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Bluetti Elite 100 V2 during our review
Product Reviews

Bluetti Elite 100 v2 portable power station review

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FEATURES AT A GLANCE

1024Wh capacity from LiFePO4 batteries

1800W continuous output

2 x AC sockets, 2 x USB-A and 2 x USB-C

0-80% charge in 45minutes at 1200W

Multiple methods of charging

Fast 10ms response UPS with different modes of UPS

Bluetti has done it again releasing another one of their versatile portable power stations, this one aimed at being lighter, smaller and more agile than some of the older, bigger models from the past.

A more powerful inverter means that AC wattage has been pushed up allowing even more electronics to be run from the power station.

Bluetti Elite 100: Pricing

  • Bluetti Elite 100 v2 at Walmart for $499

At time of review, the Elite 100 is on retail on Bluetti’s US site for $499. On the Bluetti UK site, it’s sold for £499.

It’s also available via selected online retailers.

Bluetti Elite 100: Packaging

(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)

The Elite 100 arrived in an outer plain cardboard box, inside was another plain cardboard box but with printing indicating that this was an Elite 100 power station, it even had a handle to help in lifting out one box from another.

Also provided by Bluetti was not only the AC charging cable but the appropriate MC4 to XT60 cable to allow you to hook up a solar panel to the Elite 100 to charge it. The package included a grounding screw as well.

Bluetti Elite 100: The power station

Once out of the box, the Elite 100 measures 320 × 215 × 250mm or 12.6 x 8.5 x 9.8 inches (L x W x H) and weighing in at 11.5kg (or 25.3lbs). Compared to some of the previous models we have test from Bluetti and other brands, pretty small and light.

The Elite 100 has one large handle on the top at the back so was designed to be carried by one person only but it is light enough.

(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)

At the front is the usual affair, all output sockets are at the front, as are the control buttons, screen and DC input socket.

At the front of this UK model are the following sockets/plugs:

2 x UK Type G sockets outputting 230V at 50Hz AC pure sine wave

2 x USB-C sockets, 1 x 140W max and 1 x 100W max

2 x USB-A sockets, each able to output 15W

1 x Car cigarette socket

2 x DC barrel outputs at 12v 8A max

1 x DC/PV input

And of course, the control buttons and screen

On the right-hand side of the Elite 100 (from left to right) is the earth/ground screw hole, AC input and 20A circuit breaker.

Bluetti Elite 100: Charging

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)

Switching on the Elite 100 the first time showed us a state of charge of 32%. We explored the charging methods that would be available to us, the simplest of which would be to charge it from the grid mains.

This is easily done by plugging the Elite 100 to the mains using the supplied AC cable which uses a common IEC C13/14 cable. On immediately detecting grid power the Elite 100 powered itself on and began charging at 1200W with a count down timer to inform us when it would be fully charged.

Other methods of charging include using solar panels, Bluetti have been kind enough to package in an MC4 to XT60 cable so that you could hook up a basic solar panel to the Elite 100. This is a nice touch as often power station manufactures sell this cable as an optional extra.

The XT60 is the only port, other than the AC input socket, to allow charging of the Elite 100. Through the XT60 you can charge the Elite 100 using the aforementioned solar panels or from a separately available alternator charger for charging from vehicles.

The XT60 can accept anywhere between 12 to 60V, up to 20A and 1000W of input.

Some would have preferred the DC input could have been placed on the side of the product for additional USB ports.

Bluetti Elite 100: Screen

(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)

Status screen is your typical affair that shows all the useful information that you will need at glance such as state of charge, input and output wattage. Output voltage and AC Hz, USB as well as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections.

It the out and inputs only tell you a total of wattage, they are unable to break down what is PV or AC input or USB or AC outputs.

Bluetti Elite 100: AC and USB/DC

(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)

Putting the Elite 100 through its paces, using it to power a variety of high draw household devices such as a rice cooker, hair dryer, air fryer. The Elite 100 was able to power all of them separately and remained relatively quiet throughout. It couldn’t power a mini-induction cook top as that drew a sustained 2000W. The Elite 100 can do up to a 2700W but only for a short period.

I noted that the Elite 100 only has two AC Sockets which may be a limiting factor for some, whilst it is only two sockets, there is nothing that says you can’t use multiplug sockets with them. But you must keep in mind the power draw in wattage.

Using the USB is about as regular as it gets, it was able to charge a variety of phones, power banks, a Lenovo ThinkPad, MacBook Air laptops all at the same time with ease. However with the advent that nearly everything is moving to USB-C, why the need for USB-A?

Also on the front are the DC outports, these are the car cigarette socket and two DC barrel sockets. Useful for small electronic devices assuming you have the right cables.

The Elite 100 has a combined output power of 1800W continuous power.

Bluetti Elite 100: UPS

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)

We recently reviewed a larger, more powerful power station the DJI Power 2000 where we tested its UPS capabilities and under 10ms response time. The response time is the time the power station detects grid outage and switches over to battery. Most other power stations have a response time of 20 to 30ms.

So, we were intrigued that the Elite 100 boasted a fast 10ms response time as well and decided to put this to the test. UPS mode is automatically activated when the Elite 100 is plugged into mains, AC is on and power drawn.

We again tested this by plugging in a typical home office setup, into the Elite 100 via multiplugs. The setup drew around 200W, we let the set up drain the Elite 100 for about two hours.

We then switched the mains on to charge the Elite 100 back to 100% which activated the UPS mode automatically

Once at 100%, we flicked the mains switch again whilst keeping an eye on the setup which showed no signs of power loss. The set up carried on as if there were no power outage, the Elite 100 drew power from the batteries and the UPS mode switched off.

It is here we add that in the app we noted that unlike the DJI model, the Elite 100 had several UPS modes where the UPS can be timed to only work certain times of day, prioritize PV power, state of charge or just as a standard UPS on standby or offline mode where the UPS only kicks in when power is noted to have gone down.

Bluetti Elite 100: The app

Bluetti have been in the power station market for a long time and so have had time to improve and refine their app. Searching and downloading it from the Google Play Store, loading it up and logging on for the first time was easy enough.

The app is more than just a battery management app in that it allowed us to see the local weather and a few other useful features not battery related as well as manage your account with Bluetti.

The “add device” allowed to locate and add the Elite 100 quickly and it was then added to our list of power stations.

On clicking on the battery your entered to a screen showing battery percentage, also showing incoming energy from either AC or DC/PV and outgoings for AC and DC.

The settings area is where Bluetti excel when compared to other brands in that it allows you to tweak certain settings, even if only the once such as the aforementioned UPS modes.

Bluetti Elite 100: Final verdict

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)(Image credit: Bluetti // Future)

Bluetti has been in the power station market for a long time bringing out newer models each year, refining and improving each time.

This small form factor battery is no different, it is ideal for those who want to get about and want a small, light-weight, portable yet powerful power station.

Some may find the capacity of the Elite 100 to be limiting, at only 1024Wh it can seem to drain quickly when high draw devices are used.

Also, some may find the lack of AC sockets cumbersome and as mentioned, it could have been better with solely USB-C sockets instead of the older USB-A.

Bluetti Elite 100 v2: Price Comparison



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Hollow Knight: Silksong review | Rock Paper Shotgun
Game Reviews

Hollow Knight: Silksong review | Rock Paper Shotgun

by admin


Hollow Knight: Silksong review

Hollow Knight: Silksong has a mean streak that sometimes tilts into vindictiveness, but its pin-sharp combat and wondrous exploration are too good to pass up.

  • Developer: Team Cherry
  • Publisher: Team Cherry
  • Release: September 4th 2025
  • On: Windows
  • From: Steam, Game Pass
  • Price: $20/£17/€20
  • Reviewed on: Steam Deck; Intel Core i9-10900K, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3090, Windows 10

I want to give Hollow Knight: Silksong a thrashing. A fully suited C-suite bollocking. I want to verbally repay unto it every cruel death, every pernickety jumping puzzle, every time-thieving runback it’s inflicted on me across the past five days.

But I can’t. For every moment of frustration, there are five of relief, of joy, of beauty even. As in Hollow Knight, Silksong stretches itself over a vast Metroidvania map, and yet its intricacies – its narrowest tunnels leading to grand new regions, its more acrobatic and tailorable combat movesets – make for constantly rewarding exploration, as well as some thrillingly free-flowing bugfights. There have been a couple times when I never wanted to play it again, and many more when I wish I never had to stop.

This time, as you traverse the deeply religious (and utterly bell-obsessed) kingdom of Pharloom, you’re playing as Hornet – a recurring Hollow Knight boss whose newly weakened state suggests she’s spent the last eight years eating Deliveroo and endlessly refreshing her own subreddit. Start reawakening abilities and unearthering upgrades, though, and some of that old power starts humming once more. Her heal is riskier than the Knight’s, using up an entire supply of silk/soul/energy/whatever, but much more potent, and equipping different crests will – similar to a stance system – significantly alter her base moveset of needle slashes. Even her dash power, gained relatively early, adds sprinting and long-jump abilities that the Knight’s equivalent never did.

Very quickly, then, Hornet becomes a more agile hero, albeit one that needs skillful application of her talents to avoid shunting into another bug’s blade. It’s also understandable that to counter this agility, she should face more powerful foes, though how Silksong goes about this is a bit blunt: it basically gives everyone outside of the humblest larvae an unexpectedly generous health pool and, for boss and grunt bugs alike, the strength to hit for two masks of health instead of the standard one.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Team Cherry

This is harsh. The maths involved essentially make the first, hard-earned mask upgrade useless. You start with five, so upping to six won’t actually let you survive an extra hit, which together with the reduced availability of heals makes it feel like you need to play an even more pixel-perfect dodging game than in Hollow Knight.

Still, since all that falls under a fair and long-lasting tenet of Soulslikery – don’t get hit in the first place – I can’t get too cross about it. Yet Silksong does, sometimes, let slip a more recognisably callous side, one with – at best – antiquated views on punishing failure.

This is most apparent in some of the platforming challenges, specifically those that rely heavily on pogoing. For the uninitiated, that’s performing a downwards strike on an enemy or environmental prop to bounce back up off it. These bits are uniformly horrible, because unlike so much of Silksong’s combat – and indeed, the majority of its running/jumping/grappling moves – pogoing doesn’t feel consistent.

Sometimes I’ll boing into the sky, nearby insects holding up little ‘10.0’ signs (in my mind). Others, I’ll get about three millimetres of air from the same manoeuvre and tumble fatally into some spikes. Because there are always spikes. It gets marginally more forgiving with a particular crest that swaps Hornet’s default diagonal thrusts for a straight downward sweep, but the uneven reactions to successful hits remains a source of lost health and swear words throughout.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Team Cherry

It doesn’t need to be like this, and the worst part is that Silksong knows it. There’s one region that’s basically one super-extended platforming run, and despite it being diamond-hard in its own right, I relished fresh attempts because I was only ever being held back my own timing and movements – not the whims of a bouncy flower.

Also, frankly, at least that region had reasonable access to benches. Silksong typically subscribes to the Dark Souls 2 school of thought on respawn points: not many, and none in useful places, especially not near bosses or midway through lengthy pogo gauntlets. If I squint I can almost, sort of, vaguely, kind of see the point to these runbacks: something about penalising your carelessness, combined with the added tension of having to fight or parkour your way back to your dropped loot without another death erasing it forever.

Except the tension thing doesn’t work because you can just dash over or under every non-boss enemy, and losing to a boss themselves already carries the punishment of not allowing you to play the game any further. In other words, they’re boring busywork, a fact that modern Souls and Soulslikes have increasingly got wise to. Even FromSoftware, developers to whom the Hollow Knight games partially owe their existence, knew to put Stakes of Marika in Elden Ring.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Team Cherry

So yes, Silksong is hard, and not always in ways that are fun to overcome. There is, however, a touch of give and take here. In exchange for tougher battles and platforming, exploration and navigation get some concessions – none of which amount to full-on handholding, but should let you enjoy wandering without needing a pad full of notes on the side. Objectives and sidequests, for example, are now tracked in your journal. Metroidvania heresy? Not quite – quest descriptions are still light enough on details that you’ll still need to listen to NPC chatter for meaningful pointers. It’s just a little help with keeping count of which errands you’ve agreed to, or how many collectibles you’ve gathered for certain tasks.

