Impartial. No-nonsense. Real stuff.
All reviews on this website are based on thorough hands-on testing and real-world first-hand experience.
This category also includes previews and first-takes, derived from initial impressions, past experience, or preliminary assessments.
The NETGEAR CM600 Cable Modem is not new. I first got it more than two years ago, together with a 300Mbps Internet plan with Comcast. Before that, I generally replaced my modem almost every year. So CM600 has been one of my most lasting modems. Two years qualify as long-term. … Continue Reading
The Motorola MB8600 is an easy choice. At some $150, it makes a gratifying upgrade for those moving from a sub-Gigabit to a Gigabit cable broadband plan. If you’re in that situation, go for it, you won’t regret it. Dong’s note: I tested the Motorola SM8600 with Comcast. While the … Continue Reading
As the name suggests, the new Samsung 870 EVO solid-state drive (SSD), officially announced today, is the upgrade to the 860 EVO that came out two years ago. And it really is, sharing similar hardware components yet being much faster. In reality, though, this new internal drive is more like … Continue Reading
I find the ASUS RT-AX68U AX2700 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router, officially announced on January 13, 2021, in the U.S., a bit of an oxymoron. It’s somewhat an entry-level Wi-Fi 6 router that comes out after ASUS’s first Wi-Fi 6E machine, the GT-AXE11000. So it’s more like an exit-level Wi-Fi 6 broadcaster. … Continue Reading
Almost a year after first announcing the entry-level SURFboard mAX AX6600 Mesh, CommScope today officially made this Wi-Fi 6 system available. Is it worth the wait? Well, not really. The new mesh has nothing new. But this supposedly budget-minded mesh is not all bad either. In many ways, it’s similar … Continue Reading
The ASUS RT-AX92U, first released in mid-2019, is an interesting case for two reasons. First, you only find it during the transition from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6. And secondly, well, I reviewed it twice. Dong’s note: That’s right! You’re reading the updated review published on January 7, 2021, with … Continue Reading
Hi everyone! I hope this finds you in good health and high spirits. Stay safe, as always! I’m excited to start our brand new trip around the sun, and likely so are you! The year 2020 has been nuts, to put it mildly. For example, I’ve been in my comfy … Continue Reading
The TP-Link Deco X5700 AX5700 Tri-Band Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System is similar yet totally different from the Deco X60 I reviewed earlier this year. And that’s a great thing. Indeed, this one is arguably the best purpose-built mesh system TP-Link has had to offer yet. With tri-band, 160MHz … Continue Reading
