| The Latest from Big Bruin |
Novostella BLink BT Mesh Smart LED Flood Light 4-Pack
 | Novostella recently asked me to check out their BLink series, and yes, the B and the L are both capitalized on purpose. These lights are connected via Bluetooth, and while you could connect direct to your phone or other Bluetooth enabled device, the 4-pack of bulbs included a Bluetooth hub which puts them all on your network via WiFi, and then makes the bulbs all available to your Smart Life app, Google Home, or Amazon Alexa. |
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EwinRacing E-WIN 2.0 Edition RGB Gaming Desk
 | The EwinRacing E-WIN 2.0 Edition RGB Gaming Desk looks awesome with the LEDs in full effect, and would make for a great gaming desk. My teenage son loves it, and it does look great with his gaming rig installed on it. It can still function as a more than adequate work space for homework, and with a 24" monitor in place for his gaming rig, there is still space for his Chromebook, with room to spare for other work. |
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Novostella 20W RGBCW Smart LED Flood Light
 | The Novostella 20W RGBCW smart LED flood lights are a big hit at my house, as I like being able to program (white) lights to come on at night, and the kids like turning it into a rainbow swirled party simply by speaking to Google. The lights are vibrant and very bright and having the Smart Life app sync their controls is working very well. It has been a very cold and snowy winter so far, and these lights add for an extra touch of fun in the snow as we snow tube into the night. |
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ZOOZ ZSE29 Z-Wave Plus S2 Outdoor Motion Sensor
 | The ZOOZ ZSE29 is an interesting product. As a motion sensor and a SmartThings device it definitely works very well, but determining how appropriate it is to use this outdoors will have to be seen after some time installed exposed to the elements. My gut tells me that the physical design and the stipulations that this outdoor rated device has to avoid heat, sunlight, humidity, and wetness may lead to a fairly short usable life. |
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Novostella A19 13W RGBCW Smart Light Bulb
 | We are going to look at a pair of Novostella A19 13W RGBCW smart light bulbs, that currently sell at Amazon.com for $25.99 (US) each. Those that have shopped around for smart bulbs before may be thinking that is pricey for a smart bulb, but one thing that immediately distinguishes these from other smart bulbs is that these are not your typical 60W equivalent bulbs, but 120W equivalents, that are rated to put out an impressive 1300 Lumens. |
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D-Link EXO AC2600 Router with EXO AC2000 Extender
 | D-Link's DIR-2660 and DAP-1820 offer a great way to start your mesh network. As with many mesh networks, this setup can be configured with a wired backhaul which would help some of the bottle neck issues I mentioned, but most people are resistant to running wires. So where this unit shines is in its scalability. You can start with just one extender or add several to cover even more area. Also a big benefit of this mesh system is having a few Ethernet ports on the router. |
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| From Around The Web |
Cooler Master XG850 Plus Platinum 850W Power Supply
The Cooler Master XG850 Plus Platinum 850W is a very quiet power supply regardless of the amount of power being drawn. Under idle level loads, the XG850 Plus Platinum is nearly inaudible, because the fan is running at only around 700 RPM. Under moderate to high loads, the XG850 Plus Platinum is still nearly inaudible, as the fan is capped at around 750 RPM. You cannot change the fan speed profile in software. aphnetworks.com
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Kolink Continuum V2 1050W Power Supply Unit
Kolink may not be one of the well-established power supply unit manufacturer but their Continuum V2 1050W model actually does very well, not just in terms of rail stability and noise levels but also electrical efficiency. nikktech.com
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CORSAIR HS80 RGB WIRELESS Premium Gaming Headset
Right after adjusting the headband of the HS80 RGB Wireless, the headset felt immediately more comfortable versus the previous HS iterations. The overall construction feels light, even if it also needs to house batteries for up to 20 hours of autonomy. The 50mm drivers deliver great low frequencies, as well as well represented mids and highs, making the HS80 gread not only for gaming but for the rest of multimedia contents as well! Can we add to the mix the broadcast-quality microphone, which is light, easily accessible with the flip design to take calls for work and be easily understood? madshrimps.be
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ASRock Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D 8GB OC Graphics Ca
AMD officially launched their Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card not that long ago. This card is really meant for 1080p gamers who want over 60 FPS in the latest titles with the settings turned all the way up and the ability to play esports titles at even higher frame rates. The RX 6700 XT features AMD's 7nm Navi 23 that has 2048 stream processors across 32 RDNA2 compute units as well as 8GB of GDDR6 across a 128-bit memory bus. You are also going to get real-time ray tracing with 32 Ray Accelerators. Today we are checking out ASRock's Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D 8GB OC, which has clocks of 2188 MHz Base, 2428 MHz Game, 2607 MHz Boost. These overclocks will give you an edge over a stock RX 6700 XT and you are getting a pretty slick design with RGB elements and ASRock's Phantom Gaming 3X cooling system. Is this the RX 6600 XT to get? thinkcomputers.org
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ASROCK RX 6600 XT PHANTOM GAMING D 8GB OC Video Card
Most of us dream of the big guns, the RTX 3090 and the RX 6900XT level cards but those cards alone cost more than an entire PC, and that's BEFORE the scalper tax. According to the latest Steam Hardware Survey, more than 2 out of every 3 gamers are rocking a 1080p monitor. . pctestbench.com
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Drop ALT Mechanical Keyboard
Drop builds upon the strong feature set of its CTRL keyboard with the 65% form factor ALT keyboard. It is rich in hardware and software customization options and has improved side lighting and portability options for those looking for a premium small form factor keyboard. techpowerup.com
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Fractal Design Lumen S36 RGB AIO Water Cooling
Innovative All-In-One liquid coolers are hard to find. Most of the AIO systems you see on the market are a copy of a copy or a replica that uses Aestek type of pump. The new Fractal Design Lumen S36 RGB AIO unit has a new type of pump that is not Aestek based and I am very curious how it's going to perform. modders-inc.com
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Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 1000W Power Supply
Is the Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 1000W within reach and is it something you should get? The Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 1000W is a good looking fully modular power supply that delivers a lot of power in a relatively compact package with a depth of only 16cm. The kilowatt-spec Toughpower GF1 features a quiet 140mm hydraulic bearing fan and supports fanless operation for loads up to 30% load.
aphnetworks.com
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Fractal Lumen S36 RGB 360mm AIO Cooler
Fractal's new Lumen All-In-One (AIO) liquid coolers are aiming to offer high-end cooling performance and premium ARGB lighting at an attractive price point. Available in 240, 280, and 360mm versions, we are focusing specifically on the flagship 360mm Lumen S36 RGB priced at £112.99 in the UK. kitguru.net
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Shanling MTW300 True Wireless Earphones
Shanling leverages over three decade of experience in the audio industry in its true wireless earphones lineup. Today, we examine the MTW300, a carbon nanotubed diaphragm dynamic driver setup designed similarly to IEMs with ergonomics, comfort, and a deliberate audiophile tuning in mind. techpowerup.com
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