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CASEY P.

CASEY P.

Joined on 07/13/09

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review
Galaxy 56NPH6HS4IXX GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) GC 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Galaxy 56NPH6HS4IXX GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) GC 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Pros: Works great. Plays Battlefield 3 on Ultra settings with ease. Plays Skyrim on High (Ultra had my FPS dipping down into the mid-20's).

Cons: I had to underclock it down to 820MHz in order to play Battlefield without any crashes. On the stock clock of 850MHz the card would crash forcing me to reset. Ran fine on Skyrim at 850MHz, though. This isn't worth rating down any though, considering it still runs BF3 just fine at 820MHz.

Overall Review: Make sure you have a power supply with at least 2 PCI-E 6-pin connectors; I didn't and had to upgrade once I realized I didn't have a way to properly power this thing.

Great

Patriot Memory 16GB Supersonic Boost XT USB 3.0 Flash Drive, Speed Up to 90MB/s Durable Rubber Housing (PEF16GSBUSB)
Patriot Memory 16GB Supersonic Boost XT USB 3.0 Flash Drive, Speed Up to 90MB/s Durable Rubber Housing (PEF16GSBUSB)

Pros: I bought the 16GB version to install Windows with. Another reviewer said to avoid using these drives for Windows installations, however I had no problems during installation.

Cons: None that I can think of.

Awesome Case for the money

Rosewill - Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Dual Front Mounted USB 3.0 Ports, Three Preinstalled Fans: 1 x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1 x Top 140mm Fan, 1 x Rear 120mm Fan - CHALLENGER-U3
Rosewill - Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Dual Front Mounted USB 3.0 Ports, Three Preinstalled Fans: 1 x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1 x Top 140mm Fan, 1 x Rear 120mm Fan - CHALLENGER-U3

Pros: -Keeps my i5-4670k cool, which was my top priority for purchasing. -Bottom-mounted PSU. -Decent amount of workspace when installing. -Looks really nice, IMO.

Cons: Was missing a standoff hole for my mobo. Someone else noted this too in a prior review; they drilled the hole themselves, I opted to leave it as is. If you do that just be careful when you're plugging things in to the board in that area so you don't damage it.

Overall Review: My old case, a Rosewill R519-BK, was a decent case for my budget-gaming, non-overclocked clarkdale i3 build. However, the step up to the notoriously toasty Haswell platform with a 4670k (OC'd to 4.4GHz) had my temps at around 35-40C idle and up to 90C during stress testing. I transferred everything into this case, added one 120mm side fan, and my temps at idle can actually get into the 20's! 29-31C at idle, stress testing it maxes out at around 75C. This is a tremendous improvement and I wasn't expecting that much difference just from a case.

Excellent

Hauppauge WinTV-DCR-2650 Dual Tuner Digital CableCARD Receiver
Hauppauge WinTV-DCR-2650 Dual Tuner Digital CableCARD Receiver

Pros: I paid $60 after $40 manufacturer rebate. However, I feel this is a great product even at full price. It works extremely well. My HTPC stays on or in sleep mode almost 24/7--the only times I've ever had issues with this is when I've turned the computer off or had a power outage. And by issues, I'm talking very minor things like the remote not working until the computer was restarted. It only very rarely fails to record something, and I'm almost positive that's on my cable company's end.

Cons: There aren't many. If I had to pick something I'd say I'm not a big fan of the lights on the unit because the big, dull green lights clash with the crisp, blue led's on my HTPC. But that's obviously minor and has nothing to do with how this product performs.

Overall Review: Even at full-retail I feel like this is a great deal. I never paid for DVR service prior to building my HTPC due to the high cost, but the price difference between having DVR through my cable company and using this tuner is $25/month. This thing pays for itself in a matter of months. I would (and have) recommended this to people that have inquired about my DVR setup.

Works great

Rosewill RNX-N180PCe Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express Revision 1.1 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates
Rosewill RNX-N180PCe Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express Revision 1.1 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: It's never dropped a connection on me once in the 2 months I've owned it, easy install/setup. Just as fast as when I was hooked up via ethernet.

Cons: none.

Overall Review: I'd recommend it.

Nice!

Xbox 360 Wired Controller Black/Glossy Black
Xbox 360 Wired Controller Black/Glossy Black

Pros: Works great! I've owned a wireless 360 controller for the console since 2005 but purchased a wired controller for PC gaming needs. I've had an old logitech PS2-clone controller since about 2004 but wanted something of a little higher caliber for today's games. This definitely delivers. It works great for piloting vehicles on Battlefield 3 and is natively supported on Skyrim. I had no problems with "slow turn" sticks.

Cons: none

12/20/2011