Portable power stations have grown in popularity over the years with the rise in battery technology and the push for solar power. At first, these were backup-only solutions, now they can be used for off-grid power solutions as well. Over the years Bluetti has grown as a serious contender in the Portable Power Station realm, especially with powerful models such as the AC500 and AC300 inverters, with their respective batteries.

After reviewing all the best portable power stations, we can safely say the Bluetti AC500 represents the latest in modular energy solutions, offering homeowners, RV users, and off-grid enthusiasts a scalable, reliable, and eco-friendly backup power system.

The AC500 specifically boasts a 5,000W pure sine wave inverter and compatibility with up to six B300S batteries totaling nearly 24,000Wh of usable battery. The AC500 can power a wide range of devices, from small electronics to essential household appliances like refrigerators and HVAC systems. With solar input support, seamless expandability, and the ability to run silently indoors, Bluetti has positioned the AC500 as one of the most powerful modular plug-and-play energy systems available. 

Bluetti AC500: Pricing & availability

The Bluetti AC500 starts at $2,600 for the standalone unit, but you'll need to purchase compatible external batteries such as the BS300S to store the energy that the BS500 inverter will utilize. Bluetti offers a bundle with the AC500 and a single B300S battery for $4,500. For those who need a full setup with six batteries, it will cost upwards of $10,400.

While the upfront cost may be high, the modular nature of this portable power offering from Bluetti allows for incremental upgrades over time as needs -- or budget -- allow. Bluetti is also notorious for offering frequent discounts on its products, making this incremental build a bit more budget-friendly.

You can purchase the Bluetti system directly from Bluetti's official site, or through online retailers such as Amazon.

Bluetti AC500: Unboxing & first impressions

The AC500 arrives in a hefty box that includes a lot of padding. The AC500 is fairly heavy, and from the first time I picked it up, I recognized the quality build and overall durability. Additionally, I could tell that this setup, while technically portable, is not fun to move around such as a power bank or something I'd throw in the back of my Jeep. This power station is more designed to be put in place and left there, with the understanding that it can be moved, thus the portable part of the name, however, it's not going to be something you move frequently, weighing nearly 70lbs / 30kg.

In the box are the Bluetti AC500, the power cables for both AC and DC input, a manual, warranty cards, and solar charging cables. My BS300S (I chose to start with one, but will most likely be expanding sometime in the future as my needs expand) came in a separate box.

Bluetti AC500: Design & build quality

The Bluetti AC500 has a very boxy and rugged design with built-in handles on the top sides and wireless chargers integrated into the top. Bluetti chose durable and high-quality materials to help ensure a sturdy and reliable product, even with heavy use. The feet have non-slip rubber and the handles have a nice grip to them, plus Bluetti has designed the different elements to stack quite nicely, allowing for a sleek and streamlined setup. I have the battery on the bottom and the AC500 on top of that. If you have multiple units or multiple inverters, you can even intermix the stacking as seen in the picture below, which goes to show that Bluetti has used the same design and footprint across their product lineup.

The touchscreen interface is simple and easy to navigate, though the plastic finish and low resolution feel a bit dated especially compared to my iPhone 16 Pro. Similarly, the touch screen's response feels a bit sluggish compared to the same phone, but for the few times I use the OSD for checking battery levels and enabling outputs, it's just fine. Most of the time, I use my phone to control the settings anyway. 

Bluetti AC500: In use

The AC500 performs wonderfully, and even a bit better than expected in my real-world testing. Shortly after arrival, the area where I live experienced a huge storm. A good friend of mine lives in the country about 30 minutes away from my house and they lost power entirely to their house and outbuildings on their farm due to a downed power line. Since it needed extensive repair, we knew he would be out of power for quite a while (turned out to be only a couple of days). We were able to set up the AC500, AC300, and their appropriate batteries to run his entire farm with ease. On the AC500, we were able to run his freezer, fridge, lights, a well pump, and the first stage of his HVAC unit. The AC300 was able to easily run his barn with basic lighting and a corn dryer.

One of the major advantages is the ability to use this system indoors, as it produces no fumes and operates quietly even under high loads. Fans kick in under very heavy use, but they are still very quiet all things considered. 

In this scenario, we didn't get a chance to integrate solar panels, but if we had the time, we could add up to 3,000W of solar panels, that can power the inverter, and any excess power can be stored in the connected batteries.

In off-grid use cases, the AC500 can also be re-charged with a standard car outlet, though it will charge considerably slower than a standard wall outlet.

Bluetti AC500: Final verdict

The Bluetti AC500 is an excellent choice for anyone in need of a powerful, expandable energy solution. Its ability to scale up to six batteries, combined with a robust 5,000W inverter, makes it ideal for backup power and off-grid living. While its lack of a built-in battery and 120V limitation might be drawbacks for some users, it excels in most scenarios, particularly with solar integration and modularity. At its price point, it’s a serious investment, but one that pays off in reliability and performance. If you are looking to get started in your power station journey, make sure to check out the Bluetti AC500 Portable Power Station System.

Fezibo is yet to feature heavily in our best standing desks list, but don't write the standing desk maker off; it has a superb range of premium-looking desks and accessories, such as the the Executive B, that are competitively priced albeit typically at a higher price point to budget options.

Enter the Worland: it's a reversible L-frame standing desk, available in various finishes, multiple sizes and in single or triple motor options. This review is of the 'Rustic Brown' 63 x 47.2 inches / 160x120cm triple-motor version.

Fezibo Worland: Unboxing and First Impressions

Two boxes securely hold and protect the Fezibo Worland parts, including those triple metal leg motors and robust tops, that when combined make for a very heavy setup.

On unwrapping, it's immediately clear that each part is well made, even if the tops are made from plastic board rather than solid wood, while the necessary tools are provided for the build; a simple spanner and hex key.

Clear your diary, the unboxing and build of the Fezibo Worland is a lengthy process, and for which you will need a second person for the final part given how heavy the triple-motor reversible L-frame standing desk is. I drafted my tweenager in for support, who also enjoyed helping with the straightforward project, and he was indeed able to be helpful.

