Pros: Two of the disks formatted cleanly, and a detailed scan by ChkDsk found no bad sectors. The third disk was DOA and is being replaced by Newegg.

Cons: One of three disks was DOA. The platters rotated, but the disk was not recognized by Windows in Device Manager. I know someone energizes HGST hard disks before they are sold because the SMART data always indicates a small amount of use, but a more detailed testing regime might prevent the retailer and the user from having to contend with a DOA unit and its associated costs.

Overall Review: I heartedly recommend HGST hard disks; they work well for the length of the warranty, and on the rare occasions when there has been a problem HGST tech support has taken care of the situation.

Pros: The second one received after RMA'ing the first, tested perfectly and works as a backup device. I bought it on sale, so the price was fantastic, although compared to prices just a few years ago, it was still expensive. Newegg delievered it in just a few days, and very inexpensively.

Cons: The first one received could not reliabily record data; less than half the files copied to it verified. The SMART info said it had thousands of operating hours, although it was sold as a new device. The second one has the SMART interface disabled, so it is impossible to tell its age. Nevertheless, despite the fact that it sits directly in front of a large floor fan, after a few hours of use it repeatedly tells the computer that its temperature is critically high. I bought this disk to replace another that said it was failing. By the time I received a working disk and had tested both of them, the old disk would not read. Who knows what was lost?

Overall Review: Consolidation in the hard disk industry indicates that it is concerned with competition from SSDs, which are sold by memory companies. Hard disks have some natural advantages that are not going away: They store much more data, they are less costly per byte of data stored, and they are more reliable. Yet all the hard disks, from two manufacturers, that I have bought recently have taken several RMAs to receive one that works. Why is the industry competing by putting its worst foot forward? Now is the time for the industry to celebrate its natural advantages and adhere to its traditional quality standards.

Pros: The best aspect of this case is that it holds 8 hard disks, 2 SSDs, and one DVD-Blu-ray burner, and, with the help of an extra fan, it keeps them cool even in the summer. Protecting all the hard disks from damage and keeping them cool were the two critical characteristics I had to have. In selecting Phanteks computer cases, I did the work: I made a spreadsheet listing the features of every computer case Newegg sells. This was worthwhile because there were case features I never thought of. Then I sorted the features by their importance to me. The Phanteks cases were the only ones that had all the features I liked at a price I could afford. Two other characteristics of Phanteks case are important. The fit and finish of these cases is perfect; there no imperfections, annoying or otherwise. Second, the screws, slot covers, and spare parts come in a separate box, which is sturdy enough to last for years. Not only are there enough screws etc. to put the case together and hold the motherboard, hard disks, video cards and other adapters securely, there are extras of almost everything in case of the inevitable loss.

Cons: The assembly instructions could be made more comprehensible. The first Phanteks case I bought I had trouble assembling. I had to contact tech support at least twice to make sense of the instructions. But I had no trouble with the second Phanteks case I put together.

Overall Review: I can't recommend Phanteks computer cases too highly. They have solved every computer hardware problem for me, from containing and protecting in one package all the computer's parts to keeping the whole assembly cool.

Pros: I have been using Kingston Value ECC memory for many years, and it has worked well. On the very rare occasions when a module has failed, Kingston Tech Support has been gracious and speedy in replacing the defective unit. Being unable to find Kingston Value memory for DDR 4 ECC memory, I purchased two modules of the mainstream product. I ran the Passmark Memtest86+ Free 8.1 memory diagnostic test suite for many hours, and it found no errors. The new system boots with no problems. Incidentally, I learned a lot about computer memory by reading the material on Kingston's website and by asking Kingston Tech Support questions.

Cons: There is nothing derogatory to write about Kingston memory.

Overall Review: Kingston manufactures excellent computer memory that works well and generally lasts for the length of the product generation. I intend to purchase it again and recommend it to others. Right now (9/4/20) Kingston Tech Support is a little slow in responding to a question, probably because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pros: On my system, sound through the earphones can be quite muted. This is especially true on the various news sites using Internet Explorer. Frequently, it is almost impossible to hear what the announcers are saying. However with this USB sound device, the words come through the earphones clearly and distinctly, and there is no problem hearing what announcers have to say. I have had the same experience with some videos on YouTube, where now, with this USB sound device, there is no problem with hearing anything on YouTube.

Cons: I cannot make the microphone input work at all. I tried several times and in several different ways to plug the Dragon NaturallySpeaking microphone input into this device, but in no case would Dragon recognize that a microphone was attached. Dragon did not even admit the existence of this device as a possible input when using Dragon/Profile/Manage Dictation Sources… .

Overall Review: I love this device for its usefulness as an earphone driver and use it all the time for that purpose. The system doesn't seem to mind that I now have three USB sound devices plugged in, each used for different purpose: Dragon input device, normal speaker output, earphone output. It's a nice set up and works well for me.

Pros: Installation was basically plug and play, and system has worked without any crashes for over 7 weeks now. I love the security of ECC memory. System can run several days now without rebooting, whereas with non-ECC memory the system had to be rebooted daily if the work day was not to be interrupted with a crash and reboot. This memory is supposed to have automatic memory scrubbing, which could account for the computer's stability, but there is no way to tell if that is working.

Cons: I did have to turn off the Supermicro X10SAT's performance features to make the system stable. However, the motherboard only delivers about 1.49X volts to the memory, which requires 1.5 volts, and there is no way to change that.

Overall Review: I would recommend this memory to others, and I would definitely purchase it again. However, Kingston could make the product more interesting and salable if it offered access to papers on "Memory Scrubbing," "Memory Scrambling," and a definition of "T S" and why it is important. Kingston tech support will answer questions on these topics, but the best one can say about their answers is that they are laconic and terse.