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Alvie B.

Alvie B.

Joined on 09/07/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

What a difference!

GARMIN 2.1" GPS Receiver
GARMIN 2.1" GPS Receiver

Pros: This is an incredibly accurate GPSr. I upgraded from a borrowed standard eTrex to this one and am completely sold on this unit. I use it for Geocaching and can normally get within a couple of feet. The High Sensitivity antenna will even lock-on inside my house! It boots up very fast if you have it turned off for a few minutes/hours. It is easy to read in daytime and the adjustable backlight is easy on the eyes at night. The USB port is on the back of the unit so nothing is sticking out of an end. It came with a USB cable, which was a nice touch. This unit has so many features for Geocachers: Find Nearest, Find Next, Found (changes icon), Search (waypoints). It is great. I highly recommend this unit if you do not need roads.

Cons: This unit does not contain street maps, only major highways, but that is not what this unit is designed for. The included Garmin Trip & Waypoint Manager software is not impressive; I use other software for this function. It will sometimes 'lock up' when I am plugged to vehicle power, causing me to unplug to unlock it.

Overall Review: All in all this is a great unit. I did not think the jump from an eTrex to the eTrex Legend HC would make that much of a difference, but it does. Not only is this more accurate, but also most of the screens I use are more customizable and have more displays per screen. The color screen is bright and useful and is even changeable. It can even use one color scheme for day and one for night! If you want a unit to route you from place to place, this is not it. On the other hand, if you need a GPSr for Geocaching or the trail, then take a serious look at this.

Pleasantly Surprised!

BELKIN F9L1001 N150 Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 150Mbps Wireless Data Rates
BELKIN F9L1001 N150 Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 150Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: Some of the other reviews have complaints about the setup and the range/speed of this. I do not have much of a range issue as the rig I attached it to and my router are less than 20 feet apart. The speed seems quite acceptable. I run WoW on this rig that has an AMD CPU/Asus Mobo and onboard Video and 8 GB memory. Not a great rig but sufficient for my purposes. Setup was very simple - just follow the instructions. No complaints thus far. I've had this for about 2-3 months.

Cons: This is not aimed directly at this device - Why can't the drivers be accessible via the device. Is it impossible to incorporate a 64MB memory chip and make this a really small capacity thumb drive that just holds the drivers. That way, you don't have to rely on disk or wiring your NIC just to download the drivers. It would make so much sense and be so much easier if these USB NIC's would do that. Heck, include an 8GB onboard memory and make everyone extra happy with a dual-purpose thumb drive!

Seems nominal

SeaSonic SS-300TFX Bronze 300 W TFX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
SeaSonic SS-300TFX Bronze 300 W TFX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: I bought this to replace the PS that came with my case. The old PS burned out after about 1 hour. This one has thus far lasted much longer. I put it in an HTPC case, connected to a 20" monitor and running an AMD CPU/Asus Mobo with onboard video. Nothing super but it runs WoW nicely. The rig gets about 3-4 hours of use per day and this PS has held its own.

Cons: This isn't a CON with this PSU but with this design. 300W seems to be the max in this format. Unless you absolutely have to use a case that uses this PSU format, I would recommend finding another case. Check the PSU before purchasing!

Nice

ORICO AC52535-1S -BL Full Aluminum 5.25 to 3.5 or 5.25 to 2.5 SATA & IDE Hard Drive SSD Mounting Bracket Adapter Kit Bay Converter
ORICO AC52535-1S -BL Full Aluminum 5.25 to 3.5 or 5.25 to 2.5 SATA & IDE Hard Drive SSD Mounting Bracket Adapter Kit Bay Converter

Pros: This adapter looks just like the description and feels like a piece of aircraft-grade aluminium.

Cons: It isn't very long. It did not line up with the side screws on the Hybrid drive I wanted to use it on.

Overall Review: I ordered this but did not use it. No fault of its own, I just didn't get the correct item. As mentioned above, the side screws did not align to attach that way and I did not look at the bottom. The bracket looks really nice and I can certainly see the functionality of it. If you need something like this, I would recommend you consider.

Power Supply Blues

hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC Steel 7K09BBA30FNRX Micro ATX Media Center 300W Power Supply / HTPC Case
hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC Steel 7K09BBA30FNRX Micro ATX Media Center 300W Power Supply / HTPC Case

Pros: Great looking case, quiet, sturdy, thumbscrew

Cons: The case sat on a shelf for over a year unused when I finally got around to building it. I put everything in, powered up and let it burn-in for about 4-5 hours. The next day, I went to turn it on only to get scared out of my wits by a popping sound, sparks flying and that unforgetable smell; the Power Supply died. Owned the case for 16 months, total time of the power supply - about 5 hours.

Overall Review: -1 egg for dead power supply I am going to try and contact the manufacturer to see what they can do. NE has yet to assist me other than a chat with "Catherine" who gave me the manufacturer phone number (1-800-909-6558). I know this is well out of warrantee, but I sure am hoping i don't have to buy another power supply at full price.

12/22/2011