Hearing a whizzing or cracking sound is last thing you ever want to hear and, it may even be the last thing you hear if you are being shot at! On first/third person shooter games like PUBG, being able to pinpoint the direction where hail of gunfire is coming from is essential and, that's where the HyperX Cloud Revolver 7.1 directional gaming headphones come in handy for telling the difference between a gunshot sound and the sound of the bullet passing by. You will know when the bullet shots are passing by you really close when the bullet sound goes from whizzing to a cracking/popping sound.
The HyperX Cloud Revolver 7.1 is on a league of its own when it comes to aesthetics as there is no other headset out there that looks quite like it. The Cloud Revolver 7.1 earcups have a flying saucer like design that gives the illusion the top part of the earcup is levitating on the bottom part of the earcup, housing the 50mm drivers. The split up construction of the Cloud Revolver 7.1 earcups integrates the stainless steel dual band which runs above the suspension headband. The stainless steel band integrates ridge rubber bits on the side for styling, as well as R/L markings. There is also exposed fabric cabling running from the earcup to to the headband.
Because of the deign, the Cloud Revolver 7.1 earcups do not pivot off of a yoke like other HyperX headsets such as the Cloud Stinger Core Wireless headset. The Cloud Revolver 7.1 earcups do not tilt nor swivel around, which is always good for getting a good fit on an odd-shape head. The earcups are made of hollow plastic, which makes the Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset feel a bit like an open-back headset. This means though, less passive isolation and more sound leakage than you get with the Cloud Flight S headset, which has thicker earcups that tilt and swivel.
The top and bottom of the Cloud Revolver 7.1 suspension headband is padded and covered with protein leather material that has been sewn together at the edges via overcast stitching. The word HyperX has been branded on top of the suspension headband, using an etching print. The suspension headband works, using a hard plastic self-recoiling band that slides in and out of the headband. The suspension mechanism works well and stays in place once adjusted on the head. That said, height adjustment is limited to about 3cm, which may be an issue for someone with a very tall head. The suspension headband measures 5cm wide.
Most 7.1 surround sound gaming headphones use a USB connection and that is because 7.1 virtual surround sound cannot be transmitted via 3.5mm connection, which is traditionally used for stereo sound. The neat thing about the Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset is that it can deliver both USB 7.1 sound as well as 3.5mm stereo sound, which is perfect for two reasons. One reason is that you can use the Cloud Revolver 7.1 for mobile gaming. The second reason is the sound engine of a lot of games, namely PUBG, is stereo; hence using stereo headphones is actually more beneficial for detecting directional sounds.
The HyperX Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset comes with a 7.1 surround sound dongle, which is a 3.5mm to USB-A adapter with volume remote controls. The 3.5mm female port is designed to connect the Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset into it to enable 7.1 surround sound. The 7.1 surround sound dongle has four physical volume buttons to volume up and down the volume in the headphones as well as the microphone volume. 
The buttons feel spongy a bit so, they don't have a responsive click. The 7.1 surround sound dongle measures 7cm long, 3cm wide and 2cm thick, including the shirt clip on the back of it. The 7.1 surround sound dongle is attached to a 2 meter long fabric audio cable that terminates into a USB-A connector. The HyperX Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset itself has a non-detachable fabric cable (1 meter long) that terminates into a straight rubber plug with a gold-plated 3.5mm connector.

