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Paul W.

Paul W.

Joined on 09/10/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 4
Most Favorable Review

Good card; poor drivers

ATI Radeon X1950XTX 512MB GDDR4 PCI Express x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card 100-435843
ATI Radeon X1950XTX 512MB GDDR4 PCI Express x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card 100-435843

Pros: Great graphics, typical ATI quality and compatibility; lots of ram; cooling system exhausts through PCI slot; support people answer phone and speak English.

Cons: Flaky driver issues (black screen of death) on some new systems going back to December '06 as yet unresolved by ATI; card uses space of two slots and power hungry.

Overall Review: ATI has been aware of glaring driver issues with this product since late last year; had I not found a fix for BSOD at abxzone.com I would have returned mine for refund.

Most Critical Review

Sharp

APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Sharp, well lit case. Adequate ventilation.

Cons: Metal is a bit thin; came with no paperwork/instructions; not enough standoffs for mobo.

Overall Review: This case looks really neat with the analog style gauges, especially when it's all lit up, but otherwise a disappointing purchase. It's a bit tinny, not real solid like some other cases I've had.

Good Movie but Demo Game 'scam'?

Flyboys James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jean Reno, Jennifer Decker, Tcheky Karyo, David Ellison, Mac McDonald, Ian Rose
Flyboys James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jean Reno, Jennifer Decker, Tcheky Karyo, David Ellison, Mac McDonald, Ian Rose

Pros: I enjoyed this movie and with the exception of the 'mild' bordello scene it is acceptable as a family movie for parents and their tweens/teens. My kids have enjoyed computer flight sims for some time now and this was a way to get them talking about the history of WWI flight.The flying scenes often play out like cinematics on a video game and that kept their attention.The movie thrilled me since I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type movie fan.Over all I enjoyed the film as a 'All American Hero' type flick.

Cons: I have heard there are some historical inaccuracies in the story line but I won't knock the movie too much for that.I would have liked to see more in depth character development but they had so many primary characters I don't think this was possible.

Overall Review: I will warn any one that gets the collectors edition and plays the Flyboys Game Demo on the 2nd disk that if you enter your email address you end up signed up for a 2 week trial for online 'sims' games @ iEntertainment Network after which they say you WILL be billed.I NEVER signed up for anything except to register my demo!I thought this was rather bold: "Current plan: Total Sims Free Events Charge: No charge On March 2nd, 2007 (2 weeks), your subscription will be changed to the Total Sims Special plan subscription plan. At this time, your account will be charged 13.95 USD.*You ("Subscriber") represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age and that you possess the legal right and ability to enter into this agreement. You agree to pay all charges incurred by your account in accordance with the current rate schedule then in effect."

Excellent board

ASUS CROSSHAIR AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS CROSSHAIR AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: Effortless setup; great features; has been rock solid since I set system up with WinXP-sp2, not one lockup or glitch. Good documentation (book) and autoinstaller CD for drivers.

Cons: A bit pricey, but no other problems or complaints.

Overall Review: Asus had a bunch of gamers torture this thing before they released it and it shows in the flawless performance I've seen since setting the system up. No glitches, nothing.