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Ryan T.

Ryan T.

Joined on 07/15/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 23
Most Favorable Review

so far so good...

Linksys LINK-M20-RM Valet Plus Wireless-N Router IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Linksys LINK-M20-RM Valet Plus Wireless-N Router IEEE 802.11b/g/n

Pros: Installed DD-WRT mini on this and seems to be running fine. Had some issues with getting the right version on it, see below. Replaced an old Linksys WRT54GL, mainly for the wireless N. Interface is much more responsive probably because the faster processor. Tested a file transfer over wireless and was getting ~7MB/sec @ 30' where I was getting ~2MB with the old router.

Cons: Signal to other devices at 60' seems a little low, but they seem to be functioning without issue. Unit does get a little warm, hope it lasts. For a shell shocker deal I figured it was worth a shot.

Overall Review: DD-WRT 15508M NEW D-2 K2.6 Eko Mini installed. Versions after 15760 disable the "loopback" ability which can cause problems if you run something like an internal game server. There are workarounds for later DD-WRT versions if you're familiar with adding commands to the firmware. Also if you search around you'll find that other DD-WRT packages with things like VPN support will also work with this router.

Most Critical Review

meh, it woks, kinda

Rosewill RNX-G300E IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card up to 54Mbps Data Rates Hardware-Base Encryption/Decryption Using 64-,128bit WEP keys, WPA and WPA2 are also supported - WINDOWS VISTA READY
Rosewill RNX-G300E IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card up to 54Mbps Data Rates Hardware-Base Encryption/Decryption Using 64-,128bit WEP keys, WPA and WPA2 are also supported - WINDOWS VISTA READY

Pros: It's a cheap solution. Does what I wanted it to.

Cons: Drivers leave quite a bit to be desired. Quit working after a week and wouldn't reinstall the drivers. Did get it going again. Used drivers from the website and still had to manually install the extracted drivers. Some driver instructions were in very bad english.

Overall Review: At first I had to install the drivers manually. XP wouldn't recognize them. After manual install got about %60 signal strength at ~40'. A week later it shows up as new hardware. Drivers wouldn't install at all. Removed device and moved to another PCI slot and it works again.

Will outperform most 10's

E8 v3 D4 - Sundown Audio 8" 300W RMS Dual 4-Ohm E Series V3 Subwoofer
E8 v3 D4 - Sundown Audio 8" 300W RMS Dual 4-Ohm E Series V3 Subwoofer

Pros: This sub puts out lots of clean bass. I was very pleased with the output from it. I used to run two 15" JLw0 subs at 450W RMS, so I'm used to HUGE bass. I was just looking to add some low end to my stock F150 system and was pleasantly surprised. I put this sub in a .3 cu/ft sealed enclosure (after sub displacement). It shakes the mirrors and gives a nice strong punch to the chest.

Cons: It's heavy? lol

Overall Review: I was really pleased with the clarity of this sub. I always preferred bigger subs, but this has shown me you can get big clean bass from an 8" sub. I had it hooked up to a 500W RMS Alpine amp. Unfortunately I lost the amp when I went to test one of my OLD 15's on it and the 15 couldn't take it. So, I'm going to build a ported home theater box for it and see how this sub does there. BTW, Woofers Etc was great. I ordered the wrong ohm sub and they changed it to the one I needed. They also answered some other questions I had. Sub came in a VERY sturdy box.

12/19/2014

If you care about mic quality...

Astro Gaming A50 Wireless Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset - Xbox One (Black)
Astro Gaming A50 Wireless Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset - Xbox One (Black)

Pros: First of all, sound is great. That's well established. What's not so great? The mic, the build quality and the customer service.

Cons: First headset, mic stopped working. Sent it back to Astro and they send me a headset that sounds like the mic was in my mouth at all times. Send that back to Astro and they send me a headset that sounds like the mic is being screamed into (distortion). Send that back to Astro and they send me back the headset saying there's "not anything they can find". I have two a50's btw, and the other so far is ok, though the mic leaves a bit to be desired. Finally Astro says they'll replace the headset and they send me back THE SAME EXACT HEADSET! Fortunately they paid for all the shipping, but I'm still stuck with a headset no one wants to use. I might stick it on the home theater to listen to movies when it's just me. The mic is unusable. Both A50's I have pick up any kind of air noise, like a ceiling fan on low, so it doesn't take much. The troubled one is awful in this respect. The good one is "tolerable" in that respect.

Overall Review: If you care about mic quality, or you use a fan of any sort, I'd spend you're money elsewhere. If you really only care about sound quality, it's ok, but you can get better for the money.

11/27/2014

well...meh?

EVGA 04G-P4-2768-KR G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 760 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support SC 4GB w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card
EVGA 04G-P4-2768-KR G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 760 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support SC 4GB w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card

Pros: Great on power at idle. Quiet cool Not a bad card really. In SLI this would probably be great with 3x1080p monitors.

Cons: Was hoping for a little more. At 1440p I'd go for the 670 or 770, both are better than this. See other thoughts...

Overall Review: I got this as a Warranty exchange for a GTX580 1.5gb. On paper this is on par with that, and it is mostly. I still feel the 580 is overall a stronger card. I "had" 2 580's fortunately not in SLI but I was hoping I could do that in the future as I upgraded. I also have a GTX670 2gb and that card is better than this one in every respect. I'd have to say by at least %30. You can still get the 670 for less than this one. The 770 will blow this away. Also after testing at 1440p nothing used more than 2gb VRAM. I also noticed it states that 2gb is dedicated and 2gb is shared. Whatever that means, might be more for SLI? I'll probably put this in my HTPC as I have room and it's got good power consumption on idle. Hopefully nvidia has the sound over HDMI issues worked out with this. The GTX670 wouldn't always turn on the sound over HDMI when the TV came on.

major design flaw

Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 with 7.1 Surround Sound, Wireless Headphones with Microphone
Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 with 7.1 Surround Sound, Wireless Headphones with Microphone

Pros: Sounds great. Good range. Can use multiple headsets in same house as long as they aren't too close to each other.

Cons: There's a major design flaw. The plastic covers that go over the pivot point of the ear cups break. I have 3 of these and two have broken the same exact way. After doing some research it's a common problem. I would not suggest purchasing these because they will most likely break at some point. Also they do cut out occasionally, but come right back on.

Overall Review: These were a 4 star headset to me before they began breaking. I purchased three sets I like them so much. I RMA'd one set and as soon as I got that one back a second one is now broke. I'll keep returning them as long as there is a warranty. Logitech pays for the shipping so at least they are replacing them at no cost. Once that is done I'll have to figure out a way to permanently mount the cup to the headband.