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Matthew F.

Matthew F.

Joined on 12/01/03

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 10
Most Favorable Review

Just Installed...

EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 SLI Support Graphics Card 01G-P3-1560-KR
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 SLI Support Graphics Card 01G-P3-1560-KR

Pros: **I will update this review later with more information and a more thoroughly vetted rating** Pros (thus far): 1. It's small. This card is easily 2 inches shorter than my previous cards (GTX260's in SLI). 2. Power - It doesn't use much. Not quite as good as the Radeon 6950 which it competes with, but for an nVidia card the 560 Ti series is downright eco-friendly. 3. Performance - so far, it has more than enough muscle. This card boosted my Windows video index from a 6.5 to a 7.8. That is a pretty good increase considering I had two GTX 260s (216 core) in SLI beforehand. Exact benchmarks to come.

Cons: 1. It is still a little less efficient than it's AMD counterparts when it comes to power consumption. 2. It can't be unlocked to a GTX 570, ala 6950's to 6970.

Overall Review: Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with this card. It really makes me wonder what the point is of top-of-the-line graphics cards at the moment. I can get 70-90% of the performance with this beast, which cost anywhere from 50-75% less. You do the math :)

It seems to be working

Evoluent VM4R VerticalMouse 4 Ergonomic USB Mouse Med to Large Right Hand
Evoluent VM4R VerticalMouse 4 Ergonomic USB Mouse Med to Large Right Hand

Pros: I purchased this mouse after the RSI in my arm became quite literally unbearable. I was unable to sleep at night without taking pain relief medicine, and my doctor had told me that "taking a break" from work might be the only solution. Since that wasn't an option, I went on the warpath to find a solution. One month later, I have a more ergonomic desk set up, I do nightly arm exercises, I switch between my right and left hand for mousing, and I always use this Vertical Mouse for my right arm. And while the pain hasn't been completely erased (I still feel sore by the end of the week), it has been vastly reduced.

Cons: This mouse is expensive, there's really no way around it. But if it saves your arm from surgery, or from losing your job (my case), the price is minuscule.

Overall Review: I wouldn't say that this mouse alone would have fixed my RSI problem. But it has been a part of the process, and I would definitely recommend it as a launching point into a more body-friendly computer lifestyle.

Awesome TV, Solid Price

LG LE5300 series 37" 1080p 120Hz LED-LCD HDTV 37LE5300
LG LE5300 series 37" 1080p 120Hz LED-LCD HDTV 37LE5300

Pros: LED picture quality, LCD price LED power savings Multitude of inputs Interfaces with other LG products (namely, my HT system) extremely well. One remote controls everything right out of the box.

Cons: Default color settings are pretty atrocious. Don't leave the TV in it's "tru-motion" blah blah whatever ultra fast 120Hz mode. It makes normal videos/tv shows look super cheesy, very "home video-ish". I bumped mine down to 24 in the settings and I haven't had a problem since.

Overall Review: The picture and viewing angle are absolutely fabulous on my model. I was deciding between this and a Samsung LED, and I honestly would choose this TV (properly configured) over the Samsung now. I initially bought this because of the sale ($480), but after seeing the color quality after some proper configuration I'm convinced I got the better TV overall to boot.

Great After EQ setup

LG LHB336 3D Wi-Fi Ready Blu-ray Home Theater System with Smart TV
LG LHB336 3D Wi-Fi Ready Blu-ray Home Theater System with Smart TV

Pros: Got these on sale and don't regret it one bit. For the price, this combo HT/Blu Ray player is unbeatable. The included ipod dock works like a charm, and the proprietary navigation software doesn't bother me (it's not the quickest, but it's intuitive!). I can't say much for the much touted Internet capabilities - There's no USB dongle included, and I'm not ready to splash $60 on the required LG model. Not impressed with that.

Cons: The sound was AWFUL on initial setup. I couldn't figure out why all my movies / music sounded like it was on the bottom of the ocean. Tried flipping through the preset EQ's, but none were particularly impressive. Sat down a few weeks ago and EQed it myself with my wife's ears to use as backup critics. It now sounds 100% better, in fact I think they are actually on par with my previous systems that have since passed away (Sony, Pioneer. Both much much more expensive). I can't say that this is a "huge" con, because it is fixable. But be warned, if you expect an out-of-the-box perfect sound, look elsewhere (I'm looking at you, Klipsch).

Overall Review: Bottom line: Buy it, take some time to set it up, and enjoy your bombastic sound at a bargain price.

Great product

CORSAIR Hydro Series CWCH50 Water Cooler
CORSAIR Hydro Series CWCH50 Water Cooler

Pros: -Runs 15+ degrees Celsius cooler than my sunbeam CCF. -Runs quieter than any air-based cooling solution I've ever used. -Isn't accompanied by the "Ohmygod there is a giant tube of water next to my $1000 computer" effect of other water cooling solutions.

Cons: While not hard per-se to install, it can take some tinkering to find optimal placement for the radiator and cooling fans.

Overall Review: I'm running a phenom II x4 955 be and two GTX260's in SLI, and my cpu used to hover above 50 degrees celsius at idle. Not terrible, but it didn't offer me much headroom for overclocking (and with a black edition, where's the fun in that?). Now I idle at 38 celcius and I've never gone above 44. And this is before the thermal paste has even completely settled in! Make sure you take the time to get your fan configuration right. I went with pulling air in from the back of my case and then venting it straight out the top (2x 120mm fans on the top). Other setups work for different folks, but that is where the best air circulation is for me.

*question*

CORSAIR Hydro Series CWCH50 Water Cooler
CORSAIR Hydro Series CWCH50 Water Cooler

Pros: *Question*

Cons: *Question*

Overall Review: Is this the FINAL retail version of the Corsair CWCH50? The initial version shipped with only Intel mounting hardware, forcing AMD users (like me) to get their mounting gear direct from Corsair. But Corsair said they have since released the final retail product which comes with hardware for both AMD and Intel. Does anyone know which version Newegg is selling? I really want to buy one, but I want to wait for the legit AMD version. Help!