Neakasa P2 Pro Pet Grooming Kit

2020 threw everyone for a loop! But in some ways, COVID has taught us a few lessons. One in particular was that we had better be prepared to take care of our families every need without outside help, just in case all businesses had to shut down again! And we can’t forget everyone’s favorite family members…the family pet. When groomers had to shut their doors, we all were scrambling for alternatives to keep our fur babies comfortable. Up for review today is the Neakasa P2 Pro Pet Grooming Kit.

 

Features and specs:

-Power: 400W

-Hose Length: 1.5m

-Suction Power: 35W

-Dust Cup Capacity: 2L/67.6oz

-Product Size: 208x268x365mm

-Wire Length: 2.5m

-N.W: 2.5kg

-Noise: <74db

 

The Neakasa P2 Pro Pet Grooming Kit came in a nice color printed box, with photos and specs of the groomer. Opening the box revealed a well-protected product, held in place by custom molded cardboard. Materials used in construction was mostly plastic with some metal fittings. Quality of materials used, as well as the fit and finish was very good. Also included was the grooming brush, electric clippers, cleaning brush, desheding tool, nozzle, and multiple sized clipping combs, as well as owner’s manual. So, it is ready for any and all uses.

 

We have a small poodle mix in our family. This is important because they are non-shedders and need to be groomed on a regular basis to prevent matting. Our puppy also tends to be a bit skittish, so we felt it would be best to get her used to the Neakasa P2 Pro before attempting to use it on her. We turned it on and off in the same room as her, until she stopped jumping at the noise it made. Not that the noise was loud! The Neakasa P2 Pro was not nearly as loud as a full-sized vacuum, but there is some noise involved. After our puppy was used to the noise, we started picking it up and approaching her with the hose attachment. This caused her to run away at first, but our persistence paid off eventually (or maybe, she just got resigned to the inevitable). She allowed us to groom her with the Neakasa P2 Pro. All in all, the Neakasa P2 Pro performed well. It has good suction, so all the cut hair was whisked away with no mess left behind. It was fantastic not to have any of that mess to deal with! I will say that it was difficult convincing my puppy to allow up to use the Neakasa P2 Pro on her face or…more sensitive sections, but it did an adequate job.

 

All in all, the Neakasa P2 Pro was a good addition to our household. I’m not sure it will every completely replace a good grooming, but it will do in a pinch and has helped us to extend the time we need those professional services. With an MSRP of $180, it provides a good value.  Based on its design, features, quality and performance, the Neakasa P2 Pro has earned our Highly Recommended award. For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.neakasa.com.

JBL Pulse 5 Bluetooth Waterproof Portable Speaker Review

I’m such a music lover. I am always listening to music everywhere I go. In the car, or outdoors, like camping. To have your music outdoors, you need a portable speaker. JBL makes some of the best wireless Bluetooth speakers. Up for review is their Pulse 5. MSRP is $249.00.

 

Features and specs:

General Specifications

Output power (W): 30 W RMS for Woofer, 10 W RMS for Tweeter

 

Audio Specifications

Dynamic frequency response range (Hz): 58 Hz - 20 kHz (axial, -6 dB )

 

Dimensions

Dimensions (in): 4.2 x 8.5 x 5.2

Dimensions (cm): 10.7 x 21.6 x 13.2

Weight (kgs): 1.5

Weight (lbs): 3.2

 

Control and Connection Specifications

Bluetooth profiles: A2DP 1.3, AVRCP 1.6

Bluetooth frequency: 2407 MHz - 2475 MHz

Bluetooth transmitted modulation: GFSK, π/4 DQPSK, 8DPSK

Bluetooth transmitter power: < 10 dBm (EIRP)

Bluetooth version: 5.3

 

Battery

Maximum music playing time (hrs): 12

Charging time (hrs): 4

 

Features

JBL PartyBoost: Yes

Charging cable: Yes

Lightshow: Yes

Waterproof: Yes

Wireless: Yes

Rechargable battery: Yes

Bluetooth: Yes

 

The JBL Pulse 5 came in a great looking color printed box with photos and specs of the speaker. Opening the box revealed a well-protected speaker, held in place with a custom molded box and wrapped in a cloth bag. Materials used in the construction was mostly plastic with some rubber and metal. Quality of materials used, as well as the fit and finish, was excellent. It is a very well-made speaker. Also included was the charging cable, and owner’s manual.

 

I loved the design of the JBL Pulse 5. The tweeter speaker is on the top, giving 360 degrees of sound. On the bottom is an active woofer for extended bass response. And the woofer has quite the beefy surround, for a lot of excursion! The feet are a soft rubber to help isolate it from what it is sitting on. There is a metal grill on top to protect the tweeter. All of the controls, charger port, and LED battery indicator are on the back. And the outer plastic is clear, so you can see the light display. The built-in grip is also very handy for carrying it!

