A new wave of Android click-fraud trojans are in the wild, and they're surprisingly well-hidden. For those familiar with the Android operating system, it's common knowledge that users can enable downloads of third-party applications from outside of Google's Play Store ecosystem. When you do so, the OS warns users of the security implications,
AAA publisher and developer Ubisoft has released some unfortunate news. In the process of its development restructuring into six Creative Houses, Ubisoft also had to kill six games and delay seven more, with the most prominent loss being the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake announced in 2020. While the title being repeatedly delay does
Dread Meridian is an H.P. Lovecraft-inspired survival horror with a moody atmosphere held back by janky combat at launch.
Scary scenes such as the ones vividly described in H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness” can leave readers in a disconcerting mood. Dread Meridian features all the elements of this winning formula, but technical drawbacks ultimately prove its undoing.
The interior of the ship before catastrophe struck.
It all starts with the story as straightforward as can be. As Daniela, you begin your journey on a boat, narrating your missing sister’s letter indicating she went on a research expedition because of mysterious artifacts they found. A poster of a Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde movie can be seen on the walls of Dani’s room, as well as several books to interact with.
Her one-track mind allows for the game to explore narrative set pieces without much explanation as to why you are there other than to search for your sister. Eventually crashing into a frozen wasteland, a gorgeous aurora borealis lights up the night sky over what is otherwise hell on Earth.
A cabin where horrors await, lit up by northern lights.
Each of the game’s five chapters is short enough to be finished in about an hour or less. Showing varied environments like a seemingly abandoned research base, a cabin in the woods with a horrifying secret, and the infested cave where mutated monsters abound, the frantic search stays unpredictable throughout. Turns out messing with eldritch horrors beyond human comprehension can mess with researchers’ minds.
The Facts
What is it?: A survival horror game based on H.P. Lovecraft's “At the Mountains of Madness." Platforms: Quest, Steam (reviewed on Quest 3) Release Date: Out now Developer/Publisher: KUKRGAME/Level Infinite Price: $19.99
The levels are easy to understand for survival horror enthusiasts, with simple puzzles where the solutions can be logically solved or found close by. In that regard, Dread Meridian seems to do everything well, but the crux of the matter is how it plays, and that is where it squanders any goodwill thus far.
Comfort
Dread Meridian has two main preset comfort settings: Immersive and Comfortable. Immersive has smooth turning, faster rotation speed, and movement direction set to the controller. Comfortable features are snap turning, slower movements in general, and movement direction set to Head.
The motion overlay, or tunnel vision, is also a part of the mode. Everything can be customized in the settings. That said, even if you turn off the overlay, when climbing, it always seems to briefly activate. No dedicated seated or standing options are available, though there is a way to readjust height.
Wiggle Fest
A well-known term within VR communities that comes to mind when describing this game’s combat is a “wiggle fest.” While it is possible to use a gun, an SMG, and more firearms, these weapons are flimsy, not to mention the lack of ammo. That leads to only being able to use a knife, which, although extremely effective, has you hacking away at the air with no thought, praying you will defeat every monster without being damaged.
To have the enemy freeze in place at times is more hilarious than alarming. There are no difficulty settings, and the checkpoints are few and far between; this can easily lead to frustration. Being killed by an enemy cheap shot that is unpredictable to register after spending 15 minutes running around a research base is a tough pill to swallow.
How Does It Compare On Steam?
Dread Meridian looks crisp from Steam. While the environments are small and claustrophobic, every puzzle, rock texture, and poster is clear, and the enemies are even freakier to look at. On Quest, the game settled on an expected cartoony look, with textures overall looking muddier in all respects. No performance issues were noticed on either version.
My gaming laptop uses an AMD Ryzen 7 250 w/ Radeon 780M Graphics Processor, 24 GB DDR5-5600MT/s SODIMM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB GDDR7. The comparison was conducted using a Meta Quest 3 via the Steam Link app.
There are hints of brilliance in Dani’s journey. When not struggling with the unwieldy combat, exploring the infested areas is quite unsettling. If Dread Meridian excels in something, it is that it is dripping with Lovecraftian atmosphere. Whispers are heard in Dani’s head telling her to complete a forbidden ritual; hallucinations of otherworldly landscapes assault her, and fleshy, grotesquely mutated corpses adorn the halls of every place you visit.
The abundant documents and voice recordings of the researchers’ descent into madness are as intriguing as they are eerie. It is honestly difficult to dismiss what is witnessed on-screen because there was clearly effort put into it, but the issues that creep up in the moment-to-moment gameplay cannot be ignored.