The build happens upside down from top to bottom, as in you begin with the slimmer raised tops face down on the floor – the part of the desk that is designed to hold items such as a monitor. You add the sides that support the raised tops and then you start attaching the main surface, at which point you ideally need to improvise to prop up those larger (and heavy) main surfaces to avoid them tipping, ensure they are level, and therefore the screws go in straight.

Instructions are clear and easy to follow throughout, though there's crucial point in the build where you determine the orientation of the L-frame; an L or a reverse L so to speak. You therefore need to know ahead of time where the desk is going to live.

Figuring out my desired orientation for the build (a reverse L) was simple enough when piecing the three top pieces together, however I found it a head scratcher figuring this part out for the metal legs – I messed up and had to redo a small part of the project once I had figured out my mistake.

It also wasn't immediately clear in the instructions that the clear plastic tubes provided were in fact handy guides for dropping screws into the inside of the metal legs. Without these tubes, it's a near impossible task to feed the screws through the inside of the legs by hand and line them up with the holes on the other side for attaching the legs to the desktop.

With the metal frame / legs assembled and on the desktop, the controller needs to be attached and connected – easier done with the desk still upside down. Personally, I think the Worland's cable management is a tad rudimentary; the power supply is attached to the desk's underside with an adhesive pad, while it's tricky to fully hide the cables from the controller along the length of the desk with the cable fasteners supplied (see below).

Also, as elegant as the desk appears itself, the trailing cables down to your wall plug, which also includes the cables of your devices such as monitors and laptops, somewhat spoil the look.

Still, I didn't have one of the optional accessories which could hide those cables, such as an underdesk filing cabinet (from £69.99), of which there are options to match the desk's aesthetic and are worth looking into.

There's also an optional cord management accessory (£19.99) that looks like it would do a much better job of organizing the cables than relying on the supplied fasteners, but I didn't have that for the review. It's a shame the cord management accessory doesn't come supplied with the Worland, or indeed a power strip for your devices which would reduce the number of trailing cables to the wall supply.

Rival standing desk brand Flexispot includes a magnetic sheath in models like the E7 Pro, designed to hold the cables between the two central metal struts of the frame. That same desk also includes a power strip and the result is a much tidier looking setup. This cable management solution by Flexispot helps keep those essential wires tucked away.

If you don't mind forking out extra for the Worland's cord management and / or filing cabinet accessories, and you're industrious enough to pick up your own power strip and figure out a way of attaching it to the underside of the Worland, then you too can have a slicker-looking setup. It's just a shame that these are all extra steps.

With the entire desk assembled, you ideally need a second pair of hands to flip it over and to move it into position. There are wheels supplied for the legs to ease moving the desk around, but given I knew where I wanted to position the desk, I opted against adding these wheeled feet.

As for the fabric drawers, they simply need the firm base inserted in order to maintain their shape, and they slot in snuggly and securely.

I figure that the entire build, from unboxing to being in position, took around 3.5 hours, not including the 30 minute u-turn I needed to make to reattach the legs for my desired orientation. That's a pretty lengthy build time, but it was overall really simple step-by-step.

Fezibo Worland: Design and Build Quality

As far as the best office desks go, Worland sure is one of the more attractive. It's sleek and understated, with tucked away drawer storage under the raised tops. Then there's the nice little details like the under desk hanger for items like headphones (see below).

It also comes in a variety of finishes that includes Rustic Brown, Black Walnut, Light Walnut, Oak, White and Black to cover any kind of decor. I gravitated to Rustic Brown – a classic look.

I asked Fezibo what material the Worland desktop is made from because it's not listed on the site, and was told that it's particle board. Before you get disappointed, given the higher-than-average price for a desktop that isn't made from 'proper' wood, it's an extremely durable material.

I had the smaller of the two triple-motor stand options that measures 160x120cm. There's also a 190x160cm option, or a 160x140cm single-motor option.

The T-shape legs proved to provide deep enough clearance that my legs never once bumped into them.

Fezibo Worland: In use

The triple-motor option has a generous 308lbs / 140kg payload, which drop to 180lbs / 80kg for the (slightly cheaper) single-motor option.

That payload of the triple-motor version would easily be enough to support me sitting on the desk, not that I'm in that habit, and certainly enough for the super-large curved 32:9 aspect monitor (pictured), laptop and various bits that made up my office setup during this test. I'd have no qualms adding additional monitors, a printer and so on, given the desk's payload.

I opted to position my wide monitor in the desk's corner and tuck myself in when seated, with quick reach to my left and right and for a comfortable working position. However, the long 160mm side of the L-shape desktop would also be sufficient to fit the display.

The controller features manual up / down keys, plus three presets and a button to save those presets, while the height adjustment range is 28 - 47.6 inches / 71 - 121cm (without wheels).

After using the desk for several months, I largely stuck to two settings; one for sitting and one for standing. However, I can see the use in a third preset for homes with multiple users with different standing heights.

Switching between sitting and standing is as simple as the press of a button, and the motors proved to be quiet when in action.

The lowest possible setting is roughly equivalent to a standard fixed desk height, which for someone like me who's 6ft 1in can feel a fraction low and not great for posture over a full day sitting at a desk.

What surprised me as a previously infrequent standing desk user, therefore, is how useful the option is to tweak that lowest height up by an inch or two to improve my posture when seated – standing desks aren't just about standing.

With the Worland, I can have my office chair to the height I wish for a comfortable position for my legs, and then tweak the height of the desk so my back is straight.

For my height, around 43 inches / 110cm proved a suitable desk height for standing. There's an additional 4.5 inches / 11cm to work with on top of that, and so even the exceptionally tall are catered for here.

As for the desktop size, it is generously wide, albeit a fraction shallow. The total depth including the raised tops is 24 inches / 60cm, but the working space is 14.2 inches / 36cm, which proved a bit of a squeeze for my 16-inch MacBook Pro M1.

That shallow working distance also meant my curved monitor was a little close for me liking. My solution? Positioning the monitor in the corner of the desk.

