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Alicia R.

Alicia R.

Joined on 04/23/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Finally!

Cooler Master Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition NV-830-KKN4-GP Black ( Green Mesh) Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Cooler Master Stacker 830 NVIDIA Edition NV-830-KKN4-GP Black ( Green Mesh) Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Pros: Same quality of the regular CoolerMaster 830, but so much more ironic when I put ATI 4870x2's in it. Fairly spacious. It accomodates most builds fairly well, a little extra width and height wouldn't hurt with the new beefy graphics cards coming out these days. Air Flow, Air Flow, Air Flow. I'm sure my CPU feels like it's in a tornado.

Cons: It can't do backflips. This case needs to go on the SlimFast diet. Nearly 36 pounds, nothing to scoff at. I really wish the case was just a bit wider and taller. My 4870X2's are kinda cramped, and right now i don't even have my Zalman water cooling installed, just running on air until I get my replacement tubing.

Overall Review: Unlike most of the Full Tower cases coming out these days, it isn't covered in obnoxious LEDs, and has much better airflow than most.

Amazing Quality

Mad Catz Eclipse III Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Standard Backlit Multimedia Keyboard
Mad Catz Eclipse III Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Standard Backlit Multimedia Keyboard

Pros: I'm a Saitek fan-boy if there ever was one. My last 3 keyboards are all from the eclipse series and they're top-of-the-line without being overpriced like those Logitech and Microsoft lightup keyboards. Keys are quiet and these things are durable and dependable. I've had my Saitek Eclipse I & II for 4 and 2 years respectively and no problems with either of them. I recently built my new Phenom II and i7 rigs so I figured I'd add this one on to my i7 and I have my saitek Cyborg on the Phenom II

Cons: Theyre a bit pricy, but they're worth it, these things last for years and they can take a beating!

Overall Review: This will be my fourth keyboard from saitek in 5 years, and all 4 of them are still up and running with no problems. My old Saitek I even experienced a bit of water damage when my oh-so-intelligent roommate left a window open in a rain storm, and it's still working as if it was brand new. The keys don't wear and over the years I've only ever had one key break (and that was from a small screw falling under the keys and jamming in the spacebar, which was easily fixed). Basically, you spend a bit more than the average keyboard, but they last forever and the lights are helpful for late night working/gaming.

Unnecessarily Amazing.

Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition - Core i7 Bloomfield Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1366 130W Desktop Processor - BX80601965
Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition - Core i7 Bloomfield Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1366 130W Desktop Processor - BX80601965

Pros: Ok this is an obnoxious processor, and we're all well aware of that. To all of you complaining about your CPU Temps: Shame on you for air cooling your $1000 investment. Running 12C idle 23C under full load with my Danger Den Liquid/TEC Cooling system. If you're going to invest this much money into a part, protect your investment. Watercooling is a MUST for parts performing under this much temperature stress, and if you have an extra $150 get a 226w TEC Peltier from Dangerden. Temps with just watercooling were 28/40C but adding in the TEC droped temps to 12/23C. Don't let your processor be the only next-gen part in your computer, you need to build with all parts of the same calibre.

Cons: Price, of course. Total rig cost: $5801. Worth every penny as I wont have to drop a dime for the next few years. EVGA x58 motherboard (Plus NB waterblock) $349 3x GTX280 graphics cards (+3 waterblocks) $1652 core i7 3.2ghz extreme edition (+waterblock and TEC) $1385 12gb (2x6) OCZ Fatality $273 WD 1tb harddrive x2 $240 Powersupply, bluray drives, fans and fan controllers $1029 Watercooling radiator fans, ect. $604 Case: Mozart TX + brackets for tubing management and wire covers for tidy wiring $269

Overall Review: Aside from replacing water on the cooling system, the occasional can of DustOFF and the electric bill of course, I wont be spending another dime on computers for another 3-4 years. people will tell you not to buy the best of the best as it becomes obsolete very fast, but take it from me if you're thinking in the long run, one big investment will beat out several smaller ones along the way. I used to replace comps every year or so and hemorrhage money for my workstations and gaming needs, trust me buying a ridiculously powerful setup is much more fun/effective.

12/26/2008

Best of the Best

HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card H487X2F2GP
HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card H487X2F2GP

Pros: I've had the chance to compare this bad boy side by side with the 9800gx2 and I can definitively tell you that this card will out perform the 9800 9 times out of 10. There are VERY few instances where the 9800 will outperform the 4870, one of which is Crysis. Only programs that have bias to one type of GPU will show any real difference, but the difference in performance is fairly marginal. CoD4, WoW, Warhammer Online, Crysis, Spore, Black & White2, AoC, Halo 2, and everything else you can think of, this card can handle it. Max settings of course.

Cons: Crossfire drivers and scalability are lacking, but when one of these cards can run just about anything at max settings, who really cares. (Besides benchers...)

Overall Review: Anyone complaining that this card won't run crysis at max settings without lag, or having problems with any other programs, Look at your other components. Having the best graphics card on the market isn't worth jack if you're running with low amounts of RAM and a low end CPU. Keep in mind that your components have to compliment eachother in performance to see the best out of your computer as a whole.

10/19/2008

Fast and Hot!

ASUS Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card EAH4870X2/HTDI/2G
ASUS Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card EAH4870X2/HTDI/2G

Pros: This thing is a BEAST! Tears up anything you can throw at it, and then politely asks for more. Mildly OC'd (don't want to overheat the card, still waiting on an AFFORDABLE waterblock. Dangerden has one....for $150...) The only thing i haven't been able to run at completely max settings is Crysis, but even then, all I had to do was lower the AA a tad and the game runs smooth at 35-42 FPS. Waiting for new drivers and for the money to crossfire these things, I've heard the scalability is pretty terrible atm so I'll wait for better CCC Drivers to come out for these beasts.

Cons: This thing gets HOT and it makes an active attempt to kill your PSU at any chance it gets. Overclocking these requires a LOT of extra power, make sure you get atleast 1000w to be safe, I'm running with a Tagan BZ 1300w psu right now, waiting to add my 2nd card in a few months. You really need some powerful front intake fans to push some air across these at minimum. I highly recommend the Scythe DFS123812-3000. The fan moves about 80-90 CFM air at tolerable noise levels, if noise isn't an issue, I've seen this thing push upwards of 120 through my MozartTX.

Overall Review: Like I said, these things get hot, and they eat up power like it's going out of style. Get a big PSU and a huge amount of air circulation (or watercooling if you can afford $150 blocks...) overclocking is a breeze.

Unnecessarily Awesome

ePOWER EP-2000P10-T3 2000 W ATX12V Ver.2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply
ePOWER EP-2000P10-T3 2000 W ATX12V Ver.2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: This thing is a BEAST! Enough power to run my gaming rig with a huge amount of extra power. Running 3 nvidia 280s, 8gig DDR3 RAM, 4 WD VRaptors 15,000 RPM 300gig drives, Blu-ray burner, 2 CD/DVD drives, Intel 9770 @ 3.7ghz, Full Danger Den liquid cooling system (cpu/gpu/nb/sb), 790i evga mobo, 4 cold cathode light tubes. This thing has enough juice to power anything you can throw at it.

Cons: Had to run an extension cord to a different room in my house, when I powered on the PC with both cords on the same breaker, it would trip every time. It can't do backflips, and it doesnt play guitar.

Overall Review: Seriously, this is extremely unnecessary for 99% of users. I'm fairly certain if this thing had the proper power connectors on it you could run 2 entire gaming PCs with a bit of power left to spare. Your neighbors will wonder why your lights dim whenever you turn on your rig.