Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Add-On

Posted by binarymessiah on 03/18/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Sony Consoles, Xbox One, Xbox360. Leave a comment

81RlBGmAQGL._AC_Manufacturer: Thrustmaster9.5

Release Date: 04/22/2016

MSRP: $169.99

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If you’re going to have a racing wheel, especially one as expensive as the T300 RS-GT Edition, then you need a shifter add-on. For people who really don’t care about shifting, it’s fine, but enthusiasts are really missing out on half of the experience. Shifting adds a whole new layer of challenge and control to racing games like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

The shifter is much bigger than I thought, and heavier, being made of 90% metal and using something called the H.E.A.R.T. system so it feels and acts like a real car shifter. The box comes with a DIN to DIN and DIN to USB cable. This is actually really important as PC requires DIN to USB as most games won’t recognize the shifter plugged into the back of the wheel. That’s mainly reserved for consoles. You also get an optional sequential plate for those who want to shift but not use the H pattern. You can also change the plate by rotating it 180 degrees and even tighter the stick itself to make it looser or tight based on your preference. There’s so much more to this shifter than I anticipated and it impressed me every step of the way.

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I opted to make the shifter as tight as it could go as it felt more like a newer car and gave me better feedback as to where I was at. After installing the drivers and making sure everything worked I booted up Forza Motorsport 7 and the shifter was recognized right away. Even without using the clutch, the shifter added a new dimension to my racing that I have never experienced before. It took a while to get the timing down, but I noticed a new depth of difficulty to these games that weren’t present before and that’s learning the shift timing of your vehicles and where to shift correctly on the track. This may scare some people away, but it actually improved my lap times and my first place wins went way up because the shifter forced me to learn the track rather than just memorize where all the turns were.

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Having it clamped to my desk next to my wheel is sure made this already bulky setup pretty monstrous, but it feels so good to play and I can’t go back to racing with a controller on simulators anymore. I spent hours racing and it sucked me into the game, even more, when I would get bored after a half dozen races or so. This is the way these games are meant to be played, and thankfully this shifter is compatible with any wheel because it’s USB and connects seperately from the wheel. The DIN to DIN connections makes it compatible with other wheels that had add-on DIN ports so it’s widely universal.

My only gripe is that adjusting the tension on the stick isn’t easy and I nearly stripped the screw doing it. The manual says you can do two full turns but in reality, it was a half a turn from completely loose to tight. The screw is pretty deep and at an angle, so it’s very hard to get to and damaging the screw the way I did means after so long it won’t be adjustable anymore, so make sure you get it to a setting you like and leave it.

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Overall, the TH8A shifter add-on is a must have, and while it costs more than most cheaper wheels alone, it adds a layer of experience and enjoyment that you can’t get with just the wheel itself. If you ever wanted to dive into a more enthusiast experience and you have either a cheap or expensive wheel consider this add-on and you won’t regret it.

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Thrustmaster T300 RS-GT Edition

Posted by binarymessiah on 03/18/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Sony Consoles. Leave a comment

4c6150a0-e659-48b2-ac6a-b0ce30177af3._SL300__Manufacturer: Thrustmaster9.5

Release Date: 10/16/2016

MSRP: $399.99

 

 

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The last time I had a steering wheel was when I was 15. I had a Logitech racing wheel branded for Gran Turismo 4 at the time and it was cheap, but worked decently enough and my late father even welded together a steering wheel cockpit that everything attached to as I didn’t know that you had to mount them to a table to use them. There were lap wedges you could buy, but we couldn’t really afford that, so he used scrap metal from his work to make the stand. It was a short-lived experience as, sadly, I didn’t really get many games back then and the following year I got an Xbox 360 so the wheel just collected dust. I was just learning to drive a real car at the time so there was a disconnect between myself and the wheel. It felt more like something on an arcade machine than truly appreciating not having to use a controller.