The 7.1 surround sound dongle has two led buttons, one of which is a small button located on the side of it for enabling/disabling mute and mic monitoring. The other button is located on the front of the dongle and has a large 7.1 led in centre of it for turning on and off the 7.1 surround sound. This means, you can also use the dongle remote for stereo sound via USB connection if you don't want to use 3.5mm connection.
Both USB and 3.5mm connection deliver similar volume dynamics with different sound signatures though. With 7.1 sound disabled, the bass is more boomy, more prominent; whereas with 7.1 sound enabled the bass is more clear and less prominent, which accentuates the midrange (vocals) and treble (instruments), helping to easily identify footsteps. Via a 3.5mm connection to a computer, the bass sound is balanced with the higher frequencies. That said, when connected to the headphone jack of a phone, the volume sound is noticeably quieter, which is due to amplification and can be easily resolved with a headphone amp. Overall, if you prefer a "bassy" type sound signature, you will want to use the USB dongle remote with 7.1 sound disabled.
Total weight of the HyperX Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset (including the boom arm microphone) is 395 grams. The 7.1 surround sound dongle weighs 60 grams. The Cloud Revolver 7.1 boom arm microphone measures 13cm long and it's completely made of soft rubber. The boom arm is very flexible also, although it is not bendy; hence the microphone will not stay in place when bent at an angle.
The boom arm microphone has a 3.5mm connector at one end and, a large chamber housing a noise cancelling uni-directional microphone. Being uni-directional, the Cloud Revolver 7.1 microphone naturally blocks sound coming from the back and sides, which is ideal when gaming with other people in the same room. The noise suppression filtering helps a bit to minimize noise coming from under you, although if you have very clickity keyboard the microphone may still pick it up.
The Cloud Revolver 7.1 earpads are soft and cushiony and made with 1.5cm thick memory foam padding. Like other headphones from the HyperX Cloud family, the Cloud Revolver 7.1 earpads can be removed from the earcups, which means you can replace and/ interchange them with velour earpads, which are more breathable and cause less heat/sweat build up than leatherette earpads. The Cloud Revolver 7.1 earcups have 2cm depth and are covered with a thin layer of fabric, while the inner oval hole measures 7cm high and 5cm wide. The outer measures 11cm high and 9cm wide.
Removing the Cloud Revolver 7.1 earpads is not as easy as unclipping or twisting the earpad around and off they come. The Cloud Revolver 7.1 has the same removable earpad design as the other Cloud headphones, which is fiddly because it requires having to slip the rear bit of fabric overlay over the top of earcup while working your way around it, which takes practice.
One of the main key features that makes the HyperX Cloud Revolver +7.1 stand out from others are the directional speaker drivers, which have been angled to deliver sound similarly to directional/parametric speakers used for train station/ airport announcements. Directional speakers are also found at museums. If you live in the south east of England, one of the best places where you can experience directional/hypersonic sound in The Wing Centre at the Battle of Britain Memorial, which houses a massive wall video exhibit with about a dozen or so directional speakers delivering sound (gunfire and huge explosions) to just that area while everywhere else is just quiet. Quite an experience!
The HyperX Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset comes packaged inside hard box with a plastic preformed insert. You can buy the Cloud Revolver 7.1 headset directly from HyperX amazon shop. When buying the HyperX Cloud Revolver headphone be aware of the two versions - the standard Revolver headset and the Revolver 7.1 surround sound version.