Background signage highlighting benches, shops, and fast travel points also seem more frequent and much harder to miss than in Hollow Knight. Again, this is hardly the game playing itself, but as long as I’m being battered around by double-damaging megafauna, I think I deserve the likes of bigger signs. New players, who are otherwise afforded nothing but pain, should find these help them avoid getting lost as well.

Still, sometimes it’s nice to get lost on purpose. Pharloom is, as previously discussed, an absolute looker, and half the pleasure of navigating its caves, crypts, and palaces is looking for its next chunk of lavishly drawn, beautifully lit fantasyscape. It’s still a broken vestige of a once-prosperous realm, as is custom, but it’s a bit more diverse than Hallownest, enticing you into magma-pooled factories and snow-capped mountains. Where there’s more of a crossover between games, the qualities of each biome seem heightened and intensified: its leafy areas are slightly more verdant, its royal towers slightly more opulent. It’s a darkly wonderful place to be, hardship or no.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Team Cherry

It’s also another, enormous example of how well Team Cherry can effectively beckon you to danger. Almost every tunnel or silo is littered with offshoots and ledges, just begging for a quick look, which often turns into a long look, which might just turn into two hours poking around a completely different area that you may have never discovered if you didn’t take that one turn.

These paths won’t always lead to something grand, or even something you can attend to immediately – this is still the M-V word – but going off-track becomes second nature when so many do lead to something interesting, or valuable, or indeed, something you just know you’ll come back to later. Also, that tingly sense of danger invoked by runback apologists? You get something just like that every time you enter a new area, creeping forward into the unknown with a watchful eye out for ambushes.

There is some backtracking, especially if you’re doing sidequests, though the sprint and those well-marked fast travel spots shave off most of the tedium. Besides, revisiting settlements makes for good opportunities to check in with Silksong’s likeable cast of NPCs, who very often have something new to say on repeat visits – about the world, about its story, about you – even if they’ve nothing new to ask in return.

Silksong’s simplest pleasure, mind, is its greatest one: hitting nasties with a sharp piece of metal. The hefty, percussive thwack of Hornet’s needle is even more of a satisfying sense-tickler than Hollow Knight’s nail, and the extra mobility – compounded by the meatiness and higher damage output of enemies – ensures that fights, big or small, routinely become dynamic back-and-forths where victory or death balance on a pin’s edge. Silksong’s combat has had the better of me dozens of times, and yet it’s so electric and frenetic that writing this paragraph still makes me wish I was back in the midst of it.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Team Cherry

After getting past the initial couple of basic bigbugs, there’s a good mixture of boss concepts in here as well. My favourites are the ones that simply have you one-on-one with direct fighters – straight duels serve as the best showcases for all your combined talents – but there’s a respectable variety across the board, ranging from giants that mess with the safety of the terrain to bullet-hell hazard spewers and, in one particularly memorable battle, twin automatons that make Silksong’s oft-balletic fighting a literal dance. They’re fun to fight, even if they’re not at all fun to lose to.

Happily, Silksong also gives you much more scope to tweak your offensive and defensive options than the original’s charm system afforded. On top of Hornet’s thread skills, replacing the Knight’s spells and Nail Arts, an unlockable array of tools provide heaps of new melee, ranged, or protective gadgets. These all plug into your selected crest, which determines base attack patterns – I ended up settling on the long, loping swings of the Reaper crest, with shorter, faster stabs or more powerful charged-up strikes emerging as alternatives. Ultimately, it all amounts to a welcome degree of flexibility, especially where bosses are concerned. As much as these fights are decided by dodging skills, I’ve definitely had some clashes go smoother after mixing up my tools.

I’m still not convinced that counterbalancing your own strengths requires a mean streak that’s quite as mean as Silksong’s. And I didn’t even have space to complain much about the trade economy, which bleeds you dry for rosary beads (Pharloom’s chosen currency) despite only half the game’s enemies dropping them. Still, when I look at Silksong in my Steam library – a strange thing in itself, given how long it took to get there – I don’t think about counting beads. I don’t even think about boss runbacks. I think about the little branches on my map, representing territory unexplored and adventures yet to be had. I think about how I can shine my needle to a keener edge, and what would happen if I thrust it into that lanky bug I couldn’t get part earlier.

In short: Silksong, I can and will get mad at you. But I can’t stay mad at you. You brilliant, beautiful bastard of a game.



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The OnePlus Nord 5 against a brick wall.
Product Reviews

OnePlus Nord 5 review: is this phone an upgrade or a downgrade?

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

OnePlus Nord 5: Two-minute review

Despite having a few sparkly upgrades over its predecessors, I can’t help but feel as though the OnePlus Nord 5 is a bit of a downgrade from last year’s model overall.

This new entry to OnePlus’ mid-spec (and mid-price) line of Nord Android phones is largely what you’d expect if you’ve been following the company for the last few years. In its top-end handsets, like the OnePlus 13, OnePlus offers novel designs, fancy camera arrays, and scary price tags, but the Nords are more modest in feature set and cost, and like all good mid-rangers, they generally focus on two key areas to excel in.

Even more so than in the OnePlus Nord 4, it’s clear that the focus of the Nord 5 is on its performance and its display, which are, funnily enough, the same two departments that most other mid-range Android makers focus on too.

And, credit to OnePlus, the Nord 5 does have such great specs in these areas that it may convince people to buy the phone for its performance and its display credentials alone.

Take, for example, the screen: it now exceeds 6.8 inches diagonally, making the Nord 5 one of the few mid-range Android phones to do so, and that extra real estate will give gamers more space for their fingers – I don’t even need to mention the higher refresh rate to get people raring to play.

The use of a Snapdragon 800-series chipset – albeit a toned-down one – also gives gamers a lot more processing power than we’ve seen on a Nord handset before (and that’s saying something!). Few mobiles at this price perform better under benchmark tests than this OnePlus.

I’m now on my sixth paragraph, and I’ve only talked about performance and display, and the reason is simple: while these two departments see notable increases, most other aspects of the phone show either no improvement or, in a surprising number of areas, spec downgrades from last year’s phone.

Some of these are minor changes. For example, the shift to a solid glass body instead of a two-tone metal one makes the handset look a lot more generic, but feel more premium, so some would argue about this being a downgrade at all.

Many more changes are inexplicable and result in a worse user experience, though. For example, the battery is slightly smaller and the charging is also slower, likely to include reverse wired charging, but it’s still an odd change. Plus, there’s less RAM available in the two models, the screen brightness has seen a decrease, there’s no UFS 4.0 for quick storage (admittedly a fairly niche feature), and the phone is also bigger and chunkier than before.

I’d be willing to bet that there’s a good reason, or at least a compromise, for every downgrade listed above. But that doesn’t change the fact that certain departments are worse off, and while the starting price of the Nord 4 is lower than that of the Nord 5, you’re actually paying more for the new model if you want to match the 12GB RAM capacity of last year’s entry-level configuration (the Nord 5 starts at 8GB of RAM).

It’s disappointing to see this many downgrades, but at the end of the day, the OnePlus Nord 5 is still a strong mid-range Android phone. It’s just one that offers a dubious ‘upgrade’ over the Nord 4, and in fact may not be worth buying at all if you can find its predecessor available at a discount (which really isn’t too hard, judging by my three minutes of research…).

Plus, its clipped wings make it fall behind the flock a little way in the competitive mid-range Android market, when its similar-priced rivals have even more powerful chipsets and more processing power.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

  • Announced in July 2025; US launch unlikely
  • £399 / AU$799 (roughly $600) for 8GB RAM, 256GB storage
  • £499 / AU$899 (roughly $700) gets you 12GB RAM, 512GB storage

The OnePlus Nord 5 was announced in early July 2025 – exclusively to TechRadar, I may add – and went on sale shortly afterwards. It wasn’t alone, with the OnePlus Buds 4, OnePlus Pad Lite, OnePlus Nord CE5, and OnePlus Watch sharing the spotlight.

You can pick up the phone for £399 / AU$799 (roughly $600, though don’t expect it to go on sale in the US as OnePlus offers a completely different line-up of Nord phones there). The default model has 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, but you can also pick up a 12GB/512GB model for £499 / AU$899 (roughly $700).

On paper, this is a favorable comparison to the OnePlus Nord 4, but the Nord 5 does offer less RAM as standard. Last year’s phone had a 12GB/256GB model for £429 (around $550, AU$820 at the time) and a 16GB/512GB option for £529 (around $680 / AU$1,000). Technically, then, the Nord 5 is cheaper, but you’re getting less for that money – you’ll actually pay more to get 12GB of RAM.

However much value you think this £399 / AU$799 starting price gets you, the OnePlus Nord 5 sits in the murky area between budget phone and mid-ranger, a no-man’s land that’s incredibly competitive for Android phone buyers.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: specs

Here’s the spec sheet in full for the OnePlus Nord 5:

Swipe to scroll horizontallyOnePlus Nord 5 specsHeader Cell – Column 0 Header Cell – Column 1

Dimensions:

163.4 x 77 x 8.1mm

Weight:

211g

Screen:

6.83-inch 20:9 FHD (1272 x 2800) 144Hz Swift AMOLED

Chipset:

Snapdragon 8s Gen 3

RAM:

8GB / 12GB

Storage:

256GB / 512GB

OS:

Android 15, OxygenOS 15

Primary camera:

50MP, f/1.8

Ultra-wide camera:

8MP f/2.2 116-degree

Front camera:

50MP, f/2.0

Audio:

Stereo speakers

Battery:

5,200mAh

Charging:

80W wired

Colors:

Marble Sands, Phantom Grey, Dry Ice.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: design

(Image credit: Future)

  • Newly boring design
  • Glass adds premium feel
  • New mappable Plus Key is handy

The Nords have never exactly been lookers, and the OnePlus Nord 5 continues that tradition as one of the most boring-looking phones I’ve seen recently. I hope you plan to hide it in a case!

The phone is a big ‘chocolate-bar’ style box, coming in gray, white, or ice blue, depending on which variant you pick up. At 163.4 x 77 x 8.1mm, it’s a little on the big side, and at 211g, it’s slightly heavier than your average phone too.

Due to the phone’s size, the power button and volume rocker on its right edge are both quite hard to reach with your thumb, even with big hands like mine. Opposite them at the top of the handset’s left edge is the Plus Key, which you can customize in function; press and hold to open the camera, turn on Do Not Disturb, turn on the torch, and so on, with a fair range of options. It’s really useful, replacing OnePlus’ previous alert slider with a solid upgrade.

Rounding out our tour of the phone, there’s a USB-C port on the bottom edge as well as the SIM tray, which can allow for dual SIMs. No 3.5mm headphone jack here.

OnePlus has ditched the metal back of the Nord 5’s predecessor in favor of the premium-feeling but fragile glass, and I found the phone to readily pick up my fingerprints – though these were only visible from certain angles.

The glass of the screen is Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, which is designed to be hardy and survive bumps. Talking about durability, the handset has an IP65 rating to ensure it’s fully protected against solid dust particles, as well as jets of water, but not submersion in liquid.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: display

(Image credit: Future)

  • 6.83-inch, 1272 x 2800 resolution
  • New high refresh rate at 144Hz but lower max brightness
  • Aqua Touch feature returns

It’s in the display department where the OnePlus Nord 5 gets some of its biggest upgrades, and they all work together to make it a great device for entertainment.

Take, for instance, its sheer size. At 6.83 inches diagonally, it’s now one of the biggest panels on any Android phone right now, giving you lots of space to enjoy your game or TV show. The resolution, at 1272 x 2800, has remained the same from the Nord 4.

