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Derek J.

Derek J.

Joined on 11/23/04

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Most Favorable Review

Great Product

ViewSonic VFD920w-12, 9" with 2GB Internal Memory, High Resolution of 800 x 480, 16:9 Aspect Ratio, with Remote Control, Digital Photo Frame
ViewSonic VFD920w-12, 9" with 2GB Internal Memory, High Resolution of 800 x 480, 16:9 Aspect Ratio, with Remote Control, Digital Photo Frame

Pros: Just got this after fast shipping from newegg. It does everything it says it will. Shows pictures with great clarity, interface is smooth and snappy. LOTS of settings. Set a time for it to turn on, and turn off. Make it into a clock (that shows pictures) Or a calendar (that shows pictures) or just show picture. I didn't see it in the specs (maybe I wasn't looking close enough) but this thing can also accept a USB device in addition to the card reader and internal memory. You can copy pictures from one device to another, or just plain delete them. It also has glass in front of the LCD so I believe you could safely clean it with a regular glass cleaner.

Cons: The only gripe I have thus far is that the file manipulation can be a bit unwieldy. There's no way to select a bunch of files and copy / delete them. File manipulation is better done on the computer, but it's hardly a con since thing is only meant to show pictures. Also, price... why do things have to cost money? ;)

Most Critical Review

What it lacks in design it makes up for in space

Rosewill THOR V2 ATX Full Tower Gaming PC Computer Case, Supports: E-ATX & XL-ATX, 4 Dual-Speed Fans, 10 Expansion Slots
Rosewill THOR V2 ATX Full Tower Gaming PC Computer Case, Supports: E-ATX & XL-ATX, 4 Dual-Speed Fans, 10 Expansion Slots

Pros: - It's a big case with enough room to put the things I need - It came with all of the bolts and screws necessary to install things inside of the case - The fans that come with it are effective and not too noisy - The hard drive bays are made of metal. They feel like a nice combination of convenient and sturdy

Cons: - Case arrived with one of the side panels not inserted properly, but still bolted in. It wasn't too bent up so I didn't bother to return it. Kind of scary as far as quality control goes. - It's not obvious in the pictures, but there are actually fins at the top of the case that open and close with a slider. It's pretty gimmicky. I would have preferred to keep the same profile and have a mesh top to allow better airflow, and occasionally setting stuff on top. - Even though it's a huge case, and it has slots for cooling cables to enter and exit the case, it does not work well with liquid cooling devices like the NZXT Kraken. Only top mounting is supported, and there's not enough room for both the radiator and the fans to fit inside the case, even though it's spacious. This is a pretty big design flaw. I managed to solve this by taking the gimmicky fins (mentioned above) out of the box. This leaves fans semi-exposed on the top of the case. It's not ideal, but it lets my radiator fit inside, gives me good airflow, and is not an immediate finger hazard. - The molex connectors that come with the case are poor quality. The pins came out on the fan connector while I was trying to install it. I had to use pliers to keep the pin in place in order to connect the fan power. - The top front of the case looks cool, but has some sharp edges to be careful of.

Overall Review: The case is big enough to fit things inside, and you can work around some of the design flaws with the extra space. Some of the build quality is lacking, and there is too much space and material spent trying to make it look cool.

10/22/2022

Solid little box

ASRock DESKMEET X300  Mini PC Barebone System AMD X300 DisplayPort, HDMI & D-Sub Supports a discrete Dual slot Graphics card up to 20CM(card not included) 8 Liter compact size
ASRock DESKMEET X300 Mini PC Barebone System AMD X300 DisplayPort, HDMI & D-Sub Supports a discrete Dual slot Graphics card up to 20CM(card not included) 8 Liter compact size

Pros: - Comes with almost all the pieces you need, including SATA cables, and a wireless m.2 card. - Solid construction - Easy to assemble

Cons: - They should have included a low profile case fan - Some of the assembly is confusing at first - Can't handle D.O.C.P. overclock settings my RAM and CPU used just fine on my old motherboard