I've been using the Worland for more than three months and have no doubt that it'll last many years. It's a superb-quality desk.

Fezibo Worland: Final verdict

Rudimentary cable management aside (which can be dealt with through extra accessories or industrious solutions), the FEZiBO Worland is a stellar standing desk, with a versatile reversible L-frame. The desktop might be made from particle board, but it's available in a range of attractive finishes and crucially, is robust. The same can be said for the powerful and quiet leg motors which can support a heavy payload, while offering precise and versatile height adjustment. I love the raised top that provides additional height for a monitor (and extra clearance above a laptop), plus the generous surface area with its elegant look with slick drawer storage, although the desk could do with additional depth for a better working distance from a monitor. It might take a while to build, but the Worland is a dream focal point for any office space and comes highly recommended.

Complete your workspace set-up - we review the best office chairs

McAfee Total Protection Essential may be McAfee’s starter security suite, but don’t give up on it just yet. There’s antivirus and browsing protection for up to five desktop or mobile devices; a password manager; powerful data breach monitoring for email addresses, phone numbers, credit cards, bank accounts and more; mobile apps include a scam detector to spot and block links in dangerous texts, and while Avast and Bitdefender include very restricted VPNs in their starter suites, McAfee’s VPN is the full and unlimited service.

If that’s still not enough, the McAfee+ antivirus software suites extend the range with antivirus for unlimited devices, comprehensive identity theft protection, and online tools to optimize your social media privacy settings, and detect and remove your personal information held by data brokers or in your old online accounts. Check out our McAfee+ Premium review if that sounds like what you need.

We think McAfee Total Protection Essential has the core features most users need, though, and in this review we’ll take a look at how they perform, and whether this could be the ideal security suite for you.

McAfee Total Protection Essential: Protection

McAfee hasn’t always had great results in testing, but recently it’s scoring very well. McAfee is currently equal third with Avira in AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test, just behind Avast and AVG, and it scored full marks in both AV-Test’s last Windows report and SE Labs’ consumer endpoint protection test,

We take the results from nine of the most important lab tests, then use a custom algorithm to generate a single overall score between 0 and 10. Right now that places Avast in first and Bitdefender second, but McAfee is an excellent third, outperforming both Norton and Avira.

The big labs carry out more detailed testing than anyone else around, but we think it’s still important to run further checks of our own, as they often turn up useful extra information.

We began by attempting to access 50 brand new phishing sites, and logging what happened. McAfee WebAdvisor blocked a well below average 32%. It’s better than nothing - some VPNs who claim to shield you from malicious URLs don’t block a single site - but it’s also far behind even free antivirus from providers including Bitdefender (64%), Avira (90%) and Avast (94%.)

There’s a second problem. McAfee WebAdvisor is a browser extension, which means it can’t protect non-standard browsers or other apps. We use a custom browser for testing, and it was able to freely access every one of our phishing sites without McAfee complaining.

Moving to our malware test, we tried to download very dangerous files from 50 malicious sites. 

McAfee managed a solid 88%, but was still a little behind Avira (90% in its last test), Avast (94%) and Bitdefender (an excellent 100%.)

Finally, we matched McAfee against our own custom ransomware simulator. McAfee got off to a great start, immediately killing the threat before it could touch a single file. But when we modified our file just a little, it got past McAfee and managed to encrypt thousands of documents. 

That’s not a bad performance, but again, others have done better. Norton spotted what our simulator was doing and killed it after it encrypted six files, and Bitdefender stopped the threat before it could cause any damage at all.

Put it all together and we think our results broadly confirm the lab reports: McAfee does offer strong protection, but it’s not quite as capable as Avast or Bitdefender.

McAfee Total Protection Essential: Safe Connect VPN

McAfee Total Protection comes with an unlimited version of McAfee Safe Connect VPN, which itself uses the popular TunnelBear VPN underneath.

The VPN is built into the Total Protection app, making it very convenient to access. The Total Protection dashboard has a ‘Secure VPN’ which shows whether you’re connected or not, and if you need browsing protection, you can turn it on in a couple of clicks.

(Well, that’s the idea. During our review, the VPN once hung on ‘Connecting’ for several minutes. Why didn’t we click Cancel? The app has no way to cancel a connection, so all we could do was reboot.)

McAfee’s VPN has a marginally above average choice of 48 countries. Unlike TunnelBear, there’s no choice of city or regional locations (McAfee has one US location, TunnelBear has 13.) 

McAfee’s location list doesn’t include five of the countries most commonly supported by VPNs: Hong Kong, India, Israel, Russia and Turkey. But it has servers everywhere else we would expect, and delivers more coverage than usual in Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa) and South America.(Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia and Peru.)

Connection times could be slow on our test Windows system, sometimes ten seconds or more. If you’re used to some of the much faster competition (ExpressVPN typically takes less than a second), that can become frustrating.

McAfee VPN has very few settings. There’s a kill switch (called Safe Reconnect) to protect your traffic if the VPN drops, and some Automatic Connect options to automatically connect when using untrusted or specific networks, and that’s about it.

There’s no choice of protocol, but that’s not quite the issue it is with some VPNs. McAfee VPN supports both WireGuard and OpenVPN, automatically choosing the best option for the initial connection and switching if the first try doesn’t work. We would still like the option to choose manually, but that’s because we like to have some control, and that may not have any benefit in real-world use.

The ‘Safe Reconnect’ kill switch is more of a concern. It performed well in most cases, but we noticed that if the VPN’s driver failed, then the kill switch closed active connections but couldn’t stop any that followed afterwards. If a web page is downloading when the driver fails, for instance, the download would break with an error, but click Refresh and you can resume as normal.

This is a very tough test, but most specialist VPN providers do better. When we put NordVPN through the same test, it didn’t just block our internet correctly, it also quickly diagnosed the problem, restored the driver, and automatically reconnected.

We test VPN download speeds by connecting to a number of speed test sites from a cloud PC with a fast 1Gbps connection. McAfee Safe Connect managed a best average speed across multiple sessions of 270Mbps, well behind the performance champions (Surfshark and others reach 950Mbps+), but more than enough for browsing, streaming and most other tasks.

