When the customer feels involved in the evaluation and programming process, they feel important and lead to better adoption and better results.
Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customer. Why should you spend a lot of money training with someone you barely know? Or how do you keep them coming back as customers? The answer lies in the buy-in.
Do customers buy what you sell??
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Every time you stand up, bend over, or pick up an object, it works at least some muscles in your back. If you have back pain, these simple movements can make your condition worse. Therefore, you need to strengthen your back, your posture and your freedom of movement.
Exercise is a great way to strengthen your back muscles, prevent injuries, and relieve back pain. The best part is that these exercises are suitable for beginners so you can easily add them to your workout routine. Just remember to do a few minutes of moderate cardio and a few gentle stretches to warm up before you begin.
Before attempting some of the more strenuous exercises, check with your chiropractor for their recommendations. Once approved, add these seven back strengthening exercises to your workouts:
The plank is an exercise that is often done by people looking to strengthen their core muscles. Planks can strengthen your entire body, including some deep back muscles.
To make a plank, place your elbows and forearms on the floor. With your legs straight, lift your body by supporting your weight on your forearms and toes. Keep your neck in a neutral position and stare at the floor in front of you. Your body should form a straight line that uses your core and back muscles. Hold this position as long as possible.
Scapular push-ups aim to strengthen the muscles around your shoulder blades and improve your shoulder and arm mobility. For this exercise, start in a high plank position with only your toes and hands on the floor, arms outstretched, and core muscles tensed.
Imagine there is a pencil between your shoulder blades. To hold this position, squeeze your shoulders together while lowering your body slightly. Don't try to go all the way down. Then, raise your body back to its starting position and repeat this several times.
Superman is an exercise that strengthens your back extensors, which are muscles that run on either side of your spine and help you maintain your posture.
This exercise is more difficult than it seems. First, lie face down on the floor and stretch both arms out in front of you. Also make sure that your legs are straight. Tense your core muscles and raise your hands and feet a few inches above the floor. Hold this position for a second and then return to your starting position. Repeat the exercise a few more times.
Cat-cow stretches can release tension in your back muscles and make them stronger. Get on your hands and knees, with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Slowly bend your back and pull your belly button towards your spine. Hold the cat pose for a few seconds.
Next, push your belly button towards the floor while lifting your tailbone and chest. Hold the cow pose for a few seconds before returning to the cat pose. Repeat the entire exercise a few more times.
Renegade rows train your back muscles, but also improve your core stability. For this exercise, start in a high plank position. Tense your core muscles and lift your right hand off the floor. Your elbow should be folded and snug against your body.
Bring your right arm back to its starting position and repeat with your left arm. Repeat the exercise a few more times. To make breakaway rows more challenging, you can do this exercise with dumbbells.
The reverse fly is an exercise that targets many of the back and shoulder muscles that are essential for good posture. Stand with your knees slightly bent and your arms by your sides as you bend forward at the waist. Then contract your core muscles and raise your arms to your sides as you compress your shoulder blades.
Next, bring your arms back down and repeat the same steps. Again, you can make this exercise more difficult by holding a dumbbell in each of your hands.
Pulling a resistance band apart is a simple exercise that can help you strengthen your back and improve your posture. For this exercise, stand in front of you with your arms outstretched while holding a resistance band. It should be taut and parallel to the floor.
Next, keep your arms straight as you move them to your sides to pull the band close to your chest. You should squeeze your shoulder blades together slightly. Bring your arms back to their starting position and repeat the process.
Adding just a few of the exercises on this list to your exercise regimen can help strengthen your back muscles. Make sure you do these exercises regularly.
Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Review: RGB and ANC for less
RRP $ 130.00
"The new Hammerhead True Wireless brings an RGB light show to your ears along with pretty effective ANC."
advantages
Comfortable fit and improved design
Solid passive and active noise cancellation
Eye-catching RGB lighting
disadvantage
Buggy beta software and tricky touch controls
Razer used to be a bigger name in the gaming world than it was in the audio world, but after several generations of audio products have been released, it's safe to say that it is no longer the case. The latest in Razer's audio lineup, the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Earbuds are the second generation of Razer's true wireless earbuds for gamers.
They bear quite a resemblance to the first generation Hammerhead True Wireless, but have several significant design refinements, eye-catching Razer Chroma RGB lighting, and solid active noise cancellation (ANC) and audio capabilities. However, the software was still in beta when I tested, and there were some issues with tricky controls, so my rating will likely change after I've had more time with the final software version.
Ajay Kumar / Digital Trends
The most immediate and obvious comparison for the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless is that with the AirPods Pro. Available in gloss black, they come with angled earbuds attached to a stem, in-ear silicone earbuds, and a pill box-sized charging case that charges with USB-C. The box came with three different sizes of silicone earbuds, but the standard pair worked perfectly for my ears.
The fit is snug without feeling uncomfortable when worn for long periods of time. At only 53 g, the earphones are barely noticeable when you wear them. This was not the case with the previous generation, which was half-eared and did not go directly into the ear canal. The in-ear design also improves passive noise isolation, which works well for enhancing active noise cancellation.
However, this is all pretty standard that you'll find on other true wireless earbuds, including Razer's own Hammerhead True Wireless Pro. The big feature here is Razer Chroma RGB, Razer's full-color lighting ecosystem that it uses for all of its gaming devices and peripherals. After all, how do you know that there is something for gamers without RGB?
On the back of both earbuds you can see the Razer logo illuminated with RGB lighting. The lights are on by default in breathing mode, but you can adjust brightness and modes using the Razer Chroma app. One of the more interesting modes is Audio Meter, which reacts to the music being played to provide a light show to the people around you. It's a noticeable feature that is sure to get some glances in the elevator and grocery store.
Ajay Kumar / Digital Trends
Apart from the aesthetic effect, I can also see it as useful for night joggers. Razer says it has worked on optimizing Chroma so that it doesn't drain battery life excessively and that it will last longer than the first generation hammerheads.
Both the Razer Audio and Razer Chrome companion apps I tested were still in beta and required sideloading on my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra so I won't really be able to evaluate their capabilities until they reach consumers Version is available. The first time you used the app, it was slow to connect to the earbuds each time and the tweaks were a chore, but hopefully this will change with the final release. With that in mind, the Razer Audio app offers the key customizations that most people look for in true wireless earbuds.
You get customizable EQ controls and a number of preprogrammed profiles including Amplified, Default, Enhanced Bass, Enhanced Clarity and Vocal. As a metalhead, I particularly enjoyed using enhanced bass for music and enhanced clarity for podcasts and audio books.
Ajay Kumar / Digital Trends
ANC can be turned on to block out most of the background noise, set to ambient mode so you can hear some background noise (which is helpful when commuting or needing to talk to someone), or turned off entirely if you want to save battery.
The controls of the Hammerhead True are all touch sensitive and can be assigned different tapping gestures for play / pause, skipping tracks, voice assistants, controlling ANC modes and more. The touch controls were a bit fussy, and I never got used to adjusting the volume, which required a double tap and hold. It almost never worked properly on the first try, and often stopped my music or skipped my track instead. It might take some practice, but I would have preferred to remap the double tap to do something else, even if it meant the loss of the volume feature.
