For storage on the go, Kingston have you sorted.

This year’s (2025) XS1000 portable SSD series sees 1TB to 4TB in storage options via SSD packed into a casing that is smaller than  a credit card.

Kingston sent STG Play a 2TB Kingston XS1000R to test out.

Now, let’s mention portable PC gaming, which is on the rise.

With differing manufacturers offering anywhere 2TB down to a laughable 512GB for your onboard storage, it does not take long for that to get chomped up by data heavy games from Steam.

If you have a substantial games library, and like me, want game options on the go, and try to cram as many games on to the portable PC as you can, the Kingston XS1000R series is a must have.

The SSD has a singular USB-C port with USB-A 3.0 to plug in to your device. Thankfully Kingston provide a USB-A to USB-C in the box.

This is especially necessary if you are going to use on a later model Apple laptop.

Having that extra 2TB on the go is excellent, but can you play games directly from it?

Yep, the Kingston XS1000R doesn’t miss a beat, with 1050 Mbps read and 1000 Mbps write.

Secure and reliable, the palm sized SSD does not miss a beat.

An Apple MacBook Pro was able to write at around 147 Mbps, read at 78 Mbps. An OneXPlayer Pro 2 was around the same for read, but write speed was a higher at 112 Mbps.

Trying this on a gaming laptop, the ASUS ROG X13 beat all of the above.

Write speed climaxed at 286 Mbps, read 174 Mbps.

A 2025 Android smartphone saw the slowest though. Write at 52Mbps and read a very low 18 Mbps.

If you have a microSD card in your portable device, to save regular data corruptions, my advice is to swap out for one of these. Small, pocketable and of course ready to go.

Totally reliable and a trusted triple AAA brand that is focused on both quality and speed the Kingston XS1000R SSD is going to see you right for multimedia rendering, gaming on any platform or simply expands on local storage.

Game on the go without interruption with Kingston XS1000R Series.

The post Kingston XS1000R 2TB SSD Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

I’ll say it. My porch is a bit lifeless. It’s lovely to sit out there in the day but on dark cloudy nights, it’s simply too dark to enjoy.

As a result, string lighting has been on my “to buy” list for a while. That’s when Wiz’s Smart Outdoor String Lights arrived.

Waterproof, weather proof, app controlled with colours, light levels and smart home functionality! It was everything I needed… Everything I wanted… and more.

Initially, I was rather intimidated by the 14.8m length. After measuring my porch I thought I had far too much, with no option to shorten it. It wasn’t until I started hanging the lights that I realised it was perfect. The lights look much better when they are draping down, which means 14.8m is really just the maximum distance. You can make anything less work.

As I was weaving them through my porch supports, I just added an extra loop here and there to space them out nicely. It did end up being a 2 person job, but that was just to save time.

The lights have been up for a few weeks now, and that weatherproof and waterproof label has been put to the test. There have been some windy nights, howling with rain, and sunny days blaring down heat, but the Wiz Smart Outdoor String Lights have held strong. In the past, I had fairy lights hanging on the porch. They didn’t last a month. I am confident Wiz have made their products to last.

You may notice in the photos that I was unable to utilise the smart lighting functionality on my porch. It’s important to note, for any smart lighting from any company, you’ll need 2.4 gHz WIFI to use the smart functions. However, you can always buy a 2.4 gHz extender, but that’s an expense you should be aware of up front. You can find the details for your WIFI on the bottom of your router.

Before hanging up the lights at mine, I took them to a friend’s house (with 2.4 gHz WIFI), and the setup was a dream. The Wiz lighting app “Wiz Connect” is exactly what you want from a smart device app. It runs you through exactly what to do, step by step, and it covers troubleshooting too. I can tell the app was made for first time users, and because of that… We had the colours going in no time!