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Fast forward 14 years and things have really changed, and surprisingly, wheels really haven’t. Logitech doesn’t really make the best wheels on the planet anymore and Thrustmaster has stepped in the niche peripheral market with fantastic wheels, flight sticks, and other weird controllers. When unboxing the T300 wheel I really noticed the build quality right off the bat. The servo unit is nice and heavy and you can feel the weight of the metal parts inside and the clamp it comes with is really sturdy and does its job keeping the wheel locked onto a table. The pedals feel great, and while the base has weight to it, it’s still not enough to keep from sliding around a bit during furious gaming. The pedals themselves are metal and you can swap them out physically and even swap them in the software with a mode button on the wheel. It’s rather customizable with a brake stop mod, being able to raise and lower the pedal pads and even flip the wedges to make the pedals more flush or have them angled.

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Connecting the wheel and setting up the drivers was a little easier than I thought. Once you start the driver installation it tells you to connect the wheel to the PC via USB and everything is pretty much done. The calibration software lets you change various settings, and lets you test all the buttons. I was also surprised that all the recent racings games recognize this wheel and how well it just works. Playing with a wheel and a controller is like night and day and I can never really go back unless it’s an arcade racer. I tried this wheel out with Forza Motorsport 7, DiRT Rally 2.0, Project Cars, and Forza Horizon 3. Each game felt great playing with the wheel and I noticed my lap time improving and being able to play just felt more natural.

The wheel’s force feedback capabilities are fantastic as I felt every bump in the road and when I hit grass or spun out or hit another car the wheel would act accordingly. The 1080 degrees of turning makes the cars feel even more realistic when turning and every slight move was registered in game 1:1. The pedals felt nice and with the brake mod installed it felt more like a real brake pedal and less like an arcade set. Sadly, this wheel does not come with a shifter and it must be purchased seperately, however, there are paddle shifters on the wheel which makes up for it a little. The buttons all click well and despite being made for the PS4 and PS3 they seem to be mapped like the Xbox One controller on PC for most games.

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The fans inside the servo unit keep it from getting hot and it’s not all that loud. The servo itself is really quite while gaming and the only time it was loud was when the wheel would spin back around really fast on its own, but that was only after a crash usually. The rubber grips feel great and it almost feels like a full-size steering wheel, it’s just incredible how well made this wheel is and how much it made driving the cars to feel real.

Overall, due to the price point, this is not an entry level wheel being almost $400. This is a mid-high range wheel for serious enthusiasts and the quality really shows compared to a $100 wheel. I just wish it came with a shifter, but you can’t knock the build quality at all and the overall feeling of this wheel.

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Alienware AW3418DW 34″ Ultrawide Monitor w/Gsync

Posted by binarymessiah on 03/14/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware, PC Reviews. Leave a comment

24-260-555-V01Manufacturer: Dell9.5

Release Date: 10/01/2017

MSRP: $1,499.99

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I used to love Alienware as it was my first gaming laptop back in 2010, but now that’s it’s long gone and obsolete I went for their desktops and have since parted ways with that. Alienware makes slick looking hardware, but their build quality and prices have been questionable over the last decade. I never thought I’d have them back in my gaming life with a monitor of all things. I wanted a 34″ ultrawide monitor with Gsync and Alienware just so happens to have the best on the market right now. I sacrificed HDR for Gsync as I felt it was a little more important for PC gaming.

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When I received the box in the mail I didn’t realize you could park a car in it. Seriously, the thing barely fit into an SUV with the back seats folded down, and I was surprised to see most of it was foam to support this massively bulky and heavy monitor. Because of the Gsync chip and the vents on top, this monitor is largest I have ever seen and it weighs nearly 30 lbs. After assembling this beast I plugged it in via DisplayPort (You can’t get a higher refresh rate without it) I immediately noticed the lighting zones which are freaking beautiful. Alienware has always been knowns for sleek lighting effects and there are zones on the bottom and rear of the panel. It looks fantastic, but I noticed that they aren’t bright enough on the back to really see unless you stare at them and the bottom one is more of a glow. It looks awesome, but you won’t really notice them if your monitor is up against a wall. The stand is designed for cable management and I loved this as you can hide your cables behind the monitor thanks to the nifty design. The 3 USB 3.0 ports came in real handy and expanded my USB slots and I didn’t have to run everything to the tower.

