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Nicklaus B.

Nicklaus B.

Joined on 01/03/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Crossfire! Crossfire! CrossFIYAAAAAAH!!!!

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card 100283VX-2L
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card 100283VX-2L

Pros: Nice price point, nice cooling setup/technology, and it's not your typical coffin. I now own two of these on a Crossfire setup running two monitors. It was my only other option from a prior bad experience since I had cards that wouldn't last for more than a month. It also matches with all of the blue inside my case. The glowing "S's" are not blinding.

Cons: I took a risk purchasing two of these cards. From what I've read, it is a lengthy RMA process and the turnaround time is very, very long. Coming from personal experience, asking a very simple question took about 48 hours to be answered by Sapphire. Also, read the fine print including what is stated in your warantee as well as what voids it. It leaves you scratching your head asking, "Why?" If you're somewhat impatient, getting the card out of the box without ripping it to shreds is the most viable outcome. Second time around, I had to open both ends to push the inner box out.

Overall Review: Install the drivers from the mother company. Less bloatage, more of what you really need. Sapphire does not have a lot to offer on their website as far as GPU monitoring/tweaking.

Most Critical Review

Third time's a charm?

EVGA 01G-P3-1452-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
EVGA 01G-P3-1452-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Pros: Very good price for an entry level 400 series card; very cool that it came with a free game to boot; very nice warrantee coverage when you register your card; and beautiful DX11 graphics... ...when it works.

Cons: Just to let those out there know before purchasing this card, I am just getting my THIRD (yes, THIRD) GTS 450 SC from EVGA through their RMA. First card died after 2 weeks, the second one after a month; I'm really hoping this third one does not die out on me either. Other owners of this card mentioned short life span and tearing of video, discoloration of graphics, and the sort. In addition to all that, I've had missing textures and total system crashes because of this card. I see all the positive reviews for this card and I know EVGA is a very reputable company when it comes to their video cards, but either I'm doing something very, very wrong (from just using it regularly) or I'm just getting a bad batch of cards every time.

Overall Review: EVGA has a very quick and responsive RMA service. Not only are they thourough, they have 24-hour support as well. Very convenient for the night owls or those who work during the odd hours. Exercise caution when buying this card (and make sure you have a backup one just in case this one goes down for you). My 2-year-old dual EVGA 9500GT's still run to this day in an SLI setup and have never failed.

Almost Perfect

OjoCam Pro Mini 0801 HD Dash Cam Car DVR Blackbox 1080P G-sensor GPS with 16GB Samsung MicroSD Card
OjoCam Pro Mini 0801 HD Dash Cam Car DVR Blackbox 1080P G-sensor GPS with 16GB Samsung MicroSD Card

Pros: - Small size. - Cables were very easy to hide along trim. - Chimes to indicate when it is powering on/off. - Comes with a MicroSD from the get go. - Viewing is decent and the tools provided are sufficient. - Daytime viewing is great and night time video is adequate enough.

Cons: - Main issue that was resolved was a bad charger for the unit. Support was able to send a new and sturdier one right away. - Setting the time on the unit is a bit finicky. It's just a matter of fine tuning.

Overall Review: Great dash cam with a good amount of features. Also comes with a MicroSD card that is compatible with the unit.

How Come Computer Cases Aren't Designed Like This One?

NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Black Steel / Plastic Gaming mATX Computer Case
NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Black Steel / Plastic Gaming mATX Computer Case

Pros: It's black on the outside, and black on the inside. For those who like the whole black-on-black, this is the case for you. It also comes with a carrying handle (which is entirely optional for you to install) for LAN parties or transporting the computer. Besides the superficial features, what really makes this case worth it is how much freedom you have with cable management. If you know how to set up your cables right, you can hide unnecessary cables behind the motherboard panel if you do not have a modular PSU since the back panel is embossed to allow you to do this. Instructions are easy to follow and connecting fans and front panel switches were a breeze.

Cons: It'd be nice if it came with another orange LED 120mm top fan and 200mm side fan. I would've been ok if there was a price difference for the additional fans. It only fits your Micro ATX/ITX mobos. If you want a bigger case, go for the Phantom.

Overall Review: Orange you glad you have a swtich on the back of the case to turn of the LEDs if you don't like them? Bad pun...I know. I've built on plenty of towers and this was, by far, the easiest case to work with and not have to struggle with hiding cables and making your system look organized and neat. This would also be a very nice case to have if you need a test computer.

DO NOT BUY THIS CARD

EVGA 01G-P3-1452-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
EVGA 01G-P3-1452-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Pros: It's shiny, it's black, it looks like a coffin...it actually is one.

Cons: In the period of 4 months, I've gone through, not one, not two, not three, but four 450's that failed on me through EVGA (actually, the 4th one was a 460 since I was plagued with 3 faulty cards to begin with). Each card was plagued with the same problem: tearing, pixels of colors (a.k.a. party favors), crashing, and failing drivers. The cards were completely unstable on my system. Before anyone can say, "You're a nub and don't know what you're doing," everything on my system was up to proper specs; Quad Core Processor, 60A on the single 12+ V rail while this card needs only 22A, default RAM timings, etc., etc. I had grown tired of EVGA's lengthy RMA process and decided to contact the head honho's directly. NONE of them were able to find a solution after sending screenshots, specs, BIOS settings, and benchmark results at their request. I even had my card tested in a machine with completely different hardware from what I was running. It also failed in my friend's system

Overall Review: In the end I ended up where I began, nowhere. The bottom line: If you are considering buying one, don't. Look elsewhere. I can't warn anyone enough: DO NOT BUY THIS CARD!!!

Nice Enclosure, Some Minor Flaws

Rosewill RX81U-ES-25A 2.5" SATA to USB 2.0 External Enclosure
Rosewill RX81U-ES-25A 2.5" SATA to USB 2.0 External Enclosure

Pros: I bought a 7200RPM WD 320GB Scorpio Black HDD with this enclosure and assembly was rather easy. It feels pretty solid and the hard drive does not rattle around in the enclosure.

Cons: It's a fingerprint magnet. I'm constantly wiping it down so that they don't show up. The screwdriver that came with the enclosure was not that great, I used my own. The carrying case was a nice touch except it doesn't have room for your USB cable.

Overall Review: A few of my co-workers own Rosewill enclosures and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So far no problems and I would buy another given the chance.