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Top 10 Best Portable Radios of 2020 – Review and Comparison

Looking to purchase the best portable radio in 2020? With so many different products available, it can be hard to decide on what device to buy, considering the vast differences in features and price points.

Originally invented in 1965, the portable radio has been consistently used by people around the world to listen to music, news and current affairs.

These days, radio can do much more than that, with digital radio, alarm and even Bluetooth capabilities being common in portable radios.

If you are in the market for a new portable radio, we’re here to help. Below we have reviewed ten of the most popular portable DAB/AM/FM radios available, so you can be more informed on what is best for your specific needs and budget.

Read on to find out features, price points and overall quality of top ten portable AM/FM radios currently on the market!

Alternatively, if you need a radio for your home, we have just finished baking the best tabletop radio review, so make sure you check it out.

Best Portable Radio – Top 10 Quick Comparison

Image Sound power / Weight / Size / Band

Best FM Radio For General Use – Avantree SP850 3-in-1

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Ultra-portable and modern design with backlit LCD. Streams music via Bluetooth, SD card or works as a FM radio.

3 W

5.6 oz

5.2 x 1.3 x 2.6 in

Best Portable AM FM Radio – Panasonic RF-2400

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Simple, affordable AM / FM radio that features ar precision tuning and a retro look. One of the best portable radio sellers on Amazon.

3 W

16 oz

3.2 x 9.2 x 4.8 in

AM, FM

Best for Jobsite – Bosch PB180

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Tough, heavy duty and waterproof body makes it perfect for jobsite use. Coupled with an ultra-long battery life this is the best construction site radio around.

10 W

64 oz

13 x 6.5 x 4.8 in

AM, FM

Best Retro Radio – Studebaker SB2000TG

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A budget version of a cool looking retro radio. It features a simple design with the most basic operation and controls.

0.35 W

26 oz.

7.5 x 5.6 x 3.5 in

AM, FM

Best Small Radio – Sony ICFP26

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One of the best ultra-portable radios around. Small size and lightweight design ensure it can easily slide in your pocket. Great with headphones.

0.1 W

6.7 oz

4.69 x 2.74 x 1.50 in

AM, FM

Best Emergency Crank Radio – RunningSnail MD-090

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One of the best compact emergency radios we’ve tested. Radio can be powered with solar, batteries, USB cable and hand crank.

3 W

8.8 oz

6.2 x 2.1 x 2.9 in

AM, FM

Top Sound Quality – Sangean PR-D5BK

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Great sound quality in a very portable package. Add strong reception and you get one of the best general purpose portable radios out there.

2 W

58 oz

10.2 x 5.4 x 2.5 in

AM, FM RDS

Best Radio for Shower – Jensen Bluetooth Wireless Waterproof Shower Speaker Radio

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Features Bluetooth streaming support and built-in FM radio. Splash resistant design make it a perfect choice for bath or shower usage.

N/A

17 oz

8.9 x 7.6 x 2.5 in

AM, FM, Bluetooth

Best Budget Emergency – RunningSnail Emergency Hand Crank Self Powered

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The best budget emergency radio on the market. You can power up the radio with solar, USB cable and hand crank. Upgraded LED flashlight.

N/A

7.8 oz

5 x 1.8 x 2.4 in

AM, FM NOAA

Best Pocket Radio – C. Crane CC Pocket AM/FM Pocket

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A pocket radio power house. It features the premium feel, material quality and build. Top choice for pocket size radios, but somewhat pricey.

N/A

3.8 oz

4.2 x 2.5 x 1 in

AM, FM NOAA

Top 10 Portable Radio Shootout

Best FM Radio For General Use – Avantree SP850 3-in-1

Ultra-portable and modern design with backlit LCD. Streams music via Bluetooth, SD card or works as a FM radio.

3 W

5.2 x 1.3 x 2.6 in

5.6 oz.

View on Amazon

Best Portable AM FM Radio – Panasonic RF-2400

Simple, affordable AM / FM radio that features ar precision tuning and a retro look. One of the best portable radio sellers on Amazon.

3 W

3.2 x 9.2 x 4.8 in

16 oz.

AM, FM

View on Amazon

Best for Jobsite – Bosch PB180

Tough, heavy duty and waterproof body makes it perfect for jobsite use. Coupled with an ultra-long battery life this is the best jobsite radio around.

10 W

13 x 6.5 x 4.8 in

64 oz.

AM, FM

View on Amazon

Best Retro Radio – Studebaker SB2000TG

A budget version of a cool looking retro radio. It features a simple design with the most basic operation and controls.

0.35 W

7.5 x 5.6 x 3.5 in

26 oz.

AM, FM

View on Amazon

Best Compact Radio – Sony ICFP26

One of the best ultra-portable radios around. Small size and lightweight construction ensure it can easily fit in your pocket. Great with headphones.

0.1 W

4.69 x 2.74 x 1.50 in

6.7 oz.

AM, FM

View on Amazon

Best Emergency Crank Radio – RunningSnail MD-090

One of the best emergency waterproof radios on the market. Power sources include solar, batteries, USB cable and hand crank.

3 W

6.2 x 2.1 x 2.9 in

8.8 oz.

AM, FM

View on Amazon

Best For Music – Sangean PR-D5BK

Amazing sound quality for the size and strong AM FM reception make it one of the top choices for general purpose portable radio.

2 W

10.2 x 5.4 x 2.5 in

58 oz.

AM, FM RDS

View on Amazon

Best Radio for Shower – Jensen Bluetooth Wireless Waterproof Shower Speaker Radio

Features Bluetooth connectivity and built-in radio support. Splash resistant design make it a perfect choice for bath or shower usage.

N/A

8.9 x 7.6 x 2.5 in

17 oz.

AM, FM, Bluetooth

View on Amazon

Best Budget Emergency – RunningSnail Emergency Hand Crank Self Powered

The best budget emergency radio on the market. You can power up the radio with solar, USB cable and hand crank. Upgraded LED flashlight.

N/A

5 x 1.8 x 2.4 in

7.8 oz.

AM, FM NOAA

View on Amazon

Best Pocket Radio – C. Crane CC Pocket AM/FM Pocket

A pocket radio power house. It features the premium feel, material quality and build. Top choice for portable pocket size radios, but somewhat pricey.

N/A

4.2 x 2.5 x 1 in

3.8 oz.

AM, FM NOAA

View on Amazon

1. Best For General Use – Avantree SP850 3-in-1

Avantree SP850 3-in-1 is a multipurpose speaker that features Bluetooth, FM radio, MicroSD card playback, and an auxiliary port.

It also comes with rechargeable Li-ion batteries and a headphone jack, which are great inclusions for the price.

The radio is well-constructed and has a nice on/off volume control switch with a bit of a retro ode to old radios of the past. The radio itself is quite small and will fit in your hand comfortably.

On the front panel, you will find the small LCD screen with six buttons including menu, mode, and Bluetooth amongst others. Besides the volume control switch, the design is very modern with both sides highlighted in bright red color.

It also comes with a carrying strap, which is always handy to carry portable radios around. Besides, the radio comes with an integrated antenna, yet if you ever feel the signal strength is not enough, you can use a USB cable as an extension.

The sound quality doesn’t really stand out due to the small 3-watt speaker. It isn’t horrendous, but it is not impressive either.

Since the radio produces moderate volume levels, it is best used in quiet places. Alternatively, you can always use the headphones port which is actually quite comfortable given the radio’s size.

On the downside, the radio lacks AM band and is limited to FM coverage only. Depending on your use, this might be a deal-breaker if you are looking for a radio that is versatile. Although the device is small, it would still be nice to be able to connect it to AC power, but unfortunately, Avantree SP850 runs on rechargeable battery only.

Bottom Line

Avantree SP850 3-in-1 is a small digital radio with a lot of features, however, an AM band support and a more powerful speaker would have made it even better. Although it does have some cons, given the price point the radio represents unbeatable value. If you are looking for a small, cheap FM radio with Bluetooth support and rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries, you may have found one of the best portable Bluetooth radios around.

7.8/10

Portability 90% 90%

Features 80% 80%

Sound Quality 60% 60%

Value 80% 80%

POSITIVE

Tons of features in a small device

Carrying strap and rechargeable batteries are included

Backlit LCD

2 Years Warranty

NEGATIVE

Unimpressive speaker

No AM band

Check Price

2. Best Portable AM FM Radio – Panasonic RF-2400

Panasonic RF-2400 is probably the most popular portable AM FM radio currently available on the market.

The aesthetic design of the radio has retro touches that are common for electronics design from the early 80s.

Besides the product’s physical appearance, it also has a bunch of great design features that are not common in other products in this price range.

This portable radio is easy to use and comes with some great features. The antenna extends to 24 inches which helps with FM reception strength. The on/off switch also acts as a band selector switch when you move it further to the right. The device tuning wheel is quite large, sensitive and precise, which helps with easy station fine-tuning.

The handle doesn’t fold all the way in like with most radios. Instead, it folds to the back, creating a ready-made stand. Another cool feature is the glow in the dark dial, making it a breeze to tune at night.

The sound quality is more than decent, given the radio’s price point. A single 4-inch speaker delivers a great sound usually found in slightly more expensive radio alternatives.

In terms of power choices, you get both – AC and battery-powered operation. To use the radio on the go you need four AA batteries, unlike other devices that take larger and heavier C size batteries.

There is one questionable inclusion to mention, and that is the earphone jack. Not to be confused with a headphone jack that powers both ears. An earphone jack is a single, left ear only jack that cannot be used with standard stereo mode headphones.

On the downside, the only major complaint we could find is the absence of an external auxiliary port. It means that the radio cannot be used as a speaker for other portable media players you may have.

Bottom Line

Panasonic RF-2400 is an affordable, simple radio that sits amongst the best portable radios in its price range. It features a precise tuning and excellent sound for a very wallet-friendly price. Although we’d love to see a headphone socket included, we still easily find it to be one of the best value portable radios around.

8/10

Portability 80% 80%

Features 70% 70%

Sound Quality 70% 70%

Value 100% 100%

POSITIVE

Fantastic AM/FM reception

Impressive sound quality

Glow in the dark dial

Extremely easy to use

NEGATIVE

NOAA weather radio is extremely handy for all those situations.

Lack of external auxiliary port

Check Price

3. best Jobsite radio – Bosch PB180

Bosch is a brand that is best known for its heavy-duty tools and household appliances. Yet, many may not know that they also make a wide range of durable job site radios for the toughest conditions.

Bosch PB180 is a compact and portable version specifically designed for construction and job site use.

As a general use portable radio, it may come across as rather bulky due to the protective element on the body.

The radio is housed in a water-resistant, heavy-duty plastic case to protect it from drops and bumps that can occur at a construction site.

In fact, the shock-absorbing case protects the radio from drops of up to 6.5 feet high and guarantees to remain fully functional.

The case isn’t exactly great looking, and we won’t find this radio in any aesthetic design hall of fame, but it is more of a function over form type of product. It has been designed for all-day use by tradespeople wanting extra durability, and it does an excellent job at it.

The radio comes with an AC adapter for power, yet the device is also compatible with Bosch 18V lithium-ion batteries. Using the battery allows the radio to last for up to two days with continuous use – a big plus when you are working through the day. In addition, if you are a tradesman, you may already have those Bosch batteries as they are compatible with most of their tools.

Regarding the sound, it comes with two high performance, 5-Watt speakers so that you can hear the radio over job site noise.

Another handy feature is the external auxiliary port, which allows you to connect any digital media device to Bosch PB180 and use it as speakers.

The radio supports both AM/FM bands and has ten memory preset options for all your favorite stations. The radio also includes a 7” antenna that pivots and rotates 360 degrees for maximum reception both indoors and outdoors, but it is not DAB compatible.