Another improvement is in the screen refresh rate, which now hits 144Hz. Admittedly, it’s rare that many people will make the most of this spec, as it’s only useful for a particularly narrow number of mobile games, but it’s an improvement nonetheless. It’s countered by a lower max brightness, though.

Elsewhere, you’re looking at what OnePlus calls Swift AMOLED, and while that first word seems mostly a marketing addition, you’re still getting a high-spec panel with a billion colors supported, 1800 nits max brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass 7i for protection.

While it’s less of a selling point in OnePlus’ marketing materials this year, the Nord 5 brings back one of its predecessor’s best features in Aqua Touch. This ensures that you can tap on the screen and get accurate results even when the display (or your finger) is wet.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: software

(Image credit: Future)

  • Android 15 with OxygenOS 15, and four annual updates
  • Unique features couple with attractive UI
  • Lots of bloatware but few bugs

The OnePlus Nord 5 comes running Android 15, but with the company’s OxygenOS 15 layered over the top. OnePlus has pledged 4 years of Android updates as well as an additional 2 years of security updates, so the Nord will last until 2029 for software boots and 2031 for overall protection.

As with all Android forks, this is largely a design change, but I feel OxygenOS harks quite closely to stock Android in layout while being quite different and distinct in aesthetic. It has bold and punchy colors but more restraint than some other Android-alikes.

OxygenOS remains one of the most popular of these Android forks, despite the love growing more muted in recent years, and features like Zen Space (which locks your phone for a set time while you work) and the preinstalled translation app help explain why.

Re-reading my Nord 4 review, I recalled how buggy I found the software last time around. I needed this reminder, because it wasn’t the case with the Nord 5: it worked flawlessly, never throwing an issue at me, and constantly being snappy and quick to navigate.

You can expect two things from a mid-range Android phone from a Chinese maker: bloatware and random AI features being thrown at you. And the Nord 5 certainly has the former, with loads of unwanted games, social media apps, and OnePlus’ own additions all cluttering up the home page.

However, OnePlus has seemingly learnt the lesson that the average consumer just isn’t as interested in dubiously-useful AI features as tech fans, because I didn’t find myself being bombarded with odd little features and gimmicks bearing those two foreboding vowels. Other than the replacement of Google Assistant with the infamously goofy Gemini, something which has affected all Android phones over the last few years, the Nord 5’s AI features are largely confined to the camera.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

  • 50MP main and 8MP ultra-wide cameras, 50MP up front
  • Results are nothing to write home about
  • A few -post features are all handy

Curiously, OnePlus has been touting the camera department as one of the key areas of the OnePlus Nord 5. I’m not sure why, though, because it’s largely unchanged from the array on the previous-gen model, and so it’s just as unimpressive.

The handset packs a 50MP f/1.8 main and 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, both of which are fractionally wider-angle than last time around, but that seems to be the only change.

These cameras are totally fine; the reason many Android companies have clung to the same 50MP sensors for years now is that they’re totally fit for purpose without costing too much money. Pictures are bright enough to make sense and have a fair amount of detail.

But you’re not getting amazing dynamic range, or genius smart optimization, nor all the versatility that a zoom lens (or even a passable ultra-wide lens – 8MP, really?) offers. The phone also has a tendency to blow out brighter areas of a shot and lose a lot of detail in the darker ones.

(Image credit: Future)

The ultra-wide camera takes pictures that are noticeably more vibrant, as you’ll see below, but they lack detail where it matters. The lens also facilitates a macro mode, but I found this quite hard to focus, especially with it turning on automatically at inconvenient times, and its use of the ultra-wide’s sensor means that you get the resulting oversaturated image too. That said, I find the vast majority of macro modes far worse, so props to OnePlus for that.

As I mentioned before, the camera department is where the most AI features exist. There’s the eraser tool that most Androids have nowadays to remove unwanted background items, as well as a tool to reframe pictures (which basically means it just crops them). There’s also a detail boost, which can help if you’ve zoomed in too far and have lost quality, an unblurrer for objects in motion, and a reflection eraser, which does what it says on the tin. These are all helpful to make little tweaks to a photo if there’s an error.

The Nord 5’s AI tools are the lion’s share of its features, with few actual shooting modes. Expect the basics: photo, video, Portrait, Pro, and a few extra low-light and video modes for certain situations. You can shoot video at up to 4K/60fps and down to 720p/240fps or 1080p/120fps for slow-motion.

The one noteworthy camera upgrade here is in the front-facing camera, which has jumped all the way up to a 50MP resolution. This gives you plenty more pixels to play around with, should you want to crop or reframe a selfie, although by default, selfies are shot in a pixel-binned 12.5MP, and you need to select Hi-Res mode in the camera app to get full 50MP.

OnePlus Nord 5 camera samples

Image 1 of 10

(Image credit: Future)

A picture of a gallery on a sunny day taken at 1x zoom. In real life the surrounding trees were a lot more varied in their ‘green’-ness.

(Image credit: Future)

A picture of a some flowers on a sunny day taken at 1x zoom. Note how the two parts have different focus.

(Image credit: Future)

A photo of some headphones taken indoors. I took the pictures for my Denon AH-C500W review using the Nord, and while the images in that review are all tweaked using editing software, this one isn’t.

(Image credit: Future)

A cup of coffee taken at 1x zoom.

(Image credit: Future)

Now let’s move into some modes. First up, this is a lake taken at 1x zoom to compare to the next image…

(Image credit: Future)

… which was taken on the ultra-wide camera. Note that it’s brighter and more vibrant but lots of detail is lost, especially in the background trees.

(Image credit: Future)

This is a standard selfie, taken to contrast to the next image…

(Image credit: Future)

… which is taken on Portrait mode, which has a light-touch effect but adds some bokeh background blur.

(Image credit: Future)

Finally, to macro. This is a piece of jammy toast taken on the main camera once again…

(Image credit: Future)

… and here it is in macro mode: much brighter but lacking depth of field. Note that I didn’t move the phone at all, and the changed framing is because it’s using a different camera and lens.

OnePlus Nord 5: performance and audio

  • Big upgrade to Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset
  • Two models: 8GB/256GB or 12GB/512GB
  • Bluetooth 5.4 or USB-C port for audio, no jack

OnePlus touts the Nord 5’s performance as its key selling point, and you can see why by just looking at the specs: they all reach above what you’d expect from a phone at this price point.

The chipset is a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 from Qualcomm, which is effectively a slightly-downgraded version of last year’s top-end Android chipset. It’s admittedly not the very fastest chipset being used in budget phones, with a successor announced several months prior to the Nord’s release (and many affordable Androids opting instead for non-Snapdragon 800-series chips, which are again more powerful), but it’s still a real perk of the phone.

The phone is blazingly fast, returning one of the best multi-core scores I’ve ever seen from a Geekbench test. Over three tests, it averaged 5,147, and I’d say anything above 4,500 is a fantastic score. More impressively, the scores I got stayed consistent even when the phone was heating up, which is certainly not always true in this price range, and it points to the Nord handling long gaming sessions well.

This high score shows from gaming to photo editing, and even when you’re whizzing around the phone’s menus. A few mid-rangers have a more powerful chipset, but I don’t see why you’d need more (or even this amount, really…)

As you read in the price section, there are two versions of the phone: one with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and another that increases those capacities to 12GB/512GB. I tested the latter, which explains why the Nord felt so fast to use; I can’t speak to how the 8GB model runs, but it’s quite a price hike to get the higher-memory variant, so I don’t blame you for settling.

Audio-wise, OnePlus doesn’t rewrite any rules: there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, and the stereo speakers sound totally fit for purpose, but they won’t replace your Dolby Atmos speakers any time soon. You can also listen to music by pairing headphones to the Nord, which supports Bluetooth 5.4.

  • Performance score: 4.5 / 5

OnePlus Nord 5 review: battery life

  • Smaller 5,200mAh battery
  • Fast 80W charging
  • Reverse wired charging lets you power up other gadgets

(Image credit: Future)

For the last few years, mid-range phone batteries have been ballooning in size, and with that in mind, the OnePlus Nord’s 5,200mAh power pack feels relatively restrained. It’s still big, just not huge like I’d expected, and it’s actually smaller than the Nord 4’s.

Downgrade aside, the phone will last for a day of ordinary use with no sweat, and you can get comfortably into day two of use before needing to charge the device up. Alternatively, if you want to use your phone pretty intensely, I can still see it lasting a full day of use.

Battery life doesn’t match the Nord 4, though, with the power pack’s decrease exacerbated by the bigger screen, which needs more juice.

As a side note, the version of the phone on sale in certain regions like Australia and India has a 6,800mAh battery, which, as you mathematicians may be able to work out, is much bigger and will last for much longer. No such luck for everyone else, though.

Another battery downgrade comes in the charging department, which is down 20W to 80W in the Nord 5. That’s still very fast, and the lost speed is made up for by the presence of reverse wired charging. This lets you use a USB-C to USB-C cable to charge up other devices using the Nord.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: value

(Image credit: Future)

Thanks to its new low price, the OnePlus Nord 5 does represent value for money, though it’ll depend exactly on what you’re looking for.

Thanks to its high-spec display and processor, the Nord feels like a premium phone for certain tasks like gaming and watching movies, and so you can easily convince yourself you’re using a top-end mobile if these are your main uses for a phone.

Myriad downgrades over the previous-gen model do make the Nord 5 feel like slightly poorer value, though, so if I were considering this newer model, I’d definitely also check what kind of discounts the year-older Nord 4 was enjoying.

Should you buy the OnePlus Nord 5?

Swipe to scroll horizontallyOnePlus Nord 5 score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

You’re roughly getting what you paid for in this decent-value device.

3.5 / 5

Design

A boring design, but the Plus Key is a useful addition.

3.5 / 5

Display

Big, bold and colorful, the huge panel is a boon for entertainment fans.

4 / 5

Software

OxygenOS remains great to use, with at least four years of upgrades promised to fans.

4 / 5

Camera

The cameras are nothing to write home about but they get the job done.

3 / 5

Performance

OnePlus keeps giving the Nord more power, even if there’s less RAM. Super powerful!

4.5 / 5

Battery

Slight battery and charging downgrades probably won’t affect many users.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

OnePlus Nord 5 review: Also consider

There’s one obvious OnePlus Nord 5 competitor that I apparently can’t shut up about, but there are also a few other competitive mobiles on the market.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

OnePlus Nord 5

OnePlus Nord 4

Xiaomi Poco F7

Nothing Phone 3a Pro

Starting price (at launch):

£399 / AU$799 (roughly $600)

£429 (roughly $550, AU$820)

£389 / $399 (roughly AU$750)

$459 / £449 / AU$849

Dimensions:

163.4 x 77 x 8.1mm

162.6 x 75 x 8mm

163.1 x 77.9 x 8.2mm

163.52 x 77.5 x 8.39mm

Weight:

111g

199.5g

215.7g

211g

OS (at launch):

Android 15, OxygenOS 15

Android 14, OxygenOS 14.1

Android 15, HyperOS 2

Android 15, NohtingOS 3.1

Screen Size:

6.83-inch

6.74-inch

6.83-inch

6.77-inch

Resolution:

1272 x 2800

1240 x 2772

2772 x 1280

1080 x 2392

CPU:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3

RAM:

8GB / 12GB

12GB / 16GB

12GB

12GB

Storage (from):

256GB / 512GB

256GB / 512GB

256GB / 512GB

256GB

Battery:

5,200mAh

5,500mAh

6,500mAh

5,000mAh

Rear Cameras:

50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide

50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide

50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide

50MP main,. 50MP zoom, 8MP ultra-wide

Front camera:

50MP

16MP

20MP

50MP

How I tested the OnePlus Nord 5

(Image credit: Future)

  • Review test period = 2.5 weeks
  • Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
  • Tools used = Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats

To write this review, I tested the OnePlus Nord 5 for two weeks, but it got an extra half-week of play while I was writing this review.