No matter how many new video game consoles come out, namely the new Playstation 5, PC gaming is here to stay and for two very good reasons - keyboard and mouse. Just like the pen is mightier than the sword, so are the keyboard and mouse mightier than a gamepad controller, at least when it comes to playing first/third person shooters and real time strategy games!
If you are planning a switch from PC to console and/or like playing PC title games on consoles, you can up your game and get very close to PC goodness with the GameSir VX AimBox keyboard and mouse console adapter. The VX AimBox gives you the ability to use your beloved keyboard and mouse for more precise and swift aiming so, you won't miss 100% of the shots you take!
The GameSir VX AimBox comes with mobile app support via the GameSir World app, which is available to download from the Google Play Store and App Store. The GameSir World app connects to the VX AimBox via Bluetooth connection and does not require signing up for an account, other than enabling"location" and bluetooth on your phone. Once that's done, you are taken right into the main dashboard where you can gain access to several pages, including the button configuration page, firmware update page and tutorials page, which has detailed guides on how to connect the VX Aimbox to each console, as well as which keys get mapped to the keyboard.
From the GameSir World app, you also have access to advanced options such as mouse settings, including sensitivity, mouse smoothing, mouse curve acceleration and refresh rate, which can be changed from 30Hz to 60Hz or viceversa to alleviate choppy mouse movement. Mouse smoothing can help make the mouse less jerky and, it's a setting you typically find in first/third person games such as Guild Wars 2 and World of Warcraft to help alleviate jerky camera movement..
There is also an ADS (Aim Down Sight) setting (sensitivity and ping) for adjusting how fast you want to move the gun when scoping and firing. You can also increase/decrease joystick character movement speed and select trigger mode (click or long press). 
VX Aimbox only seems to work with wired keyboard and wired mouse, which has the advantage of no input lag. The USB-C port on the back of the VX Aimbox is input charge only; hence you cannot use it for charging external peripherals. Depending on the wired keyboard and wired mouse you use, the VX Aimbox may require more power to operate; hence the purpose of the USB-C port on the rear of the VX Aimbox.
The GameSir VX Aimbox measures 6cm deep, 8cm long and 1.5cm high so, it's very small and can fit in the palm of the hand. The VX Aimbox has a non detachable 46cm long cable fixed to the rear of it. The cable has the same stiff fabric sheath as the other included cables, which are GameSir branded. The included cables are a USB-A to micro USB cable and a USB-A to USB-C cable, both of which are 45cm long.
The GameSir VX AimbBox has a plastic construction with rubber feet on the bottom and a physical plastic button on top, as well as two lightsaber-like led bars across it. The button on top lets you change the color effect from four solid colors (blue, green, orange, purple) or color changing. On the front of the VX Aimbox, there are three reversible USB-A ports; hence you don't have to worry about the orientation of the plug when connecting the mouse or keyboard into the VX Aimbox.
The middle USB port is designated for the gamepad controller, which is needed in order for the VX AimBox adapter to work. Only the official gamepad controller that comes with the console works; hence you cannot use a third party controller such as the GameSir X2 controller, which is modeled after the Nintendo Switch.
Compatible console controllers include Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 5 (PS5), Playstation 4 (PS4) and Nintendo Switch, which has to be manually set to "pro controller wired communication" and in dock mode in order to work. If you have a dongle adapter, the Nintendo Switch can be used in portable mode also. As far as game compatibility, any games supported by the controllers will work when using the VX Aimbox, which also does not support audio passthrough via a headset jack of the controller. You can buy the GameSir Aimbox from amazon.

Boasting a super custom and unique bodykit, the Mad Catz RAT 6+ gaming mouse looks like something dreamed up at a modified car meet event! The RAT 6+ gaming mouse is complete with side skirts and, it even has a rear knob protrusion that looks like a modded exhaust tail pipe!
The raise side skit has a dedicated profile button perched atop the left click button and there is another side skirt down below for resting the thumb. The profile button lets you toggle between profiles, which are color coded. The profile button has an RGB led built-in to it that changes color every time you press it, letting you easily identify the profile (four to choose from).
Another area where the Mad Catz RAT 6+ mouse stands out is in the construction. Unlike most mice peripherals (including gaming mice), which are overwhelmingly made of plastic, the Mad Catz RAT 6+ frame base is made of solid metal with cutouts that showcase the scroll wheel and the mouse weights, which resemble exhaust pipe tubing. The base of the RAT 6+ has teflon pads that allows the mouse to easily skate/glide on a surface.
In terms of side buttons, the RAT 6+ has two long and thin buttons, a rubberized thumb barrel wheel and a small round button (precision button) located just above the thumb rest, making it easy and convenient to activate.
As mentioned earlier, the Mad Catz RAT 6+ mouse has a knob protruding out of the back of the mouse. This plastic thumb knob is designed to be unscrewed and gives you access to the RAT 6+ weight management system, which consists of a long metal pin and three weight discs inserted into it, just like metal washers. 
The mouse weights are held securely in place via a spring and the threaded thumb knob, which lets you tighten the weights snugly so, they don't wiggle around. The spring, weight discs and thumb knob weigh 20 grams. Each weight disc weighs 5 grams. Total weight of the mouse is 120 grams (without the cable). The cord has a semi rigid fabric sheath and it's non-detachable. It has a USB connector and measures 1.6 meters long.

