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ROBERT N.

ROBERT N.

Joined on 12/24/03

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 28
Most Favorable Review

Versatile little dock for HDDs, SD cards, and even a couple of USB 3 ports

Wavlink USB 3.0 to SATA Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5” & 3.5” HDD SSD with Card Reader and 2-Port Hub [ Supports UASP & up to 10TB]
Wavlink USB 3.0 to SATA Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5” & 3.5” HDD SSD with Card Reader and 2-Port Hub [ Supports UASP & up to 10TB]

Pros: - In the short time I've had it, it works as expected. - Bought on promotion at a price I'd consider a steal. - USB 3 interface is about as fast as you can expect in this price range. - Two USB 3 ports is a nice bonus.

Cons: - Unusual USB cable is too short. With PC on the floor and dock on a desk, there's no way the supplied cable is sufficient. Fortunately I already had a USB 3 extension cable in place.

Overall Review: Overall it's everything I was wanting or expecting. Other than the cable being shorter than I'd like, it's a very nice and affordable docking station. I did have one significant complaint, albeit no about the product itself: The product listing says it ships from the USA and "most customers receive in 2-10 days", this was false as mine was shipped from China and took 13 days. I am fine getting a bargain and waiting a couple of weeks for it to arrive if that is stated up front, but saying it ships from USA is either an oversight or outright lie.

Most Critical Review

Solidly built, but flawed

TATUNG TPC-5LB 5-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
TATUNG TPC-5LB 5-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker

Pros: Substantial stainless steel inner pot Affordably priced Solid construction, feels well built

Cons: Unless you speak Chinese, the manual is worthless Pressure seal/relief valve is unreliable

Overall Review: For me, operation is purely guesswork. The labelled buttons are clearly aimed at the Asian consumer (Tendons, Fragrance ???)- hence as a WASP American they mean nothing to me. Unfortunately, Tatung clearly put no effort into translating the operator's manual. Also, included was a loose sheet that looked like it may include recipes but it was written exclusively in Chinese. The third time I used the cooker the relief valve would not seal. The first two times I had to nudge it a bit before it stopped bleeding steam, but on the third use it never would. The result was that the water in the pot boiled off and my vegetable was scorched. After three tries of "cleaning" it (there was no evidence of anything on or in it that needed to be cleaned), it worked again. At this point, I'm not sure how confident I am it will work every time I use it.

Good, proven DDR4 for AMD

G.SKILL Flare X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) AMD X370 / B350 Memory (Desktop Memory) Model F4-3200C14D-16GFX
G.SKILL Flare X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) AMD X370 / B350 Memory (Desktop Memory) Model F4-3200C14D-16GFX

Pros: Worked out of the box at 3200 on B450 with XMP enabled running 3700x and latest BIOS Lower latency numbers than your average DDR 3200

Cons: Not the cheapest

Overall Review: As stated, I put this in a MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC with a ryzen 3700x CPU. Updated BIOS and turned on XMP and done. No muss, no fuss.

More than fast enough for me

Intel 660p Series M.2 2280 2TB PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 3D2, QLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPEKNW020T8X1
Intel 660p Series M.2 2280 2TB PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 3D2, QLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPEKNW020T8X1

Pros: Plenty of room Price/GB is about as good as it gets Good warranty

Cons: It's QLC, so not the fastest

Overall Review: Putting together a new build and was going to get my first NVME SSD. Got a heads up on this drive from Tech Deals on YT. Not a benchmark king, but overall a great value for my needs.

A lot of bang for the buck

Harman Kardon AVR-1510S 5.1-Channel Network AV Receiver
Harman Kardon AVR-1510S 5.1-Channel Network AV Receiver

Pros: - Plenty of power for my home theater setup - Small and light - Full compliment of dolby & DTS modes, HDMI ARC - vTuner, while it has limited support, is pretty good. You have to sign up on H/K to create favorites - Works really well with my home network (Open Media Vault running mini DLNA)

Cons: - Really strange power saving setup. I have no idea how it's supposed to work, but the only way to enter "standby" is by pressing the power button for less than 3 seconds (and you have to press it for 3 or more seconds to turn it completely off)??? - Doesn't remember last volume setting for different inputs - just one master volume setting.

Overall Review: Paid less that $150 for this AVR and it pretty much does everything I need. Hard to complain about that.

I just don't know how you can top these at this price point

Philips Performance SHP9500 Over-Ear Open-Air Headphones - EXCLUSIVE - Black
Philips Performance SHP9500 Over-Ear Open-Air Headphones - EXCLUSIVE - Black

Pros: - Very good sound quality - Comfortable - Extremely affordable

Cons: - A bit bulky, but that is the nature of the beast with over the ear headphones - Not suitable for activities that involve lots of movement or bending

Overall Review: I got these on sale after looking around and hearing nothing but positive reviews. I don't know how they stack up against high dollar headphones, but with my budget and aging ears I doubt I could be happier. Comparing them to a set of Grado 70's (I believe that is the model) - I'd take these babys every day. These are superior in every way. The only drawback I can add is that these wouldn't be good for use while moving about a lot. They are comfortable and thus don't clamp your head, meaning they can slide off if you shake your head or bend over too far.