Without the app, you can still turn the Wiz Smart Outdoor String Lights on, off and dim them using a button on the cable, but the standout feature is the quick release section just before the lights. It’s hard to explain in words, but let’s say your property is like mine and the easiest way to power these lights is by plugging them in through a window. You don’t want your window to be permanently wedged open, so the cable has a section before the lights that disconnects and connects with ease. I didn’t realise it until I saw it, but it really is a must have feature for a lot of homes.

Overall, the lights are fantastic. It’s a shame I can’t use them to their full capacity unless I buy the extender, but I do have a new slot available on my “to buy” list…

As for my rating, if you have 2.4ghz WIFI, this product is a solid 4.4. It’s exactly what you want from smart lighting, and more.

Even without the 2.4ghz WIFI, these lights get a 3.8 from me! As they really have brought life to my time out on the porch.

The post Wiz – Smart Outdoor String Light Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

There are thousands of words to describe poor sound quality… NONE of them will feature in this review.

The JBL Flip 7 is here! It’s portable, it’s loud and in the coolest way possible… It’s cool!

As someone who predominantly uses a speaker for travel, a random get together or a sing in the shower, I’m not in the market for an absolute TANK of a speaker. The JBL Flip 7 was exactly what I needed.

It’s incredible! I feel like I’ve held V cans bigger than the Flip 7. It really is easy to throw in your bag for a road trip or a trip to the beach. Plus, with up to 16 hours of playtime, a good charge often lasts the getaway.

When you’re on the go, the best kind of speaker is one you don’t have to worry about. The Flip 7 has a fantastic battery life. It’s also waterproof, dustproof and drop proof! (Up to 1m). But honestly, one meter’s all you need. If I’m passing it to a mate, tossing it to my beach towel or it gets bumped off the table during game night, I know the beats will keep on blasting. (Plus, if you’re dropping your speaker from any higher, that’s on you.)

JBL does have an app for their speakers that allows for updates and audio customization, but as someone who understands ‘the sound’ more than the specs, I’m stoked with the out of the box experience. Fantastic balance, a surprising amount of bass and it can play LOUD. You can also pair it with your other speakers using Aura cast, you know, in case you ever need even more UMPH!

At this point, I don’t know if it’s industry standard or JBL standard, but it’s always nice when you can get music playing without a glance at the manual. I charged it, pressed the on button, held the Bluetooth button and paired it. That’s the way it should be.

The only negatives I have with the Flip 7 are very minor. For example, the speaker does not come with its own charger (USB-C). I understand it is a very common cord to own nowadays, but it’s always nice to have one per device. The horizontal foot of the Flip 7 is also more of a kickstand, so when it’s on its side, it does have a tendency to roll when knocked.

But realistically, I’m getting a bit pickier than the average adventurer. The interchangeable carabiner and loop feature put all those concerns to the back of my mind. That feature is innovative, fun and gives the speaker some personality. That’s something modern devices need more of, creativity to keep things from getting stale.

Overall, the speaker gets a 4.6 out of 5 from me. It’s not perfect but it’s certainly earned its spot as my day to day speaker. So how can I give it any less!

The post JBL Flip 7 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

It’s 2025 and to commemorate this quarter of a century since Y2K a new era of Samsung’s S Series has launched.

The three familiar models, S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra make their debut as premier Android based smartphones, but there’s also been a major overhaul.

This year’s S Series is a mix of what we are used to from Samsung in their signature flagship and a lot of bold and innovative features.

First up is to take a look under the hood for the mighty Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Having the new and powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite processor at its core sees both battery efficiency and speed in tandem, enabling complex tasks, multitasking and some quality console gaming abilities.

Coupled with this is the standard 12GB RAM (there is a 1TB / 16GB RAM variant).

The bold and vivid AMOLED QHD display has increased by .1 of an inch to come out at 6.9 (S24 Ultra is 6.8 inch). Yeah, you’re not likely to notice the size difference if you’re still wielding a S24 Ultra, however the all screen, no bezel device with HDR10+ has a fluid 120Hz refresh which, if you’re a mobile gamer, is a must.