Such outstanding gaming mouse wouldn't be complete without RGBs and the Mad Catz RAT 6+ has that too. The RGB lighting is located on three zones: the logo on top, the dpi buttons and the honeycomb etchings on the left side of the mouse next to the hex socket head cap bolt. The honeycomb leds are designed to shine onto the small claw marking below, giving the impression the claw marking is lighted. The small led bar indicator on the side indicates the current dpi profile.
The RGB lighting is managed via Mad Catz software where you can change colors, lighting effect (breathing, rainbow, color cycle and color chase). You can have each RGB zone with a different color but, the lighting effect works across all zones; hence you cannot have individual lighting effects for each RGB zone.
The Mad Catz RAT 6+ has a total of 11 buttons - 9 physical buttons and the thumb barrel, which doubles as two buttons. Buttons include the left/right click Omron switch buttons, scroll wheel middle press button, precision aim button (small round button), two dpi buttons and two left side buttons hidden below the thumb barrel. 
The physical buttons have an audible clicky actuation, while the rubbery scroll wheel and thumb barrel rotate smoothly without making any noise. The two dpi buttons are tucked right behind the scroll wheel and have a low profile design. While the dpi buttons don't get in the way, the front dpi button is fairly tucked under, making it not as easy to press.

By default, the Mad Catz RAT 6+ dpi buttons are set to 800 dpi, 1600 dpi, 3200 dpi and 12,000 dpi. If you're happy with these dpi profiles, you're good to go. If you want to tweak the dpi, you will need to download Mad Catz software, which is really worth it. 
You can change the dpi from 50 dpi (lowest) to 12,000 dpi (highest) in increments of 50 dpi, as well as do other cool things such as program all 11 buttons and make them perform whichever function you want. Assigning buttons is very easy by dragging and dropping a function into each button honeycomb slot. The "precision aim" button gradually lowers the dpi.

Other things the Mad Catz software lets you do include adjust lift-off (i.e. +2mm/+3mm) and change polling rate (125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz and 2000Hz). There is also an angle snap function, which is interesting to see since most gaming mouse software do not include it. When enabled, angle snapping is supposed to make the optical sensor (Pixart PMW 3360) help you draw perfect straight lines, a bit like when holding Shift while drawing lines in Photoshop. 
Angle snapping works and, it's mostly designed for finer control over crosshair placement in games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO). Some swear by angle snapping, while others do not. When enabled, angle snapping can make it a tad difficult to track a target and manage recoil.

The Mad Catz RAT 6+ hump (palm rest) can be fully detached from the body, as well as adjusted longwise via a sliding ratchet type mechanism that works similarly to that of a headphone band, although the RAT 6+ has a spring-loaded latch lever handle for locking the adjustment. The latch lever is tucked right under the mouse so, it's out of sight. The Mad Catz RAT 6+ is such an unconventional mouse. If you've ever been drawn to modded stuff or like to dabble in car cruising, you won't regret buying the RAT 6+ gaming mouse.

Depending on what type of content you shoot, tripods are right up there in importance with cameras and lenses! Tripods are so vital and come in different ranges, including tabletop tripods, pocket tripods and vlogging bendy tripods such as the Freehold and the Gorillapod, which is probably the most versatile tripod ever made because of its flexible leg joints.
There is also video tripods (usually come with a 3-way pan/tilt head) and full size, travel/photography tripods such as the Joby RangePod Smart (pictured), which is a must for landscape photography as it comes with a 360 ball head leveling base (bubble spirit level built-in). You can pretty much get any shot you can think of with the Joby RangePod Smart because it can be adjusted very low to the ground and high up on the ground for standing photography.
And, it isn't just slr/dslr cameras, the Joby RangePod Smart comes with a Joby-branded phone holder adapter that weighs 41 grams. The phone adapter looks and feels good quality so, it's not flimsy at all, thanks to its solid hard plastic construction, stocky clamps and thick rubber arms, which keep the phone securely in place. The phone holder clamp has a spring loaded mechanism to accommodate phones 6cm wide to 10cm wide.
The phone holder clamp also has a small locking lever on the back of it designed to lock the spring loaded mechanism so, the clamping arms will not open accidentally. The Joby phone holder integrates two 1/4 inch female threads for portrait and landscape orientation. The Joby phone holder adapter measures 9cm long, 3cm wide and 2.5cm deep.