Joined on 09/22/07
Used for Linux
Pros: NOD32 uses an open license that allows you to use the same license on multiple operating systems in the same computer. They also have the best Linux client out there for desktops.
Cons: Linux client needs updating.
Number of Issues
Pros: * Internal HDD Bay * Great, Strong 2.4GHz Signal * Fast Processor * Great NAS Storage Performance (Internal Bay) w/ NTFS
Cons: * No more firmware updates!? Seriously!? * Router will crash with certain SMB/CIFS activity. * So-so on the features * No DD-WRT .. yet, or maybe ever? The bug causing the router to crash (yes, using the lastest firmware) is a problem. While very basic file copies and such seem to work fine, don't try to use this thing as a torrent destination. I found that having too many simultaneous (not really that many at all) operations on the file shares causes the router to crash/panic and reboot. I had this happen to me while using the DNLA from media device and having two torrents writing to it from a Windows 7 client. It's not random, I can crash it on demand. Netgear probably will never update the firmware again, and so I'm stuck with this issue.
Overall Review: If I could do it all over again, I probably would have bought another router. Unfortunately I was hoping it would only be a matter of time before DD-WRT was supported on this, but it doesn't look like that is probably going to happen. This hardware is too one-off. That said, it does work well for me overall and I've come to live with some of the issues, even though I shouldn't need to.
Nice Little Server
Pros: Low Power Inexpensive Intel-based Gigabit Ethernet Wifi HDMI and VGA USB 3.0 2GiB Memory 32GB eMMC Flash
Cons: Modest CPU
Overall Review: I am using this for a low-powered x86_64 server. I am using UEFI with Arch Linux x86_64. Direct I/O testing of the eMMC flash using an XFS file system is writing at 59.8MB/s sequential write and 150MB/s sequential read. I jumped at this on sale because I wanted to retire some ARM-based servers I have and consolidate on one system to rule them all. I'm interested in using this for file serving with LUKS and as a headless backup client for CrashPlan. I'll be using the USB 3.0 for disk, which will make this device smoke on the network.
Generally good, but weak reception
Pros: * Working great with Linux * The antenna is a nice feature.
Cons: * Weak reception for USB with external antenna. Sitting within 15 feet (LoS) of an 802.11n router with excellent broadcast power, it was hovering in the 70-80% signal quality range, which meant the bandwidth would drop into the 50-70 megabit range. In my case, this was fine, but I thought it should have a better connection than that. That said, I've never had much luck with USB wireless adapters, and this is certainly better than the others I have tried.
Overall Review: I probably would have opted for a PCI/PCIe-based adapter, but there simply were no slots available on the motherboard (only two, both used). If you are looking for high performance from your wireless nic, you may want to avoid USB adapters.
Working Well After 9 Months
Pros: * Large Capacity for 2.5" * Seems reliable, so far
Cons: * Slow, but it is 2.5" and 5400 RPM!
Overall Review: I purchased this for my wife's Dell Core2 Duo laptop after the hard drive began to have media and mechanical issues (it fell off a music stand while performing). She uses it pretty much every day and also for her live music performances. While it has only been 9 months, the drive is still functioning well. It is no speed demon though. It is high capacity in a small form factor, which is what she needed. Typically unless you have a defective drive, mechanical laptop drives will usually last over a year before encountering issues, but time will tell if this is a quality one or not.
Great Card
Pros: * Insanely fast * Plays the latest games in the highest settings flawlessly * Works great for scrypt
Cons: * HUGE (see other thoughts) * Runs warm/hot with dual fans and large heatsinks under load
Overall Review: I recently upgraded to this in my PCI-e 2.x ASROCK AMD Phenom II 6 core. It is extremely fast and I am happy with it. I've never owned a graphics card this large before. It reminded me of an enterprise-class RAID card from yesteryear (extremely long). It is a double width card, but the heatsinks and fans sat so low in the second slot that I had to remove an audio cable plugged into a header below it. I was was pressing against it so hard that I thought the header pins would bend and snap off. Other motherboards may have a different design, but keep this stuff in mind when you buy it. The card is used for scrypt mining, which is very GPU and memory intensive. After setting it up, I noticed that I could not let this card run at default clock rate because it would fry under load, even with reasonable cooling in the case. So I had to set a variable clock and memory speed, lower than default, undervolt it, and enable dynamic tuning for stable maximum temperatures. Even with these limitations, the card is still fast, but it will keep my basement pretty warm when going a while, requiring me to keep the A/C vents open down there. I suspect it might not be a problem in the winter. While gaming, the heat really isn't an issue, just under sustained load. I'd consider getting a second one if it weren't for how hot they get. There is no way my tower case with a 120mm rear fan could ventilate the interior well enough to keep them cool.