Camera wise, the S25 Ultra has it all to smash out any competing device and make this smartphone the must-have for professional mobile photography.

The front facing pinhole comes in at 12MP (wide), which provides you with a deep and true to life colour detail and is able to record in 4K.

But it’s the rear camera’s where things are at.

We have four lenses going on, 200MP wide, 10MP telephoto, 50MP periscope and an additional 50MP ultrawide.

Able to natively record in 8K (and of course 4K) for video the depth, detail and true-to-life colour capture is second to none.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – Portrait mode

Nightography is just beyond reality and of course the x100 digital zoom lets you capture those moon shots that really enforce the ‘Galaxy’ in this series’ brand name.

From everyday snaps, to vlogs, live reels or pet video’s if you are wanting to capture or record at a pro level the S25 Ultra has got you sorted.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – Space zoom

For those that like to get closer to the action, there’s optic x3 and x5 zoom through to digital x100 zoom.

However, be prepared to lose resolution and detail if you take snaps at the full digital zoom, and somewhat awkward camera control to snap the area you’re mega-zoomed in to.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – no zoom

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – x10 zoom

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – x100 zoom

This year’s S Series has had an overhaul in other areas too.

It’s the Samsung One UI you know, but oh so different with version 7.

For the past 12 months since the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung’s UI / UX team have been busy.

A smoother, more intuitive navigation with a heavy accent on tiling. Your home screen widgets are more informative yet less cluttered and overall give a cleaner experience.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – Now bar

Samsung has introduced us to the ‘Now bar’. An onscreen widget that sits at the bottom of the lock screen which can do all manner of things. From Samsung Health insights, to relevant events through to music streaming controls and more.

I fully welcome this – it’s handier than you’d think, and way more ‘dynamic’ than any ‘island’…

Now let’s talk about AI.

Last year we saw Samsung pioneer AI into their smartphones with circle to search, smart translation, AI photo editing and more.

We still have this in the S25 range with some of the best and most intuitive image wizards and edits on any device, but when you first start using your new S25 device there is an overload of AI preinstalled. From Gemini to Bixby or Google Assistant, even CoPilot.

Take your pick of the bunch is my advice and stick with the AI you’re used to.

The S25 Ultra does come with bloatware, you know, those apps (some third party) that are bundled and you cannot uninstall. This chomps a sizeable amount of onboard storage and no, you cannot expand via microSD card, that was removed years ago and I wish it would come back.

If you’re likely to be recording a few 8K vids, you’ll need to go for the larger storage options of 512GB to 1TB. But for most users the entry level 256GB will be more than enough.

You can circumvent the storage by using cloud, such as Google, or OneDrive, both are immediately available on the device.

Battery wise, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has your back. A 5,000 mAh powercell keeps you running day and night. So much so, that during my heavy daily use I’m able to squeeze up to two days from a full charge, without using reverse charging (charging a Samsung wearable on the back of the phone).

There are a few takeaways for me with the S25 Ultra. From the overly generously spec’d rear camera’s the intuitive use of AI, power, speed and battery life, but the biggest one was the refreshing look and feel of One UI 7.

This is the S Series you love, you’re used to, but unlike a certain specific smartphone whose ‘core’ UI / UX hasn’t changed since the 2010’s, Samsung are bringing the innovation, the change, leading the AI march and actually giving you new, improved and ‘Ultra’ specs for your hard earned cash.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is truly something special in the S Series and a must upgrade from whichever smartphone you may be rocking right now.

The post Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Asus TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI is an ATX LGA1851 motherboard designed for Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 ‘Arrow Lake’ processors.

For what is effectively Intel’s 15th generation of desktop processors, it is all change. The introduction of a new motherboard chipset is not unusual for a new processor generation but for the last three years, Intel’s 12th, 13th and 14th-generation CPUs have happily used the 600 and 700-series chipsets. For the Core Ultra Series 2 ‘Arrow Lake’ Processors we have a new 800-series chipset, a new processor socket type in the LGA1851 and no more DDR4 memory option- from now on it’s just DDR5.