Overall Review: I recently upgraded my main PC and had an extra Ryzen 3700X and 64GB of RAM laying around. I saw this box and wanted to give it a try as an efficient home for my extra parts. I wasn't sure if it would be compatible with my processor, but the spec sheet from the manufacturer says it is. After assembling I can confirm that it is compatible. This box is compact, so it's going to be more difficult to put parts into than a regular PC, but they did a good job. I got a low profile Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 for the CPU cooler and it fits perfectly fine and cools the machine well. The motherboard doesn't need to be removed to put the cooler on because they put a cutout directly below the CPU - this was awesome! There were two parts to assembling this box that were difficult: 1. The motherboard power connector is very difficult to get plugged in. This power connector is already firm, and it's positioned up against the case so it's hard to get leverage on it. If you're not careful, you could slice yourself open real good. 2. The wireless was tricky. The m.2 slot itself is clearly marked, but I had trouble getting the card fastened in. It turns out there was a thin plastic cover over the screw hole that secures it. I kept trying to thread the screw but it just wouldn't start. I'm not sure if this is a manufacturing defect, but once I got the plastic out of there it went in fine. The next issue is that the instructions point to two corners on the case and say, "Put the wireless connectors through here", but there is only a pin sized hole there. It turns out there are metal discs in those spots that need to be popped out in order to get the antenna wires through. My final thought is that I wish instead of putting SATA cables in the box they put a case fan in the box - since you likely need a low profile case fan for this. Otherwise, I was very pleased with it. I will definitely consider buying motherboard case combos from ASRock again.

Slow and buggy

Intel 7260HMW IEEE 802.11AC, dual-band, 2x2 Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth 4.0 Mini PCI Express combo Adapter - 867 Mbps+300Mbps - Internal
Intel 7260HMW IEEE 802.11AC, dual-band, 2x2 Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth 4.0 Mini PCI Express combo Adapter - 867 Mbps+300Mbps - Internal

Pros: Cheap

Cons: Doesn't come out of sleep properly. I have to disable/re-enable the device (WIndows 8.1). It occasionally won't connect at all, and I either have to disable/re-enable or restart my computer entirely. I often get "Error code 43". The manufacturer offered no help aside from suggesting the latest drivers, which I already have. When it does connect to my AC network, the speed fluctuates from 50-75 Mbps. Other devices on the network have no problems getting speeds above 150 Mbps.

Overall Review: The cost of this device is low enough that it's too much of a hassle to return it. I'll avoid Intel cards in the future and live with this one until I find a suitable replacement.

Slow writes

Patriot Slate 3.0 128GB USB Flash Drive PSF128GLSS3USB
Patriot Slate 3.0 128GB USB Flash Drive PSF128GLSS3USB

Pros: Good price for such a large capacity. A small form factor that doesn't block adjacent USB ports. The read speeds are great, it sustains 80+ MB/s without too much trouble.

Cons: This drive writes S-L-O-W. I often don't get more than 5 MB/s out of a sustained write (one big file). Furthermore, in the process of writing, it gets very hot as well. I fear it will shorten the life of the drive.

Overall Review: This drive is decent if you want to store a lot of data and you don't need to write quickly. I knew that this would likely be the case when the vendor failed to give any specs on read/write. I will definitely not buy drives from Patriot (or others) again if they don't give read/write speeds.

Great product

AOC e1649Fwu Black 16" (15.6" viewable) 16ms USB Powered WLED Backlit Widescreen LCD Monitor 200 cd/m2 500:1
AOC e1649Fwu Black 16" (15.6" viewable) 16ms USB Powered WLED Backlit Widescreen LCD Monitor 200 cd/m2 500:1

Pros: This product has exceeded my expectations. It is a perfect solution to getting another display to carry around with you so you can have dual displays with your laptop.

Cons: It could be a thinner. It seems the shape of the casing wastes a lot of space. Also, it could come with a cover like the Lenovo version does.

Overall Review: Keep in mind how this device works. It utilizes the CPU to drive the display. If you're running on an older machine, or a netbook, you may not get the results you are after.