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Chris E.

Chris E.

Joined on 05/21/01

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 9
Most Favorable Review

Nice small NAS case

Fractal Design Node 304 Black Aluminum/Steel Mini-ITX Small Form Factor Computer Case
Fractal Design Node 304 Black Aluminum/Steel Mini-ITX Small Form Factor Computer Case

Pros: * Six drive bays. All support 3.5 & 2.5 with no adapter needed for 2.5. * Three included fans provide adequate ventilation. Fan controller is a good feature. * Quiet. 3.5in drive mounts have vibration isolation. * Small. I don't think a system that support 6 3.5in drives and a full-size power supply could be any smaller. * Good number of cable tie mounts.

Cons: * Removing motherboard requires taking out other components first. The small form factor makes this kind of hassle expected though.

Overall Review: My 16TB RAID build: * ASRock Z87E-ITX motherboard * G3220 CPU * 5 HGST 4TB drives in raid 5 * Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD * Corsair CX600 power supply * Fedora 20

Most Critical Review

Does not work with G3220

ASUS H87I-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel H87 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard With UEFI BIOS
ASUS H87I-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel H87 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard With UEFI BIOS

Pros: Inexpensive mini-ITX 1150 with 6 sata

Cons: Despite what Asus's website says, it does not work with G3220. I get no DVI out and no way to upgrade the BIOS. Asus support was limited to asking if I remembered to plug it in.

Overall Review: I switched to ASRock Z87E-ITX. It was more money, but worked fine.

Good small mini-ITX case

IN WIN IW-BP655.300TBL Black Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 300W Power Supply
IN WIN IW-BP655.300TBL Black Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 300W Power Supply

Pros: Small, room for a full-size DVD/Blu-Ray drive. 300 watt power supply should support most setups.

Cons: USB2 only on front panel. Power switch needs improvement. Not many places to attach cable ties.

Overall Review: I use a i7-4770 for H.264 encoding, so this small system has some horsepower. Improvements I would make in a new version of this case: * Get rid of 5.25in bay and shrink the case a bit more. * Make the side vent better suited for a 120mm fan (you can mount one there, but it isn't exactly designed for it). * Switch front panel from USB2 to USB3. * Provide places to mount cable ties. * Improve power switch. My build: Gigabyte GA-B85N motherboard Crucial M500 240GB msata SSD Arctic F8 & F12 PWM case fans

Good mini-ITX motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-B85N LGA 1150 Intel B85 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-B85N LGA 1150 Intel B85 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Works. Has msata and mini-pcie.

Cons: Has the expected limitations of mini-ITX and B85. Only room for 2 DIMMs, 1 pcie card, etc.

Overall Review: I put an i7-4770 and a Crucial M500 mSATA SSD in it. Very powerful and very small. I didn't use it, but the location and vertical orientation of the mini-pcie port is perfect for a wlan card.

Nice TV

Digital Lifestyles 42" 720p LCD HDTV - FA2B42323
Digital Lifestyles 42" 720p LCD HDTV - FA2B42323

Pros: Great deal at $500. Nice 720p display. Sound is good.

Cons: Slight buzzing noise. When HDMI signal changes, the TV sometimes switches to RF input.

Overall Review: Had to power cycle my Motorola HD DVR cable box to get HDMI to sync up with this TV. I have never had to do that with any other TV. Not sure which side is at fault.

Works

LITE-ON SK-1688U/B Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Standard Keyboard
LITE-ON SK-1688U/B Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Standard Keyboard

Pros: Works. Keys feel good. No unnecessary keys.

Cons: Doesn't have those special keys to start email, browser, etc. (I actually consider this a pro).