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John W.

John W.

Joined on 10/07/01

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 12
Most Favorable Review

Eggcellent!

Kingston DataTraveler 200 32GB USB2.0 Flash Drive DT200/32GB
Kingston DataTraveler 200 32GB USB2.0 Flash Drive DT200/32GB

Pros: No cap to lose, attractive design w/ rear aluminum inlay, excellent read/write performance, ReadyBoost capable, 5 yr. warranty

Cons: Just a tad bit too wide which crowds a nearby usb port

Overall Review: CrystalMark 2.2 benchmark on Vista Business SP2 32-bit -Seq Read: 33.55 MB/sec -Seq Write: 18.37 MB/sec -512k random write: 2.513 MB/sec -4k random read: 5.707 MB/sec

Most Critical Review

Flaky when connected to USB 3.0

HGST 1TB Touro Mobile Pro External Hard Drive USB 3.0 Model 0S03559 Black
HGST 1TB Touro Mobile Pro External Hard Drive USB 3.0 Model 0S03559 Black

Pros: Compact enclosure, fast drive

Cons: Glossy black piano finish is a fingerprint magnet and scuffs easily, lackluster USB 3.0 connectivity

Overall Review: When connected to USB 3.0 the drive will randomly disconnect every couple of minutes and will eventually ask if you want to format it. If you press cancel you can still access the drive and the data is intact until it disconnects again. I have two other USB 3.0 ext hdd's that do not exhibit this behavior.

A0 A3 works fine w/ DDWRT

BUFFALO AirStation HighPower N300 Gigabit Wireless Router - WZR-HP-G300NH
BUFFALO AirStation HighPower N300 Gigabit Wireless Router - WZR-HP-G300NH

Pros: DDWRT support, high power antennas and amplifier which transmits up to 29dBm or 800mW, 2 yr. warranty

Cons: Glossy exterior is a fingerprint magnet, doesn't ship w/ DDWRT preinstalled, incl. flat ethernet cable is clunky

Overall Review: I have two of these with revision A0 A3 and both have been flashed with DD-WRT v24-sp2 (08/07/10) std - build 1489. One runs as an AP and the other is a client bridge w/ virtual interface. There are a few quirks, but overall it is stable and offers more throughput compared to the WRT160N's w/ DDWRT that they replaced. Peak xmit power (847mW) is obtained by using Ch. 6 and 20MHz channel width. Since Ch. 6 is typically crowded if you have neighbors you can switch to 2 or 10 (overlapping channels) and only lose a few mW whereas 1 or 11 cause a 2dBm reduction in power. Check the FCC website or smallnetbuilder for confirmation.

Stable w/ o/c'ing headroom

Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N5K2/4G
Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N5K2/4G

Pros: low profile, lifetime warranty, standard 1.8v

Cons: n/a

Overall Review: To the reviewer(s) that claim this memory will not overclock really need to understand that not all modules are created equal. I happen to have the modules being reviewed in my main workstation. Athlon X4 620 @ 3.25GHz (250 x 13) 1.4V CM Hyper 212+ Asus M4A785-M (NB & HTT freq @ 2GHz) KVR800D2N5K2/4G (416.7MHz @ 3:5) The system is running @ 100% stable in Memtest86+ & Prime95. As you can see ymmv when o/c'ing these modules.

Compatible with a Dell 600m

PQI 1GB 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Laptop Memory Model MD421GUOE
PQI 1GB 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Laptop Memory Model MD421GUOE

Pros: Compatible with a Dell 600m, inexpensive, lifetime warranty

Cons: none

Overall Review: Memtest 86+ 2.1 ran without an error for 24 hours. CPU-Z shows the memory @ 133MHz - FSB 3:4 Cas 2-2-2-6

Buy it now

Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: Antec doesn't require a receipt, warranty is checked by serial number, and they wouldn't even check an EarthWatts because they haven't been on the market long enough to be out of warranty. For whatever reason should the s/n show a psu to be out of warranty, but you have a receipt showing that you've owned it <3 yrs., then Antec will go by the date on the receipt.

Cons: none

Overall Review: FWIW over the past 5 years I've submitted and received numerous rebates from Antec and never once had a problem.