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Madison D.

Madison D.

Joined on 08/11/10

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 2
Most Favorable Review

My favorite around-the-house keyboard

KeyTronic KT400U2 Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Standard Keyboard
KeyTronic KT400U2 Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Standard Keyboard

Pros: Small, lightweight, and unadorned – no excess plastic or gadgetry to distract from typing. It has a nice, big Enter key. It's rugged and takes a beating (trust me). It costs < 20 bucks.

Cons: Seriously, this is a great board, but I've used ones that were easier to type on. Not saying it's hard, but the keys have a lot of travel and aren't particularly widely spaced. Still, this has more to do with my typing abilities than it does with the construction of the keyboard.

Overall Review: I got this not through Newegg but at a local brick and mortar chain called MilwaukeePC, because I was looking for something inexpensive but reliable. I needed another keyboard to use with new system builds (which I do a lot of). During one of my recent projects I played several hours of Battlefield: BCII multiplayer while testing a new machine and I actually found it just as easy to use as my main keyboard for the most part. I've dropped it a couple times and stepped on it once (don't ask, but I move around A LOT when I'm working on a PC case) and it works as well as ever. Very simple driver profile, so in most cases (including Linux) the keyboard is ready to use seconds after it's plugged in.

10/20/2011

Confusingly mediocre

NZXT TEMPEST EVO Crafted Series TEVO-001BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
NZXT TEMPEST EVO Crafted Series TEVO-001BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Fantastic shape, good paint, and very solid construction (at least in the steel part of the chassis). Most roomy and easily organised case I've ever worked with. It comes with extra drive rails (for what they're worth, it's nice to have a surplus) and a couple of adhesive-backed cable ties. Comes with more white plastic fans than you can shake a stick at! And they're actually pretty good! Bottom mount for your PSU, with a filtered vent to allow it to suck air from outside the case. My last case was an Antec 300, and it was always a feature I'd been meaning to add. Also, it has plenty of flat, unobstructed real estate on the top and sides of the front and top bezels and comes with an enormous window.

Cons: This is one of those fun cases where it's harder to read the instructions than it is to figure it out for yourself. It seriously took me about thirty minutes to find somewhere close to two lines of English. So be it, but I did end up actually having to reference the manual a couple times. Flimsy tool-less hardware on the bays in front. Finally: WHAAA? No built-in indicator lights? Impossible! But it's true. Plenty of lights on the front of this case, but no HDD or power light to be found. Am I missing something? I don't think so. At this point, for example, there is no way to tell if it's off or in sleep mode. This is actually something I never imagined would not be included with a new case.

Overall Review: Mobo tray has an access cutaway, but it's fairly small. To install my Hyper 212 Plus I had to do it with the motherboard out. I'll probably add my own indicator lights at a later date, which to be fair is kinda fun. Again, excellent, roomy case design with great airflow and easy access, but I feel like it wouldn't be too hard to break.