Tony Hoffman

New York

Senior Analyst at PCMag

PCMag hardware analyst; writer; amateur astronomer & citizen scientist; travel & humanitarian photographer; radio amateur (AA2TH) @[email protected]

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Articles

WD Black SN8100

1 day ago | me.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The WD Black SN8100 (starts at $179.99 for 1TB, $279.99 for 2TB as tested) is the first WD-branded PCI Express 5.0 solid-state drive (SSD) to come to market, but it was well worth the wait. The SN8100 not only chalked up the highest Crystal DiskMark throughput and 4K read scores of any SSDs we have tested, it easily set a record high in our PCMark10 Overall Storage testing, which measures a drive's speed in performing a variety of everyday storage tasks.
MSI Modern MD272UPSW

2 weeks ago | au.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The MSI Modern MD272UPSW ($356.99) is, in essence, a hybrid device. It can serve as a general-purpose personal or home-office monitor, or as a smart monitor integrating Google TV's huge collection of streaming apps, as well as services such as Google Home and Google Photos. It can operate either connected to or independently of a computer—in the latter case, you can attach a keyboard and mouse to it, connect it to Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and control it with the remote that comes with it.
Crucial P510

2 weeks ago | me.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The Crucial P510 ($119.99 for 1TB as tested) is Micron's third PCI Express 5.0 internal SSD, after the Crucial T700 and T705, both PCMag Editors' Choice award winners. Unlike these elite speedsters—the T705 is the fastest consumer SSD we have tested to date, with the T700 in the second tier—the P510 is built for mainstream use.
LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5

2 weeks ago | uk.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 (starts at $399.99 for 2TB; $599.99 for 4TB as tested) is a beast of a creator-centric external SSD. It is highly rugged, available in capacities up to 4TB, and is a great fit for Mac and Windows computers with Thunderbolt 5 ports. (You can use it on systems with earlier Thunderbolt versions, but at their ports' lower speeds.) The Pro5 is easily the fastest external SSD we have reviewed, based on its Blackmagic read/write benchmark scores.
Seagate Ultra Compact SSD

1 month ago | uk.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The Seagate Ultra Compact SSD (starts at $99.99 for 1TB; $179.99 for 2TB as tested) has a foothold in two worlds, with the speed and capacity of a USB 3.2 Gen 2 external SSD and the portability and cable-free connectivity of a USB thumb drive.
Addlink P21

1 month ago | uk.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

Unlike most external SSDs, with the Addlink P21 ($87.44 for 1TB as tested), you can open up the enclosure and see what makes it tick. At heart, it's an M.2 SSD clad in a sturdy aluminum case. When paired with a computer with the right connection, the P21 can generate snappy USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 throughput speeds, although its benchmark results overall were at best average for its ilk.
Dell Pro 27 Plus 4K USB-C Hub Monitor (P2725QE)

1 month ago | uk.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The Dell Pro 27 Plus 4K USB-C Hub Monitor ($519.99) is one of the first displays we've reviewed to adopt the company's new naming scheme, but the product itself is classic Dell, with a simple yet sleek and highly functional design. As a mid-priced productivity monitor, the P2725QE combines a quality high-res screen housed in a simple cabinet with an ergonomically superior stand and a thorough selection of ports that live up to its billing as a USB-C hub monitor.
Dell Pro 14 Plus Portable Monitor (P1425)

1 month ago | uk.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The Dell P1425 ($329.99) is only the second of the company's portable displays we've reviewed in the past three years. Physically, it resembles the Dell 14 Portable Monitor (C1422H)—the company's first true foray into that space, which we reviewed in late 2022—but the P1425 packs a lot more oomph. It gets high marks for screen brightness, contrast, color-gamut coverage (particularly for the sRGB color space, which is used for online art prep and numerous other applications), and color accuracy.
Synology BeeDrive

1 month ago | uk.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The Synology BeeDrive (starts at $99.99; $169.99 for 2TB as tested) is an external solid-state drive on a mission. At a glance, the BeeDrive resembles any number of other highly portable external SSDs, but when combined with Synology's BeeDrive software, it enables you to smoothly and routinely back up files from your computer or mobile device and sync files between devices.
Unistellar Odyssey Pro

2 months ago | au.pcmag.com | Tony Hoffman

The Unistellar Odyssey Pro ($3,999) is one of the few smart telescopes that not only lets you photograph celestial objects but observe them in an eyepiece in addition to your phone or tablet. This feature makes the Odyssey Pro a good choice for small gatherings, star parties, and public events. In addition, the Odyssey Pro is simply a powerful scope that's easy to set up and use.