Cheaper stands of this kind may well look the part but when it comes down to it, fail to deliver the quality and hinge stability that the Choiix wave can offer.

The three arm design of the wave gives the stand an operating angle anywhere between 0 and 135 degrees. This gives the user the flexibility to adjust the screen height manually relative to the environment they find themselves in.

Weighing in at 336 grams or 11.85 Oz, the Wave is extremely portable. In its folded down position its dimensions of 148x100x32(mm) means that it could fit into a coat pocket or laptop bag with ease.

The body of the wave is made from dense aluminium as we mentioned above. However to protect the tablets from scratching or other possible damage, rubber grips have been fitted to the ends of the arms. These are formed from a rubberised non slip material with ridges to grip the Tablet devices and hold them in position.

The lower two arms also have end lugs and feet to protect the surface the stand is being used on and avoid slipping on smoother surfaces. Meanwhile the single raised arm has a longer rubberised grip that runs up the length of it. Again this a functional design choice to protect the devices using the stand.

We were really impressed by what could be described as a flawless design. The simplicity of the stand combined with its clever functionality makes the Choiix wave an executive accessory that would look at home on any desk.

Compared to other Stands we have tested in the portable accessory market, we believe that the simple design of the wave makes it a hot contender. With virtually no setup time, the wave can be packed away in a matter of seconds making it truly portable. With a price tag of around $40 in the US, the Choiix Wave is not the cheapest portable stand on the market.

However when you consider its sleek design and stylish looks you may well be tempted to pay that little extra for something that is going to give you exactly what you are looking for.

The pad is 6mm thick, which provides ample cushioning and comfort for long periods of use. The fabric itself is very smooth, which has very little friction, thus provides greater accuracy. Whist not entirely rectangular, the laser cut, precision edges means there is no fraying often seen on the cheaper pads.

The underside is is non-slip, so during those aggressive gaming sessions the G.L.I.D.E 7 will remain fastened to the desk’s surface, that will require a lot of force before it slips.If a spillage does occur, the surface of the fabric does resist the liquid, which can then be wiped off. This was tested with only water, as the surface is only spill resistant – so try not to spill your coffee/beer/appletini on it!

When using the G.L.I.D.E. 7 with a selection of mice, there was not a single fault. Each mouse glided effortlessly across the surface. For both general use and gaming the pad did it’s job perfectly and the 6mm thickness meant that gaming could continue in comfort, to the early hours of the morning. Laser or optical, the pad took what we threw at it.

Finding the right mouse pad can be difficult as there are a lot of them on the market and there is not normally much that sets them apart. One of the main decisions is whether to go down the soft or hard route. Hard mouse pads tend to be a lot smoother which does mean that any dirt or crumbs stick out and produces a feeling similar to that of someone scraping their nails down a chalkboard.

Soft pads tend to be more comfortable but can produce more resistance. The Cyborg G.L.I.D.E. appears to have come to a reasonable compromise. Whilst not 100% smooth it still offers similar performance to that of a hard pad, yet with the added bonus of it being very comfortable.

So overall, Cyborg have produced a very good mouse pad that combines the smoothness of a hard mouse pad, with the comfort of a soft pad. The graphic on the mouse pad could be considered the main flaw, some may like it, but it would have been a lot more appealing with something less obtrusive. The size of the pad is ideal for most gamers although it could pose a problem on smaller desks and getting it flat after it’s been in the tube can take a while and effort.

The price is very reasonable for a mouse pad of this calibre, however there are many pads on the market for a similar price, which the G.L.I.D.E. 7 does little to distinguish it’s self from. It is close to earning the Gamers Choice Award, but there is nothing that stands out, to set it’s self apart from the rest, so because of this, no award will be given, but it is still a worthy contender.

The keyboard has both a PS2 connector and a USB one, which also powers the USB port (seen later on). You also get a 3.5mm mic and headphone jack that means you can plug your headset directly into the keyboard, saving you from rummaging around the back of your PC.

The MK-80 also has two USB 2.0 ports on the top side, as well as the headphone and mic ports mentioned above. This makes it a lot easier to connect devices such as pen drives. The keyboard also sports a pair of height adjusters that raise the back of the keyboard, which some people might find more comfortable.

