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Mike D.

Mike D.

Joined on 01/10/11

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 18
Most Favorable Review

Perfect for a kid's PC

AMD A8-3850 - A-Series APU (CPU + GPU) Llano Quad-Core 2.9 GHz Socket FM1 100W AMD Radeon HD 6550D Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic - AD3850WNGXBOX
AMD A8-3850 - A-Series APU (CPU + GPU) Llano Quad-Core 2.9 GHz Socket FM1 100W AMD Radeon HD 6550D Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic - AD3850WNGXBOX

Pros: - Decent performance in the games I've tested on their Mid presets WITHOUT add in GPU

Cons: - Not the best on die GPU, but I knew full well what I was buying before I bought it, so I won't minus an egg - Next Gen APUs use socket FM2, so no real upgrade path, though once again I knew that full well before I bought it

Overall Review: Great CPU for a my boys, who each got a PC for Christmas and got to put them together. I would recommend this to anyone building a PC for small office or home that does not intend to try high end gaming on it (No BF3 or FarCry 3, sorry folks) ~$340 kids' PC PC ONLY NO PERIPHERALS OR OS (Some prices were Sale Prices) - AMD A8-3850 ($95) - MSI A55M-P33 ($45) - CoolerMaster Elite 311 Case ($40) - CoolerMaster Elite 460 PSU ($30) - Kingston HyperX Blue DDR3 1600 8GB(2x4) ($40) - WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA III ($70) - Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-RW OEM ($17) Plays SW:TOR on Mid range preset no problem w/o a Discrete GPU add in, can't wait to see how it works when they do enough chores to earn that :)

Most Critical Review

What happened, WD?

WD Blue 500GB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD5000AAKX
WD Blue 500GB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD5000AAKX

Pros: Excellent drive File I/O works at Sata 6Gb/s WAS very happy with the drive

Cons: Failed after ~10 months of moderate use (PC on ~6 hours every 2-3 days, left on overnight once in a blue moon)

Overall Review: Purchased the drive on 1/17/2012, and it sat in a box for about a month (had to save for one last piece of the homebuilt rig, overspent on a nice case and PSU). Mid Feb I assembled the rig (HDD was taken from box but left in anti static bag, inspected for obvious damage through bag, then returned to box until assembly time). Ran like a charm, beat out some old WD Caviar Blue(s) from my old rig that failed after waterblock cracked, leaked, and shorted a few things. Approx 11/16/12 started having some issues with slow boots/loads, blamed it on the recent patches for Win 8 I had dl'd. About a week later TOR would freeze for seconds at a time for no reason, always mid combat. On 11/29/12 ran several chkdsk /f C: on it, said bad partition the first time, said it fixed, the next few runs said 100% ok, but Windows install had been corrupted. Fast Forward six hours, Win 7 reinstalled, re upgraded to Win 8, installed 2 games (Spore and TOR), Visual Studio 2012, Java Eclipse IDE, antivirus, all the goodies. Didn't have time to test, so set an Auslogics Disk Defrag, shut down when comlete set, and went on my merry way. Finally drive completely died on 11/30/12, BIOS "No boot device detected" error. Thankfully had all important files backed up, could have lost a lot of irreplacable stuff (Wedding Photos, Baby Photos, 1st B-Day, the like). SOOOOOOOO, repeated the install process again but this time the OS on my Corsair Force 3 90GB SSD (formerly for games), and everything else on my WD Caviar Blue 1TB (formerly just sitting blank in the build waiting for the 500GB to get full, had a 100GB partition for Ubuntu). Been using WD for ages, still have a rig I built in 98 I use for old games like C&C for win 95 and the like (AGP graphics slot, it's that old), got a 30GB and a 40GB PATA drives that STILL work. Not sure what happened here, normally bad ones fail in less than a month. Gonna contact WD Cust support and hopefully get a replacement, since it hasn't even been a year yet since I purchased. Here's hoping the 1TB fares better *fingers crossed*

Worked great when it worked...

FREMO M30 Coffee 3000mAh Lithium Polymer Power Bank External Battery Charger for iPhone 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, iPad Air, mini, Galaxy S5, S4, S3, Note 3 Smartphones, and Other Mobile Devices (made by SCUD)
FREMO M30 Coffee 3000mAh Lithium Polymer Power Bank External Battery Charger for iPhone 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, iPad Air, mini, Galaxy S5, S4, S3, Note 3 Smartphones, and Other Mobile Devices (made by SCUD)

Pros: -Sturdy metal casing -Excellent lighted paper weight

Cons: -USB charging port was flimsy, no longer works (see Other Thoughts)

Overall Review: I bought 2 when this item was a $10 Shell Shocker. The first one worked for about 2 weeks before the USB port started wobbling, and a slight rattling could be heard if you shook it. The USB had to be secured at a slight angle via a rubber band in order to charge, and a week later it would not charge the attached device at all. The second one lasted about 3 1/2 weeks before experiencing the same issues. and 3-4 days later it completely stopped working. I gave it 2 eggs because it worked great when it worked, but a device that size with as short of a cord as was included should have been able to fit in my pocket along with my phone to charge WITHOUT breaking (I did not sit on it nor sit with it in my pocket). If left to charge on a desk or in a car cup holder it should be fine, but that is not why I purchased it.

11/23/2014

Great Case, Excellent Airflow

Cooler Master HAF XM - High Air Flow Mid Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Two External Drive Docks
Cooler Master HAF XM - High Air Flow Mid Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Two External Drive Docks

Pros: -Great Airflow -Great Cable Management -Sturdy Construction -Several included fans -Front panel (intake) has dust screen

Cons: None that I can think of when compared to what it replaced

Overall Review: Purchased for a friend who was getting bad airflow and overheating in some $40 Thermaltake case (Cable management was all but nonexistent). We noticed a 12 Degree Celsius drop while idle/browsing and 8 Degree Celsius under Load immediately, and a few more degrees after replacing his cheap, no-brand Thermal Paste with some Arctic Silver 5. Great case for a mid range gaming rig.

11/23/2014

Great device, plenty of reserve power

Floureon PU0007801E 13000mAh 3.7V Dual USB External Portable Battery Pack Charger Power Bank
Floureon PU0007801E 13000mAh 3.7V Dual USB External Portable Battery Pack Charger Power Bank

Pros: -Large battery will charge most Smartphones at least 3-5 times on a single charge -2 USB charge ports for multiple devices -Built in flashlight is bright

Cons: -Both USB charging ports are on the side, making it unwise to leave cables plugged in while in your pockets (I have killed several other power banks by doing so) -Size prevents you from putting it in most jeans' pocket with anything else

Overall Review: I'm quite happy with the product, and the excellent sale price makes me wish I had picked up another one for my wife. For $15, you can't beat it.

11/23/2014

This mouse is awesome!

Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse, RGB Backlit, 20 Programmable Buttons
Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse, RGB Backlit, 20 Programmable Buttons

Pros: - 12 thumb buttons for all you MMO needs - Great for people with large hands - Gaming Framework software lets you customize not only mappings and LED color, but DPI and polling rate for control freaks like me - Software supports several games, so when mapping for a supported game you can map a button to "Set Focus Target" instead of "Alt+F"

Cons: Nothing woth knocking an egg, just a few nit picks... - Cord is very long, I keep at least a 3rd of it coiled with velcro to keep it manageable. - Gaming Framework software needa to run as administrator to function in some games - Gaming Framework software needs to be started every time you turn on PC/restart for your color and key mapping profiles to work, otherwise just a mouse. can be immediately closed after starting it however.