Joined on 02/25/05
Great cooler
Pros: 1. Compact 2. Does a great job 3. Fits a lot of design 4. Different color lights if you want them 5. Easy to install My sons game computer is Red. The motherboard is black with red lights. The case fans give off red light. Changing this to red was easy and a perfect match. His is quite happy. So how does it work? Great. The CPU is over clocked and the thermal are very good. I cannot complain. It comes with a decent thermal paste. It is easy to install. The manual is just pictures. It can fit a lot of different processors. All products should work as well. The radiator is not bigger than than the cooling fan, so it can be put in a lot of different places. Flexibility in installation gives you options to cool your computer.
Cons: 1. I would like to see swivel connections at both ends. 2. You will need a molex connector The radiator could use swivel connectors, it would make it easier to install. A molex connection - really, in this day an age. Larger power supplies have plenty of connections, but many are modular. Having to put in a special connector or attaching a molex cable just did not make sense. I understand the need for power, but changing it to take 1 or 2 SATA power connectors would make sense.
Overall Review: I would highly recommend this for computers where moderate overclocking is being done to the CPU. If you want extreme overclocking buy a better cooling system. For a normal gaming rig it is a great upgrade and will allow you to cool the CPU with a moderate overclock. I also see this for video and photo rigs or other processor intensive activities. Though the lights on the cooler really do not fit these applications. It give the advantage of having liquid cooling without the expense of buy a lot of equipment and having to run custom pipes. It can also run with very low fan speed without overclocking. Not quite a silent PC, but one that stays cool and does not make a lot of noise if you are not looking for extra performance. At $60.00 it is a good deal.
Decent for a small space – recommended with reservations
Pros: 1. 2 bands 2. Wife friendly design 3. 802.11 AC Draft 2.0 4. Comes with network cable 5. Did not have to upgrade firmware to make it work 6. Comes with software 7. My Dlink app 8. Card with preprogramed password There is a lot to recommend this router. First is has the 2.4 and 5.0 Ghz bands. This is important because there can be a lot of traffic on the 2.4 Ghz band. It gives you another options, as long as your device supports the 5.0 Ghz band. It looks good, and can be hidden in your décor, instead of having antennas sticking. This is the first router that I have used in the last two years that did not have to have the firmware upgraded before it would work. Kudos to Dlink for making the device work out of the box. No software was needed to make it work. I set-up my network in about 20 minutes without a hitch. This includes devices with static IP addresses. If you have a home server this allows access through the internet. Occasionally, you can find an unsecure wireless network. This router eliminates that immediately. It has a baked in password, which is on the router, a card comes with it, and it is taped to the top of the router too. In other words, it is secure when you set it up. I liked the My Dlink App. It installed and just worked. There was some set-up on line to make it happen. This then gives you control from your android of apple device. See cons on the wisdom of this.
Cons: 1. Range 2. Transfer rates are slow 3. 801.22 AC is still in draft 4. Requires an 8011.22 AC capable computer or adaptor card 5. Security concerns with the My Dlink App 6. 10/100 Rear Ethernet ports 7. Non-dimmable or hidden LEDs This device should be limited to small houses and apartments. It has a fair signal at 25’ away through a wall. If you are going beyond that length, you should look for a different router. Throughput really suffers the further your get. I got a signal almost 50’ away through a wall, but the connenction was weak, especially on the 5.0 Ghz band, which is not too surprising. On a 1.5 GB file, I could only get transfer rates around 5 Mbps on the 2.4 Ghz band, and 2 Mbps on the 5.0 Ghz band at 25 feet through one wall. This is a far cry from the advertised of 300 Mbps and 433 Mbps respectively. I was using a Dlink DW171 adapter during this test. So I disabled it and tried the backed in N adapter. The results were the same. I tried a different computer at this location and got the same results. Conclusion, the router could not handle the distance well. At 50 feet, the results were much slower at 2 Mbps and .9 Mbps. I had to run the test a couple of times in the 5.0 GHz band because it dropped the single a couple times. When I moved very near the router – 4 feet, as expected, the results were much, much better. Both bands found speeds around 100 Mbps. The AC adapter did make a little difference, but not that much. There is a reason for this speed – see below. The 802.11AC spec has not been ratified yet. It is much closer than it was even a couple of months ago. This router is draft 2.0. Dlink states on their website about the 802.11AC Spec The new 802.11ac standard is going through the certification process with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE – the official wireless standards committee), and is expected to be ratified in early 2014. Wireless device manufacturers at the forefront of the new market are rapidly producing AC-ready products, such as Apple’s MacBook Air and Samsung’s Galaxy S4, so early adopters can rejoice: it’s possible to upgrade to 802.11ac now. The problem is that there is no guarantee that this will 802.11AC compatible, when the final specification is adopted. I believe it is far enough along on the draft process that it may very well be, but early adopters should beware. The 802.11N, G, B and A functions will work because it is backwards compatible. Very few device can us the 802.11AC currently. There are some, the above paragraph names a couple. That does not mean everyone will need to adopt the new spec yet. The my Dlink App does pose a security concern. The problem is security within the Android or Apple IOS environments is not proven at this point. While it is a neat function, I would use this with care. The final thing that surprised me is that the router only has 10/100 Mbps ports. Why? The 1000Mbps Ethernet p
Overall Review: There is lot to like about this router. The good mostly outweigh the bad. The problem is throughput, especially when you get a reasonable distance. Walls are common in buildings, and not being able to handle 25’ and a wall is really inexcusable. The look is good, except for the LEDs, but every router I have seen has LEDs on the front. ASUS for example has a great looking router with 5 bright blue LEDs on the front. The two green ones on this router are not as obnoxious. Most routers get hot after they have been running for some time. I have an older cisco router that overheated once a week. It would have to be rest, so that it would work again. The Dlink Dir836L I was using before this one also developed some heat. This router is cool to the touch. This is a good sign. I have not broken open the case to check it, but it seems to me that the cool exterior a very good sign. I have not had problems within the two weeks I have been running it. So, who should by this router. An apartment dweller or small house owner would be a good choice. It is inexpensive, so even if the 802.11 AC is not compatible with the final spec, it is still decent. It is nice having two bands, so that your computers and other devices can run separately from each other. Also the 5 GHz band is great because it is relatively free of traffic. This is a real bonus in an apartment situation. If you are looking for a new router to replace a lightning damaged unit, or need one for your set-up. I would think about this one only if you are in a fairly small environment. I would not purchase this router as an upgrade to an existing router that works.