 

The JBL Pulse 5 has some great features as well. The lights are really cool. You can set it so it does a light show to the music. The light show even goes thru the woofer at the bottom.  So as you listen to the speaker not only do you see the light show from the sides, it also reflects off of the surface it is sitting on thanks to the light coming from around the woofer! At full charge it’ll give 12 hours of play time. And there’s no concern for having it outdoors in the rain or snow, or next to the pool, thanks to its IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating. It even has Party Boost. That means you can connect multiple pulses together, to have them all play together, for large groups or parties. There’s a JBL app that you can download to your smartphone to control it and adjust its settings.   Now let’s see how it sounds.

Nat King Cole – L-O-V-E; Piano was very natural, strings were pleasantly smooth with the bow going across the strings. Drums had good resolution of the sticks striking against the side of the snare. Trumpet was also silky smooth with great dynamics. And Nat King Cole’s vocals had great resolution of the texture of the timbre.

Earth, Wind & Fire – September: Percussion was crisp and clean with great dynamics. Trumpet was smooth as honey with great harmonics and dynamics. Vocals also had very good resolution of the timbre as well.

Katy Perry – Dark Horse: Vocals had very good resolution of the timbre. Not only were the bass beats dynamic, the sustained bass beats played deeper than expected, and also played with much better authority and output than expected for its passive radiator.

 

I was pleasantly unsurprised by the sound of the JBL Pulse 5.  It was traditional JBL sound that is so enjoyable.  The highs were crisp and clean, with smooth mids and bass that was more plentiful than expected.  It’s a small wireless speaker, yet thanks to the beefy woofer, it dips down for deeper extension and provides much more output than it otherwise could.  It’s a good thing the woofer has such a beefy surround, because it really dances.  It actually did put out a decent amount of bass!  And the top tweeter speaker provided a good amount of resolution, and was able to provide details in detailed tracks with multiple instruments.

 

The JBL Pulse 5 proved to be a great wireless Bluetooth speaker. It is a very well-made speaker to provide years of use. The light display is a lot of fun. And I love the peace of mind knowing it’s waterproof. Just be careful as the clear outer plastic and be scratched. And with the great sound that you get, the JBL Pulse 5 is also fairly priced. Based on its design, features, quality and performance, the JBL Pulse 5 has earned our Highly Recommended Award. For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.jbl.com.

VisionTek AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Graphics Card Review

The GPU is the component that handles all of your gaming needs. From getting the necessary information to display to handling your streams. There are many different GPU’s out and we are reviewing one of them. Today we are reviewing VisionTek’s AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, at a selling price of $649.

 

Features and specs:

AMD RDNA™ 2 Architecture

DirectX™ 12 Ultimate

Hardware Raytracing1

7nm GPU

GDDR6 Memory

PCI Express 4.0 Support

Radeon™ Freesync™ 2 Technology

Radeon™ Image Sharpening

DisplayPort™ 1.4 with DSC

HDMI™ 2.1 VRR

Video Streaming up to 8K

AMD Fidelity FX®

Radeon™ Anti-Lag®

Vulkan™ Optimized

OpenCL™ 2.2 Support

OpenGL 4.6 Support

The graphics card came in a Cardboard box fitted to secure the graphics card. On the box it has the features of the card on the back detailing the specifications of the product. The card was in an anti-static bag. This helps in keeping the Radeon RX6600 XT safe after transit.  Materials used in the construction was the PCB, and copper metal for the piping to help cool the GPU, and the metal framing that holds the fans to also assist in cooling, and the plastic fans.  Quality of materials as well as the fit and finish was excellent.

 

The VisionTek Radeon RX 6600 XT has a heatsink attached with two fans to help with the heat management. To power the Radeon RX 6600 XT you plug in a 8-pin PCIe plug. The Radeon RX 6600 XT doesn’t need too much power with a recommended supply of 500 W. With 8GB of GDDR6 along with their RDNA2 for memory you should be fine. For display ports the Radeon RX 6600 XT comes with three Display ports and one HDMI port, sufficient for most needs.

 

 

The system I was testing the Radeon RX 6600 XT with is a AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core. I used a couple programs to see how the Radeon RX 6600 XT would run. I used Horizon Zero Dawn, BorderLands 3, and 3DMark (Time Spy and Fire Strike). Fire Strike is a 1080p test the 3D Mark has and the Radeon RX 6600 XT ran well on the test. There were some parts where it lagged a little but ultimately ran alright. With Time Spy the Radeon RX 600 XT did have a little bit of a struggle with. Mainly because Ray Tracing is not the best with this GPU. In the end it ran slightly below average.

 

 

On BorderLands 3 the Radeon RX 6600 XT seemed to be running a little below average on Badass settings. Getting an average 31 FPS on the benchmark and 33 in the gameplay. On medium you're able to get 58 FPS on the benchmark and 60 on the gameplay. On Horizon Zero Dawn we did a lot better. Averaging about 60 FPS on both gameplay and on the benchmark on ultra settings.