McAfee sells Secure Connect VPN for its privacy and security, and doesn’t mention unblocking streaming sites at all. We ran unblocking tests for Netflix and a number of other streaming sites anyway, but with poor results. McAfee got us into ITV and Channel 4 in the UK, and 9Now in Australia, but it couldn’t unblock Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus or BBC iPlayer.

McAfee Total Protection Essential: True Key Password Manager

True Key is a basic password manager which allows users to create secure logins, store and share them across all their devices. (And with Android and iOS apps for mobile devices, and browser extensions for Chrome, Edge and Firefox covering everything else, you can run it almost everywhere.)

Getting started is relatively easy. True Key can import stored passwords directly from Edge and Chrome, a couple of top password managers in LastPass and Dashlane, and generic CSV support might allow True Key to read logins from elsewhere. We tried importing 600+ Dashlane logins and it appeared to handle everything correctly, including multiple logins for the same site.

True Key also has a Wallet where you can store personal details - names, addresses, phone numbers, date of birth and more. This is only useful as a form of secure storage, though. True Key can’t use this kind of information to fill forms, unlike Dashlane and other top password managers.

In terms of the password management basics, though, True Key works reasonably well. Usernames and passwords are captured automatically as you enter them. When you’re creating an account, it can generate and enter a secure password in a couple of clicks. When we opened a login page, True Key displayed any matching profile (that could include multiple usernames if you’ve several accounts on the site), and clicking the profile logged us in successfully.

There’s not much in the way of advanced functionality. True Key doesn’t have secure password sharing, for instance, and there’s no ‘Password Health’-type feature to warn you about reused or weak passwords.

True Key does have one unusual highlight in its excellent multi-factor authentication support. There’s nothing more important to protect than your password manager account, so it’s great to see that True Key doesn’t solely rely on a master password. You can optionally choose a second factor - a known trusted device, a second device, your Windows Hello PIN or biometric authentication - to protect your logins from snoopers.

Overall, True Key is a basic but decent tool which handles simple login tasks with ease. It’s better than the typical password managers we see in security suites, but if you need form filling or other advanced features, you’re still much better off with Dashlane, LassPass or the best of the competition.

(If you’re unsure and would like to try before you buy, download True Key’s Freemium version. It only supports 15 logins, but that’s enough to sample the service and get a feel for how the app works for you.)

McAfee Total Protection Essential: Dark Web Monitoring

Many antivirus apps now include some form of dark web monitoring, where they raise an alert if your personal details show up in a data breach, so you can prevent identity theft. But often they’ll only search for email addresses, something you can already do for free at sites like haveibeenpwned.com.

McAfee tramples all over these vendors with the ability to monitor up to 10 email addresses, 10 phone numbers, your date of birth, 10 usernames, two passports, two national IDs, two health IDs, 10 credit cards, 10 bank accounts and two tax IDs.

That’s impressive, but there are similar (and maybe better) services around. Norton Identity Protection can’t match McAfee everywhere (no health IDs, no national IDs, no tax IDs, only supports five email addresses), but it does watch for a couple of important extra items in your real-world addresses and your mother’s maiden name.

Norton makes it easier to add some items, too. Add a phone number to McAfee and it sends a verification code by SMS to confirm that you own it; great for privacy, not so welcome if it’s a landline or can’t receive SMS. Norton doesn’t require verification, so it works with any number.

McAfee does have some welcome advantages, though. In particular, the web dashboard highlights especially important breaches which include a password; Norton just lists breach names, forcing you to open each one in turn to see what it contains.

Put it all together and while McAfee Identity Monitoring isn’t ground breaking in any way (and we really wish it looked out for addresses), it’s still a capable service which outperforms most of the competition.

McAfee Total Protection Essential: ‘Advanced’ Firewall

McAfee Total Protection claims to include an advanced firewall, but the reality is a little different.

McAfee doesn’t protect you from incoming connections, for instance: it leaves Windows Firewall to do that.

McAfee Total Protection does monitor outgoing connections, and blocks anything that looks risky, but most paid security suites do something similar.

The firewall has no configuration options beyond the ability to manually allow a connection it’s blocked, or block a connection the firewall has allowed.

Put it all together and while we’re glad it’s here, the firewall really doesn’t do very much, or add much value to the suite beyond the web protection we’ve already described.

McAfee Total Protection Essential: File Shredder

Delete documents with sensitive information and you might feel more secure, but if someone else gets access to your device, they may be able to undelete the files. 

McAfee File Shredder addresses this problem by overwriting the files multiple times before they’re deleted, for example by filling each document with zeroes. Even if someone can undelete a file, the original contents will have disappeared.

Using File Shredder is easy. You can overwrite the contents of the Recycle Bin, choose some other target folder in the McAfee app, or select multiple items in Explorer, right-click and choose the Shred option. But while this worked most of the time, occasionally File Shredder simply told us that the files couldn’t be deleted, with no further explanation.

File Shredder is a decent example of a secure deletion tool. It goes a little further than Bitdefender’s version by overwriting every file at least twice, and giving you the option to overwrite up to five times. If you’re an experienced Windows user who would like more, though, tools like Eraser or Microsoft’s command line SDelete give you many more expert-level secure deletion features for free. 

McAfee Total Protection Essential: Tracker Remover

Tracker Remover can protect your privacy by deleting tracker and all other browser cookies, as well as browser history, and is able to free up storage space by deleting temporary files and the contents of the Recycle Bin, too.

There’s nothing here you can’t do elsewhere, and Tracker Remover isn’t configurable enough to make itself genuinely useful. Avast’s similar cleaner is at least able to delete tracker cookies but keep your other cookies, for instance, so it’s less likely to be a nuisance. 

Tracker Blocker can also take a long time to run - more than two minutes on our test system - and may not delete everything you’ve requested. (If a file needs admin rights to be deleted, Tracker Blocker will leave it up to you.) You can set a scheduler to run Tracker Blocker automatically when you’re not around, but if you still have to manually check and delete files yourself, that doesn’t have a lot of value.