0:00
/0:37
An example of the flimsy combat when getting up close.
As a seasoned VR player, I seek lasting experiences that go beyond rolling credits. Great horror games have the potential to do that, especially late at night. Media based on H.P. Lovecraft’s work is among the most interesting due to its source material. Dread Meridian comes close to achieving this with its unnerving setting, but imprecise enemy hitboxes, punishing checkpoints, and buggy non-player character behavior ensure it becomes memorable, negatively. Down the line, with patches and the help of player feedback, perhaps it could arrive at the goal the developers had.
Editor's Note: UploadVR is publishing this hands-on writeup based on advance access to Dread Meridian. We are making no immediate plan for a formal review or update to this article, though we'll link to future coverage here if we are able.
Golden Gloves VR is available now in full release on Meta Quest after a lengthy early access period.
I jumped into Golden Gloves VR and, while it's still pretty spare graphically, there are some good ideas here about virtual fitness and boxing. I saw three gym maps to train alone or in multiplayer sessions. When you start, you teleport into a gym map where you can find access to Career Mode challenges, training bags and minigames.
0:00
/0:41
Various moments in Golden Gloves VR's Career Mode.
The gym's training bags are realistically responsive to punching. Training stations range from speed bags to various hanging bags and other targets. There is also an arcade machine that gives access to a Space Invaders-style game where you practice boxing form, shooting glove-shaped bullets at enemies.
I spent my time in the game's Career Mode where I fought AI boxers increasing in difficulty every time I won a match. I initially found the fighting to be too easy, but was quickly surprised when the difficulty began to ramp up as the enemy got smarter. Smarter boxers timed their moves better to counter my swings. Their increased skill highlighted areas of my body I failed to defend in a fight, often dealing damage to my blind spots and revealing areas of improvement in reflexes and strategy.
Golden Gloves VR has an impressive set of training equipment in its gyms. Training bags can be used either within VR or with passthrough mode. In passthrough mode, equipment can be placed around your room to train while being able to see your physical surroundings.
Real-world boxing events are advertised within Golden Gloves VR.
Despite the good fighting experience, the graphics are extremely plain. Lighting overall isn't set up well and there's a lot that could be done to add more mood and immersion. Still, there's good equipment and plenty here to get good cardio.
0:00
/0:13
Various training equipment in Golden Gloves VR
Golden Gloves VR is available now on Quest headsets with developers boasting that it is the "official esports platform for USA Boxing" built from "real input from boxers and coaches." The full official launch of Golden Gloves VR includes an optional Esports USA Boxing membership.
UploadVR will keep an eye on this project as it continues to develop past full release for further updates.
There were a number of new products that we expected to hear about at CES, including the much-rumored Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, NVIDIA's N1X SoCs, and the next Intel Arc GPU release. None of those came, but perhaps the most surprising omission was Intel's Arrow Lake Refresh series—a fresh set of CPUs for the LGA 1851 platform, and likely to be the
Microsoft is doubling down in a big way with Windows on Arm devices. Now, all Windows 11 machines running running Arm-based silicon, like Qualcomm's forthcoming Snapdragon X2 Elite platform, have support for Xbox Game Pass, with "more than 85%" of the Game Pass catalog claimed to run well. Anti-cheat support x86/x64 emulation is also well
Your justification for starting as a salmon man in a barrel is that you are trying to get up the waterfall. This is, of course, something actual salmon do. So it follows from developer Valem Studio that it is something a salmon man in VR should do too.
Salmon Man blends genuine fun and desire to keep going with the gut-wrenching pain of a tiny mistake ruthlessly chopping away at swathes of progress in a helpless instant. Paddle locomotion, it seems, has a frustrating charm almost tailored for the viral Internet landscape of modern gaming. Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy took over the gaming zeitgeist from its release in late 2017 on Steam and its inspirations here aren't subtle. You can play the same basic style of game in your browser right now, or take a look at what this idea is like in the trailer below.
As you’re not walking around each level yourself, you traverse by way of boat paddle, using it to push yourself from the ground and latch yourself from place to place across increasingly death-defying obstacles.
Far from the first game to take this style of game to the format, Salmon Man finds a thematic way to justify its concept and embed it into the core gameplay loop of this rage-inducing platformer. With the minimal introduction of simply being the titular Salmon Man in a barrel, you’re dropped into the beginning and left to your own devices to get through the perilous journey ahead. That's a rough way to start what is a challenging game and not very accessible.
