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Christian C.

Christian C.

Joined on 08/16/03

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 11
Most Favorable Review

Great NAS for the money

Synology 2 Bay NAS DiskStation DS218+ (Diskless)
Synology 2 Bay NAS DiskStation DS218+ (Diskless)

Pros: Synology DSM interface. Easy to setup and use. Installs in minutes. 3 USB ports plus esata port. Dropped in 2 Seagate Ironwolf Drives and up and running. Inexpensive personal cloud. Small footprint. Quiet.

Cons: USB 3.0 not USB 3.1 C.

Overall Review: Already recommended to others.

Most Critical Review

This is a power hungry beast

Rosewill RNX-G1 Wireless Black Dongle w/ External 2dBi SMA Antenna IEEE 802.11b/g A-Type USB 2.0 Up to 54Mbps Wireless Data Rates
Rosewill RNX-G1 Wireless Black Dongle w/ External 2dBi SMA Antenna IEEE 802.11b/g A-Type USB 2.0 Up to 54Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: It has great range, easy to install on XP using the drivers on CD. CD drivers give a little bit more functionality than windows built in drivers. Gets a strong signal. Works in my basement connected to D-Link WAP on main floor. Always has > 88% signal strength and connects at 54mbps.

Cons: The strong signal comes at a power price. I have to plug it in to it's own self powered USB Hub, not the mobo usb or all of my other USB devices won't work or cut out intermitently. As an earlier reviewer stated look in Device Manager under USB root hubs and you will see it pulls a full 500 mA.

Overall Review: It could just be my cheapo Foxconn Mobo, but I couldn't have it connected to my Mobo USB ports. Or my Steelseries mouse or Saitek Keyboard wouldn't work. It was really frustrating. It seems to work with the self-powered USB hub. Good thing I had one lying around.

Works great with Synology NAS for importing Photos

Sabrent Mini USB 3.0 Micro SD and SD Card Reader (CR-UMSS)
Sabrent Mini USB 3.0 Micro SD and SD Card Reader (CR-UMSS)

Pros: Recognized by my Synology NAS DS218+. Plug into front USB port with SD card and NAS imports the photos. No transferring from PC to NAS using LAN. Goes right onto NAS. Low Price

Cons: None so far

Overall Review: Would Recommend

Worked for exactly 2 years

EVERCOOL  FAN-EC8010LL05E  80x80x10mm Low Speed Fan - Retail
EVERCOOL FAN-EC8010LL05E 80x80x10mm Low Speed Fan - Retail

Pros: It is nice and thin for fitting into tight spaces

Cons: After 2 years the bearings wore out and it started making a horrible noise.

Overall Review: I have other case fans that have lasted longer, but not ones that are just 10mm thick

11/19/2014

Will interfere with your Wifi Router

ASUS VG248QE 24" Full HD 1920 x 1080 1ms (GTG) 144Hz DVI-D HDMI DisplayPort Built-in Speakers Asus Eye Care with Ultra Low-Blue Light & Flicker-Free Backlit LED NVIDIA 3D Gaming Monitor
ASUS VG248QE 24" Full HD 1920 x 1080 1ms (GTG) 144Hz DVI-D HDMI DisplayPort Built-in Speakers Asus Eye Care with Ultra Low-Blue Light & Flicker-Free Backlit LED NVIDIA 3D Gaming Monitor

Pros: It's got a lot of landscape. It's bright. Haven't tried 3D yet. At least it doesn't interfere with the 5 Ghz wifi radio band.

Cons: This think generates a ton of radio frequency interference. I used to have my old monitor close to my wifi router and had no problems. This monitor created tons of interference and my 2.4 Ghz wifi band was completely disrupted and useless. It took me months to figure out what the source of the interference was. Don't place this monitor anywhere near a wifi router. I even tried a different wifi router and wifi adapters.

Overall Review: I am kinda shocked that it wasn't shielded better for what I paid for it.

Doesn't Have Longevity

NETGEAR WNDR3700-100NAS V.5 Wireless Gigabit Open Source Router/ USB port Rangemax 2.4/5 GHz Simultaneous N600 Dual Band IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.3/3u/3ab
NETGEAR WNDR3700-100NAS V.5 Wireless Gigabit Open Source Router/ USB port Rangemax 2.4/5 GHz Simultaneous N600 Dual Band IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.3/3u/3ab

Pros: It has parental controls, good security options. Decent range.

Cons: Wireless transmitter started to drop connections or not allow connections just before the 4 yr anniversary of ownership. I would expect a router to last longer than that. The 2.4 Ghz Band just stopped allowing wireless devices to connect (iTouch, iPhone). The firmware update feature to self-check for firmware updates never worked. I manually updated firmware and it didn't solve problem.

Overall Review: It really should have lasted longer than 3.9 yrs. I suggest you buy another brand. This will be the last Netgear product I purchase. I used to have a readynas by Netgear, it also started to age prematurely. Netgear makes products that are affordable initially, but if you are looking for total cost of ownership value, look somewhere else.