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Alex R.

Alex R.

Joined on 08/01/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 9
Most Favorable Review

works with AMD

G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO
G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO

Pros: I bought for DDR3 1600 but my AMD maxes out at 1333. But was able to tighten timings significantly because of my mistake. Got stable memory tests at 6-7-6-21-1. I'm happy with that. 1.35V RAM saves a good deal of power.

Cons: Should include timing specs on paper. Its a pain to read and decode SPD and XMP tables. Complete and advertised performance timing specs seem to only be in XMP table. Probably why they are advertised for Intel.

Overall Review: might buy another pair

10/19/2010
Most Critical Review

junk

Hauppauge HD PVR High Definition Personal Video Recorder USB Port
Hauppauge HD PVR High Definition Personal Video Recorder USB Port

Pros: Records video sometimes. Lets you turn off the blue LEDs on the top (why they are there at all is another question).

Cons: Locks up just enough to make it useless as a PVR device. Would you put up with rebooting your TV every couple of hours? Video quality suffers noticeably compared to straight component feed thru to my TV. I tried so much debugging it makes me sick to think of the time I wasted. I eventually gave up. I gather from forums that many other people had similar problems.

Overall Review: I got a Ceton InfiniTV 4 card and realized HTPC Nirvana. I suggest you do the same if you are using this to record from a cable set top box.

pretty nice

M-AUDIO Studiophile AV 40 40 Watts 2.0 Speakers
M-AUDIO Studiophile AV 40 40 Watts 2.0 Speakers

Pros: These sound great, they're the perfect balance between reference and desktop speakers. No they're not as good as studio monitors but in this size with an integrated amp for this price they're in a sweet spot sweet that no other speakers I've heard hits. The speakers are well protected by a metal grill which is nice cause I could see them getting damaged where I keep them. Cliche blue led volume knob is not glaring or obnoxious, its diffuse and muted. It also changes intensity with volume which I hope is intentional. Kinda cool but why?

Cons: Poor RCA audio cable included. At first I thought I had a dud speaker but it was the RCA to stereo jack cable. The connector looked dull and corroded. Replaced the cable and they work fine.

Overall Review: Mine are slightly behind my monitor on either side. This definitely cause few issues at close range. Good to have a big desk for these. The "Aux Input" adds the audio streams, it does not switch inputs which could be a bug or a feature.

2nd pair great too

G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO
G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO

Pros: I bought a second pair of these for my HTPC (8G total). I have an AMD Athlon II X4 610e and mobo with an 890Fx chipset. My processor doesn't support 1600MHz so I had to back off to 1333 but got tighter timings 6-7-6-21-1. They run cool and don't consume much power.

Cons: Had to manually enter the timings since the AMD motherboard didn't load the XMP table info. I wish the RAM would come with timing table information on paper. No manufacturer does this to my knowledge, but it sure would be nice.

Overall Review: I believe the only AMD chipsets capable of 1.35V RAM is the 890FX or later. So don't complain if you don't do your homework. Not sure if my math is right but these should save you 33% power compared to 1.65v RAM, (1.35^2/1.65^2) = .67. G Skill I know you watch the comments, is that correct?

Good, almost great

Rosewill RK-V1TP 88 Normal Keys 2.4GHz Wireless Touchpad Keyboard
Rosewill RK-V1TP 88 Normal Keys 2.4GHz Wireless Touchpad Keyboard

Pros: Thin, light, and feels sturdy compared to other wireless keyboards of this style. The media keys are a plus since I use this for a HTPC. The features of the touch pad are nice (two finger scroll, middle and right click). Range has not been a problem for me and I haven't noticed any dropped keys or jumping mouse. I like the recessed touch pad so you don't accidentally touch it when typing.

Cons: The pad is a little too sensitive and often detects clicks when moving the mouse. There is no sensitivity correction since it uses built in drivers. Uses 4 batteries when many models of this style use 2. The battery compartment is very difficult to open. Downward scroll happens more quickly than the upward scroll.

Overall Review: I spent a long time looking for the perfect HTPC wireless keyboard. I think this is as close as I am going to get.

Solid and Quiet

ENERMAX PRO87+ EPG500AWT 500 W 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Power Supply
ENERMAX PRO87+ EPG500AWT 500 W 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Power Supply

Pros: This replaced a PSU that started smoking after 2 years of light (<50% rated power) use. Dropped it in and it worked exactly like it should. It got a great review from silent PC review. Its very quiet, basically silent, and looks well made. I like the fact that its fan runs for a while after shutdown/sleep to remove latent heat. My HTPC runs at typically about 125W so I can't comment on its rated power. No LEDs!

Cons: The gold color of the fan is ugly but I can't see it the way the PSU mounted in my system. The cables seem too long for the average case. I might have preferred the modular version. I don't much like split 12V CPU cable (4+4) and I don't think many mobos come with the 4pin version anymore.

Overall Review: I would definitely recommend this as a mid-output power supply. I wish it was easier to predict system power consumption. I ended buying a Kill-A-Watt to figure it out and it turns out I could have bought a smaller, possibly fan-less, power supply.