Another feature this keyboard has, is multimedia keys, which are present on the F keys along the top of the keyboard. This have to be pressed in conjunction with the Fn key that is located down by the right Shift key. This function button also needs to be pressed along with the keys that control the brightness.

The keyboard also features a wrist rest that is coated with the increasingly popular soft touch material. This simply clicks into place under the front edge. It’s not fixed so it does allow for some flexibility if one decides to increase the height of the keyboard. The wrist rest makes it more comfortable to type and helps alleviate RSI. The wrist rest features some small detailing in the centre, that adds to the quality characteristic of the keyboard.

Using the keyboard for both gaming and typing was a thrilling experience. Not only has it made writing this review easier by guarantying that each key has been pressed firmly, but it has improved all typing abilities, even when it comes to gaming. The orange keys may seem like a gimmick , but do actually help with locating the right keys without even looking at the keyboard.

Overall the keyboard has a very simple appearance, with subtle detailing that has set it’s self apart from the other mechanical keyboards on the market. The dark colour scheme, with blue individually backlit keys, positions the keyboard right at the top of many people’s wishlists. Not only does it look the part, but it performs like a dream also. Compared to many other keyboards that have been reviewed, this one stands clearly at the top.

Despite the high praise so far, there are a few little niggles that should be mentioned, and some of which are mearly down to the users preference. The first one is the price, the RRP for this keyboard stands at appromately 110 Euros, which is fairly competitively priced in for the mechanical keyboard market, but is still a lot of money to spend on a keyboard.

The next niggle is the type of switch used, however this is all down to preference. The Cherry MX Blue switches, whilst good for typing and gaming, seem an odd choice due to the noise they produce, and the movement of the switch, although, QPad are offering your choice of switch.

With these points aside, this mechanical keyboard is probably one of the best that we’ve had in to review, so because of this, we are proud to award the QPad MK-80 Keyboard with the prestigious:

Throughout the bag there is ample padding, which not only provides cushioning for your back when in rucksack mode, but also protects the many delicate electronic items that might be in the bag.

The interior is split into five main sections, 2x large pockets and 3x small pockets. The larger of them can contain items like monitors, whilst the smaller ones, things like mice, keyboards and the monitor’s stand.

Due to the bags large size, it is possible to fit a 24” monitor in it, with adequate protection, on top of all the other items that you may want to fit in there – and that could be a lot.

Upon testing, it was possible to fit a Dell U2301h 24” monitor, a full size keyboard, a mouse, a mousemat, speakers, tools, and an ipad and still have loads of room left over; making this bag perfect for those LAN parties. When fully loaded it is recommended using the rucksack shoulder straps as it can get fairly uncomfortable using the messenger strap.

There is also plenty of padding between your back and the contents of the bag meaning no sharp corners digging into you.

LAN bags are not a common accessory when it comes to PC peripherals so it’s good to see one of the major gaming brands start to open up this area and with no doubt other brands will catch on, as BYOC gaming events become more popular. Here Tt eSports have created a superb bag that can hold nearly everything except from the kitchen sink. Coupled with plenty of padding and numerous different carrying methods to suit the individual, this bag is ideal for any and all LAN party lovers. Just having the additional rucksack shoulder straps, that unfold from a side pocket really makes it easier when transporting all your gear around and keeps it protected at the same time.

Being one of the first LAN bags eTeknix has had to review, it has set a high precedence, where we shall look forward to seeing what other brands have to offer in the future. So due to all the positivity of this great LAN bag, we are awarding it with the following ‘Gamers Choice Award’.

The incorporated palm rest along the foot of the keyboard has a soft rubberised feel to it over the standard plastic rest that we generally see on the market.

Each of the keys has a soft feel to its stroke and this for those that would be using it for extended periods, and would assist in relieving the strain on your hands and fingers, something I’ve had and I’m sure many others have had before.

The silent keys also divert from any distraction or irritation that can be had from using a budget keyboard with a heavy tapping noise.

Everyone out there has their own minds as to what keyboard is best for them, after all no two people are the same and with that there are a number of keyboards that I like to work on.

For me the board has to ‘feel’ right and this is from a culmination of the feel you get when you touch the keys and the amount of pressure you have to exert on the keys – this shouldn’t be too light that you cannot register each stroke yet you don’t want to be hitting each and every single one with a hammer during use.