According to Razer, the earbuds should last four hours with RGB and ANC on and 16 hours with charging out of the case. With both off, they estimate 6.5 hours for the earbuds and 26 hours for the case. I have to spend more time with the earbuds to know for sure, but my testing with RGB and ANC and volume at a moderate 20-30% easily took at least four hours, if not longer.
The Hammerhead True Wireless have Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, 10 mm drivers and a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. In practice, this results in solid sound quality with balanced lows, mids, and highs. The default audio profile is crisp and balanced, and the EQ can be adjusted to your preferences if you like more punchy bass or crisper vocals. I particularly enjoyed Enhanced Bass listening to Sabaton and Iron Maiden, while Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast benefited from Enhanced Clarity. Watching Netflix shows sounded perfect in the default settings.
The standard audio profile is clear and balanced
As a gamer, I used the gaming mode, which reduces the audio latency to 60 ms, but at the expense of audio compression and the shortening of the regular Bluetooth range from 33 feet to around 2 feet. This isn't a big deal unless you're using the Hammerhead True Wireless with your console or gaming PC and sitting some distance from the source device. I've only used it with my phone and laptop so it haven't encountered any range issues.
Ajay Kumar / Digital Trends
I used gaming mode to play Genshin Impact, Assassin's Creed Rebels, and Asphalt 9 Nitro on my phone. On Asphalt 9, I heard the biggest impact of the reduced audio latency – there was no noticeable delay between my car burning and the tires screeching.
Overall, I found the sound profile to be cheap in terms of detail and soundstage compared to the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro I normally use, although it can't compete with higher-end true wireless earbuds or over-ear Bluetooth headphones.
The other big standout feature here is Feedforward ANC, which means that the earbuds have two microphones that pick up noise and cancel it out with counter-noise. Feedforward isn't as good as the True Wireless Pro's hybrid ANC, which has microphones both inside and outside, but when combined with the passive noise cancellation, it comes pretty close. It was definitely better than the ANC on the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live that don't form a physical seal with your ears.
Ajay Kumar / Digital Trends
I left ANC on for most of the time and found it very effective at blocking out most of the background noise, including the rumble of my window air conditioner, the sound of my fan, and the general hustle and bustle of the subway. I also had no problem hearing audio over the sound of my rowing machine while exercising. However, it doesn't match the ANC capabilities of the Sony WF-1000XM4 or AirPods Pro, which can hide a wider range of sounds more consistently, and you may notice a slight background noise when no audio is playing.
At $ 130, the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless sits in the middle of Razer's audio lineup and proves to be less expensive than the $ 200 True Wireless Pro but higher than the $ 100 first-generation True Wireless. They will be available in the Razer Store on August 11th.
Despite some software quirks and tricky controls, the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless are a compelling pair of true wireless earbuds – the audio quality is solid, the RGB lighting makes for a fun and stylish look, and ANC is good enough for commuting to work or exercising .
If price doesn't matter, that will $ 249 Apple AirPods Pro provide more seamless connectivity for iOS users with Apple's H1 chip and superior noise cancellation. Sony is also the leader in noise cancellation, and the $ 280 WF-1000XM4 are packed with features and support codecs like LDAC. The recently announced Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 offer comparable ANC, IPX7 water resistance, and even better battery life for $ 150 if you're ready to wait for them to hit stores on August 27th.
Anker's Soundcore brand has plenty of inexpensive true wireless earbuds for the budget-conscious, including the Liberty Neo for $ 70, the Life P3 for $ 80, the Liberty Air 2 Pro for $ 130, and many more, though these are yours do not offer the same audio quality or noise cancellation.
The Razer Hammerhead True Wireless supports IPX4 water resistance, which is supposed to protect it from splashes and sweat so you can use it while exercising. I also accidentally dropped them a couple of times and they survived without physical harm. They also come with Bluetooth 5.2, which was just launched in January 2020, so you should be future proof for a few years. The earbuds also come with a two-year limited warranty.
Yes. With the caveat that the software I tested was still in beta, you won't be disappointed with the sound quality, noise cancellation, or flashy RGB lighting of the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless.
Editor's recommendations
Sony HT-A7000 in the test: A fully featured soundbar experience
RRP $ 1,300.00
"Great sound, ease of use, and a huge list of features make it hard to beat."
advantages
Great music and movie sound
Easy on-screen setup
AirPlay 2, Chromecast
Hi-Res Audio, 360 Reality Audio
2 HDMI inputs
Upscaling audio to 3D surround sound
disadvantage
Expensive
No manual EQ settings
Subwoofer not included
Soundbars come in all sizes, prices, and configurations. Some are characterized by two-channel stereo, while others opt for 3.1, 5.1, or even 7.1 surround sound. The most powerful models have Dolby Atmos, DTS: X and often offer some form of multi-room streaming capabilities. Sony's new $ 1,300 HT-A7000 7.1.2 soundbar has all of that and more, including Hi-Res wireless audio, Sony 360 Reality Audio, intelligent upscaling of a variety of audio sources, and compatibility with Apple's home automation platforms. Google and Amazon.
Sony also gives you two models of wireless subwoofers and a pair of wireless surround speakers to choose from, but these are optional upgrades that can raise the price of the soundbar well over $ 2,000.
Do all these outstanding capabilities justify the equally high price? We put it to the test.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
The HT-A7000 (which we'll call the A7000 from here on) comes in a fair amount of Styrofoam, which is great for protection but is difficult to recycle in some places. Inside you will find the soundbar, a remote control with two AA batteries, an HDMI cable, a special analog cable to connect the bar to a compatible Sony Bravia TV (more on that later), a power cord, two wall brackets, a wall mounting template and a quick guide .
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
At just over 51 inches wide, 3.25 inches high, and 5.5 inches deep, there's no getting around the fact that the A7000 is a large (and 19 pounds heavier) speaker. It's almost as wide as a 65-inch TV and, ironically, so tall that it obscures some of the undersides of Sony's own TVs, even when their stands are placed in their so-called soundbar position. Unless your TV is already wall-mounted or you intend to do so, it is best to take a few measurements before you hit the buy button.
It's great to have two HDMI inputs – on many soundbars, you're lucky enough to get just one.
Another consideration: even if the A7000 fits between your legs under your TV, you don't want to slide it too far back – its upward-facing drivers (keys for Dolby Atmos and DTS: X sound) shouldn't pass through. any other objects are covered.
But despite its size, Sony did a good job of minimizing the A7000's looks. The upward facing drivers are hidden behind black panels of fabric that wrap around the sides. The rest of the top of the bar is made of black glass. It's a fingerprint magnet, but when blemishes clean it looks really sharp. The glass houses a couple of touch controls that give you access to power, volume, source, bluetooth and a shortcut to Spotify Connect. A non-removable perforated sheet metal grid completes the picture.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
A row of drivers sit behind this grille. They're clearly visible in these photos, but don't worry – unless you light the A7000 with studio lights like I did, you won't see it at all. What you see is a scrolling text display that gives you vital information such as the source you are playing from, volume, audio format and various other helpful messages. I'm not a huge fan of these type of displays – I find the limited space and scrolling text a bit annoying, but it's way better than a bunch of color-coded LEDs that you have to decipher (ahem, Vizio).
