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Ryan M.

Ryan M.

Joined on 02/09/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 14
Most Favorable Review

Great processor

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T - Phenom II X6 Thuban 6-Core 2.8 GHz Socket AM3 125W Desktop Processor - HDT55TFBGRBOX
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T - Phenom II X6 Thuban 6-Core 2.8 GHz Socket AM3 125W Desktop Processor - HDT55TFBGRBOX

Pros: 6 cores, runs cool, easy to overclock, powerful

Cons: None really. Even the stock HSF is better than something from Intel or a lower AMD chip.

Overall Review: I have this thing overclocked to 3.5GHz on stock air cooling; FSB at 250MHz, dropped the multipliers on RAM, HT, and NB to get them at stock speeds, Turbo Core off. Temps aren't breaking 30C idle (ambient temp ~70F). No matter what some people say, there are games that will use 6 cores, out right now. And there will be more. Have this proc paired with 8GB RAM, Radeon 6870, Gigabyte 990X mobo. Good stuff.

Most Critical Review

There are better cases for the money

Cooler Master Silencio 352 - Silent Micro ATX Computer Case with two fans, Sound Dampening Panels and Multiple Removable Air Filters
Cooler Master Silencio 352 - Silent Micro ATX Computer Case with two fans, Sound Dampening Panels and Multiple Removable Air Filters

Pros: - Handsome aesthetics - Decently quiet - 2 USB 3, 1 USB 2, and 1 SD card reader on front panel - dust filters on all inlet fans, including PSU - 1 5.25" and 1 3.5" front bay, still with room for 2 120mm fans up front

Cons: - thin gauge steel, questionable build quality - side panels both warped - inadequate room for cable management behind mobo tray - did not get the advertised fans - questionable sound absorbing material

Overall Review: Got this for a workstation that I'm building for my dad. Not happy with the with the overall quality on this case. For $70, I was expecting at least enough room to route the 24-pin power cable behind the mobo tray, and some decent side panels. The front panel audio cable is barely long enough to reach the mobo connector, so I can't route it cleanly. No hole on the top of the mobo tray for the 8-pin CPU power connector. Should have ordered the Fractal Define Mini for $5 more, but it's not worth the hassle exchanging it now.

Disappointing

Logitech K810 Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard - Black
Logitech K810 Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard - Black

Pros: Thin, great construction quality, great typing feel. The dynamic backlight is very nice and easy to adjust. The rechargeable battery is pretty nice too.

Cons: It won't maintain a connection to my Windows 7 computer. I'm using an Intel Wireless-AC 7260 with Bluetooth adapter. Researching the problem online, it seems quite a few other users have had similar problems with a variety of Bluetooth hardware. Quick rundown of the problem: I pair the keyboard using Logitech's instructions. Type in the pairing code, hit enter, and maybe once out of every 10 tries the keyboard pairs with the computer. I can use the keyboard for about 1 minute then it loses connection. Various iterations of software updates, drivers, re-pairing, and rebooting have not fixed this problem.

Overall Review: I wanted this keyboard as a living room keyboard (I don't want a built-in track pad). The features list was everything I wanted short of mechanical keys, but you can't have everything. I'm very disappointed to see such a nice keyboard have to be returned. The keyboard pairs fine with my iPhone. I tested my PC's Bluetooth adapter by pairing my iPhone with it and streaming some music, which worked fine. Might borrow a PS4 controller to test but I'm fairly confident the adapter is good. What I want to see from Logitech: a new revision of the K810 that has been tested better with Windows 7/8, or a version of the the K810 that uses Logitech's Unifying receiver. I had to run to a local store to pick up a K360 as a quick replacement for the 810 and the Unifying receiver works perfectly.

Great Drive

Patriot Pyro 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) PP120GS25SSDR
Patriot Pyro 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) PP120GS25SSDR

Pros: Fast, reliable. Performance on par with OCZ Agility 3, Corsair Force 3, etc.

Cons: Only gripe is that the SATA connector on the drive does not allow the cable to clip in like my mobo and HDD SATA connections. Kind of annoying but the drive doesn't move so there's not much to worry about.

Overall Review: All I want from and SSD is speed and reliability. That's what I have with the Patriot Pyro. Windows boots in ~25 seconds with all my programs installed. Mathematica takes about a second to load, Office programs load instantly, and my games' load times are drastically reduced. Couldn't be happier with this drive. Specs: AMD Phenom 2 x6 1055T @ 3.5GHz Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 mobo Sapphire Radeon 6870 WD Caviar Blue HDD Patriot Pyro 120GB SSD

Great unit, rebate service sucks

XFX TS Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W SLI CrossFire 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
XFX TS Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W SLI CrossFire 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: Pretty quiet, solid build, 4 PCI-E connectors for Crossfire.

Cons: NEVER GOT MY REBATE. Goodbye, $30.

Overall Review: It's a great unit, XFX's rebate provider sucks though. I got a confirmation that the rebate was received, then nothing. I tried contacting them but got nowhere.

Very good mouse BUT

Logitech G500 Black Chrome 10 Buttons Dual-mode Scroll Wheel USB Wired Laser 5700 dpi Gaming Mouse
Logitech G500 Black Chrome 10 Buttons Dual-mode Scroll Wheel USB Wired Laser 5700 dpi Gaming Mouse

Pros: Precise, lots of buttons, DPI control, feels great in hand, adjustable weight, smooth scroll

Cons: The scroll wheel. When in smooth scroll mode after I stop scrolling the page will still scroll a few increments. Gets really annoying

Overall Review: I got used to the smooth scroll mode on my VX Nano, so I wanted to get a gaming mouse with the same feature. The only problem is that when I stop scrolling and leave it in smooth scroll mode, the mouse scrolls the page a few spaces even when I make sure the wheel is not moving. This gets incredibly frustrating when I want to leave it in smooth mode. A simple scroll sensitivity adjustment would work but none can be found in SetPoint. For this I have to dock an egg. I may have to try and put a drop of oil or something in there to increase the friction a bit (yes, a thick oil would do this as there is so little friction on this wheel). Besides that, I have no problems with the cable or really anything else on the mouse. It feels great and the adjustable weight is pretty nice. I expected the black material on the sides to be some sort of rubber like on the VX and MX mice but it's a grippy textured plastic.

12/17/2011