It's safe to say that I was surprised when this package arrived because Velocilinx... dropped the entire Brennus Line Up on us for review and the products left me quite impressed. Let's go ahead and dive into the specifics after an unboxing... shall we?
The inspiration behind the black and gunmetal in The Brennus Collection actually derived from the historical legend of the Gallic King Brennus. Brennus was a warrior that invaded and defeated the Romans, so I thought that I'd tuck this bit of information in the review to give you an idea of where the name came from. Now apply that to this collection... in terms of gaming, and... it fits.
The Velocilinx: Brennus - Artemis Pro Wired Gaming Mouse
First up in the Brennus Line Up... is the Velocilinx Artemis Pro Gaming Mouse. I've utilized some pretty cool mice before, but this tops the list of cool thus far (I love using this thing).
I like the way this mouse looks with the metal base and siding, not to mention how it also feels. It feels great, it doesn't just look the part... I really like how this mouse feels for both standard office work and especially gaming. I've been able to use the gaming mouse on a desktop with & without a mouse pad.
The top of the mouse has a rubber textured slip + sweat-resistant coating (in matte black)... which allows for some good dexterity. As you know... dexterity goes a long way when it comes to precision gaming.
The sides are cool (literally)... thanks to the metal and... the mouse slides smoothly with the wide feet. On top, you get the usual right and left mouse buttons, scroll wheel, and a DPI button. On the left side of the mouse, you get forward and back buttons... which come in handy as long as you aren't hitting them by mistake (while writing an email or something in a browser). Also, I can't overlook the sturdy 1.5M braided fiber cable... because you need a little something extra for those potential snags.
You get a high-precision optical engine in the Velocilinx: Brennus - Artemis Pro Gaming Mouse along with a frame rate up to 3600 fps, and an A3325 chipset.
You may be wondering what DPI means. DPI is short for "Dots Per Inch", and according to Battle.net... it's a measurement of mouse sensitivity. If the DPI of the mouse is high the further the cursor will go... which a lower DPI does the opposite. Duh of the day: You'll have to move the mouse itself further in order to get the cursor to move further with a lower DPI.
The color on the mouse wheel changes based on the selected DPI... so that you know exactly what you're working with. This mouse has six DPI options.
Red 1000 DPI - Blue 2000 DPI - Green 3000 DPI - Aqua 5000 DPI - Neon Green 7000 DPI - Purple 10,000 DPI... I've gotten the most use out of the 3000 DPI setting... because it flows well without zipping too fast around the screen. If I need the speed it'll be there.
Other features include your ability to customize the buttons via the VX Mouse app... which includes being able to switch up the mouse lighting, and even a Macro Editor.You get multiple options with the RGB lighting. Of course, you get the DPI Setting's colors... but you also get the lighting section in the app to decide the effects like LED OFF, Steady, Breathing, Colorful Breathing, and Neon.
In those individual settings, you can select from the number of seconds you want the colors to remain before they change or options like in Steady, where you decide the brightness... and the color you want from the color picker. So you get plenty of color options based on if and when you want to switch things up. Based on the design... and how bright you set the color to be, you will also see it shine more or less on your hand and desk.
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| This is the Colorful Breathing setting. |
You also get the Mouse Parameters that you can customize... such as Mouse Sensitivity (1 - 20), Scrolling Speed (1 - 10)... including the ability to scroll one page, and Double-Click Speed (900 - 200).
The USB Polling Rate(Hz) ranges from 125Hz to 1000Hz... so based on the way you want this mouse to work for you, there are plenty of options for gaming... and otherwise.
Last but not least in the app... you get the Macro Editor seen here. Macros allow you to do things like... create rapid-fire buttons and other key shortcuts after setting them up in the lists.
Price wise... you can get this pro wired gaming mouse for $52.99. After using this peripheral... the price is sweet because it's not just a gaming mouse (in name)... it actually helped me step things up by being a really dope mouse (mainly dexterity + the smoothness of movement). It doesn't give you the skills to game (clearly)... but it helps you wield what you have... better! Easily a 5 out of 5!