Very nice power supply
Pros: There are a lot things to like about the power supply. 1st it is very quiet. At times (low loads) it makes no noise at all. Even when running it is quiet. Huge plus for a large (wattage) power supply. It is modular, so you don't have extra cables to hide, and it comes with a large amount of cables to meet all of your needs. I like the open screen above and below. It lets more air move around the unit for cooler. It will hand your gaming needs without a problem. It also serves well for photo or video editing. While not hearing the fans in gaming is nice, it is more crucial in video editing.
Cons: The cables can be confusing. Make sure you are attaching the right cable to your video cards. It seems like some color coding on the end of the connection would help here.
Overall Review: It is a very good power supply. It is power enough to meet most people's needs. It has the normal form factor for an ATX case. It works, and it is quiet much of the time. Yes, if you have intensive gaming going on it will get louder, but it seems that Corsairs has engineered this power supply to perform well., It is well equipped and will work well for most users. This is not the box for a workstation or other computer that is not demanding high amounts of cpu and/or gpu demands. It would good for a gamer or a person doing intensive productivity work.
What it does, it does well
Pros: This is a nice power supply. 1. 850 Watts - powerful 2. Direct fit for Syncro Case Q704 - this installation is nearly seamless 3. Lots of special designed cables 4. The tunnel box has some power supply function, so very little wiring to the power supply itself. 5. Not overly long 6. Relatively quiet
Cons: You can only use this with the Syncro Case number Q704. Do not buy this power supply, unless you have the matching case.
Overall Review: This items should be needs to be used in the Syncro case. You could probably put together another case to work with it. However, you will need the long bar, so modding of the case is a must. This gives the average user no hope for it unless you use the Syncro Case. I like both, a lot. The performance of the power supply is goo. It has ample for panel for most users. The case that goes with is really a luxury item. However, the cable management in this case with the combined power supply is unique, and gives you options to have a really nice build.
Great case
Pros: This case is designed with air flow, aesthetic and wire routing in mind. Positive elements: 1. Spacious for a mid tower case 2. Looks good 3. Sound construction 4. Easy cable management 5. Integrates with specialized power supplies - see not below 6. Well made 7. Good air flow 8. Clean lines 9. Not flashy 10. The matching power supply is unique and works well with this case. (You have to buy it separately. 11. Filters can be removed easily for cleaning 12. Powerful magnets hold the filters and the case door in place 13. The windowed door can be removed without any tools. 14. Will work without the specialized power supply, and a tunnel is provide See notes below about the power supply and case
Cons: The biggest con is that this unit is expensive. The power supply with the case and 850 Watt power supply are about $350.00. However, the integration is amazing. The one other con is that an all-in-one liquid cpu cooler may be hard to mount due to the location of the motherboard. This case is big. It is more like a full tower case than a mid tower.
Overall Review: The power supply mounts on the bottom. Power supply and case. I would recommend buying the power supply that integrates into the case. They come in 650, 750 and 850 watt configurations. The power supply that integrates into this case comes with specialized modular cables, which are short. There is an included block with the power supply which runs up the back wall, and has a number of outlets. The short cables plug into this and the wires run to graphic cards, motherboard, fans, ect. The wire routing is very simplified because of the included block. A normal power supply will work too. The case comes with a block in the back mounted into it, but it has no wire connectors. It is just a box that you can run wires from your power supply or other connectors through the back to the top of the case. Who should look at this case. I see gaming as a very good option. I am actually making a rig for photo/video editing out of it. There will be two graphic cards and lots of power. The large number of fans will work perfectly with this. This case feels like a luxury item, and it is really well made.
New life for an underpowered laptop
Pros: The drive worked flawlessly. The HP laptop was glacially slow booting up, and was sluggish. After installing this drive, and installing windows 10, it worked. The drive boots up quickly, and it handled everything my mother needs.
Cons: None.
Overall Review: I have use crucial memory for I years in all that I have never had a failure. I recommend their memory and hard drives.