It comes with a one year warranty, which is a nice added extra to protect your wallet if the product doesn’t live up to standard. Users have remarked that it is the perfect radio for outdoor use and working due to being durable, lightweight and producing great quality sound.

Bottom Line

Bosch PB180 is the number one choice for a portable FM radio for worksite use. The combination of the ultra-long battery life, shock-absorbing casing and powerful speakers make it one of the best jobsite radios in a compact size for construction workers and any job sites in general.

8/10

Portability 80% 80%

Features 70% 70%

Sound quality 90% 90%

Value 80% 80%

POSITIVE

Heavy duty rugged radio

Shock and water resistant

Two good quality speakers

Fits into a half L-BOXX-2

NEGATIVE

Not DAB compatible even though it is a higher priced radio

Need to purchase batteries separately

Check Price

4. Best Retro Radio – Studebaker SB2000TG

Studebaker is a brand that focuses on making affordable, easy to use portable AM/FM radios.

Studebaker SB2000TG, in particular, features a truly retro design and looks from the golden days of the 50s or 60s.

The radio has a great compact size with a flip-up handle that allows you to transport it easily in one hand.

The eye-popping feature of this device is the gorgeous metal speaker grill. It really stands out and adds retro charm to the radio. In addition, the old school rotary dial on the front panel nicely completes the overall retro look and allows you to dial in the radio station you want.

On the side of the radio is the band select and external auxiliary port, which allows the radio to be used as a speaker for other media players.

Sound-wise, you get a single 2.25” size premier speaker. It is not the best we’ve seen, but given the price point, the sound quality produced is very respectable.

It is great to see that the radio comes with an AC adapter. It allows you to save on the batteries if the power point is around. If you do choose to use batteries, however, the radio takes four large C sized batteries.

On the downside, there is no DAB support. Also, we feel a backlight on the dial or tuning indicator would be a convenient feature as it is hard to change channels in the dark.

Also since the radio comes with a shorter 11 inches antenna instead of a more standard 24 inch, the reception quality in demanding conditions is impacted. Lastly, a headphone port would also be a welcome feature to have.

SB2000TG comes with a 90-day warranty which is typical for radios. Overall, users seem to be delighted with aesthetics and value the radio delivers at a very affordable price.

Bottom Line

Studebaker SB2000TG is a cool and easy to use portable radio that might be a good choice if you are on a budget. The retro look is very thematic, and the speaker grill looks great. If you are looking for a simple, practical, bare-bones old-school looking radio on a budget, it does not get much better than this.

7.5/10

Portability 80% 80%

Features 70% 70%

Sound Quality 70% 70%

Value 80% 80%

POSITIVE

Dual power operation

Auxiliary input

Cool retro design

Comes with AC adapter

NEGATIVE

The antenna is too small to get great FM reception

No backlight on the dial or tuning indicator

Check Price

5. Best Small Radio – Sony ICFP26

Sony ICFP26 is an ultraportable vertical AM/FM radio. Designed to sit in your pocket comfortably, this is the smallest radio on our list, weighing just 6.7oz.

For those looking for the smallest radio they can find, Sony ICFP26 is likely to be the best small radio you can buy today.

There are a lot of things to like with this tiny portable radio, and it starts with battery life. It requires only two AA batteries to deliver up to 110 hours of listening time.

When the battery gets to a low level, the power LED turns red, indicating that battery change is required.

The all-black housing gives the device a modern look. It features the speaker at the front and the tuning dial on the side. The tuning wheel is smooth and scans through channels nicely. Below the tuning wheel is a single switch that contains the on/off/AM/FM selections, which is a smart design.

The best thing about radio case is that it has a flat bottom, that allows it to stand on a flat surface. At the same time, the case plastic has a matte-like finish, which looks great but may get scratched up pretty quickly.

Sony has also included a high-quality wrist strap which is a small thing, but it makes it easy to carry around.

Our only complaint we have is with the telescoping antenna. It is 17 inches long, which is decent for an ultraportable radio, but it does not come with a guard or protection. It makes carrying the radio in your hand or a pocket slightly uncomfortable.

The speaker is also quite small and unimpressive, but that is expected when the device is barely larger than a pack of playing cards. This radio does come with a stereo headphone jack so you can listen to it like you would with your iPhone or the old-school Sony Walkman.

Bottom Line Sony ICF-P26 is an ultraportable radio that is exceptionally sturdy and features a great channel selection sensitivity. The telescopic antenna is not perfect as it is hosted outside of the radio body. At the same time, this minor flaw does not prevent ICF-P26 from joining the ranks of the best small radios available today. If you are looking for an ultraportable radio, mainly for headphone listening on a shoestring budget, you would be hard-pressed to find a better deal.

8.5/10

Portability 100% 100%

Features 70% 70%

Sound Quality 80% 80%

Value 90% 90%

POSITIVE

Power LED indicators dim when battery level is low

Power switch that doubles as the band select

Flat base design so the radio stays upright

NEGATIVE

Telescopic antenna is badly designed

Sound quality could have been better

Check Price

6. Best Emergency Crank Radio- RunningSnail MD-090

RunningSnail Solar Crank NOAA Weather Radio is purposely built for emergencies and is a great option if you want to be prepared for the worst.

The housed in a hard plastic case is extremely durable that is ready to take some beating. The body features a bright, vivid green color that should help you find the radio easily, even in the dark.

The front of the body features basic radio controls with the solar panel at the top and the flashlight on the side.

To improve reception in hard to reach places, the radio comes with an extended antenna that should give you the best chance wherever you are.

Overall, there are four ways to power the radio. You can use the hand crank, solar charge panel, micro USB or AAA batteries.

One of the cool features is the ability to charge other devices. You will find an additional standard size USB port on the side that can provide charge to your phone or other portable devices in emergencies.

If you choose to use a hand crank, a minute of cranking should get you 20 mins of radio, or 30 mins of flashlight use. If you do need to make an emergency call, the radio has a built-in SOS button into the bottom of the case that initiates a loud siren sound to attract nearby people.

As with most emergency type radios, you will find a reasonably bright flashlight built into the radio’s body. It will definitely come in handy for outdoor use when camping or hiking, or as a backup flashlight for home.

We could not find many things to complain about as thousands of happy customers and positive reviews is a great testament to that. If we really had to push for it, I would want to see the speaker produce a slightly better quality sound. At the same time, this is a survival radio that was designed with a different focus in mind, so I may be asking for too much.

Bottom Line

RunningSnail MD-090 is one of the best emergency radios you will find on the market. It is jammed packed with features such as the flashlight, portable device charging, SOS siren and 4 ways to be powered (crank, battery, solar or USB power bank). Fully charged it provides up to 12 hours of light or 6 hours of radio time. A great result that makes it one of the best portable radios for emergencies.

8/10

Portability 80% 80%

Features 90% 90%

Sound Quality 70% 70%

Value 80% 80%

POSITIVE

Great amount of features for survival situations

Integrated with NOAA for emergency weather alerts

Tough build and reliability required for emergencies.

Emergency solar power access

NEGATIVE

Unimpressive speaker

The looks may not be for everyone

Check Price

7. Best Sound Portable Radio – Sangean PR-D5BK

When PR-D5BK was released, Sangean claimed to offer the “last portable radio that you will ever have to buy”. I think this may be somewhat of a stretch statement, but the radio does have some great features that make it an option you should probably consider.

Device functions are located at the front and both sides of the radio. At the front, you get 5 FM and 5 AM band presets, radio alarm function, sleep timer, and battery power indicator.

On the left side is the power supply input, you will find an external AUX input, earphone jack, and a mono/stereo switch. The other side hosts volume and tuning knobs.

The tuning knob has an auto-seek option so you can scan through channels without having to turn it manually.

Unlike the majority of portable outdoor radios, Sangean PR-D5BK has two, high-quality speakers that deliver an excellent stereo sound. In fact, the sound quality and the pure listening experience is superior to any other radio in our review.

Tuning wise, the radio has two different antennas, one per band. The AM Band utilizes a seven-inch Ferrite AM antenna bar for improved AM Reception. For the FM band, there is a 26.5″ Adjustable Telescopic FM Antenna.

Regarding the downsides, we could only think about batteries and the lack of Bluetooth support. First, there are 6 C sized batteries, which is a lot. We understand that you need electric power for loud and good quality sound, but we feel it has a couple too many. Also, given the price point, it would be a reasonable expectation to include a rechargeable battery in the box.

The absence of Bluetooth also feels a little bit of a miss, especially knowing that the radio has all it needs to become a small boom box.

Bottom Line

Sangean PR-D5BK is a well built and designed portable radio. The features are useful, the speakers are excellent and the above the fold signal strength makes it one of the best portable radios on the market. If you don’t mind using 6 x C size batteries and not have Bluetooth connectivity, PR-D5BK delivers a great package that would even work in noisy places.

8/10

Portability 70% 70%

Features 70% 70%

Sound Quality 100% 100%

Value 80% 80%

POSITIVE

Great ferrite antenna AM/FM reception

Superb stereo sound quality

Backlit LCD display

RDS support

Comes with power cord

NEGATIVE

Bass can be a little too heavy with no way to turn it down

No Bluetooth support

No carry handle

Check Price

8. Best Radio For Shower – Jensen Bluetooth Waterproof

Jensen Bluetooth Wireless Waterproof Shower Speaker Radio is a versatile radio that is perfect for shower use but can do much more than that.

The device has a multitude of features built-in such as Bluetooth speaker, radio, NFC, clock and a speakerphone. It is straightforward to use and features a simple yet robust body.

You will find a multi-function blue back-lit LCD display that allows you to view time, radio band, Bluetooth connectivity, and other details.

The device has a splash-resistant case so that you can use it in your bath or shower.

The device comes with a detachable rubber strap. It allows you to hang the portable radio over a multitude of things such as the shower rod, hook or taps.

It is also great to see integrated Bluetooth support in such a relatively cheap device. It allows you to connect the device to your phone or other portable device and use it as a speaker. For example, you can make a shower playlist on your phone, connect the speaker and then listening to your curated tunes when you are scrubbing. Alternatively, you can simply tune into your favorite radio channel.

On the downside the unit does not come with batteries included, so you need to source your own four AA batteries. The battery compartment requires a flat blade screwdriver so make sure you have one handy. Users have noted that the battery compartment is quite hard to open – even with a flat blade and that it is possible to thread the screw holes if you aren’t careful.

Bottom Line

Jensen Shower Speaker is a great choice for a shower or bath use. The combination of a low price, Bluetooth features and easy to hang rubber strap is hard to beat. If you are looking for the best waterproof portable radio that can also play soundtracks from your phone, this little wireless shower speaker is a good fit for the job.

7.8/10

Portability 90% 90%

Features 70% 70%

Sound Quality 60% 60%

Value 90% 90%

POSITIVE

Bluetooth support

Good reception given built-in antenna

Rubber strap makes hanging it anywhere very easy

NEGATIVE

The battery compartment is hard to open and needs a flat head screwdriver

“Splash-proof” not waterproof

Check Price

9. Best Emergency Compact Radio – RunningSnail MD-088s

RunningSnail MD-088s is the younger, cheaper brother of the all-weather radio MD-090 we have reviewed before.

It has many of the same features in a smaller design, however, there are also few things missing.

Despite the size, this little emergency radio packs enough features to make you strongly consider it if you are on the market for emergency portable radios.

You can charge the radio in three ways, via a micro USB connection, solar energy or manual hand crank. Unlike its bigger brother MD-090 (see above) using AAA batteries with this radio is not supported.

Since the radio also supports NOAA weather service, the weather notifications are always at your fingertips. The SOS alarm feature is not available on this radio; hence if it is something important to you, you may want to consider MD-090 (see above) as an emergency radio with weather channel support instead.

