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Michael H.

Michael H.

Joined on 11/16/03

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 10
Most Favorable Review

great card

GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Pros: Runs super quiet, easy to control with the included software, exceptional performance, card came with acceptable amount of thermal grease covering the GPU. Does not take fans to full speed during boot process.

Cons: none

Overall Review: This is a great card with a great cooler. Application for the card has many options, such as GPU, memory, and fan speed, with can be saved to several profiles. Highly recommended!

Fractal Design Core 3300 Black Wide-body ATX Midtower Computer Case
Fractal Design Core 3300 Black Wide-body ATX Midtower Computer Case

Pros: Bought this case almost a year ago and it does not disappoint. Alternate HD mounting allows for great airflow and plenty of space. Includes just enough screws for proper installation. Plain and simple, but performs its function perfectly.

Cons: The case lights are very bright. For my purpose, I did not plug them in at all. The instructions are terrible. The cables that come with the case (USB, LED, buttons) are almost too short.

Overall Review: The cons aren't enough for me to not consider this an excellent case. Please take note of the cable length though. If my connections had not been on the edge of the board, there could have been a problem here.

Low Price and Full of Features

GIGABYTE GA-H81M-HD3 LGA 1150 Intel H81 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-H81M-HD3 LGA 1150 Intel H81 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Great GUI BIOS, all the necessary connections. Solid construction. Very nice software suite.

Cons: none

Overall Review: Gigabyte was a little late getting into the GUI BIOS and updated software, but once they did WOW. Drivers/software/BIOS for this board can now be updated to the latest in just a couple clicks. Software looks much more up to date. BIOS is very nice and easy to navigate. Was very happy with this board.

Looking Good

ZALMAN ZM-T2 Black Steel / Plastic Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Case
ZALMAN ZM-T2 Black Steel / Plastic Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Case

Pros: Great looking case. Extremely versatile. Good lighting colors/ Great connection locations. Perfect size.

Cons: none

Overall Review: I really enjoyed putting this thing together. My last two tower cases have always had the major buttons and connectors on the top, and honestly I will never go back. I built this for a customer, and he likes this as well.

Can't Beat it for the Money

Antec VP-450 450W ATX 12V v2.3 Power Supply - Intel Haswell Fully Compatible
Antec VP-450 450W ATX 12V v2.3 Power Supply - Intel Haswell Fully Compatible

Pros: Really, it's hard to beat. Antec has always been a high quality brand for me, and this was no exception.

Cons: The only reason this was not a 5 star unit for me was that it did not allow the Haswell build to sleep correctly. It would power down, but never wake.

Overall Review: If I was building a high-end rig, I would not be getting this. Worked fine for the i3 build it went into though. Now, there may be I few adjustments I could make in the BIOS for this (my unit went out to a customer) but I was I little disappointed to see that the unit is labeled Haswell compatible and did not quite deliver.

Cool and Fast

Intel Core i3-4130 - Core i3 4th Gen Haswell Dual-Core 3.4 GHz LGA 1150 54W Intel HD Graphics 4400 Desktop Processor - BX80646I34130
Intel Core i3-4130 - Core i3 4th Gen Haswell Dual-Core 3.4 GHz LGA 1150 54W Intel HD Graphics 4400 Desktop Processor - BX80646I34130

Pros: Plenty of speed for the money, much better integrated graphics than the Pentium models, 2 cores with 2 threads per core, supports VT-x

Cons: It's Intel, so you are going to pay for it (but it's worth it)

Overall Review: This is great for a quiet machine with some real power behind it!