEC-04 TG Case Review

I have had the pleasure to build with many products from Corsair, such as the H100i, Graphite 700T, Carbide 600T, Vengeance memory, HX750 and many more. So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review the SPEC-04 TG, a new version of the budget SPEC-04 with a tempered glass side panel. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we’ll look at the features offered by this mid-tower design before doing a quick build and delivering a final conclusion.

24 October 201717 January 2018CasesBy Meng Vang

Raijintek Asterion Plus ATX Case Review

The Raijintek Asterion Plus allows for custom water cooling setups and complex server builds. It comes with a roomy interior to house large 240/280/360mm radiators at the front and the top. There is also enough room for tall CPU coolers up to 180mm and large graphics cards up to 340mm in length. To top it off, the acrylic side panels open up like doors using the provided door handles on each side. This case does come in a black variant, but Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at the Asterion Silver Plus for this review. Let’s take a look at its features, specifications, and a quick overview of what this product has to offer.

18 October 201727 March 2018PeripheralsBy Meng Vang

Gamdias Hermes P2 Keyboard Review

The Gamdias Hermes P2 RGB is a combination of performance, durability, and longevity. With the use of Gamdias certified optical switches, the switches will not rust or corrode over time as they contain no metal contacts. They are also hot swappable, making customization and future repairs easier for the user. In addition, the Hermes P2 does include the normal gaming features, like RGB lighting, six separate profiles, and a built-in wrist rest. Gamdias has sent Benchmark Reviews their Hermes P2 RGB keyboard with blue optical switches. Let’s take a look at its features, specifications, and an overview of what this product has to offer.

13 October 201717 January 2018PeripheralsBy Joe Gulczinski

Bloody P85 Gaming Mouse Review

A4TECH’s Bloody Division over the last few years has been at the forefront with that is called Light Strike technology, replacing mechanical with optical switches utilizing infrared light. Today we examine the most recent iteration of the Bloody mice series, the P85 Light Strike 5K RGB Animation Gaming Mouse; combining a popular eight button layout with some dazzling light effects.

9 October 201717 January 2018CoolingBy Jason Maxfield

Reeven Naia 240 AIO Water Cooler Review

In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we have Reeven’s Naia 240 AIO Liquid Cooler up for review (model RW-2401). Reeven manufactures a variety of air coolers, fans, cases, and a few other things, but this is their first foray into the all-in-one liquid cooler segment. From the looks of things, Reeven is off to a great start with this AIO unit.

3 October 201717 January 2018ReviewsBy Meng Vang

SwiftStream Z-9 Camera Drone Review

With the year coming closer to an end, now is a good time to prepare some gift ideas for the holiday season. Christmas arrived early here for us as Swift Stream sent us their Z-9 Camera Drone for this review. Some of its main features include an extra set of propellers, 360Â° flips, headless mode, and a Wi-Fi camera that is compatible on Android and Apple devices. The Z-9 Camera Drone makes a great gift for teenagers over the age of 14 or for anyone who wants to learn to fly drones. In this article, Benchmark Review will be taking a look at the Z-9 Camera Drone.

26 September 201717 January 2018CasesBy Meng Vang

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift Review

The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Shift series bring performance, functionality, and innovative features to the table. At the time of this review, there are two variants: the Enthoo Evolv Shift X and the Enthoo Evolv Shift. They both come with anodized aluminum panels and two large tempered glass side panels. The case may stand vertically as a normal desktop PC, or horizontally as a living room PC. Phanteks has also designed the interior to house an ITX motherboard, dual 120mm AIO water cooled units, and a large graphics card. Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at the Enthoo Evolv Shift for this article. Let’s go over an overview of what this case has to offer.

25 September 201717 January 2018CasesBy Jason Maxfield

Fractal Design Focus G Case Review

The Focus G offers a host of cooling options, 120mm and 140mm fans, as well as support for 240mm and 280mm radiators in the front or the top (240mm limitation on top) of the chassis. Fractal Design even has a slew of colors to choose from: white, black, mystic red, petrol blue, and the case I received, in gunmetal gray. Included with the case are two Fractal Design SIlent Series 120mm fans pre-installed in the front of the case, which also have white LED’s.