The odd shape of the radio reminds of an old flashlight. The bottom of the unit has a square base allowing it to stand upright on flat surfaces.

This emergency radio also features an updated LED flashlight that now comes with a built-in 1W LED. It is strong enough to light up a room or an area for extended periods of time.

The built-in speaker size is relatively small, so the sound quality is nothing special, yet acceptable for occasional use.

If you are planning to use the hand crank to power up the built-in rechargeable battery, then you may find it uncomfortable. Due to that, cranking for portable device charging is not recommended, unless there is no other way around it.

Bottom Line

RunningSnail has nailed the compact emergency radio again with MD-088s. With solar, USB and hand crank charging, flashlight and a decent radio for occasional use, RunningSnail have delivered one of the best small portable radios for emergency use. Although SOS alarm would have been a welcome addition, it still represents a great choice for anyone looking for a compact emergency radio with an affordable price tag.

8/10

Portability 90% 90%

Features 70% 70%

Sound Quality 70% 70%

Value 90% 90%

POSITIVE

Compact size with plenty of features

Integrated NOAA weather alert feature

Radio antenna gives a good signal

Three ways to power the radio

NEGATIVE

Unimpressive speaker

Hand crank is not comfortable to use

Check Price

10. Best Pocket Radio – C. Crane CC Pocket AM/FM Pocket

C. Crane CC Pocket is a premium handheld portable radio that has more features than most portable radios on the market.

It comes at a higher price point than other compact portable radios on the list, but it is well justified.

The build quality is solid and sleek, with a rubber casing around the edge of the radio. It adds another layer of protection and helps to grip the radio when carrying around.

The face of the radio has an LCD and five one-touch memory presets to access your favorite radio stations. In total, the radio can store up to 25 presets on both the AM and FM bands.

The LCD display is relatively simple but very readable and neat. It features a backlit display screen that works great in the dark. The radio also features a sleep function, which you can enable by holding the power button.

In addition to the standard AM/FM bands, the radio has access to NOAA Weather channels through an alert mode. This feature is not common in a budget of mid-level small pocket radios, but anyone spending time hiking, camping or bushwalking will find it useful. You can further customize the weather alerts you want to listen to.

Since the radio is positioned as a premium pocket radio, it comes with quality made belt clip and earbuds.

There aren’t many flaws to point out except that the radio is pricey. But like we said at the beginning of our review, despite the premium price tag, we feel it is well worth your attention.

Bottom Line

C. Crane CC Pocket is a portable pocket radio powerhouse. It is made to be a device that can withstand the stress of hiking and traveling but also works great as a stay at home occasional use radio. It comes in a little pricey, but it is well worth the money. If you want a premium pocket radio that is ultra-portable and robust at the same time, you will struggle to find a better alternative.

8/10

Portability 90% 90%

Ports / Connections 80% 80%

Sound Quality 80% 80%

Value 70% 70%

POSITIVE

Included earbuds are of great quality

Fantastic reception

Modern design

Premium build quality

NEGATIVE

Built-in speaker could be better

No DAB support

Expensive

Check Price

Portable AM FM Radio Buying Guide – Key Features to Consider

Before you begin your search for the best portable AM/FM radio and read radio reviews, there are a few key features to consider. Knowing what to look for should make your search easier, skimming through the radio reviews quicker and help you pick the top portable radio for your needs.

By doing this, you will reduce time wasted, looking at products that don’t fit your needs and narrow down your search to make the overall experience more enjoyable.

There is a wide range of features that could be handy, but here are three key features we think you should definitely consider:

Mono or Stereo Speakers

Sound quality should be considered upon purchasing the best portable outdoor radio. If you are buying a mono device, the radio will only have one channel. Alternatively, stereo support requires two channels, which results in clearer and better sound quality.

DAB Compatibility

Digital Audio Broadcasting (or DAB for short) is a type of radio broadcast that can offer more efficient use of bandwidth than a regular AM or FM spectrum. Consider whether the radio you are looking at is DAB compatible if you want to listen to higher sound quality radio stations. Besides, it is a good fail-safe in case AM/FM broadcasts get shut down in the future.

Portability

If you are on the hunt for the small pocket size radios, then portability is likely to be one of your main concerns. The most portable radios are also referred to as pocket or walking radios. It is important to mention if the size is a priority, portable pocket FM AM radios are a lot more common than pocket DAB radios, which are still making their way into the portable radio market.

Also, most portable radios feature a 3.5mm headphone connection; some even have earphones included in the box. It makes those radios with earphones accessible and easily enjoyable on the go.

Historically, Sony’s radios were strong in battery-operated portable pocket radio or smallest radio size category, but with the new competition from CC. Pocket, the radio selection is no longer as straight forward. Both CC Pocket from Crane and ICFP26 from Sony (see above) from our review are very capable of smallest size radios that can be easily carried around in a pocket.

Battery Life

The battery life of a portable AM, FM, or DAB radio should always be taken into consideration when choosing the product with the best fit. If you are planning on using the radio out of the house often, battery-operated radio with extended battery life is what you need.

There are two main types of battery-operated radios to consider, rechargeable radio and the one that uses typical A or AA size disposable batteries. The advantage of the former is that you get to save on battery cost long term, the drawback is that you need to have a battery charger.

Power Options

Most portable or small AM FM radios run purely off the battery power. Only occasionally, you come around pocket-size portable AM/FM radios that feature a power cord for AC DC power. At the same time, the ones that are designed to be carried around and used on a table or bench almost certainly come with an AC adapter.

Waterproofing

Pocket size radio waterproofing or weatherproofing is not common, and if the water-resistance of some sort is required, a water-resistant handheld radio is needed. Most of the time, waterproof radios are also dustproof, but when cheaper materials are used – the radio sound quality may get impacted.

If you are looking for tougher waterproof radios for a worksite, check out our top 10 jobsite radios review.

Earphones or a Speaker?

If you are looking for the best radio for your pocket, it is likely that you are planning to use it with headphones and on the go. At the same time, most radios, even the ones that are less portable feature a headphone jack, so you are likely to get it anyway. Also, all radios with earphones or without, come with a speaker built-in.

In other words, you don’t need to decide between earphones and a speaker as with any portable radio in our review – you will get both.

Additional Features

Whether you are after a mini AM FM radio or a portable handheld radio, the critical features for your radio are likely to be the same. At the same time, some of the secondary functions and extras can vary. Those can be important for you, depending on how are you planning to use your battery-operated radio. Below are some of the extra features you may want to consider:

Attachments, such as a belt clip or a carry strap

USB port – allows you to play your favorite music as MP3 songs using the radio’s speaker

Bluetooth – portable radio with Bluetooth support is not exactly typical. Similarly to USB, you can use the radio’s built-in speaker to stream songs from your mobile or other portable devices

Alarm clock – small AM FM radios do not usually come with an alarm clock, but bigger, digital display portable FM AM radios are likely to have the feature.

Flashlight – not a feature on typical handheld radios, yet if you are after emergency hand crank radios, they are almost guaranteed to have it. For example, both radios from RunningSnail in our review represent a hand crank LED flashlight and radio at the same time.

Telescopic antenna – at times, when you are out in the wild, reception can be an issue. If you are searching for the best reception radio for AM FM bands, telescopic antennas can give you that extra edge to get that stable radio coverage and good sound quality.

Auto station scan – a handy feature that allows pocket and handheld radios to tune into the station’s frequency automatically.

Weather radio – designed to sustain harsher weather conditions, hence is waterproof and could be shockproof. Besides, it supports NOAA emergency weather radio broadcasting.

Budget

Based on the radios in our review and depending on your needs, a good portable digital or AM / FM radios can set you back anywhere between $20 and $150. Ensure you are not paying for the features you don’t need by cross-checking your requirements with features offered by the radio.

Knowing the basics and having a good hold of the above information should help you understand the features relevant to you so that when you go through radio reviews (or any product reviews) – they make more sense.

DAB vs AM / FM Radio – Which One to Choose?

After going through multiple radio reviews people are typically challenged with a question whether to go digital or analog. DAB radios are gaining slowly in popularity but are usually more expensive than AM or FM radios, so which one should you go for?

The truth is that radio, just as TVs did, will eventually switch to digital-only broadcasting, hence AM and FM devices will become a thing of the past. The question is when do you want to make a move as you still have a couple of solid years in your pocket.

Sound

DAB radio is not subject to crackling or hissing, which results in better, more detailed and consistent sound reproduction. There is one exception though – when you lose the radio signal, you lose the sound, hence the radio using digital signal is either there or it is not.

Stations

Yes, it is likely to have fewer stations available on DAB, but this is only a matter of time. According to the latest statistics – 50% of all FM stations also do digital broadcasting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between AM and FM bands?

Both frequency bands represent an analog method of audio signal broadcast. The difference between the two bands is the way the carrier wave is altered.

For FM radio the frequency of the carrier radio signal varies, whereas, with AM band it is the amplitude that changes. In addition, the AM frequency range is represented between 535-1605 kHz, whereas the FM frequency range is 88 to 108 MHz.

Here is a nice video explaining the difference between AM and FM bands:

youtube

Mono vs. Stereo in radios

Despite the technical capabilities and historical implementation, current AM band is mono only. An original attempt has been made to introduce stereo sound to AM band in the mid-1980s, but as it required compatible receivers and music stations migrating to FM band, the demand for AM Stereo capability has ceased to exist.

FM band was and still is Stereo compatible.

How to Improve Radio AM/FM/DAB Reception

Just like with your mobile phone or TV-radio signal quality depends on a number of factors knowing which allows you to work on your radio’s reception. Below are the main factors to consider when trying to improve reception quality:

Eliminate electrical trash. The common items that generate radio interference are CD, DVD players, TV boxes, vide consoles, microwave ovens, light dimmer switches, and monitor screens.

Choose a better location. Brick, concrete, steel structures block radio waves. Try to make sure that there is nothing obscuring in between the radio and the transmitting tower.

Poor radio antenna. It looks good and makes the radio more portable when it comes with a built-in antenna. At the same time, to ensure you have the best reception, the antenna needs to provide as much physical length as possible, hence external antenna makes a huge difference.

Stereo FM. Our current FM stereo system was designed in the 60s and had to replace a more reliable FM band that was originally delivering only a mono signal. Despite the audio quality, the mono is a clean, stable and stronger signal. The later updated FM stereo band has sacrificed signal stability in favor of stereo sound and for over 40 years, the FM band has not been updated. Most portable FM radios have a switch between Stereo and Mono and if your radio does too, going Mono will provide you a better radio reception at a very little cost of reduced audio quality.

Are radio waves dangerous ?

To answer the question completely, we need to understand what is radiofrequency radiation (RF). In short, it is an emission of energy from a given source. In the case of radios, the emission is generated by the radio station transmitter and uses radio and microwaves for broadcasting.

Those waves sit low in the electromagnetic spectrum and emit radiation that is considered as non-ionizing or in simple terms – they do not interact with our bodies. As a result, those waves are not capable of having any effect or damage to our DNA or trigger mutations.

Non-ionizing waves are miles less harmful than Gamma, UV or X-rays. At the same time, there is no study that definitively concludes that frequency modulation (i.e. FM) and amplitude modulation (i.e. AM) waves are not dangerous for our body or the other way around for that matter.

What is a Transistor Radio?

A transistor radio is what made portable outdoor radio possible in the 1960s. The invention of transistors allowed to reduce radios to pocket sizes to become the most popular electronic devices in history.