McAfee Total Protection Essential: Final verdict

The McAfee Total Protection Essential highlight is its antivirus engine, which does more to keep you safe than most. The dark web monitoring tracks way more personal data than the rest of the competition, too, but the browsing protection and the underpowered VPN let the suite down.

If price is your top priority then it might still be worth signing up for the first year deal: $35.99 for an antivirus this good and a full VPN is as good a deal as you’ll get anywhere. (A one year TunnelBear account costs $59.88 all on its own.)

If you expect more from a security suite, though, consider McAfee+ for its web privacy tools and unlimited antivirus, or competing suites such as Avast One Gold or Bitdefender Total Security for extra features and even better protection.

We've listed the best cloud antivirus.

Armari decided to provide us with something a little different for its £4,500 workstation entry this year. Instead of the classic black box like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Magnetar PrMM16R9 is small – very small. Yet it packs in the same workstation-grade components found in more conventional systems.

The Magnetar uses a Phanteks Evolv Shift XT chassis, which is a quarter to a third smaller in every dimension than other cases this month. The physical appearance with angled corners is stylish, but the infinity mirror on the front is mesmeric, looking like a lit passageway extending unfeasibly into the front of the case. This is a chassis you’ll want to display on your desk as a statement rather than hiding it below. Yet it still sports a 240mm liquid-cooling system for the CPU and an 850W PSU. Although there’s not much room for extra storage in a case this small, the only avoidable downside is that there are no USB or audio ports on the front.

There was a hope that this system could be supplied with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, but this member of the new 9000-series wasn’t quite ready for testing at the time of writing. Instead, Armari sent this system with the previous-generation 7950X, but it will ship the final version with the 9950X for the price quoted above. The 7950X provides the same 16 cores as the 9950X, running at a base 4.5GHz with a 5.7GHz boost, whereas the 9950X will have the same boost frequency but an improved core design.

Armari partners the Ryzen 9 with a hefty 96GB of 5,600MHz DDR5 RAM, supplied as two 48GB modules. This takes up both DIMM slots on the Asus ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming WiFi motherboard, but you probably won’t want more in a small system such as this one.

Despite its size, the PrMM16R9 has room for a dual-width graphics card, in this case the AMD Radeon Pro W7800. It could, apparently, take an even wider accelerator such as the triple-width W7900. The W7800 sports 4,800 Stream Processors and 32GB of GDDR6 memory delivering 576GB/sec of bandwidth.

Another surprising inclusion for such a diminutive system are the two storage drives. The main one is a 2TB Crucial T705 NVMe M.2 device, with a PCI Express 5 interface. This delivered 8,413MB/sec sustained reading and 7,792MB/sec writing using CrystalDiskMark 8. Then there’s a secondary 2TB Kioxia Exceria Pro NVMe drive running at PCI Express 4 speeds and providing 7,095MB/sec reading alongside 3,218MB/sec writing speeds.

Although the Magnetar’s AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is the previous CPU generation now, it packs a punch. An overall score of 729 in the PC Pro media benchmarks still beats the InterPro’s Core i9-14900K CPU, with solid results of 289 in image editing, 692 in video encoding and 901 in multitasking. The multi-CPU render result with Maxon Cinebench 2024 of 1,991 is also slightly faster. The Blender Gooseberry frame took 283 seconds, which surpassed all the other systems in the £4,500 class. Considering the performance of the 12-core Ryzen 9000 series used by Scan, with the 9950X in this system instead of the 7950X, the results would be very competitive indeed.

The AMD Radeon Pro W7800 performs well. In SPECviewperf 2020, results of 230 in 3dsmax-07 and 757 in maya-06 show excellent 3D animation modelling ability. And 169 in catia-06, 238 in creo-03 and 600 in snx-04, with a decent 438 in solidworks-07, imply capable CAD and engineering abilities. The AI inference score of 24,623 in the Geekbench ML, 12,617 with LuxMark 3.1 OpenCL, and Blender Gooseberry frame time of 145 seconds are about what we’d expect from this GPU.

With our review sample relying on a previous-generation AMD Ryzen, the Armari Magnetar PrMM16R9 couldn’t win this Labs test; although the upgrade will be at no extra cost by the time you read this, we can’t confirm the performance until we try it. But this is still a great-looking compact system that punches way above its size. It has plenty to commend it to anyone looking for a stylish yet powerful desk-friendly workstation.

This review first appeared in Issue 361 of PC Pro.

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SuperOps is a diverse RMM and PSA tool that allows businesses and MSPs to manage endpoints, patch them, and also solve ticketing queries. It comes with several project management tools that help you streamline day-to-day work, and it has also recently introduced network monitoring and IT documentation functions.

Founded in 2020, SuperOps is relatively new in the industry. However, it has quickly caught everyone’s eye, owing to its unique technician-based pricing and intelligent AI alerting features. It's also quite easy to set up and has won 17 awards at the recently concluded G2’s Winter 2023 announcement, including badges such as Best Support (small business), High Performer, and Easiest Setup.

In this in-depth SuperOps review, we'll discuss some of its best features, support options, ease of use, security, and, of course, its value for money.

SuperOps: Plans and pricing

What we liked the most about SuperOps’ pricing is that there’s a plan for distinct needs – PSA and RMM. So, if you only need RMM functions, you can choose the Standard plan at $99/license/month. On the other hand, if you only need PSA functions, you can choose to pay for just that: $79/license/month.

Each license covers 150 endpoints. So, the RMM cost boils down to $0.66/endpoint/month, which is very affordable, making it ideal for large teams with lots of endpoints. Plus, if you have more than 150 endpoints, you can buy an additional endpoints pack at $75 for 150 endpoints per month. 

However, if you’re a small business and have only 20-30 systems, you’d still have to pay $99/month, since there’s no option to add an individual endpoint – you have to purchase the entire lot. So, SuperOps can quickly become expensive for startups and small businesses.

If you’re looking for both PSA and RMM functions, you can get SuperOps’ Pro or Super plan, costing $129/license/month and $159/license/month, respectively.

