cover
Alan P.

Alan P.

Joined on 01/03/06

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 15
Most Favorable Review

Excellent so far

ZOTAC IONITX-P-E Intel Celeron SU2300 (1.2 GHz dual-core) NVIDIA ION Mini ITX Motherboard / CPU Combo
ZOTAC IONITX-P-E Intel Celeron SU2300 (1.2 GHz dual-core) NVIDIA ION Mini ITX Motherboard / CPU Combo

Pros: silentpcreview loves this board. Very low power at idle, modest power under load, with decent performance. The placement of the ATX connector is good for cases that don't have any clearance to the side of the board, such as the Antec ISK-300.

Cons: No fan control on case fan -- why in the world not? A bizarre oversight, particularly on an SFF board.

Overall Review: The wifi I got was an Atheros AR9285, but I guess that could change in future revisions of the board. Other than that chip, everything on the board should be well supported by your freenix of choice.

11/24/2010

Great board

Intel BOXDH77DF LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
Intel BOXDH77DF LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Pros: PWM fan control for CPU and case fan headers. Fits a Scythe SCSK-1100 with a few mms to spare between the heatsink and the PCI-E slot. Supports Ivy Bridge out of the box.

Cons: No builtin wifi. As others have pointed out, the description is wrong -- there are only two DIMM slots. Also, I would have preferred DC input, like the Intel DH61AG. Without it, you have to get a PicoPSU or something, which drives up the price of the build. I'm rating it a 5/5, as none of these are actual bugs in the board.

Fantastic value. Very flexible.

Ninja QB1004 Master Prep Pro System, Black
Ninja QB1004 Master Prep Pro System, Black

Pros: Totally works, for making hummus, chopping onions/garlic, shredding ice, you name it. The three bins are great -- they can go straight into the fridge, if that's convenient. The design makes it very safe to operate, despite the sharp blades.

Cons: Without a dishwasher, cleaning the blades is kind of scary to me, as they're very sharp!

Works

SAMSUNG 4GB DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Desktop Memory Model MV-3V4G3/US
SAMSUNG 4GB DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Desktop Memory Model MV-3V4G3/US

Pros: 1. Does what it says. 2. Stays out of the way of CPU heatsinks. Great for cramped builds, like the mini-itx system I was putting together.

Cons: 1. The packaging was difficult to open. 2. I'm always a bit more nervous about static shocks on DIMMs with no heatspreader.

Weird buzz

LG L2000CP-BF 20" Height, Tilt, Swivel & Pivot Adjustable Anti-Glare LCD Monitor
LG L2000CP-BF 20" Height, Tilt, Swivel & Pivot Adjustable Anti-Glare LCD Monitor

Pros: Good viewing angles. I'm also a big fan of the 1600x1200 shape -- it allows two side-by-side blocks of text, 10x20 pixel font, 79 columns, 59 rows. Perfect for programming. Decent price.

Cons: Weird electronic buzz/hum noises with some image patterns. This is using the DVI input. My (discontinued, sadly) Samsung 204T doesn't have this problem at all, even with the same patterns. I know this because I run the two dual-head. If you're not picky about sounds, this is a total non-issue.

10/12/2011

Nearly perfect

Antec ISK 300-65 Black Steel Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 65W Power Supply
Antec ISK 300-65 Black Steel Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 65W Power Supply

Pros: Good airflow design, drawing air over the board. High efficiency, fanless, PSU. PSU includes slim SATA power! Yay! Space for two 2.5" drives. Large (80mm x2) exhaust fans, so you can run them slowly. Good clearance over the CPU socket. Overall, seems like a lot of care went into the design.

Cons: The price for the the CPU socket clearance is that the case is quite deep. There is no clearance at all on the right side of the mobo (as seen from the front of the case), making a tight squeeze for mobos with their ATX connector up against that side. The front bezel seems a bit flimsy, both the switches and the ODD cover -- I'd expect the ODD latch mechanism to break with frequent use. The AC/DC brick sometimes buzzes audibly when it is plugged in and the system is off. The included fan is not the best quality. I would have liked an air filter on the intake.

Overall Review: Perfect for an HTPC, as long as you don't need a full-height expansion slot. I'm not using a TV tuner of any sort, and am not using the expansion slot at all. Or, if you're tight on space, it could make a nice little under-monitor desktop.

11/28/2010