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This Asus gaming tablet PC is built in collaboration with Kojima Productions

9:15 am | February 27, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: PC | Comments: Off

Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) recently collaborated with Kojima Productions to create a custom-designed gaming tablet PC, the ROG Flow Z13-KJP. Kojima Productions is the studio founded by the legendary game director Hideo Kojima, who created popular franchises such as Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding. The ROG Flow Z13-KJP was initially revealed at CES 2026 but is now finally up for pre-order. The ROG Flow Z13-KJP is designed by the artist Yoji Shinkawa, who has worked with Kojima for the art design of all of his games as well as several other notable titles. It is a...

‘Awesome precision meets blisteringly fast connectivity’ – I tested the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless and I’m never going back to my first-party controller

4:00 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming Gaming Accessories Xbox Xbox Series X | S | Tags: Forza Horizon, PC | Comments: Off

Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless: one-minute review

The Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless is a controller compatible with both Xbox Series X|S and PC. It’s an unabashedly premium product at $189.99 / £199 / AU$349 but, for that price, it’s wonderfully responsive, beautifully designed and comes with a good array of accessories.

First off, the Raikiri II feels beautifully well built. It feels solid and substantial, yet it’s ergonomically designed. Elements like the rear buttons are perfectly placed under your fingertips to make them easy to access without shifting your grasp, while its textured grips meant it never once slipped in my hands. Its RGB lighting is also tastefully done, just subtle enough to not detract from its sleek appearance and coming with plenty of customizable options.

Both the thumbsticks and shoulder triggers are staggeringly accurate, thanks to Asus’s decision to use TMR sensors in each of them. Not only do I relish not having to worry about the dreaded stick drift anymore but I found them astoundingly precise, giving me spot-on control over everything from acceleration in racing games to aiming in FPSes. The fact that the shoulder triggers can be toggled to using micro-switches is just the icing on the cake – smashing parries out against the Paintress in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has never felt so satisfying to me.

This awesome sensitivity and precision is further supported by the Raikiri II’s blisteringly fast connectivity, which rivals that of many of the best Xbox controllers. Not only does it offer an absurdly rapid 1,000Hz polling rate but its 2.4GHz wireless connection and USB-C connectivity each trim input latencies down to just 3.5ms and 2.3ms. Naturally, it also offers Bluetooth connectivity but, honestly, I found the former options so fast that I’d opt for those every time.

Thanks to Asus’s Gear Link software, you can also customize a lot of the Raikiri II’s functionality. On top of basic options like button remapping, you can also set discreet response curves and deadzones for each thumbstick, as well as start and end points for each of the shoulder triggers. There’s also the option to tweak how intense the controller’s rumble settings are and map the pad’s four rear buttons to various functions.

While you can save all of these settings to one of five profiles, this does come with a pretty serious caveat. When playing on Xbox, you can only switch between them using the Gear Link software, meaning hooking it up to your laptop or desktop each time. To me, this feels like a pretty major oversight – can you really class this Raikiri II’s Xbox edition, if a key part of the functionality is inaccessible to Xbox gamers?

This one misstep aside though, the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless is a seriously impressive controller. While I think PC gamers will get even more out of it than those on Xbox, it’s still a fantastically responsive pad on either platform, offering some features I’ve not seen on many other products, like those TMR triggers. Yes, it’s relatively pricey at $189.99 / £199 / AU$349 but, if you’re looking for a trailblazing premium controller, it’s a great option.

A closeup of the left side of the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless, showing its left thumbstick and D-pad. — (Image credit: Future)

Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless review: price and availability

Launched December 10, 2025
Retails for $189.99 / £199 / AU$349
Offers a lot of accessories for that price

Having launched on December 10, 2025, the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless is available now. You can pick it up for $189.99 / £199 / AU$349, putting it firmly up the premium end of the Xbox controller market.

In return for that spend, though, you get a whole heap of functionality, plus a range of connectivity options: Bluetooth, a 2.4GHz wireless dongle or wired USB-C connectivity. On top of this, it also comes with a carry case, USB-C cable, charging dock and replacement thumbsticks, so it’s a very decent package for the price.

The Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless and its dock sat on a stone-effect surface. — (Image credit: Future)

Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless review: specs

Price	$189.99 / £199 / AU$349
Compatibility	Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
Connection type	Wireless (2.4GHz dongle), Wired (USB Type-C), Bluetooth
Battery life	Up to 50 hours
Features	TMR thumbsticks, dual-mode triggers, microswitch buttons, 1,000Hz polling rate (via wired connection / 2.4GHz wireless)
Software	Asus Gear Link (PC)

The Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless sat on a stone-effect surface. — (Image credit: Future)

Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless review: design and features

Long-lasting TMR sticks
Excellent dual-mode triggers
Attractive, ergonomic design

Over the years, I’ve built up quite the grisly mausoleum of dead controllers, both Xbox and otherwise. Eventually, the dreaded stick drift has claimed every single one. So it’s a relief to know that won’t happen with the ROG Raikiri II’s drift-resistant thumbsticks.

Asus has opted for TMR sticks here, which it says are not only more accurate but consume less power than Hall-effect alternatives. While it’s difficult to assess what kind of longevity you’ll get out of them, from the second I held the ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless in my hands, the thumbsticks felt incredibly responsive and enabled me to make surgically precise movements in a variety of games.

But perhaps even more than the Raikiri II’s thumbsticks, I really fell for its dual-mode shoulder triggers. When set to their micro-switch triggers, I found they were lightning fast to activate, making them perfect for hammering the trigger in FPS games. Meanwhile, their full-range TMR sensor mode is a real rarity on console controllers – we’ve certainly not tested many with that functionality here at TechRadar Gaming – and it gave me really wonderfully precise control for games like Forza Horizon 5.

At first, I found the clicky feedback of the micro-switch face buttons took a little getting used to, as I’m more familiar with the spongy softness of the Xbox Wireless Controller buttons. But once I’d adapted to their novel feel, I was fully converted – they activate seriously quickly and offer such an immediate response that you know almost instantly when you’ve hit your target.

Its extra rear shortcut buttons are perfectly placed, sitting right under where your middle and ring fingers naturally grab the pad. And they’re wonderfully versatile. Not only are they great if you want to set up extra macros in game but being able to set a couple as shortcuts for the shoulder buttons saved me ever having to switch my grip during sessions of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which reduced my response times in game significantly.

When it comes to looks, the controller styles itself after the recent Xbox ROG Ally X, riffing off design elements like its subtle decal. It also mimics its textured grips, which I definitely found made it easier to keep hold of the pad without them ever feeling rough. In fact, its matt plastic build always feels pleasantly tactile to the touch, while the whole device feels just substantial enough to avoid flimsy or hollow.

And while I know that for some people RGB lighting on a controller is an unnecessary gimmick, I have to admit that I’m completely suckered in by the ROG Raikiri II’s lighting. Partly this is because it’s relatively subtle and restrained, limiting itself to a strip down either side and the central ROG button, and it’s fully customizable, allowing you to decide quite how much you want to lean into full-blown esports styling.

Finally, the ROG Raikiri II has an impressive range of connectivity options. On top of Bluetooth, it also has 2.4GHz wireless connectivity via a dongle and a USB-C wired connection. These latter two are particularly impressive, offering an 1,000Hz polling rate and trimming input latencies to just 3.5ms and 2.3ms respectively, meaning you should easily get the drop on most of your enemies in game.

A closeup of the right side of the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless, showing its right thumbstick, D-pad and face buttons. — (Image credit: Future)

Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless review: performance

Blisteringly fast response times
Brilliantly customisable
Custom profiles can’t be changed on Xbox

With its 1,000Hz polling rate in PC mode, it’s safe to say I was expecting the Raikiri II to respond to inputs rapidly. And it did not disappoint. Even when playing fast-paced FPSes like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, I couldn’t detect the least hint of lag over its low-latency 2.4GHz RF connectivity or USB-C cable.

But it’s not only its connectivity that make for lightning fast gaming – those dual-mode shoulder triggers are a literal game-changer. When I first tried them out while playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the difference compared to my previous budget controller was immediately appreciable. Especially when using them in their micro-switch trigger mode, I suddenly found myself going from fumbling three-quarters of parries to nailing them 80% of the time. Those triggers respond fast and I certainly found it had a palpable impact on my game play.

And with Asus’s Gear Link software you can tweak things even further to get the kind of performance you need for each game you’re playing and save them to one of five customized profiles. You can access this tool by hooking up the Raikiri II to your PC and accessing it in your browser.

This method does come with an unfortunate wrinkle, however. As it's browser-based, there’s no way to access it on the fly from your Xbox and the controller doesn’t offer any way to switch between profiles as you play. That means you can only ever access one tuning at a time on your console before you need to return to a PC to switch things up – which is a weird choice to make for a controller that literally has ‘Xbox’ in the name.

Honestly, that’s a bit of a shame as, otherwise, the Gear Link software offers really granular control over the responsiveness of your controller. For example, I was able to set one of my profiles with very quick response and shallow range for its triggers, making it really easy to fan the hammer when trying to gun down opponents on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Conversely, for Forza Horizon 5, I set the right trigger to activate over its full range, giving me really precise control over the throttle so I could better manage my speed during cornering.

And that’s just the beginning. You can also set independent custom curves for each of the TMR thumbsticks, enabling you to tweak how fast they respond the further they’re moved, as well as set the size of their deadzones. While playing Doom, I set the left stick to have a rapid curve and kept the right one set as linear – as a result, I was able to close the gap between Doom Guy and all those demons far quicker, without having the camera whip round too violently.

The Gear Link software also unlocks a bunch of other customization options. You can change the intensity of the controller’s vibration haptics, which I imagine is very useful for people who have sensory processing problems or find it difficult to grip on to a controller that’s vibrating too fiercely.

It also unlocks some aesthetic tweaks for that RGB lighting. You have the option to set each zone up separately, whether you want it in solid color, breathing, reacting to button presses or color cycling. My personal go-to though? It definitely has to be battery mode, which allows you to set the lighting to specific colors for different battery levels – I can now get a precise sense of how much juice my pad has left at just a glance, which is a lifesaver.

Overall, I found the performance of the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless to be seriously impressive. Don’t get me wrong: there are some odd choices along the way, especially the lack of a hotswap button for saved profiles on the Xbox. But if you’re not flipping through different genres at the drop of a hat or you’re playing on PC, it's an incredibly responsive controller with a great level of customizability.

The Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless sat in its case, alongside a USB-C cable and spare thumbsticks. — (Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless?

Buy it if…

You want lightning fast response times
With 1,000Hz polling on PC and clicky micro-switch buttons, the Raikiri II will cut your reaction time in games down to an absolute minimum.

You want a high-level of customizability
With Asus’s Gear Link software, you can tweak a wide array of settings on the Raikiri II, whether that’s thumbstick curves, trigger activation ranges, vibration intensity or key mappings.

Don’t buy it if…

You have a massive Xbox games library
Despite the name, I honestly don’t count Xbox gaming as one of the Raikiri II’s strong suits, thanks to the lack of hotswitching between profiles. If you want to jump between different Xbox control schemes at the click of a button, you’ll be disappointed.

You want a cheap controller
If you’re hoping for a budget pick, this ain’t it. While it offers high-end features, they come at a premium price of $189.99 / £199 / AU$349, so if you want to save some cash, you might want to look elsewhere.

Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless review: also consider

	Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless	Razer Wolverine V3 Pro	PowerA Fusion Pro 3
Price	$189.99 / £199 / AU$349	$199.99 / £199.99	$79.99 / £79.99
Compatibility	Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC	Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC	Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
Connection type	Wireless (2.4GHz dongle), Wired (USB Type-C), Bluetooth	Wireless (2.4GHz dongle), Wired (USB Type-C)	Wired
Battery life	Up to 50 hours	12-13 hours	N/A
Features	TMR thumbsticks, dual-mode triggers, microswitch buttons, mappable back buttons, 1,000Hz polling rate (via wired connection / 2.4GHz wireless)	Hall effect thumbsticks, circular D-pad, microswitch buttons, two-way trigger locks, Razer mouse click paddles, 1,000Hz polling rate (via wired connection on PC)	Mappable back buttons, three-way trigger locks, impulse triggers, dual rumble motors, volume dial, one-touch mic mute
Software	Asus Gear Link (PC)	Razer Controller App (Xbox and PC)	PowerA Gamer HQ App (Xbox and PC)

Razer Wolverine V3 Pro
Not only does the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro offer a similarly premium build, it also offers the same dual-function triggers, drift-resistant thumbsticks and mappable rear buttons as the Raikiri II. On top of that, its floating D-pad provides super smooth action and it comes in cheaper than Asus’s controller. Literally, the only downside is its more unadventurous looks.

