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Brent S.

Brent S.

Joined on 08/18/11

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Slim, weighty, short cord

Rosewill RIKB-11001 X-Slim Keyboard with Low Profile Chiclet Keycap Design- Retail
Rosewill RIKB-11001 X-Slim Keyboard with Low Profile Chiclet Keycap Design- Retail

Pros: Keys register very accurately, keyboard has a nice solid, weighty feel to it. Also, ultra slim, very low profile. I like to type aggressively and slam on my keys a lot, and this keyboard feels sturdy enough to stand up to regular keystroke "abuse" that would make laptop users cringe. The sound it makes when typing is also pleasant to the ears, not too high pitched or flimsy sounding.

Cons: Cord is very short. Need to purchase an extension USB cord.

Overall Review: Very happy, reasonable price. Also has nicely placed volume level keys, which are responsive and don't intrude. Not sure how I feel about the sleep button, but I haven't actually pressed it yet.

Most Critical Review

File Corruption

Kingston SSDNow KC300 SKC300S37A/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III Enterprise Solid State Drive with Adapter
Kingston SSDNow KC300 SKC300S37A/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III Enterprise Solid State Drive with Adapter

Pros: Cheap, decent speed. My netbook is quite fast for everyday use.

Cons: Every now and then, I have tried to boot out of hibernation and instead got a message saying that my computer cannot boot from the hard drive. Sometimes taking the battery out fixes it, other times opening up the laptop and removing the drive from the SATA connector and reconnecting it has worked. This problem is more likely to occur if I have not used the computer for at least a few days. More recently, I found that my silverlight installation was corrupted and that I cannot delete the corrupted files even with a number of file deleting utilities. I cannot reinstall or repair silverlight, and so in order to use it I will need to reformat. What a pain.

Cool and Fast

MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card R7870-2GD5T/OC
MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card R7870-2GD5T/OC

Pros: I bought this to replace my XFX GHz edition 7870, which ran extremely hot (75-85C depending on whether the heat was on in my house). This card won't break 54C with the heat on, and it overclocks like a champ. Also, came shipped with a Displayport to HDMI adapter. Awesome.

Cons: None, it's quiet, doesn't vibrate, runs cool.

Overall Review: Now that I know my case isn't the culprit, I have decided to replace the cooler on the XFX 7870 and X-Fire.

12/10/2013

Runs Hot, Fan Broke

XFX Double D Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card FX-787A-CDFC
XFX Double D Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card FX-787A-CDFC

Pros: HD 7870 is a great GPU. Two DVI outputs is nice.

Cons: Runs hot. Runs at 75C on load with 100% fan, and gets up to 85C if the heat is on in my house. Fan is not quite centered in the chassis. This must have caused the fan blades to hit the chassis very slightly, eventually breaking one of the blades off and causing an eccentricity that makes the fan extremely loud as it cannot avoid rubbing loudly against the chassis. Voltage is locked, so even if I get an aftermarket cooler, I may not be able to achieve a high overclock. Red metal strip at the top of the card vibrates endlessly unless a small folded piece of paper is wedged between it and the chassis.

Overall Review: I wanted to sell the card, but now I can't because the fan is broken.

12/10/2013

Quiet, Cheap, Amazing!

COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP Silent Case Fan (4-Pack)
COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP Silent Case Fan (4-Pack)

Pros: Completely solved my video card overheating issues - needed to add a push-pull system near my video card and was able to achieve a nice overclock (+15% GPU Clock) with lower temps while running Kombustor than I did with stock settings before I got these fans These fans are very quiet, and what's nice is their fundamental tone is very low, so they create more of a low hum or "om" like sound. With a rebate, they're an absolute steal. Without the rebate, they're still probably the best option for most.

Cons: 3 pin - not sure what 4 pins does or how much it matters, but I prefer to put my fans at full blast all the time.

Overall Review: with all these fans, you can really afford to get creative!

They work

Rosewill RFA-120-BL - 120mm Computer Case Cooling Fan with LP4 Adapter - Blue Frame & 4 Blue LED Lights, Sleeve Bearing, Silent Case Fan
Rosewill RFA-120-BL - 120mm Computer Case Cooling Fan with LP4 Adapter - Blue Frame & 4 Blue LED Lights, Sleeve Bearing, Silent Case Fan

Pros: Pretty low noise, cheap

Cons: If you don't like night lights in your room, don't buy LED fans

Overall Review: Two fans on my Antec 300 case crapped out, and I picked these up and they work like a charm.