The good news is that Sony is one of the few soundbar companies that takes full advantage of the A7000's HDMI connection to a TV, giving you on-screen access to all of the speaker's settings and modes.
There are several ports and connections on the back of the soundbar, including two full HDMI inputs with 4K / 8K / Dolby Vision passthrough, a dedicated HDMI ARC / eARC output, an optical input, an analog input, a USB connection for Music playback and port for the Bravia center channel connector that I mentioned earlier.
Having two HDMI inputs is great – many soundbars are lucky enough to get just one – but Sony doesn't exactly make it easy to plug in all of those cables. The connectors are buried in a small cavity and packed very close together.
Unless you're going to be plugging and unplugging a lot of cables, that's not a big deal, but I'm still amazed that soundbar designers find it useful when a USB port is so inaccessible. I would choose Sony, but I've made the same choices with other brands.
Because the A7000 is a full-featured, modern soundbar, Sony's remote control design has been basically unchanged since the mid-1990s. While very functional, it's decked out with buttons, some of which will only work if you buy Sony's optional wireless surround speakers. I actually like having all of these buttons as the A7000 can partially replace an A / V receiver, but the lack of a backlight is disappointing at this price point.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
If your TV supports HDMI ARC / eARC, which most models over the past seven years do, you can use a single HDMI cable to connect the A7000 to your TV. If your TV doesn't have this feature, you're still using an HDMI cable, but that must also be connected to an optical cable.
Unfortunately, if your TV can connect using HDMI ARC / eARC, there is no way to use the optical port as a source for another device like a CD player – if it isn't being used to receive a TV audio signal, it is essentially redundant.
Once connected, you can begin Sony's excellent on-screen setup process.
Those who use an optical TV connection won't get advanced audio formats like Dolby Atmos or DTS: X from their TVs, but given the A7000's dual HDMI inputs, there are still plenty of ways to get those formats from Blu-ray players to get streaming media devices or other third party boxes.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Once connected, you can begin Sony's excellent on-screen setup process.
In less than five minutes, the step-by-step process takes you through the placement, automatic calibration, setting up Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast and Amazon Alexa integration – all without having an app on your Have to use phone or something small, scrolling display.
Not that you have to go without an app when you need it: the Sony Music Center app for Android and iOS gives you another interface for controlling the A7000, including the ability to group the soundbar with other Sony speakers.
I've struggled with speech intelligibility with other soundbars, but the A7000 is clear as a bell.
But thanks to Sony's support for all three of the major home automation platforms (Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa), you can add the A7000 to virtually any multiroom scenario, regardless of whether your other speakers are Sony devices or not.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
As a single speaker, the A7000 does an excellent job of processing films and music. If you're wondering if Sony's claims about a built-in subwoofer are the real deal or just marketing hype, I can assure you that it's powerful enough to feel these low-frequency effects when you turn up the volume. Even better, the center channel reproduces dialogue with such clarity and precision that I doubt you'll ever need to use the included speech enhancement feature. I've struggled with speech intelligibility with other soundbars, but the A7000 is as clear as a bell.
When it comes to Dolby Atmos, the A7000 really delivers. However, the speaker's secret weapon is the Immersive AE (IAE) mode.
But regardless of the content you're playing, I have two tips that I think will help if you don't find the audio overwhelming. First, Sony's automatic room calibration appears to be taking a conservative approach to speaker levels. In my media room, the ceilings are low and the TV is much closer to the left wall than the right. If you go into the advanced settings and adjust parameters such as the level of the height and side channels and their calculated distances from your listening position, you can significantly improve the overall performance as well as immersive formats such as Dolby Atmos.
Second, the A7000 is a beast when it comes to volume. With 75% of its range, I was already well above what I could comfortably endure in my room. But I've found that around the 45-50% level there's a real sweet spot where the sound goes from good to great. I encourage you to explore all of these options to get the most out of the soundbar.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
When it comes to Dolby Atmos material, the A7000 really delivers – especially when you make the tweaks outlined above. The side-firing tweeters help project a wide soundstage, while the upward-pointing treble drivers create that distinctive sound dome effect that movies like Mad Max Fury Road and Ford v. What makes Ferrari so entertaining.
However, the speaker's secret weapon is the Immersive AE (IAE) mode. It is accessible at the touch of a button on the remote control and uses Sony's 3D upscaling technology. Whether you're watching 2-channel stereo TV shows, streaming music, or even playing Dolby 5.1 surround content, it will render as if it was mastered as a 7.1.2 source. Purists may find it overprocessed, especially when applied to stereo tracks, but I found it addicting.
When listening to Dolby Atmos or in IAE mode, Sony offers you the choice between three special sound modes: cinema, music or standard. As the names suggest, they offer some digital processing to enhance certain types of content. As with all types of EQ presets, you may find that they improve or detract from your listening experience – I didn't find them nearly as interesting as the Immersive AE feature itself.
But that brings us to my only real criticism of the A7000: there is no way to directly control the equalizer. No frequency-specific adjustments, no controls for bass, treble, or mids – there isn't even a loudness switch I could find.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Not that I'd make a few gross changes to the soundbar's signature – it's already nicely balanced to my ears – but leaving out those controls on a $ 1,300 system feels untenable. If you are serious enough about your home theater sound to make this investment, you should be able to get under the hood if you choose to.
The A7000 really brings Sony 360 Reality Audio to life.
The A7000 may be the first soundbar I've auditioned that doesn't make me flinch when using Bluetooth. Using a Google Pixel 5, I streamed a variety of songs using Sony's Hi-Res wireless audio LDAC codec as well as the garden variant AAC codec and they both sounded really solid. There's usually a big leap in quality when you switch from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi streaming, e.g. Chromecast or AirPlay, but they are remarkably similar on the A7000. I attribute this to Sony's DSEEE Extreme upscaling technology, which is designed to restore lossy, compressed digital audio to an approximation of lossless audio.
I also took a quick tour of some Sony 360 Reality Audio (360 RA) tracks over Tidal HiFi to see how the A7000 handled it. This reinforced two things I already knew about 360 RA: not all 360 RA traces are created equal, and your speaker will dictate much of the experience. I wasn't particularly impressed with Sony's $ 700 SRS-RA5000, a speaker the company designed specifically to deliver 360 RA audio, but the A7000 really brings that format to life.
Tracks like Dave Brubeck's Take Five and even the much newer Invisible by Duran Duran are in no way exciting, but turn up the Everlong from Foo Fighters or The Chainsmokers and Halsey's Closer and you get a feel for 360 RA's ability to place itself In a live music environment.
Is it worth adding one of Sony's wireless subwoofers and wireless surround sounds? If you have the resources, it is absolutely something I would recommend. As good as the built-in subwoofer and side radiating tweeters are, there is simply no substitute for discreet speakers. The resulting combo is exciting in every way.