Read our full Razer Wolverine V3 Pro review

PowerA Fusion Pro 3
Want a slightly more affordable controller than either of these pro-level pads? Then the wired Fusion Pro 3 is worth checking out. Despite rocking trigger locks, mappable buttons and swappable thumbsticks, it comes in at just $79.99, which is a bit of a bargain. The drawback? It’s no longer available for those in the UK.

Read our full PowerA Fusion Pro 3 review

A woman's hands holding the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless above a stone-effect surface. — (Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless

Tested it over two weeks
Used it on both Xbox and PC
Created multiple custom profiles

I tested the Asus ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless over a period of several weeks. I tried it out on both the Xbox Series X and on PC and tried it out on a wide range of genres, from RPGs like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, FPSes like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and racing games like Forza Horizon 5.

Not only did I try the Raikiri II using all three connection methods – 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth and wired – but I used the Asus's Gear Link software to tweak all of its available settings. That included creating multiple profiles with varying trigger ranges, thumbstick curves and button assignments.

In terms of my testing experience, not only am I TechRadar's reviews editor, with experience of reviewing a wide array of gadgets, but I've been gaming for 35 years. That's across a wide range of platforms, including PC, consoles and gaming handhelds, meaning I've got loads of experience in gaming across a wide range of genres.

First reviewed: February 2026
Read more about how we test

The Razer BlackShark V3 X takes the best gaming headset on the market and strips it down to a great-value price

2:00 am | February 24, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming Gaming Accessories | Tags: PC | Comments: Off

Razer BlackShark V3 X review: One-minute review

The bells-and-whistles version of Razer’s latest BlackShark V3, the V3 Pro, is one of the best wireless gaming headsets on the market. This model might share the name and the basic chassis design, but it’s available at a very different price, and that means the feature spec sheet looks wildly different too.

Razer’s positioning this as an esports model, based on the low-latency wireless connection its Hyperspeed 2.4GHz wireless dongle offers, and the impressively svelte 9.6oz / 270g weight. In reality, as welcome as those attributes are, they’re probably more relevant to a non-professional gamer who wants to save some cash, stay comfortable while they play, and avoid connection dropouts more than a professional player in a stadium.

One thing that translates very well all the way down the BlackShark range is the comfort and adjustability of the headband and earcup design. There’s a brilliant balance of clamping force and headband weight distribution that makes this headset immediately comfy, and it stays that way into the last moments of your 40-player World of Warcraft raid.

The microphone isn’t especially standout, but it offers decent clarity and noise cancellation, and it’s detachable, which means if you opt to connect the headset to your smartphone via Bluetooth, you can wear these on the train or bus without looking like you’re organizing air traffic.

Your mileage of the 7.1 virtual surround may vary, but to this reviewer’s ears, it sounds thin and artificial, inevitably detracting from the original audio source rather than widening it. These aren’t the same titanium drivers as you’ll find in the standard Razer BlackShark V3, and they’re not quite as precise or authoritative in their sound production, which means there’s less leeway for affecting audio sources with virtual surround.

But if you can live with merely good audio and mic quality, the huge 70-hour battery, lightweight, comfortable feel, and clean look are a pretty considerable upside.

The Razer Blackshark V3 X gaming headset on a table. A living room is visible in the background. — (Image credit: Future)

Razer BlackShark V3 X review: Price and availability

Costs $99.99 / £99.99 / around AU$141
Comparable to Microsoft’s Xbox Wireless headset
Considerably cheaper than the V3 and V3 Pro, so don’t expect a similar experience

This version of the Blackshark is really all about the price. A lot of the V3 and V3 Pro’s luxury trimmings have been jettisoned in order to meet a sub-$100 price point, but Razer’s decades of experience mean it knows which bits are essential: comfort, reliability, and usability. Those have stayed, of course.

The specs compare favorably to rivals at this price point, like the official Xbox Wireless headset and RIG R5 Spear Pro HS, a wired model that we’ve been digging lately in the sub-$100 pool.

Razer BlackShark V3 X: Specs

	Razer BlackShark V3 X
Price	$99.99 / £99.99 / around AU$141
Weight	9.5oz / 270g
Battery life	70 hours
Compatibility	PC, Xbox Series X/S (Xbox version), Playstation 4/5, (PlayStation version), iOS/Android
Connectivity	2.4 GHz Wireless / Bluetooth / USB Wired
Microphone	Unidirectional detachable cardioid mic

Razer BlackShark V3 X: Design and features

Similar design to the flagship BlackShark V3
Hyperspeed and Bluetooth, but not simultaneously
Simple control layout

The basic headband, earcup, and hinge design will be familiar to anyone who’s familiar with previous versions of the BlackShark, or indeed the pricier variations of this current V3 generation. The wireframe hinge allows for plenty of adjustability, and there’s a near-perfect balance between the weight carried by the wide, well-cushioned headband and the clamping force generated by the earcups against your temples.

Around those earcups, there’s a generous slice of memory foam to keep that horizontal force from digging in too much and becoming uncomfortable, and there’s a good amount of extension in the wireframe to allow for larger heads.

The control layout is simple and effective. On the left earcup, just above the USB-C cable input, there’s a textured power button, volume scroll wheel, and a mic mute button, while on the right-hand side, you’ll find the holy grail for gaming headsets, particularly more affordable models: a game/chat balance scroll wheel. Having grown accustomed to having this luxury through years of use with Arctis 7 headsets, I always miss it when it doesn’t feature, and I’m seriously grateful to find one on a cheaper headset like this one.

While one probably wouldn’t expect simultaneous 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity at this price, it should still be noted that, unlike the V3 and V3 Pro, it isn’t available on this model.

The Hyperspeed wireless connection is very stable in my experience, though, suffering no dropouts over the several years I’ve been connecting wirelessly with Razer devices. It does invite some very infrequent audio artefacting in my experience, but that only manifests as a glitchy half-second of audio here and there when connecting to a PC.

Overall, the combo of comfort and looks of this model makes for a powerful one-two punch. Material choices and finish quality are both fantastic at this price range, and really distinguish this headset from rivals priced similarly.

Razer BlackShark V3 X review: Performance

Decent sound but lacking that spark
Capacious battery
Mic does the job

The drivers within this V3 X’s earcups are a similar design to the V3 and V3 Pro’s drivers, with some important differences. All feature a 50mm size, but while the V3 Pro uses a bio-cellulose construction for its flagship version of the Tri-Force driver and the V3 uses titanium, this cheaper version uses… something else. It’s not stated in Razer’s materials.

That’s all academic until you get into road-testing the sound, and I’m bringing up the materials of various driver variations because those materials allow for faster and more supple articulation, which in turn gives you more sparkly high frequencies and more convincing, visceral lows. It’s in the raw sound quality category where I felt the V3 X’s pricing most obviously, and that certainly doesn’t mean they sound bad.

They’re clearly tuned for a balanced sound reproduction instead of wow factor, and that’s the right call. While at the extreme ends of the frequency response range, they sound a little dull, the overall quality is nice and neutral, and that speaks to the esports positioning of this headset. Pro players would probably use a more expensive model, of course, but if they did use this, they wouldn’t have to contend with vital audio cues being drowned out by over-emphasised bass.

Elsewhere, the battery deserves some serious acclaim. All the BlackShark V3s boast a 70-hour battery life, and while that’s boosted in part by the absence of RGB, it’s still an insane number. And it holds up in reality. I found I was even able to eke out a bit more than 70 hours from one charge, and charging is very quick via USB-C.

More muted praise – if you’ll excuse the excellent pun – for the microphone, which is simply serviceable. The audio reproduction lacks a little body, but it’s certainly crisp enough to cut through the mix and ensure your callouts are heard.

Should I buy the Razer BlackShark V3 X?

Buy it if...

You love the BlackShark design
So much of what makes the pricier BlackShark models great carries over to the comfort and lightweight feel of this budget-friendly X option

You care a lot about latency
These are marketed as esports cans due to the low latency Hyperspeed wireless connection, so if you want assurance that you’re getting the comms in time, this is a good option.

You don’t need a broadcast-quality mic
Output quality is functional but not stellar on this model, so it’s a model for people who want clear chat but don’t need crystal-clear mic audio.

Don't buy it if...

You’re an audiophile
It takes a lot of balance and compromise to hit this price point in 2026, which means the drivers are tuned for clarity, not a sonic bath of creamy high fidelity luxuriousness.

You want one headset for multiple consoles
Like many modern headset models, this comes in either PlayStation or Xbox editions, which means you can’t use the same one for both devices.

You want a lot of passive noise cancellation
Despite comfortable pleather earpad cushions, this model’s prone to letting exterior sound bleed in while you’re wearing it.

Also consider...

Still not sold on the Razer BlackShark V3 X? Here's how it compares to two similar sets.

	Razer BlackShark V3 X Hyperspeed	Xbox Wireless Headset	RIG R5 Spear Pro HS
Price	$99.99 / £99.99 / around AU$141	$99.99 / £89.99 / AU$149.95	$69.99 / £69.99 (around AU$99)
Weight	9.5oz / 270g	11.2oz / 320g	11.9oz / 340g
Battery life	70 hours	20 hours	N/A
Connection type	Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless (Hyperspeed dongle), USB wired	Bluetooth, USB wired	Wired 3.5mm
Compatibility	PC, Xbox Series X/S (Xbox version), Playstation 4/5, (PlayStation version), iOS/Android	PC, Xbox X/S	PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X\|S, Xbox One, Switch, Switch 2, PC

Xbox Wireless headset
A similarly barebones offering from Microsoft for its own gaming consoles. Capable, but lacking battery life and connection options in comparison with Razer’s model.

For more information, check out our full Xbox Wireless Headset review

RIG R5 Spear Pro HS
Okay, it’s a wired headset. But despite that detail – and the fact it clearly has too many component parts, this is a seriously good value offering, and even cheaper than the budget Razer option.

For more information, check out our full RIG R5 Spear Pro HS review

How I tested the Razer BlackShark V3 X

Weeks of daily use on PC and Xbox Series S
Both connection types tested
Compared to the flagship Razer BlackShark V3 Pro

I swam the waters of low-budget gaming headsets for two weeks with the V3 X Hyperspeed, which meant the usual mix of gaming, Discord, and work calls to get a feel for the driver and mic performance alike.

The meditative, ambient soundscapes of Cairn comprised a lot of that time, along with some callout-heavy Counter-Strike 2 sessions, a few co-op Minecraft adventures, and some long drives in Assetto Corsa Evo.

Both compatible devices were tested, and I kept track of each charge’s duration to check Razer’s stated 70 hours checks out in reality.

First reviewed January 2026

Read more about how we test

The Fractal Scape has no business offering this many features for a wireless headset at this price

2:00 am | February 17, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Tags: PC, RGB | Comments: Off

Fractal Scape review: one-minute review

The bar keeps being raised in gaming peripherals lately, and as such, there’s no room for overpriced or feature-bloated models whose specs don’t translate to a great user experience. Fractal Design clearly knows this very well as it enters the wireless gaming headset market with a $200 model that looks like something Apple would try to sell you for $500, and comes with a charging dock and feature set that you’ll be more accustomed to seeing from pricer Astro headsets.

The looks will be a big selling point for many, as you’d expect from Fractal and its reputation for understated, Scandi-style PC cases. Available in both black and white, it’s got a grown-up look quite apart from the gaming peripherals of yesteryear, and with a detachable mic and Bluetooth connectivity, you can quite comfortably leave the house wearing the Fractal Design Scape as your smartphone’s headset without broadcasting an overstated ‘gamer gear’ look to the world and its judging eyes.

Also included is a wireless charging station, which will juice up the headset with up to 40 hours of use when RGB is disabled, and up to 24 when it’s enabled. Taking the headset out of the magnetic dock automatically powers it on, which feels like an incredibly decadent feature for this price.

While the materials and design generally lend themselves well to comfort – with a particular shout-out due to the high-grade memory foam earcup covers – this definitely favors a smaller head size, and I have concerns about the amount of padding on the headband itself. If you’ve got a larger head, you may start to feel the headband dig in during longer sessions.

It’s not perfect then, but that imperfection is effectively offset by how generous Fractal has been by adding not just a detachable boom mic but a built-in omnidirectional mic too. Not to mention fundamentally crisp and clear sound with some meaty bass response.