The post Top 10 Best Portable Radios of 2020 – Review and Comparison appeared first on Crunch Reviews.

from Crunch Reviews https://www.crunchreviews.com/audio/best-portable-radio/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Crunch Reviews

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blogcash786 · 4 years ago

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arthurhwalker · 4 years ago

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Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga Gen 5, WFH Overview

Disclosure

I am a Lenovo INsider (it is a customer advocacy program), but I'm way more in the super fan category, than an influencer (whatever that is these days). I did acquire this using a discount provided by Lenovo, but it was with no assumption made that I would write a review, or otherwise promote this product. Words and opinions are my own, I promote what I like.

I don’t do affiliate links, or make any money from this. I just like tech. :)

Okay!

I've been using the X1 Yoga Gen 5 as my personal machine since May of 2020. It has all my work software loaded, and I do use it to work, but it has fallen into a more comfortable use case because of the pandemic. I haven't had the opportunity to travel, and test the 4G LTE functionality as I would have liked, so this review is going to revolve around the device from a work from home perspective. When the pandemic is over, I'll update this review with a report on travel worthiness.

Thinkpad Things

It has all the usual Thinkpad goodness. Famous Thinkpad MIL-SPEC testing, perfect keyboard experience, track point, and sturdy construction.

What's a little different is the CNC aluminum chassis. I've owned a few other laptops that boast this material and build, and they are nice, but Lenovo has done something with it I can't quite describe. Aluminum products always feels a little sloppy in the hand. Depending on milling tolerances and anodizing, things made of aluminum seem blobby and lacking precision when looking at a product. The X1 Yoga Gen 5 almost doesn't feel real, held in the hand, knowing what it's made of.

I don't find myself pressing my thumb against any part of it, and wishing the chassis met up a little better, or wanting the lid to close more uniformly. Most aluminum chassis laptops are just off, somewhere, throwing them off everywhere. Even my very premium Lenovo C940 Yoga, made of aluminum, feels off in the way everything comes together. The X1 Yoga Gen 5 doesn't suffer from any of that, everything feels straight and true on the laptop.

Whatever Lenovo did here, they should keep doing it, if they're going to have more laptops with an aluminum chassis in their lineup.

Work From Home

On those days that I don't want to leave my couch, or mess with a charger, the Low-Power Display options has been really nice. At night, I can turn the display down really low, and during the day it'll get close to 400 nits. This is really nice because I can wake up with my laptop, carry it around with me all day, and have it on during the evening to poke at work, or personal projects.

I mention this because my Lenovo Yoga C940 has a UHD IPS, glossy, HDR 400, 500 nits display, that I can't use comfortably in a dark room. Even at the lowest setting, the screen is too bright. It's not a complaint I thought I would ever have, but here we are. If I was carrying it to a brightly lit office, or coffee shop, and using it to run presentations for clients and customers, it'd be great. Working from home all day, not so much.

If you're getting anything for work from home, definitely look for matte finish, low-power display options, with a 400 nit brightness ceiling.

The 720 HD Webcam and four array microphones (360° far-field) work better than expected for video chat. I'm on camera 2-3 times a week for about 15 hours during the day and night. I've not had any complaints about the ability of others to hear or see me during meetings, or Dungeons & Dragons on Discord. There was the usual battle with Windows 10 to find the microphone hardware, and get things set up, but smooth sailing after that.

For handwriting capture and light artwork tasks, the Lenovo Pen Pro housed in the silo on the right side of the machine does the job well. Pen input with the included stylus is good, latency also good. I would recommend buying a second stylus if you're going to do any serious artwork requiring comfort and precision.

WFH Accessories

If you're looking to really up your WFH game, I recommend these:

The Lenovo Mod Pen

I don't know why, but all the marketing makes this look like a chubby marker as opposed to an elegant writing instrument. The image of the pen isn't formatted properly on the website. That said, it is a fantastic pen stylus, with Wacom Pen Protocol goodness, tilt, and rechargeable. Just got one of these, love it.

ThinkVision T34w-20 34-inch Curved 21:9 Ultrawide Monitor with USB Type-C

Connects to the X1 Yoga Gen 5 with one cable, and has the screen real estate of two screens. It has a Low Blue Light color mode that makes it perfect for dim conditions, and the color profile pairs nicely with that of the Low Power display on the X1 Yoga. The monitor has a USB hub, with an always on port (you activate in the monitor settings menu) to charge your phone or Lenovo Mod Pen.

Lenovo Bluetooth Silent Mouse

There's a point, working from home, where I get really sensitive to every little click or sound. Usually, I'll just go to a place with a lot of soft background noise, like a coffee shop, to reset. The pandemic makes that hard, so I'm always looking at ways to make computing a little quieter. I really like this mouse, both in the feel and shape, and in the reduced noise it makes.

When I actually get to travel, I'll update this review with what I like to take with me, including the service provider I end up using for LTE in the US (or elsewhere).

Charging Accessories

Lenovo makes a bunch of keen charging accessories, I’ve tested them, all good. My favorite two have gotta be these for anything that is 65W (Smart Phones, Nintendo Switch, most Tablets, UltraBooks), and charges over a USB-c / TB port. Lenovo 65W USB-C GaN Adapter

Lenovo Slim USB-C 65W AC Adapter

Had another INsider report that they got a whine from the GaN Adapter, but that hasn’t been my experience. I usually have headphones on, anyway, but after hearing there might be an issue I spent about 90 minutes reading beside my laptop while it was on, charging up from about 12 percent.

All good, but the GaN Adapters are new tech, and like anything, there’s probably some bugs still to be worked out. The Slim USB-C is just a little slimmer in the bag, and lighter on the shoulder to carry. If you really like to optimize your daily carry situation, I highly recommend it.

Conclusion

It feels like I was often making comparisons between my Lenovo C940 Yoga, and the Lenovo X1 Yoga Gen 5. It is worth mentioning that I have some fabricating and purchasing experience with aluminum products, and when it comes to how they are made, I am the prettiest pink princess. Most people won't be able to tell there is something off with one aluminum chassis when compared to another, or have any criticism. If you are a PPP like me, and the details really make or break a purchase, the Lenovo X1 Yoga Gen 5 delivers like no other aluminum product I've held in my hands.

The Lenovo Yoga C940 is still a favorite product of mine, and I've written a review of it here.

It makes me curious about the Lenovo X1 Titanium Yoga, because it has everything I feel like the X1 Yoga Gen 5 is kind of missing; 3:2 aspect ratio with a 2k display option (there is perhaps nothing better than this), and a premium graphics option, Intel Iris Xe. If they've been able to work aluminum this well, I'll bet a Titanium product will be just as good. One thing you do lose with the Titanium model, the Lenovo Pen Pro that slides into the chassis. The Titanium Yoga is just too small and thin (almost a half pound lighter than the X1 Yoga Gen 5) to accomodate it.

Thinkpad X1 Yoga 20UBCT01WW Configuration Details

10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-10610U Processor with vPro™ (1.80 GHz, up to 4.90 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 12 Threads, 8 MB Cache)

Integrated Intel® UHD Graphics, 16 GB LPDDR3 2133MHz (Soldered), 1 TB PCIe SSD

14.0" FHD(1920x1080) IPS Anti Reflection/Anti Smudge 400nits Touch, IR and 720 HD Camera with Shutter, Mic, WLAN antenna, Gray

Intel® Wi-Fi 6™ AX201 802.11AX (2 x 2) & Bluetooth® 5.0, WWAN - Fibocom L850-GL 4G LTE CAT9

ThinkPad Pen Pro, Fingerprint Reader, RJ45 Extension Connector, Backlit - US English, 4 cell Li-Polymer 51Wh

Standard Ports

1x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Always On), 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 / Thunderbolt 3 (support data transfer, Power Delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort™ 1.2), 1x HDMI 1.4b, 1x Ethernet extension connector, 1x headphone / microphone combo jack (3.5mm), 1x side docking connector

Battery

Integrated Li-Polymer 51Wh battery, supports Rapid Charge (charge up to 80% in 1hr) with 65W AC adapter

Operating System Options

Windows® 10 Home 64, Windows 10 Pro 64, Linux, Ubuntu Linux

#Lenovo #LenovoIN #Thinkpad #Wacom

0 notes

moddersinc · 5 years ago

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[section_title title=Introduction]

The MSI B550 Gaming Carbon Wifi sports carbon fiber wrapped accessories long with MSI’s Mystic Light LED lighting controls can really take your PC to the next level in the looks department. But, with the carbon series, the goal is not just about looks, performance reliability, and stability all matter as well. In the past, I’ve had great success with other MSI Carbon boards. MSI has packed the latest technology into this motherboard and includes dual M.2 slots with heatsinks, WiFi 6, 2.5 GbE LAN, a 12+2 phase power design helps to get the maximum performance from the latest and greatest CPUs from AMD and support for up to 5100 MHz DDR4 memory. On top of all that or rather under it, the motherboard is built on a 6-layer PCB with 2 oz of copper to ensure long-lasting performance and stability. Is the new B550 version a worthy replacement? Read on to find out.

[sc name=”sponsor” sponsor=”MSI” product_link=”https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-B550-GAMING-CARBON-WIFI” product_name=”MSI MPG B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI” ]

Socket AM4 CPU (Max Support) Ryzen 9 Chipset AMD B550 Chipset DDR4 Memory Supports DDR4 1866/ 2133/ 2400/ 2667/ 2800/ 2933/ 3000/ 3066/ 3200 MHz by JEDEC Supports DDR4 2667/ 2800/ 2933/ 3000/ 3066/ 3200/ 3466/ 3600/ 3733/ 3866/ 4000/ 4133/ 4266/ 4400/ 4466/ 4533/ 4600/ 4866/ 5000/ 5100 MHz by A-XMP OC MODE Memory Channel Dual DIMM Slots 4 Max Memory (GB) 128 PCI-E x16 2 PCI-E x1 3 SATAIII 6 M.2 Slot 2 RAID 0/1/10 LAN 1x Realtek® RTL8125B 2.5G LAN USB 3.2 ports (Front) 1(Gen 1, Type C), 2(Gen 1, Type A) USB 3.2 ports (Rear) 1(Gen 2, Type C), 1(Gen 2, Type A), 2(Gen 1, Type A) USB 2.0 ports (Front) 4 USB 2.0 ports (Rear) 4 Audio ports (Rear) 5+ Optical S/PDIF (Realtek® ALC1200 Codec) DisplayPort 1 HDMI 1 DirectX 12 Form Factor ATX CrossFire Y Operating System

Support for Windows® 10 64-bit

Packaging

Considering that sports cars and supercars contain a lot of carbon fiber, it is only natural that MSI includes a stylized graphic on the front of the box. The chipset, socket, and supported CPU types are also listed on the front of the box and it would be hard to miss. On the back of the box, MSI featured a graphic of the motherboard and the I/O panel. The features and specifications are also listed on the back of the box.

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Lifting the lid on the box reveals a two-compartment box. The motherboard wrapped in an anti-static back sits in the top compartment and the manuals and accessories are housed in the lower compartment.

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Included in the accessory kit is a user manual, quick installation guide, SATA cable labels, MSI case badge, produce registration card, driver installation DVD, case screw guide, 2x SATA cables, a thermistor cable, an RGB LED extension cable, and the MSI product catalog.

[section_title title=A Closer Look at the MSI MPG B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI]

A Closer Look at the MSI MPG B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI

The MSI B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI is a standard ATX board meaning that it measures at 12in x 9.6 inches. The motherboard features two aluminum heatsinks over the VRM for the CPU. A plastic cover accompanies the left heatsink and provides a cover to the top of the I/O panel. Two aluminum heatsinks are included for the M.2 SSDs below as well as an aluminum heat for the chipset. Unlike the X570 chipsets, the B550 doesn’t require active cooling and thus doesn’t contribute to the overall noise level of the PC.