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Unfortunately, my time with the A7000 didn't give me the chance to try out every single one of its many features, but they are absolutely worth mentioning because they illustrate how thoughtful Sony has been with the development.
You can connect Bluetooth headphones for private listening. Many TVs support this, but when yours doesn't, it's really handy. Bose also offers this feature on its soundbars, but the company only promises that it will work with Bose headphones. Sony, atypical of a company that has a history of promoting its own technologies and standards, lets you use any bluetooth headset.
The Sony Music Center app gives you direct access to Amazon Music, Apple Music, Tidal, TuneIn Radio and any music on your home network, e.g. on a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive.
As mentioned earlier, if you have a compatible Sony Bravia TV, you can connect the A7000 using a dedicated cable and use the TV's entire built-in speaker system as the center channel. I didn't have a Bravia TV available, but I suspect the sound will be pretty good, especially for dialogue and other on-screen noises.
Though expensive, Sony's HT-A7000 is a feature-loaded Dolby Atmos soundbar that sounds great on its own – and even better when accompanied by Sony's optional wireless subwoofers and surround speakers. With an easy-to-use screen interface, it's much more intuitive to get the most out of the speaker than some of its competitors.
I'm not sure if there are soundbars at this price point or below that are better than the HT-A7000, but I can think of two models that are better value for money depending on your needs and tastes:
LGs $ 1,000 SP9YA saves you $ 300 and comes with its own wireless subwoofer. Given its great audio performance for movies and music, and the ability to add wireless surround speakers later, it's a great alternative to the HT-A7000. However, it only has a single HDMI input, it lacks Sony's sleek on-screen menus, and you can't stream 360 Reality Audio. Some may also find it difficult to work with the hardwired power cord depending on the installation.
Vizios Elevate soundbar Also costs $ 1,000 and includes wired surround speakers in addition to the wireless subwoofer, which means it's a true all-in-one system. It has two HDMI inputs, but like many Vizio products, its primary focus is on being a TV companion, not a complete alternative to an A / V receiver-based system. As a result, it doesn't support Hi-Res audio (unless it's a Blu-ray Disc soundtrack in Dolby TrueHD), Apple AirPlay 2, or Amazon Alexa, even though Chromecast is on board. Still, it's a beautifully designed product that sounds fantastic.
Sony builds great products and has a good track record of keeping those products updated with new software over time. I expect you will spend many, many years with the HT-A7000. With support for every audio format under the sun, it will be a long time to be considered obsolete.
Yes. At $ 1,300, it's an investment, but given its considerable capabilities and excellent sound quality, the payback will pay off over many years of audio and video enjoyment.
Editor's recommendations
The stiff-legged deadlift is considered a beneficial exercise that helps promote better strength in your hamstrings and glutes. Also known as a straight-leg deadlift with dumbbells, this workout primarily works your hamstrings, glutes, and lifting pole while secondarily working your core, abdominal, and oblique muscles. This isolation exercise has numerous health benefits, making it one of the ideal workouts to add to your exercise routine. It promotes increased activation of the muscle fibers in your thigh and gluteus muscles. It also improves your daily and athletic performance by increasing your performance and explosiveness.
Below is the perfect stiff-legged deadlift guide that will make this exercise easy and smooth.
Below is all the information ranging from instructions to the stiff leg deadlift variations you need to improve its performance. All you need for this exercise is a pair of dumbbells.
Directions:
If you're completely comfortable performing the traditional deadlift with stiff legs, here are some variations you can try:
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 in the test: No-Brainer-Buds
RRP $ 150.00
"Good luck beating the Galaxy Buds 2 for the price."
advantages
Compact
Comfortable
Effective ANC
good sound
Solid battery
disadvantage
Annoying touch controls
Many functions only for Android
It gets really difficult to say anything clever in a wireless earbud review above. There are just so many of these things now. Five years ago? No problem. True wireless earbuds were still in their infancy, and we were all very excited that cables could be gone forever. Today? Well, let me put it this way: I have around 14 pairs of true wireless earbuds on my desk right now and this is exactly what has been popping up in the past few weeks.
My point is that wireless earbuds are now a commodity. We know this because you can pick up a pair at the local pharmacy for around $ 25. In this case, the Galaxy Buds 2 just have to … well, not shit, to be admittedly blatant.
At $ 150, the Galaxy Buds 2 are not only non-absorbent, but will make a lot of people very happy too. Whether or not the Galaxy Buds 2 should be an easy purchase or not can be debated, but there's no denying that these wireless buds are about to fly off the shelves.
Here's why.
Caleb Denison / Digital Trends
The Galaxy Buds 2 are delivered in a compact box – almost all of the packaging is recyclable. In the box I found a small, white, square wireless charging case (some have called it a Squircle) with the Galaxy Buds 2 embedded in it, along with large and small silicone earbuds (the middle earbuds are already attached to the earbuds) and a USB-A to USC-C charging cable. Maybe there was some product literature buried there too, but I quickly threw the box away and moved on.
The Galaxy Buds 2 I received came in the color graphite, with the inside of the wireless charging case matching that color. The buds (and pod insides) are also available in white, olive and lavender.
Samsung claims the following battery performance for its headphones and case with a mix of ANC off and on and talk time.
Samsung also claims that the Buds 2 will offer around an hour of playtime on a 5-minute charge and around 2.5 hours on a 10-minute charge. I can confirm both of these claims as conservative because I had a little more time than the claimed time during both of the tests I performed.
In the four days in which I had to test the Galaxy Buds 2 so far, I never got less than 5 hours of game time with ANC, probably because I never exhausted the available game volume. The two charge cycles I went through gave me 5.3 and 5.5 hours, exceeding Samsung's claims.
I haven't been able to discharge the battery in the charging case, but I managed to fully charge it twice, and according to the case's battery indicator, I should get another one without any problems, which fully supports Samsung's claims to battery performance.
The Galaxy Buds 2 are some of the most comfortable wireless earbuds I've ever worn.
Given the size of the Buds 2 and their charging case, I think this battery performance is perfectly fine and is the same as the AirPods Pro, although it's worth noting that the AirPods Pro's performance doesn't really change with ANC on or off.
Caleb Denison / Digital Trends
In terms of fit, the Galaxy Buds 2 are some of the most comfortable wireless earbuds I've ever worn. Much better than the bulkier Galaxy Buds + and infinitely better than the cumbersome, bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live.
Their compact shape might not fit all ears, but they did fit my medium-sized ears well. And when I say the Buds 2 are comfortable, I mean that too. You never bothered me; no fatigue after long listening sessions, no ear sweating … nothing to complain about.
I even wore the Buds 2 to bed and enjoyed every second of the ambient rain noises until I passed out. When I woke up, the buds were still in my ears. I think this story bodes well for safety, but I don't go as far as to say that full workouts don't find a way to remove them. Active / sports earbuds aren't, although they come with an IPX-7 rating to protect them from light moisture. But for everyday use, I don't see them fall out of most people's ears. They even passed my eating test. Ordinarily, chewing a semi-raw side of the beef causes enough mandibular movement to remove even the most secured buds, but somehow the Galaxy Buds 2 didn't budge. Imagine that.
