09 Feb
Blog

Persona 5 Strikers Review: Missing the Spark

Phantom thieves

"It's all style and little substance in this sequel / split from Persona 5."

  • Lack of convincing gameplay

  • Uninteresting antagonists

  • Little challenge

Persona 5 Strikers is more of a sequel than the previous Persona spin-offs, but it doesn't live up to fans' high expectations. Persona 5 fans who just want more of this world, in whatever form, will be satisfied even if what made Persona 5 really great is sorely lacking. The seclusion is not enough for newbies either – – Those intimidated by the density and length of Persona 5 will still see Strikers, a 30-hour action game in the hack-and-slash form of Dynasty Warriors, in exactly the same way.

All of the fantastic visual and acoustic elements are still there in Persona 5 Strikers, and the story goes in some interesting directions, but everything stagnates compared to the epic story told in the original game.

Strikers feel like Persona-Lite

Not only was Persona 5 able to hold gamers' attention for nearly 100 hours or more, it also told a story so compelling that many people were eager to play it again right from the start. With the main character Joker, a fish out of the water who slowly expands his social circle over time and withdraws the mystery of his own past and the fantastic world he and his friends face, it was a game about that one begged to be played – and one that for the most part justified its ridiculous length.

All of the fantastic visual and acoustic elements are still there, but everything stagnates compared to the epic story told in the original game.

While Strikers makes up about a third of the run time, its incentives to keep playing dry up relatively quickly. The mystery of the return of "palaces," an otherworldly manifestation of people's subconscious, is quite an interesting storyline, but it lacks the personal side that was the driving factor in the original game. The characters in whose palaces the phantom thieves dive are not nearly as interesting or well developed as those in the first game, and the desires that define their unconscious dimensions are only superficial in comparison.

Alice Persona 5 strikers

The Phantom Thieves themselves are as well-written as ever, but when fully sculpted from the jump it just reminds you of how great their getting together was in Persona 5. Without this trip, it's just a lot of hilarious banter and nudge buttons occurring within the group. This extends to the gameplay, which has many different elements from the original game but drops the incredibly popular social stats and links. Playing as a joker is like a fly on the wall, with the character's interjections not having nearly the same weight.

There are a couple of new cast members joining the team. I don't see them going to be anyone's favorites though, as they're mostly treated as a means of operating the plot rather than as fully worked out additions to the thieves. Given that Strikers serves as the sequel to Persona 5, the lack of the new and interesting characters that Persona 5 Royal fans loved makes this spinoff pretty thin.

Musou gameplay lacks a challenge

Persona 5's turn-based gameplay has been replaced with the Musou gameplay from Koei Tecmo's Warriors series. This is one of the main reasons Strikers is a shorter proposition than its predecessor. The game impressively translates many of the combat elements from the original game into the spin-off, and there are a surprising amount of attacks and skills that the player can use to stay true to the spirit of the series.

Playing as a joker is like existing as a fly on the wall.

Another recent Musou game did something similar. In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, almost all of the tricks of Link & # 39; s sleeve from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have been carried over into the spin-off prequel. Age of Calamity is an example of the tight integration of these features, and it just goes to show that Strikers didn't.

Joker Persona 5

Whether you hit the attack button, swap characters out quickly with a "Squadron Pass," or do great damage to a character's Persona Skills, there is very little strategy for maintaining your SP for advanced attacks. Persona 5's turn-based combat could have dragged harmless battles out longer than necessary, but every conflict felt crucial – – One wrong move could prove disastrous for the squad.

The game impressively translates many of the combat elements from the original game into the spin-off.

There is no such threat in Strikers. This can be seen in the number of times the game gives you a lifeline. Most battles can be ended in seconds if the player feels the tide turned against them, and dungeons have incredibly frequent checkpoints where players can leave and regroup for free. In Persona 5, the decision to tackle a palace required careful planning, and once you were inside the only way forward was. The dungeons in Strikers offer so little challenge that I didn't feel compelled to buy new items or equip new equipment on a regular basis.

Our opinion

Persona 5 Strikers is as eye-catching as Persona 5, and features the same beautiful artwork and animation, great dialog, and brilliant music. Unfortunately, it lacks the meat on the bone that made the original an addicting experience for its loyal fan base. It also offers little incentive for newbies to play it, although it drastically shortens its immense length.

Is there a better alternative?

Age of Calamity is a superior musou game. Those looking to immerse themselves in the world of Persona, as daunting as it may be, better spend their time with Persona 5 Royal.

How long it will take?

Even when rushing through the main game, it would take a player anywhere from 20 to 30 hours, or between 30 and 50 hours staying around and smelling the roses.

Should you buy it?

No. Only die-hard Persona 5 in desperate need of more Persona content will get much out of this split.

Editor's recommendations




09 Feb
Blog

Step- by- Step Guide To Single Leg Deadlift

The back chain of our body, i.e. the back of our body, consisting of the calf muscles, hips, buttocks, lower back, hamstrings, glutes and back muscles, forms a very important part of the body. These parts allow us to do many activities, such as walking, running, lounging, etc. In addition, it helps maintain balance and posture.

And that's why we have to train these parts so that our body remains continuously flexible. So we're going to describe an exercise here that takes care of our rear chain throughout their one-leg deadlift. In addition, it also helps to include our core and inclines while exercising. So this exercise is worth trying.

What is a one leg deadlift?

Typically, it's an advanced deadlift that stretches and consequently strengthens the hips, lower back, legs, and hamstrings. In addition, it also helps to balance our posture as much of this exercise is focused on balancing all of your body weight on one leg.

Benefits of the one leg deadlift:

  1. It helps in strengthening the muscles in the front and back of the body.
  2. Establish the balance in our body.
  3. Increases the strength of the legs as we have to balance all of the body weight on one leg.
  4. Helps in strengthening the core loop system.
  5. Provides improved mobility and movement throughout the body.
  6. Improves coordination between hips, core muscles, shoulders and our nervous system.

How do I deadlift one leg?

Now that we have listed the benefits of the one leg deadlift, let's explain how exactly it is performed or performed. Here we give you step by step instructions:

  1. Stand in your side profile with your legs straight and hands by your side straight.
  2. Gradually transfer your body weight to your left leg as you lift your right leg.
  3. As a result, the upper body or the upper part of your body begins to bend down.
  4. Remember not to arch or hunch your back, and your back should stay parallel to the floor.
  5. Your shoulders, hips, and core should stay straight and stiff. This is important so that you do not experience pain after exercising.
  6. Your left leg should not be completely straight with a slight bend at the knee.
  7. Keep bending over and lifting your right leg until your body forms a T position and your right leg and the top of your body are almost parallel to the floor.
  8. You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings, glutes, and quad muscles.
  9. Stay there for four to five seconds, then return to your starting position.
  10. Repeat with your other leg.

Important / critical tips to keep in mind when deadlifting with one leg:

It is just as important for you to keep these important points in mind as you understand how this exercise is performed so that you can perform this one leg deadlift without pain and change the exercise to achieve your goals. Here are some of the basic points to keep in mind while doing this exercise:

  1. As mentioned above, never arch your spine. Your spine must be completely straight and protected from injury. Continuing to curve or round your spine will result in poor posture in the long run.
  2. The raised leg should be nearly parallel to the floor. It should be in line with your torso and should be straight.
  3. At first, you may find it difficult to balance your body weight on one leg. So try to use assistance, e.g. B. a wall, a chair, or a person's hand.
  4. After a while, remove this support and try to balance your weight on your leg independently.
  5. After balancing your weight, you can increase the intensity of this exercise by holding different weights in your hand during this exercise, such as: B. dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, etc.
  6. It is also advisable for pregnant women to only do this exercise in the first few months of their pregnancy, even without weights.
  7. You can increase the sets and reps in the future, but try to start with two sets of 5 reps each day.
  8. You can also do fewer sets if you are in pain.
  9. It is advisable to perform this exercise on a mat so it can be useful in preventing injury if you trip while balancing your posture.
  10. Be gentle with your body and skip exercise for a day or two if you experience excessive pain in your body.
  11. Take a 3-minute break between each set.
  12. If you feel like you can't do this exercise, start with the traditional deadlift and then switch to the one-leg deadlift.
  13. If you are having trouble balancing your position, try other balance exercises to help your body cope with balancing.
  14. Never over-exert yourself, and this can never be overstated. NEVER EXERCISE OVER.

