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Evan C.

Evan C.

Joined on 02/09/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 12
Most Favorable Review

Best Internet Security

TREND MICRO Internet Security 2008 3-user
TREND MICRO Internet Security 2008 3-user

Pros: Best on the market. I agree with the other reviewers. Caught things that other antiviruses miss.

Cons: Can be difficult to configure; doesn't include keylogger protection unless you upgrade to "pro" edition.

Overall Review: Best for advanced users.

Most Critical Review

Looks Good; Heavy

Corsair Carbide Series 678C CC-9011170-WW White Steel / Plastic / Tempered Glass ATX Mid Tower Low Noise Tempered Glass ATX Case
Corsair Carbide Series 678C CC-9011170-WW White Steel / Plastic / Tempered Glass ATX Mid Tower Low Noise Tempered Glass ATX Case

Pros: Nice fit and finish, good quality control, quiet with several fans. Has a header for multiple liquid cooling devices. Has a DVD drive bay. Good cable management. Nice side display panel that is removable.

Cons: Really heavy, poor airflow. The HDD bays have a issue where the SATA cables are blocked by a retainer pin. Was able to overcome this though.

Overall Review: Optimized for liquid cooling, but I'm just using air (except the CPU liquid cooler). I bought it mainly because it had a DVD drive bay, but now I'm questioning why I still care about DVD drives. Looks really good but super heavy. The airflow isn't to be boasted about, but it's adequate.

Decent Enclosure

Vantec NexStar 3 SuperSpeed 3.5" SATA to USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure - Model NST-380S3-BK
Vantec NexStar 3 SuperSpeed 3.5" SATA to USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure - Model NST-380S3-BK

Pros: Works well, as described. A decent choice with no big issues.

Cons: Relatively short cords. Power interface atypical and a bit ambiguous as to what direction to plug it in. Power plug bulky. A bit pricey but not terrible.

Overall Review: SATA 2 interface 3 GB/s and Super Speed USB 3.0 trivial since the mechanical HDD only transfers 100's of MB/s anyway.

Good CPU, Limited Cooling Options

AMD A8-5600K - A-Series APU Trinity Quad-Core 3.6GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 100W AMD Radeon HD 7560D Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic - AD560KWOHJBOX
AMD A8-5600K - A-Series APU Trinity Quad-Core 3.6GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 100W AMD Radeon HD 7560D Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic - AD560KWOHJBOX

Pros: Does a fantastic job for a budget build. There's no need to overclock. The price is great for the performance. Graphics are decent for everyday non-gaming use.

Cons: Limited cooling options for Socket FM2. Can't really keep it satisfactorily cool enough for my liking (<50 degrees C) at full power with stock cooling.

Overall Review: Since I'm using a mechanical HDD, it does not make sense to have a seriously able CPU (a computer is only as fast as its slowest component).

11/15/2013

Gets the job done.. well.

Cooler Master HAF X - High Air Flow Full Tower Computer Case with Windowed Side Panel and USB 3.0 Ports
Cooler Master HAF X - High Air Flow Full Tower Computer Case with Windowed Side Panel and USB 3.0 Ports

Pros: Plenty of space for all of the goodies. Cooling for all of the parts is great. Looks nice; the red light is subtle and has a toggle switch. Lots of space for HDD's and whatnot.

Cons: Heavy. The delivery gal had a hard time lugging it to my door. Once it has components installed, it's tough to pick up. There are some internal parts that I don't use, like a Graphics card fan duct, graphics card bracket (that cannot be used at the same time as the side cooling fan duct), and power supply cord keeper that I haven't implemented yet.

Overall Review: Wheels are nice, except that on carpet they don't roll too well. They've got locks on 2 of the 4 wheels. It's a huge case. Upgrading from a mid-tower, it seems massive. Overall, though, great case.

Great Mouse

Logitech V220 White 3 Buttons Tilt Wheel Cordless Optical Mouse For Notebooks
Logitech V220 White 3 Buttons Tilt Wheel Cordless Optical Mouse For Notebooks

Pros: Great, portable, small, precise, functional, cute too. No blinding laser underneath.

Cons: Pricey but worth it.

Overall Review: The USB receiver fits into the bottom of the mouse, increasing portability. No back/forward buttons. No annoying software to install. Battery can be slightly difficult to install.