How well the Buds 2 fit has a lot to do with how they sound, which I'll get into in a moment. However, this is a good time to discuss some of the features Buds 2 owners can use when paired with an Android smartphone. I'll be speaking to you iPhone owners in a moment looking for AirPods alternatives.
The external control of the Galaxy Buds 2 takes place via the Galaxy Wearable app, which is currently only available for Android. You can change the Buds 2's EQ, toggle (but not customize) various touch controls, do an earbud fit test, toggle noise cancellation on and off, and adjust the intensity of the Buds' ambient noise among other things, as below pictured.
Honestly, I could survive without the EQ knob or the variable intensity knob in ambient mode. But one feature that I, as a non-Android user, couldn't do without is control over the Buds' touch controls, since, as I'll discuss in a moment, I'd rather not have touch controls than touch controls that do I can't … control.
Samsung has set the sound for the Galaxy Buds 2 correctly.
So, the few of you out there who own iPhones and think the Galaxy Buds 2 look like a good AirPods Pro alternative? You could be. Just understand that what you get out of the box is what you get and nothing you can do about it. For the most part, that's fine. But if you're worried about accidentally triggering the touch controls – say you're a chronic earbud adjuster or just play with your ears a lot – keep your hands off it.
Caleb Denison / Digital Trends
Given my previous experience with the Samsung wireless headphones, I didn't go into this review with high expectations. I've found previous iterations of Samsung's wireless earbuds to sound a bit flat and unimaginative. Fortunately, Samsung set the sound for the Galaxy Buds 2 correctly. The self-proclaimed audiophile in me shudders at that statement, but the realist in me knows that most of the people who try the Galaxy Buds 2 are going to love you.
An audio reviewer will tell you that the Galaxy Buds 2 have a little too much bass; that the bass disturbs some details in the upper mid and lower treble range and hides crucial transients such as the plucking of guitar strings or the clink of a drumstick hitting a ride cymbal. This is all true and it doesn't matter.
Samsung is aiming for a mass market with the Galaxy Buds 2 and has designed their sound to appeal to the masses. Sure, the bass is a little fat at times, and that can affect perceived clarity from time to time, but I think most people will stick the Galaxy Buds 2 in their ears and be perfectly pleased with how full, punchy, and lively they can be sound. There's a bit of pressure in the upper treble which gives them a lot of sheen, and the mids, although set back a bit, still give the vocals plenty of presence.
In other words, the Galaxy Buds 2 sound more than passable. They actually sound damn good, even if they are a bit clumsy with the bass every now and then. They definitely sound good enough to justify their price.
Caleb Denison / Digital Trends
As far as active noise cancellation (ANC) is concerned, the Galaxy Buds 2 are a bit cautious about noise cancellation on the AirPods Pro level. If I took a long flight and relied on earphones to suppress the roar of an AirBus motor, I'd turn to the AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000Xm4, or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. But to shut the world out, to give the buds a chance to fight, to put your music, podcast or audiobook in the spotlight, the Galaxy Buds 2 are very competent. Of course, these are the best noise-canceling buds I've heard from Samsung so far, although admittedly I slept on the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro.
The ambient mode works perfectly. It's not that I'm not wearing the earbuds, but I can hear just enough of what's going on around me that I don't feel the need to pull the earbuds out. Sure, I feel like a little tool when ordering a mocha from Starbucks with the Galaxy Buds 2 in my ears in ambient mode, but I hear the barista ask if I'm sure I don't have whipped cream on top I want my name to be quite good from my oat milk and later butcher. And isn't that the ambient mode?
Call quality leaves a little to be desired, but that's the case with most of the wireless earbuds I try, no matter how many microphones and AI. Processing is stuffed into the mix. I hear everything in stunning quality, but those on the other end of phone or video calls commented that I sounded a bit thin and digitized. Perhaps one day our headphones will capture and reproduce the sound so well, but that day won't herald with the arrival of the Galaxy Buds 2.
I have a beef with the Galaxy Buds 2 and that's their touch controls. I'm not a fan of surface-based touch controls as they are too easy to trigger. You can't even touch the buds to adjust or secure them in your ears without accidentally changing ANC mode or pausing a track. It's totally annoying. Fortunately, Android users can turn off touch controls if they want. Anyone who doesn't have access to the Galaxy Wearable app – including those on iOS – will be out of luck.
I think Samsung finally did it with the Galaxy Buds 2. They're comfortable, have solid battery life, high quality sound, a decent ANC, and are about the right price. Sure, you can get competing earbuds for less money, but not with Samsung's name on them and probably not right next to the phone you plan to buy from your carrier’s store. For Android users, they're a breeze. Probably less for Apple users. Especially with the AirPods 3 on the go.
Not really! There are plenty of other true wireless earbuds out there that match or undercut the $ 150 price of the Galaxy Buds 2, but few of them have the same combo convenience, tiny form factor, solid sound, and high quality ANC, and most of them are of brands that you have probably never heard of.
Assuming the Buds aren't lost outside of their case (and beyond the realm of the Finder function), I think the Galaxy Buds 2 will last as long as their batteries, which is a good three or four years for most people. An IPX 7 rating will protect them from rain or sweat, but don't plan on going to the water park with them expecting them to survive.
If you are an Android user, yes. If you're an Apple user, probably not. The ability to control the buds with the Galaxy Wearable app is key to convenience and that isn't available in the Apple App Store, at least not at the time this review was written.
Editor's recommendations
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Siege of Paris Review: Everything is the same
"Assassin & # 39; s Creed Valhalla & # 39; s Siege of Paris DLC is the same game, a different setting – nothing new to see here."
advantages
History has thematic weight
Assassination missions are returning
disadvantage
An inconspicuous world
Grid sign
Severe lack of unique content
For me, the Assassin's Creed franchise is about wandering historical areas, talking to the icons of the time, and sometimes murdering them. In Odyssey, players venture through the colorful world of ancient Greece, meet brilliant mathematicians and philosophers, and explore ruins that still stand today.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla drops the ball in that regard. His world is usually beautiful, but hardly filled with recognizable characters and set pieces. Valhalla's basic gameplay loop doesn't do much to compensate for this issue either, and stagnates after the first couple of iterations. However, the game's Siege of Paris expansion takes in and amplifies any current issues, resulting in a prime example of how bloat, repetition, and general boredom can ruin an expansion.
The Siege of Paris DLC begins with two new characters arriving in Ravensthorpe warning Eivor of a mad Franconian king who could one day sail to the coast of England and destroy what they have built. Given the potential threat, Eivor decides to sail to Paris to convince the mad King Charles the Fat to leave England alone one way or another.
From the first time you set foot in Paris, things are obviously different in Walhalla. The picturesque land is bloodied and burned as Charles ’troops destroy everything Nordic on their way. In these opening moments, Paris is neither colorful nor beautiful. It's dead, and it's a fitting introduction as players delve into the story of the Expansion's Revenge and how religion can distort people's minds.