In a nutshell a well built product with thought put into its design and attention to detail will always feel and work better in the long run than one that was built with the ‘that will do’ analogy.

Even though this keyboard would function during gaming and still be comfortable to use, its design and quick access keys are more geared towards the office or multimedia user and with its keys that are fairly quiet during use, it certainly compliments that environment very well.

If I had to pick a feature on the board that I personally would change, it would be the orientation of the six keys that include the page up, page down and end keys etc.

Only reason for this is that I’m very used to the 3×2 layout that is the standard on other keyboards whereas this is 2 keys wide and 3 high; as with the other reviews I do, this is a mere personal overlook and should not be put against the keyboard in any way, after all as I have said before, every one is different.

At a fantastic price of around £13.00, the X-Line is the best value keyboard that I have seen for a long while and for that reason it ticks all the boxes for me and has added itself to the short-list of keyboards that I would be able to pick up, plug in and work on for any period of time with a sense of comfort that is generally found on higher priced boards.

On the right-hand side we have the Manettino controller, which allows you to change the settings between 5 positions as well – normally set-up for things like Traction Control etc. There are also the 2 sequential gear shift levers which are on the back of the steering wheel. There is also a Force Feedback button and a Manual/Automatic Manettino selection button.

 

The options for the Manettino are meant to be exactly the same as the F430, although this unfortunately needs to be set-up in all the games we played and in fact, some don’t even have this level of detail in the options.

In terms of design, we feel that Thrustmaster have certainly done a good job, and it certainly looks pretty realistic. The build-quality is also impressive, the steering wheel has a decent weight to it, although several of the buttons do not have the same level of quality as the rest of the steering wheel. We did unfortunately feel that the Manettino was not of the quality we expected and didn’t feel that nice to use, and we certainly hope the F430′s version is much nicer!

We focussed our testing on the game that you are most likely to be playing if you have this steering wheel, and while there are others out there, we think F1 2010 is the most likely candidate. The main aspect of this steering wheel is the force feedback that is meant to be one of the best available. There are 3 levels of force feedback (off, low or high) and we found that high level of force feedback is pretty strong and took a fair bit of resistance to fight against it when you throw the car round a corner. While this was maybe a bit too much during F1 circuits where the vibration isn’t as crucial, we certainly think it would be very impressive during rally-style racing as it gives you the vibration and resistance. The system Thrustmaster have used is certainly impressive, and with a bit of fine tuning for each game and to your tastes it will really enhance your gaming experience.

There are lots of other features to this steering wheel, and with the right game you can really set everything up exactly how you want. We found that the ‘Engine start’ multi-directional D-pad is also a very useful feature in games and it allows you to look all the way round your car very easily, as well as being able to use it for many other functions. The other digital buttons can be set-up to perform useful tasks, although in most games will be unassigned by default.

We were also fairly impressed with the comfort and grip of the steering wheel, as you can grip it fairly lightly and know that it won’t slip through your hands when you are power-sliding round a dirt track. On the other hand, even after intensive use the steering wheel is still easy to hold onto and sweat didn’t seem to cause problems. Unfortunately, we did feel that they could of used something better for the Pedals, as these slide around on most surfaces, and on thick carpet the front rises up when you press down heavily, leading you to not being able to push down fully. We feel that this is most the time a small problem compared to how good this steering wheel is to use.

At a fairly high price of £103.16  - although it can probably be had for cheaper - we feel that this is not the best value for money steering wheel on the market, but if you want one of the best it is a price worth paying as this has so many more features and is a lot more realistic than many of its rivals. We certainly feel that if you love racing games, this is probably one of the best products you could buy and it really will enhance your gaming experience and allow you to enjoy gaming to a new level.

Normally with most gaming products from a well established brand like CM Storm we would expect to find that their are drivers available for the product. In the case of the Xornet, they just don’t exist.

While there are lots of advantages of being able to tweak every little feature in the software, we are not always convinced whether for a mouse it is truly necessary, and in fact there are lots of advantages to a mouse that has been designed to be used without drivers.

For instance the implementation of the on-the-fly DPI switching on the Xornet makes it all too easy to make this adjustment without breaking out of a game, and we do stop and ask, what else do you want to be able to adjust? Quite frankly, the answer, unless you are a professional gamer, is very little.

