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Evan G.

Evan G.

Joined on 09/12/05

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Most Favorable Review

Fantastic cooler

Rosewill ROCC-17001 1U Low Profile CPU Cooler, Full Copper & Aluminum Structure 60 mm PWM Fan & 4-Pin Connector, Slim 27mm Height
Rosewill ROCC-17001 1U Low Profile CPU Cooler, Full Copper & Aluminum Structure 60 mm PWM Fan & 4-Pin Connector, Slim 27mm Height

Pros: Low profile. Practically silent. Looks cool has hell, no RGB needed; perfect blend of utilitarian and style. Dead-simple installation.

Cons: It's great for my project but I wish there were versions of this that supported other sockets. In my use-case I needed it for LGA1151, but I want to use this fan in future builds!

Overall Review: I bought this cooler to replace another when I decided to convert an older gaming PC into a home NAS. The previous cooler was gigantic and so was the case that the system was installed in. Because I was downsizing the case dramatically to better facilitate fitting it into a smaller footprint, I needed a new(smaller) cooler. I eventually landed on this one, because of how different it looked from everything else that fit my requirements. I can't stress enough how awesome this cooler is(it's almost a shame that it has to be in a NAS where I can't see it!). At first I was skeptical of this product because I have heard that low-profile CPU fans can get fairly noisy. Not only does it defy that, it exceeded my expectations. I can't even hear this thing while it's running under load. Paired with some Arctic MX-4 It's keeping an i5-6500 cool at around 30C. Seriously, try this thing. It'll knock your socks off.

Works with vintage Baby AT motherboards

ALAMENGDA Open Computer Case,Two-way Server ATX Motherboard Tray Test Stand, Test bench, ATX Mid Tower
ALAMENGDA Open Computer Case,Two-way Server ATX Motherboard Tray Test Stand, Test bench, ATX Mid Tower

Pros: This test bench does in fact support Baby AT form factor, which is a boon for vintage PC enthusiasts. It even comes with two plastic clip-in standoffs to support boards that have a couple screwholes that don't match the later ATX form factor this test bench was designed for. I wonder why they didn't include them in the photos. The frame is made of metal but does not seem to conduct electricity which is awesome.

Cons: I wish it came with some rubber feet or something. It tends to slide around on the desk. I also wish it supported SFX power supplies without needing a mounting adapter. An optional base would be nice to have if I wanted to stand the frame up. These nitpicks are minor and don't diminish the rating from me.

Overall Review: I was on the fence about buying this for a long time because I wasn't sure if it would support vintage boards. It went on sale for very cheap so I finally gave it a shot and I was pleasantly surprised.

Works great.

Rosewill RC-400 Networking LAN Card With Heatsink & 4 LED indicators 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI V2.2, 32/64-bit, 33/66MHz
Rosewill RC-400 Networking LAN Card With Heatsink & 4 LED indicators 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI V2.2, 32/64-bit, 33/66MHz

Pros: Supports jumbo frames. Great upgrade for older machines without PCI-E.

Cons: Only supports up to 7200-byte jumbo frame mode.

Overall Review: I bought this to upgrade my HTPC from 10/100 onboard ethernet. Now I can stream 1080p video(without caching for long periods of time beforehand) to any machine in my house with gigabit ethernet.

Great for HTPCs

MSI GeForce 210 512MB DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Low Profile Ready Graphics Card N210-MD512H
MSI GeForce 210 512MB DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Low Profile Ready Graphics Card N210-MD512H

Pros: Plays any H.264 video I throw at it, from 480p to 1080p, flawlessly. Handles XBMC video playback like a champ.

Cons: The heatsink is kind of big for a low-profile card. It takes up two slots. Not really a con if you don't mind losing a PCI slot. I planned just for this situation so it did not affect me.

Overall Review: I run an Ubuntu 10.04 XBMC box and needed an upgrade from VGA+Stereo Audio to HDMI. This card met my expectations. I did not test gaming performance because this card is obviously not made for any sort of heavy gaming.

Cheap and does the job

COOLMAX HD-389-U2 Aluminum 3.5" Silver SATA I/II USB 2.0 External Enclosure
COOLMAX HD-389-U2 Aluminum 3.5" Silver SATA I/II USB 2.0 External Enclosure

Pros: The enclosure is small, and the body hugs the drive like an extra layer of metal, making the lack of a cooling fan a non-issue. The power switch is a plus, giving me the ability to turn off the device without having to un-plug it(and possibly losing the usb or power cable behind my desk). The case fits snugly into the stand. It even came with a screwdriver.

Cons: The four screws used to fasten the drive into the case were ok, but the small screws used to fasten the back panel are a joke. The tabs on the back panel(which is made of cheap plastic that is probably made of recycled mega bloks) that the screws go into bend easily making the final installation step difficult, and the poor quality of the screws as said before make it easy to strip while only halfway in, resulting in a loose panel. Whatever.

Overall Review: I bought this to use an old drive for backups. It didn't need to be fancy or even fast. The price was right, and it came with a lot more that I imagined would be in the box.

Link Depot C6M-25-YLB 25 ft. Cat 6 Yellow Network Cable
Link Depot C6M-25-YLB 25 ft. Cat 6 Yellow Network Cable

Pros: Cheap. Works great.

Cons: The release pin is a little too short. This makes it a little hard to unplug from some ethernet ports as they might be recessed into the case a bit. You will need a flat-head screwdriver to get this thing out sometimes.