Fractal Scape wireless headset sat on a table in its charging dock. — (Image credit: Future)

Fractal Scape review: price & availability

List price: $199.99 / £169.99 (around AU$285)
Astro-like features for a far lower price
Priced competitively against Razer Blackshark V2 Pro and PlayStation Pulse Elite

The price point is a big win for Fractal out of the gates. How the manufacturer has managed to bundle a high-quality headset and charging station that look ready to sit in the window of an Apple store is anyone’s guess, but somehow that very thing has been achieved. The choice of two mics and strong construction materials and finish quality are further bonuses that make this a frontrunner in the $150-$200 market.

The competition? Probably still two members of the old guard. PlayStation’s official PS5 Pulse Elite headset features similarly elegant looks and hassle-free wireless operation, while Razer’s older Blackshark V2 is more of an all-rounder that features similar device compatibility to the Scape.

A close-up of the Fractal Scape's plush ear cups — (Image credit: Future)

Fractal Scape review: Specs

	Fractal Design Scape
Price	$199.99 / £169.99 / around AU$285
Weight	11.8.oz / 338g
Compatibility	PC, Mac, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS/Android
Connection type	2,4 GHz Wireless via USB-A dongle, Bluetooth 5.3, Wired via USB-C to USB-A cable
Battery life	40 hours RGB off, 24 hours RGB on
Microphone	1x detachable unidirectional 50–16 000 Hz, 1x omnidirectional (built-in)

Fractal Scape review: Design & features

Typically minimalist looks
Wireless dock will beautify your desk
Sensible controls layout

Fractal’s headset was never going to be an aggressive, overwrought affair. Its cases are recognizable for their elegant minimalism, and the same is very much true of this Scape. It’s reminiscent at first glance of Steelseries’ Arctis range, but has a ‘debadged’ look and the most minimal of RGB zones that carries through the Scandi operation’s less is more philosophy.

The dock features magnetic connections that keep the headset in place and carries through the understated look, guaranteed to bring some culture and sophistication to your desk, no matter how many Funko Pops it’s sharing the real estate with. A USB-A dongle is hidden on the underside of that dock so that you can plug the dongle into the dock and use the USB cable from the dock to your device’s USB port, keeping things nice and clean and giving you a bit more choice over where to position the dock.

In addition to the usual physical controls at the rear of each earcup (power, wireless/Bluetooth connection, and mic mute on the left, RGB on/off on the right), there’s a ‘control crown’ in the upper-left rear which controls volume and provides some multimedia controls for pausing music and skipping tracks. While every other control works well, feels sturdy, and is easy to find without having to take off the headset, I find the control crown a bit fiddly. It’s too small to make precise volume changes easily, and pressing and holding the crown to pause or skip feels awkward.

With that said, it’s extremely impressive that the two mic options have bespoke mute mechanics. The boom arm is flip-to-mute, whereas the built-in omnidirectional is controlled with a button.

A look at the Fractal Scape's plush headband — (Image credit: Future)

Fractal Scape review: Performance

Strong and precise sound
Great battery performance
Headband comfort can be an issue

Great care has clearly been taken to build a lot of comfort into these cans. That’s most evident when you give the earcup cushions a squeeze and find the most luxuriously squishy memory foam pads you ever squished. This is seriously high-grade material, equivalent to flagship Bose models.

And it’s a vital piece of the comfort puzzle, because the Scape offsets its middleweight heft (11.9oz / 338g is on the lighter side of average for wireless sets now) with a lot of clamping force. The idea is that the tighter the earcups clamp around your ears, the less weight hangs from the headband on top of your head. Plus, you get a nice bit of passive noise cancellation and a tight acoustic chamber for low-end frequencies to resonate in.

A closer look at the Fractal Scape's design and ear cups — (Image credit: Future)

That works on two of three fronts. It’s great at blocking out noise, and the bass response sounds full-bodied. But personally, I still notice the weight of the headband during longer sessions, and when I examine its construction, I find considerably less padding and considerably lower-grade cushion material.

It’s still absolutely possible to adjust the Scape so that it sits comfortably for marathon sessions, by extending the headband as big as possible and thereby placing more emphasis on the horizontal clamping force. But it’s something to keep in mind if your mind is kept within a larger skull.

The sound quality isn’t audiophile stuff, but with a standard-issue 20Hz-20KHz frequency response range, its drivers are more than capable of articulating power, detail, and nuance all at the same time in your game mix. Even with a Discord buddy shouting callouts with their 2011 headset mic.

The battery goes for just as long as the specs suggest, and during my real-world testing, I found more than 40 hours could transpire before I got the beeps. It’s so welcome to have an RGB off button on the headset rather than having to delve into Fractal’s (actually very decent, zero-footprint, web-only) software app, and similarly, I found that enabling the lighting didn’t quite reduce the charge life down to 24 hours. Perhaps I like to play at a lower volume than Fractal does.

Onto the choice of mics. It’s a double-edged sword, this feature, because although it’s incredible value to have two inputs on one headset, the noise cancellation on the unidirectional boom mic isn’t very strong, and external noises can leak into your voice chat. That’s even more true when using the omnidirectional mic, obviously. So: yes to dual mic design, no to the noise cancellation. This is the sort of thing that can be remedied in firmware updates, though, and I really hope it is because otherwise this is an exemplary package, and it’s priced low enough to have established brands like Razer, Logitech G, and Corsair worried.

A side shot of the Fractal Scape headphones, showcasing the attached microphone. — (Image credit: Future)

Should you buy the Fractal Scape?

Buy it if...

Your desk needs a centerpiece
The Scape’s wireless charging dock exemplifies the same Scandi minimalism that Fractal made its name with in the case market.

You’re not into flashy RGB
It’s very handy to have an RGB off mode and save some battery life instead.

You like talking but hate boom mics.
There’s a choice of a detachable unidirectional boom mic and a built-in omnidirectional, giving you a very rare choice of outputs.

Don't buy it if...

You’ve got a large head
This headset’s built around a particularly snug fit. Works great on smaller heads, but bigger craniums may notice the headband digging in.

You play in a noisy space
The noise cancelling on the boom mic still allows some ambience through, and even more so when using the omnidirectional option.

You want one headset to rule them all
The combination of a wireless docking station and a lack of Xbox compatibility means this isn’t the all-in-one battlestation headset you’re looking for.

Also consider...

Does this Fractal leave you in two minds? Consider these premium wireless alternatives.

	Fractal Scape	Razer BlackShark V2 Pro	PlayStation Pulse Elite
Price	$199.99 / £169.99 / around AU$285	$199 / £199 / AU$349	$149.99 / £129.99 / AU$239.95
Weight	11.84oz / 338g	11.2oz / 320g	12.1oz / 347g
Compatibility	PC, Mac, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, iOS/Android	PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch	PS5, PlayStation Portal, PC, Mac
Connection type	2.4 GHz Wireless via USB-A dongle, Bluetooth 5.3, Wired via USB-C to USB-A cable	Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless (Hyperspeed dongle)	Wireless (PlayStation Link via dongle), Wired (3.5mm audio jack), Bluetooth
Battery life	40 hours RGB off, 24 hours RGB on	70 hours	30 hours

PlayStation Pulse Elite
Sony doesn’t do its official console peripherals by half measures. Not only is the Pulse Elite an object d’art, but its specs stack up very competitively among other wireless headsets in the $150-$200 bracket.

For more information, check out our full SteelSeries PlayStation Pulse Elite review

Razer Blackshark V2 Pro
It’s no longer the latest and greatest Blackshark in Razer’s pool, but it’s still pretty great. Wireless, full of features and boasting a ridiculous 70-hour battery life, the V2 can usually be found for less than retail now, too.

For more information, check out our full Razer Blackshark V2 Pro review

How I tested the Fractal Scape

Weeks of daily use on PC, PS5 and iPhone
All connection types tested
Tested in online games, Discord comms, and work calls

This being a wireless product with a ton of usability options, including an on/off RGB battery saving setting, it was important to stress-test the Scape’s stated battery capacity and wireless stability.

That meant tracking hours of use without charge, putting in some long mountaineering sessions in Cairn, and plenty of Discord walk-and-talks to test out the wireless range.

First reviewed February 2026

Read more about how we test

Acer Veriton GN100 AI mini PC workstation – another AI development system using the same Nvidia Grace Blackwell foundations

10:20 am | February 14, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets | Tags: AI, ARM, PC | Comments: Off

I’m not going to get to have the Acer Veriton GN100 for long, so this is more of a hands-on discussion than an actual review.

My first reaction, out of the box, to the Acer Veriton GN100 is that it all seems remarkably familiar. An elegant mini-PC style case with a car-grill aesthetic, a selection of USB-C ports alongside a 10GbE LAN port and the mercurial NVIDIA ConnectX-7 SmartNIC.

While it’s physically a little smaller, the ports on this machine are identical to those on the ASUS Ascent GX10, as both brands followed Nvidia’s Blackwell system plan exactly.

The only significant difference is that where the Asus provided access to the single M.2 NVMe drive that was installed, the Acer Veriton GN100 is an entirely sealed unit, where whatever storage it has can’t be replaced or upgraded.

Inside is the same Nvidia DGX Spark Personal AI Supercomputer built around the ARM v9.2-A CPU and Blackwell GPU integrated silicon. This, when combined with 128GB of LPDDR5 memory and 4TB of NVMe storage, is collectively called the GB10 platform.

This is a remarkably powerful platform that has uses in data science, medical image analysis, robotics and AI model development. To be clear, this isn’t a Windows PC, and an understanding of Linux is required to use it.

As the specification suggests, this isn’t an inexpensive item, starting at $2999 for the US-supplied hardware, but £3999.99 in Europe. For those who want a highly compact and efficient development environment, especially for AI, the Acer Veriton GN100 is an option, but it isn’t the only machine available using the same platform.

Acer Veriton GN100: Price and availability

How much does it cost? From $3000, £4000
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Available from Acer and online retailers

To avoid any confusion about specifications, Acer decided there would be only one SKU of the Veriton GN100, with 128GB of LPDDR5 and 4TB of storage.

Inexplicably, it costs £3999.99 direct from Acer in the UK, but only $2999.99 from Acer in the US. Why do we pay 82% more for an identical part when the UK doesn't tariff Taiwanese goods, Acer?

Also, this product doesn’t seem to be available elsewhere, so finding it cheaper on Amazon, for example, isn’t currently possible.

The alternatives built around the same platform are the ‘founders edition’ Nvidia DGX Spark Personal AI Supercomputer, ASUS Ascent GX10, Gigabyte AI TOP ATOM Desktop Supercomputer, and MSI EdgeXpert Desktop AI Supercomputer.

The Nvidia DGX Spark Personal AI Supercomputer, as the originator modestly calls it, undercuts the Veriton GN100 in the UK and costs £ 3699.98 for a system with 128GB of RAM and 4TB of storage. But, it’s more expensive for US customers, costing $3999 on Amazon.com.

The ASUS Ascent GX10 price on Amazon.com is $3088.94 for the 1TB storage SKU (GX10-GG0015BN), and $4,149.99 for the 4TB storage model (GX10-GG0016BN).

Even with the current price of M.2 modules, that is a remarkable price hike for the extra storage capacity.

For UK customers, the 1TB ASUS Ascent GX10 model price is £3713.02, but I found it via online retailer SCAN for a tempting £2799.98. SCAN also carries a 2TB option for $3199.99 and the 4TB model for £3638.99.

The Gigabyte AI TOP ATOM Desktop Supercomputer 4TB model sells for £3479.99 from SCAN in the UK, and can be found on Amazon.com for $3999.

And the final model with the same spec as most is the MSI EdgeXpert Desktop AI Supercomputer, selling for £3,598.99 from SCAN in the UK, and $3998.01 on Amazon.com for US customers.

The conclusion is that the US price is difficult to beat, whereas the European pricing is wildly out of what competitors are charging for this technology.