The Asus TUF Gaming range complements the company’s enthusiast Republic of Gaming branding but goes more for a rugged industrial MIL-Spec look with high-performance gaming in mind.  The TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI is a top-of-the-range motherboard for those wanting to make the most of Intel’s ‘Arrow Lake’ processors with plenty of component options.

The box comes complete with all the accessories that you need to install the board. There are two SATA6 cables, a WiFi antenna, M.2 screws and rubber mounting pads, and a special M.2 Q-Slide fixing for small NVMEs. There’s also a sheet of stickers and a removable plastic TUF Gaming nameplate that can be mounted on the heatsink.

Whilst there’s a quick start guide with all the essential info, there’s no full manual or driver CD / USB. The manual is available to download from the Asus website, as are the drivers. The board will automatically request that you download and install Asus’s Armory Crate app as soon as you start up Windows. Armory Crate will then download / upgrade the drivers that you need, which is pretty cool. There’s also a range of optional utilities that you can also install via the app. Whilst I’ve stayed away from Armory Crate in the past, it’s not a bad app, now, and useful for keeping your Asus drivers up to date.

The board itself is something special. Whilst Asus Prime motherboards tend to come in white, the TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI is a silver-coloured board. The silver PCB and heatsinks make the TUF Gaming motherboard look quite striking. The large heatsinks over the input/output panel and the VRMs are complemented by a sectional heatsink for the M.2 sockets that surrounds the second and third PCIe connectors.

The silver colouring will complement the aesthetics of lighter components but also provides a nice contrast with darker components. In the test rig, the pastel RGB lighting from the Corsair Titan RX RGB cooler and fans looked fantastic reflecting off the surface of the motherboard.

With a standard ATX layout, the board is easy to install and there were no surprised mounting in the test rig. All the connectors are where you’d expect them to be, making it an easy board to just swap out if you are upgrading.

It has two 8-pin 12V CPU power sockets (so make sure your PSU has the required outputs) and easy-to-reach CPU_FAN, CPU_OPT and AIO_PUMP headers at the top. There are 5Gbps and 20Gbps USB headers on the right side, below the 24-pin ATX power socket, with a couple of SATA6 connectors below them. There are two more SATA6 connectors at the bottom of the board, near the USB 2.0 headers and front panel headers. Lighting enthusiasts will appreciate the easy-access ARGB headers on the side and bottom of the board.

The LGA 1851 is only compatible with the new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors. It’s the same size as the LGA 1700, but don’t try to stick your old CPU in the new board. It is, however, compatible with coolers that fit the previous LGA 1700 boards.

For testing I used an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor cooled with a Corsair iCue Link Titan 240 RX RGB all-in-one cooler. With the Core Ultra Series 2 “Arrow Lake” processors only supporting DDR5 memory, I used two 16GB Crucial DDR5-6000 Pro modules. These are easy to fit using the Asus single Q-DIMM clips. The motherboard supports up to four DDR5 DIMMs to 192GB, running up to 9066+MT/s (overclocked). The board also supports the new CUDIMM modules.

The rear I/O panel has a DisplayPort and HDMI port for on-chip graphics, as well as 2x Intel Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) ports for DisplayPort and Thunderbolt video output. There are also 6x USB Type-A 10Gbps ports, an Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet port, five audio jacks, an Optical S/PDIF output and a BIOS flashback button.

The board has a header supporting 20Gbps USB Type-C (which supports up to 30W fast charging), a header supporting two additional USB 5Gbps ports, 2x USB 2.0 headers for four USB 2.0 ports and a Thunderbolt USB4 header.

There’s a small RGB area at the top right of the board. This complemented by three addressable RGB headers, one on the right side and two on the bottom, to power your case and/or fan lighting.