In terms of comfort, once you are used to a claw-grip style mouse you will certainly not find this mouse uncomfortable to use. We certainly found that the rubber material on either side of the mouse really helps it to be gripped exactly how you want.

The positioning of the buttons, like the CM Storm Spawn are just about right, although personally I do find the ‘lower DPI’ button to be a bit of a stretch without dramatically changing hand position but this is to be expected and is the same with nearly all mice on the market.

Performance wise, we are always impressed with the CM Storm mice, especially with regards to the tactical sensor, which even in its cut-down version produces impressive results and is unbelievably smooth on all surfaces. A 2000 DPI sensor, while being lower than the new gaming mouse average, it is certainly more than enough for most games and gaming styles.

It certainly doesn’t hinder the performance in most games, although most gamers do certainly seem to favour the higher DPI settings and so may be accustomed to expecting more. We do however find the on-the-fly adjustments perfect for everyday use as well, as it allows us to have the precision while using programs like Adobe Photoshop and the speed when navigating across the desktop, it certainly gives you a good compromise and the best of both worlds.

Although there are gaming mice out there that can certainly rival this mouse, including its popular brother the CM Storm Spawn, we feel that it is certainly a very competitive mouse. It has been designed for professional FPS gamers, and this really shows in terms of the performance and the build quality.

The most staggering point, is that this mouse can be had for around the £20 mark, which is pretty cheap for a mouse that delivers so much more than your standard everyday Microsoft mouse. Admittedly, it doesn’t have the drivers, and has a slightly lower DPI when compared with its brother, the CM Storm Spawn, but it is at least £10 cheaper and as such is certainly extremely good value for money.

The cables on both parts of the power supply are plenty long enough for you to position the device wherever you want on your desk.

This is the 4-pin molex adapter which is only used when using the 3.5″ IDE drives, and it is fairly short although just about long enough to do the job – another cm in length would of made it easier to plug in.

We now turn to the performance of this dock:

As you can see we have tested a wide variety of drives and did also test a 3.5″ IDE drive, but did at this point find that it is possible to put the drive in upside down – even though then you can’t actually power it up. This is normally avoided by putting in a ‘key pin’ so that the pins can only go in one way round. Unfortunately Icy Dock did not do this with the 3.5″ side of the adapter which did at first cause some confusion.

You can also see from the results that the Icy Dock is not too compromising on the read/write speeds of the drives and does certainly work as expected. Of course, it is not able to utilise the full USB 3.0 speed but this is all due to the hard drives used and there is clearly plenty more data bandwidth left.

In general we do quite like this device, it looks good, works well and has a few good features up its sleeve. It is certainly quite hard to create an all-in-one dock that can cater with the both drive types and both in 2.5″ and 3.5″ form. Certainly Icy Dock have found a fairly cunning way round this by having the detachable adapter.

However, we do partly wonder whether they should of kept the product to just the adapter and not had the whole dock over the top as this would of made more sense. That said, it does give you the best of both worlds, if you only want it for SATA drives you have a lovely docking station and if you are using IDE then you will just use the adapter on its own.

As already mentioned, there is a slightly design flaw with the 3.5″ IDE section which means you do have to be careful to make sure you are putting the drive in the right way up, and also the molex cable being a bit on the short side, at the very least we expect its life expectancy would be higher if it was slightly longer as it would be under such stress to twist round in a short space.

We now turn to price, and we were certainly unsure as to the price we would expect this product to retail at. It is certainly pretty unique, and currently it can be purchased for around £42. While this is a slightly higher when compared to other docking stations on the market it does have a lot more features and is certainly very well built and the dual-functionality makes it very useful in lots of applications as well as using the latest USB 3.0.

This is a brilliantly designed product that will look good and be extremely useful to lots of computer users.

 

Once installing the drivers from the CM Storm website we were a little disappointed with the options that were available to us. The first page allows you to alter just the master volume and the front channel – although this does allow for some fine tweaking after the left and right balance to make sure it sounds equal to you.

There is also a page to adjust the volume controls of the microphone and the monitor levels. 

They have also included a very limited settings page, which gives you a few options that quite frankly aren’t going to make much difference to the usability of this headset.