And that brings us to the end of our article. Hope you understood the importance of the back chain and how the one-legged deadlift exercise can help you strengthen it. Exercising can be challenging at first, but if you practice it regularly and consistently, you will see dramatic changes in yourself. So I urge you to at least perform this exercise with the utmost discipline. Good luck!

09 Feb
Blog

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TV Review (OLED65-H1) | OLED for Everyone

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TV test (OLED65-H1): OLED for everyone

"Vizios H1 OLED is a great TV at a great price."

  • Perfect black levels

  • Excellent out-of-box color

  • Ideal for playing

  • Sleek, sleek design

  • Difficult cable management

  • Low risk of burn-in

It's been over a year since Vizio unveiled the OLED65-H1 TV at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show – and the longest we've ever waited for a TV to be checked. And while it took a long time, we still think it's a tough competitor that brought OLED TVs to the lowest prices we've ever seen. Was it worth the wait?

Details about the 4K HDR television from Vizio OLED (65-H1)

While we tested the 65-inch model OLED65-H1, our test also applies to the 55-inch model.

Screen size Model no RRP
55 inches OLED55-H1 1000 dollars
65 inches OLED65-H1 $ 1500

Out of the box

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The package contains a remote control (not a voice remote control), batteries for the remote control and several parts for the TV stand. While there was a product information brochure for the TV itself, we couldn't find any instructions on how to assemble the stand. Perhaps that was an oversight for our test device, but luckily we were able to sort the assembly without too much trouble.

Physically setting up the Vizio OLED65-H1 is a two-person job. And to be honest, this is a bit of a fearful proposition, as evidenced by the huge stickers on the front warning you of where to (and where not) to hold the H1 while handling it. It boils down to having a really expensive, somewhat flexible OLED screen that needs to be laid flat to assemble properly. That can be tricky to say the least. You can feel the screen flex a little in your hands when you hold it and move it. Hence, one has to be incredibly careful with assembly and placement. Ideally, as already mentioned, it would be a two-person job.

Ports and cable management

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

The Vizio OLED65-H1 has three downward facing HDMI ports (one is an eARC and the other two are labeled 4K 120 Hz). There are also some ports on the side (composite, HDMI and USB) for easier access. Vizio has gone to great lengths to keep the back of the H1 clean and tidy by using various access panels and channels to manage the cables, including the power connector. The channels route the cables to the center of the device and down through the stand to keep it looking neat and organized. This makes for a neat job, but it also cuts the cable length in half, which can make hooking up your components a problem.

A note about these HDMI connections: While only two are labeled as 4K 120Hz, Vizio assures that they are all HDMI 2.1 connections, which in addition to a 4K resolution of up to 120Hz also have a variable refresh rate (VRR) and support an automatic low latency mode (ALLM). At the time the television was evaluated, this did not appear to be the case. However, since then Vizio has released a firmware update that addressed the issues it encountered while testing the TV with a Sony PlayStation 5 (see below).

The curved stand on the OLED65-H1 looks great, although the idea of ​​putting most of the weight on the little foot sticking out from the center and back doesn't exactly instill confidence. And while the plastic access covers look great after being pressed in, they are difficult to snap into place and are used to shorten the cables, as mentioned above.

Black levels

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

The black levels of the Vizio OLED65-H1 are impressive – after all, it is an OLED television. So when you turn the pixels off, you get real black perfection. But that's not the whole story of a good image – you also need good gradients that result in dark grays, shadow detail, and dissolves. And here the H1 struggles a little. You may actually have trouble seeing dark pictures unless you have a very dark room. It doesn't go smoothly out of the black so there is a lack of shadow detail, which makes viewing really dark scenes in any location other than a completely dark room a challenge.

Other than that, the black uniformity is perfect and sets the TV for excellent contrast. The gray uniformity was also nearly perfect.

brightness

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

The interesting thing about the H1 is that with the ready-to-use calibrated picture presetting, the television did not get very bright – only about 400 nits at its peak for HDR and about 300 for SDR. That's not much of a difference between HDR and SDR. However, after resetting the TV and changing some settings, the performance was significantly better and was as expected: closer to 400 nits in SDR and almost 650 in HDR with a 10 percent window for the measurement.

Color accuracy

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

Adjustments in brightness can often have a negative impact on color accuracy. However, the OLED65-H1's ready-to-use color is fantastic in calibrated image mode.

Motion handling

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

While the OLED65-H1 handles colors well, it could do better when it comes to handling movement. It has a bit of an issue with motion blur, and we noticed a stutter in the content at 24 Franes per second (fps). Admittedly, this was with the motion and jerk compensation settings turned off. However, when these settings are enabled, even at the lowest level, they will introduce the “soap opera effect”. In our opinion, this is not worth compromising on.

Image processing

Image processing is an area where Vizio still has little room to grow. It's just not as pristine as LG or Sony OLED TVs are. Vizio's processing has come a long way this year, but the H1 hasn't cleaned up low-resolution, shallow bit-depth content as flawlessly as some competing OLEDs. The H1 looks amazing with high definition content, but you may notice a bit more streaks in wide color ranges when streaming content from Hulu, YouTube, or other sources that is limited to 720p or otherwise heavily compressed than you might do with other OLED TVs.

Burn-in potential

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

Vizio OLED 4K HDR TVDan Baker / Digital Trends

It wouldn't be an OLED TV review if we didn't talk about the burn-in potential. While burn-in is nowhere near as much of an issue as it has been in the past, there are risks involved in running an OLED TV really hard. So, if you're the type of person who plays the same video game eight hours a day, or watches the same cable news channel every day / all day, you may have an issue with graphic banners or chyrons burning into your screen. Even so, the OLED65-H1 does a lot to combat burn-in. If you rest on a static screen for more than 30 seconds, the H1 will go dark. It also features pixel shift technology and a brightness limiter to prevent burn-in.

Audio quality

We initially had a bad experience with the H1's sound quality, but restarting the TV improved the audio performance significantly. However, we believe that such a great TV deserves a soundbar for a sound experience that matches the picture quality. Thankfully, Vizio makes some of the most affordable, high-performance soundbars on the market. In our experience, the Vizio Elevate soundbar in particular is an excellent choice.

Play

Dan Baker / Digital Trends

When we plugged in our PlayStation 5, we expected a fairly automated experience. And while the H1 automatically recognized the console and labeled the entrance, the image quality didn't look too good. After looking at this, we realized we weren't getting HDR, which the PS5 does by default. After tinkering with the settings on the H1, we managed to brick the entire TV. Although we could go into the PS5 settings and manually toggle a few things to produce 4K HDR at up to 120Hz, the experience wasn't what we expected at all. It turned out that some bugs needed to be fixed. Since our initial testing, Vizio has released a firmware update that has resolved any issues we encountered. We can confirm that the H1 OLED is an excellent choice for a gaming TV.

Our opinion

The wait for the Vizio H1 OLED is definitely worth it. Kudos to Vizio for reducing the image quality of OLED to an affordable price. While Vizio has cheap competition later this year in the form of the expected LG A-Series OLED, Vizio cut OLED below $ 1,000 first, and we're grateful for that. It took a while to wait for some firmware patches, but in the end the Vizio H1 OLED turned out to be a fantastic TV.

Is there a better alternative?

The LG CX OLED is an inexpensive competitor of the H1 OLED from Vizio, but costs more. For the extra cash, you get a little bit more sophisticated image processing, but we think the image on the Vizio H1 OLED is so good that most people would love to save money while getting great image quality.

How long it will take?

Given Vizio's track record and the inclusion of HDMI 2.1 One inputs through the H1 OLED, this TV should last for many years.

warranty

Vizio grants a one-year guarantee on its TV products. Please refer to the Vizio warranty page for more information.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Vizio H1 OLED is an excellent value because of its premium OLED image quality and relatively easily accessible price.

