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Emanuel V.

Emanuel V.

Joined on 04/17/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 54
Most Favorable Review

Amazing image quality with some quirks.

Samsung C27FG70 27” Curved Quantum Dot 1ms (MPRT) 144hz sRGB 125% AMD FreeSync Gaming Monitor 1920 x 1080 HDMI, DisplayPort, USB, Screen Split
Samsung C27FG70 27” Curved Quantum Dot 1ms (MPRT) 144hz sRGB 125% AMD FreeSync Gaming Monitor 1920 x 1080 HDMI, DisplayPort, USB, Screen Split

Pros: -The image quality is amazing, beyond words! -The build quality is good and works great with Freesync and my RX Vega 64 LC. -LFC works cool and make 40FPS looks like if it was 60FPS, as the Freesync framerate starts at 70-144 on DisplayPort, and 70-120Hz for HDMI 2.0. Anything below that and LFC will kick in to smooth things out. -Very flexible stand for positioning.

Cons: -Monitor turns itself off too fast to the point that if you reboot the computer, as soon as it loses the video signal, it will turn it off, causing issues like not being recognized properly by the videocard once it reboots, causing issues to the point that Freesync will stop working and would stay stuck at 60Hz. -The stand is too wobbly, so if your desk moves slightly, you will see your display wobbling around. -Can't control stuff like black levels and input lag if Freesync is enabled. -Sometimes when the display goes black when it goes to sleep due to Windows, it won't resume, forcing you to turn off and on the monitor or rebooting the PC. Only happens with Displayport but not HDMI. It also happens sometime during a reboot or when turning on the PC that it stays black.

Overall Review: -To fix the first issue, just create two profiles, one with Freesync On and one with Freesync Off, so cycle them once off and back on will solve the issue. -To solve the issue with the display goes black, either configure Windows to not to turn off the display after certain minutes, or go to AMD Settings, Display, Specs and select the Option Override and increase the Voltage Swing from the value 0 to value 2 and that will take charge of it. Seems to be related with insufficient voltage due to long cable (I have a 6F Belkin Displayport cable). Also it is documented that some DisplayPort cables transfers current on the Pin 20 to the videocard, causing initialization issues which can be solved by buying a VESA certified DisplayPort, as that pins its only used to power up Display Hubs.

Most Critical Review

Very good looking but...

MSI Vigor GK30 Gaming Keyboard & GM11 Gaming Mouse Combo - Mechanical Membrane Switches, 6-Zone RGB, Water Repellent & Splash-Proof, 5000 DPI - White
MSI Vigor GK30 Gaming Keyboard & GM11 Gaming Mouse Combo - Mechanical Membrane Switches, 6-Zone RGB, Water Repellent & Splash-Proof, 5000 DPI - White

Pros: Very good looking, bright lights and decent key spacing

Cons: Very weak built quality, a few drops of water feel into it and rendered the keyboard unusable. Don't recommend.

Overall Review: Look elsewhere like the Corsair K55 series, priced almost the same but way better in every metric.

Great gaming performance with some perks

GIGABYTE AORUS Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 x16 ATX Graphics Card GV-R79XTXAORUS E-24GD G10-R
GIGABYTE AORUS Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 x16 ATX Graphics Card GV-R79XTXAORUS E-24GD G10-R

Pros: Nearly double the performance in RT games against the RX 6900XT I had previously. Very good low power idle, very silent and constantly boost up to 2.70-2.85GHz with ease.

Cons: Huge, like literally can barely fit in my case, high power draw, high heat dissipation. Minor driver bugs when using AMD OSD to monitor performance.

Overall Review: Overall I definitively noticed the performance lift against the RX 6900XT undervolted which would boost to 2.45GHz without issues with a Ryzen 5800X3D. Happy camper here!!