I conducted a mix of experiential and ‘lab’-style testing. Experiential means I used the phone like anyone else would: playing games, using social media, taking it on trips, and taking photos on the go. Lab tests were when I put it through benchmark tests and the like.

As you can tell by my software gripes, this testing process is rigorous, and it also involves some benchmark tests and tools so that we can compare phones against themselves in an objective way.

I’ve been reviewing smartphones for TechRadar since early 2019, and in that time have used plenty of mobiles from OnePlus, as well as other devices in the price segment. This includes the Nord 4 from last year, and many of its 2025 rivals.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2025

OnePlus Nord 5: Price Comparison



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A knight stands in the middle of an Oblivion symbol ablaze with fire.
Game Reviews

Oblivion Remastered Drops To Mixed Review Status On Steam

by admin


When The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion got its fancy new remaster earlier this year, fans of Bethesda’s open-world RPGs, myself included, were elated at the return of this vintage classic.

Sadly, the enthusiasm wasn’t made to last. As seems befitting of its origins as a Bethesda-developed game, Oblivion Remastered is plagued by bugs and crashes on PC, especially following its 1.2 update which has ticked off enough players to see its Recent Reviews status on Steam sink to the dreaded pale orange “Mixed” designation. Recent reviews cite quizzical issues with performance across the board, crashes, unfair difficulty scaling, and frustration with Unreal Engine 5, a sentiment only becoming more and more common.

“I stopped counting the crashes,” reads one review taking aim at crashes encountered whenever trying to sleep or skip time in the game. “I really want to recommend this game,” starts another, “but I can’t due to technical issues and performance.” The same review cites the “few and far in between” patches the game has received, and the recent 1.2 update certainly hasn’t helped. “Started playing at launch with mods,” writes another reviewer, “and the game was perfectly fine to me. Came back this week and can’t for the life of me find out how to fix the “gpu crash dump triggered” crash.”

Frustration over performance is certainly one of the louder sentiments among Steam reviewers, especially with the remaster exhibiting the well-known stuttering issues seen in other Unreal Engine 5 games. But as another reviewer points out, not all the issues are unique to the new version. “Old 2006 Oblivion bugs have been faithfully ported over to the 2025 remaster,” they write. “I was shocked to find issues, look them up online for [a] workaround, and [saw] these were the exact same bugs from the 2006 game.”

Speaking for myself, the wildly inconsistent framerate and stuttering have definitely meant that I’ve spent considerably less time with the gorgeous remake of Bethesda’s 2006 open-world RPG than I was hoping to. Bummer!



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Dyson V16 Piston Animal cordless stick vacuum
Product Reviews

Dyson V16 Piston Animal hands-on review: a powerful new flagship, but not quite a slam-dunk

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal: two-minute review

The V16 Piston Animal is Dyson’s brand-new flagship stick vacuum, and it boasts a number of upgrades over its predecessors. Based on specs, this is the best Dyson vacuum on the market – and it should be one of the best cordless vacuums from any brand. I’ve been testing it out for a couple of days now, and I have lots of thoughts.

Based on my first impressions – I’ll be writing a full review when I’ve had more time with it – the V16 Piston Animal an incredibly good vacuum, but with one particular issue that could be a deal breaker for some potential buyers.

Let’s start with the good bits. The dust compactor works extremely well and is a logical, solidly useful addition. It gives you more cleaning time without having to empty the bin so often, and when you do come to empty the bin, the same mechanism expels the contents easily, with no need for fingers to get involved.

Dyson has redesigned the attachment mechanism so that you can connect and release attachments on the end of the wand without having to bend down. This seems like an effort-saver, and should also help those with mobility issues.

It almost goes without saying that the suction is excellent, and the battery gives you ample cleaning time without having to stop to recharge. Like its predecessors, the Gen5detect and V15 Detect, there’s an Auto mode that offers intelligent adjustment based on floor type and dirt levels. On the V16, though, it’ll adjust not just suction but also roller speed, for the most effective, battery-efficient clean.

Dyson has also given the floorhead an entirely different design – and this is where my main issue lies. The conical rollers do work well to prevent hair tangles, but the tapered shape means the floorhead comes to a slight point on the front side, which is a pain when you’re trying to clean along the straight edge of a room.

Read on for more information about the new Dyson flagship and my experiences with it so far, and check back in a week or two for my full and in-depth verdict.

(Image credit: Future)

Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: price & availability

  • List price: £749.99 / AU$1,349 (US TBC)
  • Launched: September 2025
  • Available: UK and AU now, US sometime in 2026

The V16 Piston Animal was unveiled at the start of September, and is on sale now in territories including the UK and Australia. It will be available in the US, but not until sometime in 2026.

The regular version has a list price of £749.99 / AU$1,349 (the US list price will be released closer to the launch date). A Submarine version is also available, with an extra mopping floorhead, at a list price of £899.99 / AU$1,599.

For comparison, this model’s predecessor, the Gen5detect, is £769.99 / AU$1,549. The model down from that, the V15 Detect, is £649.99 / AU$1,449.

Those prices position the the V16 firmly in the premium price bracket, and make it one of the most expensive vacuums on the market. It’s interesting to note that it’s actually slightly cheaper than the Gen5detect in the UK (although that older model will attract more discounts).

I’ll make a final call on value for money once I’ve had more time to test the V16 out, but on first impressions, it looks and feels premium. It has been meticulously designed and is packed with features – including some you can’t find anywhere else on the market. I’m not going to pretend it’s not an awful lot to spend on a vacuum, though.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Weight:

7.5 lbs / 3.4kg

Bin size:

1.3L

Max runtime:

70 mins

Charge time:

3hrs 30

Dimensions (H x L x W):

10.2 x 51.1 x 9.8 inches / 25.9 x 129.8 x 25cm

Filter:

99.9% to 0.1 microns

Max suction:

315 AW

Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: design

  • Redesigned anti-tangle floorhead with conical rollers
  • Manual compression lever on bin
  • Automatic power and roller speed adjustment based on floor type

The V16 Piston is a premium cordless stick vacuum with a number of useful features, many of which are brand new to this machine.

Key amongst these – and the reason for the ‘Piston’ of the name, is a compression lever on the dust cup. This can be pushed down to squish dust and hair and increase dustbin capacity, and is also designed to wipe fine debris off the inside of the cup, and to be helpful in efficient emptying.

(Image credit: Future)

A second addition is the red cuff at the top of the vacuum’s wand. This can be pushed down to release the floorhead without having to bend down. The docking section of the floorhead is designed to sit upright at an angle, so you can also snap it on the wand from a standing position.

(Image credit: Future)

Speaking of the floorhead: this looks very different to anything I’ve seen before. Rather than being tube-shaped, the rollers here are conical. The idea is that the tapering shape shifts long hair down to the narrow end where it can be sucked up, rather than leaving it to tangle. This floorhead is designed for both hard floors and carpet, and is kitted out with a laser to illuminate dirt that might otherwise be missed.

(Image credit: Future)

The main body of the vacuum has a matte finish, and Dyson has added a padded section above the hand grip for added comfort. It switches on with a button rather than a trigger, and the battery is removable and swappable.

This is the first Dyson vacuum to be properly ‘connected’, with the companion app providing cleaning summaries and offering advanced setting options. There’s a screen on the machine itself to deliver information, including how long you have left on the battery.

The screen will also provide you with real-time reports on the size and number of particles you’re sucking up, as you clean. This works with the V16’s ‘Auto’ mode, where the vacuum will automatically adjust suction and (newly) brushroll speed based on the kind of floor it’s on and how dirty it is.

(Image credit: Future)

Detail tools will vary slightly depending on which model you opt for, but there are a couple of notable upgrades. The Hair screw tool now has a rubberized band across the front to help loosen hair that’s ‘stuck’ to upholstery fabric. Hidden inside the wand are two stubby Crevice tools – one at the top, attached to the main part of the vacuum, and the other at the bottom of the wand, revealed if you remove the floorhead. Because of the redesigned docking mechanism, none of the tools are compatible with other Dyson stick vacuums.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal review: performance

  • Dust compaction is great, and design makes emptying super-easy
  • Suction excellent, but not notably different to previous models in practice
  • Angled floorhead is a pain for vacuuming the edges of rooms

After one whole-house clean with the V16, I’m impressed in some ways but less so in others. I’ll start with the general suction performance. As I expected, this is excellent. I tested the vacuum in a four-floor house with hard floor, plenty of carpets, and a black Spaniel, and it had no trouble sucking up impressive volumes of dust, dirt and hair.

In Auto mode, I could hear the power and brushroll ramping up and down as I moved into different areas and onto different floor types. I found the on-screen dust reports as mesmerizing as ever, although I’m still not sure they’re that useful.

Officially, the V16 has the most suction of any Dyson stick vacuum, but on first impressions, I didn’t really notice a difference in cleaning power compared to cleaning using the V15 (this house’s usual vacuum, and two models down from the V16 – despite what the number might suggest, the Gen5detect sits in the middle). I’ll run some side-by-side suction tests with all three to see if there is a difference I’m not seeing.

(Image credit: Future)

The V16 feels a little weighty in the hand, but the padded section above the hand-hold is a welcome addition and does help boost comfort. I’m in two minds about the button operation. For longer cleaning sessions, it’s nice not to have to continually compress the trigger, but for quick cleanups, it’s a bit cumbersome to have to keep a hand free to turn the machine on and off (you can’t reach the button with your gripping hand).

I’m also not entirely sold on the new floorhead. While it does work well to siphon off hair, the new design requires the front long side of the floorhead to come to a slight point rather than being in a straight line. This means you can’t approach the edges of rooms front-on – instead, you have to go in from the side. That quickly becomes very annoying.

Otherwise, it pivots well but feels a little harder to push than previous Dysons (and other vacuums I’ve tested). I did find the laser useful for highlighting dust in dingy corners, though.

(Image credit: Future)

The quick-release works well and is an effort-saver, but the joints in general are a little stiffer than on other Dyson stick vacuums I’ve used. It’s also a shame that existing attachments won’t work with the V16.

More of a success is the dust compactor. This is a solid win; the mechanism works a treat, and means you can fit in more cleaning without having to make so many trips to the trash. It also makes it far easier to empty than most cordless vacuums I’ve used.

Those are my thoughts so far – check back for the full review, including the results of TechRadar’s official suction tests, when I’ve had more time to put the V16 Piston Animal through its paces.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal: Price Comparison



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Indiana Jones And The Great Circle: The Order Of Giants DLC Review
Game Reviews

Indiana Jones And The Great Circle: The Order Of Giants DLC Review

by admin



At around four to five hours in length, calling The Order of Giants bite-sized doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Within the context of the rest of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, however, that’s precisely what this DLC feels like.

The base game is at its best when you’re dropped into an extensive playground and left to your own devices, whether it’s a maze of undulating rivers in Sukhothai or a stretch of desert surrounding the pyramids of Giza. Donning Indy’s signature hat and exploring these dense locations is a treat, with each level meticulously detailed and focused on player agency, all while weaving the signature elements of an Indiana Jones adventure into each locale.

Maybe it was naive of me to expect a similar setup in the game’s first expansion, but it’s still a tad disappointing that The Order of Giants presents a more streamlined experience instead. The quality is still there; it’s just missing a few key ingredients.

If you’ve played The Great Circle before, you’ll want to head back to Vatican City to add this new batch of fieldwork to Indy’s journal. From here, you’ll meet Father Ricci, a young priest–with a loquacious pet parrot–who’s desperate to track down a lost Roman artifact once owned by Pope Paul IV. This is more than enough information to pique Indy’s curiosity, propelling you on an adventure just beyond the walls of the Vatican as you head into the ancient city of Rome itself. Or, more specifically, descend beneath the Eternal City’s streets, where you’ll rummage through the cramped confines of dusty Roman tombs, catacombs, and the Cloaca Maxima sewer system, solving various puzzles, uncovering hidden mysteries, sneaking past cultists, and punching Mussolini’s fascist Blackshirts in the face.

