Joined on 10/30/05
An absolute steal. Great processor.
Pros: Unbeatable price, generous L2 Cache, quiet and effective heatsink/fan. Low power consumption. AMD's pin and socket design, as well as their heatsink clip, is very easy to install.
Cons: Not dual core.
Overall Review: This is a perfect chip for a computer that will do basic tasks and maybe some light gaming. I find it's best place is in micro-ATX cases that are to be used as HTPCs. Since AMD and ATI are one, there are some really good combo micro-ATX boards with respectable integrated video just asking for a chip like this. For only a few hundred, you can have yourself a media center PC or a light gaming PC. Good stuff. The fan and heatsink are not particularly big, making this chip ideal to put into smaller form factor PCs. Also, the price of this chip is such that kids who save up their allowance for a few weeks can purchase a CPU and get into an interesting hobby like computer building at a very young age.
Really awkward to use
Pros: The direction keys are highlighted in red.
Cons: Exceptionally awkward layout. Tiny spacebar, the red direction keys ASWD are slightly raised, making normal typing a complete chore. Also, keys are stiff. Typos abound!
Overall Review: I should have just bought a regular mechanical keyboard. I'd have been better off.
Very good headset
Pros: Extremely comfortable. Adjustable. Padding feels very soft, completely envelopes the ears. Clear, loud sound. Robust environmental controls. Microphone is clear and unintrusive. Perfect for online gaming. Well priced.
Cons: My first unit was DOA. Newegg took care of everything. I had to pay a shipping cost to get it returned, but...considering all of the computer equipment I've purchased from Newegg over the years, the occaisional cost of an RMA doesn't bother me.
Overall Review: Download the drivers from Rosewill's website. This is a must. While the headphones are plug and play compatible with Windows 7, they only have two settings using the windows drivers: Loud and off. There's very little in-between. The Rosewill drivers solve this, and add virtual 7.1 support, as well as environmental audio.
Time to throw my old PC away
Pros: 8 cores. Totally smokes my old 6 core AMD machine. Thank goodness. I was able to throw that antique into the trash can. it's 8 or nothing, baby.
Cons: Doesn't have 10 cores. Will become dumpster refuse once the 10 cores come out.
Overall Review: I'm so glad I got rid of my lame-o 6 core machine. It look a while to smash in the trash compactor, but I finally got it (WD-40 helped). Haters beware, it's time to get fragged!
Cheap, good
Pros: Crisp picture, light weight, extremely affordable, lots of inputs (HDMI, VGA, Component), can set up virtually anywhere. Sound is fine. Built in over-the-air HDTV tuner
Cons: Poor viewing angle, at the wrong angle, the screen will appear photo negative.
Overall Review: I bought this TV last year to sneak it into work and watch the NFL playoffs. Because it doubles as a computer monitor, it was perfectly camouflaged into my workstation. Is it the best TV possible? No. But, the picture was good, especially over the air, and it's extremely portable. COBY has somewhat of a reputation for being cheap, but this TV is pretty good for the money.
Pretty solid case
Pros: affordable, spacious, HUGE side fan mount if that's your thing. Front USB and audio.
Cons: Really a pain in the rear to remove the stock ATX panel on the back. IT's affixed to the steel, so working it off involves bending the thin steel of the case. I had to be very, very careful.
Overall Review: When it comes to computer cases, I try and go for function over aesthetic. This case is easy to access, spacious, and doesn't look awful. For the price, there are many cases that are fugly and difficult. This case is none of those.