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David M.

David M.

Joined on 05/01/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

Gorgeous

ViewSonic 20" Active Matrix, TFT LCD WSXGA+ LCD Monitor 5 ms 1680 x 1050 D-Sub Optiquest Series Q201wb
ViewSonic 20" Active Matrix, TFT LCD WSXGA+ LCD Monitor 5 ms 1680 x 1050 D-Sub Optiquest Series Q201wb

Pros: Big, wide, gorgeous. Good clarity. No install instructions needed. Computer auto-detected. (1280x960 looks lovely) No dead pixels.

Cons: Resolution not high enough, but then again that's what the 24"s are there for (those bloody 30"ers are too damm expensive!)

Overall Review: I bought a 21" Professional CRT for 180 a year ago. It's capable of the highest resolutions (minus a 30" LCD) and it's clarity is as good, or a little better than this monitor. Of course, LCD's aren't the greatest on color saturation, but opposed to my CRT - this monitor comes very close in all areas. It's even big (physically) enough to make me forget what resolution means and buy myself a 24" (this was for my gf.) Price/Value is spot on (rebate doesn't hurt either heh)

Most Critical Review

Iffy.

ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Huge overclocks. Reached 1950FSB with Q6600 fairly easily. Doesn't get too hot. A tad bit cramped but everything fits nicely. Crossfire works without a hitch.

Cons: Motherboard has a tendency (at least for me) to get stuck turning on VERY frequently with 2x2900Pro's and 4x1GB DDR2-800. Currently went through testing every ram stick in each ram slot with each GPU and it's still not turning on. Going to RMA with Abit.

Overall Review: Definitely happy with the overclock room on here. Definitely NOT happy with the boot issues. I wouldn't say stay away from this motherboard, but be prepared for an issue with your PC once a week at least.

Easter egg hunt

ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: - Massive overclocking headroom - Crossfire - High overclocks are stable

Cons: - Bios updates don't fix anything - Replacement bios THAT I BOUGHT doesn't work - Lan port is now dead since purchase in Feb. 08 - Hex 8.b. happens after a while that hangs PC, switching GPU A to slot #2, it still doesn't work. Switching to GPU B in slot #1 boots it up, but then it's the same nightmare all over again forcing me to swap GPU's all the time. - Changing any settings in the bios works for about a day or two before it locks up permanently until you clear CMOS - System hangs 50% of the time when booting from standby If you don't want a giant headache, go with ASUS or EVGA. The board performs incredibly but it's sad with all these kinks.

Overall Review: With an XClio 380-Plus case, ventilation is not a problem, placement on the board is excellent, 2900 Pro's do not contact RAM slots, need to wrap my PCI-E connectors around the chassis support twice to get everything in snug but that's not abit's fault. PWM's reaching 70c+ overclocked or not in a case with a 250mm intake, 250mm blowhole and 360mm side intake is a concern but does not impact performance. Really wish Abit would've gotten this board right. Had experience with the IP35-Pro which had identical quality to this board. Disappointed about the missing fan clips. Sending the board back for RMA tomorrow - hopefully I won't get stiffed with a bad replacement; you'd hope they would get the kinks worked out with their repair plant after having experience with the board issues for so long...

Problem board.

ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Handles overclocking no problem. 1950FSB easy with Q6600. Had this board for 6 months.

Cons: Bios revisions don't ever fix much. Computer hangs constantly and you need to reset it more than 10, sometimes 25 times before it comes back up - even with clearing CMOS via jumper and removing power for an hour. Bios revisions don't fix hanging. You need to buy a new bios chip YOURSELF to fix this board. YOU need to PAY for shipping to have it RMA'd even though it was a bad board OUT OF THE BOX. Never came with retention clips for the 40mm heatsink. Hanging is magnified when you overclock. There are dozens of people on the abit forums with this problem.

Overall Review: I love this board's potential, but i am thoroughly disgusted with this board and abit for not taking full responsibility for their problem. Why should I have to pay for something that never worked in the first place? How was anyone getting this board supposed to know bios revisions wouldn't be fixing this problem? It's a great motherboard, but only when it boots, which is next to never once you start overclocking. Sorely disappointed with Abit. Next time i'll go with an Asus. I wouldn't care if they paid for shipping - who complains about free stuff? But why do i as an enthusiast, have to suffer for abit's screw up? The dang hex LED display doesn't help you with squat BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!

Good, but no cigar.

SONY - Studio Monitor Series Headphones (MDR-XD200)
SONY - Studio Monitor Series Headphones (MDR-XD200)

Pros: Ok, I just got this in the mail, and i create my own music through fruity loops, AND i have an X-Fi fatality gamer card. Now, the X-Fi creates exceptional bass tones, and just hooking this in to my PC, the sound is very crisp. The movie - music modes: There IS a difference, but it's slight. (Read: Not enough for you to care) Cords look sturdy, headphones are comfy and light, so they rest easy - great bang/buck.

Cons: Bass is not acceptable. If you like having a system in your car, and think you can get away with even coming close with these headphones, look for a different set. These just won't cut it - READ: NOT FOR AUDIOPHILES OR BASSPHILES

Overall Review: I had to increase the bass levels to max through my volume controls to get the bass on these headphones to REALLY come out. Otherwise, the bass on these cans just won't come out on it's own.

12/27/2007

Great cheap board

ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Easily overclockable. Put a Q6600 in, immediatley threw the FSB to 400, gave the cpu 1.395v bumped my ddr2 to 1.9v (required) and left all the rest on auto. Booted up into windows the first time :D - sitting a Q6600 @ 3.6 on an AC Freezer 7 Pro @ 50c Prime95 with an XClio case. Holding insert to reset bios values is VERY convenient. Jumper settings in very easy to access place.

Cons: Big fat northbridge heatsink. Got in the way of my AC Freezer 7 pro but it was easy just to bend the bottom corner fins up in order to give it enough room to fit. No problemo. PWM HAS POOR COOLING! Not a big deal, but with quads it heats up to 70c-100c+ (in my XClio case though it stays at 66c) (Dual boot is annoying sometimes,

Overall Review: It's a great cheap overclocker if you're waiting for some time to get money for X38 and CF/SLI. I think i'd go with an ASUS board for X38 though, haven't researched much into it. Wish i had more time to burn it in.

11/17/2007