Editor's recommendations




08 Feb
Blog

Falcon Northwest Talon Review: An All-AMD Powerhouse

Falcon Northwest Talon Review and Ryzen Radeon NW lead

"The Falcon NW Talon is a medium-sized tower worthy of AMD's ultra-high performance new silicon."

  • Supports a full ATX motherboard

  • Very solid build quality

  • Impeccable cable management

  • Excellent 4K gaming

  • Endless configuration options

  • Too expensive

  • Nvidia graphics offer better value

In a sense, it doesn't matter how fast AMD's Ryzen 9 5950X and Radeon RX 6900 XT are. You also can't buy one right now and may not be able to do so for some time.

Unless you buy it in a hidden, pre-built system like the Falcon Northwest Talon. That PC costs you many thousands of dollars – my device costs $ 5,593 – but let's not forget that the GPU alone costs $ 1,000.

But if you get your hands on something like this, I have no hesitation in saying that you will not be disappointed.

design

The goodness begins with the Talon case, the 20th anniversary edition. Falcon Northwest approaches the aesthetic in a subtle way with a sleek, matte black exterior with simple lines and edges. Nor is it voracious to use lighting. The tasteful lighting comes mainly from the components inside, such as the glowing G.Skill TridentZ RAM sticks and the fans illuminated by ARGB.

But as Falcon Northwest would say, the case itself is just a "blank canvas". You can have it finished in a custom paint job like we did, from a simple logo on the glass to colored artwork or designs that stretch across the top and side walls. The customizations you can make to a boutique gaming PC help brands like Falcon Northwest stand out from other out-of-the-box systems manufacturers.

In addition to the custom graphics, you can choose to have the logo glow in different colors, swap out the aluminum side panels for tinted glass, add different case fans, and so on.

Regardless of what you choose in terms of the finer details, you get an extremely well-built and well-configured gaming PC. The case is made of a 4mm aluminum layer to ensure that there is no hint of flex.

The Talon has a few accessible ports on the top, including a headphone jack, two USB-A 3.0 and one USB-C 3.1 ports, and a glowing power button. This is a preferred place if you want to keep your tower on the floor under your desk. On the back, the Talon offers a standard set of inputs and outputs provided by the motherboard and the graphics card.

With a medium-sized tower like this, you'll be impressed with everything Falcon Northwest can squeeze in without the setup ever feeling cramped. It's only 17 "by 9" and feels compact when coming from a full size tower. That makes it a bit bigger than the Origin Neuron, for example, which is only 16.3 "by 6.8". The Neuron is one of the few other system manufacturers currently supporting these new AMD processors and GPUs.

Unlike the Neuron, however, the Falcon Northwest Talon is a bit more comprehensive and future-proof. It uses the Asus ROG Crosshair VII Dark Hero motherboard, which offers six SATA ports, two M.2 slots, integrated Wi-Fi 6 and two PCIe 4.0 expansion slots with 16 lanes each. Putting a full ATX motherboard into a midsize tower can be tricky, but Falcon Northwest does it great. The Origin Neuron, on the other hand, only offers Micro-ATX options, which have fewer PCIe lanes and less overclocking potential. The situation is similar with the Alienware Aurora R11.

That's not as big a deal as you might think – especially since the Neuron also supports up to 128GB of RAM. The advantage of the Micro ATX board is both a smaller case and a little more space for cooling and tooling.

However, thanks to the flawless cable management that makes upgrading easy in the future, the tight setup of Falcon Northwest works wonderfully. The only limitation is the graphics card, which requires a separate bracket to attach. You have to remove some screws to loosen it and it's a bit of a pain.

But honestly, if you are serious about spending your money on a desktop like this, you want to make sure that you pump it up with the latest components right from the start. And that is exactly what you can do with the talon.

performance

It would be easy to think of the Falcon Northwest Talon as nothing more than a vehicle for the latest AMD parts. That's fair considering how quickly these processors and graphics cards sell out. With the Z490 chipset you can of course also build the Talon around Intel parts. But let's face it, these AMD components are the hot new components everyone is talking about.

Choose from high-end Ryzen 5000 chips, including Ryzen 7 5800X, Ryzen 9 5900X, and Ryzen 9 5950X. If you're just playing, the Ryzen 7 is a perfect fit for you, saving you up to $ 520. But hey, we all want to know what a 16-core Zen 3 processor can do. So that's what we loaded into our configuration.

Ideally, I'd like to compare the Talon to similar configurations on the Origin Neuron and the Alienware Aurora R11, both of which can be configured similarly with the Ryzen 9 5950X. The way these various systems create and cool their components will affect performance. However, you shouldn't expect huge differences in frame rates or render times.

Falcon Northwest combines the CPU with an all-in-one liquid cooling system from Asetek that includes a fairly large cooler with a pair of 140mm fans mounted. In all of my tests, neither the GPU nor the CPU ever climbed above 73 degrees Celsius, and the system remained surprisingly quiet, too.

As can be expected, the Ryzen 9 5950X dominates the benchmarks absolutely. It scored an insane 23,539 in multi-core and 1,537 in single-core. Intel's scant 10-core chips are being hurt by multi-core performance, and the upcoming move to 8-cores in the 11th generation Rocket Lake S chips won't improve the situation.

Again, I haven't tested this chip on other systems, but as the only 16-core mainstream CPU you can buy, you shouldn't expect any other chip to outperform it in multi-core scores.

When you are doing this much, it won't have a massive impact on your daily activities. For tasks like word processing, web browsing, and video conferencing, it's only marginally faster than the latest laptops you can buy.

When creating content, these 16 cores and 32 threads show their potential. In applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and Handbrake, tasks like video encoding can be done in lightning speed, especially if you're upgrading from an older quad-core or six-core processor. It encoded a 4K movie trailer to H.265 in just 49 seconds – a new record among the systems we tested. In Premiere, the performance in Premiere is 60% better than the M1 Mac Mini.

As fast as it did in Premiere, the Radeon RX 5900 XT's performance is holding back from being the absolute best. The Nvidia RTX 3080 tested in PugetBench outperforms the Radeon RX 5900 XT, which was also tested in the Falcon Northwest Talon, by 10%. That doesn't look good, especially given the $ 300 difference in price.

I also tested the GPU-based rendering of the RX 5900 XT with the RTX 3080 in the Blender benchmark. Here the two GPUs exchange the various tests. It's not an absolute win for AMD, it should be for the price, but don't count the Radeon RX 5900 XT out just yet. Gaming is the biggest test of any graphics card, and the RX 5900 XT doesn't disappoint here.

Play

Let's start with 3DMark, which strongly emphasizes the gaming potential of the AMD-based Talon. It outperforms the RTX 3080 – retested in the exact same rig. But it's not a lot. It is only 2% faster in the DX12 test called Time Spy and 6% faster in the older DX11 Fire Strike test.

I didn't have access to the RTX 3090 to test it in the system, but a quick look at the benchmarks shows that the $ 1,399 card has a good lead over the RX 6900 XT. In actual games, the RX 6900 XT can handle 1440p and 4K resolutions quite well. Just make sure you have a monitor that can handle such high frame rates.

In the Fortnite at Epic settings, the average was 99 fps (frames per second) in 4K and 202 fps in 1440p. That's 14% faster than the RTX 3080 in 4K and 16% faster in 1440p. Of course, with an Nvidia GPU you can enable the game's impressive ray tracing and DLSS effects, although the frame rate has a tradeoff.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is a newer title that can really test a system's raw graphics performance, and it turned out to be a worthy challenge for the Talon. The RX 6900 XT was really impressive here with an average of 69 fps in 4K Ultra High. But in 1440p the game really shone, reaching 116 fps with maximum graphics quality. It's not a game that you need jittery frame rates for, but being over 60 fps regardless of resolution is an accomplishment.

