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Aaron S.

Aaron S.

Joined on 04/18/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

I LOVE THIS MONITOR!

ASUS VH236H Black 23" Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Speakers 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR)
ASUS VH236H Black 23" Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Speakers 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR)

Pros: Supports HD Audio through DVI cable and HDMI. Has Aux audio input when Video Card does not support SPDIF over HDMI or DVI. Picture clarity is excellent and color depth is amazing! Size is perfect for most work and gaming I do.

Cons: I couldn't buy more than 1

Overall Review: I have been very pleased with this monitor and will be sad when I have to replace it. This replaced a 38" LCD TV as my monitor and I haven't even thought about going back.

11/29/2013
Most Critical Review

Not So Green

Western Digital WD Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Western Digital WD Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: Easily configured on WinXP machines and up. Fair performance on read/write for 1TB

Cons: Purchased 3 drives at the beginning of 2010. By January 2011, 2 drives have started to show damaged sectors. This can be very annoying if you do not have enough drive space to back up 2TB of data.

Overall Review: I highly recommend that if you use these drives, you have a stable back up solution available. My first drive started flaking after 6 months, second after 1 year.

Beautiful Small Server Solution

Foxconn nt-A3500-0h0WWAEQB AMD A45 (Hudson D1) White Mini / Booksize Barebone System
Foxconn nt-A3500-0h0WWAEQB AMD A45 (Hudson D1) White Mini / Booksize Barebone System

Pros: Small form factor, easy setup, VGA mount, built in HDMI and internal speaker, USB 3.0, 64-bit support with drivers! Currently using one as a web server and a second as a mail server. Both perform very well with Ubuntu server software installed. Windows installs did well for general web browsing and light weight video watching.

Cons: Not strong enough for 1080p mkv files and 1080 streaming with Netflix or Hulu.

Overall Review: My initial purchase was for an HTPC build with the expectation of constant Netflix use or 1080p downloads. The unit handles MP4 files very well in consideration of it's limited power. It is capable of using 64 bit OSes and 8Gb of RAM. The driver support for 64 bit is the primary selling factor for me. I was unable to use this as an HTPC because it can't handle 1080 Netflix streams but I was able to convert to servers easily and use a third as a regular desktop for simple web browsing. The VESA mounting brackets are awesome and work very well with standard monitors. Very satisfied overall and would recommend for lightweight internet or server use. ( I caught a deal on this with an ADATA 64Gb SSD which was just icing on the cake!)

11/29/2013

Great Budget Case

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Interior Paint, Good Airflow, Tool-less (somewhat), plenty of room for larger Video Cards. This case looks great, inside and out. Has great airflow, even with limited fan options (see cons below), and has been able to accommodate some larger Video Cards (my current is an EVGA GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB GDDR5 = N82E16814130909) with comfortable room to connect PCI-E power connectors and hard drive connectors. I was able to do a lot of cable management because the case is wide enough to route power cables behind panels and zip-tie out of sight and airflow paths. I have had the front panel off this unit several times for cleaning and upgrades during the 2 years I've owned it and the clips still feel new.

Cons: Top Fan Mounting, Front Intake Fan Mounting, 5.25 Drive Bay Fillers, Too Few Tool-Less mounting hardware pieces. The case has several 120mm fan mounts (2 on top, one in front of HDD cage, 1 rear exhaust, 1 bottom intake, 1 power supply intake). The bottom intake is useless because cables from the power supply will likely interfere with fan operation. The top front exhaust is usually unable to accommodate a 120mm fan because the RAM release clips touch will not open with a fan in place. There is no mount option for a smaller fan that would avoid this. This could be easily overcome by raising the fan mounts higher than the rest of the case top, creating space between the fans and main board. I was able to mount 2 fans on top of the case and route the cables back inside the case through the exhaust holes (not exactly something a novice should attempt). Front Fan mount is interesting at best as most 120mm fans fit exactly between the front of the HDD cage and the front port. It gets difficult to mount if you are using rubber shock mounts to keep vibration sound at minimum I was able to accomplish this but it wasn't easy by any means. Screw mount would be less difficult but still require some work. The Metal Mesh Front filler spots break easily (which I'm sure was the least of their concerns because most people would be using at least 1 DVD drive) so be careful removing them if you want to use them in the future. The case came with tool-less hardware for one 5.25", one HDD mount, and one floppy position mount. I've been using at least 2 HDD's for several years now and I think there should be at least one more HDD tool-less hardware piece included.

