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Steven M.

Steven M.

Joined on 03/10/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 16
Most Favorable Review

Great Budget Mobo

ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Great price. Built 7 computers with these and not a single issue (all Ivy Bridge i5)

Cons: Only 2 RAM slots for a max of 16GB, but it is Micro ATX.

Overall Review: All the computers are in office environments within warehouses, running 24x7, and not a single issue for 2 months. I would buy again without hesitation.

12/19/2012
Most Critical Review

Not Really Happy

Logitech M510 Wireless Computer Mouse for PC with USB Unifying Receiver - Black
Logitech M510 Wireless Computer Mouse for PC with USB Unifying Receiver - Black

Pros: Cheap, comfortable, thumb buttons for right-handed use, unifying receiver, uses 1 or 2 batteries so you can adjust the weight a little bit to your liking.

Cons: Tracking is not very good. I was never a mouse connoisseur, but I used a V450 Nano for the past few years, and I'm very frustrated after switching to the M510. It's annoying trying to click on a small target or to track diagonally-- it's just too jumpy. I tried tweaking the settings and using a mouse pad for the first time in about 15 years, and the mouse is less than a foot from the receiver. Nothing helped and I'm out of ideas.

Overall Review: My V450 was great but got the dreaded sporadic double-click problem after a few years. I took a shot at the M510 for 20 bones, but I'll be ordering something else by the end of the week.

Would NOT Recommend

Cavalry EN-CAU3G-TB 2.5" USB 3.0 External Enclosure
Cavalry EN-CAU3G-TB 2.5" USB 3.0 External Enclosure

Pros: Good price, metal case, USB 3.0

Cons: Extremely unreliable. Works maybe 50% of the time. Drive generally shows up in Windows, but not always, and file copies often error out and then Disk Manager locks up when trying to view status of the drive.

Overall Review: I don't bother using it any longer, as using an old USB 2.0 enclosure that works is actually faster when you factor in all the failed copy attempts. Look elsewhere.

Great Little pfsense Box (read other thoughts if you have problems)

OEM Production 2550L2D-MxPC Intel NM10 Black Mini / Booksize Barebone System
OEM Production 2550L2D-MxPC Intel NM10 Black Mini / Booksize Barebone System

Pros: Small, inexpensive, low-power, and uses an external power supply. Most importantly for use as a router-- dual Broadcom NICs (not Intel, but also not Realtek, so I can live with it).

Cons: None, for what I bought it for. Seems like there are issues with 64-bit drivers, and onboard Intel video is not great, but neither matters to me. Not many expansion options, but again, I got what I needed.

Overall Review: Slapped in 4GB GSkill RAM (used a faster speed than recommended by accident (1333 MHz), but worked fine. Be sure to use a single stick in the bottom slot or you might have issues. Also used a 60GB OCZ Vertex (refurb) and it worked fine Important to pfsense users: I could not install from a USB cd drive. Make sure to use the memstick build and install from a USB flash drive. Also, I could not get internet access with 2.1 no matter what I tried, so I installed 2.03 and it worked. I then upgraded to 2.1 via the web configurator and it still worked fine. These tips may save you a few hours.

11/14/2013

Preliminary Impressions

SAMSUNG ATIV Smart PC Pro-700T XE700T1C-A02USR 4GB Memory 11.6" 1920 x 1080 Slate Windows 8 64-Bit
SAMSUNG ATIV Smart PC Pro-700T XE700T1C-A02USR 4GB Memory 11.6" 1920 x 1080 Slate Windows 8 64-Bit

Pros: - Tablet and dock came out of the box looking brand new. - Screen is beautiful and 1080p - No lag whatsoever with the i5 and 4GB of RAM - Windows 8/8.1 is not so bad on a tablet or convertible - Keyboard and touchpad work well when not disconnecting and reconnecting (see below) - The ability to use it as a tablet, but then open and edit work documents or remote into a client and administer an ESXi server is very compelling.

Cons: - Keyboard dock connects and disconnects if you just look at it the wrong way, sometimes causing the touchscreen to also become unresponsive for a few seconds - It's a little heavy - The complaints about it being top-heavy when docked are true, but it's less of a nuisance to me than others had me expecting - Battery life is not great, but it seems adequate based on my limited use thus far. - Comes with Windows 8 missing almost 100 updates, so you have to install all those updates just to get the 8.1 upgrade to show up in the MS Store, which then takes a little while to install. Then you have to update all the apps after that. Not the end of the world though.

Overall Review: The concerns and trade-offs of an MS Tablet with a real laptop process and full OS are already quite obvious. My first concern was the condition of the refurbished unit, my second was the build quality, and my third was the dock disconnects I read about. I'm quite happy with the first two items, but the dock is pretty annoying. I got the refurb at a great price and added a warranty, so even if I buy a case with a stand and a separate BT keyboard to eliminate the dock, I'll still be happy with what I got for what I paid.

Best Nano VX Replacement

Logitech Wireless Anywhere Mouse MX for PC and Mac - Black
Logitech Wireless Anywhere Mouse MX for PC and Mac - Black

Pros: Awesome tracking, good scroll wheel (with left and right scroll by pushing it to the side), right-handed thumb buttons, unifying receiver, portable and includes a travel pouch, and 1 or 2 batteries can be used to allow you to adjust the weight.

Cons: The Nano VX had a matte finish, while this one is glossy, which I believe will start wearing off at some point. Also, Logitechs seem to have a history of the left click button wearing out, causing accidental double-clicks and an inability to drag properly.

Overall Review: Had the Nano VX for a few years and loved it. Started having the left click issues mentioned above, so I looked around and bought an M510 to replace it (didn't need the portable size). I used it for a few hours and hated the jumpy tracking (even on a mouse pad). Bought the Anywhere MX and I'm happy again. Well worth the extra money, especially if you use it all day, every day. Wish I bought this in the first place.