Although the software options might be limiting it really doesn’t detract from how good the headset is. The sound quality is excellent and the surround sound is pretty stunning. We did however feel that the bass wasn’t as punchy as other similar headsets although it did seem to ooze sound quality instead – that said, once you turn it up it is still packing a punch.

We were certainly very impressed with the ‘Tactile Mixing Console’ which allows for on-the-fly changes to the surround sound to make sure it is perfectly balanced to your taste, it also allows quick and easy access to mute the microphone which is very useful while gaming. We did like the rotating volume control which had a nice weight to it and spun easily, but at the same time it allowed you to precisely change the volume level or the level of one of the channels. The led’s also give it a very professional look and it will certainly look good on any desk. Our only concern is with the choice of connectors which we suspect after time may not stay together with the weight of the cable on them.

Turning to the comfort of this headset we were certainly pleasantly surprised, due to the size and bulky looking build of the headset we expected it to be quite heavy and most likely sit awkwardly on your head. That is quite far from the truth even though they are certainly not the lightest headset we’ve tested they exert very little pressure on your head and neck. The fit is also very tight and with the thicker ear pads we found that we could hardly hear any external noises. This certainly bodes well for being fully immersed into a game.

The most important aspect of any headset is the sound quality, and while this is has one of the best ‘true 5.1′ surround sound set-ups i’ve heard delivered from a headset, it is more impressive that it does this with a sound quality that really is second to none. We were not fully convinced by the balance between the bass and the other frequencies in certain scenarios but that did seem to depend on the source more than we were expecting. The bass certainly has an impressive sound, it is a nice rounded tone while remaining quite punchy, although it certainly isn’t too powerful. As previously mentioned, the surround-sound ability of this headset is truly impressive, and it felt the most natural yet, with the sounds feeling like they come from behind you when going through the rear channel and similarly for the all the other combinations.

The only criticism we could find, is that the price is a fairly hefty at around £110 which we appreciate is probably a bit more than most computer or even serious gamers would want to spend on a headset. That said, this headset is nearly a masterpiece in engineering and quality, it looks good, feels good and performs extremely well, but we feel that unless you are desperate to have this headset or are a serious, nearly professional, gamer then this headset has been priced out of most consumers price range.

Going back to the wireless receiver, this packs in many features like the mouse itself. The rear houses your spare battery keeping it charged and ready to go for when you need to swap over, and then on the top is a dock where you can sit the mouse itself when not in use – also keeping its installed battery charged!

Also included in the tube is a mini-CD containing the GHOST macro software. From here you can completely customise everything on the mouse from the sensitivity of the laser, to custom macros that you can assign to the thumb buttons on the side of the mouse.

The software is a very similar layout to that of the Ghost engine on the Aivia keyboard, everything is clear and easy to navigate through and on the fly adjustments with sensitivity and scroll rate make fine tuning a breeze.

As we would expect from the Aivia line of peripherals, all macros and profiles are stored directly to the mouse on its 32Kb of onboard memory. This saves loads of time and makes switching between pcs much easier rather than having to reinstall the ghost software and reconfigure everything from scratch.

Going back to the saved profiles, you can set upto 5 profiles much like you can with the Aivia keyboard and these can be switched between using the forward thumb button on the right of the mouse body.

The active profile is indicated by a glowing LED on the top, which pulses a different colour depending on the selected profile.

Now that I’ve used the mouse for a while, I can certainly say that its made the same good impression upon me as the Aivia Keyboard did earlier in the year. Its solid and robust feel made it very comfortable to use and the number of features that is packed into it is outstanding.

This is reflected in its price of around £75, which isnt the cheapest on the market, but when you look at it, how many mice are there that pack this number of features and have the same feel of quality to them?

So if you’re after a high performance mouse that gives you the edge and comfort during an intense gaming session, the Aivia M6800 is one to take a good look at.

This drives performance is certainly not the best, in fact the Seagate GoFlex Ultra Portable drive produced Read speeds of up to 115 MB/s which is quite a big margin over 63.6 MB/s and as such we aren’t that impressed by the Freecom drive.

On the other hand, although we can’t test it specifically we do know for a fact that the Freecom drives draws less power than the Seagate drive so the Freecom drive is more compatible.