Civilization VI was the only game I tested where the RTX 3080 beat the RX 6900 XT. In 1080p Medium and 1440p Medium, the RTX 3080 was even 7% ahead. But for a game that is so easy, it doesn't stand out at all in these lower resolutions. The game still averaged 184 fps at 4K in the Ultra settings. The impressive game results are beneficial to AMD. In the past, systems with Intel and Nvidia were more powerful gaming PCs, but AMD has finally caught up in this regard.

That doesn't mean I would necessarily recommend this particular configuration to everyone. The RX 5900 XT clearly outperforms the RTX 3080 only for games – and by a good amount in some games. In terms of content creation, however, it isn't quite as fast as Nvidia's cheaper offering. It also doesn't offer hardware accelerated ray tracing capabilities. This might not be a deal breaker now, but it could easily become a must-see in a couple of years. This is especially true since the AMD portion comes with a slight markup, which costs $ 381 more than the RTX 3080 (instead of $ 300).

If you're already spending more than $ 5,000 on a gaming PC that landed my configuration on, the added cost may not get you into the phase. More power for you! But for my money, the RTX 3080 offers better overall value. This also applies to the Alienware Aurora R11 and Origin Neuron, both of which can be configured in a similar way for more than $ 1,000 less. That's a lot of money. However, the increase in quality and the additional features make it worth your money, especially if you want to take advantage of the additional expansion slots.

Our opinion

If you want to be a part of the AMD action, the Falcon Northwest Talon is a great way to dive in. It is one of the few systems to support these powerful new components in a highly customizable way. There are cheaper options out there, but the Talon's flawless build and neat setup make it a winner.

Are there alternatives?

Many of my favorite gaming desktops haven't announced support for AMD's Ryzen 5000 platform, such as: B. the HP Omen 30L Desktop.

The Origin Neuron is the closest competitor to the Falcon Northwest Talon. I haven't tested the performance yet, but Origin offers a similar configuration in a smaller and cheaper build. The other brand that offers the Ryzen 9 5950X in a gaming PC is Alienware with its Aurora R11. It's cheaper too, but only has Nvidia graphics options.

Falcon Northwest is also selling its smaller Tiki desktop up to the Ryzen 9 5950X, although configuration options are currently quite limited.

How long it will take?

The Falcon Northwest Talon should last at least five years with its current components and much longer if you are ready to upgrade yourself. That's the beauty of desktop PCs. The Talon also comes with a full three-year warranty that covers both parts and labor.

Should you buy it?

Yes. It's the perfect vehicle for the performance of these new AMD components.

Editor's recommendations




08 Feb
Blog

How I Found CrossFit and Community During Lockdown

As a jiu-jitsu practitioner for the past ten years, I have naturally adopted the mindset of staying calm and seizing opportunities. However, it is difficult to practice the art as regularly as you want as you start to lose muscle memory, rhythm, and accuracy.

In this case, I had to find another sport that instilled the same discipline while outside of my comfort zone.

Enter CrossFit Firefly, a boxing gym I found on Facebook with no website, no significant presence, and no Yelp account. That would be interesting.

How I found CrossFit and Community during Lockdown - Fitness, Crossfit, Wod, Kettlebells, Mobility, Community, Jiu-Jitsu, Dance, Capoeira, Rhythm, Creative Movement, Cleaning, AMRAP, Pandemic, Covid-19, Boxing Gym, Lockdown , Brazil Jiu Jitsu

Good coaching cues trigger neurons

Ferdinand Thieriot taught my first session with a glassblower who became the trainer and co-owner of Crossfit Firefly. While pointing out my poor form, he eloquently eloquently addressed the small details that kept my arched back and shape fixed during AMRAP exercises.

It's not exactly what he said, but how he said it that made it all click.

It was like dealing with an eccentric fitness guru who spent his time and effort perfecting another person's art of exercising.

His few words opened up a new perspective that resonated with me.

My neurons and nerves fired as I increased the habit of distributing weight on my feet, not just the balls of my feet. And within three weeks during AMRAP WODS I did a series of cleanings with perfect shape.

Building a CrossFit community

Ferdinand runs and owns CrossFit Firefly, which was founded in 2015, with his wife, Tracy Thieriot. Avid Breaking Muscle readers, you recognize Chris Holder's kettlebell tutorial as one of their best resource for form and movement.

While Ferdinand built his career in the fitness industry through great attention to detail, intense self-awareness, and a certain sense of direction, Tracy relied on her fiery creativity and sense of adventure as a major in dance communication and ethnic studies who believes entropy is her standard state. Her modern dance and contact improvisation background led her to find CrossFit and explore other arts such as capoeira and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

How I found CrossFit and Community during Lockdown - Fitness, Crossfit, Wod, Kettlebells, Mobility, Community, Jiu-Jitsu, Dance, Capoeira, Rhythm, Creative Movement, Cleaning, AMRAP, Pandemic, Covid-19, Boxing Gym, Lockdown , Brazil Jiu Jitsu

We immediately connected by sharing our experiences in dance and mobility. Tracy says WODS helps her develop a better sense of managing her center of gravity as she explores mobility and movement through her craft.

As a competitive athlete at 5 & # 39; 11 "with an ectomorphic body type, this conversation hit.

CrossFit is an excellent form of exercise for getting in shape and conditioning your body if you are a practitioner who specializes in another art form.

The circular concept of energy transfer

If you've read this far, you may find that Tracy and Ferd are purists who believe in the healing effects of exercise and its impact on community.

They talk about this concept of circle technology – specifically the transfer of energy through support, suffering, cheering, and giving up all pretenses.

It's raw and real.

How I found CrossFit and Community during Lockdown - Fitness, Crossfit, Wod, Kettlebells, Mobility, Community, Jiu-Jitsu, Dance, Capoeira, Rhythm, Creative Movement, Cleaning, AMRAP, Pandemic, Covid-19, Boxing Gym, Lockdown , Brazil Jiu Jitsu

We've all seen the best and the worst of each other, so we might as well do the real work.

It can be said that the stars were aligned for the CrossFit couple to serve the community through their boxing gym.

If you are being asked by all of your members to stay open throughout the lockdown, how can you not be motivated to fight for the right to keep your doors open?

08 Feb
Blog

How I Found CrossFit and Community During Lockdown

As a jiu-jitsu practitioner for the past ten years, I have naturally adopted the mindset of staying calm and seizing opportunities. However, it is difficult to practice the art as regularly as you want as you start to lose muscle memory, rhythm, and accuracy.

In this case, I had to find another sport that instilled the same discipline while outside of my comfort zone.

Enter CrossFit Firefly, a boxing gym I found on Facebook with no website, no significant presence, and no Yelp account. That would be interesting.

How I found CrossFit and Community during Lockdown - Fitness, Crossfit, Wod, Kettlebells, Mobility, Community, Jiu-Jitsu, Dance, Capoeira, Rhythm, Creative Movement, Cleaning, AMRAP, Pandemic, Covid-19, Boxing Gym, Lockdown , Brazil Jiu Jitsu

Good coaching cues trigger neurons

Ferdinand Thieriot taught my first session with a glassblower who became the trainer and co-owner of Crossfit Firefly. While pointing out my poor form, he eloquently eloquently addressed the small details that kept my arched back and shape fixed during AMRAP exercises.

It's not exactly what he said, but how he said it that made it all click.

It was like dealing with an eccentric fitness guru who spent his time and effort perfecting another person's art of exercising.

His few words opened up a new perspective that resonated with me.

My neurons and nerves fired as I increased the habit of distributing weight on my feet, not just the balls of my feet. And within three weeks during AMRAP WODS I did a series of cleanings with perfect shape.

Building a CrossFit community

Ferdinand runs and owns CrossFit Firefly, which was founded in 2015, with his wife, Tracy Thieriot. Avid Breaking Muscle readers, you recognize Chris Holder's kettlebell tutorial as one of their best resource for form and movement.