Overall Review: This case is a decent budget build case with some good concepts that weren't thought all the way through. It will withstand typical home user needs for years with no serious problems. If you are running hot hardware and NEED fans that will mount without complication look elsewhere. I have used many cases that do not have the fan mount problems this case seems to have. Overall I am satisfied with my purchase for the price I paid for it, especially considering that the case is still in like new condition even after 2 years of room swaps, LAN parties and moving houses.

11/29/2013

Fantastic

PC Power & Cooling Fatal1ty Gaming Series 550 Watt 80+ Semi-Modular Active PFC Performance Grade ATX PC Power Supply (OCZ550FTY)
PC Power & Cooling Fatal1ty Gaming Series 550 Watt 80+ Semi-Modular Active PFC Performance Grade ATX PC Power Supply (OCZ550FTY)

Pros: Stable, Modular, Cable Sleeves, Cord Length

Cons: None

Overall Review: I have 2 of these, both have been equally impressive. My primary PC has the following components: MSI 970A-G49 AMD FX 6100 (6 Core) Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB DDR1333 x 4 EVGA GeForce GTX650Ti Boost 2GB Western Digital Green 1TB x 2 ADATA Premier Pro SP900 64GB SSD Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid-Tower I run multiple virtual machines at once with OSes ranging from Windows XP - Windows 8 and Ubuntu Servers for web hosting and Mail Service. I have had zero problems staying on 24/7 and this power supply just keeps kicking! I love it! My only request would be to offer it in Blue LEDs on the fan for the larger group of consumers and I personally wouldn't mind Purple/UltraViolet. My case is bottom mount for the Power Supply and I had no trouble connecting the 4pin CPU or Main Power connector. The 4 pin was a snug fit but it did fit and everything else lined up beautifully in the case. I highly recommend it!

11/29/2013

Superb Case for Mid Experienced Builders and Up

Rosewill  Conqueror  WBK Triple 120mm Fans Steel ATX Mid tower Computer Case with Side Panel
Rosewill Conqueror WBK Triple 120mm Fans Steel ATX Mid tower Computer Case with Side Panel

Pros: Sturdy, sleek, well constructed, excellent airflow, intelligent interior design. This case surprised me with the quality of materials and construction. It's fairly sturdy and all panels fit back together well without any warp or shift to the case or panels. Panels were not flimsy. Case internal design is well above expectation. This case provides a flexibility with drive management that I have yet to see in another low to mid budget case. HDD, FDD, and Optical drive placement can be customized to fit user needs. Each 3 bay HDD tray can be moved (comes with 2) to position your drives to where they are more convenient. HDD trays are designed to give good airflow, above and below each drive to help reduce heat. 120mm fans are silent, well mounted and provide enough airflow to keep the case interior well cooled especially with good cable management. Cables for the IEEE 1394 port on the front can be removed if not needed. Expansion ports on the top are very sturdy.

Cons: Hardware included only had 7 standoffs so full sized ATX boards measuring 12.0" x 9.6" will need to get extra standoffs. I must agree with other users that mounting HDD's in this case is not an easily accomplished task. I would say that new system builders should get a little experience or should be slightly mechanically inclined before purchasing this case. Fans utilize 3 pin connectors with no adapters. While flexibility to remove the IEEE 1394 cable was included, the audio header cable and the USB header cable are integrated into the same plug so if you remove one you remove both. Case length is not good for long video cards. Some may work but will fit a little snug. The edge of my motherboard (12.0" x 9.6") comes right to the edge of my HDD's. Front 5.25 bay covers are difficult to remove. I found it easiest to remove them from after taking off the front face.

Overall Review: I highly recommend this case to any mid level system builder or higher especially if looking for a good HDD cooling solution or that needs the ability to expand to 9 HDDs. This case has a wonderful design. Flexibility more than makes up for the slight extra work involved to mount HDD's. Any highly experienced system builder would appreciate this cases ability to adapt to the needs of the system. Users manual is easy to understand and includes instrucitions for how to change the hinge on the front door to swing the opposite way. Overall I am very happy with this case. Newegg had this on my door within 2 days.

10/31/2008