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Loren M.

Loren M.

Joined on 06/05/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

OC's like a charm

EVGA GeForce GTX 285 1GB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 SLI Support Graphics Card 01G-P3-1281-AR
EVGA GeForce GTX 285 1GB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 SLI Support Graphics Card 01G-P3-1281-AR

Pros: Money well spent. Been purchasing EVGA cards for as long as I can remember. They are headquartered a couple miles away so I sort of feel obligated, ya know? I wish everything I owned was built like one of their cards. NO question, EVGA/Nvidia is the way to go. But...I don't get why they make all these versions with different clock speeds because my "vanilla" GTX285 with the Precision Tool runs nice and cool at the MUCH more expensive "For The Win" card speeds. If you register your card you get a free copy of PC Mark Vantage. 90 Day upgrade is a nice feature that I might use to get a GTX295 or whatever else comes out in the next couple months. No problems playing the most modern games maxed out except that I suck and I keep dying.

Cons: Has not improved my dating life at all and after a month of ownership, I still live in my parent's basement. Chicks just don't appreciate the FPS's I roll with. Or the sheer size of my video card. At 10.5 inches, it's a monster baby! EVGA should advertise in Vogue or whatever so women are more aware of what us guys are packing in our PC's!

Overall Review: Like others have stated, it makes a tiny bit of a whining noise with normal use like when browsing web pages etc. but nothing really worth mentioning. If you set the fan to max it sounds like a leafblower, but GPU's run hotter than CPU's so 80-90c is perfectly acceptable. Not a good idea to purchase if you are on unemployment/welfare. I paid about the same for a 32mb card a few years back and thought it would last for at least a decade. I wonder how Crysis Warhead would feel about that? Yes, it's longer than your average ATX motherboard, but in my P182 case I have enough room for a 24"+ card, so Bring It EVGA!!! AMD Phenom II X3 720 [email protected] - Prime 95 Stable GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 EVGA GTX 285 2x WD Caviar SE16 320GB SATAII in RAID0 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Antec P182 case

SAMSUNG 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory Model MV-3T4G3D/US
SAMSUNG 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory Model MV-3T4G3D/US

Pros: They work, what else can I say?

Cons: None.

Overall Review: I bought these at a big chain electronics store on sale with no rebate for much less than they were here (sorry Newegg). Put them in my Mid-2010 MPB that uses DDR3 1066 ram but have not had any issues after 6 weeks of constant use. Don't notice any difference in battery life. These use .15 of a watt less than normal RAM. Anyway, they do seem to work well with Apple.

Update to my first review

AMD Phenom II X3 720 - Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz Socket AM3 95W Black Processor - HDZ720WFGIBOX
AMD Phenom II X3 720 - Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz Socket AM3 95W Black Processor - HDZ720WFGIBOX

Pros: Got a simple drop-in replacement for the stock cooler, a Thermaltake Silent 939 K8. Upped the multiplier to 17x, increased the voltage .05 to 1.375, and now it is stable @3400mhz. It’s been running distributed computing for hours along with other programs at 100% CPU usage and no errors or BSOD’s. All my fans are on low and with an ambient temperature of 66F degrees in the room, it is below the 100F mark with 100% CPU usage and at idle around 69-70F. Thank you AMD!! Thank you.

Cons: Nope

Overall Review: Just for fun I turned my fans on high and set it to stock speeds with Cool & Quiet on. Room temp was about 18-19c. While idling at 800mhz the temp was bouncing back between 17-18c and the northbridge was steady at 14c. Shut it down and opened the case and it was freezing in inside. Brrrrr. Used to have an FX-60, and just thinking about it would make the core temps rise a couple degrees. This is the processor I was dreaming of back then. This chip is ridiculously fast and cool at 3.4ghz. If you blink, you will miss Photoshop’s opening screen. By the time you click on Word or a web browser, its open. You will be a spoiled rotten brat when using any other computer, that's for sure. AMD Phenom II X3 720 [email protected] +.05v GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 EVGA GTX 285 2x WD Caviar SE16 320GB SATAII in RAID0 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Antec P182 case

Excelent case, with a little work

Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Hands down the best case I ever bought. Got this for a ground-up build of a work/play PC. First time actually spending $$ for a case and was not let down in the long run. This thing is dead quiet and still moves a lot of air while keeping temps inside incredibly low. Read a lot of reviews before purchasing, some of them said this case was a PIA but I found it to be one of the easiest builds I have ever done. First time ever running cables behind the mobo, but it worked out perfectly, and now with my PC up and running, my case looks nearly empty with plenty of room for more in the future. I have all 3 fans on low and it is keeping all my temps stupid low even with a 600mhz overclock.

