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Brent D.

Brent D.

Joined on 11/14/02

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 11
Most Favorable Review

Good mobo with nice features

BIOSTAR TA785 A2+ AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G ATX AMD Motherboard
BIOSTAR TA785 A2+ AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: I purchased this for a server. It had the features I was looking for, with the potential to be upgraded in the future. The layout is good, and it was nice to see 3 SATA cables included, as well as a velcro strap that can be used tie-off cables in the case if necessary. The ATI 4200 chip is fine for a server. However, it can even work for games if necessary. Paired with a Sempron 140, this runs Guild Wars at 60+ FPS in 1152x864 resolution w/o AA. With AA, it drops into 30 to 45 FPS range, which is still very playable.

Cons: The included manual does not adequately explain several of the BIOS settings. There are 4 pages showing RAID configurations, but no details as to which BIOS settings are needed for these. Also, no explanation is included fo the Advanced CPU settings such as the Advanced Clock Calibration or CPU Smart Fan. Finally, I wish that the IDE header was located at the other end of the board. The optical drives are usually located toward the top of a machine, but the board orientation in a tower put the IDE header at the very bottom.

Overall Review: I was unable to unlock the 2nd core of a sempron 140 using the ACC settings. I don't know if the problem is due to the CPU or the ACC settings I tried under the BIOS since they are so vague. I have set the OnChip Sata Type to RAID and it does show the raid controller during the boot. However, I was unable to configure the 2 disks into a RAID configuration Not sure if there is another BIOS setting needed or if something else is preventing that. I ended up having to set it up as 2 single drives.

Great laptop for gaming

TOSHIBA Laptop Satellite Intel Core i5-3230M 4GB Memory 640GB HDD AMD Radeon HD 7670M 17.3" Windows 8 L875-S7153
TOSHIBA Laptop Satellite Intel Core i5-3230M 4GB Memory 640GB HDD AMD Radeon HD 7670M 17.3" Windows 8 L875-S7153

Pros: I bought this to replace my previous laptop (also a Toshiba) that finally stopped working after 7 years of heavy use. Things I like about this model are: - Good performance - Lightweight - Large screen - Good battery life - Decent keyboard response - Runs relatively cool, even while gaming

Cons: The main drawbacks I've found are: - Windows 8. (I've since upgraded to 8.1, but I still dislike this OS version) - No touch screen (Having this might have made the default Win8 install more tolerable) - Touchpad sometimes stops working (suspect this might be related to ESD) - Wish the power cable plugged into the back instead of the side. With the current position, this leads to situations where it can easily strike an arm rest, possibly dislodging cord or breaking the connector.

Overall Review: This laptop offers good performance for a relatively low price.

Quiet PS

EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W, 3 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100-W1-0500- KR
EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W, 3 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100-W1-0500- KR

Pros: I bought this to replace a PS in a mid-size tower used for a media server and for some gaming.

Cons: The 3 molex connectors are on a single cable and unfortunately it's about 8 inches too short to reach both the ATAPI DVD (near the top front of the case) and the USB3.0 add-on card in the PCI Expressx1 slot power connector (in the lower half of the case toward the back, under the gfx card)

Overall Review: For PCs that have certain cabling / connector needs, a modular supply may be a better option.

Great low power video card

GIGABYTE GV-N75TOC-2GI G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card
GIGABYTE GV-N75TOC-2GI G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card

Pros: Purchased this to upgrade a media server PC that also is used to do some gaming on a 52-inch LCD. The high performance / low power ratio was exactly what I've been looking for.

Cons: The PC was running with a 300 watt supply. I was hopeful that since this card had a lower wattage rating than the prior video card that the PS would be able to handle it. However, after about 30 minutes of gaming, the machine shut-down unexpectedly. The simultaneous draw from the GPU, CPU and HD accesses were apparently just over the 300-watt limit of the old supply. The specs for this card recommend using 400-watt supply, so this isn't a fault of the video card. This just reinforces EVGA's recommendation. The fact that this card is slightly over-clocked from the reference models of the GTX 750 Ti may explain why it needs a bit more power than some models.

Overall Review: I highly recommend this card.

Functional wireless keyboard & mouse combo

Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard And Mouse Combo For Windows, 2.4 GHz Wireless, Compact Mouse, 8 Multimedia And Shortcut Keys, For PC, Laptop - Black
Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard And Mouse Combo For Windows, 2.4 GHz Wireless, Compact Mouse, 8 Multimedia And Shortcut Keys, For PC, Laptop - Black

Pros: I purchased this to replace an older model logitech wireless keyboard and mouse that had terrible range (less than 10 feet). I needed something that would with a home theater system where the user sits approximately 12 feet from the screen and computer. - Keyboard is lightweight - Keys have good response - On/off switches help save battery life on the keyboard and mouse - Fantastic battery life even if left on - Mouse range seems good (easily over 15 feet)

Cons: Unfortunately, they keyboard range is a bit lower. It usually seems to work fine out to about 12 feet, but once in a while it seems to drop out, and the only solution I've found is to move a few feet closer to the computer to regain response. I'd say the keyboard range is solid up to about 10 feet, but in the 10-12 foot range, it starts becoming a bit more unstable. It doesn't work very well past 15 feet. Its possible that there is some kind of interference affecting this, but this is in a basement room of a home without any significant RF sources besides the TV, stereo and stereo that are placed well away from the computer and the user.

Overall Review: I recommend this keyboard and mouse combo for anyone looking for wireless versions with a max range of up to 10 to 12 feet. For longer ranges, I would look for something else.

Works once you find the drivers

StarTech.com 2 Port PCI Express SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Card Adapter Model PEXUSB3S2
StarTech.com 2 Port PCI Express SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Card Adapter Model PEXUSB3S2

Pros: - The adapter arrived quickly. Thanks Newegg! - Adapter was very easy to install - Adapter features a 4-pin molex for power - Package includes a converter cable from 4-pin molex to SATA style power connector - Package includes a low profile bracket for smaller cases - Once the drivers are installed properly, the transfer rate is very fast (approximately 10x faster than I was getting with USB 2.0)

Cons: - Included documentation is nearly worthless. Dropping 1 full egg due to this problem. The bad documentation also relates to the following issues: -- Driver installation directions do not match the included disk. (Disk has no auto-run function, nor does it have a setup file in the main folder) -- User needs to search among several possible folders on disk to find appropriate driver setup file. Fortunately, I've done enough of these upgrades to know what to look for, but this could be difficult for those with less experience.

Overall Review: My power-supply didn't have any spare SATA connectors, so I ended up connecting directly to a spare 4-pin molex from the power supply. As a result, I didn't use the convertor cable. I also used the default bracket instead of the low profile version. Despite the poor documentation and potential driver setup issues, this seems to be a good USB 3.0 adapter. If you looking for upgrading to USB 3.0, I recommend considering this model.