What gives Salmon Man additional depth and difficulty is the jump to 3D for this genre. It creates a new layer of depth to the formula as you aren’t solely trying to use momentum and physics to get to the next platform, you instead push yourself off side walls and use the full space to get that extra bit of distance. It increases the flair and excitement of each bit of progress, but it makes things somehow more challenging, never mind the steep learning curve for these controls. As you physically move a full rod through your hands in order to grasp onto platforms at your side, behind or in front, lightning-fast reactions are necessary to get by even some of the earlier obstacles, while later ones pose even more of a threat.
The Facts
What is it?: A physics-based 3D platformer Platforms: Steam, Meta Quest 2/3/3S (played on Quest 3) Release Date: 22nd Jan 2026 Developer: Valem Studio Publisher: Valem Studio Price: $6.99
It’s rewarding to make it through to a new section, especially knowing there’s always a risk of losing more than a little bit of progress if you hit the water as you helplessly flow with the current. Yet that risk also brings with it a degree of frustration that steps beyond the awkward, challenging charm one would expect from these games. Even after clearing the game the first time and facing numerous setbacks, I never found myself fully accustomed to the shape of the paddle that serves as your way of movement and projection through the environment. It never impeded the game to the point of making me want to quit, but there were occasions where the punishing loss of progress didn’t feel like my fault, or times where it sometimes seemed more useful to wave my arms aimlessly and hope for the best rather than logically try the correct method and hope I could execute it.
Comfort
There are some adjustments that can be made to the game to increase comfort. With the game relying on a handheld paddle for movement, you can choose between left- or right-handed controls. Additionally, snap camera turns and the option to reduce haptic feedback are also available.
Recommend having a strong degree of comfort with simulated motion in VR gaming. Even as someone with a lot of comfort in the medium and who never feels sick when playing, I at times could feel a little uncomfortable being flung around constantly in search of that next platform.
I also found the lack of any external narration, dialogue or secondary recognition of your progress to be a notable absence. This is a developer choice and far from necessary, sure, but one that can make the journey feel a little lonely and lacking a bit of character and charm. Beyond a few tinges of music in themed areas (pirate music near the wrecked ship, for example), I found myself even hoping I could hear one of those dreaded, all-too-common sarcastic self-quips from a player character cracking awkward jokes, just to break the silence.
If you do clear the game, a lava difficulty replaces water with lava ensuring a forced restart for failure. That wasn't for me. With the noted lack of comfort to the controls, I can only imagine any mistake would be exacerbated when attempting the latter areas in particular in this mode. I experimented with some early sequences and the first death left me satisfied with the fact I did, at least, clear it once in the normal way.
That being said, even if, like me, a lava-infused playthrough isn’t your speed, there’s still plenty to keep you coming back beyond the initial challenge. Standard route through the game seems a bit too simple? Why not see if you can jump off the main path to more off-beat areas to find an array of hidden rubber ducks! The initial clear isn’t enough? There are achievements with in-game rewards and, if you want to brag, there’s a leaderboard for time trials where you can compete with other players for the best time. You can lose 45 minutes or an hour trying to make progress without even realizing, or keep retrying to get the best time possible. Hidden under the surface is a surprising amount of stuff to get to, but it's not perfect.
Salmon Man - The Final Verdict
Salmon Man is a worthwhile use of your time if you’re in the market for this sort of game. It’s somewhat ironic to say this as a games reviewer, but more than most titles, you can tell at a glance whether this is for you. Did you enjoy Getting Over It? Can you handle a turbulent VR experience? Do you want to combine those ideas? This is for you. If not, perhaps it’s ok to give this game a miss. If you do give it a go though, there’s a good degree of value and fun to be had here.
UploadVR uses a 5-Star rating system for our game reviews – you can read a breakdown of each star rating in our review guidelines.
A multi-institution research team has discovered a metallic material that conducts heat nearly three times more efficiently than copper or silver, which are presently the primary metals used for industrial thermal management. The researchers believe that this discovery will have massive implications for extreme heat-dissipation applications,
CD PROJEKT RED executive Jan Rosner posted on X that the Luke Ross Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod could return as a free release.
After being issued a notice to take down a Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod, the mod on the Luke Ross Patreon was removed and Ross made an announcement that was shared widely. Rosner, a CD PROJEKT RED executive, confirmed that they had issued a strike because it was infringing on their Fan Content Guidelines, which prohibit "monetization" of their work. In other words, according to the developer of Cyberpunk 2077, the critical issue here is that Ross placed the mod behind a subscription paywall.