Acer Veriton GN100: Specs

Item	Spec
CPU:	ARM v9.2-A CPU (GB10) (20 ARM cores, 10 Cortex-X925, 10 Corex-A725)
GPU:	NVIDIA Blackwell GPU (GB10, integrated)
RAM:	128 GB LPDDR5x, unified system memory
Storage:	4TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD storage
Expansion:	N/A
Ports:	3x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, 20Gbps, alternate mode (DisplayPort 2.1) 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C,with PD in(180W EPR PD3.1 SPEC) 1x HDMI 2.1 1x NVIDIA ConnectX-7 SmartNIC
Networking:	10GbE LAN, AW-EM637 Wi-Fi 7 (Gig+) , Bluetooth 5.4
OS:	Nvidia DGX OS (Ubuntu Linux)
PSU:	48V 5A 240W
Dimensions:	150 x 150 x 50.5 mm
Weight:	1.2kg

Item

Spec

CPU:

ARM v9.2-A CPU (GB10) (20 ARM cores, 10 Cortex-X925, 10 Corex-A725)

GPU:

NVIDIA Blackwell GPU (GB10, integrated)

RAM:

128 GB LPDDR5x, unified system memory

Storage:

4TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD storage

Expansion:

N/A

Ports:

3x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, 20Gbps, alternate mode (DisplayPort 2.1)

1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C,with PD in(180W EPR PD3.1 SPEC)

1x HDMI 2.1

1x NVIDIA ConnectX-7 SmartNIC

Networking:

10GbE LAN, AW-EM637 Wi-Fi 7 (Gig+) , Bluetooth 5.4

OS:

Nvidia DGX OS (Ubuntu Linux)

PSU:

48V 5A 240W

Dimensions:

150 x 150 x 50.5 mm

Weight:

1.2kg

Acer Veriton GN100: Design

Oversized NUC
Connect-7 scalability
Zero internal access

While the GN100 looks like an oversized NUC mini PC, at 1.2kg, it's heavy, although it is lighter than the ASUS Ascent GX10 by over 200g.

In order to drive the monster silicon inside, Acer included a Delta-made PSU that’s rated to 240W over USB-C.

All the ports are on the back of this system, and nothing is on the front, not even the power button, other than some visual styling and the Acer logo.

These include, identical to the ASUS Ascent GX10, four USB-C ports, one of which is required for the PSU to connect, a single 10GbE LAN port and a single HDMI 2.1 video out.

This arrangement enables a single monitor using HDMI, but additional ones using the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports in DP Alt mode, although one is exclusively needed to power the unit.

Why Nvidia chose USB 3.2 and not USB4 seems curious, since the models and data processed on this unit will eventually need to make it somewhere else, and the best networking on offer is 10GbE, which equals roughly 900MB/s transfer speeds.

And for those working on the hardware, the lack of any USB-A ports for mice or keyboards looks a bit silly.

However, this hardware is intended to be used ‘headless’ using a remote console, so perhaps that isn’t an issue in the greater scheme of things.

Where this design sheds any resemblance to PC hardware is with the inclusion of a ConnectX-7 Smart NIC, a technology acquired by Nvidia when it bought Mellanox Technologies Ltd, an Israeli-American multinational supplier of computer networking products based on InfiniBand and Ethernet.

In this context, ConnectX-7 is like those annoying cables that Nvidia used to make video cards work collectively, when they cared about video cards. Except that the capacity amount of bandwidth that can travel over ConnectX-7 is substantially more.

The port has two receptacles, with each capable of 100GbE, allowing 200GbE to flow between the GN100 and another, doubling the number of AI parameters from 200 billion in a single machine to 400 billion when buddied up to another.

Acer Veriton GN100: Features

ARM 20-core CPU
Grace Blackwell GB10
AI platforms compared

The Nvidia GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip marks a notable advancement in AI hardware, created through a partnership between Nvidia and ARM. It arises from the growing need for specialised computing platforms to keep pace with the rapid development and deployment of artificial intelligence models. Unlike a typical PC, the GB10 is designed around the ARM v9.2-A architecture, incorporating 20 ARM cores (10 Cortex-X925 and 10 Cortex-A725). This reflects a wider industry move towards ARM-based options, which are more power-efficient than PC processors, and potentially more scalable for AI tasks.

The capabilities of the GB10 are impressive. It combines a robust Nvidia Blackwell GPU with the ARM CPU, achieving up to a petaFLOP of AI performance with FP4 precision. This level of power is especially suitable for training and inference of large language models and diffusion models, which are fundamental to much of today’s generative AI. The system is further supported by 128GB of unified LPDDR5x memory, enabling it to handle demanding AI tasks efficiently.

The caveat to all this power and memory is that PC architectures aren’t designed to exploit them effectively, and Microsoft Windows memory management has long been an issue.

Therefore, to be efficient and communicate effectively with other nodes, the GB10 needs Ubuntu Linux, modified with NVIDIA’s DGX OS, to harness the platform's power and handle multi-node communications.

As I already mentioned, the GB10 delivers up to 1 petaFLOP at FP4 precision, ideal for quantised AI workloads. But that is still less than the multi-petaFLOP performance of NVIDIA’s flagship data centre chips, the Blackwell B200 or GB200.

However, where it goes toe-to-toe is in respect of power efficiency, since this node only consumes around 140W, which is much less than the Blackwell B200, which can consume between 1000W and 1200W per GPU. The GB200 combines two B200 chips and a Grace CPU, and the power demand can bloom to 2,700W. Although these systems might offer up to 20 Petabytes of performance, at around 19 times the power.

The balance here is that the GN100 can sit on your desk without needing any special services or environment, whereas the datacentre hardware needs a specialist location and services to ensure it doesn’t overheat or cause the local electricity network to fail.

In this respect, the GN100 and its counterparts represent the more realistic end of the AI wedge, but how useful they can be is dependent on what you are attempting to do, and if this much power is enough for your purposes.

Acer Veriton GN100: AI Reality Check

In my prior Asus GX10 coverage, I talked at length about AI, and how there are lots of people making a bet that it is the next big thing, and others who are much more critical of the technology and how it's developing.

I’m not going to rehash the obvious flaws of AI, or the lack of a path to address all of those, but I would strongly recommend researching before starting any AI endeavour and creating expectations that either can’t be met with current technology, or the power in this physically small computer.

What I can say is that recent AI releases have substantially improved over previous generations, but access to these advanced models, like ChatGPT 5.3 Codex and Claude 4.0, is ringfenced for paid subscribers using the Cloud.

Obviously, the beauty of a device like the GN100 is that you can download these models and run them on your own hardware, even if getting the most out of them requires them to be connected to the Internet to source information.

For those interested, running GPT-5.3-Codex on this hardware requires you to install Tailscale and a local inference engine like Ollama, pull the codex to the GN100 using the appropriate commands. Then you can open up an Open WebUI from another system, ideally, and use the model.

For anyone familiar with Linux, none of this is especially taxing. But to make it even easier, the ChatGPT team (or is that the AI?) has made a Codex App that does most of the legwork for you.

If you want to try something else, some models come in pre-prepared Docker Containers that can simply be installed and executed, making deployment remarkably straightforward.

When you first power the system up, you are presented with a web interface created for the Nvidia DGX Spark, and install VS Code, the DGX Dashboard with JupyterLab, Open WebUI with Ollama and Comfy UI.

To be clear, this isn’t like a Windows application install. You are given instructions as to the commands you need to execute, which install the tools and libraries that are needed. Those who don’t use Linux every day will find it a challenge, but eventually, even I managed to get almost everything working, at least enough to load models and create some output. Image generation was especially impressive, although some of the deep thinking models aren’t that responsive if you ask them something genuinely challenging.

Some people might assume that because the code for these models is being run locally on the GN100, the cost of a subscriber model should be cheaper. But I’ve not noticed that so far, you just get better performance and save the creators' electricity bill. What running a model on this hardware gives you is that you own the model, it can’t be removed from you, and there is the potential for you control the model, customising it in a specific and personal way.

For those exploring AI in a serious way its necessary to use the latest models, and that often has a cost implication, even if you own the hardware platform.

What you certainly don’t want to do is install some free model from a couple of years ago, and then be disappointed with the results. The steepness of the curve of development on models is extraordinary, and even versions of the best ones from six months ago have been overtaken by the latest releases.

For those working in this area, using modern AI is like trying to get onto a bus when they don’t stop or even slow down to allow passengers on or off. Being aware of where the model of interest is, and when it's been overtaken, is critical to not being completely out of date before the project is completed.

Acer Veriton GN100: Early verdict

NVIDIA decided to ship its Grace Blackwell technology in an entry-level form and created a blueprint for that in their NVIDIA DGX Spark Personal AI Supercomputer, its partners are delivering their versions, like the Acer Veriton GN100.

Other than the outer case and a few other small choices, it's debatable how much variation we’re likely to see between these machines. It’s not like the GPUs, where the partners get to design variations and even tweak the founders' editions for better performance.

Maybe if these become massively popular, then we might see more variation, like combining two systems in a single box, or blending the technology with DAS storage. But for now, this is where we are.

That said, the Acer version is perfectly serviceable, but when the specifications are so close its mostly about price. For Americans paying $2999 for the GN100, it's probably one of the cheapest options, and for those in Europe, oddly, it's one of the more expensive. Perhaps Acer can fix that for Europeans, but given the rising cost of RAM, it's more likely the USA will have to pay more.

The one weakness of this design is the lack of access to the SSD, and if that’s a deal breaker for you, some other machines do have that capability.

As ever, Acer has delivered a workable solution for demanding computing tasks, but what this brand can’t guarantee is the skills needed to make the most from their platform. Buyers need to appreciate that while the hardware offers more than ten times the AI processing of a high-end PC, making the most of what it can do requires a particular skill set.

For more compact computing, see our guide to the best mini PCs you can buy

I tested the GTBox T1 – and while the designers did something different with this mini PC, I’m debating whether it was a good idea

10:15 am | January 22, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets | Tags: PC | Comments: Off

GTBox T1: 30-second review

Since Intel stopped its NUC platform, and by its definition guidance, we’ve seen a significant number of mini PC designs that have stepped outside the norms of shape and size in mini systems.

GTBox makes a mix of conventional designs and more out-there options, and the T1 is distinctively different. This NUC-sized motherboard is vertically mounted in a cylindrical speaker case measuring 115mm in diameter and 165mm high.

Because of that ergonomic choice, there is no front or back, only a single I/O section where all the ports and the power button are located. That’s a bit of a crunch, and due to this, there is only one USB4 and LAN port, but there are HDMI and DisplayPort video outs.

Inside the cylindrical speaker case is a punchy AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS processor, Zen 4 architecture from the 2023 Hawk Point series. In this context, it's combined with 32GB of DDR5 memory and a 1TB Gen 4 NVMe SSD.

This makes the T1 a powerful small system eclipsed only by Ryzen AI platforms, and the pre-release pricing is extremely competitive.

However, the downside to this design is that there is no access to the memory or storage, and you are specifically told that opening up the T1 to do this is ‘irreversible’.

If you are happy with those limitations, then the T1 might be a good choice, but the lack of flexibility precludes it from being one of the best mini PCs I've tested. Maybe with the T2, or whatever, GTBox can work out a way to put the mainboard on sliding rails to make memory and storage upgrades (or replacements) possible.

GTBox T1: Price and availability

How much does it cost? From $700
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Direct from GTBox

At the time of review, there is only a single SKU of the GTBox T1 available from the official GTBox site.

That model comes with 32GB of DDR5 and 1TB of storage. The cost is $699.99 for US customers with shipping included. GTBox doesn’t quote specific prices in other currencies, but they will ship to the UK, EU and Switzerland.

One oddity I noticed is that before you add this system to the cart, it tells you that “Free standard shipping on orders over $99” and “Free shipping and tax included in Europe and the United States.”

When you add it, it says that if you spend another $100, you can get free shipping.

I hope that’s a mistake. In both the UK and the EU, there are rules about real price discounts, where you can’t say you’ve made a reduction if you never sold it at the pre-discount price. GTBox has this machine reduced from $799.99 to $699.99, and I suspect it had that from the start.

Looking at competitor systems using the same platform, the candidates include the Bosgame M4 and the Acemagic W1.

The Boxgame M4 has had some hardware changes since I reviewed it, but you can still find the original M4, which uses the AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS and costs $559 for the 32GB+1TB SKU, via Amazon.com.

And, the Acemagic W1 is $549, but there is no stock of the memory and storage options. However, Acemagic will sell you the barebones model for only $280.

All of these systems, when in stock, are cheaper than the GTBox T1, and all of them also have the ability to be internally upgraded with extra RAM and storage.

On that basis, the T1 doesn’t look like an especially hot deal.

Value: 3 / 5

GTBox T1 mini PC — (Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

GTBox T1: Specs

Item	Spec
CPU:	AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS ( 8C/16T, 3.8GHz up to 4.9GHz)
GPU:	AMD Radeon 780M, 12 cores, up to 2.6 GHz
NPU:	AMD Ryzen AI 16 TOPS (38 TOPS total)
RAM:	32GB DDR5-4800 (16GB x 2) not expandable
Storage:	1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4
Expansion:	N/A
Ports:	1x USB4, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x 3.5mm Audio
Networking:	1x 2,5GbE Realtek RTL8125, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
OS:	Windows 11 Pro (pre-installed)
Base Power:	35W-54W
PSU:	19V 6.32A 120W
Dimensions:	115 x 115 x 165 mm

GTBox T1: Design

Speakerific
Limited ports
Zero internal access

There is something about the mesh covering that speakers use that is lovely to touch, with a distinctly fabric feel. As this system is a computer-in-a-speaker, with a slate blue colour scheme, it looks great perched on the edge of a desk.