The area around the CPU socket is fairly clear and there shouldn’t be any components on the board that will interfere with a CPU cooler installation. MSI uses a stepped style heatsink for the VRM cooling so, the parts of the heatsink that are closest to the CPU socket are still low enough that most CPU coolers on the market should fit without an issue. However, always check beforehand just in case.

Power to the CPU is delivered at the top edge connector in an 8+4-pin configuration. Not all the pins have to be used, in this review, I only used the 8-pin connector with no issues.

The B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI has four memory slots and supports up to 5100 MHz DDR4 modules. Along the top edge of the board, there are two 4-pin headers for the CPU cooler or a water pump. Next is a 3-pin aRGB header. Moving around the right edge of the board, there are two more fan headers, the 24-pin ATX power, and a USB C case front panel connector.

Continuing down the right side of the board is the SATA connectors followed by another 4-pin fan connector. Along the bottom edge of the board, there is a 2-pin power LED connector, the case front panel connectors, an additional 3-pin aRGB header, a case front panel USB 3 header, and two USB 2.0 headers.

As we finish the tour around the edge of the board there is another 4-pin fan header, a LED control switch, a clear CMOS button, a fifth fan header, temperature sensor headers, a 4-pin RGB lighting header, and the front panel audio header.

In the middle of the B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI, you’ll find the PCIe slots. There are two X16 slots. The top slot operates at x16 speeds whereas the bottom slot only operates at x4. Intermixed with the X16 slots are 3 PCIe x1 slots. At the top of the PCIe slots is an aluminum heatsink that cools the 1st M.2 slot. This slot supports PCIe 4.0 x4. The lower heatsink covers the second M.2 slot and supports PCIe 3.0 x4 and comes from the B550 chipset. Finally, a carbon fiber wrapped accent piece with the MSI dragon is attached to the aluminum heatsink for cooling the B550 chipset.

The I/O panel features a DisplayPort, an HDMI port, a flash BIOS button, a PS/2 port with 2 USB 2.0 port under it. Next up there are two additional USB 2.0 ports with dual USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports under them. Wired network connectivity is provided by a 2.5 gigabit per second RJ45 connection and an additional USB 3.1 Gen 1 in red and a USB C connector. Antenna mounts are provided for the included wireless card. One digital optical out and 5 3.5mm jacks are provided for the audio solution.

[section_title title=MSI B550 Gaming Carbon BIOS]

MSI B550 Gaming Carbon BIOS

MSI’s BIOS looks and feels the same throughout their product lines. Which, is a nice touch. I know a lot of other vendors do as well. Some however have a different look and feel depending on the motherboard. With that said, the BIOS is starting to feel a little long in the tooth and while it works just fine, it may be time for some updates.

The first time you enter the BIOS on the B550 Gaming Carbon, you’ll be presented with “EZ Mode” while there’s not a lot of tweaking options here, you can get the system up and running quickly. You can turn on A-XMP, AHCI/RAID, configure storage, and a host of other options.

Pressing F7 will bring the BIOS into advanced mode. In this mode, all possible settings for the BIOs are exposed and can be tweaked. They will be found in the following menus.

The settings menu and the settings submenus are where most of the configuration for the motherboard is done. Here you’ll find options for overclocking, integrated peripherals, USB configuration, and power management.

The settings menu will also be where you set the boot options as well as save and exit from the BIOS.

While there is overclocking options in the Settings Menu, there are many more options in the OC menu that can fine tune the overclocks on your CPU and memory. If you overclock your memory there’s a feature here that allows you to try it before you boot.

The hardware monitor is where you can set fan/pump speed curves based on temperature. The MSI B550 Gaming Carbon Wifi has a total of 7 FAN headers that can be configured.

Lastly, there is the board explorer. By clicking on the red highlighted areas, the MSI BIOS will give you information of what’s plugged in there. Only slots that have a device plugged in will highlight for you.

[section_title title=Test System and Benchmarks]

Component Product Name Provided By Processor AMD Ryzen 9 3900x AMD Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Carbon Wifi, ASUS ROG Strix B550-I Gaming/ASRock X570 Taichi Asus/ASRock Memory

G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3600 16-16-16-36 (XMP)

Drive Adata SX8200NP, Crucial MX500 1 TB SATA III SSD, Adata SU650 Adata/Crucial Video Cards Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition Nvidia Monitor BenQ EL2870U 28 inch 4K HDR Gaming Monitor 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz Case DimasTech EasyXL DimasTech Power Supply Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W Cooler Master Operating System Windows 10 2004 x64 Pro with latest patches and updates

Since now both AMD and Intel use opportunistic boost clocks for the CPUs, for every CPU review, I run a single-core test in POV-Ray and capture the clock speeds for 60 seconds to verify the motherboard and CPU can hit the advertised speeds.

As you can see, the MSI B550 Gaming carbon hovers around that 4503 MHz mark with a couple of peeks into the 4.6 GHz. This is actually a pretty decent boost. Other boards I have tested show a slightly less average boost clock.

Testing and Performance

AIDA64 ENGINEER

AIDA64 has a set of several 64-bit benchmarks to measure how fast the computer performs various data processing tasks and mathematical calculations. Multi-threaded memory and cache benchmarks are available to analyze system RAM bandwidth and latency. Benchmark pages of AIDA64 Extreme provide several methods to measure system performance. These benchmarks are synthetic, so their results show only the theoretical maximum performance of the system. The AIDA64 suite has various benchmarks for CPU, FPU, GPU, storage, and memory testing.

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In both CPU and FPU testing with the B550, it keeps up with the more expensive X570 chipsets. This is a trend repeated throughout the benchmarks.

[section_title title=MSI B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI Performance Testing continued. ]

Cinebench R20

Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.

POV-Ray 3.7

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a ray-tracing program that generates images from a text-based scene description and is available for a variety of computer platforms. It was originally based on DKBTrace, written by David Kirk Buck and Aaron A. Collins for the Amiga computers. There are also influences from the earlier Polyray[6] raytracer contributed by its author Alexander Enzmann. POV-Ray is free and open-source software with the source code available under the AGPLv3.

[section_title title=Multimedia, Compression and Semi-Synthetic Benchmarks]

Multimedia, Compression and Semi-Synthetic Benchmarks

Handbrake

HandBrake is a free and open-source video transcoder, originally developed in 2003 by Eric Petit to make ripping a film from a DVD to a data storage device easier. Essentially, it can convert video to almost any modern format. HandBrake is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. The workload video file is a file that I’ve used for years called Sintel. It is a 1.09-gigabyte file that is full HD. I used the Apple 240p preset for this test.

7-Zip

The 7-zip benchmark shows a rating in MIPS (million instructions per second). The rating value is calculated from the measured speed, and it is normalized with the results of the Intel Core 2 CPU with a multi-threading option switched off. So, if you have a modern CPU from Intel or AMD, rating values in single-thread mode must be close to real CPU frequency. There are two tests, compression with the LZMA method and decompression with the LZMA method. Once the total passes reach 100, the score is taken. 7-Zip gives the resulting score for decompressing, compressing, and an overall score.

PCMark

PCMark 10 is a system benchmark for Windows PCs that focuses on common tasks performed in the office. PCMark 10 offers a variety of workloads categorized into four groups. The Essentials group includes web browsing, video conferencing, and app start-up time. The Productivity group includes tests based on spreadsheets and writing. The Digital Content Creation group includes photo editing, video editing, and a rendering and visualization test. The final group, Gaming, includes tests for real-time graphics and physics. It has three different benchmarks, PCMark 10, PCMark 10 Express, and PCMark 10 Extended.

[section_title title=Strix B550-I Sub System Benchmarks (Storage, Audio and Networking)]

Strix B550-I Sub System Benchmarks (Storage, Audio and Networking)

CrystalDiskMark 5

“CrystalDiskMark 5 is designed to quickly test the performance of your hard drives. Currently, the program allows us to measure sequential and random read/write speeds.”

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Crystal Diskmark NVME Test

Crystal Diskmark SATA SSD Test

Crystal Diskmark USB C

Audio Testing

To test the on-board audio on the MSI B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI motherboard, I use the Rightmark Audio Analyzer benchmark. To test the onboard audio of any motherboard, I follow the guide on RMAA’s site that talks about how to review Asus Xonar D2 in RMAA 6.0.5.

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The built-in audio solution is perfectly adequate. It is in the range from what I’ve seen from other motherboards from MSI in the past as well as other manufacturers.

Network Testing

For network testing, I have a QNAP QSW-1208-8C 10 GbE switch that is capable of Multi-gigabit switching. This means the ports on the switch will negotiate at 1 Gb/s, 2.5 Gb/s, 5 Gb/s, and 10 Gb/s. Since the LAN port on the Strix B550-I is 2.5 Gb/s capable I used this switch and another PC that is 2.5 Gb/s capable and tested using Performance Test 9’s network testing tool. For Wireless testing, I have a WIFI 6 Access point connected to the same switch and is connecting at 2.5 Gb/s. The same wired test PC is used.

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Wired TCP Test

Wired UDP Test

Wireless TCP Test

Wireless UDP Test

test both TCP and UDP connections. TCP connections are connection based. This means the server and client talk back and forth to each other for every packet. Typically TCP will never reach line speeds. Still, I was able to average 1458 Mbps over TCP. UDP on the other hand is connectionless. This means the network clients (either server or client) send traffic without any back and forth communication. If the packet gets there, it gets there. UDP typically is a good indication of line speed and it shows here. My testing averaged 2057 Mbps. Wifi 6 is fast. With TCP I was able to reach an average of 581.3 Mbps and UPD averaged a bit faster at 667.1.

[section_title title=MSI B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI Synthetic and Gaming Benchmarks]

MSI B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI Synthetic and Gaming Benchmarks

3DMARK

3DMark is a computer benchmarking tool created and developed by Futuremark used to determine the performance of a computer’s 3D graphic rendering and CPU workload processing capabilities. It does this through a series of graphics and physics and or CPU tests.

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Gaming Tests

[section_title title=Conclusion and Final Thoughts]

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The MSI MPG B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI is a fine motherboard. From the packaging to the installation, it all just works. MSI may not have the fancy features of other motherboards and honestly, it doesn’t really need it plus it saves you a couple bucks here and there. The more I dive into the B550 motherboard the more I like them as well, the more I dive into MSI’s product line the more I like them as well. However, I’m not really impressed with EVERYTHING on the MSI B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI. The biggest complaint that I have is their BIOS GUI is getting a little long in the tooth and my opinion looks a bit dated. I think it needs a refresh. However, it does work and it is adequate for the task at hand.

From a performance aspect, the MSI B550 Gaming Carbon met expectations. It was right in line with the X570 board from ASRock and the B550 motherboard from Asus. I do appreciate the fact that the MSI board tends to have a higher opportunistic clock than the other boards and results in slightly higher performance. It is a very slight performance increase but I’ll take any that I can get. My sample of the Ryzen 9 3900x does not overclock at all and it never has on any board that I’ve put it in. I did not win the silicon lottery with this CPU so I do not even attempt overclocking. There wasn’t one feature that stood out from the rest. All of them were just good. This motherboard is good all around.

The MSI B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI may not be for everyone. Some don’t like the carbon fiber accents and some may not like the MSI Mystic Light. I do have to say that Mystic Light is one of the less intrusive RGB lighting controls. The lighting on the board is done very tastefully and is easily shut off for those that don’t want it. MSI included enough fan headers and should please most consumers. The other thing that I appreciate is the M.2 slots are not covered by the entire chipset heatsink. Having individual heatsinks is a must if you swap out parts often. Pricing on the MSI B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI as of this writing is $239. This isn’t the bottom of the barrel pricing but it’s not caviar pricing either. I feel that the price for this motherboard is decent. There are other boards for similar prices. The motherboard market right now is extremely competitive and we as consumers win when that happens. Overall, I would happily recommend this motherboard if you’re looking to upgrade or build a new system. AMD’s ecosystem continues to impress and MSI is right along with it.

