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Arthur W.

Arthur W.

Joined on 07/09/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

RAM Works As Advertised

G.SKILL Trident Z Neo (For AMD Ryzen) Series 64GB (4 x 16GB) 288-Pin RGB DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C16Q-64GTZNC
G.SKILL Trident Z Neo (For AMD Ryzen) Series 64GB (4 x 16GB) 288-Pin RGB DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C16Q-64GTZNC

Pros: The RAM is reasonable speed, and is on my motherboard's QVL (ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero). It's reasonably stable as long as you don't go crazy tweaking stuff. The capacity is also pretty great.

Cons: I don't like RGB, and I don't like needing to install a bunch of RGB configuration software just to turn it off. Would have preferred the RAM without LED's of any kind. Also note that I haven't been able to overclock this RAM or tweak its timings at all. CPU is Ryzen 7 3800X, and it doesn't seem to be able to handle Infinity Fabric Clocks over 1800 MHz, so the speed being capped at 3600 MHz may have nothing to do with the RAM.

Overall Review: If you just want something to install, turn on XMP, and enjoy then this RAM works just fine like that. It's performance is OK (it has Hynix DRAM chips instead of Samsung so don't expect stellar performance or timings), and its thermals aren't bad. I purchased this RAM because my PC is in a room that's too hot for Samsung B-Dies, and I needed something that could run more reliably at temps that higher performance RAM starts having errors at (although this RAM also seems to run cooler too). I had no delusions about its performance, as I was aware of the type of DRAM chips G.Skill uses on this kit of RAM before I decided to purchase it. This memory is for the "set and forget" guys, and not those who like to tweak their RAM speeds and timings looking for the best performance.

Most Critical Review

Good Card, Terrible Drivers

ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card
ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card

Pros: Good sound quality, lots of connections for not only home use but also professional use, some pretty nifty software on the CD, looks cool, and has been running in my computer for around 2 years without any hardware problems.

Cons: The drivers for this card are terrible. They supposedly work OK on 32-bit editions of Windows XP, but on Windows Vista and Windows 7 (especially the 64-bit editions) the drivers are horrible. I would believe that they managed to fix most of the 64-bit quality issues with driver updates over the years, but a lot of games still cause system crashes when you have the latest drivers from ASUS installed. I eventually got sick of certain games constantly crashing my computer due to driver faults, and I uninstalled the ASUS software and forced Windows to use the Auzentech X-Meridian drivers for my Xonar D2X card. That eliminated all issues (the X-Meridian uses the same C-Media chipset that the ASUS AV100 chip is based on) and the audio quality is great without all of the crashing, however it also means that I cannot use the ASUS software that allows you to tweak the card.

Overall Review: I gave this sound card 2 stars/eggs/whatever because of the terrible drivers from ASUS. If not for the horrifyingly buggy drivers, it would be worth at least 4 stars.

Improper Bearing Lubrication

MASSCOOL BLD-09025S1M 92mm Blue LED Case Fan
MASSCOOL BLD-09025S1M 92mm Blue LED Case Fan

Pros: I'm fairly certain that they were quiet while they still worked.

Cons: I purchased two of these to replace fans where the bearings were seizing up due to bad lubrication, and not even a year later one of these MASSCOOL fans had completely seized up for the same reason (you could see where the lubrication had leaked out) and the other one was spinning too slow to provide adequate airflow. I managed to get the seized fan spinning again and the other fan spinning at full speed again with some Ballistol, but Ballistol is not thick enough to stay in a fan bearing for any period of time, so I only used it like that long enough for a replacement to arrive.

Overall Review: Probably would have been a good fan if they had used a silicon based lubricant for the bearings, as that won't leak out as easily as other lubricants and will actually provide better lubrication. Fortunately this fan used a cheap sleeve bearing, because when a ball bearing seizes you cannot get it moving again. You still shouldn't continue to use a sleeve bearing after it has seized like that, since it has taken too much damage to ensure reliable operation, but I didn't really have a choice as a PC requires airflow for cooling, so I had to use something until my new fans arrived.

Nice Little Router + Open Source Goodness

Linksys WRT54GL 802.11b/g Wireless Broadband Router up to 54 Mbps/ Compatible with Open Source DD-WRT (not pre-load)
Linksys WRT54GL 802.11b/g Wireless Broadband Router up to 54 Mbps/ Compatible with Open Source DD-WRT (not pre-load)

Pros: Simple Router - Open Source Firmware - Lots of Flexibility - Very Reliable (with third-party firmware) - Extremely Tweakable

Cons: Low Coverage (802.11g isn't very powerful) - Antennas Not Removable/Replaceable

Overall Review: This is a simple little router, and with the open source firmware it is the most versatile router I have ever used. I love to use two of these routers, flashed with the most tomatoie firmware I can find, to set up wireless bridges instead of using wireless cards. These things always work flawlessly with good third-party firmware, and I only have trouble with them if I get anything metal around the antennas. These are by all means my favorite routers!

Painted keys?

Saitek PZ30AU 104 Normal Keys 4 Function Keys USB Wired Standard Eclipse Blue Backlit Keyboard
Saitek PZ30AU 104 Normal Keys 4 Function Keys USB Wired Standard Eclipse Blue Backlit Keyboard

Pros: Nice blue backlight, makes it easier to see what key you are pressing when the light is low.

Cons: The backlight is too dim, and sometimes doesn't help. The keys are painted, and over time the paint does rub off, although it was almost a year before that became a problem with mine. Also, the worst con with this keyboard is that the keystroke is too long.

Overall Review: I had a slim keyboard before this one, and I was used to a short keystroke. After using this Saitek for a while I found that the longer keystroke was actually making it harder to move around. The keys also have a strange feeling, and are quite loud compared to other keyboards.