Unfortunately, due to the speeds limited by the Freecom Hard drive, using a USB 3.0 interface is less than 3 times quicker than USB 2.0 and while this speed improvement is good, we aren’t sure if its worth the extra cost that they will have certainly had to add to this device to use USB 3.0 instead of USB 2.0.

It must be noted however that the Freecom Mobile Drive does come pre-installed with several pieces very useful premium software which enhance the users experience and allows you to back-up very easily. The back-up software they have used is made by Nero and as such is not Freecoms own.

In terms of the looks we do quite like the Freecom drive, it also feels very nice to hold and carry, however, we aren’t that impressed with the design, more specifically the design of the cable that has been included. It is too short for it to be used in most situations and you end up having to balance the drive in an awkward position so that it can reach a free USB port.

It is of course perfect for using with your laptop, except that you have to carry around this extra little cable, which could easily be misplaced, to use your drive.

We feel that it might of been an improvement if they had included the cable into the drive somehow, so that it was always present. Either that or included a space in the drive to store the cable, just like with the Seagate GoFlex Ultra Portable drive in which the cable fits easily into the back of the included carry case.

As this drive is the size of your standard card wallet and slightly larger than most mobile phones, it is clearly in a different league to the Flash Pen or Memory Stick Drives that offer smaller capacities in a tiny space. If you want something that can store a lot of data at a sensible price point then a Portable Hard Drive is your best option.

The Freecom Mobile Drive is certainly one of the smaller portable hard drives on the market currently, and even in its smallest 320GB form, it offers a lot of data capacity for the size of the drive. On the other hand however, it is we feel an awkward size, in between something small enough to fit in your pocket and something you’d need a carry case for.

While the price of the Freecom Mobile Drive is a fairly reasonable £78.91 for the 320 GB version, we feel as the 640 GB version can be had for £107.92 currently this is certainly very good value for money.

The performance is certainly not the best, but it is definitely a handy little drive to have around, especially if your laptop features USB 3.0 ports and as the drive comes pre-loaded with Nero back-up software it will complement your laptop perfectly.

Flipping the keyboard over to the other side reveals a very slight rubber type material that provides extra grip and comfort and is ergonomically shaped to provide the best handling.

There are two buttons on the rear for controlling a left and right click motion and are conviently positioned for your index fingers, much like you’d find on a portable gamepad or PSP style device.

There is also a space provided to slot the unifying receiver into when not in use. This is especially handy when transporting the device for use on multiple HTPC devices, although we can’t see this situation arising very often.

Getting down to the nitty gritty, whilst the device is really comfortable and responsive to use, the unifying receiver can be a bit troublesome unless the device has a clear line of sight to it, though with the majority of HTPC users having front panel USB, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

A product like this can only be commented on once you’ve been using it for a few days, and after having an extensive use over the weekend, we found it to be extremely versatile in many ways. The fact that it’s lightweight and small, allows for it to be tucked away in the usual places, including down the side of your sofa.

It also gives a lot of unique features including the ability to use the trackpad and d-pad buttons depending on your preference. The QWERTY keyboard allows for a simple transition from a standard keyboard, to that of a smaller design which people will favour immediately.

As this product isn’t in retailers just yet, we can only comment on the recommended RRP of £26 + VAT GBP, which in our opinion is a little bit on the pricey side, compared to it’s bigger brother, the Itouchpad, but still provides a simple solution to a common problem, and with rival products from the likes of Logitech, coming in at over £100, it does seem to offer good value none the less.

If you are looking to give comfort and style to your home theatre setup, the Xebec HTPC wireless keyboard would be the perfect addition and will certainly leave your friends wondering where they can buy one from.

The ear cups are made of a soft fabric style padding which make them extremely comfortable to wear especially for long periods of time.

The headband is also well padded, and is fairly springy to help it fold up into a smaller space, perfect for fitting it into the carry case. They have also made it fairly obvious that its made by speedlink due to the rather large lettering on top.

The first thing we did when we got this headset, after plugging it in, was to sit down and watch a good film. This was to test the surround sound and sound quality aspects of the headset, as well as the general comfort and usability of the headset. We then tested this headset during several skype conversations to check the quality of the headsets’ microphone and the noise cancellation system.