There are plenty of storage options. The four M.2 slots, support type 2242/2260/2280 NVMe SDDs. One slot is PCIe 5.0 x4, with the other three being PCIe 4.0 x4, one of which also supports SATA SSDs. All the M.2 slots use Asus’s screwless Q-Latch design, with the 2242 modules secured via an innovative Q-Slide clip. The main PCIe 5.0 x4 slot has a chunky screwless heatsink that’s easily removed.

Whilst you are probably going to be using your GPU audio, onboard audio is supplied by a Realtek ALC1220P chip for 7.1 surround sound. This includes front and rear headphone outputs.

Discrete GPUs are supported via a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot controlled by the Intel Core Ultra processor, with the Z890 chipset controlling 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, 1x PCI 4.0 x4 slot and 1x PCIe 4.0 x1 slot. A 1.5-slot GPU like the Radeon RX 7800 XT will obstruct the PCIe 4.0 x1 slot, which will likely not be a problem for most.

For connectivity, the motherboard supports Wi-Fi 7, via the external antenna, across 2.4,5 and 6GHz with up to a 2.9bps transfer rate. Bluetooth v5.4 is also supported. 2.5Gb Ethernet provides wired networking.

The Asus TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI is a very easy motherboard to install. Asus’s Q-design makes interchanging components a breeze.

Whilst the motherboard booted without any issues, there are a series of small LEDs at the top of the board. These can be used to troubleshoot boot issues with the CPU, memory and GPU.

The motherboard uses a pretty standard Asus UEFI BIOS, which it boots into on the first startup to set the CPU configuration. In order to sort out some of the teething problems with the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop processors, vendors have been updating motherboard BIOS firmware, and Asus is no exception.

The Asus EZ Flash makes what was once a treacherous action very simple and virtually trouble-free. I downloaded the new BIOS firmware from the Asus website and unpacked it onto a USB stick. From the BIOS menu, I used the EZ Flash option and selected the new firmware. A few moments later and the PC rebooted with the up-to-date BIOS.

Should things have not gone quite right, the Crashfree BIOS 3 utility can search and upload a BIOSD file from startup. The board’s BIOS Flashback feature would also have allowed me to update the BIOS without entering the existing BIOS firmware or OS. Inserting a USB drive with the prepared BIOS update into the specially labelled USB port on the back of the motherboard and pressing the Flashback button automatically updates the board. You don’t even need to switch it on, all it needs is the 24-pin power connector to be plugged in.

Using the board’s AI optimisation feature, the Asus UEFI BIOS allows users to overclock their unlocked CPU, painlessly. For this you need an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPU with the “K” suffix, which means it is unlocked and can be overclocked. Triggering the AI optimisation in the BIOS has the board monitoring fan speeds and CPU performance to squeeze a little more out of your processor. Running stress tests allows the board to calibrate the overclock to maintain stability.

With just one click, I overclocked the CPU to achieve an 8% performance increase in the Procyon Office benchmark. This is all optional, as the board performed well with the default settings. The only setting I would check in the BIOS is that the XMP is enabled so that your memory runs at its full speed.

For games, the TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI with the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 285K and a Radeon 7800 XT performed excellently. I tested the set-up with Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and it ran flawlessly. Spider-Man: Mile Morales, as well, played great.

The ASUS TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI motherboard has a lot to offer gamers with an Intel Core Ultra Series 2-based gaming rig. There’s plenty of space for storage with four M.2 slots and four legacy SATA 6 sockets. It’s compatible with the latest memory modules and there’s plenty of room for expansion via the PCIe slots. Casual overclockers will enjoy the one-click performance boost offered by AI optimisation. And, last but not least, the silver styling of the board will look great in your case.

Yet again Asus provides a no-nonsense motherboard solution for gamers wanting performance and reliability that is easy to configure and tweak as desired. Not only is the TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI easy to recommend, but I’d also happily use it in my own gaming system.

The post ASUS TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI ‘Arrow Lake’ Motherboard Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

I have been using Ring cameras and doorbells around my house for a couple of years.