Comfort 5
Usability 5
Features 5
Price 5
5 out of 5 Cool Points
The Velocilinx: Brennus - Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
Second up is the Velocilinix: Brennus - Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard... and I think I unconsciously placed this product next because it's the second mechanical keyboard I've reviewed.
I immediately noticed the weight of this keyboard, it's nothing to be messed with, and it just feels like quality. Even if it's hard to be... quiet with a mechanical keyboard, I've thoroughly enjoyed using them thus far. I appreciate the aluminum finish as the base below the keys... because it reflects the led light show well, and it just looks clean.
Comfort-wise... the Velocilinx: Brennus - Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard works and gets the job done, can't say it really has anything that jumps out to me making it more or less comfortable than the other mechanical keyboard I've used... but it does differ in the feature department.
A thing that jumped out to me are all the dual-purpose keys + other features. All you need to use is your trusty FN key in combination with these keys (some seen below)... in order to access the secondary function of that key and boost your usability.
Some of the secondary key functions include:
Calculator (for the business professionals, students, and bill payers in the room)
Home (accessible through your designated web browser)
Media Keys: Play, Stop, Back, Forward
Volume Up, Volume Down
"This PC" Folder Key
Power Button... and more!
Now the "more" is really cool... because you can use your FN key to access the other keys in order to light up the key layouts of popular games that are compatible with keyboard. Like CF, COD, LoL, Race (which is short for racing games)... and other customizable options.
Accessing other colors can be done with a combination of keys like FN + M1 or M2, and if you still get confused by all that... no problem, just open the VX Keyboard App.
(Scroll up to see the Macro Editor UI + the available color picker option)
In the App you get 3 different profiles, a Macro Editor, and the Lighting options for you to select for your profile (not to mention the speed for the PRISM Lighting technology).
These different lighting options include:
Rainbow Row
Slow Wave
Shadow Color
Sine_wave
Solid COLORS
Rainbow Breathing
Fading Color Morph
Rainbow Row Splash (which is very cool)
Lighting Dance
Color Slide
Starburst Splash
Twinkling Stars
Frozen Stars
LED OFF
Game Mode... which are the key lighting options mentioned above.
You also get WIN key lockout for gaming and... fast uploading Flash memory EEPROM (short for electrically erasable programmable read-only memory).
According to PC MAG's encyclopedia, the EEPROM is a rewritable storage chip that holds content without the need for power. You may ask yourself why you'd need cutting-edge fast uploading Flash memory in a keyboard... but the first thing that comes to mind is the Macro & Key Lists. This would be most beneficial (in my opinion) for those of you in and out of eSports tournaments. You don't have the time... and you probably don't have the patience to continue setting the same things up again, so having your settings ready is a plus.
I used the keyboard to play... Slime Rancher, and got reactions that were quicker on the draw than ordinary membrane keyboards. It didn't make me run faster or anything like that... but it's quicker on the draw, which may not seem like a big deal... unless you're more of a core gamer and eAthlete. I really noticed that reaction time while playing Battery Jam... even if I don't really like playing that particular game with Keyboard & Mouse. My dodging, smashing, and other moves happened as soon as the keys were hit (or the delay was so small I didn't detect it or have to adapt to it).
Price-wise... the keyboard comes in at $109.99, which fits when comparing it to the price of some other mechanical keyboards... but I did find more secondary key options on this keyboard than others I've seen (which some are $40 or more than the Brennus). So I can't really argue with the price... although it would increase the impulsiveness to buy at $99.99, which isn't far off.
Overall, the Velocilinx: Brennus Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is a nice reactive keyboard... with a solid price. I would recommend this for gamers, students, and business professionals based on the secondary keys. One thing I would like to see in an update... are exclusive volume controls on this keyboard so that you don't have to utilize secondary buttons (those are more primary for me), other than that it gets the job done without the need to set up shortcuts on your own. I definitely salute the on-board options to switch up the PRISM Lighting patterns... and especially the VX Keyboard app that allows you to customize things as well if you just aren't getting the hang of what combination of keys do what... to get the desired effect.