This monitor comes stock clocked at 100Hz and you have to go into the monitor settings and overclock it to 120 yourself. It’s as simple as an OSD setting on the monitor and changing it in your display control panel. There are some other settings in the OSD such as setting the lighting zones (which is a pain here), displaying an FPS counter, various picture settings, response time, dark stabilization, and power saving. I didn’t really need to mess with anything as it comes very well calibrated out of the box.

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Once I started gaming I noticed right away that Gsync was working. With Vsync turned off in games, you will notice how smooth turning the camera is and for games that can reach 120FPS it’s the silkiest gaming experience I have ever had. Of course for games these days you need a 2070 or higher to get anything FPS over 60 to notice the 120Hz kicking in, but the Gsync is well worth the price alone. With the monitor being curved the way it is it kind of sucks your visuals in and keeps you focused. After looking at a flat monitor again I noticed the difference right away and realized that curves aren’t just gimmicks.

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While games look fantastic on this monitor there are some issues that are serious gripes, but not deal breakers. The rear IO panel is thin plastic and doesn’t slide on correctly and I have never been able to make it flush with the monitor and the tabs started breaking off. I also absolutely despise Alienware’s software as they rarely ever update it and the AlienFX don’t work correctly. Every time I set a color scheme it resets when the monitor wakes or the PC restarts and the presets do not work and save your settings. I have to constantly go in and reset the colors so it’s too much effort and I just left it on color spectrum mode. I then later found out that the Monitor Control Center is heavily outdated and you actually need Alienware Command Center to probably set the lights correctly. Because of the Gsync chip the monitor gets really hot and there’s a lot of heat coming out of the top of the vent, this is what is supposed to happen of course, but you will notice a small room heat up a bit from it.

Overall, the Alienware AW3418DW is the best monitor I’ve ever laid eyes and there are so many reasons to spend the money on this thing. Sure, it’s a dream level price for a monitor, but it’s dream level for a reason. Gsync alone is well worth the money and helps free up frames that your GPU doesn’t have to worry about. Great cable management, cool lighting, wide crisp display, 120hz refresh rate, 3 USB ports, and plenty of OSD options is nothing to sneeze at.

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Corsair LL120 Case Fans

Posted by binarymessiah on 03/09/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware, PC Reviews. Leave a comment

7126OyS80PL._SL1484_Manufacturer: Corsair9.5

Release Date: 10/12/2017

MSRP: $119.99 (x3 fans)

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After having awful experiences with the Thermaltake Riing fans I had purchased almost 2 years ago, I decided to finally drop the premium cash on premium fans. The biggest draw to the LL fans is that the fans themselves light up and not just the rings around them. Corsair is the best RGB suite in existence right now, so this was my start to move exclusively toward corsair for my RGB needs. They are expensive but well worth the purchase.

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Sadly, the installation process is a huge nightmare, especially if you install 9 fans like I did. You need a fan port for each fan plus a spare USB port on the motherboard for the Node Pro that controls the lighting and syncs everything. You also need SATA power the control box (yeah there’s two things in here, not just one) and then plug the fans you want in the correct lighting order you prefer into the control box. For multiple fans, you have to link these control boxes up to the single Node Pro as it allows two control boxes for a total of 12 fans to be controlled by one Node. It took me 5 hours to install all these fans and figure what to do with the fans I didn’t have fan ports for. You can buy a Commander Pro that allows more internal fan ports or connect them directly to the PSU which I had to do for my bottom fans.

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Once you get past the awful installation process the software side is extremely easy. The iCUE software recognizes everything right away and you just have to assign lighting profiles as the lights kick on. This is by far the most beautiful RGB fan setup I have ever seen and the depth of the LEDs capabilities and software is astounding. You can individually color the ring and different parts of the fan itself which is mind-blowing. The profiles available online show amazingly detailed and well made orchestrated effects that will make your PC the center of attention in any room.

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After having the fans for nearly a week I can’t get enough of them. From solid color to spiraling rainbows and flashing light shows, the LL fans are incredibly impressive and they keep my case cooler than my Thermaltakes did. They do have style and substance and Corsair seriously made some great fans. They are whisper quiet even at full speed which is around 1600RPMs and I barely notice it in a quiet office and not at all with games blaring.

