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Nicholas G.

Nicholas G.

Joined on 11/07/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 4
Most Favorable Review

Works great.

WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLHX 300GB 10000 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLHX 300GB 10000 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: Fast drive, not too noisy, good price for performance.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: I used this as my main drive for over a year in my gaming computer and it worked great. It isn't too noisy and boot / program load times were fast. I've since moved onto a SSD and I'm not using it as storage, but for price vs performance it's a great value for the budget minded rig builder.

Most Critical Review
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Inexpensive, Black interior, Cutout for CPU bracket access, Good looks, Has window on side for added bling,

Cons: Inexpensive (flimsy), cable management poor upper fan mount placement not compatible with some motherboards

Overall Review: I bought this for a budget rig I put together for my nephew. I knew it was an inexpensive case and for the most part you get what you pay for. I bought it on sale with a rebate so it was like $25. Definitely worth that. It has a lot going for it such as black interior, cut-out in motherboard tray and removable back panel so you can swap out CPU cooler without disassembly and the little window on the side. The only thing that was quite terrible was the upper fan mounts. with a Asus M5a97 R2.0 the fans wouldn't clear the top of the motherboard - RAM or CPU power connection. I had to mount them offset from the intended holes by threading through the grill holes, and some didn't quite line up quite straight but it worked out. Also the front panel is somewhat difficult to remove and I'd venture that repeated removal and installation would definitely lead to breakage of the retaining pegs. When I was building the machine I got real annoyed with it and wished I had spent twice as much on something better, but if you have a specific budget and a short motherboard this case works well.

Great looks, silent operation

XIGMATEK AOS (Aeronautical Oil System Bearing) XAF-F1454 140mm White LED Black Case Fan Ultra Quiet Copper Bushing Axis Aeronautical Oil System Bearing
XIGMATEK AOS (Aeronautical Oil System Bearing) XAF-F1454 140mm White LED Black Case Fan Ultra Quiet Copper Bushing Axis Aeronautical Oil System Bearing

Pros: A great looking quiet fan that seems to have good airflow and useful RPM range. The sleeved cable looks nice.

Cons: One of the fans I bought was noisy and I had it replaced after almost a year and the replacement is a slightly different color than the original.

Overall Review: I have two of these and one of them would make a clicking sound intermittently, I thought it was because I had it mounted in the top of my case with fan facing downwards and figured it was more meant to be horizontal, but eventually it turned into a pretty annoying rattle at speeds above idle and the other one didn't do it so at just shy of 1yr I RMA'd it and now both are silent. The 120/140 mounting system seems pretty useful, They also work on non PWM circuits that use voltage control although it seems 100% on PWM seems faster than 100% voltage.

Nice looking fans that work great.

XIGMATEK AOS (Aeronautical Oil System Bearing) XAF-F1451 140mm Case Fan Ultra Quiet Copper Bushing Axis Aeronautical Oil System Bearing
XIGMATEK AOS (Aeronautical Oil System Bearing) XAF-F1451 140mm Case Fan Ultra Quiet Copper Bushing Axis Aeronautical Oil System Bearing

Pros: Good looking pretty quiet at low rpm! mounts 120/140mm

Cons: sometimes minor noises while inverted

Overall Review: I've one of these fans in the top and the bottom of my case, one inlet and one exhaust. the one on the top will make rattle sounds at higher RPM when things are turned up and hot, but since that's only when I'm running a benchmark and the fans are at 100% it's no problem doe me. They prefer to be mounted vertically rather than horizontally I think. They're very quite at low/idle/surfin' the web speeds.

11/18/2013