Great gaming performance lift against the 5900X.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D - Ryzen 7 5000 Series 8-Core 3.4 GHz Socket AM4 105W None Integrated Graphics Desktop CPU Processor - 100-100000651WOF
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D - Ryzen 7 5000 Series 8-Core 3.4 GHz Socket AM4 105W None Integrated Graphics Desktop CPU Processor - 100-100000651WOF

Pros: Lower power consumption, less stuttering at basic tasks, notable increase in gaming performance , sometimes over 50% the 1% lows are on a different level.

Cons: Between 20-45% slower in multi thread performance compared to the 5900X I had before. Can't be overclocked and it's the final hurray in the AM4 platform.

Overall Review: A solid gaming performance chip that rivals the 12900K and the 13600K while stomping the 5900X. Can't go wrong.

One of the most powerful laptops in the market, bar none!

Acer Predator Helios 500 PH517-61-R0GX 17.3" FHD IPS RX Vega 56 8 GB VRAM AMD Ryzen 7 2700 16 GB Memory 256 GB SSD Windows 10 Home Gaming Laptop
Acer Predator Helios 500 PH517-61-R0GX 17.3" FHD IPS RX Vega 56 8 GB VRAM AMD Ryzen 7 2700 16 GB Memory 256 GB SSD Windows 10 Home Gaming Laptop

Pros: - Very powerful processor, excellent for workstation related tasks like media encoding, rendering, and multitasking while offering great gaming performance - Very sturdy and very well built considering that its a full plastic chassis and very easy to access the internal components for upgradeability. - Punchy sound quality and very well natural looking display and colors. - Great gaming performance, able to rival the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 on laptops. - The temps on the GPU and CPU never exceeds high 60's and the fans are very very very silent, no throttling at all! - AMD chipset and display reference drivers works with no issues. - Dual channel memory! Asus should grab a page or two on this area!

Cons: - BIOS setup is very basic that resembles an Acer Netbook from 2008, lack of customization and monitoring, unacceptable! - Battery life leaves a lot to be desired, the CPU never goes below 1.5GHz but the GPU runs at 4MHz, showing that the biggest culprit on idle is the CPU, display and then the GPU for last (Quite efficient for what it is as it uses around 110W on heavy load) - Keyboard lights aren't that bright and can only be on or off and configurable on four zones, not independent like other Razer laptops. - The AMD stock Ryzen Master Tool does not work with the Acer Predator sense, so you will have to use the Acer provided one in order to use the tool and be able to monitor your laptop and do keyboard light change, without it, the Predator sense wouldn't launch, why it is not even included on the laptop when shipped? - It also comes with very old display drivers and Windows 10 build 1709 instead of the two newer builds aka 1809, what Acer was thinking? - Newegg issued me the wrong promo code, forcing me to contact AMD in order to get it fixed as the code was for the RX 570 and RX 580 only, not for Vega, thanks Newegg for being Eggheads! - The display is very sharp, but a bit dim compared to my previous Asus GL702ZC which had an LG panel, this laptop comes with Auptronics IPS display.

Overall Review: Overall, is a very powerful laptop capable to rival and outperform more expensive Intel powered laptops out there in the market, definitively loved the package, the love and quality emphasis that Acer did in order to make this laptop feel so premium. It had some flaws like the ones pointed there but definitively it worth even the upgrade from my previous Asus GL702ZC on the gaming department (Not so much on the CPU department though, the gap is around 10%)

12/17/2018

It came free with my AMD powered Acer Predator 500 Helios.

Acer Predator CESTUS 300 Wired Gaming Mouse - Black
Acer Predator CESTUS 300 Wired Gaming Mouse - Black

Pros: - Very precise laser and beautiful color modes - Long braided cable and easy to use software

Cons: - Very lightweight, the feedback from the cable can move the mouse around on its own - Build quality is average, does not feel as premium as equivalent Razer mouse, but it is sturdy overall.

Overall Review: This mouse works as intended, and the software that you can download from Acer website, allows you to change the colors of the wheel and the logo. Overall feels very comfortable in the hand, but can't deny that it feels very cheap on the hand and its so lightweight that feels that it will break if you drop it. Functionality can go toe to toe with my more expensive Razer mouse, but quality, still behind but getting there!

12/17/2018