As the DLC’s title suggests, The Order of Giants delves deeper into the lore behind the Nephilim Order: a monastic society of giants formed by the descendants of fallen angels. As compelling as this backstory is–and despite the giants’ vital role in the events of The Great Circle–the Nephilim are still shrouded in mystery by the time the base game’s final credits roll. The Order of Giants doesn’t necessarily lift the lid on their past, but it does offer another fascinating peek into their cryptic role in history, dating back to Nero’s reign as emperor of Rome and the 11th-century Crusades.

I enjoyed unravelling the story through notes, puzzles, and Indy’s own observations, particularly the way it’s grounded in real history despite the fantastical nature of the Nephilim. The writing is sharp, and Indy’s quips are on point, with Troy Baker delivering another fantastic performance as the iconic archeologist. I do, however, get the feeling the narrative would’ve fit more snugly if I hadn’t already finished The Great Circle. As an extra addendum, it feels distinctly like a side quest with little to no impact on the main story. This is a tricky conundrum to solve with any story-driven DLC, and I don’t think there’s a perfect way to do it. Just know that those playing The Great Circle for the first time will probably appreciate it more as a natural detour within the greater narrative than those returning after reaching the game’s conclusion.

It also makes sense as an extension of the Vatican map, as you’ll spend most of your time traversing similar underground areas to those found beneath the holy city. The Order of Giants is fairly linear in this regard, yet each location is designed with plenty of hidden pathways and secrets to uncover, ensuring that those willing to explore every nook and cranny will be satisfied. It’s replete with a number of delightful puzzles to solve, too, challenging your thought process while being wonderfully tactile at the same time, from referencing an ancient story to figure out which way to rotate various platforms, to guiding a ball down a track by constantly placing and removing different pieces to alter its direction. These room-scale puzzles are some of the best in the entire game, and the DLC’s pacing guarantees that no one aspect overstays its welcome.

When you’re not solving Roman conundrums, The Order of Giants offers a decent mix of platforming and combat to keep things feeling fresh. Both are relatively unchanged, whether you’re swinging over a chasm with Indy’s signature whip or throwing a thunderous haymaker to put a fascist in the ground. There is one section where you get your hands on some TNT, but you’ll be using your fists and makeshift melee weapons to blunt force most enemy encounters. Clobbering fascists remains particularly entertaining, but the smaller scale of the environments isn’t conducive to the kind of freeform stealth present in the base game, so it loses some of that Indiana Jones-style improvisation. For as atmospheric as each location is, The Order of Giants also lacks the same spectacle as the base game, with the absence of set pieces reinforcing how pared down it is in comparison.

What it may lack in scope, The Order of Giants makes up for with some of the best and most inventive puzzles in the game. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get another expansive environment to explore, but this is still an engaging mini-adventure that’s rich in lore and quintessentially Indy. Those playing The Great Circle for the first time might appreciate the detour a lot more, but putting on that wide-brimmed fedora again still feels great (if only I could get John Williams’ theme music out of my head).



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Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable
Product Reviews

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable review: Rolling in screen real estate

by admin



Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware


Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Typically, the best ultrabooks don’t rock the boat too much. They might have lighter designs than previous years or improve performance with new chips. But the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable is a unique device, with a rolling screen that turns a “short” 14-inch display into a very tall 16-inch diagonal experience.

It’s the type of device you would expect to see shown off at a trade show like CES (where it debuted) and then never seen again — except that for $3,299.99, you can actually own it.

  • Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable at Lenovo USA for $3,299.99

Design of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

Out of the box, the ThinkBook looks like a pretty standard (if not dull) laptop, with a two-toned silver design. The screen has some odd bezels, wider on the sides than on the top and the bottom. The power button, which also features the fingerprint reader, is on the right side.

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The aluminum deck is sturdy and features a backlit keyboard. The left side of the notebook features the laptop’s sole trio of ports: a pair of Thunderbolt 4/USB Type-C ports and a headphone jack. That’s not a lot of ports for any laptop, especially one seemingly meant for productivity, but I suppose something had to go in order to make room for the display.

The laptop is 11.95 x 9.08 x 0.78 inches and weighs 3.72 pounds, which is hefty for a 14-inch PC. But this laptop is also a 16-inch PC, thanks to its rollable display, which makes the ThinkBook far more interesting than it looks at first.

The system comes with a 65W GaN charger. It’s rare the charger gets a mention in our reviews, but it’s great to see the latest charger technology, including a removable USB Type-C cable, in a premium machine. Other laptop vendors should do this more often, and Lenovo should bring it to more of its own machines.

Display on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

With the ThinkBook’s screen rolled up, you get a 14-inch, 2000 x 1600 screen with a 5:4 aspect ratio. Unrolled, you get a far taller display, measuring 16.7 inches diagonally with a resolution of 2000 x 2350 and an 8:9 aspect ratio. The screen is a POLED (plastic OLED) display with a 120 Hz refresh rate.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

To let the screen unroll, you push a button on the keyboard. And the first time you try it, it feels absolutely awesome. Unfolding a foldable the first time feels futuristic. Having a motor do it for you feels magical.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The motor isn’t terribly loud, but it does take time to roll and unroll — about 9 seconds from button press to full extension or contraction. I’d like to see that cut in half, though I don’t know what that would do to durability. When Lenovo announced the laptop at CES, it claimed 30,000 hinge openings and closings and 20,000 screen rolls up and down. That’s a lot of rolls and openings, but it’s also a number you basically never have to think about with a traditional laptop design.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The plastic OLED screen looks really nice, and performs pretty well, too. The screen measured 150% of DCI-P3 coverage by volume, and 211.7% of SRGB, easily surpassing the Yoga Book 9i Gen 10’s impressive dual panels. At 381.4 nits of brightness, however, it falls behind the Yoga Book and the MacBook Pro.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The thing is, though, it’s not really great for multimedia. Even at 14-inches, the trailer for Superman had thick black bars on the top and bottom. Those increased to obscene amounts with the taller 16-inch screen unrolled.

What these aspect ratios do allow for is strong multitasking. Having the homepage of New York Magazine or Tom’s Hardware showed an almost overwhelming amount of text. But with the screen extended, I could use the top half for a Google Doc while using the bottom of the screen to keep an eye on Slack, or have the Tom’s Hardware’s morning meeting up at the top of the screen while still getting some work done on the bottom. And there are uses for tall displays; some coders love a desktop display turned vertical to show more text. This does that in a laptop.

I even used it to try playing Ikragua, an old bullet-hell game designed to be played vertically. Unfortunately, in much of my gaming, parts of the game were cut off despite the fact that it should have fit on the screen. This is no gaming device, simply because of that issue. Of course, it also doesn’t have dedicated graphics.

And for all its impressive unfurling, there are limitations to the screen. For one, it’s not a touchscreen, despite the many foldables that use similar technology, all featuring touch capabilities. I don’t feel that all clamshell laptops inherently need touchscreens, but there’s something about a screen this tall that feels like it invites it.

Additionally, the hinge only goes just past a 90-degree angle. This seemingly supports the display and rolling mechanism, ensuring it rolls and unrolls at ideal angles, but it feels quite limiting. It’s not good for lying back on the couch with the system in your lap. (The system also can tell if you have the angle below 90 degrees and won’t make adjustments.)

You have to be careful with the screen. If you attempt to shut the laptop with the 16-inch display unrolled, you’ll be greeted with a faint but annoying alarm until you open the system again.

You also can’t change the resolution or screen orientation in Windows 11 on this laptop. While I doubt many people would actually change it, it’s surprising to get a pop-up that says “The current model does not support resolution adjustment” as Windows reverts to the native resolution whether you tell it to or not. (You can still change scaling, though Lenovo warns it could cause problems with the ThinkBook Workspace app).

The other issue is that at certain angles, you can see where the screen bends to fit in the laptop. This isn’t terribly different from the way you can sometimes see the crease on foldable phones, but it doesn’t feel terribly premium.

Besides pushing the button on the keyboard, Lenovo has an opt-in feature that lets you use your hand and the time-of-flight sensor to raise and lower the screen. It sounds like a magic trick, but in practice it’s extremely finicky. You need your hand in the perfect spot, then the sensor needs to recognize your hand, and only then do you move it up or down. The keyboard button, on the other hand, is foolproof.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally

CPU

Intel Core Ultra 7 258V

Graphics

Intel Arc 140V GPU (integrated)

Memory

32GB LPDDR5x-8533, soldered

Storage

1 TB PCIe M.2 2242 SSD

Display

POLED (Plastic OLED), 120 Hz Rolled: 14-inch, 2000 x 1600, 5:4 Unrolled: 16.7-inch, 2000 x 2350, 8:9

Networking

Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE201, Bluetooth 5.4

Ports

2x Thunderbolt 4 over USB Type-C, 3.5 mm head jack

Camera

5MP, infrared, Time-of-Flight Sensor, e-shutter

Battery

66 WHr

Power Adapter

65 WHr GaN USB-C charger

Operating System

Windows 11 Pro

Dimensions (WxDxH)

11.95 x 9.08 x 0.78 inches (303.5 x 230.6 x 19.9 mm)

Weight

3.72 pounds (1.69 kg)

Price (as configured)

$3,299.99

Today’s best Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable deals

Productivity Performance on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

There’s only one configuration of the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable. The fancy screen is backed by an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. If you’re buying this, it’s mostly for the display.

The bump to 32GB of RAM is nice, but otherwise the specs are all pretty similar to what you can get in cheaper ultraportables. This price can get you a big, gaming-ready GPUs. With this laptop, you’re getting ultrabook internals and an innovative screen, and you’ll have to live with integrated graphics.

Here, we’re comparing the ThinkBook Plus to Lenovo’s own Yoga Book 9i (Intel Core Ultra 7 255H), with dual screens that also lets you work tall, as well as the 14-inch MacBook Pro and HP OmniBook X Flip 14, both of which are more typical laptops with Apple’s M4 and AMD’s Ryzen AI 7 350, respectively, and cost far less.

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

On Geekbench 6, the Rollable earned a single-core score of 2,694 and a multi-core score of 10,847 – the lowest of the bunch, including Lenovo’s dual-screen foldable, which uses an H-series chip.

The Rollable copied 25GB of files at a rate of 1,075.92 MBps, just about in line with the Yoga Book, though the HP OmniBook was far faster.

It took the Rollable 7 minutes and 13 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p, more than 2 minutes slower than the OmniBook (the M4 won here at 4:27).

We stress-tested the system using Cinebench 2024. The PC was largely stable, with scores settling in the high 490s, without signs of throttling. The CPU’s P-cores averaged 2.62 GHz during this test, while the E-cores measured 2.99 GHz.

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

The Rollable’s scallop-shaped keys are great to type on. While I’ve seen some snappier keys on some of Lenovo’s ThinkPad lineup, this keyboard was comfortable and balanced, letting me hit 110 words per minute on the monkeytype typing test with my standard 2% error rate.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

I have no complaints about the haptic touchpad — a computer with a rolling screen doesn’t need more moving parts. It’s responsive to gestures and to clicks.

Audio on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

Maybe it’s the extra bit of thickness the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 needs to fit a screen, but it also allows for surprisingly powerful speakers in an ultrabook. As I worked, Linkin Park’s “Two Faced” screamed through my apartment with clear vocals, clashing drums, strong guitars, and even a hint of bass on the low end. You rarely find that on a business machine.

The song’s rapping and yelling were prioritized over sung vocals, but a quick change to the “balanced” mode in Dolby Access helped account for that, though it did lessen the bass.

Upgradeability of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Given the complexity of this device, I was shocked that there were any user-replaceable parts.

The base of the notebook is held on with eight Torx screws (a T5 bit fits just right). Removing them, I was able to pull the bottom off from a well-placed space near the chassis’ palm rest.

