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Justin W.

Justin W.

Joined on 05/31/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 32
Most Favorable Review

Works as well as the name brand

eSquareOne Compatible Toner Cartridge Replacement for HP 83A CF283A (Black, 1-Pack)
eSquareOne Compatible Toner Cartridge Replacement for HP 83A CF283A (Black, 1-Pack)

Pros: -half the price of the HP brand -no discernable difference in print quality compared to HP brand

Cons: -HP likes to push firmware updates that brick your printer while 3rd party cartridges are installed

Overall Review: Overall, I'd definitely suggest these over the name brand. Just be aware that if you regularly update your printer firmware that these may not work

Most Critical Review

Subpar performance

ASUS VH236H Black 23" Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Speakers 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR)
ASUS VH236H Black 23" Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Speakers 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR)

Pros: Lots of real estate Full HD Lots of connection options

Cons: Stuck pixel Unacceptably poor color reproduction that couldn't be corrected to an acceptable level.

Overall Review: Honestly, the stuck pixel I could probably have lived with because it was near the bottom left and hard to notice. But the color reproduction on this monitor was simply unacceptable and virtually impossible to calibrate within acceptable limits. I might have just gotten a bad one, but I sent it back and went with a more expensive but higher quality brand instead.

Great, but be prepared for headaches

SiliconDust HDHR3-CC HDHomeRun PRIME 3-Tuner US CableTV with CableCARD Stream Premium Channels and Cut the Cord
SiliconDust HDHR3-CC HDHomeRun PRIME 3-Tuner US CableTV with CableCARD Stream Premium Channels and Cut the Cord

Pros: 3 tuners broadcasts your channels over the network Able to record or watch 3 programs on 3 different devices at once Streams and records with excellent results over wireless N

Cons: See other thoughts

Overall Review: There are a few things you need to factor into your decision to purchase this product. First, you have to be prepared to deal with a lot of headaches with the cable company in order to get this working. Very few tech support/techs have experience with cable cards, much less this specific device, so expect trouble getting it up and running with your cable service Second, most of the PVR options available to you, especially on windows can be difficult to work with. For users on Linux, there's MythTV, which is simply outstanding, but for windows it's pretty much WMC (unless you want to use virtualization), which if you wish to record and store shows on your server, is a bit of a hassle However, if you can get the device to play nice with your cable service and if you can get a PVR backend/frontend solution running the way you want it, the device is simply amazing. It streams HD tv over my wireless network without a hiccup and records flawlessly to my Ubuntu server via MythTV. I definitely recommend the device, just know that it's unlikely that you will get it working straight away and is not for the faint of heart.

Update to my previous review

Fractal Design Define R4 Black Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case

Pros: Nice understated aesthetic Lots of room for expansion Capable of supporting moderate watercooling rigs OOB very quiet Solid build, very durable construction

Cons: Very quiet, but not 100% silent

Overall Review: I had originally wrote that this case was not as quiet as I was hoping for. After changing the fan on my Xigmatek Loki CPU cooler to a Noctua 92 MM fan, I have to say my issue with the noise has been reduced about 95%. The server is still audible in a dead silent room, if only just barely, but with the tv or some music playing it can't be heard at all. If you are looking for a nice low noise system with lots of room to grow, this should be your go-to.

Nice, quiet replacement fan

Noctua NF-B9-1600 92mm Case cooler
Noctua NF-B9-1600 92mm Case cooler

Pros: Extremely quiet, even at full speed Keeps my CPU the same temp as the fan it replaced

Cons: not a 4-pin PWM fan

Overall Review: I don't have any hard data, but it seems to move less air than the stock fan on my CPU cooler, but that's the tradeoff for the extreme level of quiet you get from this fan. Temps are still nice, however, 29 degrees idle (haven't tested under full load, as the server I use this fan in is unlikely to ever hit 100% load). Overall, I consider this a good buy because silence is what I was looking for.

Great OpenELEC value

GIGABYTE GB-XM14-1037 Intel NM70 BRIX / Ultra Compact PC kit
GIGABYTE GB-XM14-1037 Intel NM70 BRIX / Ultra Compact PC kit

Pros: Great price Small form factor Silent low power consumption

Cons: Only 2 USB ports Couple bugs in the firmware (see other thoughts)

Overall Review: This device works excellent as an openELEC home theater PC when combined with 2GB of ram and a small USB flash drive as the boot device. Plays extremely high bitrate MKV with DTS audio flawlessly, no stuttering whatsoever (CPU usage never goes above 15% on either core). There is however, an issue that pops up occasionally when trying to reboot the device - it comes up with a CPU Fan Error (this never happens from a cold start, only during reboot). Could use another USB port or two, but overall this was a great purchase and a real step up from the Raspberry Pi I was using to stream HD videos.