The surround sound of this headset is very impressive, and while not the best we have tried it is certainly in the same league. Due to the use of 4 speakers in each ear cup the headset is able to produce a fairly encompassing sound which during films and games allows you to know exactly where the sound is coming from. It did however feel that everything was very close, as if you had 5.1 surround sound set-up in a very small room, or you were fighting in a broom cupboard, the range and depth of sound was just not there when compared with other headsets. The sound quality was also fairly good with a nice tone and decent balance of bass, although when needed the bass can really pack a punch which is very impressive for this size headset.

We also found that the noise cancellation and microphone worked well together and that during skype conversations we were heard very clearly, although we found it very easy to knock the microphone out of place as it rotates a bit too easily. The flexibility of the microphone is certainly useful as you can literally get it into any position you want.

In terms of comfort we found the Medusa Headset really excels, compared to other full 5.1 headsets it is extremely light and so after a few minutes you do forget you are wearing a headset. The ear pads are just the right size that they support some of the weight without crushing your ear and still block some of the external noises.

The price of this headset makes this one of the best value headsets we have ever seen and tested here at eTeknix. For just £48.60 you can have the full surround sound experience which does have pinpoint precision and impressive sound quality as well as punchy bass and full control over each channel. A perfect peripheral for everyones computer demands, whether a serious gamer or just wanting to enjoy films without annoying the neighbours, and at this price, we really couldn’t knock it.

 

By ditching the docking station and going with this idea allows the mouse to be converted from being wireless to wired so that you never miss out on vital moments, such as gaming, when you need a mouse the most.

When using wirelessly, the cable can just sit idle on your desk, until needed again, but simply is a brilliant idea so that you’re never without use of your mouse and doesn’t need you to dock your mouse every night.

Software wise, I’ve never been a big fan of the bundled software, and today is no different with the Logitech SetPoint application suite. It’s quite bland, simple and with two other Logitech products by my side, my computer seems to be bloated with the stuff.

The software is quite extensive, even though it may not look it at first, with the ability to change buttons, set profiles and also having the ability to pair other devices to the Unifying Receiver, is always a bonus.

On top of all of this, the software is handy with notifying you about the battery and when you need to plug it in, and just having that on its own is a great feature in itself.

I’ve been now using this mouse for a few days and instantly took to it, as it was very much similar to what I’ve had in the past. Due to this, the overall feel and design was welcomed from me with open arms and I instantly knew what each and every button did, straight out of the box.

At £64.74 it’s not the cheapest mouse on the market, but it’s also not a cheap product in general and that is reflected in the price. The material used, including the rubber thumb rest gives a great sense of comfort and build quality that we’ve come to expect from Logitech products and feature wise, it seems as though the Performance MX has everything you need, and nothing more, which is great if you’re after a simple product that does exactly what it’s set out to do.

For anyone wanting a simple mouse that is light-weight, works on almost any surface and can be easily transported; then the Performance MX is definitely the one to buy.

Our results while not a strict benchmark give you some idea of the 4 main interfaces available to most consumers and how the speeds differ quite dramatically. We also found that while USB 3.0 is reported to be up to 10x faster than USB 2.0 we only saw a performance increase of ~4x this is of course most likely due to the maximum capabilities of this drive. That said, we do already know that this drive, when used with USB 3.0 is pretty quick, and beats most variations on the market.

The results of this performance have highlighted the reason why FireWire has struggled to take off commercially and is mainly due to the fact that it always seems to be a few steps behind and a more expensive interface – for instance, both eSata and USB 3.0 gave faster speeds even though the data throughput of FireWire is similar to that of USB 3.0

Now we turn to pricing and value for money, but we must remember that you must have already purchased some form of Seagate GoFlex device for these to be a viable upgrade/exchange. You are also able to purchase a GoFlex drive with the right interface for you, but then may still want a secondary interface for your laptop for instance.

The Seagate GoFlex FireWire 800 cable retails at £13.18 on Scan.co.uk where as the USB 3.0 retails at £11.48 on Scan.co.uk  and the cheapest of the options is currently the eSata which retails at £9.47 from Scan.co.uk .

In conclusion we do love the GoFlex range, the GoFlex drives are brilliantly simple and give impressive performance, and as the name suggests they give you the flexibility to chose which interface you want to use and how many (different) interfaces you want to use allowing any Seagate GoFlex drive to be a brilliant companion for your laptop and computer.