The inside of the system is packed around the surprisingly wide 66 WHr battery. That cell is removable, though Lenovo recommends disconnecting the Wi-Fi antenna before taking it out, as the cables go right around the top of it (and over the ones that connect the battery to the motherboard). The SSD is also user-replaceable if you want to add more storage. The RAM is soldered.

Be careful while working inside this system, though. You can see some of the springs and rails that power the motorized display. I’d hate to lose a screw in there.

Battery Life on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

An extra two inches of screen real estate (and the accompanying pixels) affects battery life. Rolled up to 14 inches, the ThinkBook ran for 9 hours and 28 minutes on our battery test, which includes web browsing, light WebGL testing, and video streaming with the screen set to 150 nits. With the screen unrolled out to 16 inches it ran for 8:43.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Both are longer than the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i Gen 10, with two screens, and the HP OmniBook X Flip 14, a convertible with one display. Apple’s M4 and a mini-LED display, however, won out by far at 18 hours and 31 minutes.

Heat on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

To measure skin temperatures under load, we took heat readings while running our Cinebench 2024 stress test. The center of the keyboard measured 98 degrees Fahrenheit, while the touchpad was cooler at 92.3 F. The hottest point on the bottom of the notebook was near a vent at 113.5 F.

Internally, the CPU measured an average of 70.01 degrees Celsius during the same test.

Webcam on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

The webcam on the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, despite having a 5MP lens, is just OK. In video calls, I saw some grainy artifacts despite the high-resolution image.

But the tall screen on the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable adds a benefit: making it very easy to look at the camera. The angle changes slightly between 14 and 16-inch modes, but with the screen unrolled, you can look right at the camera.

The webcam features a shutter switch directly on top of the camera bump. I’d prefer a button on the keyboard, but this works fine.

Software and Warranty on the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable

Lenovo has several pieces of software designed specifically for the rollable, though I’ll be frank — I don’t think any of them are strictly necessary.

The big one is ThinkBook Workspace, which lets you add mini apps like your reminders, to-do-list, and calendar from your Microsoft account. The app also features a user guide, an awkward secondary virtual display, and access to Smart Copy, a clipboard manager. You can also pin your own apps to Workspace’s thick title bar. Personally, I preferred using Windows 11’s Snap Layouts to put apps where I wanted them on the screen. One of the first things I did with Workspace was prevent it from launching every single time I extended the screen (there’s an easy enough keyboard button for it).

ThinkBook Workspace has a ton of buried settings, many of them turned off by default. If you want a fun animation to play while you extend the screen (which I wouldn’t recommend, as it covers your work), or to try enabling the feature to raise the screen with your hand, you’ll have to dig.

There’s also Lenovo AI Now, a local AI app that lets you feed documents into your “personal knowledge base” to find or easily digest information without using the cloud. Lenovo requires an account for this app, which is a shame, since the point of it is that it uses local computing.

Just like Lenovo’s other devices, Vantage is on board for warranty information, easy access to your serial number, battery, and device settings, system updates, and an advertisement for McAfee Secure VPN.

There’s also Lenovo Smart Meeting, which makes adjustments to your camera, background, or replaces you with a temporary avatar if you have to leave a meeting. There’s also Smart Connect to add Lenovo or Motorola phones and tablets to your PC. Lenovo Now attempts to foist upsells and partner offers on you, and I think for a $3,300 laptop, you shouldn’t have to deal with that.

Lenovo sells the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 with a one-year courier or carry-in warranty, which can be increased for a longer duration or to include more services for additional charges.

Bottom Line

When my colleagues and I see futuristic concepts at trade shows like CES, they tend to stay concepts. But Lenovo made the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable real, and it’s by far the most interesting laptop I’ve reviewed in a long time.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

It’s a good enough performer for typical productivity tasks like writing, spreadsheets, video conferencing, and basic coding. But with the $3,299.99 price tag, you’re really paying for that rolling screen and all of the engineering behind it.

In truth, there’s nothing like it. Perhaps the closest options – the initial slate of foldable laptops that included the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 – are either no longer available or are several generations of chips behind. This device also offers a traditional laptop keyboard and touchpad, unlike the more powerful Yoga Book 9i with dual screens.

You could buy any number of traditional laptops with similar specs and add in one of the best portable monitors on top of it for a lot less money. But if you’re OK with more moving parts in your laptop and you want more screen when you need it, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable sure is easier to carry. If that’s worth the considerable extra expense (and extra weight) for you, then the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable is worth considering.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable: Price Comparison



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CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller
Product Reviews

CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller review: the best guitar controller currently available

by admin



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CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller: one-minute review

The CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller is a brand-new guitar controller for use with rhythm games like Fortnite Festival, Rock Band 4, and Clone Hero. CRKD was founded by former Red Octane staff who were responsible for the Guitar Hero series’ controllers, and as such this feels very in line with the peripherals for those games, taking on the best elements of each to make one of the best guitar controllers I’ve ever used.

It comes in two variants, the LP Black Tribal Encore Edition and the LP Blueberry Burst Pro Edition. The Black Tribal edition comes with standard fret buttons and a mechanical click strum bar, with a slightly gaudy tribal design. Meanwhile, the slightly more expensive Blueberry Burst is functionally the same guitar but with mechanical frets, a Hall Effect strum bar with haptic feedback, and a blueberry burst design. If you prefer one set of buttons over another, the necks are interchangeable too.

On top of those two versions, each version has an Xbox edition, which makes it compatible with Rock Band 4. The multi-platform edition does work with Xbox through the KeyJam mode, however, it acts as a keyboard, meaning it is compatible with Fortnite Festival through button mapping but not Rock Band. The multi-platform edition works with Switch, PC, PlayStation 3-5, and Android too.

The guitar itself feels great to hold; it takes on the form of the fan-favorite Gibson Les Paul design that was previously used with Guitar Hero 3, while the strum bar is longer and easier to pinch, like the “Genericaster” design from Guitar Hero: World Tour and Guitar Hero 5 (my personal favorite guitar controller of all time). It lacks the lower fret buttons found on Rock Band guitars and the PDP Riffmaster; however, a separate neck attachment is being released later with this option.

(Image credit: Future)

  • CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller (Black) at Amazon for $114.99

CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller: price and availability

  • Prices range between $114.99 / £109.99 / AU$199 and $134.99 / £129.99 / AU$224
  • Available in the US via the CRKD website
  • Available in the UK via CRKD, Argos, and Amazon
  • Available in Australia via JB Hifi

The CRKD Les Paul launched in June 2025, with the Xbox editions set to release in late September. The price is higher based on whether you have the Xbox-compatible edition, with the Blueberry Burst version being more expensive than the Black Tribal one. However, the Blueberry Burst is only $10 / £10 / AU$25 more expensive, while buying the mechanical frets separately is $39.99 / £39.99, so I would personally go with the Blueberry Burst.

While you may be able to get the PDP Riffmaster on sale now, its regular price is more expensive than the Blueberry Burst, with the CRKD being what I feel is the better guitar (however, this more likely comes down to your preference between Guitar Hero and Rock Band-style instruments).

CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller review: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Price

$114.99 / £109.99 / AU$199

Dimensions

9.96 x 29.13 x 1.37in / 253 x 740 x 35mm

Compatibility

Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, Smart TV, PS3, PS4, PS5 (Xbox in Fortnite Festival only)

Connection type

Wired (Type-C), wireless (Bluetooth + 2.4GHz dongle)

Software

CRKD App (iOS, Android)

(Image credit: Future)

CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller review: design and features

  • Guitar controller designed for rhythm gaming
  • Based on the iconic Gibson Les Paul Guitar
  • A dial allowing you to program different profiles

As the name suggests, the CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller is based on the iconic Gibson Les Paul guitar. This design was previously used for the Guitar Hero 3 guitar controller, with this one being roughly the same size.

The two available versions are Black Tribal and Blueberry Burst. Black Tribal is a black plastic base with a glossy black tribal design on top of it. While it’s appropriate, as the mid-2000s was the perfect time for guitar controllers and tacky tribal designs (shoutout to the tribal Game Boy Advance SP), I frankly think this design is ugly. Blueberry Burst, on the other hand is fine looking; the actual blue burst design is nice and akin to its namesake guitar, but it’s a decal that looks a bit low quality at close inspection.

Meanwhile, since the necks are detachable, both are just regular black plastic with small lights up the neck. These will light up in a color corresponding with which fret button you press.

The guitar features a d-pad on the top of the neck and two sticks. One is a little dial that is clicked in as your start button, and while it’s not the end of the world, it can be a little awkward to pause with it. Meanwhile, there’s a tone switch-style stick on the upper half of the guitar, which has a ring of buttons around it, allowing you to access the face and trigger buttons.

Under the strum bar is the whammy bar – which allows you to earn extra points when playing sustained notes – and the CTRL button, which is typically bound to Star Power activation. While not as long as the one found on the Genericaster, it’s placed well so it’s very easy to hit with your wrist and not compromise your strumming.

While not a complete game-changer, the mechanical frets and Hall Effect strum bar found in the Blueberry Burst edition feel fantastic, and given the price isn’t significantly higher, I’d recommend going with that version over the Black Tribal.

(Image credit: Future)

CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller review: Performance

  • Solid battery life
  • Works right out the box
  • Comes with custom profile dial, customisable via the CRKD mobile app

The CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller works straight out of the box with either a USB-C cable connection on PC or via a 2.4GHz dongle (both of which are included with the guitar). You can also use Bluetooth to connect to devices that can’t support a USB option. From my month of testing, only the Blueberry Burst edition has run out of battery with me using it for at least 15-20 hours without charging it out of the box.

There’s a knob that acts as the on switch when pressed and features a dial that allows you to use one of 9 profiles (the first four being preset to default settings and the Fortnite Festival difficulties). These bindings can be changed via the CRKD mobile app, with the Blueberry Burst edition allowing you to alter the level of sensitivity and haptic feedback on the strum bar.

This is essential for Fortnite Festival. While the default mode is usable in the mode, the CTRL button is mapped to the Select button, which opens a menu in Fortnite. You can’t remap this in-game, so you’ll need to turn the dial to number two to make it work in Fortnite’s pro modes.

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller review: Also consider

Still not sold on the CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller? Here’s how it compares to the other guitar controllers on the market.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyRow 0 – Cell 0

CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller

PDP Riffmaster

CKRD NEO S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition

Price

$114.99 / £109.99 / AU$199

$129.99 / £129.99 (around AU$199)

$59.99 / £59.99 / AU$119.95

Dimensions

9.96 x 29.13 x 1.37in / 253 x 740 x 35mm

10.51 x 21.38 x 3.23in / 543 x 267 x 82mm

5.9 x 3.5 x 0.78in / 150 x 88 x 20mm

Compatibility

Multi: Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, Smart TV, PS3, PS4, PS5

Xbox:Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, Android, Smart TV, iOS

Xbox: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

PlayStation: PS5, PS4, PC

Nintendo Switch, PC, Steam Deck, iOS, Android, Smart TV

Connection type

Wired (Type-C), wireless (Bluetooth + 2.4GHz dongle)

Wireless (2.4GHz dongle), wired (Type-C)

Wireless (Bluetooth), wired (Type-C)

Software

CRKD App (iOS, Android)

PDP Control Hub

CRKD App (iOS, Android)

How I tested the CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller

  • Tested for around 20-25 hours
  • Used to play YARG and Fortnite Festival on PC
  • Used both editions of the guitar

I’ve been using the CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller since I received it in early August 2025 (so around a month). I did play a decent amount of Fortnite Festival (especially when they added the Power Rangers theme song), but I’ve mainly been playing YARG, which is a fan-made recreation of the Rock Band games, allowing you to import custom songs to the game.