That’s where this system was designed to sit, since it doesn’t have any VESA mounting options, and you wouldn’t be able to hear the sounds it generates if it were out of sight.

On top is a circular depression with an LED light that can be set to pulse through various RGB colours via the BIOS. That there isn’t a software component to set this is disappointing, as repeatedly going into the BIOS to make changes seems excessively complicated.

But where this system entirely leaves behind the current world of mini PCs is that it only has one place where ports are accessible, and there is no access whatsoever to the internal system.

All the ports are on a single I/O shield, and that includes five USB ports, one USB4, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 and one USB 2.0. There are both HDMI and DisplayPort, and if you use the USB4 port for video, it allows triple displays to be operated from this one computer.

There is also a 3.5mm audio jack, a single 2.5GbE LAN port, the power inlet and a power button. But there is no security slot to stop anyone from walking off with the T1.

With things so tight in this area, maybe the top might have been utilised for a second USB4 port, but that wasn’t something the designers embraced.

Having more ports is always better, but what really confronts the reality of this system is the lack of internal access. With no approved way in, should you want more memory (if it's even socketed) or to replace the storage, there are no options. That limitation is problematic for a business customer as it reduces the flexibility of this design considerably.

What you do get is a system with an inherently fairly loud speaker, but you can’t really use this for conferencing, since there is no corresponding microphone.

Design: 2.5 / 5

GTBox T1: Hardware

AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS
One USB4 port
Unused PCIe lanes

Many mini PC builders are turning to AMD, largely due to the affordability of its components and the generous number of PCIe lanes, which allow for an array of high-speed ports. The Ryzen 7 8745HS is a Hawk Point processor that, to my knowledge, was originally released in June of 2023.

This chip boasts eight cores with hyperthreading, enabling it to handle sixteen concurrent threads. It offers a slightly improved power profile over the Ryzen 7 8745H, resulting in modestly higher clock speeds.

While there are several advantages to this processor, but also one notable drawback. That caveat is the age of the 780M GPU, which has now been superseded by the 890M and also the new 8060S integrated GPUs. It’s not Intel UHD Graphics bad, but there are faster options that aren’t discrete video cards.

On the upside, it utilises Zen4 architecture, matching the performance of the previous generation's 7745HX. Additionally, it supports DDR4, DDR5, and the latest LPDDR5x memory standards. Its most significant advantage for mini PC applications lies in the twenty PCIe 4.0 lanes provided by AMD, which facilitate multiple ports and significant expansion capabilities.

The capacity of these lanes has enabled the implementation of USB 4 and Oculink on some systems, but here there is only one USB4 port and no Oculink. However, the M.2 SSD slot does at least get PCIe 4.0 lanes, even if you can’t get inside to use an SSD of this spec in that slot.

With only one USB4 port, no Oculink and a single M.2 Gen 4 slot, this machine has PCIe lanes that sit entirely idle and contribute nothing to the overall experience.

Therefore, this system is something of a contradiction, as it has a decent processor and DDR5 memory technology with dual modules, providing ample bandwidth and enhancing GPU performance.

But, there are also at least eight PCIe lanes doing nothing, no way to exploit the PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot, and no expansion path other than using a single USB4 external drive or the LAN.

Features: 3.5 / 5

GTBox T1: Performance

Mini PC		GTBox T1	Bosgame M4
CPU		AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS	AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS
Cores/Threads		8C 16T	8C 16T
RAM		32GB DDR5 (2x16GB)	32GB DDR5 (2x16GB)
Storage		1TB GTP3000-1TB	1TB NVMe Kingston OM8PGP41024N
Graphics		Radeon 780M	Radeon 780M
3DMark	WildLife	19813	17746
	FireStrike	7726	7448
	TimeSpy	3194	3126
	Steel Nom Lt.	2765	2559
CineBench24	Single	103	104
	Multi	903	909
	Ratio	8.8	8.71
GeekBench 6	Single	2587	2609
	Multi	12380	12840
	OpenCL	30593	26664
	Vulkan	25443	31667
CrystalDisk	Read MB/s	3431	4087
	Write MB/s	2258	3142
PCMark 10	Office	7458	6992
WEI		8.2	8.2

As a counterpoint to the T1, I chose the excellent Bosgame M4. But if you go to the Bosgame website now and select the M4, it shows as discontinued for the M4 Neo and the M4 Plus. However, it is still possible to get the original M4 from other outlets.

The reason I went with the M4 was that it uses the same CPU, GPU, and memory as the T1, giving some indication of whether the T1 is a good version of this platform.

And, looking at the first part of this benchmark collection, all the signs are good, as it edges the M4 in the GPU tests and matches it in most of the processing metrics.

But where it all goes slightly awry is when we get to the CrystalDisk benchmark and discover that the best performance the GTP3000-1TB can achieve is below the 4,000Mb/s threshold that PCIe 3.0 M.2 NVMe drives can almost reach.

This is a guess, since I can’t identify the maker and spec of the GTP3000-1TB, but given the number, I’m inclined to believe that this is a Gen 3 drive, which, as this system has a Gen 4 slot, is a depressing conclusion. If it is a Gen 4 drive, then it's one of the slowest I’ve ever seen. What makes this even worse is that because you can’t get inside the T1, this drive can’t be replaced with something quicker or larger.

The phrase grasping defeat from the jaws of victory seems suitable for the T1, since it had all the pieces it needed to be a winner, and then blew it with an apparent cost-cutting exercise.

Overall, aside from the storage, this machine performs well and is perfect for a power user, or rather one who doesn’t need more than 32GB of RAM or 1TB of quick storage.

Performance: 4 / 5

GTBox T1: Final verdict

There are two elephants in the GTBox T1 room, and the first of those is a design where you explicitly can’t get inside the system to do any form of upgrades. There are plenty of appliances where that sort of limitation is considered normal, but the PC isn’t one of them.

And, given the upgrade paths that other mini PCs provide, that’s a significant problem.

I’d had less of an issue with this if GTBox had at least made some sort of effort to make the M.2 slot accessible, but the owner is told not to open the T1 under any circumstances.

The other elephantine problem is the asking price, which seems about $150 more than it should be with this specification. It may be that, with this unique speaker styling, GTBox assumed a price premium was in order, but nothing about this design justifies it.

With memory and storage going up in price, the cost of the T1 might suddenly become something of a bargain, but based on other machines using the same platform, it's way too high, and there are Ryzen AI systems that aren’t much more than this cost.

But, if we put our purchasing blinkers on and ignore the lack of flexibility and the price, this is a decent mini PC with a great hardware platform (ignoring the SSD) that delivers a good user experience.

However, business IT buyers don’t tend to wear those blinkers much these days, and they’d reject this due to the cost and the lack of internal access.

Should I buy a GTBox T1?

Value	Expensive for the spec	3/5
Design	Zero internal access and limited ports	2.5/5
Features	Powerful CPU and USB4, but unused PCIe lanes	3.5/5
Performance	Decent performance on CPU and GPU	4/5
Overalls	Interesting take, but it lacks flexibility	3.5/5

Buy it if...

If you want a power-user NUC

The T1 has an excellent Zen4 system at its heart, which is perfect for those who want more power, and the DDR5 memory used in it makes the most of that CPU and GPU combination. However, the lack of any memory or storage upgrades needs to be considered for its role.View Deal

You hate upgrades
Not everyone sees buying hardware as the start of a path to enhancement. If you have no intention of ever putting more memory or storage into your systems, then the T1 might be perfect for you. Though this also means that should anything go wrong with the SSD, then this system is junk.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

If you need a flexible mini PC
The lack of internal access and the inclusion of only one USB4 port make this mini PC highly inflexible, since you can’t upgrade either memory or storage, and what you can connect externally is limited by only having one high-performance port.View Deal

You want ultimate performance
This is a value-led mini PC, so it's not going to be as powerful as machines loaded with the fastest processors - for top performance, check out mini PCs using the AMD Ryzen AI platforms like the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, with 16 cores and 32 threads.View Deal

Also consider

Bosgame M4
Built around the same platform as the T1, the Bosgame M4 is a more traditional NUC design.
While it doesn’t have a metal case, the M4 ticks every other box for a successful NUC design. The asking price is low, the performance is good, and it’s a highly flexible system that can perform many tasks. Little to dislike here.

Check out my Bosgame M4 review View Deal

The Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk looks fancy, and feels great for PC gaming — but you’ll probably want a desk mat

5:00 pm | January 18, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Tags: Europe, PC, UK, US | Comments: Off

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Two-minute review

If you're looking for one of the best gaming desks, you're probably already aware that these fancy tables often don't come cheap. Nor does the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave, but having spent a few weeks using it after replacing my tired old office desk (which I bought on Amazon six years ago), I can confidently say that it's worth every penny.

Eureka has a decent history of producing office-standard chairs and desks, but this is the first gaming desk I've personally seen from them - and if the rest of their gaming range is anything to go by, they're taking it just as seriously as the professional office market. This L-shaped desk is of damn good quality, with a sturdy metal frame and two tempered glass panels forming the desktop.

Underneath that dark frosted glass is a small open space lined with RGB LED strips, which create a wave effect (hence the GTG Wave's name) when it shines through. It's a nice feature, and while it's not one I'd necessarily pay extra for, it does look good - especially in a darker room.

The Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk in a well-lit room with a PC setup on it and a gaming chair in front, with all the RGB lights turned on. — (Image credit: Future)

Measuring 60 by 40 inches (about 152 x 102cm) in total - though obviously, the L shape means that some of this space is cut out for your chair to neatly slot in - it's certainly on the larger side when it comes to gaming desks. It's larger than the Secretlab Magnus that we highly recommend, so if you're working with limited space at home, you'll likely be better served by something like the far more compact Corsair Platform:4.

Still, if you've got the gaming room real estate, this is an excellent choice. I found it pretty easy to assemble solo, and it comes with a handful of extra features that I definitely value in a gaming desk. Firstly, there's some decent cable management options here; not only are there two flip-down metal racks along the rear edge, which can each house a multiplug unit or AC adapter brick, but the GTG Wave also comes with several plastic stick-on cable tie blocks - useful both for your own devices, and the cables for the LED lighting, which can be connected directly to your PC via a standard 4-pin ARGB header if you want to synchronize the lighting to the rest of your setup.

Another feature that will no doubt prove invaluable for some users is the VESA mounting bracket, which attaches to the back edge of the desk and can support two monitors at once. I don't personally have a VESA-compatible gaming monitor (mine is the fixed-base Razer Raptor 27), but I'm now seriously considering getting one.

Overall, I found it really hard to fault the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave. If I had to pick out some complaints, it would probably be that the RGB lighting isn't super visible in a brightly-lit room like my home office, but that feels like nitpicking. One thing I would note, however, is that I'm going to need to invest in a desk mat; the all-glass surface makes me a little nervous when I put things on it...

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Price and availability

Retails at $599.99 (around £445 / around AU$890)
Ships to the US, UK, and Europe, but not Australia
Leaning towards the premium end of the market

At $599.99 (around £445 / around AU$890), the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave is certainly on the pricier end of the market - though it's worth noting that you could easily spend more on a gaming desk and get something smaller and less impressive. In terms of what the GTG Wave offers in value for money, I'm actually very happy with the price.

Considering that this is a pretty large gaming desk, it's actually cheaper than the much smaller aforementioned Corsair Platform:4, and only $100 more than the SecretLab Magnus (which is also a bit smaller than the GTG Wave). I'm not going to go down the rabbit hole of how many square inches of desktop space you get per dollar, but the Wave certainly isn't overpriced when you look at the wider gaming desk market.

When it comes to availability, Eureka is an American company that primarily ships to the continental United States, but they also sell through retail partners in the UK, Japan, and selected European countries. Unfortunately, it doesn't ship to Australia, meaning that our gaming friends down under are out of luck.

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Specs

Price	$599.99 (around £445 / around AU$890)
Height	30in / 76cm
Load capacity	200lbs / 90kg
Material	Steel, tempered glass
Dimensions	60 x 40in / 152 x 102cm

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Design and features

Looks and feels like a premium product
Relatively easy assembly
Plenty of customization

Despite having some extra features and essentially requiring assembly in two separate halves due to its L-shaped design, the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave was actually quite easy to put together.