24 August 201717 January 2018Computer GamesBy Olin Coles

Distrust Survival Game Review

It was supposed to be a rescue mission, but an explosion caused the chopper to crash-land near an abandoned Artic base, akin to John Carpenter’s classic The Thing. Although only one other team member has survived the wreck, you’re hardly alone. Fall asleep, and you might not wake up. Stay awake long enough, and you’ll experience a dream state of distorted reality. This is a survival game, and almost everything is against you… especially the odds. In this article for Benchmark Reviews we play DISTRUST, built on the Unity 3D game engine.

22 August 201717 January 2018AudioBy Jason Maxfield

Corsair Void Pro RGB Gaming Headset Review

Corsair has updated it’s Gaming line of headsets with the Void Pro RGB. Featuring Dolby 7.1 surround with the use of Corsair’s CUE software. The Void Pro RGB has a host of improvements, from the 50mm driver, mesh/memory foam earpads, improved microphone, but is only compatible with the PC. The Corsair Void Pro RGB is a wired version of the new Void Pro RGB Wireless and Wireless SE. The Void Pro RGB ditches the wireless aspect, but maintains all of the features, except for the flip-up muting, which is a feature of the wireless models only. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, I’ll be putting the Corsair Void Pro RGB to the test. Will Corsair deliver the goods and improve on last years Void Surround?

1TB-HP-SSD-S700-PRO-Solid-State-Drive-Review

18 August 20177 February 2018StorageBy Olin Coles

HP SSD S700 PRO 1TB Solid State Drive Review

Relative to solid state storage, one terabyte is an enormous amount of near-instant drive space. Adding to its appeal is the cost of solid state technology, which has doubled its storage capacity per dollar from just one year ago. HP suggests top speeds up to 570 MB/s for reads and 525 MB/s writes from their 1TB SSD S700 PRO, which utilizes 3D NAND to deliver impressive storage density and reliability. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we test the 1TB HP SSD S700 PRO (2.5″ SATA model 2LU81AA#ABL) against other solid state drive competition.

17 August 201717 January 2018PeripheralsBy Meng Vang

Bloody B820R Gaming Keyboard Review

Optical key switches provide fast response time and performance without compromising build quality. They use infrared sensors as a replacement for metal contacts, making them more durable when compared to a standard mechanical key switch. With the Bloody B820R Light Strike RGB Animation gaming keyboard, it uses LK (Light Strike) Optical switches built exclusively for Bloody keyboards. The B820R comes in two variants; one with blue switches (Machine Gun) and one with red switches (Silent Gun). Benchmark Reviews already tested the B820R with LK Optical Blue switches, so our friends at A4Tech sent us the red variant for this review.

9 August 201717 January 2018CasesBy Tom Jaskulka

Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Case Review

Fractal Design has announced a slew of new products recently. The Focus G series brought a splash of color and style to the typically-reserved Scandinavian case maker, while their popular Define C series added a touch of premium glass with the Define C TG. When Fractal Design offered up yet another, as-of-yet unannounced product to add to their lineup my curiosity was piqued. What else could they possibly have in store? All I had was a product name: the Meshify C. I could hazard a few guesses as to the nature of this new case: ATX, based on the Define C no doubt, with a dressing of mesh – perhaps an Arc Midi successor? Follow along as Benchmark Reviews investigates this new direction from Fractal Design.

4 August 201717 January 2018PeripheralsBy Meng Vang

Gamdias Zeus M1 RGB Mouse Review

The Gamdias Zeus M1 RGB optical USB corded gaming mouse provides performance and functionality to gamers on a budget. It comes with an accurate 7000 DPI optical sensor, eight programmable buttons, a built-in weight system, and the dual level RGB stream lighting design. At just 118 x 67 x 38.5 mm, the Zeus M1 is smaller than a most mice, which makes it suitable for small to medium hands. The Gamdias HERA gaming software allows for easy customization with support for multiple Gamdias peripherals should you have them. Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at the Zeus M1 to see how it compares to the competition.

19 July 201719 July 2017StorageBy Olin Coles

HP SSD S700 PRO Solid State Drive Review

HP suggests top speeds up to 565 MB/s for reads and 520 MB/s writes from SSD S700 PRO, which utilizes 3D NAND to deliver impressive storage density and reliability. Adding to its appeal is the cost of solid state technology, which has doubled its storage capacity per dollar from just one year ago. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we test the HP SSD S700 PRO (SATA 2.5″ 512GB model 2AP99AA#ABL) against other solid state drive competition.