[sc name=”recommended_hardware_award” ]

MSI MPG B550 Gaming Carbon WIFI Motherboard Review The MSI B550 Gaming Carbon Wifi sports carbon fiber wrapped accessories long with MSI's Mystic Light LED lighting controls can really take your PC to the next level in the looks department.

#am4 #AMD #B550 #carbon Fiber #CPU #Memory #Motherboard #MSI #rgb #Water Cooling

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atplblog · 3 months ago

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pauldeckerus · 7 years ago

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MY ANNUAL HOLIDAY GEAR GUIDE IS HERE!

Welcome to my “13th annual Holiday Gear Guide.”

To be listed here, the gifts have to be: (1) products that I use myself, and that I absolutely love, and now can’t live without (well, I could live without them, but I just wouldn’t want to); and (2) if a product makes the guide, it has to be one I’d recommend to a close friend without hesitation, especially if my friend was loose with money.

Also, to make things easy, we added direct links to all the products I picked so you don’t have to wonder if you’re getting the exact right one. (Note: Depending on the product, clicking on the links below will take you to the manufacturer’s website; if the product is available at B&H Photo or Amazon, then clicking on the link will take you to those websites.)

As is my sacred Gonzo tradition for more than a tenth of a century, I’m breaking things into three distinct categories:

Stocking Stuffers: But you can use these as actual holiday gifts if you’re not that crazy about the person.

Great Value Gear: Stuff that’s a really good deal for the money, and even though it’s not a lot of money, they’ll still totally dig it.

Cha-ching: Stuff you buy for the Berkshire CEO or Russian oligarch on your holiday gift list. This is the stuff that makes them burst into spontaneous tears of joy. Well, at least I would.

So, without further ado, I present to you my “13th Annual Gonzo Holiday Gift Guide of Love (of love?).”

STOCKING STUFFERS

Powerextra Dual Battery Charger for Canon, Nikon, and Sony DSLR Cameras

Erik Kuna turned me on to this puppy, and I have to say it’s awesome and has worked like a charm. It charges two regular-sized Canon, Nikon, or Sony camera batteries simultaneously; it connects to USB; it’s super small (since it charges the batteries upright rather than on their side) so it takes up less room in your camera bag; and it’s very lightweight. And not only that, each charger comes with two Powerextra replacement batteries (for the camera brands listed above and more)! I’ve used these batteries extensively, and I can’t tell one bit of difference between the brand name ones that cost 5x as much. The person you give this to will think you spent a bunch, so extra love points for you.

Price: It’s a ridiculous deal starting at around $27

Canon: $26.99 (link)

Nikon: $31.99 (link)

Sony: $55.99 (link)

New Think Tank Photo Emergency Rain Covers

These brand-new, very compact, lightweight rain covers are an amazing deal for the money. They fit easily in your camera bag but can be a lifesaver if you get caught out in the elements (or the photographer on your holiday list sometimes wants to shoot in inclement weather). They’ll super dig these new easy-to-use, quick-to-deploy covers from the same people who make the Hydrophobia line of professional-level rain covers.

Price: They come in two sizes

Medium (fits up to a 70–200mm lens): $39.75 (link)

Small (fits up to a 24–70mm lens): $34.75 (link)

Awesome Custom Business Cards for Photographers from MOO

Okay, there are two ways you can go on this one (gift card or Plan B), but MOO cards are a favorite with photographers around the world, mainly because they’ll let you print a different image on every card (or you can have the same image on all the cards, five images that repeat in a stack of 50—you get the idea). Anyway, if you can get hold of, say, 10 of their images at high-res, you could get them a set of 50 cards with their images on one side (you’d get 10 cards each of each image), and their contact info and stuff on the other side. You’ll be a superstar for getting either the gift card, or being sneaky and doing the work yourself. This is a can’t-miss stocking stuffer.

Price: 50 cards starting at $19.99 (link)

Rick Sammon’s Wonderful Book, The Route 66 Photo Road Trip: How to Eat, Stay, Play, and Shoot Like a Pro

This isn’t a tutorial book (though Rick does have a few tutorials in there); it’s a really fun road trip book where you can enjoy the images, Rick’s great stories, road trip tips, and the experience of getting your kicks on Route 66. It’s just a really awesome read and would make a wonderful stocking stuffer.

Price: $13.36 at Amazon (link)

Indigo Marble Protective Camera Wrap

I use one of these when I don’t want to take a camera bag with me, or I want to take a small camera bag just big enough for a lens or two. I fold it around my camera body and put it in my carry-on luggage. It comes in two sizes: 15″ and 19″ (I use the larger one).

Price: Starting at $50.78 (link)

Spider Camera Holster SpiderPro Hand Strap

I’ve never been a big fan of camera hand straps—until now. The SpiderPro Hand strap has a great design, is very secure, and most importantly—a comfortable feel in your hand. Plus, an extra five points because it just looks cool when you’re holding your camera with it on. The photographer on your list will dig it.

Price: $65 (link)

Haida 10-Stop Slim PRO II Screw-On MC Neutral Density (ND) 3.0 Filter

I’ve been using Haida’s filter holder system for about two years now, and for the quality and price, I don’t think you can beat ’em, but if you’re an on-the-go travel photographer, you’ll probably find it more convenient to use a simple screw-on ND filter than using their bracket system. For my recent trip to Austria and Germany, I bought this Slim PROII (77mm to fit my lenses), and I was tickled at how well it works. Best thing about the Haida ND filters? They don’t mess with your image’s color. It’s a killer deal for $62.10, well, for the 77mm size. Your price may be lower for smaller-sized lenses, or higher for bigger lenses (but 77mm is probably as big a lens as the photographer on your list will have).

Price: $62.10 for the 77mm (link)

Platypod Ultra

This is the Platypod Ultra’s second year on the list, and while this thing was blowing up last year, this year it’s vying for the hottest photography accessory on the planet. It’s a tripod replacement (that doesn’t need legs), it’s super-lightweight (3.2 oz.), and fits in your pocket. You screw a small ballhead onto it, and it holds your camera steady as a rock so you can place it where tripods either aren’t allowed (which sadly is pretty much everywhere these days) or where they can’t fit. Everybody wants a Platypod Ultra.

Price: $59; Splurge a little and get them the bundle with the Multi Accessory Kit for $79 (it’s awesome) (link)

GREAT VALUE GEAR

Think Tank Photo Airport Roller Derby

I love this camera bag on a level that’s, well, unhealthy (let’s just leave it at that). Yes, it holds a ridiculous amount of stuff; there’s a pocket for everything (including your laptop and your iPad); a built-in cable lock so it doesn’t wander off; a tripod holder; and I could go on and on, but what’s ridiculously awesome is simply its four wheels. I can literally roll it through the airport using nothing but my pinky. If I push too hard, it rolls ahead of me. If the photographer on your gift list is tired of dragging a heavy rolling bag behind them, this one will glide right beside them. Get them this one; they’ll be your friend for life.

Price: $399.75 (link)

B&H Gift Card

This is always the perfect gift because B&H Photo is the greatest camera store in the world, and whatever the photographer on your gift list wants, B&H will have it in stock and ready to ship. They’re the magical unicorn of camera stores. Get your photographer a gift card from here, and they’ll follow you anywhere.

Price: Starting at $25 (link)

Westcott Rapid Box Switch Octa-L 48″ Softbox (Large)

If your giftee uses both flash and strobes, or they use different brands of strobes, they don’t have to keep switching softboxes every time they change lights. Westcott made a new set of softboxes that let you use the same softbox for flash or strobes, or different brands of strobes, by just changing the adapter at the end of the softbox. It’s really pretty brilliant (can’t believe somebody didn’t think of this before); but what makes this really awesome are the Rapid Boxes themselves. I love, love, love them (they’re so fast and easy to set up—like 60 seconds from start to finish), and I’ve been hooked on them since the first time I used one. This new “Switch” makes ’em that much better, and the price for such a nice big octa is hard to beat.

Price: $289.90 (link)

Gravity Backdrops

These beautifully hand-painted backdrops are turning the industry on its ear because they’re priced so far below their competitors, and their quality is spot-on. I have four of these now, and I’m using them so often, I don’t want to shoot on anything else. These are giving photographers access to a level of backdrops that were once out of reach for so many people; you can now buy these backdrops at around the same price we used to rent them just for the weekend. They’ll even custom-make whatever you want, without the crazy price. Can’t recommend these enough (and you’ll be a hero to the photographer on your gift list).

Price: Based on size, but figure around $350 or so (link)

WD 250GB My Passport Wireless SSD External Portable Drive with Built-In Wi-Fi

This one is for backing up your images on the road when you don’t have your laptop with you. You just plug your SD card right into the unit itself (it has its own built-in card reader) and it uploads your images (it does a smart upload, only uploading new photos that aren’t already on the drive). What’s nice is that once your images are on the drive, you can transfer ones you want to edit right to your phone or tablet using its built-in Wi-Fi (you don’t need an internet connection—it makes its own private network). It’s surprisingly easy to use, and a great solution for photographers who want a mobile editing and backup strategy for their DSLR or mirrorless images. I used mine on my last trip, and now it’s part of my workflow.

Price: $191.99 for 250GB (link)

Note: There are 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB options but they’re priced too high—stick with this one.

A Fine Art or Xpozer Print from Bay Photo

Go with either Bay Photo’s Xpozer system (the same system we use in The Gallery at KelbyOne) or go ahead and get a Fine Art, mounted print. Either way, if you get a gift card for the photographer on your list, make the amount so they can get one of their images printed large, or if you’re giving one of your own prints as a gift, go large—you can’t go wrong. Prints have a real value, well beyond their cost, and the impact they have is remarkable. Want to give somebody a really memorable gift that’s more than just a product? This is it (and you can do it without breaking the bank).

Price:

24×36″ Print with Xpozer System: $99 (link)

24×36″ Fine Art Print w/Gatorfoam: $153.20 (link)

CHA-CHING

Tamron SP 15–30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Lens

I took this ultra-wide lens with me on my last trip and I was super impressed. It’s a killer lens at a killer price. Sharp, crisp, great Vibration Compensation (VC), and a big improvement over its already popular predecessor. Give this to someone you love (or somebody you want to love).

Price: $1,299

For Canon (link)

For Nikon (link)

DJI Mavic Air Fly More Combo

It’s so small, so portable, so easy to fly, and takes such great photos and videos. They’ll lose their mind when they unwrap this one. Everybody wants a drone, and this one is probably the best deal, dollar for dollar, feature for feature, and while there are other drone makers out there, everybody wants a DJI. After giving this as a gift, you won’t be able to get rid of them.

Price: $899.99 for the Fly More Combo (it’s what you want to get them); $699.99 for the DJI Mavic Air by itself (link)

The weekender Camera Bag from compagnon

This is an absolutely beautifully crafted all-leather camera bag from Germany, and it’s really something to behold. It just screams luxury, and while it’s not inexpensive, it looks like it would cost a lot more than it does. What I love about it is that it’s large enough that you can use it for a weekend trip where your clothes and your camera are in the same bag. Very well designed; it’ll fit in the overhead, and the leather is just so luscious! Give it to somebody you really want to impress. Note: There’s a smaller version called “the little weekender” that’s small and less expensive, too.

Price: $675 (link)

Canon EOS R Mirrorless Camera Body

I had this camera for a full month, and really put it through its paces—from the American West to Rome to Hawaii to Austria—and I fell in love with it. When I had to return it to Canon, it broke my heart (and now I’m trying to get Canon to sell me that loaner). I don’t know what DSLR your Canon-shooting gift-lister has, but they’ll sure love this one (and there’s a lot to love!).