While Ferdinand built his career in the fitness industry through great attention to detail, intense self-awareness, and a certain sense of direction, Tracy relied on her fiery creativity and sense of adventure as a major in dance communication and ethnic studies who believes entropy is her standard state. Her modern dance and contact improvisation background led her to find CrossFit and explore other arts such as capoeira and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

How I found CrossFit and Community during Lockdown - Fitness, Crossfit, Wod, Kettlebells, Mobility, Community, Jiu-Jitsu, Dance, Capoeira, Rhythm, Creative Movement, Cleaning, AMRAP, Pandemic, Covid-19, Boxing Gym, Lockdown , Brazil Jiu Jitsu

We immediately connected by sharing our experiences in dance and mobility. Tracy says WODS helps her develop a better sense of managing her center of gravity as she explores mobility and movement through her craft.

As a competitive athlete at 5 & # 39; 11 "with an ectomorphic body type, this conversation hit.

CrossFit is an excellent form of exercise for getting in shape and conditioning your body if you are a practitioner who specializes in another art form.

The circular concept of energy transfer

If you've read this far, you may find that Tracy and Ferd are purists who believe in the healing effects of exercise and its impact on community.

They talk about this concept of circle technology – specifically the transfer of energy through support, suffering, cheering, and giving up all pretenses.

It's raw and real.

How I found CrossFit and Community during Lockdown - Fitness, Crossfit, Wod, Kettlebells, Mobility, Community, Jiu-Jitsu, Dance, Capoeira, Rhythm, Creative Movement, Cleaning, AMRAP, Pandemic, Covid-19, Boxing Gym, Lockdown , Brazil Jiu Jitsu

We've all seen the best and the worst of each other, so we might as well do the real work.

It can be said that the stars were aligned for the CrossFit couple to serve the community through their boxing gym.

If you are being asked by all of your members to stay open throughout the lockdown, how can you not be motivated to fight for the right to keep your doors open?

07 Feb
Blog

Potato Nutrition : The Ultimate Guide

Potato is one of the most commonly eaten vegetables in the world. It is eaten in countries like India and South America where people prepare various exotic dishes. Since potatoes are such a mass favorite, it's important to know if they're doing more harm than good.
Unleashing the potato diet could be a smart way to control our daily diet. So let's discover the nutritional information on this vegetable that we have all eaten with so much enthusiasm.

Potato Nutrition Facts To Keep In Mind

Potatoes are known to be full of nutrients. Cooked potatoes with their skin on provide vitamins and minerals. So they also provide our body with a high level of energy. Apart from that, potatoes are high in the water even when fresh. However, they also provide carbohydrates and fat when in their cooked form.

Here is a list of potato foods for you:

  1. Calories: 87
  2. Water: 77%
  3. Protein: 1.9 grams
  4. Carbohydrates: 20.1 grams
  5. Sugar: 0.9 grams
  6. Fiber: 1.8 grams
  7. Fat: 0.1 grams

Potato food in detail for you

We all know how healthy potatoes are for our bodies. Whether you are in a hospital or at home, doctors will always recommend eating this vegetable. It happens because the diet of potatoes is amazing. If you want to dig deep into its nutritional value, we've come to the right place!

  1. protein

If you are in need of tons of protein, potato may not be the best option for you. Such a thing is because the potato diet contains the least protein of most vegetables. However, they offer high quality protein for a plant. At the very least, its protein levels are higher than those found in soybeans. If you are prone to quick allergic reactions, this vegetable should be skipped. This is recommended because potatoes contain a protein called palatine, which causes allergic reactions in many people.

2. Carbohydrates

Potatoes are high in carbohydrates. The vegetables are best for those people who need carbohydrates in their bodies. It also contains simple sugars like sucrose, glucose, and fructose that bring out a delicious taste. However, people with diabetes and blood sugar should refrain from eating it. Something like this is because the potato food contains a glycemic index that is not suitable for such patients. However, if you cool the potatoes after cooking, the risk of high blood sugar levels can decrease dramatically.

3. Vitamins and Minerals

Potatoes also contain vitamins and minerals like potassium. This is the most beneficial for your heart health. The main vitamin that you will find in potatoes is vitamin C. However, when you cook potatoes, it is reduced significantly. However, if you peel the skin off while cooking potatoes, you can keep this vitamin. Vitamin B is also found in potatoes, which greatly improve the nutrition of potatoes. You can also find folic acid in it.

4. Fibers

Yes, potatoes contain fiber. However, they are not high at it. However, if you want to get fiber, you can eat the potatoes with their skin on. It also contains resistant starch that helps with blood sugar control drastically. However, resistant starch is available in most quantities if you cool the potatoes after cooking. So the nutrition in potatoes is preserved without enough effort.

frequently asked Questions

  1. What Are The Health Benefits Of Potato Food?
    Potatoes offer several health benefits. It can significantly reduce high blood pressure in adults. Potatoes can also help lower blood sugar levels if consumed properly. Apart from that, it can also reduce several heart diseases. That's how helpful potato food is to you.
  2. Are Potatoes Good For Weight Loss?
    Yes, they do.
  3. Do potatoes contain vegetable compounds?
    Yes, the nutritional information for potatoes also contains plant-based compounds.

The conclusion
Potato foods are a very healthy choice for everyone. Now that we all know what its benefits are like, we need to incorporate them into our daily diet. So don't miss out. We promise; It's worth waiting for you!

07 Feb
Blog

Destruction AllStars Review: Car Game Crashes and Burns

Destruction of AllStars

Destruction AllStars-Test: The new PS Plus giveaway from Sony is canceled

"Destruction AllStars offers satisfying accidents amid a collection of bizarre design choices for 50 cars."

  • Simple controls

  • Exciting crashes

  • Missing online modes

  • Uncooked skills

  • Arrogant microtransactions

  • Distracting DualSense support

Destruction AllStars is a messy video game, but probably not the way Sony intended.

The hyper-stylized vehicle combat game is full of monster-sized cars, loud crashes and bright colors. It also includes a number of 50 car ideas, each designed to take full advantage of the PlayStation 5's unique features. From haptic feedback to integrating it with the console's map function, there's a lot going on under the hood of this month's PS Plus giveaway … so much so that the game's developer is already tracking some of it back in less than a week.

Destruction AllStars' easy-to-understand arcade gameplay offers satisfactory destruction, but a host of bizarre design choices, underdeveloped ideas, and forced PS5 features leave this multiplayer game stuck in the park.

Let yourself be ruined

The core idea behind Destruction AllStars is simple: It's a multiplayer demolition derby where players ram into other cars to earn points. It takes the smash-em-up gameplay from burnout but removes the actual racing component. When it comes to the basics, Destruction AllStars gets a lot right. The familiar drive controls make recording and playing easier from the start. In addition to the standard speed and break skills, players can perform an Aries by either moving the right stick up or sideways, making it easy to deal big hits in a way that feels intuitive.

The cars feel fast and can make sharp turns thanks to a handbrake that makes for high speed fun. Knowing an opponent is on your tail and quickly outmaneuvering them to avoid a collision is an easy pleasure. Likewise, the crashes themselves are just plain joyful. Every time two cars collide, there is a real sense of weight. Metal flies in all directions and there is a satisfactory crunch to emphasize the slam. There's even a satisfying slow-motion glitch in the game's single player mode to really drive it home.

The problem is that finding the right framework for these strengths is difficult. The online Mayhem mode does the best job, throwing players together into a jack-of-all-trades where the one who destroys the most cars wins. It's thin, but it does the game's abandon requirement best with constant chaos.

The crashes themselves are just plain joyful.

The other multiplayer modes cannot shift into full gear. Gridfall is the game's elimination mode, where players try to survive each other in a rapidly shrinking arena. Placing under the first two is as easy as getting out of a car and stepping onto an elevated platform while everyone else struggles. The game doesn't penalize players for just waiting for it and offers little incentive to do anything until there are only two players left.

There's also Carnado, which requires players to grab the aisles and place them in the middle of the arena, much like they did in Destiny 2's Gambit mode, the very confusing twist of the game in a zone control mode that requires walking to get around Collect gears. The objective game has a little more to do, but nothing really takes advantage of the mess and mess that makes it feel like a playlist affair.