While I could've asked my partner to assist me with assembling the GTG Wave, I opted to forge ahead by myself, specifically to see how challenging it would be to build it alone (after all, many of us won't have an extra pair of hands on, uh, hand). I'll be honest; as I unboxed the heavy glass panels and carbon steel frame, I was already starting to regret my decision to fly solo.

However, I'm pleased to report that I had the whole thing upright and ready to use (minus the cable racks and VESA mount) in under half an hour from getting it all unboxed and laid out. The instructions are clear and detailed, and assembly requires no additional tools - just the included hex keys.

You can pretty easily build it one piece at a time with the glass top-down, then flip the whole thing over once it's assembled. At no point in the process did I feel overwhelmed or confused, and once I had it upright, I only had to tighten a few screws for the whole thing to feel very robust. Attaching the cable racks and VESA mount is similarly easy.

The underside of the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk midway through assembly, showing the steel frame and bottom of the glass panel. — (Image credit: Future)

Interestingly, there are screwholes for you to attach a headset hook and cup holder (on the left and right side, respectively), but these weren't included in my review model even though they do feature on Eureka's website and promotional images. I can live without these, personally - I tend to leave my headset on the armrest of my gaming chair, and I'm left-handed, so I prefer to keep my drink on the left side with a coaster anyway - but I'm assuming these should have been included. Amusingly, Eureka initially also sent me the wrong wall plug, but swiftly supplied me with a region-appropriate one once the mistake was realized.

Setting up the RGB lighting only requires you to plug in two cables, regardless of whether you're connecting it to your PC directly or just using the default mode, which is controlled with a basic IR remote. If you're not syncing it to the rest of your build, you can choose between solid color, rainbow, or color pulse patterns, and a sound-reactive mode (which means there must be a tiny microphone hidden in there somewhere). You can also set it to switch off automatically after 30 or 60 minutes.

There are only two levels of brightness, and even the brighter setting isn't super bright - you can still see it in a well-lit room, but it only really pops in a dimmer environment. If you're the sort of person who prefers to be bathed only in the RGB glow of your setup and display while gaming, then it's perfect; otherwise, it's more of a minor style win.

Despite the LEDs, the GTG Wave actually doesn't look that ostentatious, especially with the lighting turned off. With only a small logo stamped on one of the short edges, it actually looks very unassumingly professional - and considering that my gaming PC is also my work PC, I think that's great.

Closeup of one corner of the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk, showing the Eureka logo stamped on the edge.

(Image credit: Future)

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Performance

Cable racks function as designed
Ample room underneath for storage
Glass top makes me a little anxious... and can't take too much weight

As far as performance goes, I have no real complaints about the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave. It does what it advertises; my whole desktop PC setup fits easily on top with plenty of space left for other assorted bits and pieces. Seriously, I had to tidy up a LOT before shooting these review photos. You don't need to see all my figurines, sorry.

With a height of 30 inches (about 76cm), it's standard height for a gaming desk with a small degree of adjustability (perhaps half an inch or a centimeter or so) coming from the screw-on feet. The real advantage of these is that they can be easily adjusted to make the desk sit stably on an uneven floor. Since setting it up, I've moved a small drawer unit underneath the short edge of the 'L', which fits perfectly. In fact, the size of this desk means I could probably fit more underneath it, but at 6'3", I like having the extra legroom.

Closeup of a person's hands tightening a screw on a desk leg with a hex key while assembling the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk. — (Image credit: Future)

While the cable racks don't feel quite as durable as the rest of the desk (they're made of a notably thinner metal), they had no issues bearing the weight of my multiplug and my Razer monitor's hefty power brick. If you're not using them, you can either leave them unattached or flip them up on a hinge so they don't get in the way. The VESA mount, on the other hand, needs to bear a lot more weight, and it's suitably sturdy.

Of course, the two tempered glass panels that form the upper worksurface of this desk won't bear as much weight as a more conventional metal or wooden desk. The GTG Wave is officially rated for 200lbs / 90kg, which should be plenty - just don't lean too hard on it.

Closeup of the ARGB lighting controller and cabling on the underside of the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk. — (Image credit: Future)

The real concern is edge shattering; I've built enough PCs in my time to know that sometimes a sharp impact on the wrong spot of a tempered glass panel can lead to tiny shards all over your carpet. It's also nigh-impossible to gauge the actual durability of panels like this; it could break tomorrow, or last for another decade. Needless to say, I'd recommend investing in a desk mat. While using a mouse works fine on the glass top, if you're a naughty desk luncher like me, you won't want to put plates or glasses on this without some protection.

Nonetheless, this glass does feel fairly durable. It's fingerprint- and scratch-resistant, bearing no visible marks after weeks of use, though I will note that it shows up dust (and in my case, dog hairs) quite noticeably - probably worse than a wooden desk, since it appears to get dusty faster than my old desk, which was black-painted wood. That being said, it actually encourages me to clear off and wipe down my desk more than I used to, so I can't really mark Eureka down for silently encouraging me to maintain desk cleanliness.

Closeup of one corner of the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk, showing the RGB lighting that runs around the edges. — (Image credit: Future)

Should you buy the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave?

Buy it if...

You want a statement gaming desk
Not many gaming desks manage to look this cool, while also maintaining a degree of refined professionalism with the RGB switched off. The GTG Wave will look good in almost any home office or gaming space.

You want a tidy setup
With two racks and multiple cable tie points, it's easy to get your gaming setup looking clean and hidden away beneath this desk.

You prefer an arm-mounted monitor (or two!)
The VESA bracket is easy as pie to attach, meaning that anyone who wants to mount their display(s) on a movable arm can do so with ease.

Don't buy it if...

You're a clumsy desk user
Look, I'm not going to mince words here: you shouldn't buy the GTG Wave if you tend to clang your can of energy drink down on the surface of your desk.View Deal

You're on a tight budget
At the end of the day, while it might offer good value for money, this is still a pretty expensive desk. If you're short on cash, there are cheaper options out there.View Deal

Also consider

Not keen on the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave? Here’s one cheaper desk and one more premium gaming desk option for you to consider.

	Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave	Flexispot E7	Secretlab Magnus Pro
Price	$599.99 (around £445 / around AU$890)	$340 / £360 / AU$420	$799 / £770
Height	30in / 76cm	22.8-48.4in / 58-123cm	25.6-49.2in / 65-125cm
Load capacity	200 lbs / 90kg	275lbs / 125kg	264.6lbs / 120kg
Material	Steel, tempered glass	Steel	Steel, wood fiberboard
Dimensions	60 x 40in / 152 x 102cm	43.3-74.8 x 26.7 x 22.8-48.4in / 110-190 x 68 x 58-123cm	59.1 x 27.6 x 25.6-49.2in / 150 x 70 x 65-125cm

Also consider the Flexispot E7
If you want something similar to the Corsair Platform:4 that doesn’t break the bank, consider the Flexispot E7. It’s not a gaming desk, but it still performs excellently and comes in a wide range of color options.

For more information, check out our full Flexispot E7 reviewView Deal

Also consider the Secretlab Magnus Pro
If you have the space for something larger, then the Secretlab Magnus Pro should be on your radar. It’s a bit cheaper than the Corsair Platform:4, but it still boasts a lot of features that make it fantastic for gaming.

For more information, check out our full Secretlab Magnus Pro reviewView Deal

How I tested the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave

Used as my main desk
Tested over multiple weeks
Extensive work and play

An old black wooden desk with nothing on it and visible signs of wear and tear. — Look at this sad old desk. Rest in peace, Amazon desk, you were moderately okay for a while. (Image credit: Future)

I replaced my tired old Amazon desk with the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave several weeks ago, assembling it myself. I used it almost every day, both to work and play on my desktop gaming PC, as well as eating several meals at it (I know, I know, it's a bad habit). I spent many hours at a time sitting at it in my NobleChairs Hero TX - with regular breaks to stretch, of course!

While I wasn't able to make proper use of the VESA mount option, I did set up the cable racks and used them to clear up the space under my old desk, which had become something of a cable-tangle nightmare. I also played around with the LED lighting and connected it directly to my motherboard to synchronize it with my rig's ARGB theme.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed December 2025-January 2026

The Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk looks fancy, and feels great for PC gaming — but you’ll probably want a desk mat

5:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Tags: Europe, PC, UK, US | Comments: Off

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Two-minute review

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Price and availability

Retails at $599.99 (around £445 / around AU$890)
Ships to the US, UK, and Europe, but not Australia
Leaning towards the premium end of the market

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Specs

Price	$599.99 (around £445 / around AU$890)
Height	30in / 76cm
Load capacity	200lbs / 90kg
Material	Steel, tempered glass
Dimensions	60 x 40in / 152 x 102cm

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Design and features

Looks and feels like a premium product
Relatively easy assembly
Plenty of customization

Despite having some extra features and essentially requiring assembly in two separate halves due to its L-shaped design, the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave was actually quite easy to put together.

Closeup of one corner of the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave gaming desk, showing the Eureka logo stamped on the edge.

(Image credit: Future)

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave: Performance

Cable racks function as designed
Ample room underneath for storage
Glass top makes me a little anxious... and can't take too much weight

Should you buy the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave?

Buy it if...

You want a tidy setup
With two racks and multiple cable tie points, it's easy to get your gaming setup looking clean and hidden away beneath this desk.

You prefer an arm-mounted monitor (or two!)
The VESA bracket is easy as pie to attach, meaning that anyone who wants to mount their display(s) on a movable arm can do so with ease.

Don't buy it if...

You're a clumsy desk user
Look, I'm not going to mince words here: you shouldn't buy the GTG Wave if you tend to clang your can of energy drink down on the surface of your desk.View Deal

Also consider

Not keen on the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave? Here’s one cheaper desk and one more premium gaming desk option for you to consider.

	Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave	Flexispot E7	Secretlab Magnus Pro
Price	$599.99 (around £445 / around AU$890)	$340 / £360 / AU$420	$799 / £770
Height	30in / 76cm	22.8-48.4in / 58-123cm	25.6-49.2in / 65-125cm
Load capacity	200 lbs / 90kg	275lbs / 125kg	264.6lbs / 120kg
Material	Steel, tempered glass	Steel	Steel, wood fiberboard
Dimensions	60 x 40in / 152 x 102cm	43.3-74.8 x 26.7 x 22.8-48.4in / 110-190 x 68 x 58-123cm	59.1 x 27.6 x 25.6-49.2in / 150 x 70 x 65-125cm

For more information, check out our full Flexispot E7 reviewView Deal

For more information, check out our full Secretlab Magnus Pro reviewView Deal

How I tested the Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave

Used as my main desk
Tested over multiple weeks
Extensive work and play

Read more about how we test

First reviewed December 2025-January 2026

The Audeze Maxwell 2 is an incredible high-end gaming headset – but don’t expect a big upgrade from its predecessor

5:00 pm | January 15, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Tags: AI, PC | Comments: Off

Audeze Maxwell 2: one-minute review

Audeze is known for enthusiast-level audiophile hardware. When that tech drips down to the Maxwell gaming line, reviewer and consumer alike have an important question to ask: Can we actually hear a difference versus the competition?

The answer in this case is a resounding, 90mm driver-powered ‘yes’ in the form of the new Audeze Maxwell 2 wireless gaming headset that rattles your eardrums and stupefies you into a kind of aural nirvana. In 15 years of reviewing audio equipment from gaming to studio product categories – and do excuse me while I do a little sick in my mouth at the pompousness of this statement – I’ve rarely heard such a well-rounded and emotive frequency response.

It’s important to keep that in mind, because although there is good reason to be critical of this headset as a consumer release, it really can’t be faulted in raw audio terms. If great sound is all you care about, money no object, then you’ve already read all you needed to in this review. Go and enjoy your new headset.

But gaming headsets have become an incredibly crowded vertical, and in the race to win our attention and money, manufacturers have really spoiled us with features lately. Broadcast-quality noise-cancelling mics, simultaneous 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connections, and even active noise cancellation have started to feel like table stakes in the flagship model end of the market.

That places a lot of importance on the secondary features of this follow-up to the original Audeze Maxwell. After all, it follows a prior model (the 'Gen 1', if you will) that gobbled up acclaim and awards like a ravenous James Cameron on a nineties Oscars night. The Gen 1 Maxwells are available for around $100 / £100 less than the new 'Gen 2s', and sadly, there’s no single must-have feature about the newer incarnation that justifies spending more money.

The Gen 2s do feature the company’s SLAM Acoustic Management, a marketing buzzword for ‘better audio’ more or less, along with Bluetooth connectivity, a wider headband for better weight distribution, and redesigned physical controls that do indeed feel pleasant to locate and operate. But given that the newer model is 2.4oz / 70g heavier than its predecessor, elements like the headband design upgrade feel less like a win and more like a necessity.