9 July 201711 July 2017PeripheralsBy David Ramsey

AZIO Retro Classic Mechanical Keyboard Preview

Here at Benchmark Reviews, we’ve tested several AZIO keyboards and been impressed with the quality of their construction and the bang for the buck they offer. So when AZIO offered us the chance to take a look at a prototype of their project “MK Retro Pro” keyboard, we jumped at the chance– even though a retail version of this product is some months in the future. An evolution of AZIO’s existing “MK Retro” typewriter-themed keyboards, later renamed Retro Classic, ups the ante with a new design and new features.

7 July 201726 August 2017CasesBy Meng Vang

MeanIt 5PM ARC Red Case Review

Mean:It is a rather new company out of Colorado that focuses on building high quality products at an affordable price. At the time of this review, the company offers two tempered glass computer chassis with multiple variants. They were kind enough to send Benchmark Reviews the MeanIt 5PM ARC Red edition, which has 5mm of tempered glass goodness on both sides and on the front of the case. It also comes with four pre-installed ARC Red fans, a built-in fan controller, water pump/reservoir mount, and a cable cover/GPU support bracket for supporting long graphics cards. The 5PM ARC Red looks very promising, so let’s take a look…

4 July 201721 August 2017PeripheralsBy Jason Vaught

Corsair K68 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

What is the main reason to spend money on a “gaming” mechanical keyboard vs a regular keyboard? With membrane based gaming keyboards, your purchase depends mainly on features that you can only utilize during gameplay. But with a gaming mechanical keyboard, your priorities in performance to value are more broad. You’re looking for a long life keyswitch that offers tactile feel and a comfortable typing experience as well. This is what we should all look for in a gaming mechanical keyboard, does the K68 live up to these expectations? We’ll find out in this article for Benchmark Reviews.

HP-SSD-S700-500GB-SATA-Solid-State-Drive-Kit

29 June 201729 June 2017StorageBy Olin Coles

HP SSD S700 Solid State Drive Review

HP promises 560 MB/s read and 515 MB/s write speeds from SSD S700, which utilizing 3D NAND technology to deliver impressive storage density and reliability. Adding to its appeal is the cost of solid state drive technology, which has doubled its storage capacity per dollar from just one year ago. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we test the HP SSD S700 (2.5″ 500GB model 2DP99AA#ABC) against other solid state drive competition.

25 June 201725 June 2017PeripheralsBy Meng Vang

Cherry MX Board Silent Keyboard Review

Being the successor to the classic G80-3000, the Cherry MX Board Silent G80-3000 comes equipped with genuine Cherry MX Silent switches. The MX Board Silent features a standard 104 international key layout and a simple exterior design. Built for an office environment, the MX Silent switches provide silent keystrokes to keep keyboard noise down to a minimum. This keyboard does come in two flavors: MX Silent Red and MX Silent Black. Cherry has sent Benchmark Reviews the one with MX Silent Black switches. Let’s take a look at what this keyboard has to offer.

15 June 201715 June 2017CasesBy David Shields

In Win 301 Mini Tower Case Review

Tempered glass is all the rage right now in the custom PC market. As a result, many case makers are releasing new designs with tempered glass in an attempt to cash in. But tempered glass is often more expensive than options such as plastic. Seeing this, In Win has released the 301 mini tower, a smaller mATX version of their successful 303 chassis design. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we’ll take a closer at the In Win 301 SECC Tempered Glass Micro-ATX Mini Tower Computer Case, detailing the features included in this design, before delivering my final recommendation.

12 June 2017CamerasBy Jason Maxfield

WiMiUs L1 4K Action Cam Review

WiMiUs, a company based out of Shenzhen, China, has sent us one of their 4k action cams for us to review. This is the WiMiUs L1 4K Action Cam, somewhat similar to a GoPro Hero Session in size, but around half the price. In this article for Benchmark Reviews I’ll be putting the WiMiUs 4K Ultra HD Action Cam L1 to the test. Is the L1 worth a look, let’s find out!