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Manfred W.

Manfred W.

Joined on 01/23/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Awesome bang for the buck!

XFX Radeon R9 290X 8GB DDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Double Dissipation Edition R9-290X-8DFD
XFX Radeon R9 290X 8GB DDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Double Dissipation Edition R9-290X-8DFD

Pros: Very fast. The performance delta between a single card and the 980 vs price is more than worth the small hit plus it handles 1440P better and no mem issues of the 970 albeit small and only in specific instances. I bought two for the price of one 980 and run in CF mode. 3X 1080P and it handles it like a champ. Plus being able to take advantage of freesync, Mantle, DX12, and vulkan is great. No heat or throttling issues, cards don't get loud, and have remained stable through hours of gameplay.

Cons: A back plate would have been nice bc how heavy the cards are but my case has a gpu card supt bracket that works well. The card does seem pretty stiff so this is a minor complaint. I think a back plate would help with heat dissipation.

Overall Review: Right now these cards are really the best bang for the buck. I build custom systems and unless you specifically need NVIDIA or budget isn't a concern these are excellent cards for the price/performance they offer.

Most Critical Review

When it works its great but its unreiable.

VIOTEK GNV34DBE 34" Curved Gaming Monitor  3440 x 1440 144Hz UWQHD  2x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4, 3.5mm FreeSync  3-Yr Warranty
VIOTEK GNV34DBE 34" Curved Gaming Monitor 3440 x 1440 144Hz UWQHD 2x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4, 3.5mm FreeSync 3-Yr Warranty

Pros: 144hz Decent image for the price range. Great color

Cons: RMA'd the first one. Black screen, backlight only, will not display an image. Replacement monitor is doing the same thing. Will have to RMA for a 2nd time in less than 5 months.

Overall Review: Its great when it works but now Im 0 for 2. I need my PC for work and play and I cant rely on this monitor. Never had a monitor this unreliable. Im in the middle of recertification exams and now Im using a TV to get by for now. Disappointing bc I really like it when it works. The super ultrawide enables me to display multiple windows at decent sizes for work and for entertainment, game at a high refresh rate. I get it. Products will have defects and thats what the RMA process is for, but twice in less than 5 mos? I had to pay for shipping to get it replaced. Will have to again. So the savings I got from purchasing this monitor vs one thats the next tier up is gone. ..

Excellent!

ASUS USB-AC56 AC1200 Dual-band USB 3.0 Wireless Adapter
ASUS USB-AC56 AC1200 Dual-band USB 3.0 Wireless Adapter

Pros: Even in this concrete & rebar house I can get 390Mbs throughput no problem while being 1 floor down. Go 2 floors down and still a rock solid signal @ 240Mbps. I can't praise this thing enough.

Cons: None!

Overall Review: I can't really knock it for anything. It does exactly what I need it to do, the software is great and not intrusive. When at home I like the separate cable/stand. The caps for protecting it while traveling is great. Only suggestion I would have is to be able to stick those caps on the base. It would give it just a bit more stability as well as a place to keep them when not in use.

Awesome, but....

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded USB 3.0

Pros: Roomy, sturdy design. Keeps your procs, and cards cool. The FANS are cool and not as loud as reviews would have you believe. They're not quiet but they don't sound like blowers.

Cons: screws!!! OK I know screws are better for some things but the face plates? Too many screws! Not enough stand offs. There were only 9 in the box. I need ten. Keeping it as a traditional ATX layout with the PSU on the bottom will cause a lot of problems running the 8pin connector. For an extreme gamer case they should have included an extension cable for the price. Longer cables for the power, hdd, USB,firewire, reset panel would have been nice to aid cable management For a case thats all about airflow the cables are too short to route and keep them out of the way.

Overall Review: I know I may sound negative but I'm really not. I like the case a lot. I do feel that those suggestions should be implemented into future revisions of the case. For those of you that like your cables neat make sure you have extension cables so your PSU 8-pin and your front panel will reach! If you do that you will not have any probs. If you like to swap things out a lot then this is not the case for you. If you plan to OC your system or just want to keep the expensive innards of your new PC cool then I highly recommend this case.

I lucked out!

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 - Core 2 Extreme Kentsfield Quad-Core 2.66 GHz LGA 775 130W Processor - BX80562QX6700
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 - Core 2 Extreme Kentsfield Quad-Core 2.66 GHz LGA 775 130W Processor - BX80562QX6700

Pros: I have it overcloacked to ~3.8 and thats just with the multiplier! and very little FSB adjustment. Not even hitting high temps and I've tried to crash the computer but havent yet! These procs overclock well and I've heard 3.6 on average but I never expected to get this high!

Cons: it was 970$! Still I spent the money so I can't really call it a complaint

Overall Review: If you get this proc get the EVGA 680i SLI board. It's an awesome board and plus you get SC free! And when your spending that much money a free copy of a brand new game that's awesome makes the deal even better.

Supreme Commander

THQ Gift - Supreme Commander PC Game
THQ Gift - Supreme Commander PC Game

Pros: I put my understanding as average since I'm still learning the game and have yet to master it. I love the dual screen mode. Makes it very easy to get the big picture of the battle field and work in more detail on your current building/battling. The zoom function works great and the context sensitive controls are awesome. The graphics are outstanding on a 8800GTX (it better be!) It's the most fun I've have on an RTS in a long time. I haven't enjoyed an RTS this much since AOEII. THe sense of scale on this game is simply amazing. It's rare when a gmae gets it right this much!

Cons: The only one I do have is the different faction are different only cosmetically. They are well balanced but almost to evenly matched. None of them excell ahead of the other ones in any particular area (air, land, sea) to make a difference in which side you choose.

Overall Review: I wish I could split both screens so I can zoom in on three locations and have one but yet still big map! (Not really a complaint.