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Jonathan S.

Jonathan S.

Joined on 08/18/09

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

Great fans all around

Corsair HD Series, HD120 RGB LED, 120mm High Performance Individually Addressable RGB LED PWM Case Fan (CO-9050067-WW) 3-pack
Corsair HD Series, HD120 RGB LED, 120mm High Performance Individually Addressable RGB LED PWM Case Fan (CO-9050067-WW) 3-pack

Pros: - very good airflow - well constructed, solid - corners have vibration dampener rubbers, yet the corners don't bend when you tighten the screws - LEDs are bright and powered by RGB connector, not the PWM connector, resulting in a steady brightness level. - controller box easy to set up, also provides a connection pass through to let you connect your case's power/reset buttons to control the speed/color/mode. - Quiet (no rattles or whirling noise)

Cons: - Limited choice of LED animations, would have liked the comet effect to match my CPU water block, memory and motherboard.

Overall Review: There seems to be different viewpoints about what "individually addressable" actually means. If using the included controller, you cannot "individually address" each LED... you can only have one colour for all fans. The controller can produce colour cycling, but again it is for all fans. I checked the Lighting Node Pro that many refer too.. the Lighting Node Pro has 2 RGB connectors, 3 wires each. These fans here have 4 wire connectors. And the fans can't be daisy chained, which is fine if you only have 2 fans. So I'm really confused on how anyone would use a Lighting Node Pro. I have 5 of these fans in my case. My mITX motherboard does NOT have an on-board USB2.0 header, another reason I couldn't use a Lighting Node Pro. I had 5 MasterFan Pro SP120 fans, but they were loud and rattled on occasion, and LED brightness was controlled by PWM power instead of RGB, so when the fans ran in silent mode, the LED brightness was quite low. The HD120 are much much better, I can't emphasise this enough.

10/31/2017
Most Critical Review

Worth it for the money but be aware of shortfalls

Rosewill Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Case, Supports Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX M/B, Supports CPU Cooler Height up to 140 mm - SCM-01
Rosewill Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Case, Supports Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX M/B, Supports CPU Cooler Height up to 140 mm - SCM-01

Pros: - Nice looking all black case - Front plastic cover has a polished look, reducing/eliminating fingerprints - Minimalist LED illumination, keeping it very tame with the power and drive activity LEDs

Cons: - There's really no such thing as cable mgmt with this case, the right panel doesn't extrude like many other cases in this price range (DIYPC for example). But not having a window means you don't see the mess of cables. - I saw a feedback below that says the expansion card slots screw holes aren't threaded. I ran into the same issue when I was trying to insert the screw for my video card, but realized that perhaps it's not meant to have screws inserted. There's a small plate to cover the expansion cards with little hooks that seem to hold the card in place, although I had difficulties inserting it. - Lack of some kind of feet is an issue. If you don't put any feet, it's so low on the floor that front air intake struggles. Not a bit deal if you don't install a front fan. If you put this on a hardware floor, chances that it will scratch the floor is high. If you put on a carpet, you'll get that much more dust in.

Overall Review: - There is a small metal loop around the PSU back cover. That little loop was in the way because it lined up with the on/off switch of the PSU. I turned the screws in with force to bend that loop and it's fine. - I wouldn't buy again, even with a good deal on sale.

Terrible if needing top air flow

AZZA Titan CSAZ-240 Black SECC Tempered Glass/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
AZZA Titan CSAZ-240 Black SECC Tempered Glass/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Nice design Tempered glass

Cons: Terrible air flow. I needed to use the top space for 2 exhaust fans. This is a terrible design, I can't help but wonder if they didn't take the chassis from a bulk purchase and designed their plastic covers themselves because it just doesn't make any sense. You can mount 2x120mm fans at the top alright, but the fans end up almost touching the plastic panel & acrylic window. If you put a flat fan against a wall, will it push or pull air? No, the motor will wear out trying to suck in or blow out air. This is what's going on with this case... you can't have a fan pulling or pushing air at the top. There are small openings in the acrylic plastic, but it's not connected to the air flow path from the fan which really doesn't make sense.

Overall Review: Yes, great design, totally agree with other reviewers... bu if a company says you can put fans somewhere, then they should be able to actually move air as opposed to sitting there and do nothing.

It provides power, that's all I need

APEVIA ATX-RP450W 450 W ATX12V Non-Modular Power Supply
APEVIA ATX-RP450W 450 W ATX12V Non-Modular Power Supply

Pros: Lightweight... who says a PSU has to weigh 5 pounds? It's black... for this price point, that's a pro when most computer cases nowadays have black frames.

Cons: I'm forced to write a con to submit review.

Best cheapest case so far!

Rosewill FBM-X1 Black Steel / Plastic Mini Tower Case with Side Panel Window
Rosewill FBM-X1 Black Steel / Plastic Mini Tower Case with Side Panel Window

Pros: - Steel is sturdy - Front plastics are thick and feel strong - Extruded right panel for a bit of cable mgmt - Has feet pads - Acryclic window is clear, not tinted

Cons: none I can think of!!!

Overall Review: I've built lots of computers this years always buying chassis when on sale, have gone through various "cheap" case and this one is my favourite so far. It feels strong, not weak thin steel found on so many other "cheap" cases. The feet pads are good and fans as well. Plastic doesn't feel cheap either and has a nice pattern. Acrylic window has protective film on "both" sides, not just on exterior as I've seen with other cases. No cons I can think of. It's a very small Micro ATX case so I would never expect to put a large video card or PSU. It's all about expectations. On sale for $34.99 CAD is totally worth it. That said, I'd probably not buy it at its regular price of $44.99 CAD just because there are many other cases in the $30 CAD price range. They are flimsier but I can deal with it. Still, quite impressed with this one and just bought a second.

True "white", great case for budget minded

DIYPC J180-W White Dual USB3.0 ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case with 2 x 120mm Fans (Pre-Installed)
DIYPC J180-W White Dual USB3.0 ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case with 2 x 120mm Fans (Pre-Installed)

Pros: This is for the white model; - Side panels are steel and finish is glossy white, looks great - Front panel is plastic but the colour matches the white on steel - From a pure "external" view, looks like an expensive case - Basement shroud - Price is awesome, I was able to get mine with free shipping

Cons: - You can manage to put 2 front fans, but the front panel is very restricting on air flow. I'm not sure why they designed it this way.. bigger holes on the perforation around the front panel would have helped. When you look at the picture for the white case, the air intake from front panel is the 2 thin black bends at the left & right. - Definitively can't put a 240mm AIO water cooler at front. - Side "HD Turbo" with pre-embossed lines for port cutouts is odd and ruins the "clean" aesthetics.

Overall Review: - Detailed specifications on this website and DIY's website says "Front: 3 x 120mm Fan (1 x white fan Pre-Installed)". I don't know how you would put 3 fans at the front, I really don't think it's possible, there are enough holes only for 2 x 120mm, and the top I/O would be in the way.