Computer Act!ve - UK (2022-04-27)

28

Reviews

SPECIFICATIONS

M.2 connection required •• PCIe 4.0 compatible ••

500GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB capacities •• 80x23x11mm

(HxDxW) •• 41g •• Five-year warranty http://www.snipca.

com/41547

VERDICT If your PC already has the

right connections, this SSD is fast and

affordable

★★★★★

ALTERNATIVE TeamGroup PD1000

£245 For fast

storage without the

hassle of installation,

try this external

USB-C SSD

of writing, a 500GB model

costs £89, but there’s also a

1TB option for £140, going

up to 4TB for £785. You can find storage

that’s cheaper – there are 500GB M.2

SSDs on Amazon costing around

half the price. However, these are only

compatible with the older PCIe 3.0

connection standard.

Our test unit was staggeringly fast,

breezing past other drives we’ve tested

previously. In our sequential read and

write tests, it reached speeds of

58,912MB/s and 54,960MB/s respectively.

That’s faster than WD Black SN850

and Samsung 980 Pro SSDs. Its

performance also holds up in our SSD

benchmark test, where it scored an

impressive 2,969.

The combination of fast sequential and

If you’re thinking of upgrading your

PC’s storage with an SSD, we think you’ll

find it hard to beat this model. It requires

an M.2 slot on your motherboard to fit it,

and is compatible with the latest PCIe 4.0

standard, so will work best in PCs bought

in the last couple of years.

You’ll need to open your PC’s case to

install it, so you need to know your

way around your machine’s internal

components. Manage all that and you’ll

be rewarded with phenomenal speed at

a great price.

The storage comes in a range of

capacity options. On Amazon at the time

SOLID-STATE DRIVE ❘ £89 from Amazon http://www.snipca.com/41547

Corsair MP600 Pro LPX

Speed reader

SPECIFICATIONS

Vissles VS II switches •• Bluetooth 5.1 •• USB-C

charging •• Works with Windows, macOS, Android,

iOS •• 39x316x126mm •• 824g •• One-year warranty

http://www.snipca.com/41545

VERDICT A mechanical keyboard

that’s a pleasure to type on and won’t

take over your desk

★★★★★

ALTERNATIVE Logitech Pop Keys

£100

Logitech’s

keyboard

is more

colourful,

has a quirky

design and

use without any

problems.

Indeed, the

keyboard is

designed to last,

with the switches

engineered to survive 60 million presses.

If one does stop working, you can prise

off the key cover, remove the switch and

replace it with a new one.

It comes with several handy

accessories, the most notable being the

magnetic feet that you can adjust to

produce your preferred typing angle, as

well as a comfortable wrist rest.

The V84 has a 3,750mAh battery that

is charged via USB-C. Vissles promises

180 hours of usage from a full charge, so

you should be able to get about a month

of use out of it, based on an eight-hour

working day.

Mechanical keyboards usually provide

the best typing experience money can

buy, but many are large, wired chunky

devices. This compact, wireless model

from US firm Vissles bucks that trend.

At 39x316x126mm (HxWxD) it won’t

take up a lot of room on your desk,

though it lacks the extra number keys

that many keyboards have on the

right-hand side. It weighs a fairly hefty

824g, so may not be the keyboard you

want to carry around in a backpack and

take on your travels, but it can connect to

portable devices via Bluetooth. It does,

however, feel very robust, so should

absorb the rough and tumble of everyday

random performance makes the drive

well suited for huge file transfers and

general operation as a boot drive – perfect

for providing a speed boost to any

Windows PC. It’s our new favourite SSD.

27 April – 10 May 2022 • Issue 630

KEYBOARD ❘ £100 from Amazon http://www.snipca.com/41545

Vissles 84 Keyboard

Type cast