Pros: - 40% smaller than the original XBox One - more modern looking too - built-in power supply (no external bulky power brick) - only console in 2016 with a built-in 4k Blu-Ray player - Support HDMI 2.0 for 4K streaming (from services like Netflix) - HDR (High Dynamic Range) support for better contrast and colors (TV and games must support HDR) - Slight graphical processing boost (can offer small improvement in frame rate) - Can stand upright - stand is included - Controller with Blue Tooth (for Windows 10 compatibility), 3.5 mm audio jack, textured grip and changeable cover. - Integrated IR (infrared) Blaster (configure to turn on other video/audio devices)
Cons: - No dedicated Kinect port. For a limited time, you can request a Kinect adapter to plug into the USB port. The Kinect camera peripheral was already on life support, but Microsoft has affectively killed it with the mess that came with the adapter, there is no way a new buyer would even consider adding the Kinect camera. MS hasn't released a Kinect game in a couple years but I still hung on to my Kinect because my kids like to play Just Dance 2014, '15, '16 and '17. - No native 4k games - that will be available later this year with follow up console (next bullet point) - Next XBox console - project Scorpio is just around the corner - coming Holiday 2017 with true 4K gaming
Overall Review: Excellent price with no tax and free shipping made it hard to resist. Also I was able to sell my 3 year old day one Xbox One (kept the Kinect) for more than half the cost of this new console. The controller was an upgrade for me too - mine original controller did not have the 3.5 mm audio jack.
Pros: An online publication recommended an older version of this 2TB drive (ST2000L007) as a good PS4 hard drive upgrade. I opted for this newer version (ST2000LM015). I don't know if this newer version is better or worse but it worked great in my PS4. It is thinner than a typical laptop drive (and the PS4 OEM drive) but it still worked. I only have it for about 2 months so it is not long enough to determine its reliability but so far it's quiet and hasn't given me any problem.
Cons: Price is higher than 3.5" desktop drives (as expected). Good value when there is a discount code.
Overall Review: I would recommend this if you are looking for an inexpensive drive to upgrade the 500GB drive in the PS4. NOTE: upgrading the PS4 drive takes a few steps - not just swapping drives.
Pros: Reputable brand On sale Inexpensive
Cons: No RAM cache
Overall Review: With my twins using their hand-me-down laptops for hours each day for online schoolwork due to the pandemic, I decided to give their slow laptops a speed boost with a SSD upgrade. I picked up a couple of these basic Crucial BX500 drives over better, faster but also more expensive drives with cache (like Samsung and Crucial MX lines). For each laptop, I first connected the SSD to the laptop's USB port using the Sabrent USB 3.0 to SSD cable. I then cloned the the laptop's drive using Acronis True Image software (a free download from Sabrent. Note: I believe Crucial offers the same free software download as well). After cloning was complete, I proceeded to open up the bottom of the laptop and swapped the drives. Both laptops with the new SSDs booted up 5 times faster and should run cooler too. I don't think my kids appreciate the SSD upgrade but it brought new life to the old laptops and I was happy that everything worked out so well.