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Scott G.

Scott G.

Joined on 11/19/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Great value!

PPA 1417v 4 Channels 16-bit PCI Interface Sound Card
PPA 1417v 4 Channels 16-bit PCI Interface Sound Card

Pros: Cheap and it works! Plug it in, Windows (Vista Premium) auto-downloaded and installed drivers, works like a charm.

Cons: none

Most Critical Review

DOA

PNY XLR8 VCG98GTEE5XEB  GeForce 9800 GT EE 512MB  256-bit  GDDR3  PCI Express 2.0 x16  HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
PNY XLR8 VCG98GTEE5XEB GeForce 9800 GT EE 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Pros: Good value - if the fan worked.

Cons: Fan made loud clicking sound on arrival. Sounds like same problem with its sister-card. Requesting RMA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133279

AWESOME upgrade board

ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 R2.0 LGA 775 VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 R2.0 LGA 775 VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Only mobo I could find to put my Core 2 Duo on with my kid's AGP video and DDR RAM. Worked like a charm! Tech support was INCREDIBLE! Fast, helpful, friendly, responsive. Best support I've had from any company in recent history.

Cons: Audio driver failed install - following online FAQ fixed it.

Overall Review: Did I mention tech support was great? :-D

Works, but not with Vista Media Center

ENCORE Video Tuner & Capture Card ENLTV-FM PCI Interface
ENCORE Video Tuner & Capture Card ENLTV-FM PCI Interface

Pros: Cheap and works with Vista (mostly)! Installation fairly easy. Current drivers on included CD. Decent picture quality and sound. Free tech support ph# with quick answer and helpful/friendly techs.

Cons: NOT compatible with Vista Premium Media Center! MC does not recognize it and Encore tech support says not currently supported. Need to install specific sound drivers - Messed up Windows sound until I rebooted a couple times, but then TV sound didn't work. Installing sound card specific drivers (vs. generic Windows) fixed the issue.

Overall Review: Windows Vista Premium, Intel dual-core, Asus P5B mobo w/onboard sound. Haven't tried FM tuner.

D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure
D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure

Pros: Very easy setup, works as advertised. Updated firmware on installation with no trouble. FTP server and groups work great. Power-down option nice.

Cons: USB drive support would be nice but not a feature I would use anyway.

Overall Review: 2x500GBWD drives RAID 1. After 2 hours of continuous use dumping initial data highest temp was 111F, generally runs ~105F

12/10/2007

Great features and EASY install

ASUS P5B Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
ASUS P5B Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Great featureset, excellent performance, easy hard/soft install.

Cons: None yet.

Overall Review: My only hesitation in buying this was reported issues of black screens of death and memory compatibility. I initially got the black screen/no post - but it worked once I realized I forgot to plug in the 4 pin EATX power. Windows MCE OEM started to install but then couldn't find my hard drive - Asus BIOS update fixed that. Bottom line - NO issues with black screen/post hang, only issue with legacy IDE CD install was needing a BIOS update from Asus (which was very easy - downloaded and extracted to a USB drive, flashed the BIOS from that from the BIOS utility window). NO issues with memory - using Corsair XMS2 PC 6400. Booted and has run for several days with no modification to voltage settings.