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Travis J.

Travis J.

Joined on 04/30/03

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 3
Most Favorable Review
Rosewill RNX-N600UBE Wireless N600 Dual Band USB 2.0 Adapter
Rosewill RNX-N600UBE Wireless N600 Dual Band USB 2.0 Adapter

Pros: Seems to work a lot better than my laptop's internal 802.11n WiFi at SD Hulu, music streaming, and the Internet in general. Download rates for large files are significantly better.

Cons: Windows tells me the signal strength is typically only about 1 bar better, meaning I now have 2 bars instead of 1. I'm not sure what that means exactly. I'm not entirely certain how it has affected BitTorrent, but the ones that are slower to begin with probably haven't improved.

Overall Review: It doesn't look so bad but it fits in better hidden behind something...

Large fan, solid enclosure

Rosewill METAS – External 3.5" Hard Drive Enclosure – USB 3.0 & eSATA, Black, Rigid Aluminum Body and ABS Plastic Top Cover
Rosewill METAS – External 3.5" Hard Drive Enclosure – USB 3.0 & eSATA, Black, Rigid Aluminum Body and ABS Plastic Top Cover

Pros: USB 3.0! But I guess the best thing about this enclosure is the adjustable 80mm fan. It's big enough that it can move a decent amount of air without too much noise, though I don't know for a fact that is what's actually happening. The fan noise at its lowest is quieter than my older 3.5" WD Black's clicks and constant hum, but louder than my 7200rpm WD Black laptop drive, if that means anything.

Cons: The front facing blue LED is very bright in the dark and flashes with drive activity. I covered it with a piece of black electric tape that seems to fit in with the other black pretty well. If I was looking for a very quiet drive enclosure I would pick something else, perhaps without a fan. Or maybe stick to 2.5" drives?

Overall Review: I gave this drive 5 eggs despite the mega LED because I probably would have covered it up whether it was bright or not.

Sleek design, good value

Cooler Master NotePal A200 - Ultra Slim Laptop Cooling Pad with Dual 140 mm Fans and Aluminum Surface
Cooler Master NotePal A200 - Ultra Slim Laptop Cooling Pad with Dual 140 mm Fans and Aluminum Surface

Pros: I didn't read about it exhaustively (waste of time probably), but the combination of airflow, noise level, appearance and price seem to be pretty good by comparison. The hub works fine with my small flash drive.

Cons: It's not loud, but also not all that quiet, even at the lowest setting. I would be kind of worried using the hub for, say, a non AC external hard drive because it's powered entirely by USB 2.0 and there's no switch for the fans.

Overall Review: The only times I ever use this cooler (video games) the laptop's internal fan is fairly loud anyway, so the noise isn't much of an issue for me. The lower plastic casing flexes on the sides and at first I thought it was adhesive coming loose, but the aluminum is connected to the bottom by screws underneath the rubber pads.