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John M.

John M.

Joined on 02/18/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

Great power for the money

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - Core 2 Quad Kentsfield Quad-Core 2.4 GHz LGA 775 105W Processor - BX80562Q6600
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - Core 2 Quad Kentsfield Quad-Core 2.4 GHz LGA 775 105W Processor - BX80562Q6600

Pros: Strong power right from the box, very strong knowledge base out there for overclocking, runs pretty cool with a Zalman 9500.

Cons: The anxiety of getting either a GO or B3 stepping processor...

Overall Review: ...And I got the GO stepping model so the anxiety was worth it. Still reading up on how to overclock it to 3.0ghz on air cooling but so far this is a massive increase over my old-and-busted P4 2.8. If you're considering this or the same-priced dual core 3.0ghz model (6850) I'd go with this. You can always get more speed but you can't add more cores.

Most Critical Review

Great if you're into Bing/Hotmail/Live, not so much if you're not.

Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit (Full Version)
Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit (Full Version)

Pros: Boots quickly, pretty good driver support right out of the box. Really great integration if you love Microsoft services like Bing, Windows Phone 7, Xbox Live, and Hotmail.

Cons: Not so useful if you're a Google/Apple service user like myself. It has 2 graphical user interfaces - a tablet UI and a Windows UI. Now let me explain in a few words the frustration you're going to see in every other review: **The tablet UI is really pretty neat if you're a Microsoft service user but unfortunately feels tacked on in this build. The Windows UI feels incomplete if you're used to Win7 or Vista.**

Overall Review: In trying to give users the best of both worlds (a visual tablet interface and the traditional Windows interface) they've unfortunately watered down the experience. Bottom Line: If you're not a heavy Microsoft service user (Bing, Live, Hotmail, etc) then this is simply not the OS for you. If you're a Google/Gmail/iTunes guy like me then stick to Win7.

Nice monitor for the money

LG IPS231B-BN Black 23" Height,Swivel & Title Adjustable Full HD IPS Panel LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 DFC 5,000,000:1 Built-in Speakers
LG IPS231B-BN Black 23" Height,Swivel & Title Adjustable Full HD IPS Panel LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 DFC 5,000,000:1 Built-in Speakers

Pros: The picture has good color depth, afast refresh rate, and no bleeding or color banding. The price was great when I bought it and the height adjustment is really worth it too!

Cons: It wasn't very well protected inside the box, my previous LG monitor had far better foam packing but my monitor wasn't damaged in shipping.

Better than Microsoft.

Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard

Pros: It's a Logitech device, usually that's enough to justify a purchase in my experience. Accurate keys that that give good feedback, very quiet, understated glow at night, macro keys are actually kind of useful as I experiment with them.

Cons: Fairly large on my desk, I'm fairly sure the layout could have been crammed together a touch more for a smaller footprint. I wish they'd also make one with an integrated boom mic that comes up out of the rim, that would be helpful.

Overall Review: I haven't gone wrong with Logitech mice, speakers, headphones, mic, and now a keyboard. Good brand, keep it up.

11/27/2009

Worked just fine

Rosewill RCW-616 Laptop 2.5" to Desktop 3.5" IDE Hard Drive Adapter Converter
Rosewill RCW-616 Laptop 2.5" to Desktop 3.5" IDE Hard Drive Adapter Converter

Pros: Did exactly what I needed it to do: Transfer files off a laptop that overheated and died.

Cons: Shipping was more expensive than the item.

Overall Review: Not sure what pins some people had to bend on what parts. I didn't have to bend anything, it just hooked right up.

11/27/2009
Hanns-G 19" Active Matrix, TFT LCD SXGA LCD Monitor 5 ms 1280 x 1024 D-Sub, DVI-D HX-191DPB
Hanns-G 19" Active Matrix, TFT LCD SXGA LCD Monitor 5 ms 1280 x 1024 D-Sub, DVI-D HX-191DPB

Pros: Strong value, no dead pixels when I opened it, great picture.

Cons: Getting used to seeing a great picture after my eyes have adjusted to years of viewing a bad CRT monitor was not fun. Also the box was pretty badly mangled from shipping when I received it but the monitor was fine. Thank you, Styrofoam.

Overall Review: Spend another few bucks and get a plastic monitor stand for it since there's no height adjustment. Your neck will thank you.