So here I am in the very strange position of reviewing a stellar headset that I can’t fully recommend, because so much of what makes it stellar was also true of the outgoing model.

The Audeze Maxwell 2 gaming headset lying on a pale desk with the top pointing toward the camera and being held in a hand — (Image credit: Future/Phil Iwaniuk)

Audeze Maxwell 2: price & availability

List price: $349.99 / £339.99 / around AU$520 (Xbox version)
Significantly more than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless but less than the Nova Elite
Maxwell V1 is still available and cheaper

You’d expect a premium price from an Audeze headset. The company has made its name by delivering no-compromise sound from audiophile-grade equipment, and a lot of that tech has found its way into the Maxwell gaming line. You can hear and feel the quality difference compared to the vast majority of gaming headsets immediately, even versus some of our favourite options like the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro and the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless.

There’s a slight price difference between the PS5 and Xbox versions of this headset, both of which are also compatible with PC and mobile devices via Bluetooth. The PlayStation option is slightly cheaper at $329.99 / £339, while the Xbox version has a $349.99 / £369 list price. This makes it significantly cheaper than the other recent audiophile gaming headset of the time, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, which retails for a chonky $599.99 / £599.99.

It’s not just the sound that communicates where the money’s been spent. The build quality and presentation are also wonderful, like something you’d find waiting for you on an eye-wateringly expensive first-class plane seat. The only caveat, as you’ll read numerous times throughout this review, is that the outgoing model is currently going cheaper, and it’s fundamentally just as good.

The Audeze Maxwell 2 gaming headset lying on a pale desk with a close-up view of its buttons — (Image credit: Future/Phil Iwaniuk)

Audeze Maxwell 2: Specs

	Audeze Maxwell 2
Price	$349.99 / £339.99 / around AU$520
Weight	17.2oz / 490g
Drivers	90mm Planar Magnetic
Compatibility	PC, Xbox Series X\|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch\|2, MacOS, iOS, Android
Connection type	Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, wired 3.5mm/USB-C
Battery life	80 hours
Features	Detachable hypercardioid 16-bit/48KHz high bandwidth mic with FILTER AI noise removal, internal beamforming mics, 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution audio, patent-pending SLAM technology, Bluetooth support for Auracast, LE Audio, LDAC, and AAC
Software	Audeze App (PC and mobile)

Audeze Maxwell 2: Design & features

Chunky and imposing looks, but very heavy
Pro audio finish with impressive materials choices
Control layout takes some getting used to

One thing’s for certain: you’re extremely unlikely to misplace this headset. Weighing in at 17.2oz / 490g (Or around 16.2oz / 460g if you remove the magnetic earcup plates) and featuring deep, luxurious cushioning around formidably large cups housing 90mm drivers, this is a strikingly solid model that conveys quality and longevity as soon as you cast your eyes over it. Brushed gunmetal finish, soft memory foam cushioning, and a new inner headband suspension strap with breathable holes combine to create an aesthetic that communicates the Maxwell 2’s mission: audiophile-grade gear in the gaming market.

I love that look, personally. I’m especially impressed by little details like the pin-sharp Audeze logos on each earcup, beneath the magnetic covers. Remove the detachable mic, and this is definitely a pair of headphones you wouldn’t mind being seen in public wearing.

There’s a downside to that: it’s an especially heavy model. Weight doesn’t have a linear relationship with discomfort, of course, and manufacturers can do plenty to minimise the effect of 17.2oz / 490g sitting across your cranium. But if you are prone to discomfort when wearing bulkier cans, this particular attribute is worth keeping in mind.

Personally, I found the comfort levels high for two to three hours of use. I do feel the weight across the top of my head, and also in the increased clamping force of the earcups around my ears, but not to such a degree that I need a break. It’s January as I write this in the UK, so heat isn’t an issue, but I could imagine the pleather earcup cushions might be more of an issue in hotter climes, as with any headset that has a lot of clamping force.

Moving on to the layout of its physical controls, redesigned for this Gen 2 model, I’m impressed overall. I love to have a physical chat mix dial on the headset, and sure enough, there’s a nice notched scroller with beautiful actuation on the rear-left earcup, just below the volume scroll wheel. On the right-hand cup are the power button and mic mute toggle switch, the latter of which is recessed so much that it can be slightly fiddly to operate, but it feels like the switch itself is of a high-quality, durable standard. The only fiddly aspect of the layout is the pairing button on the front of the left earcup, the position of which takes a little while to commit to memory.

The Audeze Maxwell 2 gaming headset lying on a pale desk with a hand tweaking an ear cushion — (Image credit: Future/Phil Iwaniuk)

Audeze Maxwell 2: Performance

Sound with a genuine wow factor
AI mic noise cancellation is hit or miss
App support for further tweaks

Now we’re into the section where the Maxwell 2 shines. It takes a lot of clever designers, engineers, and the right suppliers to achieve audio this good, and, particularly in the gaming vertical, most manufacturers have simply never taken the commercial risk of spending this much to reach this level of fidelity.

Audeze has the advantage of having honed its tech in the enthusiast space, giving the company a library of designs and parts to refer to when designing a gaming model. We saw the fruits of that labour in the original Maxwell, and now those same 90mm drivers with their frankly preposterous 10Hz-50KHz frequency response have been tuned further with Audeze’s SLAM technology.

The marketing materials say this technology allows for “heightened spatial immersion, precise and punchier bass response”, and I can’t argue with that. Apparently, it’s all down to the physical construction of the drivers, not a software-level boost, and that’s always firmer ground to establish audio fidelity on.

The overall fidelity standard has raised its game in gaming headsets lately, so the difference between contemporaries like the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro or SteelSeries Arctis Pro Nova Wireless and this model isn’t as night and day as might have been the case five years ago, when ‘gaming’ models were still artificially boosting their low end at the cost of clarity. Rather, it’s that every component part of the aural landscape is that bit clearer and more emotive.

A man wearing the Audeze Maxwell 2 gaming headset showing the left side of his face and the left ear cup and microphone. — (Image credit: Future/Phil Iwaniuk)

The bass response is huge, but tight. It doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the EQ spectrum, leaving room for sparkly high-end frequencies to chime. Human speech sounds true-to-life, indicating a well-tuned midrange response, while the stereo landscape feels impressively vast when you listen to the right sources. Try out some binaural recordings, and you’ll hear what I mean.

If audio reproduction is peerless – and it is – then audio output is a different story. The mic on this Gen 2 model features AI-assisted noise cancellation, and not to blame everything on Skynet’s malicious invasion of our lives, but it doesn’t work very well in my experience.

I’ve tested this headset using every connection type available, including digital and analog wired connections, but whenever I enable the AI noise cancellation, I get a muffled sound in Discord. That’s likely due to Discord and Audeze’s noise cancellation technologies working counterproductively over the top of each other, but whatever the cause, it’s a shame to have to turn off the noise cancellation.

After some tuning, the mic sounds much better. But at this price point, the expectation is for a mic with out-of-the-box quality. Similarly, there are some other chinks in the armor when you dig around in the connectivity options. Simultaneous Bluetooth connection is only possible with a digital or analog wired connection, rather than with the 2.4GHz wireless via the dongle – another feature you’d hope for at this price.

I can’t knock the 80-hour battery life, mind you. That’s an incredible figure, and charging is easy enough via a USB-C connection just below the mic.

The Audeze Maxwell 2 lying on a pale desk showing its cups toward the camera — (Image credit: Future/Phil Iwaniuk)

Should you buy the Audeze Maxwell 2?

Buy it if...

You’ll stop at nothing for incredible sound
It was never in doubt – there’s no comparison to the fidelity, punchiness, and emotion generated by the 90mm drivers inside these earcups.

You’re all about that bass
The bass response from these drivers is like sprinting into a brick wall - with a tailwind.

You want audiophile headset looks
So long, RGB, and tribal designs. Hello to a grown-up aesthetic that you’d be happy to wear in the street.

Don't buy it if...

You can find a Gen 1 for sale instead
It’s practically just as good, and it’s available for less. Sorry, Gen 2, but it just makes sense to buy the older model.

You need the utmost mic quality
There are some issues with Discord’s noise cancellation and the AI-powered Audeze version.

Simultaneous Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless is a deal-breaker
If this is a must-have for you, then you'll need to look elsewhere, though you can achieve simultaneous digital or analog wired with Bluetooth, though.

Also consider...

Does this Audeze model put you ill at ease? Consider these premium wireless alternatives.

	Audeze Maxwell 2	Razer BlackShark V3 Pro	SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
Price	$349.99 / £339.99 / around AU$520	$249.99 / £249.99 / around AU$510	$349 (£329, AU$649)
Weight	17.2oz / 490g	12.9oz / 367g	11.85oz / 336g
Drivers	90mm Planar Magnetic	Razer TriForce Bio-Cellulose 50 mm Drivers Gen-2	40mm neodymium
Compatibility	PC, Xbox Series X\|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch\|2, MacOS, iOS, Android	PC, Xbox Series X (Xbox version only), PlayStation 5 (PlayStation version only), iOS, Android	Xbox Series X\|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile
Connection type	Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, wired 3.5mm/USB-C	Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless (Hyperspeed dongle), USB wired, 2.5mm wired	Wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (USB-C), Bluetooth 5.3
Battery life	80 hours	70 hours	Up to 60 hours (2 x fully-charged batteries), Infinite Power System
Features	Detachable hypercardioid 16-bit/48KHz high bandwidth mic with FILTER AI noise removal, internal beamforming mics, 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution audio, patent-pending SLAM technology, Bluetooth support for Auracast, LE Audio, LDAC, and AAC	ANC, Razer HyperClear full-band 12mm mic, THX Spatial Audio	40mm Neodymium, ANC, magnetic drivers, 360-degree spatial audio, retractable ClearCast 2.X mic
Software	Audeze App (PC and mobile)	Razer Audio App, Razer Synapse	SteelSeries GG/Sonar (PC)

Razer Blackshark V3 Pro
Quite simply, the best all-round gaming headset on the market today. The V3 Pro version features ANC, a great mic, and a comparable 70-hour battery life, bested only in raw audio fidelity by the Audeze Maxwell 2.

For more information, check out our full Razer Blackshark V3 Pro review.

Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
Featuring SteelSeries’ unique dual-battery charging solution, premium looks, plus ANC implementation, the Nova Pro Wireless is a premium headset option with few faults.

For more information, check out our full SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless review.

How I tested the Audeze Maxwell 2

Weeks of solid use on PC, Xbox, and Mac
All connection types tested
Put through its paces in gaming, movies, music and work calls

When a headset with audio fidelity chops as formidable as this arrives, there’s only one thing for it: you play lossless classical music, as loud as your ears can withstand, until entering a stupor. That’s stage one of testing this headset.

Given that there are several connection options and multi-device compatibility, I checked each option off to ensure functionality and fidelity. I also updated the firmware via the Audeze software before poking around in the app options.

Given that the higher weight looked like it might be an issue, I wore the Maxwell 2 all day during my workday for a week straight, which included using it for work calls. That also gave me a chance to take feedback on the mic quality using different chat clients, which is where I identified that the Discord issue isn’t a universal noise-cancelling problem.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Baby Steps sounds fantastic through these things.

First reviewed December 2025-January 2026

Read more about how we test

Testing the GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra made me realize just how flexible an entry-level mini PC can be

11:45 pm | January 13, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets | Tags: PC, VESA | Comments: Off

GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra: 30-second review

GMKtec is an established brand that makes a wide selection of mini PCs, and the M5 Ultra is a follow-up to the previous M5 and M5 Plus models (see my M5 review and the M5 Plus review).

The original M5 used a Ryzen 7 5700U, a Zen 2 architecture chip, the M5 Plus used the Zen 3 era Ryzen 7 5825U. And, the new M5 Ultra goes Zen 4 with a Ryzen 7 7730U.

From the outside, these all look remarkably similar, but internally, the M5 Ultra is 2023 technology and not the 2022 and 2021 tech used in the previous generations.

While the number of cores remains the same, the Ryzen 7 7730U offers better CPU and GPU clock speeds and better power efficiency.

However, it still uses DDR4 memory, and the best USB it has to offer is USB 3.2 Gen 2. Those wanting USB4 need to consider the M7 Ultra that I’ll be reviewing on Tech Radar Pro shortly.

But what made the original M5, and then the M5 Plus, so popular was their competitive pricing, and the M5 Ultra is also remarkably cheap, especially if you buy it ‘barebones’ and provide your own memory and storage.