This promising story, however, is told by some of the most unredeemable, poorly-written characters I've come across in an Assassin's Creed title. Charles himself is a madman who is hard to forgive by the end of the DLC, regardless of your point of view. Of course, his wife (a good Christian whom he tries to kill several times) is an apologist who believes he can be saved, and the game eventually tries to push players in that direction too.
Likewise, the Viking leader Sigfred, who leads the siege of Paris, is an angry lunatic, which shouldn't sound too strange to a Nord invader. In fact, Sigfred is one of the easier characters to sympathize with early on. This is all taken away after he (and I cannot stress this enough) commits war crimes during the siege of Paris. There's a reason some of the more brutal aspects of Viking life – the rampant murders and looting – are left out of the game's main story. Assassin's Creed Valhalla has a strong stance on what is right and wrong, even with Vikings as the main characters, and Sigfred falls heavily on the wrong side.
There are no characters to bond with, no one to miss when the credits roll in after about eight hours.
Of course, there are some entertaining characters in The Siege of Paris, but they can't save the game's overall poor cast. There are no characters to bond with, no one to miss when the credits roll after about eight hours. Having villains or anti-heroes in a story is never a bad thing, but they need to be made convincing or at least reasonably relatable, and Siege of Paris doesn't do either.
Between the main story missions, players can explore Paris and its outskirts as well as England, Vinland or other areas of the game. Much of what The Siege of Paris has to offer both inside and outside the main story can be found throughout the base game. This is Valhalla's systemic problem, and it is a difficult one: the main game loop of the game repeats itself quickly and often with few variations. That remains true in The Siege of Paris.
The huge map of the expansion is still littered with collectibles, world events and wealth to crap your pockets with. There are even a few monasteries to loot, but none of this is new. The equality would have been somewhat offset if Paris had looked more prominent, but that's not the case. If you tell me it's any other part of England, or really any part of Central Europe, I would believe you.
That's not to say the area can't be beautiful. It is filled with lush nature, small towns and villages. Paris has its own charm but is losing its French accent and I couldn't tell the ninth century Paris, France, from Hamburg, Germany. It's just not distinctive; There are no landmarks or locations that players want to see quickly.
Even the rest of the contents of the extension have this property. None of the missions, apart from the actual siege of Paris, are memorable. Again, this is the same content that players know from the main game. I followed NPCs, examined things by holding a button for a moment, and smacking enemies to a pulp.
It's just not distinctive; There are no sights to see or places to visit quickly.
Thankfully, there is some unique content in the Siege of Paris. Players will face off against cavalry, which is a decent threat, until they figure out how to fight it effectively. There are also rebel missions that players can take on at any time and earn new cosmetics. The DLC also marks the return of assassination missions that players may remember from previous games in the franchise. Players are tasked with taking out a specific target and exploring ways to murder their prey. However, these missions all steer the players towards an extremely obvious solution and leave behind the creativity of the players in their approach.
I've played a decent number of RPG expansions in my day, and most of them have built on what the base game does well. Whether it's Blood and Wine from The Witcher 3 or Old World Blues from New Vegas, a good DLC takes the best aspects of the base game and highlights them with a unique, new spin. Assassin's Creed Valhalla’s Siege of Paris opposes this. The best parts of the game – its world and characters – stay in the dirt while a boring gameplay loop and clumsy story take center stage. Of course, some players will enjoy exploring more of this, but considering how long it takes to quit Valhalla, I couldn't imagine coming back for seconds. When I first got to the version of the game from Paris, I saw an exhausted, burned-out country. When I left it, I could certainly empathize.
If you're looking for some extra Assassin & # 39; s Creed adventures, try Odyssey's The Fate of Atlantis DLC pack. It will take a while to finish, but it has a lot more unique content than you can find in The Siege of Paris.
It took me about seven hours to complete the main story of The Siege of Paris. Completing the rest of the DLC content could easily eat up another 20 in my estimation.
No. When you're done Assassin's Creed Valhalla and not striving for more, there is no compelling reason to dive back in. The Siege of Paris doesn't offer enough unique content to entertain everyone but the most ardent Assassin & # 39; s Creed fans.
Editor's recommendations
AMD RX 6600 XT
RRP $ 379.00
"The AMD RX 6600 XT is a solid 1080p card at a time when GPU options are few and far between."
advantages
Smooth 1080p gaming
Doesn't take much strength
1440p gaming possible
Support for FidelityFX Super Resolution
disadvantage
A little too expensive
Poor content creation performance
Poor ray tracing performance
Budget and 1080p gamers haven't had many graphics card options in the past few months, and AMD's new RX 6600 XT tried to solve that problem. It's a card that can deliver smooth 1080p gaming at high frame rates, and it uses a stripped-down core to alleviate some supply issues. But its price stretches the definition of what it means to be a budget graphics card.
AMD could have priced the RX 6600 XT almost anywhere for under $ 500 and still selling cards like there's no tomorrow. At $ 379, it nestles in a comfortable spot between Nvidia competition, and if you can get one at list price on launch, you won't find another card that works this well for the cost.
But should you? $ 379 is an attractive price given the current market conditions, but the RX 6600 XT still has to pile up the competition after the market launch boom ended. The Radeon RX 6600 XT is a solid card, but it is flanked by two great Team Green cards that are making their money.
AMD does not publish a reference design for the RX 6600 XT, so you are limited to options from board partners. For this test, I got my hands on MSI's RX 6600 XT Gaming X card, which uses a traditional dual-fan design.
AMD has shared designs from other partners, some of which include three fans, but most should come with two. Regardless of the model, the RX 6600 XT uses a single 8-pin power connector and requires at least a 500W power supply.
My device measured 10.88 inches long, which is what the slightly protruding bezel made. Each model is a little different – especially the triple fans – so double check before you pick one up. A standard dual-fan design should be no longer than the length of an ATX motherboard (12 inches).
During the test, the card stayed cool, peaking at around 62 degrees Celsius in Cyberpunk 2077. It is important to mention that in a Be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev. 2, which is a full tower chassis with a little more space for cooling. Your mileage may vary.
A welcome feature on my review unit was a backplate that was missing from the competing RTX 3060 I tested. At least one board partner design has a backplate based on the images provided by AMD, but this may not apply to all designs.
The RX 6600 XT builds on AMD's existing RDNA 2 architecture, which we have seen in action over and over again. However, it is built with the Navi 23 GPU core, which is otherwise only found in AMD's workstation class Radeon Pro W6600 and W6600M. This marks the debut of the Navi 23 for the desktop audience.