“We’d be happy to see it return as a free release," Rosner wrote, noting The Witcher 3 publisher is a huge fan of mods.
“I'm sorry, but I don't believe you are within your rights in demanding that my software needs to be free," Ross replied. "That said, I'm all for finding a win-win solution that makes it possible for your fans to keep enjoying Night City from the inside, in VR.”
Other VR mods from Ross previously released include Doom Eternal, Ghost of Tsushima, Elden Ring, and more. Flat2VR, meanwhile, known for porting flatscreen games to virtual reality, made a passionate plea to CD PROJEKT RED to officially port Cyberpunk 2077 to VR, calling it “a dream game to port.”
Since the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, we have seen the console maker release enhanced ports for a number of its Switch 1 titles – some paid and others free. Joining the latter is Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, with a free Switch 2 update officially available now; adding a new playable character, game modes and more.
Making the surprise announcement, Nintendo officially unveiled their latest Switch 2 update, this time for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Available to download right now, this free upgrade brings with it quite a bit of new content.
Visually, the game has been updated on Switch 2 with “enhanced resolution, higher-definition graphics, and quicker load times” alongside support for the console’s GameShare functionality. That said, we did not get any specifics regarding the exact details of this visual boost.
In terms of gameplay additions, this latest update brings in Dixie Kong as a support character allowing for additional movement abilities (though can also be directly controlled when playing in co-op). Alongside this, update 1.1.0 also introduces a new game mode in the form of Turbo Attack – in which players will have to speed through the levels before time runs out.
Dixie Kong and the new Turbo Attack mode is available for all owners of DK Country Returns HD, not just Switch 2 owners.
Considering the relative lack of content which some paid Switch 2 Editions have had, Nintendo releasing this update for free is both unexpected yet welcome. That said, Donkey Kong Country Returns was originally a Wii title; which was then ported to the 3DS; remastered for the Switch 1 and now updated for Switch 2 – and so it's possible that Nintendo felt as though they have made enough of a profit from the game at this point.
KitGuru says: What do you think of this update? How does it compare to some of the other paid upgrades? Let us know your thoughts down below.
The Ryzen 7 9850X3D, which was announced by AMD during (not at) CES 2026, has had a date and price finally set: January 29th, and $499 USD. That's only a $20 jump over the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's MSRP, although those parts have been available as cheap as $430 in the past. The new model brings a 400 MHz bump in peak boost clocks and absolutely no
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured the most intricate view yet of the Helix Nebula, offering a sharp, infrared glimpse into the final moments of a dying sun.
Affectionately nicknamed either the "Eye of Sauron" or "Eye of God," the Helix Nebula, located 650 light-years away, has been an astronomer favorite for ages. However,
It's not controversial that Fractal Design makes some of the nicest looking PC cases on the market (as well as other gear, like the Scape headset we reviewed). From what we can tell based on press imagery, Fractal Design's new Pop 2 Air case lineup is no exception. Underneath the sleek styling, however, the focus is on copious airflow, particular
2025 was a strong year for video games and yet despite this, one title seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the air when it came to the awards season – with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 taking home hundreds of Game of the Year awards. With a majority of award shows having now come and gone, Expedition 33 has officially broken the record for the greatest number of GOTY wins; currently sitting at 436.
As collated by ResetEra user Angie, with a total of 436 Game of the Year awards Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has officially dethroned FromSoftware’s Elden Ring (429 wins) as the title with the single highest number of GOTYs.
While certainly an impressive achievement, it is worth noting that each year has seen new publications popping up and offering GOTY awards – meaning it is becoming increasingly easier to break the record.
For context, so far there have been over 620 GOTYs given away for 2025 compared to 529 in 2024 and 537 in 2023; and so comparisons between the years isn’t quite an apples-to-apples situation. Still, there is no denying that Clair Obscur is the definitive Game of the Year for 2025.
The top 5 most awarded titles of all time is as follows:
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – 436 wins
Elden Ring – 429 wins
The Last of Us Part II – 326 wins
Baldur’s Gate III – 288 wins
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 281 wins
KitGuru says: Was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 your GOTY for 2025? If not, what game was? Will GTA VI be the first title to surpass 500 GOTY wins? Let us know your thoughts down below.