Price: $2,299 (link)

TACS Automatic Vintage Lens II Camera-Inspired Watch

This one is a little pricier, but it’s actually a great value for what you’re getting (and for the right person, it will be priceless). This camera-inspired watch is just brilliant. My daughter saw the beautiful wooden box the watch comes in sitting on my desk and couldn’t resist opening it. She saw the watch and said, “Oh my gosh, it looks like a camera.” The beautifully crafted timepiece is more gorgeous in real life than it appears in the pictures, and the back of the watch is almost as stunning as the front. Beautifully designed from top to bottom. It will put the biggest smile on your photographer’s face, and the presentation in the wooden box, coupled with the craftsmanship of the watch itself will make them think you spent a fortune.

Price: $550 (link)

Profoto B1 X 500 AirTTL Portable Off-Camera Flash

This is the latest version of a strobe that created its own genre of portable studio lights. It’s a battery-powered strobe without the power pack (the battery is built right in to the unit itself). The quality of Profoto lights is legendary, and once I started using Profoto gear, I totally got what all the fuss is about and why all the top pros are using their gear. If you give somebody this gift, they’ll follow you around like a puppy for the rest of your life, so be very choosy to whom you give this.

Price: $2,095 (link)

STUFF FROM US

My Latest Lightroom Books

I have two different books for two different levels of Lightroom users. If the photographers on your wish list are fairly new to Lightroom and want to learn it from the ground up, then get them my The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC Book for Digital Photographers. It’s the bestselling Lightroom book ever. If they’ve been using Lightroom for a while now and they want a reference they can go to quickly to find out how to do whatever it is they’re trying to do right now, then get them my How Do I Do That In Lightroom Classic? book. The first edition was reprinted seven times, and this is the latest edition based on the new version of Lightroom, so they’ll find it really helpful.

Price:

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC Book for Digital Photographers: $33.99 (link)

How Do I Do That In Lightroom Classic?: $13.99 (link)

Photoshop World Conference 2019 Gift Certificate

Want to blow their minds and give them an experience they’ll be talking about for years? Give the photographer on your gift list a Full Conference Pass to the three-day Photoshop World Conference 2019, early next summer in Orlando, Florida, or late summer in Las Vegas at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Get the pass now and get the Early-Bird special, and they’ll save an extra $100 if they’re a KelbyOne Pro member. You’ll make a true friend for life—maybe longer.

Price: Early-Bird KelbyOne Pro Member: $599 (link)

A One-Year KelbyOne Pro Membership

You’ve heard again and again (or maybe you’re already a member and you know firsthand) about all the incredible online courses, the magazines, the online community, the Webcasts, and the discounts, and now you can share all that with a photographer you super dig. It’s only $199 for a full year, with full access to everything! They’ll devote the rest of their natural life to letting you know how thoughtful, caring, and generous you were to change their life in such a meaningful way. Okay, that’s perhaps a best-case scenario, but I will tell you that I think they’ll love you (and so will I).

Price: $199 (link)

A One-Year KelbyOne Plus Membership

If they love online training, we have a special membership level that just focuses on the online classes themselves, and it goes for just $9.99 a month. Give ’em a 12-month membership and they’ll love you all year.

Price: $9.99/month (link)

Well, there ya have it folks. Remember, it’s not how many gifts you get. It’s about how many gifts you get me! ;-)

Happy Holidays!

-Scott

The post MY ANNUAL HOLIDAY GEAR GUIDE IS HERE! appeared first on Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider.

from Photography News https://scottkelby.com/my-annual-holiday-gear-guide-is-here/

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[section_title title=Introduction]

Up until very recently, if you wanted the latest and greatest motherboard for an AMD CPU you were forced to buy a motherboard with an X570 chipset, that is until AMD released the B550 to the masses. Asus has some of the largest selection of motherboards and we have the minuscule Asus ROG Strix B550-I motherboard on the test bench. The ROG Strix B550-I is a mini ITX motherboard which is great for small builds. Over the last few generations, ITX boards have been able to meet the performance of their full-size counterparts and the Strix B550-I aims to keep this trend going. ITX motherboards do make some sacrifices for size. For example, you only get one PCIe slot and two vs. four memory slots. As far as the chipset, the main difference between the X570 and B550 is the PCIe generation and the configuration. 1st off, the B550 uses PCIe 3.0 for the CPU to chipset link whereas the X570 uses PCIe 4.0. With the B550, you still get 16 lanes of PCIe Gen4 for graphics and one 4-lane PCIe 4.0 NVME slot and a ton of PCIe Gen3 lanes that the motherboard manufactures can arrange how they see fit. Also with the B550, you gain the support for dual GPUs which is something the B450 lacked. Overall, the B550 should be cheaper than the X570 boards. While there are trade-offs in I/O and the bells and whistles available on the board, is there a trade-off for performance as well? From what I know from the reviews of the X570 and B450 boards, performance differences should be minimal. I can understand AMD not wanting to give everything away on the B550 as far as available features because why would you buy an X570 board? However, I can’t see AMD penalizing you for buying a less expensive board to pair with their latest and greatest CPU. To me, that just doesn’t make sense.

[sc name=”sponsor” ponsor=”Asus” product_link=”https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-B550-I-GAMING/” product_name=”Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming” ]

Packaging

The box features the ROG (Republic Of Gamers) logo dressed in RGB neon colors behind the graphic of the front side of the motherboard on the front of the box. Clearly, you can see what chipset and what CPU generation this motherboard is for. On the back of the box, Asus goes into a lot more detail on some of the specifications such as I/O, SATA port count, as well as some of the features of the Strix B550-I

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Inside, you’ll find the motherboard wrapped in an anti-static bag. There are two compartments to the box. The top compartment holds the motherboard and the bottom compartment holds the accessories.

The accessory bundle for the Strix B550-I includes a rear I/O shield, SATA cables, zip ties, a USB c to 3.5mm headphone jack, an M.2 bracket, and screws, and Wifi antenna. Also included are a sticker sheet, thank you card, manual, and a DVD. Honestly, I’d rather see USB drives included for drivers rather than DVDs. Not many people that I know still have an optical drive in their PC.

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Specifications

CPU AMD AM4 Socket 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Processors * Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list Chipset AMD B550 Memory 5100(O.C)/5000(O.C)/4800(O.C.)/4600(O.C)/4400(O.C)/4266(O.C.)/ 4133(O.C.)/4000(O.C.)/3800(O.C.)/3600(O.C.)/3466(O.C.)/3400(O.C.)/ 3200/3000/2933/2800/2666/2400/2133 MHz Un-buffered Memory * Dual Channel Memory Architecture OptiMem II ECC Memory (ECC mode) support varies by CPU. Graphic 1 x HDMI 2.1(4K@60HZ) * 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 * *Graphics specifications may vary between CPU types. Expansion Slots 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x16 mode) Storage Total supports 2 x M.2 slots and 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Processors : 1 x M.2_1 socket 3, with M Key, Type 2242/2260/2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4 and SATA modes) storage devices support AMD B550 Chipset : 1 x M.2_2 socket 3, with M Key, Type 2242/2260/2280 (PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA modes) storage devices support 4 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), Support Raid 0, 1, 10 LAN Intel® I225-V 2.5Gb Ethernet ASUS LANGuard Wireless Data Network Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) support 1024QAM/OFDMA/MU-MIMO Supports dual band frequency 2.4/5 GHz Supports channel bandwidth: HT20/HT40/HT80/HT160 Bluetooth Bluetooth v5.1* *BT 5.1 function will be ready in Windows 10 build 19041 or later. Audio SupremeFX 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC S1220A – Dual OP Amplifiers – Impedance sense for front and rear headphone outputs – Supports: Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking – High quality 120 dB SNR stereo playback output and 113 dB SNR recording input – Supports up to 32-Bit/192kHz playback * Audio Feature : – Rear audio USB Type-C® port – LED-illuminated design – Audio Shielding – Premium Japanese audio capacitors USB Ports Rear USB Port ( Total 6 ) 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port(s)(1 x USB Type-C® +3 x Type-A) 1 x USB 2.0 port(s) 1 x USB 2.0 port(s)(1 x audio USB Type-C® ) Front USB Port ( Total 5 ) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 front-panel connector port(s)(1 x USB Type-C®) 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 port(s) 2 x USB 2.0 port(s) Software Features ROG Exclusive Software – RAMCache III – ROG CPU-Z – GameFirst VI – Sonic Studio III + Sonic Studio Virtual Mixer – Sonic Radar III – DTS® Sound Unbound – Overwolf – Anti-virus software ASUS Exclusive Software Features Armoury Crate – Aura Creator – Aura Sync -AI Noise Cancelling Microphone ASUS Special Features Aura Sync – Standard RGB header(s) – Addressable Gen 2 RGB header(s) ASUS Q-Design – ASUS Q-CODE – ASUS Q-DIMM – ASUS Q-LED (DRAM [yellow],CPU [red], VGA [white], Boot Device [yellow green) – ASUS Q-Slot ASUS Thermal Solution – Aluminum M.2 heatsink ASUS EZ DIY -BIOS Flashback™ button -BIOS FlashBack™ LED -Clear CMOS header -Procool -Pre-mounted I/O shield – SafeSlot Rear audio USB Type-C® connector Back I/O Ports 1 x Intel® I225-V 2.5Gb Ethernet 1 x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (1 x USB Type-C®+3 x Type-A) 2 x USB 2.0 (one port can be switched to USB BIOS FlashBack™ 1 for audio USB Type-C®) 1 x BIOS FlashBack™ Button(s) 1 x ASUS Wi-Fi Module 3 x LED-illuminated audio jacks Internal I/O Ports 1 x CPU Fan connector(s) 1 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 1 x AIO_PUMP connector 1 x Aura RGB Strip Header(s) 1 x Addressable Gen 2 header(s) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 front panel TypeC™ connector 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1(up to 5Gbps) connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 port(s) 1 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 2.0 port(s) 2 x M.2 Socket 3 with M Key design, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (Supports both SATA & PCIe SSD) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s) 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s) 1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP) 1 x Thermal sensor connector(s) 1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s) 1 x System panel connector 1 x Speaker connector 1 x VRM_HS_FAN Header Accessories User’s manual I/O Shield 4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) 2 x M.2 Screw Package 1 x Supporting DVD 1 x ROG Strix stickers 1 x M.2 bracket 1 x Cable ties pack(s) 1 x Wi-Fi Antenna(s) 1 x Extension cable for Addressable LED 1 x Panel cable 1 x ROG Thank you card 1 x ROG audio USB Type-C® cable BIOS 256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS Manageability WOL by PME, PXE Operating System Windows® 10 64-bit Form Factor Mini ITX Form Factor 6.7 inch x 6.7 inch ( 17 cm x 17 cm )

[section_title title=A Closer Look at the ROG STRIX B550-I Gaming Motherboard]

A Closer Look at the ROG STRIX B550-I Gaming Motherboard

As mentioned earlier, the Strix B550-I is a mini ITX form factor motherboard and measures in at only 6.7 inches x 6.7 inches and features two slots for memory modules, one PCIe slot for a graphics card, and four SATA 6 GB/s ports.

The right side of the motherboard features the four SATA 6 GB/s ports, USB 3.2 Gen 1 connector, USB 3.2 gen 1 type C connector, front panel connectors, and the 24-pin power connector.

At the top edge of the motherboard, you’ll find the 8-pin CPU power connector, 3 4-pin fan/pump connectors, and an addressable RGB header as well as a 4-pin non-addressable RGB header. Hidden under the rightmost memory slot locking tab is the Q-LEDs.

The bottom edge of the Strix B550-I motherboard features the PCIe x16 slot and the M.2 heatsink.

