cover
Chris R.

Chris R.

Joined on 08/18/06

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 9
Most Favorable Review

Nice case

Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Roomy, appears to have good air flow. Front-facing external USB ports (as opposed to top mounted). Exterior finish is nicely done.

Cons: Adding/removing HD's or other components from the drive bays is annoying - too many thumb screws to remove. Can't remove the fan filters without disassembling the case. Internal fan mount interferes with the graphics card, so had to remove it. Didn't need the mount, so not a big deal.

Overall Review: Did not find that the MB pushed the CPU fan too closee to the top fan. Using a GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD6 board.

Most Critical Review

Good hardware, not so good management tools

Netgear N900 Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router with 3.5" Storage Bay (WNDR4700)
Netgear N900 Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router with 3.5" Storage Bay (WNDR4700)

Pros: I purchased this NetGear router to replace a 4-year old Linksys. Initial thoughts: 1) Setup is generally easy, the menus are nice and self-explanatory 2) The guest network feature works well. 3) Have had no problems with throughput or wireless connectivity.

Cons: Cons: 1) The Netgear has a fan and it's not quiet. Generates more noise than my PC fan. 2) The box is an odd shape and the cables attach in the side, not the back, so they stick out and they're in the way. 3) The firewall features are limited. Defining rules is painful. Having more than a single rule is difficult, unless all the affected IP addresses in the rules are always the same. Firewall rules don't use MAC addresses, so you have to use DHCP reservation first, then create rules. Otherwise rules won't follow devices. 4) Whenever the device config is applied, Internet connectivity is lost, both wired and wireless. Time ranges from brief to multiple seconds, which is not helpful if you have an VOIP phone. 5) Logging function doesn't offer a means to sort log messages.

Overall Review: The Netgear offers nice specs and features. It needs some attention to the management aspects of the device. And a quieter fan.

12/18/2012

Disappointed with purchase.

ENCORE ENLWI-N Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI 2.3 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates
ENCORE ENLWI-N Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI 2.3 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: Had 3 antennas I could cannabalize for an old wireless NIC that works.

Cons: Installed in Vista-32 machine. PC would see the card, but the drivers would never load properly. Tried drivers off web as well as those on the included CD. No help there. Ended up taking a 4 year old wireless g card from another PC and installed it instead. Worked great right off the bat.

Overall Review: Would not buy from Encore again.

Great Monitor!

LG 20.1" Active Matrix, TFT LCD WSXGA+ LCD Monitor 8 ms D-Sub, DVI-D L203WT
LG 20.1" Active Matrix, TFT LCD WSXGA+ LCD Monitor 8 ms D-Sub, DVI-D L203WT

Pros: Extremely happy with this monitor. Color & display quality is fabulous. Very fast refresh, haven't noticed any ghosting or other issues.

Cons: None

Great buy

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 - Core 2 Duo Conroe Dual-Core 2.4 GHz LGA 775 65W Processor - BX80557E6600
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 - Core 2 Duo Conroe Dual-Core 2.4 GHz LGA 775 65W Processor - BX80557E6600

Pros: Very happy with the price/performance. Installed easily. OEM fan has been quiet. Doesn't seem to run hot.

Cons: Fan installation was a bit tedious.

Working well

OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600 W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600 W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: More than enough cable options. Spiffy blue lighting, quiet.

Cons: At first, appeared DOA. Had to use a "jumpstart" trick found on OCZ website. Worked fine ever since.

Overall Review: E-mail tech support was very good. Phone tech support very slow - long waits on hold.