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Nick C.

Nick C.

Joined on 08/21/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 4
Most Favorable Review
Coboc HS-10 10 ft. HDMI High Speed with Ethernet - Type A to Type A
Coboc HS-10 10 ft. HDMI High Speed with Ethernet - Type A to Type A

Pros: Extremely thin and flexible; great for exposed connections.

Cons: Potentially fragile; may not last forever.

Overall Review: I ordered this cable to replace a Rosewill unit of the same length that was just too thick (6 mm) for my application. Reviewers said the Coboc cable was thin, and they weren't kidding! It's only 3 mm in diameter, making it the thinnest HDMI cable I've seen. Taking the cable out of its bag, I could see why people get the impression that it won't last. However, mine works just fine so far, and its thinness and flexibility are absolutely perfect for occasionally connecting a Surface Pro 3 (via Mini DP adapter) and a smartphone (via MHL adapter) to my bedroom TV.

Most Critical Review

Great product with some disappointing flaws

StarTech.com 4POSTRACK12U 12U Adjustable Depth Open Frame 4 Post Server Rack w/ Casters / Levelers and Cable Management Hooks
StarTech.com 4POSTRACK12U 12U Adjustable Depth Open Frame 4 Post Server Rack w/ Casters / Levelers and Cable Management Hooks

Pros: - Flexible design - Sturdy and well-made - Beautifully packaged and padded

Cons: - Assembly instructions are not great - One of the hardware bags was two washers short - The manual has a couple of CAD errors that could result in incorrect assembly - Casters use non-locking nuts that require a second wrench to tighten - One caster was far from level and no extra washers are provided for adjustment - Design flaws when assembled at the minimum 22" depth (see below) - No torque values provided

Overall Review: When assembled at the minimum depth of 22 inches, this rack has a couple of problems: - You only get to use two (rather than four) bolts to secure each piece of the extensible rails. - One of each caster's four bolts clashes with the nuts on the inside of the extensible rails. Inserting the bolt is already very difficult, and tightening it is worse: since the casters' nuts are not locking, the head of the bolt must be held still with one wrench while tightening the nut with another, and it's nearly impossible to maneuver a wrench between the nuts on the inside of the rail to hold the caster bolt. When you do get it right, it's extremely precarious and at an awkward angle that's begging for the bolt to slip. OCD tip: Using a torque wrench, tighten the M8 bolts holding the rack together to 147 in-lb.

12/10/2016

Great little router

ZyXEL X650 Dual-Band Wireless AC1200 Gigabit Router
ZyXEL X650 Dual-Band Wireless AC1200 Gigabit Router

Pros: I'm using this router exclusively as an access point, so I can't comment on its routing performance. In AP mode it's been rock solid, fast, and not required a single reboot. The range is pretty good and it can also function as a wireless bridge, which is a nice, unexpected bonus on a unit this cheap.

Cons: * No DHCP client in AP mode; must be configured with a static IP address. * No way to specify a gateway to reach external NTP servers, and fails to query a local NTP server on the LAN. * No way to manually set time, so the router thinks it's 1970. * Non-detachable antennas.

Overall Review: Idles at ~3.5 watts.

Way too thick

Rosewill HDMI Pro-10 - 10-Foot Black High Speed HDMI Cable with 3D & 4K Supported, 10.2 Gbps Transfer Rate - Male to Male
Rosewill HDMI Pro-10 - 10-Foot Black High Speed HDMI Cable with 3D & 4K Supported, 10.2 Gbps Transfer Rate - Male to Male

Pros: Works well for stationary or behind-the-scenes use.

Cons: Way too thick and stiff for non-permanent connections.

Overall Review: I got this HDMI cable for occasionally connecting a Surface Pro 3 (via Mini DisplayPort adapter) and a smartphone (via MHL adapter) to a bedroom TV. While the cable works fine and is well-built for its price, I find it way too thick for non-permanent connections. It's very stubborn, extremely stiff, and nearly impossible to straighten. The result is an unsightly, irritating, snake-like abomination going across my bed that is really not worth the money I saved compared to a Miracast dongle. There's absolutely no reason for a 10-foot digital cable to be 150% the thickness of a power cable. Unfortunately, far too many people mistake redundant, artificial thickness for "quality."