The rear I/O includes a Display port and HDMI port for AMD APUs. A single USB 2.0 port comes next. The BIOS FlashBack button sits just to the right of the USB 2.0 ports. A pair of USB 3.2 Gen2 ports come up next followed by another USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, the Intel I225-V 2.5 Gb ethernet port, and a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C port. The wireless antenna connectors follow. The audio ports are next. Once the board is powered on, the audio ports are illuminated by LEDs and glow blue, green, or red depending on the port type. Under the audio connectors is the Audio USB Type C connector for use with the USB C to 3.5mm cable included with the motherboard.

There are two M.2 slots on the Strix B550-I motherboard. One is located under the heatsink on the front of the motherboard and is 4 lanes of PCIe 4.0. The other is located on the back of the motherboard is 4 lanes of PCIe 3.0.

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To access the front M.2 slot you’ll need to remove the heatsink. This is done by removing the two screws in the heatsink. There is a thermal pad attached to the heatsink so make sure to remove it before completing the installation of the drive.

[section_title title=A Closer Look Continued]

A Closer Look Continued

The small size of the Strix B550-I makes it easy to tear down. Tucked under the heatsink on the left-hand side of the motherboard is the VRM.

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The heatsink is actively cooled by a small fan that connects to a special header on the top edge of the motherboard. Typically, not always, ITX cases tend to lack the airflow characteristics of larger mATX and full ATX cases. Active cooling here helps keep the VRM cool when running the high core count CPUs like the 3900x and the 3950x.

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First up, the power stages. There is 10 total with 8 used for core voltage and 2 for SoC voltage. The power stages Asus used is the Vishay SiC360 50A integrated MOSFET and driver.

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To meet the current requirements needed, ASUS runs two 50a power stages per phase for Vcore and is handled by the ASP1106 digital VRM controller on the rear of the motherboard.

Super I/O is handled by the NuvoTon NCT67980 which sits near the WindBond BIOS chip located under the front M.2 PCB.

[section_title title=System Configuration and BIOS Overview]

System Configuration and BIOS Overview

Component Product Name Provided By Processor AMD Ryzen 9 3900x AMD Motherboard Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming/ASRock X570 Taichi Asus/ASRock Memory Aorus GP-AR31C16S8K2HU416RD DDR4 3200 16-18-18-38 (XMP) Gigabyte Drive Adata SX8200NP, Crucial MX500 1 TB SATA III SSD, Adata SU650 Adata/Crucial Video Cards Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Founders Edition Nvidia Monitor BenQ EL2870U 28 inch 4K HDR Gaming Monitor 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz Case DimasTech EasyXL DimasTech Power Supply Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1500W Cooler Master Operating System Windows 10 2004 x64 Pro with latest patches and updates

When you first load into the BIOS on the Strix B550-I motherboard, like most motherboards, you’ll be presented with easy mode. For the most part, EZ mode will give most users quick access to what they need. In this case, I left the BIOS stock and just turned on D.O.C.P. to enable the DDR4 3200 speeds on the RAM.

Hitting the F7 key kicks you into Advanced mode and exposes all the options available in the BIOS via menus and sub-menus. The main page is a quick overview of the system and includes items such as the BIOS version, CPU, and memory information.

For overclockers, AI Tweaker is where you’re going to want to head if you want to tweak and tune that CPU for both voltage and frequency as well as memory speeds, timings, and voltages.

The advanced tab allows you to tweak your system even further. Not only can you adjust settings to the CPU here, but you can also adjust settings for the SATA configuration, network configuration, USB configuration, and a ton more.

The monitor tab allows you to see all the details of your system such as temperatures, voltages, and fan speeds. You can also set custom fan curves in Q-fan from here as well as the shortcut at the top of the page above the menus.

Q-fan control allows you to tweak and tune either manually or automatically the fans and/or pumps installed on your system.

In the boot menu, you can set your boot options such as which hard drive to boot off of first or set up secure boot.

The tool menu gives you access to a host of information and tools. First up, you can access the Asus EZ Flash utility to load the latest BIOS or securely erase a drive. SPD information and GPU information are available here too.

Finally the exit menu. you can save or discard the changes you’ve made to the BIOS and boot into your OS of choice.

[section_title title=Software and Features]

Software and Features

After a fresh install of Windows, I was greeted with Armoury Crate. The software asked me if I wanted to install the drivers for the LAN and wireless adapters. I chose yes and after a reboot, we were good to go.

Armoury Crate is the management software for the Strix B550-I motherboard and offers quite a few configuration options as well as some tools. First up is the LED lighting for the addressable RGB, non-addressable RGB, and the audio. Now, this only turns the on and off, the effects are applied in the next section.

Aura Sync is where you can apply the lighting effects to the LEDs that are compatible with the system.

Armoury crate searched out a few of the games I have on this system and displayed them in the Game Library tab.

Scenario Profiles allow you to link and application or a game to a custom set of settings. For example, you can set it so that when Game X is launched, the LEDs on the motherboard and LED strips to glow a certain color or run a particular Aura Sync effect, and disable the Windows key on your keyboard.

The tools menu will allow you to download the latest drivers, utilities, and BIOS updates in one place. While the drivers and utilities can be installed from here, the BIOS updates cannot. You can also access a digital copy of the user manual from there.

The featured menu gives you ROG VIP members access to deals on games.

Want to know what’s newsworthy in the gaming and Asus world, hit up the news tab.

[section_title title=Test System and Synthetic Benchmarks]

Test System and Synthetic Benchmarks

Currently, I have two AMD motherboards in my stable, the ASRock X570 Taichi and the Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming. While I am pitting them against each other for performance comparisons, I am doing it to show little or no loss in performance across the two platforms.

One thing that I am leery of is the way the motherboard handle the boost clocks on the CPUs. At the launch of the Ryzen 3900x I ran into an issue with the Aorus X570 motherboard that didn’t allow the CPU to boost and maintain it’s boost clocks whereas the X570 Taichi motherboard did. So, for every AMD review, I run a single-core test in POV-Ray and capture the clock speeds for 60 seconds to verify the motherboard and CPU can hit the advertised speeds.

As you can see, the frequency jumps around as the load switches cores. However, you can see nice flat peeks at 4495 Mhz as well as boosting just above to around 4600 Mhz but doesn’t stay there for very long.

Testing and Performance

AIDA64 ENGINEER

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In the Aida64 CPU and FPU tests, the Strix B550-I matched the ASRock x570 step for step, and the only differences in performance fall within the margin of error. Again, I wouldn’t expect AMD to purposely hinder their CPUs, especially the top end CPUs, just because you didn’t purchase the more expensive X570 based motherboard.

Memory bandwidth is a whole different story. I tested and retested and got the same result with the same RAM in each motherboard. I’d be willing to account for the differences in performance because AIDA wasn’t updated to the latest version and the fact that the memory I was using wasn’t on the qualified memory list when I ran this test. I’m currently waiting for some additional faster RAM to arrive and I want to compare at speeds above DDR4 3200.

[section_title title=Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming Performance Testing Continued]

Cinebench R20

In Cinebench R20, we see the X570 has a slight lead in performance over the B550 system, although not by much.

POV-Ray 3.7

Again, we see a minor performance gap between the two systems.

[section_title title=Multimedia, Compression and Semi-Synthetic Benchmarks]

Multimedia, Compression and Semi-Synthetic Benchmarks

Handbrake

The completion time for the Strix B550-I motherboard is a mere two seconds slower than the X570 Taichi and there’s a pretty decent gap in the FPS.

7-Zip

7 Zip brings the performance of both systems back in line with each other. In fact, while a very narrow margin, the Strix B550 takes the lead in the compression benchmark.

PCMark

In PCMark we still see a little performance difference between the two systems, however, it is a minor difference

[section_title title=Strix B550-I Sub System Benchmarks (Storage, Audio and Networking)]

Strix B550-I Sub System Benchmarks (Storage, Audio and Networking)

CrystalDiskMark 5

“CrystalDiskMark 5 is designed to quickly test the performance of your hard drives. Currently, the program allows us to measure sequential and random read/write speeds.”

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Crystal Disk Mark M.2

Crystal Disk Mark USB C

Crystal Disk Mark SATA SSD

For Crystal Disk Mark, I tested the M.2 and the USB C performance. The ADATA SX8200NP M.2 drive performed right in line with the specification. For the USB C drive, I used a 1 TB Crucial X8 portable SSD.

Audio Testing

To test the on-board audio on the Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming motherboard, I use the Rightmark Audio Analyzer benchmark. To test the onboard audio of any motherboard, I follow the guide on RMAA’s site that talks about how to review Asus Xonar D2 in RMAA 6.0.5.

When I looked at the results I was quite pleased. So far, this is the best result out of any motherboard that I’ve tested and right in line with top-end add-in audio cards.

Network Testing

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Performance Test 9 TCP

Performance Test 9 UDP

I test both TCP and UDP connections. TCP connections are connection based. This means the server and client talk back and forth to each other for every packet. Typically TCP will never reach line speeds. Still, I was able to average 1771 Mbps over TCP. UDP on the other hand is connectionless. This means the network clients (either server or client) send traffic without any back and forth communication. If the packet gets there, it gets there. UDP typically is a good indication of line speed and it shows here. My testing averaged 2376 Mbps.

[section_title title=Strix B550-I Synthetic and Gaming Benchmarks]

Strix B550-I Synthetic and Gaming Benchmarks

3DMARK

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OK, so we are back to comparing the B550 and X570 performance. This time in 3D Mark’s Firestrike Ultra and TimeSpy Extreme. Again, there’s a bit of lag in performance in the two tests between the two systems.

Gaming tests

Synthetic testing is all well and good and gives a consistent set of results to compare against but so does real gaming benchmarks. Here’s where there is virtually no difference between the two systems. Again, the only thing that was changed between the two was the motherboard. The B550-I gaming keeps up with the larger more mature X570 motherboard.

[section_title title=Conclusion and Final Thoughts]

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

It has been a long time since I have had the opportunity to play with any hardware from Asus. From the onset of opening the box to installing the OS and testing, this has probably been one of the best experiences that I’ve had. I was really impressed with Armoury Crate and asking to install the drivers for the networking cards right out of the gate. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve built a system only to see no network connections available. The BIOS was extremely easy to navigate and even the EZ mode gives a ton of information. Asus has really done a bang-up job with this motherboard and is deserving of the ROG namesake.

From a performance aspect, I’d like to chalk up the differences in performance to the memory I chose to use and it shouldn’t reflect badly on the motherboard. However, even with some of the testing showing a little lagging in performance, the gaming tests prove that the B550 can match the performance of the X570 motherboards. The B550 motherboards just lack the kitchen sink. The audio onboard is fantastic. I chose to use my set of Sennheiser HD600s for subjective testing and to say the least, I’m impressed. Most onboard audio sounds a bit flat and muddled together. It really isn’t too bad but it isn’t great either. The ROG Strix B550-I steps it up. With the default settings, the audio sounded rich and full. Tweaking and tuning to my liking made it sound even better.

When Asus puts ROG on a product, you can pretty much plan that it will be a good product. If you’re looking to build a kick-ass small form factor gaming rig, the ROG Strix B550-I may just fit the bill. There are a few compromises that you’ll give up such as multiple GPU slots and four ram slots, but Asus has done what they can to make those compromises seem small. Currently, the Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming is selling for $229 which is a bit more expensive than some of the competitors. However, if you’re into the ROG bloodline, it may just be worth the extra cash.

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Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming Motherboard Review Up until very recently, if you wanted the latest and greatest motherboard for an AMD CPU you were forced to buy a motherboard with an X570 chipset, that is until AMD released the B550 to the masses.

#AMD #ARGB #B550 #Motherboard #rgb #ryzen

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