An important note about Navi 23 compared to previous versions: It is much smaller. That means AMD can squeeze more GPU dies onto a wafer, which should help with supply. It's still built using chip maker TSMC's 7nm node, but with a smaller size, AMD can make more chips with each manufacturing pass.
| Arithmetic units | Shading units | Game speed | Increase speed | Storage capacity | TDP | price | |
| Radeon RX 6600 XT | 32 | 2,048 | 1.97 GHz | 2.59 GHz | 8GB DDR6 | 160W | $ 380 |
| Radeon RX 6700 XT | 40 | 2,560 | 2.32 GHz | 2.58 GHz | 12 GB DDR6 | 230w | $ 480 |
| Radeon RX 6800 | 60 | 3,840 | 1.82 GHz | 2.11 GHz | 16GB DDR6 | 250w | $ 580 |
| Radeon RX 6800 XT | 72 | 4,608 | 2.02 GHz | 2.25 GHz | 16GB DDR6 | 300W | $ 649 |
| Radeon RX 6900 XT | 80 | 5,120 | 2.01 GHz | 2.25 GHz | 16GB DDR6 | 300W | $ 1,000 |
Regardless, Navi 23 builds on AMD's existing architecture, so we can make many comparisons with the rest of the range. Compared to the next level, the RX 6600 XT saves around 20% of the compute units (CUs) with a price difference of 20%. That would make sense if all the other specs are the same, but they are not. The RX 6600 XT corresponds to the boost clock of the RX 6700 XT, but comes with 4 GB less GDDR6 memory.
The RX 6600 XT shows a decent value compared to similar gaps in the range.
Still, it is better than a few other steps in the series. If you're switching from an RX 6800 to an RX 6700 XT, there's about a 20% price difference for a 40% difference in CUs – and that move also reduces 4GB of RAM. At least according to AMD's own list, the RX 6600 XT shows a decent value compared to similar gaps in the range.
There's no reason to compare it to Nvidia on the spec front – I'll touch on the better brand in the sections to come. However, the price of the RX 6600 XT in comparison to the competition should be emphasized. At $ 380, it's between Nvidia's RTX 3060 for $ 330 and the RTX 3060 Ti for $ 400.
The RTX 3060 Ti is also equipped with 8 GB of memory, while the RTX 3060 is equipped with 12 GB. When looking at prices, the way forward is clear. The RX 6600 XT should do a little below an RTX 3060 Ti and about 20% less than the RX 6700 XT. But does it do that?
The RX 6600 XT is aimed at high refresh rate 1080p monitors. And based on my average frame rates, it hits that brand well. In the five non-ray tracing games I tested, it averaged 117.6 frames per second (fps), making it a great option for 1080p monitors with a 144Hz refresh rate. The 1440p performance is only slightly worse with an average of 86.6 fps.
Before you get to the individual results, it is worth looking at the average values I have collected. At 1080p, the RX 6600 XT sits between the RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3060 where it should, and slightly outperforms the last-gen RX 5700 XT. The price difference between the RX 6600 XT and its closest competitor, the RTX 3060 Ti is around 10%.
1440p showed similar results, but with a larger 18% difference between the RTX 3060 Ti and the RX 6600 XT. The RTX 3060 and RX 6600 XT were much closer with only 6% difference. Of course, such averages don't tell the whole story, so let's go through some individual tests to get a clearer picture.
I tested the RX 6600 XT on a machine that rocks an Intel Core i9-10900K, 32GB of RAM, and an Asus Tuf Z490-Plus motherboard. All of my tests were performed on a Crucial MX500 2TB hard drive with the latest version of Windows 10. Unfortunately, I didn't have an AMD processor to test Smart Access Memory, but you can expect a 5-10% increase in support for games if you have a current Ryzen processor.
Starting with the simplest fight, the RX 6600 XT took home a GPU score of 9,644 in 3DMark Time Spy. That's about 11% faster than the RX 5700 XT and RTX 3060, which were only one point apart in this test. As you'll see in other reviews, the RX 6600 XT comes close to the RX 5700 XT in most games. Here it actually shoots forward.
However, the RTX 3060 Ti resets the RX 6600 XT. It got a graphics score of 11,706 – a difference of about 19%. This also applies to the RX 6700 XT, which took the crown in 3DMark with a graphics score of 12,068.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is one of the games that preferred the RX 6600 XT over the RTX 3060 Ti. At 1080p with ultra high settings, the RX 6600 XT averaged 83 fps. That is within one frame of the RX 5700 XT, but still five frames ahead of the RTX 3060 Ti. The RTX 3060 and RTX 2060 Super lagged behind the field with 64 fps and 66 fps, respectively, while the RX 6700 XT again with 100 fps was ahead of the pack.
At 1440p Ultra High, the RX 6600 XT and RTX 3060 Ti swapped places. The AMD card reached 60 fps while the Nvidia card came in at 64 fps. The RTX 3060 was significantly lower at 51 fps, while the RX 6700 XT still showed its dominance at 76 fps. I've found similar results at high settings, with the RX 6600 XT outperforming the RTX 3060 Ti at 1080p but falling short at 1440p.
The Vulkan-based Red Dead Redemption 2 painted a slightly different picture, with the RX 6600 XT being closer to the RTX 3060. The RX 6600 XT averaged 68 fps at 1080p Ultra Quality, while the RTX 3060 averaged 65 fps. The RTX 3060 Ti showed a difference of 21% compared to the RX 6600 XT with an average of 84 fps.
I've seen similar performance at 1440p Ultra Quality, with the RTX 3060 Ti leading the way at 70 fps. The RX 6600 XT showed a difference of 24% to the RTX 3060 Ti with an average frame rate of 55 fps. As with 1080p, the RTX 3060 was only slightly behind the RX 6600 XT with a difference of 4%.
AMD has kept its promise to deliver 1080p gaming at high frame rates.
Civilization VI again showed a dominant lead for the RTX 3060 Ti, although the RX 6600 XT came closer than it was in Red Dead Redemption 2. The RX 6600 XT averaged 161 fps at 1080p Ultra settings, while the RTX 3060 Ti averaged 194 fps reached, which corresponds to a difference of about 19%. The RX 6700 XT was ahead of the other cards with an average of 219 fps.
I've seen similar scaling on 1440p Ultra. The RX 6600 XT achieved 137 fps and the RTX 3060 Ti achieved 163 fps, while the RTX 3060 lagged behind at 119 fps. Here the RX 6600 XT sits exactly where it belongs – right between the RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3060.
Battlefield V produced similar results. The RX 6600 XT averaged 139 fps at 1080p Ultra settings. The RTX 3060 showed a difference of 12% at 123 fps and the RTX 3060 Ti showed a difference of 9% at 152 fps. The RX 6700 XT was able to prevail again with 164 fps.
At 1440p Ultra settings, the RTX 3060 Ti pushed itself even further in front of the RX 6600 XT. AMD's card averaged 100 fps and Nvidia's average 123 fps – almost a difference of 21%. The RTX 3060 was close to the RX 6600 XT at 97 fps, while the last generation RX 5700 XT achieved a slightly higher 110 fps.
Fortnite showed a closer race between the RX 6600 XT, RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti. The RTX 3060 Ti led at 1080p Epic settings at 143 fps, but the RX 6600 XT was not far behind at 137 fps (only a 4 %). The RTX 3060 lags behind the group with 132 fps. All three cards scored well above the RTX 2060 Super and the RX 5700 XT – both of which never broke 110 fps – and showed some significant improvements over the previous generation.