Then Amazon went and bought a little company called Blink who sells more affordable cameras and I got curious. Could they stand up or beat their Ring counterparts?

The Blink Outdoor 4

The Blink Outdoor 4 is a simple camera to install and use. To get up and running, you will pull out of the box the camera and the sync module. The camera gets installed outside somewhere using screws. There is heaps of movement with the camera on the base, so you can easily position it to the angle you need. The sync module you have inside somewhere which is needed to connect the camera to the internet, but also stores recording locally.

Then with the app, setting it up is easy as,  It walks you through the steps super easily, so there is no need for me to go through this. The main thing when it comes to installation is making sure you have your distances thought through.  The Blink Outdoor 4 camera has to be within 30m of the sync module. This is pretty far, but this is in ideal conditions. Anything from metal walls, to your microwave can reduce this. When I was testing around my house, it was pretty seamless, but there were a couple of spots where there wasn’t a large distance but was obstructed and it caused some issues with video quality.

One of the biggest things the Blink Outdoor 4 Camera offers is the insane battery life.

It runs from two AA batteries and promises to run for up to two years. Unfortunately, I haven’t been using the camera for two years so can’t say for sure how long it will last, but it’s still very full after a couple of months use.

The camera gives you 1080p quality video, and captures 143 degrees which is pretty damn solid. While the hub stores an offline copy of the videos, to get online storage, but to get features like people detection, you need to get the subscription.

That comes in at $5 (NZD) (NZD) a month for a camera, or $15 for as many as you have. I kinda wish this sub covered all Amazon cameras so you could mix and match, but it is what it is.

Blink Mini 2

Unlike the Blink Outdoor 4, the Blink Mini 2 is a cable only camera.

This one is pretty damn incredible for the price. It is an easy to install camera that can also be mounted to the wall, so long as you can run the cable to it.

Just like the Blink Outdoor 4 it offers 1080p video quality and 143 degrees which is really amazing given the size and price of the camera. Installing it is just as easy as the Blink Outdoor 4 as well, and adding it to the Blink app is a piece of cake. You will be up and streaming the content within minutes.The Blink Mini 2 also doesn’t require using the sync module, so it doesn;t come with one in the box. But if you want to store video recording locally you will need one.

The Blink Mini 2 itself is waterproof, but the cable it comes with in the box isn’t. This means that you can use it outside if you buy a Weather Resistant power adapter (more on that soon) but otherwise it’s an inside camera. This is kinda cool because if you plan to use it inside you can, and if you use it outside you can spend the extra moneys.

The Blink Mini 2 does offer something that the Blink Outdoor 4 doesn’t and that’s a little spotlight.

This LED spotlight is enough to light up a decent area giving you colour imagery at night. It’s really bloody cool.  The biggest weakness is the motion capture. The Blink Outdoor 4 has way better motion detection, having said that, the motion detection on the Blink Mini 2 was fine and still grabbed the majority of movement.

Blink Weather Resistant 4m Power Adaptor

The Blink Weather Resistant Adapter is great. 4m is a great length to reach up high or far.

If you have an exterior power plug you can get one of your cameras within 4m of it. Thanks to a piece in the middle with screws it’s super easy to keep the cable nice and tight against a wall to help when you are installing it.

Best of all, it means your Blink Mini 2 becomes an external security camera, and your Blink Outdoor can be set up so you never have to worry about the battery. It’s a fantastic add on for $20 (NZD) that makes complete sense to be separated so you only buy one if you’ll use it.

Should you go Blink?

Blink makes a damn good argument for checking them out.

The Blink Mini 2 for $80 (NZD), and the Blink Outdoor 4 for $170 (NZD) are incredibly reasonably priced.

If you are just looking at getting your first cameras then these ones would do you well.

The Blink subscription to add things like people detection and online video storage comes in at $5 (NZD) a month for one camera, or $15 (NZD) for as many cameras as you want.

This is reasonable but it would be cool if it could be lumped together so you can mix and match for the one fee.