 

 

In conclusion the VisionTek AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is a great 1080p graphics card. It does okay at 1440p gaming as well but doesn't do well with ray tracing. At the price of $649.00 it isn't giving you the performance you would expect at that price. It does have good features and performance, so if you find it on sale I would recommend picking up this Graphics card. In the end I would give the VisionTek AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT our Recommended Award. For more info and complete specs, check out their website at https://visiontek.com/

Thermaltake Ceres 500TG ARGB Mid Tower Computer Case Review

The case is the house of your desktop computer. Just like houses in real life they can come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Today I will be reviewing the Ceres 500 TG ARGB.  It is a mid tower case from Thermaltake. MSRP is at a very reasonable price of $169.99 USD.

 

DIMENSION (H X W X D): 525 x 245 x 507.7 mm, (20.7 x 9.6 x 20 inch)

 

NET WEIGHT: 10.5 kg / 23.15 lbs.

 

SIDE PANEL: 3mm Tempered Glass x 1

 

COLOR: Black

 

MATERIAL: SPCC

 

COOLING SYSTEM:

Front(intake): 140 x 140 x 25 mm CT140 ARGB fan (1500rpm, 30.5 dBA) x 3

Rear(exhaust):

140 x 140 x 25 mm CT140 ARGB fan (1500rpm, 30.5 dBA) x 1

 

EXPANSION SLOTS: 7 (Rotatable Patented Design)

 

MOTHERBOARDS: 6.7" x 6.7" (Mini ITX), 9.6" x 9.6" (Micro ATX),

12" x 9.6" (ATX), 12" x 13" (E-ATX)

 

I/O PORT: USB 3.2 (Gen 2) Type-C x 1, USB 3.0 x 2, HD Audio x 1

 

PSU: Standard PS2 PSU (optional)

 

FAN SUPPORT

Front:

3 x 120mm, 2 x 120mm, 1 x 120mm

3 x 140mm, 2 x 140mm, 1 x 140mm

Top:

3 x 120mm, 2 x 120mm, 1 x 120mm

3 x 140mm, 2 x 140mm, 1 x 140mm

Rear: 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm

 

RADIATOR SUPPORT

Front:

1 x 360mm, 1 x 240mm, 1 x 120mm
1 x 420mm, 1 x 280mm, 1 x 140mm

Top:

1 x 360mm, 1 x 240mm, 1 x 120mm

1 x 280mm, 1 x 140mm

Rear: 1 x 120mm

 

CLEARANCE

CPU cooler max height: 185mm

VGA max length: 395mm (with radiator), 425mm (without radiator)

PSU max length: 220mm

 

The Thermaltake Ceres 500 ARGB case came in a cardboard box with the descriptions of the case on the outside. The case is fitted with two pieces of custom fitted Styrofoam to keep it secure and a layer of plastic wrap around the case. The case was secure in the shipping due to these safety features. Materials used in the construction was mostly metal with some tempered glass and plastic.  Quality of materials used, as well as the fit and finish, was very good. With the case came some zip ties to help you keep things nice and organized, a bag of mixed black screws to help in your assembling, as well as a motherboard speaker. Thermaltake also included a warranty information and user manual booklet. They also have an LCD panel accessory that can be purchased separately.

 

The Thermaltake Ceres 500 ARGB is a slick black case with a tempered glass door. The locking mechanism for the door is a knob that twists to lock and unlock. In the back of the case the PCI-E slots are rotational, letting you install your GPU in whatever rotation you prefer instead of the horizontal that is standard. The case supports Mini ITX, Micro ATX, ATX, and E-ATX motherboards. There are 3 screen filters for the airflow in the front, bottom, and on top. 

 

The case supports a circle design for the look of the case as well as to provide excellent airflow for the fans to do their job. The case comes preinstalled with four 140 mm fans, three in the front of the case as the Intake and one in the back set to be the exhaust. And the fans are not just cheap throwaway fans.  They are the Thermaltake CT140 And there are spots to mount three more fans on the top if desired. This ensures that you get plenty of airflow into the case. The fan blades are RGB so you can have the RGB aesthetic with the case.

 

In front of the intake fans there is a little cutout in the shroud to allow for a radiator to be placed there to give you another location for your cooling. So you can mount a radiator for water cooling either on the top, or behind the three intake fans at the front. The I/O panel is located on the side next to the front panel. This includes the power button, the LED button for the case, two audio plugins, a USB type-C, and two USB-A ports.

 

On the other side hidden behind the metal side panel, it has fairly normal cable management with the cables for the various components of the case being secured by some Velcro wraps and plastic clips. There are two plates in the back and one in the main chamber that support two 2.5 or one 3.5 hard drive. Inside the shroud of the case are another two slots for hard drives either 2.5 or 3.5. With a total capacity of eight 2.5 hard drives or five 3.5 hard drives, this case has a fantastic amount of storage capabilities. The case also comes with a GPU mounting bracket to help stabilize your GPU no matter the size.

 

In concussion the Thermaltake Ceres 500 TG ARGB is a great mid tower case that has an excellent amount of space for your components, compatibility with their LCD panel, and is an overall great looking case. It is well made, and provides a lot of functionality, including more recent functionality like ARGB lighting controlled with the newer motherboards headers and button on the front of the case. The price point of $169.99 is a great price for the product you will be getting, providing a great bang for the buck. Based on its design, features, quality, and performance, it has earned our Highly Recommended award.  For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.thermaltake.com.