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If you have the cash to drop try to get at least a full set of these. Combined with Corsair’s other RGB items an entire PC suite with the same color profile is just out of this world and the fans just pull an entire rig together to make it look sharp and insanely beautiful.

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Hyperkin Duke Xbox One Controller

Posted by binarymessiah on 03/05/2019
Posted in: Hardware, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, Xbox One. Leave a comment

61JhBzW9-3L._AC_Manufacturer: Hyperkin8.0

Release Date: 10/22/2018

MSRP: $69.99

Colors: Black, Green, Red

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I’m a sucker for awesome game controllers and when I saw the Duke being announced by Hyperkin I was both excited and puzzled. Why bring back such a loathed controller which is considered one of the worst ever made? Who does this appeal to? The few who did like the Duke or people who like collecting weird controllers? Question is that it was neither as the controller didn’t sell very well and received very little attention. I picked it up only for the retro awesomeness factor and that I have never owned a Duke controller.

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In the box, you get a very long USB cable and the controller itself. Sadly, this is not wireless and part of this is due to the fact that Microsoft will not release the codes to third-party developers so Microsoft is the only company with wireless controllers. It’s been this way since the Xbox 360 sadly. Once you do open the box and pick up the controller you realize just how gaudy this thing was. I have large hands and it’s almost too big for me. It feels ergonomic but so bulky and heavy it’s both satisfying and weird. The face buttons are slanted and at least the bumpers were retained as small buttons on top but the black and white buttons also function as bumpers (I mean…the black and white buttons were converted to bumpers on the Xbox 360). The coolest feature is the LCD at the center that plays the original Xbox startup animation and displays the Xbox logo with a crisp clear LCD. I would have liked the startup sound as well, but I’ll take what I can get. There is no other controller on the market with a built-in LCD like this and it’s great.

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Once you start playing games I can see the issue of bulkiness making your hands tired and the controller build is a tad iffy. The controller creaks and the buttons feel hollow and clack loudly while vibrations rattle the entire controller. It’s both awesome as it makes the controller seem that much more ridiculous and adds to that factor, as well as questioning the build quality. It sure feels solid like you can knock someone out with it and the analog sticks and D-Pad are fantastic and feel just like the originals. The back and menu buttons are where the start and select normally would be and they feel fine.

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Overall, the Duke controller is a strange device as retro collectors will get a kick out of it, and it has some enjoyability, but new players will balk at the bulkiness, build quality, and overall weird factor this controller brings.

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Sony HT-Z9F 3.1 Channel Dolby Atmos/DTS:X Soundbar

Posted by binarymessiah on 03/04/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware. Leave a comment

g158HTZ9F-FManufacturer: Sony9.5

Release Date: 03/14/2018

MSRP: $899.99

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Just like TVs, sound systems are only something I upgrade with a TV. My last soundbar was the Samsung HW-K550 and it was decent at the time, but the subwoofer was really weak and it has constant disconnection issues. Instead of buying an LG soundbar with my new TV I went with Sony due to the lacking reviews towards LG. I decided to spend the extra cash (like $500 extra) and get a premium high-end soundbar.

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Right when you start setting this up you start noticing the premium features right away. It looks more like a piece of furniture rather than some piece of tech sitting on your entertainment center. This soundbar actually has video output and has wifi and you can go into the menu through the TV and set everything up. This surprised me as I only had soundbars that had simple settings on the bar itself with the remote.

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One of the best features of this soundbar is the Vertical Surround feature which allows sound to pass over you and increases the depth of the surround sound immensely. There’s really no need to turn it off and doesn’t mess with the sound like other soundbars do. There are also plenty of media presets such as game, music, movies, and news. Each preset is pronounced and works well without needing any adjustments. Another software feature is the integration with Alexa and Spotify. You can control Spotify from your soundbar and have a visual on screen, but any smart TV does this as well, so it feels like a redundant feature.