The post Blink Outdoor 4 & Blink Mini 2 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

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Amazon’s smart tv content streamer FireTV Stick 4K Max is a must have if you have a tele that just doesn’t have the smarts, or does but you want an alternative to its native OS.

Without re-reviewing the FireTV Stick 4K Max again, I’ll do a real quick recap.

Clearly it is 4K compatible, hence the product name, but will work on any scale TV. The FireTV Stick 4K Max connects in to your screen via HDMI and does require USB power (Amazon provide you with a AC adaptor).

And while you can stream all your favs and do movie or series marathons with Prime, Netflix, Disney and more, Xbox has recently released an app for the FireTV Stick 4K Max.

You’ll need a GamePass subscription, and once you’ve got that you can start streaming gameplay.

Get yourself a Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S gamepad, sync it up via Bluetooth and start gaming – without a console.

While there can be some delays in connecting to Xbox Cloud (or there was in my experience) and a few attempts at syncing up the Xbox controller, once your connected, you’re good to game, without the need of an Xbox console.

Having played games via GamePass on the Firestick 4K many times now, I can say that gameplay is fluid without any framerate drop or connection problems (once in-game).

With Xbox now available on Amazon’s FireTV Stick 4K Max places the smart streaming device an all-round entertainment hub.

The post Amazon FireTV Stick 4K Max Xbox GamePass Gaming Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

So you’ve built a killer gaming rig, or forked out a tidy sum for a handheld portable PC and you’re good to game… but after a couple of Steam installs your SSD is full.

I hear you. It happens to all of us.

Thankfully Kingston have the NVMe SSD solution with drives starting at 1TB and going up to 4TB.

STG received a 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe Internal SSD to install and put through it’s read and write paces.

Offering up a t maximum of 6000Mbps read to 5000Mbps write speeds the 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD sits within the fast lane, although is not the fastest in the market at the time of writing this review.

However, if you’re going to get one of these for gaming, it’s a sure bet you’ll be fine.

For things more mundane and everyday PC use, it’s an overkill (but a worthy one) and if you’re a content creator and need to edit large graphics and videos, it is perfect.

The Kingston 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD is Gen 4 but backwards compatible, if you have a Gen 3 PCIe slot.

The pricing tier for the 2TB model is very competitive and is actually giving you value for lower cost.

With the review 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD I placed in to my gaming laptop as the primary (Windows) drive , an upgrade from the factory 1TB.

It was hard to say if speeds were much faster, but of course having that extra 1TB of space for Steam games with huge data footprints was a plus.

Gameplay from the Kingston SSD was super fluid. No jitters or lag and of course content creation buttery smooth rendering.

The Kingston 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD enables you to install more to play more. Create 4K or 8K content without needing to clear clutter to reserve space, and do all of this with super reliability and top end speeds.

The post Kingston 2TB NV3 M.2 NVMe SSD Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Nanoleaf have taken their signature smart lights from 2D to a literal 4D with Nanoleaf Blocks.

If you’re new to the world of smart lighting, Nanoleaf have been producing tiled multi-coloured lighting that presents like a puzzle when you first start out.

A variation of shapes from hexagons to triangle and even straight lines, it’s up to you to create whatever array you want, producing an illuminated wall art.

Each tile uses a specific connector and there’s a control module for you to choose any preset lighting option, sync to music – or via the app you can create your own.

Nanoleaf smart lights also sync up with Alexa, Google and Apple to integrate in to your smart home via WiFi.

The Nanoleaf Blocks are a similar affair, but instead of being flat against the wall, you can build shelving, hook panels and more to have the coolest and functional wall art ever.

Nanoleaf Blocks are an ideal mood lighting solution for any room – especially a games den.

Adjustable, expandable and one of the coolest things you could ever have on your wall, Nanoleaf Blocks take smart lighting up a few levels incorporating functionality and any environmental aesthetic.

The post Nanoleaf Blocks XL Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.