With a starting price of under $260 for a barebones machine, this is a well-specified NUC system that has enough power for general office tasks once you’ve added memory, storage and an OS.

And with dual 2.5GbE LAN ports and easy internal upgrades, this is a highly flexible system that can be repurposed if required.

While this system doesn’t offer the raw performance of Ryzen AI or Ryzen 9 systems, or the latest USB4 technology, it’s a logical replacement for older desktop systems.

The inclusion of dual LAN ports, dual M.2 slots, and easily upgradable RAM might see this system join our best mini PC round-up, purely on the basis of flexibility and great value.

GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra: Price and availability

How much does it cost? From $260/£210/€240
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Direct from GMKtec and via online retailers

The M5 Ultra is available in a range of SKUs from GMKtec directly, though through online retailers, these are either ones with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, or 32GB of memory and 1TB of drive space.

It's also available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, among other online retailers.

And I'm seeing a few sites selling ones with those memory capacities and storage mixed up, but the cheapest option is to buy this system directly from GMKtec as a barebones system.

If you have spare DDR4 SODIMMs and a Gen 3 NVMe module to install, that could get you this system for only $259.99 in the US, £209 in the UK and €239.99 across the EU.

The review specification costs $489.99 for US residents via GMKtec.com, £382 for UK residents, and €439.99 for Europe, direct from GMKtec in Germany.

What’s most striking here is the difference between the barebones and populated system, which can be interpreted as 1TB of storage and 32GB of DDR4 being worth almost half the cost of the system. Therefore, if you have those things, the barebones makes more sense, and if you don’t, then the intermediate SKU with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is worth considering, as it could save you $90 on the whole system.

Looking for machines that use this same processor, these are thin on the ground. According to my searches, these include the AceMagic Kron Mini K1, Kamrui E3B Mini PC, GenMachine Ren7000 and FakestarPC Fanless Mini PC. Of these, I’ve only got direct experience with AceMagic, and this brand typically delivers quality construction and innovative designs.

The Kron Mini K1 bears an uncanny resemblance to the M5 Ultra, and sells for $408.49 via Amazon for a system with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Making it cheaper than the equivalent M5 Ultra. Also from Amazon, the Kamrui E3B Mini PC is $479. I couldn’t find either the FakestarPC Fanless Mini PC or GenMachine Ren7000 available.

The fact that so few designs exist for this platform suggests that not many Mini PC makers thought it was a good idea, and the few who did pitched it as a mid-range device, where a good portion of the cost is determined by how it is outfitted with memory and storage. And it's worth noting that if you go barebones with this gear, the price doesn't include the Windows 11 Pro license.

Value: 4 / 5

GMKtec M5 Ultra — (Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra: Specs

Item	Spec
CPU:	AMD Ryzen 7 7730U ( 8C/16T, up to 4.6GHz)
GPU:	AMD Radeon Vega 8, up to 2.0 GHz
NPU:	N/A
RAM:	32GB DDR4-3200 (16GB x 2) expandable to 64GB
Storage:	1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 3
Expansion:	1x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 3
Ports:	1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 2x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x 3.5mm Audio
Networking:	2x 2,5GbE Realtek RTL8125, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
OS:	Windows 11 Pro (pre-installed)
Base Power:	15W
PSU:	19V 3.42A 65W
Dimensions:	128.8 x 127 x 47.8 mm

GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra: Design

Basic build quality
VESA mountable
Easy internal access

If this NUC has a significant weakness, it's that it's entirely built from plastic. And, if you look at some of my images, you might notice that the one I was sent already got a scuff along the way.

Because it might not be the most durable case, mounting it on the rear of a monitor using the VESA bracket GMKtec provides could be a strategic move to keep it out of harm's way.

I think part of the issue here is that GMKtec has used a fine paint finish on its enclosure that highlights any contact rather than ignoring it.

Better considered are the port positions, where the USB options are liberally distributed with both Type-A and Type-C ports on the front, and more Type-A ports on the rear. There is only one USB-C port, and all the ports with USB 3.2 Gen 2 specifications are on the front.

The rear has to USB 2.0 ports for mouse and keyboard, two video outputs (one each of HDMI and DisplayPort) and dual 2.5GbE LAN ports.

That last option makes this platform perfect for a hardware firewall, since you could buy it barebones, add some memory and install a Linux firewall distro on it extremely cheaply.

One interesting sidenote to the LAN ports is that GMKtec has taken to putting a label over the ports, suggesting that if you want to use the machine immediately, then don’t connect the network. Microsoft seems oblivious to how annoying it is for new owners to wait while Windows 11 devours the medieval feast of updates to the distribution installation. Why Microsoft hasn’t bundled these into the base install, I’ve no idea, but it probably rhymes with the word decrepitude.

Sadly, because this is Windows, eventually connecting the network will become a necessity, but at least warning people that this comes with a downside was good on GMKtec’s part.

As with all the GMKtec Nuxbox designs I’ve seen, access to the inside is remarkably straightforward.

On this model, the top of the machine can be easily pulled off, and that reveals four screws that hold a plastic fan mount, blowing air on the system, which can be removed. With this part out of the way, the memory and storage are all available to be replaced or, in the case of the storage, upgraded.

There are two SODIMM slots for DDR4, which on the review hardware were occupied with two 16GB modules. The maximum addressable memory by the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U is 64GB, so you could install two 32GB modules to achieve that. But, from an economic point of view, I’d consider choosing a system that used DDR5, rather than adding more RAM to a DDR4 system.

The M.2 situation is even better, since this machine has an unused 2280 M.2 NVMe slot. While both the M.2 slots in here are only Gen 3, and not Gen 4, for those with the modules, you could use two 8TB sticks, giving a combined storage of 16TB. That would hold a decent media collection or a significant amount of data.

Overall, within the limitations of a system that uses DDR4 and PCIe 3.0, the M5 Ultra provides the best possible options and makes what is already a flexible solution even more adaptable.

Design: 4 / 5

GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra: Hardware

AMD Ryzen 7 7730U
DDR4 Memory
PCIe Gen 3 M.2 Slots

As I mentioned earlier, not many systems have used the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U, and maybe some of the reason is that this is a Zen 3 architecture CPU that was officially released with other 7030 series Barcelo-R chips in early 2023.

These were the tail end of AMD’s TSMC 7nm FinFET products before they shifted to 6nm on the 7025 series and then 4nm fabrication with the 7040 series. The first 7040-series chips with Zen 4 architecture appeared only three months after the Ryzen 7 7730U, so it never had much of an opportunity to develop a following.

That’s a shame, because the 7020 series it replaced only used the Zen 2 architecture, didn’t have any Ryzen 7 models, and had a maximum of four cores (eight threads). However, the 7020 series did at least support DDR5, which this processor did not, reverting to DDR4.

That’s the critical choice that erodes much of the performance benefit of having eight cores and sixteen threads.

This design also offered built-in USB ports, avoiding the need for PCIe lanes to be used for that function. This was also one of the last CPU designs to use the older Vega 8 GPU before the RDNA2 680M appeared with the 7035 series.

In short, this CPU and GPU combination where at the cusp of a major change, and the timescale between the rollover to DDR5, RDNA2 graphics and 4nm fabrication took away this silicon as an obvious choice for system builders.

It’s a guess, but a good number of these chips were probably made, and AMD might have a significant number that they are willing to sell cheaply now, which would explain their appearance here.

One downside to this architecture compared to later designs is that it only supports PCI Express 3.0 and has only 16 usable lanes, giving it the equivalent of 8 PCIe 4.0 lanes in later series.

Because it has built-in USB technology that isn’t a huge issue, but it does limit the M.2 slots here to Gen 3 mode, so buying Gen 4 drives for this machine is pointless. There are sufficient lanes for dual PCIe 3.0 M.2 slots, and for dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, since this system doesn’t have USB4 or other bandwidth-eating options.

Overall, the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U was a slightly odd choice, and its existence would suggest that in 2023, at the very least, AMD was strategically all over the place.

Releasing a new series when you intend to stomp on it within three months now looks like a severe lack of planning, and this system is one of the ripples of those rock-in-the pond choices.

Features: 3.5 / 5

GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra: Performance

Mini PC		GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra	Alliwava U58
CPU		AMD Ryzen 7 7730U	AMD Ryzen 7 5825U
Cores/Threads		8C 16T	8C 16T
RAM		32GB DDR4 (2x16GB)	32GB DDR4 (2x16GB)
Storage		1TB NVMe	512GB SSD
Graphics		Radeon Vega 8	Radeon Vega 8
3DMark	WildLife	6711	8218
	FireStrike	3154	3764
	TimeSpy	1264	1402
	Steel Nom Lt.	1035	1307
CineBench24	Single	78	85
	Multi	414	473
	Ratio	5.29	5.59
GeekBench 6	Single	1806	1978
	Multi	5939	7941
	OpenCL	12823	16925
	Vulkan	11472	15457
CrystalDisk	Read MB/s	3624	3650
	Write MB/s	2642	2717
PCMark 10	Office	5581	6445
WEI		8.1	8.1

I’ve not seen any other system with this processor, so I decided to compare it to another mini PC that also uses older AMD chip technology - the Alliwava U58 I recently reviewed.

Where the M5 Ultra uses the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U, U58 uses the AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, a 5000 series processor from exactly a year earlier, in January 2022.

On paper, these processors have the same number of cores and threads, the same DDR4 memory technology, the same base and boost clocks, and very similar Vega 8 GPUs.

It’s tempting to think that the 7730U is just a rebranded 5825U, and there is some truth in that.

However, in these tests, for reasons I can’t fathom, the Alliwava U58 performs better or the same as the GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra across a wide range of benchmarks.

Typically, the U58 is 10% better, but in some of the graphics tests, it manages to be even more superior.

Not sure why this is the case, but due to the U58 only having a single 1GbE LAN port, and a single M.2 slot, I’m still not convinced that it’s the better option.

Perhaps a firmware upgrade of the M5 Ultra might bring it up to a similar performance level at some point. However, if you want more power, then I’d avoid systems that use DDR4 and pay the extra to have a DDR5 system.

Performance: 3.5 / 5

GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra: Final verdict

This is an odd system, as it ended up with a CPU that few system builders considered and even fewer made into machines.

Looking at the performance, the reason is obvious, because it didn’t deliver a dramatic improvement over previous generations, and it was overtaken by new products in three months.

That said, it works perfectly well in this context, and for someone with spare DDR4 handy, it’s an inexpensive system that is dramatically better than an Intel N300-powered NUC or a Ryzen 5 system.

What GMKtec got right with the M5 Ultra is that it supports a decent amount of memory, has dual M.2 slots and dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, which increases the number of roles that this system could occupy exponentially. There are plenty of medium-power NUCs around, but like the U58 I mentioned in the benchmarking, they don’t have the LAN ports or the storage expansion options.

Those who are interested in those features, and perhaps less concerned with raw performance, might find the GMKtec M5 Ultra an interesting proposition.

Should I buy a GMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra?

Value	Affordable system, especially barebones	4/5
Design	Mostly plastic, but the port layout is logical	3.5/5
Features	Odd processor, but easy upgrades	3.5/5
Performance	Not the fastest Ryzen 7, but powerful enough for most jobs	3.5/5
Overalls	Flexible and easy to upgrade at a bargain price	4/5

Buy it if...

You want a low-cost NUC
Even with memory and storage, this NUC is affordable, and barebones, it's a bargain. It might not be the fastest Ryzen around, but it's quick enough for daily Office tasks.View Deal

You want a flexible mini PC
Compared to some NUC designs, this one is very flexible. With two 2.5GbE LAN ports, it could be used as a hardware firewall, a media server, or in a dozen other contexts. The power and performance of this platform allow it to drive up to three monitors for promotional graphics, and it has more than enough power for typical office tasks.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

Geekom A5
The Geekom A5 mini PC delivers a decent user experience for office work in a small, easy-to-deploy package. It doesn't have a second M.2 slot, but it does have a SATA and a place for a 2.5-inch drive.
In testing it produced almost identical performance to the M5 Ultra, using its AMD Ryzen 5 7430U CPU.

Check out my Geekom M5 review View Deal

GMKtec NucBox M5 Plus
Another mid-tier mini system, this time the prior design from the same brand as the M5 Ultra. This one utilises the AMD Ryzen 7 5825U (8 cores, 16 Threads) CPU and features 1TB of onboard NVMe storage. Where this is slightly better than the A5 is that the second M.2 slot is 2280, and it has dual 2.5GbE LAN ports.

Check out my GMKTec NucBox M5 Plus review View Deal

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