I played a variety of songs and genres with it, from the likes of some of my favorite bands, Ween, They Might Be Giants, and Jellyfish, to harder rock bands like Iron Maiden, Mastodon, and Primus. I also played a selection of game soundtracks (mostly Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Guilty Gear Strive) and some outright goofy stuff like Weird Al Yankovic, the South Park movie soundtrack, and the Spider-Man 2 pizza theme.

First reviewed September 2025

Read more about how we test

CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller: Price Comparison



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Geekom A9 Max
Product Reviews

Geekom A9 Max mini PC review

by admin



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We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Geekom A9 Max Mini PC: 30-second review

The Geekom A9 Max is a stylish, premium-styled mini PC that incorporates the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with NPU and integrated AMD graphics. It is a small, stylish machine that has been designed to handle general office work, AI workloads and applications that utilise an AI, such as CoPilot or Photoshop, are given a generative boost.

As I’ve seen from this line of mini PCs before, the machine is well equipped, with the review sample arriving with 32 GB of RAM and a 2 TB SSD that backs up the powerful CPU and integrated GPU. Sure enough, through the test, it proved to be an exceptional office-focused machine with more than enough power to handle heavy-duty day-to-day tasks, such as Microsoft Office and more intensive applications to a point.

The speed of handling large files and browsing documents on a 4K monitor all worked well within the processing abilities of this small machine. I also liked the fact that there were plenty of connectivity options, with LAN ports enabling me to plug directly into my NAS as well as the network for increased transfer rates.

Other connectivity options, such as Wi-Fi 7, proved robust, although I did have a few connection issues with the Eero 6 router. Once swapped to an updated Wi-Fi 7 network, the connection transformed in speed and reliability.

In use, the machine handled 1080p video editing in Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve with ease. However, as I started to tackle a couple of 4K video edits, it became apparent that although the CPU was capable, the integrated GPU slightly held it back.

For social media edits, the machine proved superb, offering plenty of power and flexibility, especially in CapCut. One aspect I liked about the design, especially if you need to handle larger files, is the ability to install a secondary M.2 SSD to boost internal storage.

The volume of connection options came in handy, enabling easy integration within an office or studio setup, with four USB ports in a line across the front. Working in the creative sector, it’s also always nice to see an SD card slot at the side to quickly offload image and video files.

By the end of the test, I was genuinely impressed with the performance. It handled Windows, Office, and creative applications with relative ease, up to a certain point, where the GPU seemed to hold back its potential.

A key feature of this machine is that it’s enhanced for any application that has AI integration, such as Photoshop, Copilot, Zoom, Teams background blur, noise cancellation, and real-time translation. During testing, I used the AI NPU in Photoshop and Lightroom for AI-powered selection, upscaling, and background removal.

The AI CPU also supports running local machine learning models and your own AI test bench, if that’s your thing.

I finished the test with a bit of gaming. The limitations of the GPU became more apparent at this point. While gaming at 1080p was OK, once graphics were enhanced and resolution increased, frame drops became noticeable. Lighter games like DiRT Rally ran fine and were playable.

However, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle required all graphics settings to be reduced, and even then, there were still occasional image breakups.

It was clear this stylish machine has been finely tuned for office and creative space use. It’s an ideal option with robust connectivity options and enough power for day-to-day office tasks and a bit more. It can handle many standard creative tasks, such as video editing and image enhancement, without many issues. Only when stepping up to high-resolution, high-bitrate 4K video did its limits become clear.

If you’re in the market for one of the best mini PC units, with high-quality, high-performance for the home or office, then the Geekom A9 Max is a superb option.

  • GEEKOM A9 Max AI Mini PC (2TB 32GB RAM) at Amazon for $999

Geekom A9 Max Mini PC: Price & availability

  • How much does it cost? $999 / £999
  • When is it out? Now
  • Where can you get it? Widely available

The GEEKOM A9 Max AI Mini PC is available directly from Geekom US for $999 and Geekom UK for £999 at time of review. This includes 32 GB of RAM and a 2 TB PCIe SSD.

It’s also available from most major online retailers, including Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennnings)

Geekom A9 Max Mini PC: Design

(Image credit: Alastair Jennnings)

Specifications

CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
Graphics: AMD Radeon 890M
RAM: 32GB Dual Channel DDR5-5600 SODIMM (128GB MAX)
Storage: 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 SSD, 1 x M.2 2230 SSD
Front Ports: 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 3.5mm stereo headphone
Rear Ports: USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, USB 2.0 Type-A, USB 4.0 Type-C DP-Alt mode / PD, USB 4.0 Type-C DP-Alt mode, 2 x RJ45, 2 x HDMI 2.1, DC
Side Ports: SD Card slot
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Audio: 3.5mm Audio in
Camera: N/A
Size: 1135 x 132 x 46.9 mm
OS Installed: Windows 11 Pro
Accessories: VESA Mount

The A9 Max is a premium mini PC with a CNC-machined aluminium chassis, offering a durable and sleek aesthetic. Lifting it out of the box, there’s no doubt this machine has a distinct premium feel.

It measures 135 x 132 x 46.9 mm, making it fairly average in size for this style of computer, and with a slightly heavier weight, it feels more substantial than many cheaper mini PCs on the market.

The premium build and extensive connectivity pitch this mini PC towards professional and mid-to-high-end home environments. It wouldn’t look out of place in any design studio with its minimalistic design.

One feature that’s instantly apparent over many other mini PCs is the sheer volume of connectivity options, both wireless and wired. Around the body of the machine, there’s a row of four USB-A ports across the front, all of which are USB 3.2 Gen 2. The rest of the front is relatively minimalistic with just a 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack.

On the side, there’s an SD card 4.0 slot to quickly download files from your camera or other devices.

Around the back, there’s another USB 3.2 Gen 2 alongside a USB-A and USB 2.0. Also present are two USB 4.0 ports, one of which supports PD power. These are joined by two RJ45 networking ports, two HDMI 2.1 FRL ports, and the DC-in socket.

Inside, once opened, both RAM and storage are upgradeable. The RAM is dual-channel DDR5 5600 MHz, upgradeable to 128 GB. Storage includes two M.2 2280 SSD NVMe Gen 4 slots, and our review sample came pre-installed with 2 TB.

The aluminium chassis also contributes to cooling, integrating with a large heatsink, heat pipes, and a fan. While not fanless, the cooling system is necessary for the powerful CPU, NPU, and GPU.

A VESA mount is included, so it can be wall-mounted or attached to the back of a monitor.

Ultimately, the A9 Max offers a stunning minimalistic design that offers plenty of processing power, connectivity and a boost in performance for applications that support AI.

Geekom A9 Max Mini PC: Features

(Image credit: Alastair Jennnings)

The core highlight of this machine is its AI potential. Alongside the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU, there’s an integrated AMD Radeon 890M GPU and NPU powered by the XDNA 2 engine. This offers up to 50 TOPS of NPU performance and a total AI acceleration of 77–80 TOPS, ideal for Copilot, local LLMs, object detection, voice recognition, and any AI-integrated applications such as Windows 11 and Adobe Photoshop with generative features.

On the back, display options include two HDMI and two USB4 ports, supporting up to 8K monitor output.

The machine also offers ample flexibility for upgrades. Dual-channel DDR5 SO-DIMM slots can be upgraded to 128 GB, and the two PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD slots support up to 8 TB, which is substantial for a machine of this size.

Network connectivity is also good with Wi-Fi 7 and dual LAN for fast wired and wireless connections, making it suitable for both setups and streaming. The fact that it comes pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro means that it’s ready to be used as part of a mid to large scale business, but if you’re not a Windows fan it will also support alternative operating systems such as Ubuntu.

Geekom A9 Max Mini PC: Performance

(Image credit: Alastair Jennnings)

CrystalDiskMark Read: 6234.88MB/s
CrystalDiskMark Write: 5371.08MB/s
Geekbench CPU Multi: 15190
Geekbench CPU Single: 2938
Geekbench GPU: 41100
PCMark Overall: 7638
Cinebench CPU Multi: 20802
Cinebench CPU Single: 2026
Fire Strike Overall: 8631
Fire Strike Graphics: 9396
Fire Strike Physics: 30023
Fire Strike Combined: 3222
Time Spy Overall: 3622
Time Spy Graphics: 3284
Time Spy CPU: 10559
Wild Life Overall: 19157
Steel Nomad Overall: 546
Windows Experience Overall: 8.2

Getting started with the Geekom A9 Max is straightforward. Simply run through the Windows 11 Pro setup, which takes around five to ten minutes, then after the updates, it’s ready for your choice of applications to be installed.

Windows 11 Pro runs extremely smoothly from the outset, with the only issue I encountered being the wireless connectivity with my Eero 6 router. After switching to a Wi-Fi 7 router, both speed and reliability significantly improved, suggesting a conflict between the A9 Max and the Eero 6, which I’ve experienced before with Wi-Fi 7-enabled machines.

Running Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office applications went without issue. Using Microsoft Word with Copilot was fast and responsive, and that performance was pretty much reflected across all Office applications. In Adobe Photoshop, the generative fill feature processed quickly with good results.

Because applications were able to use the local AI CPU and NPU, there was no reliance on cloud-based AI, essentially helping to speed up the amount of processing time, especially with the Adobe Creative Apps, compared to machines that aren’t AI-enhanced.

The performance in Photoshop and Lightroom was impressive and far smoother than I expected for a machine of this size, which led me on to testing higher resolution video. Using CapCut, Adobe Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve, initially for a simple 1080p edit with effects, the A9 Max handled everything smoothly. The 2 TB SSD and fast transfer speeds meant it could manage social media and small-scale video production, making it ideal for small-scale creative work.

However, when working with 4K footage shot on a Sony A7 IV, the GPU began to show its limits. Fans ramped up under load, timeline rendering slowed, and clip import times increased. That said, for a small form factor, performance remained impressive, and fan noise was generally well managed.

In gaming tests, DiRT Rally performed well, though it isn’t graphically demanding. Tekken 8 also played well, though effects had to be reduced; however, when it came to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the performance was less fluid, with dropped frames and occasional stuttering. The gaming highlighted how the integrated GPU is adequate for light gaming, but not for graphics-intensive titles.

Benchmark results confirmed real-world impressions. Windows 11 Pro and Office are performing well, reflected in a PCMark score of 7638 and a Windows Experience Index of 8.2, both typical for premium mini PCs. Office applications such as Excel and PowerPoint loaded quickly and allowed for fast multitasking, thanks to strong Geekbench CPU single and multi-core scores.

Creative applications also performed well as a whole, with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom running smoothly, and the Geekbench GPU score of 41100 highlighted the machine’s potential for mid-range graphics processing.

SSD speeds were particularly impressive, with a read speed of 6234 MB/s and a write speed of 5371 MB/s. These speeds helped with video editing, especially when handling larger files.

In Premiere Pro, 1080p editing went well, but at 4K, performance dropped as effects were applied. DaVinci Resolve was less stable overall and demanded more from the graphics system. While usable at 1080p, the experience was definitely less fluid as I had to wait for the renders to catch up.

By the end of testing, it was clear that the A9 Max is very capable for Windows 11 Pro, Office, and general productivity tasks. With internal upgrades available, there’s good potential. Even the base 32 GB RAM and 2 TB storage are enough for social media editing at 1080p. It’s worth noting that, like other Geekom machines of this level, replacing the RAM and SSD is relatively easy; simply take off the base, remove the antenna wires, and then remove the next plate to gain access. While some machines enable you to leave the antenna wires in place, here there isn’t quite enough length, and if you do leave them in place, they’ll disconnect from the wireless card, and refitting them can be a tedious and painstaking task.

Through the test the speed of the machine generally impressed with the only significant slowdown occurring during editing of high-bitrate 4K footage from a mirrorless camera. Standard 4K from a smartphone was manageable, though it has lower data rates by comparison.

In gaming, performance was average. The machine is clearly designed more for work than play. The extensive connectivity, four front USB-A ports, USB4 at the back, and dual LAN make integration into an office network easy, making it a great office-based solution.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennnings)

Geekom A9 Max Mini PC: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennnings)

The Geekom A9 Max is a great mini PC that looks fantastic, with a CNC-machined aluminium chassis that fits perfectly in any office or studio.