In an era where digital literacy is no longer elective, Dell has unveiled a massive expansion to its education portfolio, designed to survive both the rigors of the playground and the demands of the modern AI-integrated classroom. Part of this expansion includes new Dell Pro Education and Chromebook 14 laptops that boast easy battery replacement
Ayaneo is sharing a few more details about its Pocket S Mini gaming handheld that it unveiled in September of last year. We now know that it will feature a premium full CNC metal frame instead of a plastic housing, and a display with a "graduation-level" 4:3 aspect ratio that is reminiscent of gaming on old school CRT televisions. We also
Devs United Games said Real VR Fishing sold one million copies across all platforms since its launch in September 2019.
Devs United Games CEO Mark Choi took to X to announce that Real VR Fishing reached one million sales across all platforms. Available on Quest, Steam, Pico, and Galaxy XR, the title sees regular post-launch support, including new events, features, and DLC.
Choi mentioned that a new mastery-based system called Fly Fishing is on the way as well as an expanded campaign with other features requested by the community to add more depth. New leagues and tournaments to increase the game’s longevity are also planned.
Drip-feeding content since release, developers added new maps recreating parts of Mexico, Japan, the United States and Europe. Most recently, the title made its way to Samsung Galaxy XR with hand tracking support late last year, fully supporting cross-play in the latest version of the game. On Apple Vision Pro, the developers explored hand tracking technology on the device with Fishing Haven, but it lacked most of the features of Real VR Fishing that make the game such a standout.
We'll be looking to test out updates to Real VR Fishing in the year ahead and to see what else Devs United Games has in store. Real VR Fishing is out now for Quest, Steam, Pico, and Galaxy XR.
With the initial announcement for The Elder Scrolls VI being well over 7 years old at this point and no release date in sight, many indie studios have taken on the mantle of trying to offer their own entry in this underrepresented sub-genre of immersive fantasy RPGs. One of the most notable is Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon; having now officially surpassed 1 million copies sold.
“Hello, everyone! We hope 2026 has been treating you well so far! We kicked the year off with an incredible milestone, and now it's time to share that…Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has sold over 1 million copies across all platforms! As always, thank you so much for all the love and support throughout this journey! After all, it's literally you who made this achievement come to life!”
In case you missed it back when it was released in May of 2025, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a first/third person open world RPG set in a “dark reimagination of Arthurian legend”. Featuring character customisation, choices and plenty of roleplaying opportunities, the game resonated with many fans of The Elder Scrolls and other immersive early 2000s RPGs.
While it launched with a number of issues, including some progression-halting bugs, Tainted Grail has received plenty of updates since May, including a whole new expansion and a bunch of bug fixes.
If you are not one of the 1 million players, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon and its expansion are currently on sale for 20% off.
KitGuru says: Have you checked out Tainted Grail? Does it scratch that Elder Scrolls itch? What’s the best Scrolls-like released so far in your opinion? Let us know down below.
Zotac is taking its Magnus Zbox mini PC lineup to the Max. As in, AMD's Ryzen AI Max and Max+ processors based on Strix Halo, which in and of itself makes these new compact systems notable. Depending on the model, however, you're also getting gobs of RAM to go along with a potent processor. The top SKU comes equipped with a whopping 128GB
Announced all the way back in 2019, Crimson Desert is an ambitious open-world RPG in development at Pearl Abyss – the studio behind the popular Black Desert Online MMO. Initially planned to arrive late last year, the game was pushed back to 2026 citing “longer than expected timelines”. Finally however, Crimson Desert is almost upon us, with the game having now officially gone Gold ahead of its March release date.
“We're thrilled to announce that #CrimsonDesert has gone gold! On behalf of the team at Pearl Abyss, thank you to our fans around the world for your support and for reaching this milestone with us. Stay tuned for more news, and see you in Pywel on March 19!”
For the uninitiated, ‘Going Gold’ means that the Crimson master disc has been submitted to Pearl Abyss’ publisher (in this case, themselves). Discs can then be pressed with finalised software and digital storefronts can upload the 1.0 version of the game ready for release.
Crimson Desert is an ambitious game, and one which many fear will not be able to live up to the expectations set by its gameplay demonstrations. Regardless of whether it will be the next big thing or not, the game should hopefully have no issues hitting its target release date.
KitGuru says: Are you excited for Crimson Desert? Do you think it’ll live up to expectations? Let us know down below.
Looking for an ergonomic chair under €300? You might be interested in the Sharkoon OfficePal C50, which offers plenty of adjustability features, such as 5D armrests, though it still has some shortcomings. But is it worth considering?