Even better, there’s also a 14-day free trial, which will allow you to test the tool's various features risk-free before committing.

SuperOps: Features

We'll now discuss the most notable SuperOps features.

Automation

One of the best features of SuperOps is the degree of automation you get with its policy management functions. This lets you set up policies that help you define a framework to monitor all the assets you manage. There are two types of policies: hierarchal and group-based.

A hierarchal policy allows you to create a policy set for an asset on the global level, which can be overridden at a client, site, or device level. You can configure both alerts and patch management for Windows and Mac assets. 

Alerts

SuperOps lets you set up rule-based alerts for events on the client’s device and even configure auto-remediation actions. For example, you can create an alert when the free disk space on a device goes below a specific level. 

What's more, you can also define the action that needs to be taken: deleting temp files, creating a ticket, or sending an email to a technician. Similarly, you can automate patch management by pre-defining approval configurations and deployment schedules with various conditions.

Schedule actions

We also liked the scheduled actions feature under SuperOps’ policy management. You can schedule scripts to be executed at specific times (once a day, week, or month). While SuperOps offers a handful of default scripts, you can also build a custom script from scratch, either for all your clients, a specific client, or even a particular asset.

Antivirus integrations

Taking security a notch higher, SuperOps lets you connect antivirus solutions with the platform. Currently, there are four antivirus integrations available: Webroot, Bitdefender, SentinelOne, and Emsisoft. 

Once you’ve successfully integrated the two platforms, you can create a policy to manage the antivirus software on the device. Each alert from the antivirus gets created as a ticket so that no security issues fall through the cracks.

Intelligent Alerting

Another feature that deserves special mention is Intelligent Alerting, which is an AI-powered alert mechanism that increases technicians’ efficiency and productivity. When toggled on, Intelligent Alerting deeply understands your client’s device – behaviors, schedules, and routines. 

It then builds patterns and identifies deviations from these patterns. These deviations or anomalies are then flagged as threats, based on their severity and priority. Intelligent Alerting goes a step ahead of traditional alert management. 

Here, you do not need to set up any conditions or criteria. All you have to do is toggle a button and choose the category where you want to enable AI alerts: CPU usage, memory usage, or disk usage. However, a caveat is that the system can take up to 25 days to fully analyze the target system and produce accurate alerts.

SuperOps: Interface and performance

SuperOps features a relatively clean, modern, and customizable home screen. It gives you a snapshot of various performance metrics, such as open alerts, patches, tickets due today, and all pending approvals. 

We also liked the ‘mentions’ widget, which lets you know if any client or team member has mentioned you in a ticket or internal note.

The best part is that these widgets are completely customizable, and you can view the widget library from the top-right corner of the home screen and choose widgets that are of utmost importance to your role.

Since SuperOps is a multi-dimensional tool, there’s a separate ‘Modules’ tab on a sleek left panel. From here, you can select the function you want to work on: Asset management, client management, tickets, tasks, or projects.

Overall, it can admittedly take a bit of time to get a hang of SuperOps’ interface, especially if you haven’t worked with RMM software before. However, once you learn the ropes, the platform is fairly easy to use.

SuperOps: Security

SuperOps complies with SOC II Type 2, HIPAA, and GDPR to ensure that sensitive business data is handled as per set regulations. 

Plus, the platform is hosted on a dedicated Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) on Amazon Web Services (AWS), which complies with several assurance programs, such as SOC 1/ISAE 3402, SOC 2, SOC 3, PCI DSS Level 1, FISMA, and DIACAP. 

Furthermore, all the data on the website is secured in private subnets and virtual firewalls that allow only pre-established transactions. Plus, SuperOps uses industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption to secure your data.

There are also a lot of security control options you get as a user. For instance, you can enable two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access. You can also set up role-based access rules to ensure users can access only those parts of SuperOps that are necessary for their respective functions.

SuperOps: Support

SuperOps has a very detailed ‘Help Center’ page with numerous articles on various topics, such as client management, policy management, automation, reporting, etc. You’ll also see a live chat option at the bottom of your screen, where you can connect to a human representative instead of a bot – super handy since live chat is often the most effective port of call for troubled users.

There are also a lot of blogs, pre-recorded webinars, guides, community hubs, and podcasts, which give you a comprehensive insight into SuperOps’ functions. 

Moreover, in the unlikely event that you do not find a solution to your queries, you can reach out to the customer support team through a phone call or email address. The customer service team is responsive and will promptly resolve any queries you might have.

SuperOps: Final verdict

SuperOps is an excellent RMM software with extensive automation capabilities at just $0.66/endpoint/month, making it one of the most affordable options out there, especially for medium-sized and large businesses with lots of endpoints. 

Its Intelligent Alerting feature sets it apart from the rest. This feature learns the behavior of the endpoints and sends alerts if it finds any deviation from patterned behaviors, saving a lot of time for technicians. You can also automate patch management, build custom alerts, and set up hierarchical and group policies for asset management.

If you’re looking for a multi-dimensional tool that goes beyond RMM, SuperOps is a perfect pick. You get a dedicated PSA module, where you can manage service tickets, invoicing, quotes, and even manage your ongoing projects. Alternatively, if you want both RMM and PSA features, there are specific plans for that too.

That said, SuperOps can be expensive for startups and small businesses with less than 30 endpoints due to its step-up pricing module – but you can leverage its 14-day risk-free trial to test it out for yourself.

SuperOps: FAQs

Atera is RMM and PSA software that allows businesses and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to manage endpoints for various clients. Unlike other RMM platforms, Atera charges you on the basis of the number of technicians you have, rather than the endpoints. 

It also offers an AI assistant that helps you automate tasks and solve tickets, setting it apart from others in the industry. At the time of writing, over 12,000 customers, including Domino’s, Sodexo, and Grant Thornton, use Atera to manage around 5 million devices.

In this in-depth Atera review, we'll discuss its primary features, pricing, and overall performance. We’ll also compare it with the competition to help you find out if it's the right choice for your business

Atera: Plans and pricing

Atera’s pricing structure is different from other RMM software on the market. It bills users on the basis of the number of technicians — instead of the number of endpoint systems managed. 