Its standout features include build quality and upgradeability, essentially as your needs grow, internal storage and RAM can be increased. For multimedia editing, more RAM would help with higher-bitrate video and effect-heavy workflows. Storage can also be expanded from 2 TB up to 8 TB, reducing the need for external drives.

The dual LAN ports allow high-speed connections to a local network or NAS. For small office setups, this is a real advantage, although it’s worth noting that LAN speeds are capped at 2.5 GbE, rather than the 5 or 10 GbE you might expect in a premium system.

If you find yourself regularly plugging and unplugging accessories, the row of front USB-A ports is a big time-saver; however, it’s a shame there’s no USB-C on the front for faster devices.

I also liked the fact that there’s the inclusion of the SD card reader, which makes it easy to quickly offload image and video files to the internal SSD, which offers exceptionally fast read/write speeds and helps significantly in workflows involving large files or media.

By the end of testing, it was clear this is a premium-level office machine. There are some omissions, such as the lack of a front USB4 port or faster LAN, but for its main purpose as an office-based machine, it delivers.

Should I buy a Geekom A9 Max Mini PC?

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Value

A great machine that is a perfect solution for office use, though the quality does come with a price premium

4

Design

The solid CNC-machined aluminium chassis looks fantastic and feels incredibly robust

5

Features

With AMD’s latest CPU, NPU, and GPU all integrated into a single chip, this machine is office-ready

4.5

Performance

With AMD’s latest CPU, NPU, and GPU all integrated into a single chip, this machine is office-ready

4.5

Overalls

A great option for any office, especially if you use Copilot or other applications that utilise AI integration

4.5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

For more professional-level tech, we’ve tested the best business computers and best business laptops around.

GEEKOM A9 Max AI Mini PC: Price Comparison



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Creality Hi Combo
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Creality Hi Combo Review: Catching up with Color

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Creality finally put the Ender 3 name to rest with the launch of a new, multicolor bedslinger it’s calling the Hi. It has a 260 x 260 x 300 mm print volume, which is slightly bigger than an Ender and more in line with Bambu Lab’s roomy 256mm³. The machine is reminiscent of Creality’s Ender 3 V3 KE, but with the style of the Ender 3 V3. If you found that confusing, then be thankful that we’ve moved on to this new naming convention.

The Creality Hi Combo is the color machine I was expecting from Creality a long time ago, but we got the K2 Plus multicolor 3D printer first. I’m not sure why it took so long to get around to updating their bread and butter: the affordable bed slinger. The Creality Hi Combo retails at $599, which is a bargain compared to the K2 Plus, but still about $50 more expensive than its direct competition, the Bambu Lab A1.

The Hi has all the things I love about the Ender 3’s final form: it’s a well-built, quality machine, with Klipper-inspired firmware and a native slicer that performs well. Creality has not made the Hi Open Source yet, but the company has a track record of eventually releasing the source code on their machines. This may not mean much to the average user, but it’s everything to the hardcore Creality fans.

My one fault with this machine is its inexplicable inability to print TPU, even when I bypassed the CFS unit. There also wasn’t a profile in Creality’s slicer, which makes me think the engineering team also couldn’t make it work.

Honestly, I’m a little confused as to why this printer exists, and why Creality didn’t leave bedslingers in the history books and move forward with an affordable, “regular-sized” color K2. Though the K2 and K2 Pro haven’t been released yet, I did see prototypes at Rapid TCT in April. There was no price listed, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

  • Creality Hi Combo at Amazon for $499

Specifications: Creality Hi Combo

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Build Volume

260 x 260 x 300 mm (10.23 x 10.23 x 11.81 in)

Material

PLA/PETG (up to 300 degrees)

Extruder Type

Direct Drive

Nozzle

.4 high flow hardened steel “unicorn”

Build Platform

Two-sided epoxy resin flexible build plate

Bed Leveling

Automatic + Z

Filament Runout Sensor

Yes

Connectivity

USB, LAN, Cloud, App

Interface

Color Touch Screen

Machine Footprint

409 × 392 × 477 mm (16.1 x 15.43 x 18.77 in)

Machine Weight

11.58 KG (25.52 lbs)

Today’s best Creality Hi Combo deals

Creality Hi Combo: Included in the Box

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Creality Hi combo comes nicely packaged in two boxes. The first contains the gantry, base, a single spool holder and filament guide, assembly screws, PTFE tubing, z-axis motor covers, a standard power cord, and a paper copy of the manual. The included toolkit has hex keys, side cutters, a nozzle cleaner, a socket head wrench, and grease.

The second box containing the CFS comes with the cables needed to connect to the printer, the filament buffer, and double-sided tape needed to attach the buffer to the frame. Also included is a mostly useless paper manual directing you to Creality.com for any questions.

Creality also sent black, red, white, and blue Hyper PLA filament to load up the CFS, which I used in the review.

Design of the Creality Hi Combo

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Creality Hi is, in a word, beautiful. The matte silver base is cast in one piece, and the gantry encases the Z screws. Once the gantry is attached and the assembly screws are covered, there is very little exposed wiring and very few exposed screws to spoil the overall aesthetic. The CFS feels solid and has PTFE extensions that make it easy to load filament from any angle.

The machine has dual stepper motors on the Z axis, with the X and Y axis run by step-servo motors. This interesting because servo motors provide feedback on their actual position. Stepper motors are designed to move a set amount on command and if something interferes with that the actual position can change, leading to layer shifts in your print.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Creality’s Hi Combo has the same high-flow nozzle as the K2 Plus. It has an extremely long melt zone, with a titanium alloy heat break and a hardened steel insert at the tip. The nozzle screws into the heater block and can easily be removed without taking apart the entire hotend.

(Image credit: Creality)

The extruder also appears similar to the K2 Plus, but unlike the older machine, it can not print TPU even when you bypass the CFS. The Hi’s clogged immediately when fed several different brands of TPU, and required disassembling the rather complex extruder to clear out the mess.

Like the Ender 3 V3, bed leveling is fully automatic, with no manual adjustments.

There is an RFID detector plainly marked on the side for when you use the machine as a single-color unit. It only works with Creality filament with an RFID tag: simply place the spool’s Creality sticker against the reader, and it will tell the printer what type and color filament you are giving it. Then load the filament as normal on the stand-alone spool holder. If you are using the Hi Combo, a second reader is in the CFS and will pick up the filament’s tags on its own.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The tool head has two 5015 parts cooling fans, with one on either side of the nozzle. These are extremely effective and only audible when running in ultrafast mode

The Creality Hi is reasonably quiet in standard mode, with the fan noise increasing in ultra-fast mode. Though the fans are pretty quiet, the metal wiper makes quite the racket when it purges waste. It’s loud enough that I can hear it in the next room, and depending on how often your printer switches colors, it can be a constant annoyance.

Assembling the Creality Hi Combo

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Assembling the Creality Hi is pretty simple, with only six screws needed to complete assembly. One more is required if you want to mount the single spool holder, which I did not. The legs of the one-piece gantry fit into holes in the base. Other than needing to keep the motor and sensor wiring clear of the mounting brackets, this is an extremely simple build.

Plastic covers hide the exposed wiring and screws, and the CFS hub is taped to the right gantry leg. The printed manual didn’t show how to do this, which wasn’t very helpful. I recommend going to Creality’s website and looking for their unboxing and setup videos, which are much better.

All the cables and tubes between the printer and the CFS run behind, which lets you keep the mess in the back.

Leveling the Creality Hi Combo

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Hi Combo levels and calibrates itself the first time you turn the machine on. It can also recheck the level before each print to ensure accuracy. Like other modern printers, the Hi has stopped using manual adjustment knobs. I didn’t have any issue with getting it leveled, and the auto Z height worked very well.

Loading Filament on the Creality Hi Combo

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The CFS makes loading filament a snap, just drop in the spool and feed the plastic into the tube. The machine does all the rest. If you’re using Creality filament, it will detect the RFID tag and automatically send the type of filament and color back to your computer and Creality Slicer. If you use a 3rd party filament, you will need to select the type and color of the filament at the printer screen.

Preparing Files / Software for Creality Hi Combo

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Hi comes with a copy of Creality Print, a slicer built on the foundation of Orca Slicer and Cura. It does not have a profile for regular OrcaSlicer or PrusaSlicer, though the community may add on later.

I did all of my test prints in Creality Print and continue to use it for any of the Creality machines in my workshop. It allows you to easily send files remotely using either Creality Cloud or your home LAN. If you don’t want to use the Cloud, you don’t have to. Files can be transferred via LAN or by USB stick.

Printing on the Creality Hi Combo

The Creality Hi printed great right out of the box, but it only comes with a small sample of PLA unless you specifically order a four pack with your CFS. You’ll definitely want to check out our list of the best filaments for 3D printing to load it up.

As stated earlier, this machine was completely unable to use TPU without jamming the extruder, so there are no test prints. I was able to do well with PLA and PETG, and ran off an assortment of prints.

The Creality Hi Combo is a bit wasteful when it comes to multicolor prints, but this is a problem with many multicolor units that send all its colors through one nozzle. The problem is that once filament is melted in the hotend it can only be pushed out, resulting in printer “poop”. Creality slicer does a decent job of letting you tune the filament waste, but you’ll often end up wasting as much filament as you printed if you do not take precautions, like using purge objects or printing several objects at once.

I ran a “normal” Benchy with standard speed boat settings (2 walls, 3 top and bottom layers, 10% infill, a .25 layer height and .5 layer width). This gave me a very nice Benchy in 32 minutes and 33 seconds. The layers are smooth along the hull, with just a tiny bit of slop at the top of the overhangs, but there’s no ringing or layer shifts. This was printed in ordinary gray PolyLite PLA.

3D Benchy (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

I ran several models to test the printer’s color ability, like this two color fidget “hexcell” fidget, which requires good bed adhesion. It printed clean and crisp, with all the pieces freely moving. The only flaw here was using Creality’s Hyper PLA, which is very translucent, which lets the white appear pink here. This took 9h 20 minutes to print using a .2 layer height and default settings. The print speed was slowed to 140mm/s.

This print used 78.99 grams of filament and only wasted .64 gram because there was only one color swap.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Creality Hi Combo did PETG just as easily. This fairy door printed very clean with no bleeding between colors. Since it’s printed from PETG, I can safely hide it outside in the garden. I used a standard .2 mm layer height and default settings, and placed the door on its back to speed things up, only taking 2 hours and 48 minutes. This was printed using Prusament Jungle Green, Prusa Orange and Signal White with a bit of Printerior Deep Blue Recycled.

This print used 32.32 grams of filament and wasted 23.25 grams in poop.

Fairy Door by Jukka Seppanen. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Bottom Line

Creality’s Hi Combo shows that the company is moving beyond the Ender 3 line. Its 3D printers are no longer a cheap-looking science project to be hidden in the garage. However, the machine retails about $50 more than the competition without offering a noticeable advantage. If you can catch it on sale, then it might be worth it. Still, this makes me feel the Hi is primarily a machine for those who are comfortable in the Creality ecosystem and want to stay there.

It is extremely well-built and looks very nice. It takes up more room than a Core XY machine would, since there’s no stacking the AMS system. The inability to print TPU is puzzling, though perhaps the engineering team didn’t think it was a problem since most users of this machine would be using the CFS to hold filament.

If you’re looking for a more affordable 3D printer that can produce color prints, check out the Bambu Lab A1 Combo on sale for $499. If you need a printer that can handle high-temperature filament like ASA and nylon, then the Creality K1C for $459 is a great alternative and just as fast. I’m still waiting for the “normal” sized K2, but until then, I highly recommend the $1,299 K2 Plus if you’re a fan of Creality and want a full color, fully enclosed experience.

Creality Hi Combo: Price Comparison



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