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Mark A.

Mark A.

Joined on 01/09/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 4
Most Favorable Review

Good deal

TP-Link 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Network Switch | Ethernet Splitter | Sturdy Metal w/ Shielded Ports | Plug-and-Play | Traffic Optimization | Unmanaged (TL-SG108)
TP-Link 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Network Switch | Ethernet Splitter | Sturdy Metal w/ Shielded Ports | Plug-and-Play | Traffic Optimization | Unmanaged (TL-SG108)

Pros: Works fine, full speed, no problems. Got it on sale for $22.99.

Cons: 5-year warranty, which isn't bad, but I got the equivalent Netgear for $24.99 after rebate with a lifetime warranty. The Netgear wasn't on sale yet when I bought this one.

Overall Review: I have this and the equivalent Netgear GS108. The Netgear is a little heavier, but functionally and speedwise for typical use there is no difference. I have them chained to each other, both work fine. I actually prefer this one for a minor cosmetic reason to the Netgear, the TP-Link shows gigabit in green and 10/100 in yellow. Whereas the Netgear is always green, but different lights. From a distance you can tell better with the TP-Link. I prefer the Netgear overall because of the lifetime warranty, and if you can get it on sale like I did then obviously get that one.

Most Critical Review

Great for the price of $99 after rebate

ASUS Google Nexus 7 First Gen 7" 32 GB Android Wi-Fi Tablet
ASUS Google Nexus 7 First Gen 7" 32 GB Android Wi-Fi Tablet

Pros: Looks and behaves like brand new, no obvious wear on it. Updated to 4.4.3 soon after I booted it up, didn't have to do anything. Fast and snappy. With MX player app which is free I can play all my movies and TV shows from my computer. Video quality and smoothness is great as long as you use hardware acceleration. For DTS audio download the codec.

Cons: No rear-facing camera. Sound volume from the speaker is really low. Maxed it out, did research online, downloaded apps to boost it, didn't do much, still way too low. If I had known about the speaker problem before ordering it I wouldn't have purchased it. If you want a tablet that has good speakers on it stay away from the Nexus 7. I read that the newer model hasn't fixed this.

Overall Review: Wireless was problematic at first, but I just removed the network and set it up again to fix it. Just to give you an idea I get a max of about 13mbps down and 6mbps up on my home WiFi over the net with speedtest.net, and my internet is much more than that. More than enough for HD video streaming and browsing. Charges better with the outlet adapter than with USB.

Great price

Rosewill Hard Drive Enclosure - 3 x 5.25" to 4 x 3.5" Hot-Swap Enclosure - SATA I/II/III/ & SAS HDD  - RSV-SATA-Cage-34
Rosewill Hard Drive Enclosure - 3 x 5.25" to 4 x 3.5" Hot-Swap Enclosure - SATA I/II/III/ & SAS HDD - RSV-SATA-Cage-34

Pros: Low price when on sale. Fan is relatively quiet, full size and easily replaceable. SATA cables included. Matches my black case nicely.

Cons: The HDD trays are plastic and a bit flimsy so some care is needed. It feels like if you jerked them open and shut without care you might break them.

Overall Review: Was looking at different options for my modest NAS, this one caught my eye. When this is on sale, it's a great deal. Get a case with 9 or more external 5.25 bays and pop 3 of these in. Cheaper than similar cases with hot swaps built in. Then get a MB with 10 SATA III connections like the ASRock Extreme6. Get one addon card with 4 SATA connections and you're good to go, you have a spare for an SSD and DVD/BluRay drive if needed.

12/19/2013

Best bang for your buck

MSI Gaming N760 TF 2GD5/OC G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card
MSI Gaming N760 TF 2GD5/OC G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card

Pros: GTX 760 is the price-performance king. I was looking at the 7950 and 7970, along with the GTX 770 as comparisons, and the 760 comes out as being faster than the 7950, as fast in most games and sometimes faster in some games than the 7970. For the price the 760 is the best deal. For me I just want the card that can play my games at a comfortable FPS and not lag. For me, a more expensive card that gets more FPS is irrelevant beyond what can make the game smooth. Noise is also a consideration for me, and AMD's cards are louder as well as using more power. So that brought me to which particular 760 did I want. I looked at the top performers and also which cards are the most quiet. This MSI card is near the top on performance and is the most quiet card idle and under load, which I can confirm personally now that I own it. It's virtually inaudible in a closed case even under load. I certainly can't hear it over ambient noise. Compared to my old GTX 470 which was definitely audible, the "old hair dryer." I initially wanted to get the slightly faster Hawk version, however there was no stock, so I got this one. You also get what looks to be a very cool game with Batman: Arkham Origins, albeit you can't even play it yet because they haven't released the game. A bit strange to get a redemption code for a game that you can't play yet, October 25th according to Steam.

Cons: Wasn't on sale when I got it!