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Hisham A.

Hisham A.

Joined on 02/11/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

There needs to be a better word for Rugged

COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 RC-830-SSN3-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 RC-830-SSN3-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Pros: This case is tough, and I mean tough in the best way ever. Its taken a beating, dropped stuff on top, spilled drinks on it, whenever I turn my chair it plastic parts rub on it and I can hear scraping, but not a single dent and scratch on it. Everytime I think there is a scratch, I wipe it with my finger and it just a piece of hair, or dust. Front door, can be made to open either direction, everything fits in there perfectly, all the screws go in nicely not cross-threading or lack of threading. LEDs are bright, but I like that. Filters to grab the dust does their job as they should, but wont completely stop it. ATX and BTX capable, easy switching, Motherboard tray pulls out, Cover fits just right. Hard drives are shock protected. Front panel mic and headset are HD-Azalia compatible, (i.e. the device will tell you when a headphone or mic is connected) Plenty of places to connect extra fans.

Cons: Not much of a con, but its something I'd like people to be aware of, this is the same in all the ATX Full Tower Cases. Make sure whatever cables you use inside are going to be long enough. Sometimes connecting the powersupply, to a PCI-X video card that is at the bottom of the motherboard you'll have a problem reaching.

Overall Review: This is heavy, and I'm not putting it in the cons, because heavy means stable, wont get knocked off easily, I remember my share of Mid-Size towers, that tipped over as soon as my cat jumped on top of it. (poor cat always falling, and never learning). And I do mean heavy, make sure you put your legs into it when lifting, even when empty. As I mentioned above, it might seem like there is a filter on it, but its not real actual filters, they help block most of the dust but not all. You can apply your own. This bad boy lasted through three motherboards and four upgrades. When packing this thing for the move I'm over protective.. cause this is one thing that will last me until there is newer spec. than ATX.

11/11/2008
Most Critical Review

How To Fix it.

IOGEAR GKM511 Silver/Black 104 Normal Keys 13 Function Keys USB Wired Ultra Thin Keyboard / Optical Mouse Combo
IOGEAR GKM511 Silver/Black 104 Normal Keys 13 Function Keys USB Wired Ultra Thin Keyboard / Optical Mouse Combo

Pros: This is an excellent keyboard. Love the feel of it, the placement of the programmable keys.

Cons: When I got this for the first time. After a couple of days it just decided to make some keys intermittent. After an RMA, and the second on arrived. I had some keys not work when using them in combination with the shift key.. so without shift the key works,, with shift it doesnt.. also noticed that putting the keyboard on its side fixed the problem. until at some point all keys stopped working.

Overall Review: I decided I'm not going to waste more money on RMA. I still had to pay to ship it back. So I decided to open it up and surprise, surprise.. a simple modular connection was actually loose. It had a clip that held the connection in place, but it was in the open position. Locked it, and all keys are working again perfectly. So give it a try. (WARNING:- THIS WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY, ONLY DO IT AS A LAST MEASURE, AND IF AND ONLY IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.)

Amazing

ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: This motherboard is outta this world. Does what it is supposed to, WiFi has a great reception. I'm just about to try the eSATA when I get my new ext. HDD. BIOS allows for fully configurable hardware, from manual to automatic. Asus has done it again with a work of art. Currently running 3.2GHz, 4G RAM, 3 SATA HDD, 1 IDE DVD-RW, 2x ATI X1950XTX (PCI-X, crossfire mode), Creative Fatal1ty Extreme X-Fi with 1/4" front panel box. Available Vista drivers. For Linux users read below.

Cons: I haven't had any problems that didn't arise from it being wins fault. In Linux (Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10) The wifi was detected as Atheros, but could not be used. I'm not much of a linux guy, but I do run it often trying to get the hang of it, something about loading the proper module, i've tried following tutorial and forum suggestions, but nothing worked for me. Not a big issue, since the Ethernet is there. Also, I haven't tested the eSATA under linux.