The 1440p Epic showed a more dominant lead for the RTX 3060 Ti, where it averaged 100 fps. That's about 21% less than the RX 6600 XT, which averaged 81 fps. With an average of 86 fps, the RTX 3060 is a better comparison point to the RX 6600 XT at 1440p.
Overall, you can expect a performance difference of around 10% between the RX 6600 XT and the RTX 3060 cards, as the price suggests. At 1080p, the RTX 3060 Ti and RX 6600 XT are about a 5% price difference for a 10% difference in performance. With the RTX 3060 there is a price difference of 14% for a performance difference of about 11%.
Within AMD's own product range, the RX 6600 XT performs according to the specifications. Even with the memory gap between the two cards, the RX 6700 XT and RX 6600 XT show a difference of around 20%.
However, when I use the previous generation the RX 6600 XT shows some problems. The RX 6600 XT only marginally outperformed the RX 5700 XT in my tests, which was released for $ 399 two years ago. The RX 6600 XT is only $ 20 cheaper and only slightly more powerful. It includes ray tracing that the RX 5700 XT lacked, but that's not exactly the generational improvement I would have liked.
Still, AMD has kept its promise to deliver 1080p gaming at high frame rates, even if there are some slightly better options available from Nvidia at list prices.
Gaming is the focus of the RX 6600 XT, so it is not surprising that the card takes a back seat when creating content. Here I ran tests using the Blender and PugetBench benchmarks for Premiere Pro. The RX 6600 XT can run both programs, but there could be a better option if your focus is more on it than gaming.
In Blender I did three test renderings and averaged the times. When it comes to supporting CUDA and OptiX rendering in Blender, the RTX 3060 Ti is unsurprisingly. However, the RX 6600 XT still managed to beat the RTX 3060 by about a 11% difference. Nevertheless, the RTX 3060 Ti and RX 6700 XT showed a clear lead.
PugetBench for Premiere Pro favored the Nvidia cards even more. The RX 6600 XT recently scored a total of 625 points, while the RTX 3060 Ti received 807 points. Note that PugetBench takes into account a number of features in Premiere Pro, so the endnote doesn't just rest on the shoulders of the graphics card.
I was surprised that the RX 6600 XT shows up a bit in my Blender review, but overall it's not a great card for content creation. It's powerful enough to work in apps like Blender and Premiere Pro, but if you use those apps a lot, Nvidia still has the edge.
Normally, Nvidia would have a clear lead over AMD with Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and ray tracing. This is not the case with this generation. The RX 6600 XT also comes with hardware-accelerated ray tracing and has access to a DLSS-like function in the form of FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR).
I took Control and Cyberpunk 2077 to test ray tracing. I ignored DLSS in all of the testing to see how the RX 6600 XT would hold up in a fair fight. Like other cards in the RX 6000 series, it clearly lagged behind the Nvidia competition.
In Cyberpunk 2077, the RX 6600 XT showed about a 79% decrease when switching from the Ultra preset to the Ultra RT preset, while the RTX 3060 only saw a 53% decrease. Remember, this is with DLSS disabled. Even without the upscaling advantage, the cards of the RTX-30 series from Nvidia handle ray tracing better than the RX-6000 series.
1440p Ultra RT was not playable on any of the cards I tested. As a reference, the RX 6600 XT only achieved an average of 3 fps in this mode. The most powerful card, the RTX 3060 Ti, averaged just 23 fps.
Ray tracing is challenging regardless of the hardware used, but Nvidia's cards can still handle the heat better than AMD's.
Control was much more forgiving. It's at least playable with ray tracing enabled at 1080p, but the RX 6600 XT still showed a 54% drop and the RTX 3060 only showed a 38% drop.
At 1440p, the RX 6600 XT dropped 62% – 47 fps to 18 fps – with ray tracing enabled – while the RTX 3060 dropped 40%. I used the RTX 3060 as a benchmark as it was the closest competitor in these tests, but the RTX 3060 Ti showed similar dips when turning on ray tracing.
The difference here makes sense. Nvidia uses dedicated ray tracing cores, while AMD opts for a "ray accelerator" packed into each computing unit. Ray tracing is tough regardless of the hardware used, but Nvidia's cards can still handle the heat better than AMD's – and the RX 6600 XT doesn't change that.
In the case of an Nvidia card, I would point out DLSS to increase ray tracing performance. AMD has an alternative in the form of FSR, but Nvidia usually bundles ray tracing with DLSS, while FSR is a bit scattered. That could change over time, but Nvidia's cards still have the best of ray tracing features.
As my tests show, you really need an upscaling function to run ray tracing at playable frame rates. AMD has this feature now in the form of FSR, but many popular ray tracing titles – including Cyberpunk 2077 and Control – don't yet support the feature.
Nevertheless, FSR is available to you with the RX 6600 XT. As we found in our FidelityFX Super Resolution test, it is a very powerful upscaling feature that can significantly improve your frame rates. Image quality isn't quite as good as DLSS, but the differences are easy to forgive when everything goes well.
In a perfect world with list prices and GPUs on the shelves, I would definitely recommend the RX 6600 XT's RTX 3060 Ti. It's only $ 20 more expensive and performs better almost anywhere. The RX 6600 XT is a bit overpriced at $ 380 – it should be closer to $ 350 given its performance. However, having an extra $ 30 is hard to argue with considering how expensive graphics cards are right now.
Much of this depends on what card you can find and what the price is. When starting at the list price, the RX 6600 XT is a slam dunk in view of the popular graphics cards. When the initial inventory is gone, you should classify the RX 6600 XT between the RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 3060 in terms of performance and take the offer price from there.
Yes, the RTX 3060 Ti is a better alternative. However, given the price of graphics cards and the difficulty of finding them, the list price doesn't say much. If the price of the RX 6600 XT is between the RTX 3060 and the RTX 3060 Ti, it's a great 1080p card for high refresh rate monitors.
The other alternative is the RX 6700 XT, which even outperforms the RTX 3060 Ti, albeit at an additional cost.
The RX 6600 XT is set to last for the next few years for 1080p gaming. If you want to use features like ray tracing or want to upgrade to a higher resolution, you will probably feel the weaknesses of the RX 6600 XT within a few years.
Yes. The RX 6600 XT is about $ 30 too expensive, but still a lot cheaper than any other card you can buy right now. However, if you're missing out on the launch boom, consider upgrading to the RTX 3060 Ti instead if you can find it at a reasonable price.
Editor's recommendations
The CrossFit Open 2022 is still 36 weeks away. You need to start your training blocks now.
Someone asked me how I would program an 8 week CrossFit cycle and I had to say I wouldn't. In all honesty, I prefer 12, 14, or 16 week programming blocks because I think 8 weeks is just too short to have any meaningful effect.
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A new study adds to the evidence that resistance exercise has beneficial effects on fat loss.
The results of a new study from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and the College of Health Sciences add to the mounting evidence that resistance training has unique fat loss benefits. The study by the Department of Physiology and Center for Muscle Biology [1] published in the FASEB Journal found that r
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