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Dayna S.

Dayna S.

Joined on 09/15/13

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 9
Most Favorable Review

So far so good.

ASUS RT-N12 N300 Wi-Fi Router 2T2R MIMO Technology, 4K HD Video Streaming, VoIP, Up to 300 Mbps
ASUS RT-N12 N300 Wi-Fi Router 2T2R MIMO Technology, 4K HD Video Streaming, VoIP, Up to 300 Mbps

Pros: I bought two of these units when they were on sale because my network was running off two very old Cisco WRT54G routers, and I knew that eventually the Cisco's would break. I had replaced both of them several times over the years and had been getting lucky/cheap resale shop finds for less than five bucks each. I would convert the WRT54Gs to DD-WRT firmware and use one as the primary router and the second as a repeater to cover the entire house. The ASUS RT-N12/D1 are compatible with DD-WRT, so if worst came to worst I'd convert these routers to DD-WRT firmware too. I updated the ASUS's firmware to the latest edition and then set my network back up using the old pass-phrases and SSIDs, and all of my wireless devices connected to the new routers without issue. The RT-N12 firmware allowed me to easily use one router as the base and the other as a repeater, and so far the network has been very stable. If I start to encounter stability issues I might convert the units to DD-WRT, but for now I'm very happy with the way they function. I also might suspect that a cap has gone bad. Apparently these units have a single cap that can go bad. I have some soldering skills and equipment, so if that cap goes bad I'll try to replace it first before I purchase another set of routers to replace these units.

Cons: None so far.

Most Critical Review

This PSU is very well reviewed BUT

SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze EVO Edition 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze EVO Edition 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: This SeaSonic product is very well reviewed on the web, and SeaSonic has a good reputation for building quality products.

Cons: After about twelve hours of service the PSU died softly, meaning that when it died it didn't take any of the devices connected to with it. My computer would black screen randomly. I fixed the issue with a PSU I bought locally.

Overall Review: I still strongly believe that SeaSonic makes great PSUs , so that's why I gave the PSU three eggs. I also believe that the item I got just slipped through quality control.

An inexpensive 140mm lighted fan.

APEVIA  14SL-BL 140mm UV Blue LED Fan - Retail
APEVIA 14SL-BL 140mm UV Blue LED Fan - Retail

Pros: It didn't come broken and hasn't fallen apart in the last 3 days. It's quiet and moves a decent amount of air.

Cons: None so far.

Overall Review: I don't know what all the fuss is about in other reviews. I have bought many items that others have simply lambasted for some reason or another, and I have never shared their experiences.

It's just good.

Intel Core i5 6th Gen - Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530
Intel Core i5 6th Gen - Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530

Pros: It doesn't seem like Kaby Lake has any real advantages over Sky Lake, so I didn't bother to wait.

Cons: None so far.

An excellent CPU cooler for CHEAP!

DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX 400 CPU Air Cooler 4 Direct Contact Heatpipes, 120mm PWM Fan with Blue LED, Multi-platform Intel/AMD CPUs (AM4 Compatible)
DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX 400 CPU Air Cooler 4 Direct Contact Heatpipes, 120mm PWM Fan with Blue LED, Multi-platform Intel/AMD CPUs (AM4 Compatible)

Pros: It felt very solid in my hands, and once it was installed on the motherboard the heat-sink felt secure. I really liked how the AMD mounting hardware looked. The AMD mounting hardware is made of metal and screw into place, and appears to be very strong, but I was mounting the heat-sink on an Intel motherboard which requires the use of plastic mounting hardware.

Cons: It was fairly easy to install but the mounting legs/pegs have to be pressed down into place two at a time on opposite sides when mounting on an Intel motherboard. It took me a few minutes to accomplish the install. The plastic mounting hardware felt fiddly to me. It's not really. All you have to do is make sure the bottom of the mounting leg is flat on the motherboard and push down until you hear a click. I'm used to screwing the mounting hardware through the motherboard onto a back-plate.

Overall Review: If this unit would have included an Intel back-plate that I could have s c r e w e d the mounting legs into, I would have had no misgivings, but I knew an Intel back-plate wasn't included before I bought the heat-sink so that's on me. All of the plastic stuff that covers some more expensive CPU coolers looks cheap to me.

BOTH DIMMS WORKED and they were CHEAP.

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Desktop Memory Model 997199F
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Desktop Memory Model 997199F

Pros: I had no issues getting both DIMMs to run at their rated speed. A click or two in the BIOS and a restart and they were running at 2400Mhz. I bought them because I've used Mushkin in the past and have had no issues and this set was the cheapest 16GB set on Newegg at the time.

Cons: I wish the heat-sinks were a little smaller, but I knew they weren't low profile when I bought them, so that's on me. If you have a really big heat-sink they may not fit underneath it.

Overall Review: I like Mushkin memory. They have not failed me.