Too much character

The game really goes off course when it adds more to the mix. Like Overwatch, Destruction AllStars features unique characters, each with their own car and skills. The roster itself is a wonderfully colorful crew of eccentric characters that includes everything from a handsome luchador to a cat-obsessed e-girl.

Destruction of AllStars

The designs are charming, but the actual character system is missing. Players can get out of their car at any time and park on the map. On foot, players can attempt to take over enemy vehicles or pick up crystals to charge a special ability called a Breaker. The problem is, there is never a good reason to get out of the car. There is no real benefit to the climbing around, and none of the walking skills feel like they're doing much of anything. Every time I activated my breaker, it was done solely to increase my speed so I could get back into a car faster. Imagine if Titanfall had given players the chance to get in and out of their mech at any time. Why would you ever go

Any layers added feel redundant.

Vehicle hero skills aren't particularly convincing either. Each car gets a different “super” that includes everything from a stealth cape to a ramming hull. During my time with the game, none of them seem to make much of a difference in games. I barely notice when an opponent is using their special abilities unless it's something visual like Feugo's burning car. Most of the time I forget to activate mine and it doesn't noticeably affect me.

Any layers added feel redundant. Instead of adding extra depth to the game, they're a distraction that takes a simple premise and makes it overly complicated.

Overstimulation

The gameplay itself is mediocre, but Destruction AllStars includes a handful of head-scratching options that completely prevent it. Some of them are subtle. There is no music during online games, which makes everything feel bizarrely quiet. How can a game with so much style not have a killer soundtrack? The on-screen text is also unreadable across the board, with no way to elevate anything. It's like the game was developed on an IMAX screen.

The feel, trigger feedback and sound effects of the DualSense speaker are constant and often distracting.

Other choices are harder to ignore, like the game's haughty microtransactions. The game offers both in-game currency and premium currency that was purchased with real money. The latter can be used to unlock the game's single player challenges. It also has a truckload of commercial cosmetics. Some of them cost coins in the game, others require real money in addition. Given that the game was originally supposed to be a full retail release, it seems like Sony retrospectively slapped a paywall on features to quickly flip the monetization strategy.

The most frustrating part involves features that are specifically designed for the PS5 hardware. When Astro's playroom shows how much can be done with its unique technology, Destruction AllStars shows how much can be taken too far. The feel, trigger feedback and sound effects of the DualSense speaker are constant and often distracting. Whenever your car is in a rough condition, the triggers vibrate with a loud, clicking rattle that scratches.

Destruction AllStars

Developer Lucid Games has already begun reclaiming some of the game's worst features. Originally, voice chat was always activated by default, with all audio data being transmitted through the DualSense speakers. The controller's built-in microphone was also always on, which meant that the players would unexpectedly share their audio every time it played. There wasn't an option in the game to disable any of this initially. Instead, players had to open the PlayStation menu and manually disable voice chat each round. Just 72 hours later, voice chat was completely disabled.

There's a good chance Lucid Games will revise the game's most puzzling decisions if the community weighs in. Fortnite wasn't built in a day, after all. The only question is whether or not it will go fast enough to keep up with a crowded free-to-play market that is itself an unforgiving demolition derby.

Our opinion

Destruction AllStars has a sturdy engine, but it has been redesigned in almost every way. The unnecessary foot component and character skills make for an otherwise easy but fun pick-and-play game with satisfying wrecks. If you employ excessive DualSense support, the result is a multiplayer game that is messy for all the wrong reasons.

Is there a better alternative?

Codemasters' Onrush includes many of the same ideas, such as: B. Character Skills, in a much more focused package.

How long it will take?

It's a multiplayer game so that depends on the player, but the flat gameplay wears off pretty quickly.

Should I buy it?

No. Unless you're a PS Plus subscriber, there's no real reason to be. If so, it never hurts to download a free game.

Editor's recommendations




07 Feb
Blog

LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Vacuum Review: Eyes Wide Shut

LG CordZero ThinQ Robot vacuum angle holder

LG CordZero ThinQ robotic vacuum cleaner

"This ambitious robotic vacuum tries to do more but trips over the basics."

  • Provides 5-stage HEPA filtration

  • Brush works well on carpets

  • Its bulky size

  • Limited coverage with HomeGuard functionality

  • Expensive costs

  • Corners cannot be cleaned effectively

LG is a company that has brand recognition in nearly every imaginable area of ​​consumer technology. From smartphones to televisions, it's a brand that is trustworthy and has been proven to make amazing products. In the vacuum space of the robot, however, this is an entirely different story.

One could imagine a giant company like LG being seen as a leader in this space, especially if its various smart devices are also highly valued, but it has been an uphill battle to get the same notoriety as iRobot, Shark, too to reach. and Ecovacs. The LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Vacuum is its newest roving bot, packed with unconventional features and a design that is sure to raise your eyebrows. Does LG finally have a winner?

No shame in its scope

Boy, this is the clunkiest robotic vacuum I've seen and tested so far. I can certainly understand the decision to design a robotic vacuum cleaner that looks like a mini-tank, but it's significantly bulkier than its counterparts. "Unconventional" best describes its design, which looks like it fused the head of a cordless vacuum cleaner with the body of a fat robotic vacuum cleaner. Because of its thickness of 5.6 inches, it has problems getting into tighter spaces – like under furniture. For comparison: the iRobot Roomba i3 + is only 3.63 inches thick.

LG CordZero ThinQ Robot vacuum front brushJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

Nevertheless, the design is functional as it has an above-average 0.6 liter trash can. For those with larger spaces, it's helpful because it simply means it can gobble up more dirt before it has to be disposed of. However, the bulky size doesn't help extend battery life. The 100 minute rating is enough to clean my 1,000 square foot apartment, but the Roborock S6 MaxV gets it done compared to around 120 minutes.

Not the hottest in the shed

In addition to the chunky appearance, I immediately notice that the camera sits right on the front of the LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Vacuum. The camera offers the bot its security functions, which I will explain in detail later. However, it is used for navigation through the visual SLAM technology (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). Essentially, the camera combined with Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) helps in mapping spaces, but in practice it is not as efficient as others. Sensors around the robot help it see edges, objects, and other obstacles, but it is still triggered on wires and clutter.

LG CordZero ThinQ Robot vacuum cleaner brushJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

Once you have done a full cleaning, the generated map will be saved in memory. So you might think that it will be faster or more efficient next time. Unfortunately, this was not the case and often took just as long. I even tried the poop test with this bot where I put fake poop on the floor to see what would happen. In almost every case, it slowly approached and made minor changes to the navigation, but then continued to walk over it. Good thing it's wrong because this bot doesn't wipe.

In all fairness, the sticker price of $ 1,200 doesn't help.

Another area that is problematic is when tackling corners. Since there is only one main brush on the bottom, it just needs to approach the corners. This implementation is not good at trapping debris compared to bots that have a sweeping brush on the side to help direct the debris. With the LG hiring, you're hoping the suction is strong enough to get the job done, but not on hardwood floors.

Speaking of vacuuming, I'm excited to announce that the anti-tangle brush does a good job of collecting hair and balling it up. When certain surfaces such as carpets are detected, extra suction is applied to ensure dirt is engulfed for a thorough clean. It is loud in this mode, but it is not distracting under normal cleaning conditions. Overall, it's good for carpets, but I found it struggling with hardwood floors.

One of the few with HEPA filtration

Catching dirt and debris is the basic job of all robotic vacuums, but not all offer the same level of fine particle collection as this one. In fact, it's one of the few on the market that uses a 5-stage HEPA filter system. Of course, I take the word for filtering 99.9% dust, pollen, and flakes of skin, but when I look at the trash can it's almost impossible to tell as it looks very similar to the other bots I've used.

LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Vacuum CleanerJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

That said, it's nice to know that this filtration method makes it more proactive to capture debris. Even better, the filter is easily accessible and washable, which saves money in the long run as you don't have to take out the extra batter for filters. Finally, I like how the trash can makes it easy to release its contents with the push of a button that opens the lid on the bottom – which minimizes the blowing back of the fine dust particles.

