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Jason C.

Jason C.

Joined on 09/16/14

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 4
Most Favorable Review

Fast!

SAMSUNG 850 PRO 2.5" 256GB SATA III 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7KE256BW
SAMSUNG 850 PRO 2.5" 256GB SATA III 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7KE256BW

Pros: Very fast drive... actually tested faster at read and write than the rated speed. Warranty length is exceptional as well.

Cons: The samsung software that comes with SSDs has never been that great.

Most Critical Review

Does the job, for the price.

DIYPC Alnitak-BK Black USB 3.0 ATX and Micro-ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case with 3 x 120mm Blue Fans (Pre-installed)
DIYPC Alnitak-BK Black USB 3.0 ATX and Micro-ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case with 3 x 120mm Blue Fans (Pre-installed)

Pros: This is a cheap case that managed to fit everything including the Hyper 212 Evo. It's decent-looking too.

Cons: The metal is very thin. Some parts were warped, so things like the power supply would not fit until I straightened the thin metal out. No problem because it was so thin it just took some finger pressure. I had to take the back fan out to get the motherboard in. Needed 3 more stand-outs to fully screw the motherboard in, but only two were provided. Some people have said the stand-outs weren't threaded but that was not the problem for me... for me they were threaded with different threads than any of the screws provided. Luckily I have lots of extra screws laying around. One USB 3 port on the front seems like a waste.. why not make it all three? Cable management is not good with a full ATX board but i you plan ahead well enough you can squeeze some cables around the top and bottom of the motherboard and clean it up... it's not idea but it's a way to work with what you have.

Overall Review: This case wasn't my choice, it was for a customer. I would personally spend a bit more for an improvement in quality. I think it would pay off when considering time and frustration cost in dealing with warped metal, incorrect or missing screws, and trying to "hack" the cable management. I do not know how much I trust these fans - I suspect they won't be of great quality. That being said the final product does look good and the case was very inexpensive.

Careful with the warranty.

CORSAIR CX-M Series CX750M 750W 80 PLUS BRONZE Haswell Ready ATX12V & EPS12V Semi-modular Power Supply
CORSAIR CX-M Series CX750M 750W 80 PLUS BRONZE Haswell Ready ATX12V & EPS12V Semi-modular Power Supply

Pros: These are decent power supplies that will normally last years without any problems. They are known for delivering at least as much power as they are rated for. I've purchased and installed many Corsair power supplies (probably about 2 dozen) and have had only one fail in the last decade.

Cons: I bought this to replace an TX750 which died after just under 3 years of service. That particular power supply had a 5 year warranty on it. I thought the warranty would be honored because of Corsair's famous support. However, it turns out that a serial number is no longer sufficient - they want a receipt and a UPC. How many printed receipts and original boxes do you have for three-year-old hardware? I have none, because pretty much any other company I deal with will base the warranty on the serial number. Asus does it, Gigabyte does it, MSI does it, Kingston does it... I can't think of any big name that doesn't do it. Well, it seems Corsair doesn't. So, either keep the paperwork and the original box until the warranty expires, or consider the warranty to be worthless. I build computers for customers and keeping around dozens of boxes and receipts, or asking the customer to, is ridiculous. Corsair, you know from the serial number that the thing was built three years ago and can't possibly be out of the 5 year warranty period - why be jerks about it?

Overall Review: If the warranty won't be honored then you have to wonder if the premium price for Corsair is worth it.

Pricey but it works

PNY Quadro K2200 VCQK2200-PB 4GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Plug-in Card Graphics Card
PNY Quadro K2200 VCQK2200-PB 4GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Plug-in Card Graphics Card

Pros: I purchased this for a build I was doing for an architect. He had the money for a good system, so this card went in. No problems at all, it works flawlessly with all his software.

Cons: The prices on these cards are higher than they need to be - they aren't *that* much different from a gaming card, to demand such a huge price increase for the same computing power. However, they do work the first time, all the time, with the applications that some people use for work.