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Duncan B.

Duncan B.

Joined on 11/12/11

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 16
Most Favorable Review

Not bad for free RAM

Team Dark 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TXD38192M1600HC9DC-D
Team Dark 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TXD38192M1600HC9DC-D

Pros: Free with my motherboard 1600, so not slow Rates 7.7 on Windows Experience Index

Cons: Looks a little chintzy

Most Critical Review

All Around Shoddy Router

Linksys E1550 Wireless-N Router with SpeedBoost IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Linksys E1550 Wireless-N Router with SpeedBoost IEEE 802.11b/g/n

Pros: Cheap (got it on sale for $30) Wireless N

Cons: Does NOT support USB printers, contrary to the details. Wired and wireless performance is much less than I expected. I have a 100Mbps connection, which drops down to around 80Mbps on a wired desktop and 66Mbps on the built in speed test. Wireless devices don't get more than 20Mbps, with the device less than 3 feet away.

Overall Review: I am sorely disappointed in this router. I was upgrading from a WRT54-G v1.1, and I can hardly notice the difference. The only improvement is the reduced hit on wired speed. The WRT54-G dropped wired ethernet speed down to 30Mbps.

Board died after 6 months, Asrock support nonexistent

ASRock Z97M Pro4 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock Z97M Pro4 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Board worked flawlessly for six months. Good features for the money.

Cons: Suddenly refused to POST one morning. Insufficient information in manual or website for troubleshooting. Nonresponsive/unreachable customer service.

Overall Review: I used this board in a build for a small business, and everything worked great. Unfortunately I got a call one morning, about six months after the build was done, that the computer wouldn't turn on. Troublshooting via the BIOS beeps, it appears there is a memory error, but I cannot be sure because neither the Asrock site nor manual list what the codes mean. I am using four sticks of Mushkin RAM, and I get the same POST codes regardless of which sticks are installed. I don't think all four sticks would fail simultaneously. I contacted Asrock technical support via the form on their site, which has been linked in other reviews here, and have not received a response for two weeks. This is simply unacceptable for any self-respecting company. They don't even have a phone number I can call for more immediate service. While the board was a good product for the price, for the six months it lasted, I will never purchase an Asrock product again, regardless of price, features, or how well reviewed they are. Further, based on my customer service experience, I would say Asrock is a completely unacceptable brand for business use.

Disappointing, but probably the best wireless headset you'll find

Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 with 7.1 Surround Sound, Wireless Headphones with Microphone
Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 with 7.1 Surround Sound, Wireless Headphones with Microphone

Pros: -Wireless. It's one of those things you don't realize how nice it is until you can get up and walk away from your desk with the music still playing or still carrying on a conversation on Mumble or Vent. -Good Mic, muting when flipped up is a really nice feature. -G-Keys and volume roller are great for media controls, and work with iTunes and Spotify out of the box. -Looks classy -Good sound quality (most of the time) -Great battery life

Cons: The devil's in the details here. -Wireless is unreliable. Cuts out, static, disconnects/reconnects, distortion. -Surround sound is unimpressive, and difficult to get working correctly. When playing BF3 and Far Cry 3 I would hear gunshots only in my right ear, which was distracting to say the least. Turns out this is fixed in the control panel by configuring the headset's surround to only have two speakers. I'm not an audiophile, but isn't two speakers... you know... stereo? -Uncomfortable. The cups fit around my (very large) ears, but are so shallow my ears press against the hard plastic inside, which makes them sore after a while. -The headset also does a very poor job of staying on my head. If I lean back in my chair, they will fall off. I can easily dislodge them just by moving my head around. I constantly have to re-position them. -All joints are very loose. I handed them to a friend who remarked that it felt like it was made of spaghetti. The band is very flexible, but it doesn't inspire confidence in the durability of this headset.

Overall Review: My previous setup was a pair of Sennheiser HD 380 pros with a cheap clip-on mic. The two cords and the weight of the coiled Sennheiser cord just got too annoying which is why I bought this. I'm spoiled by the 380's, they are hands down the most comfortable headset I've tried. While I'm very critical of the G930's comfort factor, it is worlds better than every single on ear headset I've tried and many over the hear sets too. Sennheiser has spoiled me on comfort and sound quality, so take what I say with a few grains of salt. The G930 is about convenience, above all else.

No problems, could be faster

SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC128B/WW
SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC128B/WW

Pros: Fast, hopefully reliable I'm usually first on a server, and games stored on it load ridiculously quick Looks nice

Cons: Doesn't reach advertised speeds Seems to be getting slower, even after little more than a month You won't be able to keep many games on it

Overall Review: I have this and the 256GB version as well, and was happier with the 256 than this one. It was just a little faster and didn't get as cramped as quickly. I didn't have the money for another 256 though, so this worked well enough.

Best processor for gaming

Intel Core i5-3570K - Core i5 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Intel HD Graphics 4000 Desktop Processor - BX80637I53570K
Intel Core i5-3570K - Core i5 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Quad-Core 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Intel HD Graphics 4000 Desktop Processor - BX80637I53570K

Pros: Great performance Overclockable Stays cool most of the time

Cons: Can get a little hot, but cools quickly

Overall Review: If you're looking for gaming at any reasonable budget this is the processor to get. Do all the research you want but this will come out on top and rightfully so.