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Mark B.

Mark B.

Joined on 07/05/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 14
Most Favorable Review

Nice quality

BYTECC SATA-118C 1.5 ft. Serial ATA-150/300 Cable w/ Locking Latch
BYTECC SATA-118C 1.5 ft. Serial ATA-150/300 Cable w/ Locking Latch

Pros: Nice quality with springs at each end for solid connections.

Cons: None

Overall Review: I replaced some cheapo wires with these. The springs help keep the ends solidly attached with good connection. Works exactly as desired. I recommend.

12/14/2013
Most Critical Review

disappointing performance, failed

OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK

Pros: High cost value for the performance specifications. Great deal on paper at time of purchase. The eggs I give are for this great theoretical value. RMA was accepted for return by OCZ, so warranty works.

Cons: Failed after 2 months, RMA and got a new set which did not run at 7-7-24 timing (ran at 8-8-8-24). Online RMA process to return to OCZ was impersonal. Some questions in my correspondence were completely ignored despite online statements that OCZ will hear your special requests for your RMA (Things like ability to credit card order a spare advance set so you won't be out your RAM during the RMA process).

Overall Review: First bought this for a new corei7 920 system. After building the computer using RAM at specified settings, I had trouble with it recognizing all 6GB of RAM, only recognizing 4GB. Reseated, and it worked. For two months I had periodic blue screens and lock-ups, mostly in games. Eventually only recognized 4GB again, and then would not boot. Got it to boot, and memtest (windows version) and memtest 86 and windows7 memory test all failed. Replaced RAM with some Patriot 8-8-8-24 which worked fine and tested fine. Got my RMA RAM back and it showed test failures at 7-7-7-24 but not at 8-8-8-24. At this point I'm working with the 8-8-8-24 timings and it's not worth any more of my time for RMA. Two sets out of two bad is not a good record. I suspect quality control is bad, and the technology is probably being pushed to the limit of their manufacturing to get the 7-7-7-24 timings. I do not recommend this RAM. Buying again, I would buy an 8-8-8-24 timing of another brand.

Ergonomics missed

EVGA TORQ X10 901-X1-1103-KR Wired Laser Gaming Mouse
EVGA TORQ X10 901-X1-1103-KR Wired Laser Gaming Mouse

Pros: Mechanically sound, well designed. Looks easy to clean and maintain. LED lighting is cool. Software is cool.

Cons: Ergonimics are poorly thought out. Buttons and wheel feel too far forward on the fingertips. No roundness in the lateral direction (top mouse plane is roughly flat laterally).

Overall Review: So I bought this to replace my Logitech mx518. I use it regularly but also play left-handed when gaming and my hand is not straight but somewhat crossed across the mouse. If you think of your hand, it's rounded in both the long axis and across your fingers when you cup it for a mouse. This mouse is pretty flat across the fingers, the axis 90 degrees from your forearm. When I play games left-handed and cross my hand over the mouse a little off-axis, it's ergonimics are horrible. It's not a simple flex to hit the buttons but I have to flatten my hand to hit them. EVGA missed the boat big time on simple ergonomics. While I can see as an engineer that this is very well designed and thought-out mouse, I think too many engineers were tasked with this project and not enough foo-foo designers tasked with usability and ergonomics. I'm a mechanical engineer. I do appreciate this aspect. But I also appreciate that especially with user interfaces not everything should have right angles and sharp angles. I was hoping for a well-engineered product and better software than what I'm used to with Logitech. The software seems sound. The ergonomics make it almost unusable for what I'm used to. I literally had to plug my old logitech mouse back in to play games. EVGA, add some roundness and radii to the transverse axis and don't make the buttons so flat. This is an engineer's dream but a user's nightmare where hand meets machine. I am sadly disappointed but also impressed by your first design. Every design I've encountered that looks mechanical is disappointing. This is reminiscent of a Saitek joystick with harsh angles and mechatronic feel. We need smooth ergo melding to the hand. This requires round and smooth surfaces with no planes or thoughts of planes. For a mechanical engineer to say this needs more foo foo, take notice. I have to say Logitech leads by example in the ergonomic arena. Make better software with equivalent ergonomics and you'll be a serious competitor. Don't be afraid to mimmick successful ergonomics. Different is not always better. I would not recommend this to a friend based solely on the ergonomics. A great first-go EVGA. Keep it up. I really wanted to love this mouse. I just can't.

Great product

Vantec NexStar CX 3.5" SATA to USB 2.0 & eSATA External Hard Drive Enclosure - Model NST-300SU-BK
Vantec NexStar CX 3.5" SATA to USB 2.0 & eSATA External Hard Drive Enclosure - Model NST-300SU-BK

Pros: Sturdy design. Functional. It has a power switch on the back.

Cons: The indicator light can be a bit bright. Nothing a bit of tape can't fix for you.

Overall Review: I actually own 3 of these with various interfaces (all usb2.0 at least) and I've ordered 1 more. They are a great value. I like being able to pick out my own hard drive and then get an enclosure with a power switch. Some external drives don't have a power switch and you have to unplug them. I've got 1TB working in them and I'm equipping another with 2TB when I get it. I get 14-20MB/second transfer through the USB interface. If you're doing backups you're talking roughly 20 hours for 1000GB. Consider using the eSATA if you want something faster.

Solid function

Transcend TS-RDP5K USB 2.0 Card Reader
Transcend TS-RDP5K USB 2.0 Card Reader

Pros: This is a simple, compact, functional product. It is quickly recognized when inserted into a usb slot and I've never had problems with it.

Cons: It's black, so sometimes it's hard to see if I have it laying around. Really no other cons I can note. Maybe the fact that it only reads SD and micro SD cards.

Overall Review: If you're after a simple SD or micro SD card reader, this one fits the bill nicely. I like the fact it's dedicated to just SD and micro SD and works very well at that. I would buy it again.

Does the job

Western Digital Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Western Digital Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: Large capacity, easy to install. Higher-end model.

Cons: It's just a bare drive, no frills or software or directions. So be confident in your ability to use it without many goodies. Some people have complained it's noisy. Well yes, you can hear it clicking around during operation but I've never considered it unusual or bothersome. It sounds pretty solid to me.

Overall Review: Replaced a 4-year old WD black 1TB with this black 2TB. The downloadable WD edition Acronis imaging software worked flawlessly and it was super easy to swap this drive in my computer. I've owned several WD drives and never had one fail. Maybe lucky but I'm happy. It was well wrapped with a very cushy air bag inside a box. Drive had a sealed anti-static bag around it as well with a desiccant bag.

12/14/2013