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Brian M.

Brian M.

Joined on 03/12/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 10
Most Favorable Review

It Just Works

Rosewill WMC Remote control/Rcvr RRC-127 for Win 7
Rosewill WMC Remote control/Rcvr RRC-127 for Win 7

Pros: Light in weight, decent in looks

Cons: AAA batteries don't last as long. But maybe AA would have made it too fat.

Overall Review: I use the Harmony One with the IR from this. I think I had to chose Windows\Media Center PC to get it to mate up right. It comes with a decent length USB cable to the IR so I can make it reach right under the TV where most people think to aim a remote.

Most Critical Review

3 years of life

Kingston SSDNow V Series 2.5" 64GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SNV425-S2/64GB
Kingston SSDNow V Series 2.5" 64GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SNV425-S2/64GB

Pros: It was nice in its day.

Cons: I hoped it would last longer. 3 years is rather short.

Overall Review: I installed only the OS (Win7 or Win8) and kept other files on a second disk so this disk didn't have lots of writing to do. I'm trying Samsung for its replacement.

Screaming with a nice bonus

SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PD128BW
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PD128BW

Pros: Sequential Read: 540 MB/s, Sequential Write: 449 MB/s. Random Read 93K IOPS, Random Write: 80K IOPS. The Samsung Magician software included seemed goofy to install, but I wanted to be sure the firmware was the latest. It was. But it also told me that I plugged the drive into the old 3GB ports instead of the 6GB ones. Very nice.

Cons: Price, I suppose.

Overall Review: Proof that the Korean War was worthwhile. Samsung can do no wrong. I love this drive almost as much as my S3 phone. BTW: My old Kingston died and I never even thought to check for warranty. They did send me a replacement to my almost 3-year old drive. Try to remember these babies have warranties.

Perfect for HTPC

ZALMAN ZM360B-APS 360W Continuous @ 45°C ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready  Active PFC Power Supply
ZALMAN ZM360B-APS 360W Continuous @ 45°C ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: The internal fan has never had to run yet so it's been 100% quiet. All it has to power so far is my ASUS motherboard and cool i3 CPU. And occasionally, the Blu-ray player. Ceton tuner is on order.

Cons: Modular cables would have been nice since I'm not using 1/2 of them.

Great for HTPC

Intel Core i3-530 - Core i3 Clarkdale Dual-Core 2.93 GHz LGA 1156 73W Intel HD Graphics Desktop Processor - BX80616I3530
Intel Core i3-530 - Core i3 Clarkdale Dual-Core 2.93 GHz LGA 1156 73W Intel HD Graphics Desktop Processor - BX80616I3530

Pros: Runs so cool that the heatsink is all it needs. My Noctua (N82E16835608016) with no fans is enough to keep it cool. Mated with my H55 motherboard, I get great HDMI out so no need for another video card.

Cons: None

Overall Review: Runs my HTPC without any stutter at all. With no fans needed to cool it, it keeps the room quiet.

Whispers

Noctua NF-P14 FLX 140mm Case cooler
Noctua NF-P14 FLX 140mm Case cooler

Pros: I have to get within a foot or two to hear it! Includes various power reducers and extenders to help make it fit in any box.

Cons: The price might sound high, but to me it was worth every penny.

Overall Review: It's the only fan running in my HTPC and it keeps the whole box cool without any noise.