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Michael H.

Michael H.

Joined on 08/20/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 3
Most Favorable Review

cheap and sturdy

ThinkPad T Series T60 Notebook Intel Core Duo T2400(1.83GHz) 15" 1GB Memory DDR2 60GB HDD 5400rpm DVD/CD-RW Combo W/Docking Station
ThinkPad T Series T60 Notebook Intel Core Duo T2400(1.83GHz) 15" 1GB Memory DDR2 60GB HDD 5400rpm DVD/CD-RW Combo W/Docking Station

Pros: Titanium case, DDR2, SATA-150, fingerprint/TPM, etc. Ships with very little bloatware out of the box (remove the biometric software if you aren't going to use it) .. just a copy of WinDVD and a CD burning program are the only two "extras" that aren't related to the hardware. I've bought 4. 2 of them had battery cycle counts in the 100-ish range, 2 had a count of 1 .. meaning brand new battery.

Cons: Older Core duo (32b) architecture. Only SATA-1 interface. Memory is tricker than usual (standard IBM "under the palmrest") to access.

Overall Review: Left 2 as-is (preinstalled XP) for friends. Put 64g Samsung SSD + 4gb memory + win7 on one .. it screams. Put Debian on an (otherwise stock) 4th unit and had no problems with any of the drivers.

Most Critical Review

Instructions by IKEA

Cooler Master Hyper N520 - CPU Cooler with Copper Base and 5 Heatpipes
Cooler Master Hyper N520 - CPU Cooler with Copper Base and 5 Heatpipes

Pros: Better than stock (don't care enough to measure). Once you figure it out, the mount is way sturdier than stock. Fits in my Antec 300 case.

Cons: Ever put together anything from IKEA? .. the instructions are just like that. 12 languages and about as many words. Basically it's 3 pictures. If your case doesn't have the rear-panel cutout for behind the CPU, it may press against the back of the case a slight bit.

NOT a "mid" tower

Antec P280 Black Aluminum / Steel Super Mid Tower Computer Case
Antec P280 Black Aluminum / Steel Super Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Really is a clever design .. long video cards would fit (I measure 14" to the drive bays, and those mount side/side so cable interference isn't an issue, lots of fans, pretty sleek looking.

Cons: Bloody enormous! .. this is the sasquatch of computer cases. Shipping back for RMA just isn't worth the bother/expense, so it'll sit as a expensive reminder of "measure twice.." ended up re-using my Antec 300 that is half as wide and 4" shorter and 3" less deep.

Overall Review: If you've got 8 drives and 4 video cards and don't mind sharing your desk with something the size of a compact car, might be right for you.