Overall Review: I've yet to attempt overclocking, kinda have a small cash flow problem, and as soon as I can afford a replacement (in case I screwup an overclock) i'll try it out.

11/11/2008

Amazing

D-Link DGL-4500 Gigabit Gaming Router 802.11a/b/g/n 2.4/5GHz Selectable Dual Band Xtreme N
D-Link DGL-4500 Gigabit Gaming Router 802.11a/b/g/n 2.4/5GHz Selectable Dual Band Xtreme N

Pros: This router is the best. Wireless coverage is great, I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment building, and I walk out to my car and just when I enter my car, my Nokia N800 just looses its connection. Capable of handling high traffic, never had to reboot after plenty of online video streaming, and online gaming. Actually never had to reboot period. The display is amazing, real-time information on network statistics, plus its current configuration. This router is currently supporting, 9 computers on ethernet connection (3 of which are Linux, 2 Mac), with 5 static ips, and 4 on DHCP. And 6 WiFi connections (802.11b, WEP) all on DHCP. I have over 15 ports mapped to multiple computers for different users using same application, mapped 3 of my own computers so i can access each's own apache server plus remote desktop and SSH. Plus auto-update DNS so I can always use an easy to remember URL to take me home. Web based configuration, fast and easy to understand, with easy to follow

Cons: None that I have found.

Overall Review: I have yet to try WPA,WPA2 AES and PSK, encryption capabilities, problem is that my roommates still use old wifi cards, that don't support them. I haven't fully tested Gaming mode, but it seems like port forwarding, might take precedence over Gaming mode.. or that gaming mode doesn't detect that it actually needs to get started. Too many features to be tested and used by regular user, but this is never a con. If you have the money, get it. It looks great with my furniture.

11/11/2008

Nice addition to my network

D-Link EBR-2310 Ethernet Broadband Router 1 x 10/100Mbps WAN Ports 4 x 10/100Mbps LAN Ports
D-Link EBR-2310 Ethernet Broadband Router 1 x 10/100Mbps WAN Ports 4 x 10/100Mbps LAN Ports

Pros: Easy to get it started and configured. Even though right now my usage of it is an over kill, because I use it as a switch instead of a router. Still works great. All my lags and high ping times got reduced. It's been sitting on my desk minding its own business switching away, even after multiple power outages, simulated and actual traffic overloads it does its job perfectly. Ofcourse very quite, and very little heat (even less than when you exhale on your hand)

Cons: This is not specific for this product, but it seems like making routers loose one port when used as a switch is kinda ridiculous.

Overall Review: Configuration: Router: - 3 PCs - EBR-2310 - 2 PCs - 1 other Switch - 2 PCs - 1 Hub - 2 PCs

11/11/2008

Nice piece of device.

TRENDnet 2-Port USB KVM Switch And Cable Kit, 2048 x 1536 Resolution, Device Monitoring, Auto-Scan, Audible Feedback, USB 1.1, Compliant With Windows And Linux, Hot-Pluggable, White, TK-207K
TRENDnet 2-Port USB KVM Switch And Cable Kit, 2048 x 1536 Resolution, Device Monitoring, Auto-Scan, Audible Feedback, USB 1.1, Compliant With Windows And Linux, Hot-Pluggable, White, TK-207K

Pros: Quick to setup. Unlike most KVMs where it would electronically disconnect connections. The device on its own is identified by windows as a Human Interface Device with mouse and keyboard capability. Hot-Key Switching is identified by the device and does not depend on computer. Haven't tested on other OSes, but on windows you have to make sure that when installing it to follow directions. Its quick and simple.

Cons: Cables that come with it are not very long. About 4ft long.

Overall Review: In normal home situations where you have both PCs next to you or on the desk, cables are sufficient. However you can extend those using a simple VGA extender and a USB extension cable. (However, you'll still need the original cables since the interface on the box is an integrated USB+VGA interface. Cable integration is not that bad, since there are replacements out there that are not manufactured by Trendnet.