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Tyler S.

Tyler S.

Joined on 09/14/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

Beautiful, Compact Build at a Great Price!

Shuttle P2 Chassis SP35P2V2 Intel Socket T(LGA775) Intel P35 Barebone
Shuttle P2 Chassis SP35P2V2 Intel Socket T(LGA775) Intel P35 Barebone

Pros: -Great styling! -Cools extremely well. I'm running 8 gigs of overclocked ram, core 2 duo E8500 overclocked, one HDD, HUGE graphics card, and the case averages 35-40 C, never exceeding 47 C with stock fans. For that many components in such a small space, that's quite a notable feature. -Resourceful use of space. System components and motherboard are arranged to maximize use of the limited space. Most components fit, but be sure to measure before purchasing. -Quality onboard audio offers a ton of audio-out options. -Space for THREE hard drives! (although if you're going to put three in, you might want to think about adding the optional fans at the top to help with heat management). -Lots of ports, including plentiful USB ports on both front and back. -eSATA, Firewire, and USB give lots of options for external hard drives.

Cons: -The PCI slots have a little flap above them that secures them into place. In order to get my oversized graphics card to fit, I had to pop off this flap. There's a 1.25x1 inch space above the cards now, but they still secure, so it's not too big a deal. -Only space for one optical drive (although this is to be expected with smaller cases like this). -Space for the PCI-E slot for the graphics card is a bit limited. Be sure to get measurements to ensure your card fits. It's a tight squeeze!

Overall Review: I've built 20+ computers, and this was by far the nicest case. It was my first barebones, third sff build. Great case, top-notch quality. A few issues, but they wouldn't stop me from buying this case again! MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE LIST OF SUPPORTED COMPONENTS. There is an incompatibility with certain CPUs, even though they're on the support list. Read earlier posts for helpful hints.

Most Critical Review

TERRIBLE SUPPORT

Seagate BarraCuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Seagate BarraCuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: -Excellent, dependable drives

Cons: -If your drive does die(which is unusual for Seagate), watch out! Seagate support is TERRIBLE. I had a drive go bad after a week. It took SIX WEEKS to get the issue fixed, and another TWO WEEKS for Seagate to refund me the fee they INCORRECTLY CHARGED. I spent MORE THAN THIRTY HOURS on the phone with their support teams, only to have the idiot techs fail to record any notes on the calls, so I had to keep re-doing steps I'd already done two or three times. Additionally, when their MANAGEMENT told me they would personally take care of my issue, they went AWOL! It took the one manager over a week and a half to respond to my emails. INEXCUSABLE Seagate! INEXCUSABLE!

Overall Review: From what I gathered in my countless hours on the phone with them, Seagate tech support is undergoing extensive restructuring, so hopefully this issue will be resolved in the coming months.

An Excellent Small Business Choice

HP Officejet Pro 8500A CM755A Up to 15 ppm Black Print Speed 4800 x 1200 dpi Color Print Quality Ethernet (RJ-45) / USB / Wi-Fi Thermal Inkjet MFC / All-In-One Color Printer
HP Officejet Pro 8500A CM755A Up to 15 ppm Black Print Speed 4800 x 1200 dpi Color Print Quality Ethernet (RJ-45) / USB / Wi-Fi Thermal Inkjet MFC / All-In-One Color Printer

Pros: I'm a creative services consultant, so I require lots of quality prints. This machine delivers, and then some! Prints look great. And it's FAST! VERY easy to use. Love the network connectivity options. Haven't used the ePrint yet, but I do use AirPrint, as well as the network scanning options. The auto-duplexer is also a great addition. Faster and cheaper per page than comparable color lasers I've used,

Cons: As advertised, it doesn't print 11x17. If it could, this printer would be PERFECT.

Overall Review: Others have said it's noisy, but it's quieter than my old Epson. It prints better, too. The pigment-based ink a little more pricey (~$135 for XL color and XL black), but it offers smudge and water resistance, as well as a longer lifespan. Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend this printer!

Solid, Affordable Memory

CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX

Pros: -Performs as expected -Can overclock, but not much

Cons: -Heatsinks work okay, could be better

Overall Review: Great value! I initially purchased 4gigs, but a couple months later purchased another 4gigs for a total of 8 on Vista 64-bit. Runs GREAT!

Great Performance for the Money

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 - Core 2 Duo Wolfdale Dual-Core 3.16 GHz LGA 775 65W Processor - BX80570E8500
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 - Core 2 Duo Wolfdale Dual-Core 3.16 GHz LGA 775 65W Processor - BX80570E8500

Pros: -Performs as expected -Can overclock. I'm running mine at 3.5ghz with no issues.

Cons: -These new fans can be a beast to get into some builds. I personally didn't use it. My barebones came with a better cooling solution.

Overall Review: This CPU gives the best performance for the money. This chip runs apps better/on par with some more expensive quad-core chips.

Good Reception, Runs Hot

Rosewill RNX-G1 Wireless Black Dongle w/ External 2dBi SMA Antenna IEEE 802.11b/g A-Type USB 2.0 Up to 54Mbps Wireless Data Rates
Rosewill RNX-G1 Wireless Black Dongle w/ External 2dBi SMA Antenna IEEE 802.11b/g A-Type USB 2.0 Up to 54Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: -Great reception -Can sit horizontally and vertically thanks to the adjustable antenna -Quality Build -Cheap!

Cons: -Runs hot, may shorten lifespan -Large body. It overhangs both above and below into the other usb ports, makes it difficult to plug in another usb cable/component next to it.

Overall Review: Great price, compares to other, more expensive namebrands.