This is beneficial for small businesses or MSPs where only a few technicians handle the entire endpoint management. There are two types of plans with Atera: one for IT departments and the other for MSPs.

For instance, let's say you’re an MSP handling 50 systems. If you choose an endpoint-based pricing structure, you can expect to pay anywhere between $150-500 per month ($2-10 per endpoint). However, with Atera, you’d only pay $258 for 50 endpoints (considering two technicians).

Plus, Atera goes beyond traditional RMM functions and offers features like remote access, helpdesk and ticketing, network discovery, and patch management. This makes it a good value-for-money business tool for system monitoring.

There’s also a 30-day free trial, which you can avail of without entering your credit card details. This will allow you to try it out without risking a single penny.

A downside of Atera is that its Action AI doesn't come included with any of the subscriptions – you’ll have to contact the sales team to get a custom quote for this add-on.

Atera: Features

Atera lets you monitor system activities in real time and also offers automated alerts. You can get live data on metrics like system resources, logged-in users, network and IP health, and active directories, among others. 

Action AI

A feature that truly sets Atera apart from the competition is its Action AI, available for both technicians (Copilot) and end users (Autopilot). 

Let’s say you’re an end user and facing issues with your printer. All you have to do is open Autopilot on your device and describe your problem using a simple text. The AI assistant will then run a check and suggest solutions. Next, you can click on the solution option to fix the issue. 

This saves a lot of time for technicians and end users, saving them the ordeal of raising a ticket, establishing a remote connection, and then fixing the issue. With Atera, the entire problem can be solved by the end-point user himself.

The Copilot for technicians also works similarly. It can look for issues on the system and help you resolve the problem with just a click. However, since this is a paid add-on, it can increase the overall cost of system management. 

Automation

Besides this, you can also automate a lot of redundant tasks, so your team can focus on more critical functions. For instance, routine tasks like deleting temp files, rebooting systems, running full system scans, and checking new updates can be handled automatically by Atera with the help of Scripts.

Scripts are simple commands that help IT teams automate various processes. With Atera, you can either upload a custom script or choose one from its vast Shared Script Library. These readymade scripts can be further customized to suit your task. 

Even better, these are routinely checked for malware by Atera, making them safe to use. The platform supports formats such as MSI, Bash files, CMD files, and PowerShell.

All connected devices get their own Customer Portal, which can be used to raise service tickets. These tickets are automatically synced with the Atera UI. The platform has also introduced AI ticker tagging, which recognizes support tickets based on keywords and auto-assigns them to the right technician for quicker response.

You can even pull automated reports from Atera, which shows you metrics like total tickets resolved and average time taken to resolve issues. This helps gauge overall customer satisfaction and technician performance.

Patch management

Another area where Atera does an excellent job is patch management, which allows you to ensure that the software, hardware, and OS on your connected devices (Windows, MacOS, and Linux) are up to date. You can even automate patching and set schedules to regularly check for updates. Tasks such as disk defrag, scheduled reset, and cleanups can also be automated. 

The Patch Status Summary report shows you a summary of all patches and updates for servers as well as desktops. This way, you can quickly find out if any patches are missing.

Network Discovery

Atera also offers robust Network Discovery features that allow you to identify all the devices within a given network and simplify onboarding. This also gives you a detailed view of the network topology and efficient network management.

You can even set up custom alerts for unmonitored servers, workstations, and SNMPs, and keep an eye on new devices and IP address changes.

Integrations

Last but not least, we were also impressed by the sheer number of integration options Atera offers. You can connect with Splashtop, AnyDesk, or TeamViewer to access systems remotely. Several accounting integrations such as QuickBooks and Xero and Calendar integrations like Google Calendar and Microsoft 365 Calendar are also available.

Atera: Interface and performance

Atera’s dashboard serves as a single source of truth for technicians, with various widgets providing critical information on connected endpoints. For instance, you can check the live status of tickets: open, pending, due today, or overdue. 

Similarly, you can also see the number of alerts per customer, divided into three categories:  'Information', 'Warning', and 'Critical'. There’s a widget showing you the number of online and offline devices and a map widget with the exact location of all managed devices.

We also found a couple of bar charts showing the number of tickets opened and resolved over the past 7 days. The best part is that you can fully customize your dashboard: add, delete, or resize widgets as per your preference.

Plus, there’s a panel on the left-hand side with detailed information on tickets, customers, devices, and alerts. Overall, the interface is clean and easy to navigate, with no performance lags.

Atera: Security

Atera is a secure RMM and PSA platform, as it complies with ISO/IEC 27001, 27017, 27018, and 27032, SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, and HIPAA. Although Atera is not subject to PCI-DSS compliances, it still complies with them to protect its customers’ card details.

Additionally, the platform maintains detailed audit logs for account establishment and modifications, and you can also add multi-factor authentication to your accounts for increased security. What's more, managers can choose to impose role-based access control (RBAC) across devices. 

All your data on Atera is encrypted using industry-standard and rock-solid AES-256 encryption. It's also worth noting that although Atera uses third-party tech for its AI functions, it doesn’t share any customer data nor does it use that data for training its own systems.

Atera: Support

Atera has a rich collection of training videos and articles and its web knowledgebase has several FAQs on topics like RMM, ticketing, billing, and reporting. Plus, Atera’s YouTube channel has 50+ useful videos that will familiarize you with the product.  

Atera also offers 24/7 email and live chat support, and there’s also an online form you can fill out for pre-purchase queries. Overall, there’s no dearth of support options on Atera.

Atera: The competition

Atera is ideal for small businesses and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) since it offers a per-technician pricing model instead of a per-end point, which reduces the overall cost of management. However, large businesses involving complex infrastructures may find Atera expensive.

In that case, you can consider alternatives like NinjaOne. Although you’ll have to contact their sales team for an exact quote, you can expect to pay $2-4 per endpoint. You also get 100+ monitoring templates with NinjaOne, which is the number one patch management tool as of the G2 Spring 2024 report.