Comfort 5
Usability 5
Features 5
Price 4
4.75 out of 5 Cool Points
The Velocilinx: Brennus - 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset
Last but not least... is the Velocilinx: Brennus 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset.
Looks can be deceiving... and I say that to say I thought these headphones were a lot heavier than they appear. They're quite light, the memory foam earpads are soft and fit around my ears nicely... versus pressing against them, I like that.
The headphones have a metal headband with a leather-like band beneath it that rests on your head housing wire ropes used with the inner tension controls (this helps them fit without the need to adjust). They remained comfy around my ears even after an hour or so of gameplay, and some of you know how sensitive my ears can be... so that's a good thing. One of the things that tops my list when shopping for headphones is... comfort, which rivals sound quality for me... because if I can't wear them it doesn't matter how good they sound. On that note... these headphones check out.
Anyway, the Brennus gaming headset comes in silver & black, just like the mechanical gaming keyboard and mouse from the same collection. It has a clean look and has pretty good sound for the price (which I will get to shortly), but one thing that's different with the headphones compared to the other products... is the VX Audio app.
It's expected to be different because you're dealing with audio instead of buttons on a keyboard and mouse, but I'm talking about the LED Light options (there aren't any). You don't have access to LED lighting controls other than the on & off switch found on the headset's controls. The app doesn't let you customize anything in that regard... and based on my experience with the other products in the Brennus lineup, I double-checked just to make sure. That was a little disappointing, but (I'm totally guessing) that decision was probably made for the sake of the price... while trying to provide quality
It's expected to be different because you're dealing with audio instead of buttons on a keyboard and mouse, but I'm talking about the LED Light options (there aren't any). You don't have access to LED lighting controls other than the on & off switch found on the headset's controls. The app doesn't let you customize anything in that regard... and based on my experience with the other products in the Brennus lineup, I double-checked just to make sure. That was a little disappointing, but (I'm totally guessing) that decision was probably made for the sake of the price... while trying to provide quality
sound in a nice package. It would've been worth paying a little more to customize the lighting.
The Velocilinx Brennus 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset gives you:
20Hz-20KHz (the standard range of human hearing)
50mm neodymium drivers
21 Impedance
-42DB+3DB sensitive omnidirectional mic
The headset has 7.1 virtual surround sound vs true 7.1 surround sound.
Virtual surround sound utilizes the processing techniques to simulate surround sound versus multiple speakers in the headphones (i.e. Center/Side/Front/Rear/Subwoofer). The techniques vary by company... so you may get a different experience from one to the next.
The Velocilinx Gaming Headset... does "virtual" surround sound good. I can tell the difference... but they made virtual surround sound a solid experience with this headset. Going back to the software... you're able to set up individual profiles to tweak your sound for individual games and one thing I did notice is the difference between not having EQ & 3D on vs off (so hit those buttons because it enhances the audio for sure).
Outside of the audio, there were no complaints while live streaming gameplay using the mic.
Price-wise... I can't argue with the price, this is a nice headset and a true 7.1 would run a lot more than $69.99 (I was surprised at the price of other headphones with 71. virtual). There are other headphone options out there with virtual surround that cost more... based on the name brand and their proprietary audio software (some aren't even brands that I'm aware of). The bass and mids with this headset sounded the best for me, and I enjoyed using the headset while playing COD:MW 2019.
Overall, I got a surround sound-like experience that I knew was virtual surround... and was fine with. I might not care for the lack of LED lighting options for the headset (I just think that would've been a nice addition to maintain the theme of the line up), but overall... its a nice headset that sounds good for the price.
Comfort 4
Sound 4
Features 3
Price 5
4 out of 5 Cool Points
Overall, I think this is a solid PC Gaming Line Up... that I feel comfortable giving two thumbs up.
Pricewise, I've already spoken about the individual prices of each product... but I think they should consider selling the lineup also as a bundle that boosts the incentive for gamers to purchase the entire lineup. If you have a Brennus PC Gaming Bundle for $199.99... that would work. I know it isn't exactly music to a company's ears to take a $30 cut, but... the bundle would be great for gamers and Velocilinx.
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