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Michael S.

Michael S.

Joined on 08/06/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 10
Most Favorable Review

wow

FSP Group Blue Storm II 500 W ATX 2.2 SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply compatible with Core i7
FSP Group Blue Storm II 500 W ATX 2.2 SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply compatible with Core i7

Pros: completely underappreciated psu. high efficiency, good clean power. even includes 2 6-pin headers for hungry power cards (1 header even includes 2 extra-pins for the newest 8-pin gpu cards). the psu is so smart it even detects voltage w/o a switch on the back.

Cons: none.

Overall Review: i have mine powering a p45 motherboard, e8500, 4gb ram, 2 sata 250gb harddrives, 2 sata lg dvd burners, a power hungry evga 9800 gtx+, 5 fans, and a wireless card.

10/27/2008

best case i've ever bought

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: no stupid LEDs and plexi-glass windows. no sharp edges. plenty of external and internal drive bays. TONS of fans and i mean TONS (includes 1 120mm and 1 140mm - you will need 3 120mm to complete this badboy properly). comes with proper mounting hardware for your oem drives.

Cons: i'm torn. i like the psu being on the bottom of the case (less top-heavy and doesn't blow hot air on your cpu), but some psu cables will have to really stretch to connect to fans, mobo, dvd drives, etc.

Overall Review: i coupled mine with a FSB Blue Storm II 500w power supply (also highly recommended). price has dropped so even better.

10/27/2008

underappreciated

Intel BOXDP45SG LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel BOXDP45SG LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: do not buy a x48 or x58 unless you are buying a cpu with a 1600fsb (which many of you are not). this board does away with pata and legacy connections (although there are headers on the board for a serial port). gives you plenty of sata and usb for modern computers and supports 8gb of ram. all this for at least $50 cheaper than the x48.

Cons: has the case headers (power, reset, hd led, power led) right in line with the primary pci-e slot. avoid long graphics cards when using this board. second pci-e slot is in line with the sata headers.

Overall Review: if you MUST have a long graphics card, make it sure it is seated properly. in my case the wires for buttons and leds prevented the card from seating 100% (works properly though).

10/27/2008

good deal

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model GH22NS30
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model GH22NS30

Pros: good deal for the price. includes nero essentials and a sata cable.

Cons: none

Overall Review: buy two?

10/27/2008

future proof

EDIMAX EW-7728In Wireless 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI Card IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 32bit PCI Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates
EDIMAX EW-7728In Wireless 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI Card IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 32bit PCI Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: 300mbs/sec!! fully "n" network compatible. vista 64 compatible. tiny little card on your mobo.

Cons: none

10/27/2008

en fuego

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 - Core 2 Duo Wolfdale Dual-Core 3.16 GHz LGA 775 65W Processor - BX80570E8500
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 - Core 2 Duo Wolfdale Dual-Core 3.16 GHz LGA 775 65W Processor - BX80570E8500

Pros: blazing fast clock and fsb for cheap. do not buy q6600 unless you are using applications that are written for multi-core cpus. low wattage and low heat make this prime for overclocking.

Cons: stock fan/heatsink. tips: you DO NOT need a screwdriver to install this fan. simply push pins firmly through the mobo (with slots facing the center). screwdriver only required to remove the fan/heatsink.

Overall Review: why intel would keep such a useless heatsink design alive for years is beyond me.

10/27/2008