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One thing I do have to mention is that DTS:X and Dolby Atmos cannot be transferred over Bluetooth or optical, so you must connect an HDMI cable for these features to work. Playing games and movies that feature Dolby Atmos sound amazing and even DTS or Dolby Digital media is crisp and the subwoofer booms which is quite nice. The overall sound fills the room and brings you front and center.

Overall, the HF-Z9F is a high-end soundbar that delivers every high-end sound tech available to date. With 4K and HDR passthrough, DTS:X, Dolby Atmos, Alexa support, and an actual video display, this is as high-tech as it gets right now. The Vertical Sound option brings the sound to you and the overall sound fills the room. If you have the extra cash or wants something more than an average soundbar experience, this is the way to go.

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LG 65″ C8 OLED TV

Posted by binarymessiah on 02/26/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware. Leave a comment

zoom001Manufacturer: LG10

Release Date: 02/18/2018

MSRP: $2,999.99

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TVs aren’t something this household gets very often. With this being only my third TV in 10 ten years I made sure I got what I really wanted this time. My first choice for a TV this time around was LG as they seem to be ahead of the curve with OLED TVs which are the next step for 4K TVs as they show clearer, deeper, and more vibrant colors than LED or even LCD, and the prices have finally come down to something reasonable. LG’s brand of TVs come with “a” processors which help process HDR and the webOS built into the TV. One thing I couldn’t stand with my last Samsung 4K TV I reviewed was the slow as molasses OS that was buggy and never really got updated over the 3 years I had it. Sure, it looked great for the technology at the time, but LG has a silky smooth OS and UI that just can’t be beaten by any other company right now.

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The TV itself is actually the heaviest and bulkiest thing I have ever purchased despite how paper thin it is once you get it out. This thing has a very heavy base where all the main components sit and the screen sticking out is nearly paper thing. The stand was a bit complicated to put together as I had to YouTube it as LG’s instructions are pretty much useless, and this TV DOES require two people to unpack and set up or you will most likely damage something. It’s too big and cumbersome for one person.

So, out of the box that’s something you will notice first is the amazing OS. This TV also comes with an awesome smart remote that uses motion tracking like the Nintendo Wii so you can actually point and click at what you are doing which is a huge step forward in smart TV interactivity. The TV recognizes most inputs when they are turned on, and you can customize each input with its own picture and sound settings which is nice. One of the biggest selling points of this TV for me was the Dolby Atmos processing and Dolby Vision and HDR by Technicolor which displays the most vivid HDR picture I have ever seen on a TV. It’s truly stunning and turns heads for sure.

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I tested the TV out with an Xbox One X and a few HDR ready games and I was just blown away by the stunning colors this TV displays. They are so deep, rich, and vivid that it seems impossible that a TV can look this incredibly visceral. The TV has plenty of picture enhancement options for older content as well as the ability to turn it all off in the Game mode and HDR picture modes. HDR is automatically detected and the picture settings are actually perfect out of the box. LG is known for having the best calibrated out of the box displays from TVs to monitors, and of the 4 LG products I have owned in the past recently I can attest to this. I don’t have to mess with anything even though I feel like I somehow have to. The options for calibrating are incredibly deep with actual dark and bright room calibration picture profiles for professional calibrators. Most of us just have to choose the content we are watching and stick with that profile.

The TV’s speakers are surprisingly decent with 40W speakers which are slightly bigger than the average 20W speakers most smart TVs come with and it is equipped with Dolby Atmos built-in. The smart features of this TV are incredibly diverse from being able to connect it to Google Assistant and Alexa so the TV can be connected to either for smart home use. The content share and Bluetooth features are great for streaming to form a smart device or listening to music off of your phone. There’s just so many apps and features in this TV that it just feels truly like another smart device rather than a TV stuck in limbo like my previous Samsung TV that is slow and buggy and doesn’t quite have as many features as say my phone would have.

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Overall, the LG C8 is a fantastically amazing TV and the best in its class with maybe only Sony being able to come close to picture clarity and features. LG’s webOS is a buttery smooth experience, the Magic Remote is a step in the next generation direction for interacting with TV menus, and the number of picture options will make a video nut blush. If you have the money to spend, just go for the best on the market.

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