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Stephen G.

Stephen G.

Joined on 05/10/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

All launch cards are Foxconn

PNY VCG88512GXPB GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
PNY VCG88512GXPB GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Pros: It's an 8800GT...and it rivals the performance of a GTX at a fraction of the cost.

Cons: The bundle is sparse, but if you're like me, you have specific games in mind that folks weren't bundling with any card regardless.

Overall Review: Well, I'll be the first to review the PNY version of the 8800gt since it seems to be getting ignored. This card is essentially the same as all of the others...since Foxconn is the true manufacturer of all "launch week" 8800GT cards. Flextronics boards are forthcoming, but for the moment, the only essential difference between the various 8800 GT boards are the clock rate (which you can tweak yourself), the software bundle (and nVidia drivers are downloadable), card aesthetics (sticker, port arrangement), warranty, and, yes, price. Any one of the launch week 8800GT cards will most likely make you happy...unless you value a game bundled in one of the sets. Otherwise, find a card with a good price and buy it. Cheers.

10/31/2007

Nice drive, Annoying branding

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS

Pros: Works very well. Burns are fast and clean. Drive mechanism sounds smooth. Inexpensive...although the price on newegg seems to float around like Forrest Gump's feather.

Cons: White text on the front of the drive. Seriously, how are we in 2012 with CD ROM drives that still look like it is 1995? Drop the white text! Emboss it if you must (as Sony does), but give us a break somehow. We JUST DON'T CARE about these feature logos...and they detract from build aesthetics. Seriously, no soup for you! One egg deduction.

Solid perforamce without hassle

Corsair Performance Pro Series 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) CSSD-P256GBP-BK
Corsair Performance Pro Series 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) CSSD-P256GBP-BK

Pros: Fantastic balanced performance. Third-party review sites score this drive higher than all of the other current gen 256GB drives, including the M4...and my testing with Crystal Disk Mark backs those claims up. That said, such differences are typically minor in comparison between any SSD and an HDD. So why this drive? ZERO issues. No bios updates needed. It just works.

Cons: Expense (of course). Wait a year or two and these will be mainstream when the prices drop further...at least for enthusiasts.

Overall Review: For me, 256GB is the minimum size if you plan to get any real benefit. I have my OS and apps all installed on this drive...and didn't want to have to categorize apps and place selective (lesser important apps) on an HDD. A 128GB just wouldn't cut it for me...even with my documents folder (and all other data) stored on a separate HDD. IMO, if you can't afford 256GB, skip it. If you can, sit back and hold on. Photoshop launching in a second. FPS map loads before others are 10% of the way in. Too awesome.

Decent cooling for a decent price

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler, 4 CDC Heatpipes, 120mm PWM Fan, Aluminum Fins for AMD Ryzen/Intel LGA1200/1151
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler, 4 CDC Heatpipes, 120mm PWM Fan, Aluminum Fins for AMD Ryzen/Intel LGA1200/1151

Pros: Provides decent cooling for stock or moderate overclocking. very quiet fan at lower RPMs. Keeps my i7 2600k at 27C at 900 RPM idling and keeps load temps drastically lower than stock Intel cooler. Size is also very manageable. It sits on my CPU on an mATX board and doesn't crowd the GPU or get in the way of my RAM. Its height is also manageable in most mATX cases, at a tad shy of 160mm.

Cons: The mount sucks. I can twist the cooler back and forth about 1 degree with minimal effort...but it seems to be cooling decently regardless.

Buy it

ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: I dropped in my CPU, attached the cooler, placed 4 sticks of RAM in the slots, and connected the PSU...and the board POSTed without issue. I then finished the build and the system booted right up...defaulting my i7 2600k to 3.8 GHz. Subsequent overclocks take a single click...although it supports manual tweaking if desired. It has a great set of features and nice software, which allows you to tweak things from Windows that would otherwise require rebooting back into the BIOS. It's just what I wanted - small, powerful, and painless.

Cons: GPU slots are rather close together, so if you are going with SLI or crossfire, you need to ensure that your card isn't wider than double width. My GTX570 Twin Frozr III is wide enough that the second slot is not available.

Overall Review: The board and bundled accessories scream quality and attention to detail. If you have an mATX case, your search is over. If you have a full ATX case, you may want to consider other options if you plan to have multiple GPUs. The board does support two double-width vid cards, but some cards exceed even that width.

Works great with Samsung TV

Rosewill RNX-N1 Wireless-N 2.0 Dongle (2T2R) IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB2.0 Up to 300Mbps Data Rates/ WPA/WPA2 (AES, 64,128-WEP with shared-key authentication) Cisco CCS V1.0, V2.0 and V3.0 compliant Vista/Win7/MAC
Rosewill RNX-N1 Wireless-N 2.0 Dongle (2T2R) IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB2.0 Up to 300Mbps Data Rates/ WPA/WPA2 (AES, 64,128-WEP with shared-key authentication) Cisco CCS V1.0, V2.0 and V3.0 compliant Vista/Win7/MAC

Pros: Less than half the price of the Samsung adapter. Plugged it in to my UN40D6000 LED LCD, entered the pass-phrase for my WPA network, and bang...it grabbed an IP from the wireless G AP located on another floor of my home and I was online.

Cons: None

Overall Review: Shipped with an a CD and a nice flexible yet semi-rigid extender, which allows you to position it as desired. You can't beat this deal. Why spend more than twice as much?