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Avinash D.

Avinash D.

Joined on 01/15/12

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

Affordable and spacious - poor cable management and loud stock fans

Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid-Tower Gaming PC Computer Case, Expansion Ready: Internal 3.5" Bays & External 5.25" Bays, 3 Pre-installed Fans with Side Fan Mount Option
Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid-Tower Gaming PC Computer Case, Expansion Ready: Internal 3.5" Bays & External 5.25" Bays, 3 Pre-installed Fans with Side Fan Mount Option

Pros: 1) Low Cost. If you're looking for a case in the < $65 range, this should be a top pick. For the cost, it has a wide range of useful features, and is extremely spacious. 2) Extremely Spacious. With 3 external drive racks and 5 internal drive racks, there's very little this thing can't handle. In addition, it fit a Sapphire Radeon 6950 card with room to spare, which was impressive. 3) Provides some cable management. 4) Stock fans provide admirable airflow and cooling. My overclocked i5-2500k (to 4.0 Ghz) is kept at a steady 35 degrees Celsius, reaching at most 45 degrees Celsius under heavy usage.

Cons: 1) Very loud stock fans. I don't think this is an error with the individual component or anything, simply a side effect of medium quality construction and high airflow rates. If I leave it on in the first floor at night, I can hear it on the second floor (admittedly, it's close to the staircase, but still). I just ordered replacements for the two 120mm fans. 2) Cable management difficult. There's a back panel with holes and whatnot, but the space there is tight and hard to work with. At the same price point, there are probably other cases with better features here.

Overall Review: Buy it if you're on a tight budget - it's very good at what it does, and this is it. Otherwise, spend the extra $20 and get a higher quality case.

Runs a little loud but otherwise solid

LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model GH22NS90B - Retail
LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model GH22NS90B - Retail

Pros: it's a DVD burner and CD player at a relatively low cost.

Cons: Like the title mentions, when this thing is running it's the loudest part of my build..and i have three case fans, two GPU fans, a CPU cooler, and a PSU fan. It's noticeable, but it's not a huge annoyance IMO. There are probably quieter products out there, but none this inexpensive for the same number of features.

Beautiful Display, truly slim design

Acer S211HLbd 21.5'' 5ms  LED-Backlight LCD Monitor  Slim Design 250 cd/m2 12,000,000:1 (ACM)
Acer S211HLbd 21.5'' 5ms LED-Backlight LCD Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 12,000,000:1 (ACM)

Pros: Get this if the price falls below $150, honestly. It's a steal at that point. It renders all my games in a crisp format, and it's profile on my cramped college desk is almost nonexistent; it occupies dead space that would have been unused anyways!

Cons: Now the price has been jacked back up, unfortunately they exist. If you have the time, I'd wait for another sale on this guy. If you're fine with this price, there are other options in a similar price range with better features.

Solid budget choice

ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: To be fair, I bought this at a slight discount (~$15 cheaper, IIRC). Regardless, it offers a ton of features at a competitive price. It's stable for overclocking my i5-2500k, and the placement of the inputs made cable management pretty simple.

Cons: None to report.

Incredible GPU, large unit

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card 100312-3L
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card 100312-3L

Pros: Stunning. Handles Skyrim, BF3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Oblivion, Civilization IV, and Civilization V at the highest graphics setting, zero frame-rate lag, high fps, and at 1920x1080 like a boss. Well worth the money, especially now that it's at $259.99. Plus, two fans - really helps keep the card cool, and they run smoothly and silently.

Cons: This card is HUGE. HUGE as in I had a brief concern it wouldn't fit in my Rosewill Challenger case, but it turned out to be fine. If your case is a full ATX, you won't have any issues. Just make sure your PSU cables are long enough that they don't become an issue.

Solid budget choice - short 12V and not entirely modular

RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-630SS 630W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply, New Version with Build-in LED Fan On/Off Switch
RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-630SS 630W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply, New Version with Build-in LED Fan On/Off Switch

Pros: If you're like me and this was your first power supply purchase, you'll see a lot of reviews and advice telling you to go for another, more reliable brand. This may be true, but what I do know is this: *This is insanely inexpensive relative to PSUs of comparable wattage. *While not entirely modular, it's still useful *Silent but well-working fan.

Cons: Not entirely modular. Reading the reviews will give you a good idea of what this means, but let's be explicit: The way their PSU works is it has all the cables initially split by a male/female connection, bundled together. So, you can easily remove the cable from the PSU...but it still leaves a solid 1-2" of cable leftover. This is unfortunate for cable management, since the stubs are too short. Also, the 12V connector wire is short. It fits, but almost exactly. It was a pain to accomodate both it, and my Sapphire 2GB 6950. If you have a large GPU, then this PSU may be a risky purchase.