Stick with a security camera

As I mentioned earlier, the LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Vacuum has a camera that effectively turns it into a roaming watchdog. After trying it out, your conventional surveillance camera will not be replaced. This is partly due to the terrible user interface. With the LG ThinQ app, set the HomeGuard feature first by navigating the bot to where you want to see it. The problem with this, unfortunately, is that it is limited to no more than 10 feet from the charging station. In my situation this is a problem as I have the base in the bedroom but want the bot to keep an eye on the front door in the living room.

LG CordZero ThinQ Robot vacuum camera close-upJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

Now the camera only takes a few snapshots when it detects movement – and they look kind of grainy. You can also forget to see something in the dark as the camera does not have night vision. Your standard security camera has better detection and image quality than this, but I can see the benefit that you can access the camera on the go (and manually navigate to where you want to see it in your house).

Our opinion

The LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Vacuum is no ordinary cleaning robot. It aims to do a lot more, but in this attempt to do more, it is not a competitive proposition to measure up to other respected bots in the market. To be honest, the sticker price of $ 1,200 doesn't help either. You can spend a fraction of that on something that is at least more efficient to clean.

How long it will take?

The LG ThinQ app does a good job of maintaining the robot. Accessing the intelligent diagnostics will check if the filter and sensors need cleaning and will show reminders about maintenance. Following the guidelines will only help enhance its proper function.

LG's robot is solidly built so I'm confident it will last. There's a one-year limited warranty in case something goes wrong. There is also a 10-year guarantee on the Smart converter motor.

Is there a better alternative?

The functionality of the surveillance camera is difficult to find in robotic vacuum cleaners, so it is unique in that sense. When it comes to cleaning, however, there are many models to choose from that can clean more efficiently – such as the iRobot Roomba i3 + and the Roborock S6 MaxV. The latter also has a camera with an A.I. drive to detect and avoid obstacles.

Should you buy it?

No, also because the costs are too high and the functionality of the surveillance camera is not so practical.

Editor's recommendations




06 Feb
Blog

Acer Swift 3X Review: Intel’s Iris Xe Max Takes the Stage

Acer Swift 3x rating Iris xe max 1

"The Acer Swift 3X presents Intel's impressive Iris Xe Max in a top-class package."

  • Great job

  • Excellent battery life

  • Aesthetics are attractive

  • Rounded port selection

  • The display is overwhelming

  • The processing quality does not meet the premium standards

  • Bad gaming performance

Intel released its first discrete GPU in 20 years, the Iris Xe Max. However, that doesn't necessarily mean trying to compete with Nvidia for gaming laptops. It was not specifically designed to speed up games, but rather to work with the CPU and speed up a variety of other tasks. An interesting idea for thin and light laptops, right?

So far, the Iris Xe Max has come in three laptops, and we got one of them – the mid-range Acer Swift 3X – for review.

The Acer Swift 3X is not a cheap laptop in its Iris Xe Max configuration – at least not for a typical Swift laptop. At Amazon, it costs $ 1,240 with a Core i7-1165G7, 16 GB LPDDR4X RAM, 1 TB PCIe Solid State Drive (SSD) storage, and a 14-inch Full HD IPS display (1920 x 1080 ) in the aging school 16: 9 aspect ratio. You can spend $ 899 and get a version with only Iris Xe graphics, a Core i5-1135G7, 8 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD.

Does the Iris Xe Max graphics make this laptop a must-have mid-range laptop?

performance

We start with the performance because in this test the rubber hits the road. Either the Iris Xe Max makes a difference to real-world tasks or it doesn't. This is the make-or-break test for the Acer Swift 3X. Reading the description of Intel's GPU will expose you to a variety of buzzwords and jargon, but we will skip most of them here. If you want to dig into the details of the new GPU, check out our guide to Intel's Discrete GPUs and our insight into the Iris Xe Max.

However, one term to keep in mind is deep link. This is Intel's term for technology that tightly ties the CPU and GPU (both Iris Xe and Iris Xe Max) together to enable some sophisticated functionality. Not all of them are yet activated or supported by today's software. So we focus on just one thing: Deep Link Dynamic Power Share. With this function, the system can "switch off" the GPU and supply the CPU with the entire system performance. With the Swift 3X and its 11th generation Core i7, more than 28 watts of power and heat can be delivered to the CPU if required, which should theoretically accelerate CPU-intensive tasks.

The Acer Swift 3X occasionally even questions the performance of H-series machines.

It works? Yes, it actually does. The Swift 3X was competitive in all of our performance benchmarks and occasionally took the crown for the fastest Tiger Lake laptop we tested. This makes it one of the fastest laptops in the U series and occasionally even challenges machines from the H series.

It can't compete with AMD's Ryzen 4000 (or the upcoming Ryzen 5000 laptops) in all cases, but it does show up a lot stronger than most non-Max laptops. However, is that enough to make Iris Xe Max an exciting development? Perhaps not at this point – the GPU on its own makes the Acer Swift 3X a fast laptop, but not without challengers in AMD and Apple, which are faster and either cheaper, thinner and lighter, or both. We'll have to wait and see what other features Iris Xe Max has to offer before we can speak of an unconditional success.

We start with Cinebench R23, where the Swift 3X scored 5944 points in multi-core mode and 1496 points in single-core mode. I tried the utility to switch from optimized mode to performance mode and I didn't see much of a difference unlike some others (e.g. the HP Command Center utility in the Specter x360 14) that have greater impact. This multi-core score is the fastest we've seen in an Intel U-Series CPU. It beats faster Core i7-1185G7 laptops like the MSI Prestige 14 Evo (5,789) and the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 in its more effective performance mode (4,988).

Note that with a 45-watt Core i7-10750H, the Razer Blade scored 6,166, meaning the Swift 3X was in close proximity to a much faster CPU.

In Geekbench 5, the Swift 3X wasn't quite as strong – probably because Dynamic Power Share has the greatest impact on longer, sustained processes. The Swift 3X scored 1,551 points in the single-core test and 5,847 points in the multi-core test. The Prestige 14 Evo was slightly faster (1,593 and 5,904), as was the Intel Tiger Lake reference laptop, which is based on the same MSI computer (1,563 and 5,995). The Acer Swift 5 with the same CPU as the Swift 3X scored higher in the single-core test with 1,580 and almost as high in the multi-core test with 5,836. Interestingly, the Swift 3X managed to outperform the Lenovo Yoga 9i 15 with a Core i7-10750H (1,285 and 5,551).

In our handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB video as H.265, the Swift 3X finished the process in 2 minutes and 36 seconds, which is again (technically) the fastest among Intel U-series laptops. The Prestige 14 Evo – also with its faster CPU – took four seconds longer, which resulted in a virtual tie. Note that the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 with an AMD Ryzen 4800U processor takes 2.2 minutes to complete. This means that while Iris Xe Max speeds up Tiger Lake's performance, it cannot compete with AMD on some tasks.

Finally, I ran the PCMark 10 Complete benchmark, where the Swift 3X scored 5,117 points. This is the second highest score in our laptop database, only behind the Lenovo Yoga 9i 15. The individual essentials, productivity and creation values ​​of the Swift 3X were not all individually highest, but were in the upper range. To examine the creation portion of the test, which focuses on photo editing, video rendering and playback, and video editing, the Swift 3X had the highest score (5,334) of any U-series laptops we tested – shown once again, Deep Link does its Job.

The closest was the Prestige Evo 14 with 5036 points. This is a good sign of performance in Adobe apps and other creative tools, which will only improve as more Deep Link features are introduced. Simply put, the Swift 3X did very well in this benchmark.

Intel didn't specifically design the Iris Xe Max to speed up modern games.

Intel's Iris Xe Max has a real impact on a laptop's performance even at this early stage. The Swift 3X screams through productivity tasks and is well suited for creative tasks for a U-series CPU. If you're looking for the fastest CPU performance in an Intel-based ultrabook, contrary to your intuition, you should choose a model that includes Intel's discrete GPU.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop, as mentioned in the introduction, Intel didn't specifically design the Iris Xe Max for speeding up modern games. With some titles it works well, with others Intel transfers the order to the Iris Xe, which is also on board. The Iris Xe Max did well in the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark with 1,889, which is a few hundred points above the typical Iris Xe GPU.