Cons: Plastic where plastic should not be, like, in the case panels. Built more PC’s than I care to remember but I never saw main panels with plastic (albeit thick plastic) locking parts until now. Owning one I can totally see how people break the panel’s clips all the time, but I took the super slow and safe route and with lots of gentle motion over time, finally got them on without breaking anything. Still, it is sub-par for the price. It’s a terrible design flaw to have to baby a case where with a $30 one you would not have to.

Overall Review: Remove the upper hard drive bay and re-install the disastrously placed lower bay fan in the upper hard drive chamber before installing anything. It was actually easier and more convenient to mount the drives in the lower bay and have all that free, open space up top for my GTX285 and to have a fan blowing right on it. It was a ridiculous design flaw to have a completely unprotected fan just inches from A) the cables from your hard drives, and B) the myriad of cables from your power supply. Maybe it was a great idea in 1985, not beyond dumb in today’s world. You need long cables to utilize running the cables behind the motherboard. It’s bigger than you think, and it’s heavy as a coffin, but totally worth the time and money to have a case that produces no noise while keeping everything inside cool. AMD Phenom II X3 720 [email protected] +.1v GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 EVGA GTX 285 2x WD Caviar SE16 320GB SATAII in RAID0 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Antec

Overkill for a Phenom II X3 720

Thermaltake CL-P0200 80mm Silent 939 K8 - AMD K8 solution w/ Heatpipe Cooling Tech
Thermaltake CL-P0200 80mm Silent 939 K8 - AMD K8 solution w/ Heatpipe Cooling Tech

Pros: Dear Newegg, this has NEVER happened to me before, but my new Phenom II X3 720 runs like it is in the middle of a -70 degree blizzard in Helena, Montana, with the case open. So, when looking for an alternate cooling solution from the pathetic 720 stock cooler, I knew that I only needed a simple drop-in replacement. I found the Silent 939 K8 at a popular Southern California computer store for a lot less than on Newegg and it has worked stupendously with my Phenom II X3 720. Its super quiet even with the fan running at 1600rpm, and with a copper base and heatpipes, offers way better cooling than the stock heatsink. I’m glad that I did not invest in a more elaborate and expensive model as this does the job just fine. Currently, I have OC’d my chip from 2.8 to 3.4 with a very modest increase in voltage and running BOINC with all three cores at 100% for hours (even as I am writing this review), the core temps are bouncing back from 41-42c in 80+ degree weather.

Cons: A bikini clad Supermodel was not present to help me install it.

Overall Review: Installation was as easy as it could possibly be. I don’t know for a fact, but I'm betting you could even install it without the use of your hands. Applied some Arctic Silver 5 and popped it in. Took all of 4 seconds, and BAM! you’re done. No removing your motherboard or messing with backplates or anything. This heatsink is what AMD should have packaged with the Phenom 720 in the first place. After so many years of building systems, I am thrilled that I finally don’t have to worry about frying my processor when OC’ing it. AMD Phenom II X3 720 [email protected] +.1v GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 EVGA GTX 285 2x WD Caviar SE16 320GB SATAII in RAID0 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Antec P182 case

Noticeably faster than my Pentium 133mhz

AMD Phenom II X3 720 - Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz Socket AM3 95W Black Processor - HDZ720WFGIBOX
AMD Phenom II X3 720 - Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz Socket AM3 95W Black Processor - HDZ720WFGIBOX

Pros: Happily came back to AMD. Seems like the chip is more responsive at stock speeds than my OC’d Q6600, but why stop there? Runs stable at 3.2 with no voltage increase and stock cooler (for now). Runs cooler than any other chip I have owned. Idles at 32, and 41-43 full load. At stock speeds it idled at near room temp.

Cons: Doesn't look good in a bikini, no matter what I do. Seriously, I get that the new 45mn processors run cool but still, the stock cooler is a complete joke for a Black Edition. The AthlonXP 2500+ I bought in 2003 came with a better cooler. It should have been packaged with a stuffed Elmo doll and a fun “My First Heatsink” sticker. Why AMD? Why?

Overall Review: Don’t care about about unlocking the fourth core. Two is plenty, and I like that it is rated at 95 watts. I considered the 7750 Kuma 2.7 Black Edition for a lot less but am sooo glad I went with the 720. If you dont game or edit video, the 7750 Kuma would be fine though. I’ve played Left 4 Dead and COD:WAW for hours at 1680x1050 with everything maxed and it keeps up with my GTX 285 and has not let me down yet. AMD Phenom II X3 [email protected] GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 EVGA GTX 285 2x WD Caviar SE16 320GB SATAII in RAID0 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Antec P182 case