After what was an incredibly strong start, EA / DICE have not been able to maintain Battlefield 6’s momentum, with the game’s first Season seeing a lukewarm reception and Season 2 being delayed by nearly a month. In the lead up to BF6’s second Season the team have detailed some of what players can expect when it goes live on the 17th of February.
Publishing a community update blogpost, the team at Battlefield Studios offered some details on BF6’s Season 2 content. While still a bit early for the full roadmap, DICE spoke on the return of their Battlefield Labs program, writing:
“We’re using Labs to further polish and refine Season 2 content, validating changes and making final tuning adjustments ahead of launch while continuing to apply what we learn as we evolve the experience. In this next session, we’ll be testing content on one of Season 2’s new maps: Contaminated.”
Though we did not get a full breakdown of the map, it was confirmed to be similar in size to that of St. Quentin Scar from Battlefield 1 or Arras from BFV. Other aspects of Season 2 set to be tested first in Labs include the upcoming AH-6 Little Bird vehicle – “allowing us to evaluate how it fits within the broader vehicle ecosystem and how it performs across different combat scenarios.”
Beyond this, the team confirmed that they will continue to monitor “aircraft and vehicle combat systems” alongside “adjustments to weapons such as RPGs and TOW launchers”. Most importantly however the game’s “hit registration and overall combat consistency” will be seeing notable improvements.
Though not explicitly stated to be launching in Season 2, the team confirmed that Battlefield 4’s Golmund Railway will be coming to BF6 at some point in the future (beginning with Labs testing).
Last but not least, the team is said to be “continuing internal and exploratory testing around Battle Royale Solo play, as we evaluate how different player configurations impact pacing, balance, and the overall Battle Royale experience.”
Described as being “part of our ongoing effort to make informed decisions about how Battle Royale is structured and presented over time, rather than committing to a single permanent configuration” it appears as though solo queuing will make its way into RedSec eventually; though the question of when remains unknown.
Battlefield 6 came swinging out of the gate, but unfortunately they have so far been unable to capitalise on its success. Hopefully the team at Battlefield Studios are able to find a workflow which allows for consistent and high quality updates. Don’t expect too much from Season 2 however. The full blogpost can be found HERE.
KitGuru says: What did you think of BF6 at launch? Have DICE / BF Studios fumbled their post launch support? Let us know your thoughts down below.
AOC has officially expanded its B3 series lineup with two new QHD monitors: the 23.8-inch Q24B36X and the 27-inch Q27B36X. These displays bridge the gap between standard office work and gaming, ensuring that everyday tasks like scrolling through documents feel fluid, while gaming remains crisp.
Both monitors use IPS panels to provide accurate colour reproduction and wide 178-degree viewing angles, making them well-suited for professional multitasking and media consumption. In addition, both offer a 2560×1440 resolution at a 144 Hz refresh rate and a claimed 0.5 ms MPRT response time.
The 27-inch Q27B36X provides a pixel density of 109 ppi with wide colour coverage reaching 118.5% of the sRGB gamut, whereas the more compact 23.8-inch Q24B36X offers a sharper 123 ppi. Both models support Adaptive-Sync to eliminate screen tearing, while they accept HDR10 signals too. For long-term comfort, AOC has included Flicker-Free technology and a Low Blue Light mode to reduce eye strain.
Connectivity options include a single HDMI 2.0 port and a DisplayPort 1.4, ensuring compatibility with modern desktops, laptops, and consoles. These monitors are scheduled for release this month, with the Q24B36X priced at £109.00 and the Q27B36X at £129.00.
KitGuru says: AOC is making high-refresh QHD displays more accessible than ever with these new additions to the B3 series. By providing gaming-grade motion performance at an office-friendly price point, these monitors offer a compelling “all-in-one” solution for users who do not want to spend too much.
The latest addition to Seagate's large range of external hard drives is the Astro Bot Limited Edition Game Drive, designed for use with PS5 (storage only), PS4 (playback) and PC. It's got a 5TB capacity and is priced at £150/$170. We find out if it's worth buying.
The limited-edition drive is covered in artwork inspired by Astro Bot, winner of the Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2024.
Using the CrystalDiskInfo utility, we see that the drive inside the 21.5 x 81 x 122.5mm plastic enclosure is a 5TB Seagate Barracuda (ST5000LM-2U8170) 2.5in hard drive. The ST5000LM-2U8170 has a spin speed of 5,400rpm with 128MB of cache. The transfer rate for the drive is quoted as up to 140MB/s, and the drive uses a USB 3.0 Micro B interface.