In Fortnite, however, the Max managed 34 fps (frames per second) with 1080p and high graphics and 22 fps with epic graphics. This is comparable to the Yoga 9i 14, which achieved 40 fps and 27 fps in performance mode, and the MSI Prestige 14 Evo, which achieved 42 fps and 28 fps. Fortnite is clearly a title that the Iris Xe Max doesn't shine on.

design

Acer didn't just copy the design of the non-Max Acer Swift 3 when creating the Swift 3X. There are some similarities, but the Swift 3X looks very different, including a choice between Steam Blue (my review unit) and Safari Gold instead of plain utility silver.

The hinge has also been redesigned and decorated in an “electric blue” that draws attention to the laptop lid. And the back corners have a nice angularity that adds to the aesthetics. However, it is not an attention seeker like the HP Specter x360 14. The bezels disappoint a bit. First, they're not as small as some other modern day laptops, with a screen-to-body ratio of 84% (many exceed 90%), and second, they're made of plastic rather than behind the glass. This gives the laptop a no-nonsense look when viewed from the front.

The Swift 3X isn't quite as slim as some of its 14-inch competitors, either.

The construction doesn't quite match the standard of many other premium laptops. The chassis is made entirely of aluminum, but the lid is quite flexible and the keyboard deck has some flex. However, the underside of the chassis is robust. The hinge is very stiff and requires both hands to open the laptop – in contrast to the Dell XPS 13, which can be easily opened with one hand – but holds the display firmly in place. Overall, I'd say the build quality is more in the mid-range than the premium range, which makes the laptop more attractive than the $ 1,200 on my review unit at a starting price of $ 899. The MSI Prestige 14 Evo, for example, is the same price – without the Iris Xe Max, of course – and feels a lot more solid than the Swift 3X.

The Swift 3X isn't quite as slim as some of its 14-inch competitors, either. It comes in at 0.71 inches thick and weighs 3.02 pounds. This compares to the Prestige 14 Evo at 0.63 inches at 2.85 pounds, the Asus ZenBook 14 UX425 at 0.54 inches and 2.58 pounds, and the Acer Swift 5 at 0.59 inches and 2.31 pounds. It's not that the Swift 3X is a humorous ultrabook – it just doesn't feel as thin and light as some of the other options.

Finally, the Swift 3X offers a solid range of connectivity options. On the left side of the case, you'll find a proprietary power port (which will likely provide enough juice for the Iris Xe Max), a full-size HDMI 2.0 port, a USB-A 3.2 port, and a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4 On the right side you will find another USB-A 3.2 port and a 3.5 mm audio jack. What you won't find is an SD card reader. This is a bummer as this machine is at least partially geared towards creative types.

The wireless connection is provided via Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

display

The Swift 3X has a 14-inch Full HD 16: 9 IPS display which, according to my colorimeter, is generally a little below average for premium laptops. For example, the color gamut is a bit narrow at 95% of sRGB and 71% of AdobeRGB (premium laptops usually achieve 97% and 75%, respectively). However, the color accuracy is quite good at 1.18, with 1.0 or less being considered excellent.

At the same time, the brightness is 284 nits below our 300 NIT threshold, which ensures that a display with the typical bright office environment lighting is visible. And the worst contrast is at 740: 1, where many premium laptops are at 1000: 1 or more, or at least very close to it. The combination of brightness, low contrast and a narrow color gamut gives the display a subdued appearance.

Overall, the display is certainly good for productivity work and watching Netflix, but it won't blow your mind. Throw in the 16: 9 aspect ratio when many competitors are switching to higher ratios like 16:10 and 3: 2 and the Swift 3X's display isn't exactly impressive.

Audio is closer to par, with two downward-facing speakers that provide enough volume for YouTube videos but not enough for watching a Netflix movie with friends. The mids and highs are fine, but the bass is missing. You want to use headphones or bluetooth speakers for Netflix binging and listening to music.

Keyboard and touchpad

It appears that Acer pulled the keyboard from the previous Acer Swift 3. The Swift 3X has the same appearance, meaning the keycaps are smaller, which in my experience leads to a search for keys. The mechanism is very clicky and requires a bit of pressure to intervene, but offers a solid ground effect. It depends on preference, of course, but I would rate the keyboard as being behind the HP Specter x360 14 and Dell XPS 13 in terms of accuracy and general typing speed.

The touchpad is small but functional. The surface is pleasant to swipe and the keys respond, but are a bit loud. Thanks to the Microsoft Precision touchpad drivers, multi-touch gestures react quickly and precisely. There is no touch display which is a shame for me personally. I miss touch when it's not there, especially for scrolling long web pages and tapping the occasional on-screen button.

Windows 10 Hello login support without a password is provided by a fingerprint reader in the upper right corner of the keyboard deck. It was quick and accurate in my tests.

Battery life

You'd think that 59 watt hours of battery life in a 14-inch laptop and very fast CPU performance could result in poor battery life. You'd be wrong as the Swift 3X is way behind the nine hours of typical Evo spec use.

In our web benchmark, which runs through a number of popular websites before the laptop goes to sleep, the Swift 3X lasted 11.5 hours. The Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 outperformed this by more than an hour and the MSI Prestige 14 Evo by almost four hours. Next, I went through our video test grinding a Full HD Avengers trailer and the Swift 3X lasted about 15.75 hours, a strong score that is still nearly three hours less than the Yoga 9i 14 and 30 minutes less than the MSI Prestige 14 Evo was.

In the battery test for PCMark 10 applications, the Swift 3X lasted 14 hours, second only to the Yoga 9i 14 in our database and almost four hours longer than the Prestige 14 Evo. In the PCMark 10 gaming test, which stresses both the CPU and the GPU, the Swift 3X only lasted 1.5 hours, which was the worst, with the Prestige 14 Evo and Dell XPS 13 finishing second and third. Most other laptops lasted about an hour longer than the Swift 3X in this test.

Overall, the Swift 3X showed solid battery life that lasted a full day with no issues, at least as long as you don't push the CPU and GPU. Again, the Swift 3X exceeds the Intel Evo certification requirements of nine hours of typical use, which not every Evo-certified laptop we tested has achieved.

Our opinion

The Acer Swift 3X on its own is a pretty mundane, high-budget, low-midrange ultrabook without considering the inclusion of the Iris Xe Max. The components are okay for $ 1,200, but the build quality and keyboard aren't snuff-safe.

Take advantage of the great CPU performance of the Iris Xe Max and Deep Link, plus long battery life, and the Swift 3X becomes a more attractive option. It's a good choice for anyone who wants to occasionally encode video but don't want to spend the money on a laptop with a 45 watt CPU and faster discrete GPU.

Are there alternatives?

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo is almost as fast as the Swift 3X without the Iris Xe Max on board and costs the same. It's also thinner, lighter, better built, and better looking. However, the Swift 3X offers better battery life.

If you are looking for the ultimate in CPU performance, then you should take a look at an AMD Ryzen 4000 laptop (soon to be Ryzen 5000). One option today is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 with the Ryzen 7 4800U. It's cheaper than the Swift 3X, but it offers much faster CPU performance and extends battery life.

Finally, the Dell XPS 13 9310 remains a solid competitor, as is the case with every laptop we test in the 13- or 14-inch class. It has a smaller display, but a productivity-friendly aspect ratio of 16:10. The XPS 13 is also significantly better built, also offers a superior display, and can be configured with more RAM and storage.

How long it will take?

The Acer Swift 3X is not the most rugged notebook we've tested, but it should offer years of reliable service. The components are up to date which is a plus, but the 1 year warranty (industry standard) is, as usual, too short.

Should you buy it?

No. Iris Xe Max graphics offer the best CPU performance you can get in an Intel-based ultrabook. However, if CPU performance is most important to you, there are other, better options. And apart from the equipment of the Iris Xe Max, the Swift 3X cannot be particularly highlighted.

Editor's recommendations




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