On the other hand, if you’re a small business looking for a really affordable RMM product, consider TeamViewer. It offers a free plan, where you can connect unlimited non-work devices. Plus, it’s easy to set up and use, making it ideal for beginners. 

Atera: Final verdict

Atera is certainly among the best RMM software out there, thanks to its AI assistant and easy-to-use and customizable dashboard. Atera’s Action AI (Copilot and Autopilot) helps solve redundant and frequent system queries quickly so that technicians can focus on the complex issues at hand. Its per-technician pricing model makes it affordable for small businesses and MSPs. 

The best part is that Atera extends its functions beyond just remote system management and allows full-fledged helpdesk, billing, and reporting functions, besides robust patch management, and network discovery. We also like that it also offers ample integrations with existing business tools. 

That said, Atera can quickly become expensive for large businesses, where specialized technicians handle only a few complex systems. In that case, an endpoint-based pricing structure would be ideal.

Atera: FAQs

Bitdefender Antivirus Free may be the lowest and most basic free antivirus software product in the Bitdefender range, but don’t let that put you off. Sure, there’s no VPN, password manager or parental controls, but Bitdefender Antivirus Free does include precisely the same leading-edge antivirus protection as Bitdefender’s big suites, all at zero cost, and that works for us.

We’re less impressed by the platform support: Bitdefender Antivirus Free is strictly Windows only, a problem when Avast and Avira have free products for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. But if the focus on Microsoft isn’t a problem, could Bitdefender Antivirus Free be the best malware removal and protection suite for you? We put the app through some very in-depth tests to find out.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free: Getting started

You can’t install Bitdefender Antivirus Free without setting up an account. That’s quick, easy and free, but it does mean handing over your email address. Avast Free Antivirus and Avira Free Security can be installed and used without registration or handing over any personal details.

This isn’t just about privacy; there are practical issues, too. Because Bitdefender requires you to log into an account, it knows the number of devices you’re protecting, and currently limits you to a maximum of three. Avast and Avira don’t know who you are, and you can install their apps wherever you like.

We noticed another complication. Bitdefender Free Antivirus is only available if you have a new Bitdefender account with no subscription. If you’re currently protecting three laptops with a Bitdefender Total Security license, for instance, there’s no way to add a free license to give another laptop basic protection. There’s a workaround - create a new Bitdefender account with a different email - but we’d much rather the problem didn’t exist at all.

On the plus side, signing up for a Bitdefender account does get you access to live support, not something we see with other free antivirus. That’s potentially very important, because antivirus issues can be complex. If you run into technical troubles, having access to live expert help could make all the difference.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free: Features

The Bitdefender Antivirus Free dashboard gives easy access to the app’s core antivirus features. Quick Scan speedily checks the most commonly-infected areas of your device; System Scan takes its time to inspect absolutely everything; the Scheduler allows you to set up scans to run automatically when you’re not around, and you can manage Exceptions (files you tell Bitdefender to ignore because it flags them incorrectly) and Quarantine (where Bitdefender securely locks away blocked files.)

The app is missing some of Bitdefender’s more advanced antivirus features. There’s no Rescue Environment, unfortunately, to remove stealthy threats which can’t be touched when Windows is running. That’s bad news if you’re suffering a serious infection, and not a problem we had with Avast Free Antivirus, which supports creating a bootable rescue scanner and has many other scan types.

The app doesn’t have Bitdefender’s ransomware remediation, either, a valuable extra layer which can restore encrypted files after a ransomware attack. 

Bitdefender Antivirus Free doesn’t include any of Bitdefender’s bonus privacy or security tools. There are buttons for the firewall, antispam, parental controls, anti-theft, the performance optimizer and more, but they all display a padlock icon which means they’re not accessible unless you pay to upgrade.

The VPN is one of the few without a padlock, but not because there’s a free version: you just get an option to install a 7-day trial of Bitdefender’s free VPN. That’s still welcome, but if you’re looking for an antivirus suite with a free VPN, Avast One Essential is a better option. Its VPN has major restrictions - can’t change location, no kill switch - but the 5GB a week data allowance is generous, and it might work for simple tasks.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free is best described as ‘basic’, then, but that’s not necessarily bad news. Avira Free Security includes extras like a password manager and software updater to check for missing software patches, but they’re limited, and we suspect most people won’t use them more than once. If you only want quality antivirus, Bitdefender’s stripped-back design may appeal more than the ‘here, have loads of features you don’t need’ approach used by many competitors.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free: Protection

We begin checking antivirus effectiveness by monitoring results of nine regular tests from top labs including AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and MRG Effitas. The tests measure protection, performance, usability and more, and we combine their scores into a single aggregate figure to give us an overall measure of antivirus effectiveness.

Bitdefender is currently equal first with Avast and McAfee, an excellent result. ESET, F-Secure and Norton are equal fourth, while Avira trails a little in seventh place.

We ran further tests of our own, attempting to access 50 brand new phishing URLs on a Bitdefender-protected system. The results were a little below average, with Bitdefender blocking 64% of threats. (Avast blocked 86% in its own tests, and Avira reached an excellent 90%.)

Phishing results can vary hugely depending on the test URLs, though, and Bitdefender scored much better on our malware tests. We gave Chrome 50 links to malicious files, and Bitdefender blocked 92% at the domain access or download level, and the remaining 8% as they were saved to our hard drive, for a perfect 100% protection rate. Other free antivirus apps got close - Avira managed 90%, Avast 94% - but Bitdefender is the only provider in recent testing to score 100%. Even most paid apps can’t manage that.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free: Final verdict

Bitdefender Antivirus Free is a great malware-hunting performer, but is still fractionally behind Avast in independent testing. As Bitdefender also leaves out tools which Avast includes, such as a bootable scanning, it means you’re a little less likely to be able to remove an infection if something does penetrate your defenses. 

The difference is fractional, though, and not enough to outweigh your personal preferences in other areas. If you only need Windows antivirus, and you trust Bitdefender more, don’t like Avast’s more pushy marketing or need its stack of extras, Bitdefender Antivirus Free is still one of the very best zero-cost malware hunters around.

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