Joined on 11/05/04
cheap and cost effective
Pros: It's dirt cheap even w/ shipping surcharge (lightweight?), plenty of room for a small case, wide enough to fit 120mm fans (one included), plenty of HD bays, nice exterior design.
Cons: It's cheap... as such, you'll find that (a) the metal sheets and the front plastic panel feel thin and flimsy (that's okay if you handle it gently); (b) you have to use screws for everything, no smart mounts for HD/optical drives; (c) the plastic covers of two uppermost external bays is non-removable (only the third is) and is not the most pleasing kind I've seen; (d) 3.5" bays have screw holes on one side only, consequently the installed device (floppy drive, card reader) is not firmly installed (this can be fixed if you use large enough washers to attach the screws on the other side); (e) the "screw-less" expansion card attachment does not secure the cards very well, you're likely to additionally use screws anyway.
Overall Review: If you're not too picky about the finish of the case, then this is a great product and probably the best you'll find for the money. I would consider getting one of the other Rosewill models (there are at least 3 similar products in the same category), if only for the removable plastic covers for the 5.25" bays. Also, the blue power light is a very bright (a widespread plague these days) but you can always disconnect it. Otherwise, a great buy!
nice camera, annoying limitations
Pros: * Good quality video, reasonably clear in daylight and surprisingly sharp in the dark with the IR LEDs on; good frame rate and little delay; stable streaming. * Easy to operate using the web interface: both viewing the video stream (requires a Java plugin, I used icedtea on Chrome and Firefox and it works fine) and configuring settings seem to work fine, with the exception of motion detection (see below). * The status LEDs on the front of the camera can be turned off so the camera is completely invisible in the dark (IR LEDs are a different story, see below).
Cons: * The camera doesn't have true PIR detection, rather one that's based on differences between consecutive images, so I'm guessing that (e.g.) lights from a passing car could trigger it on as well; the camera sensor has to be running at all time, and IR LEDs must be on when dark, in order for it to work. That said, this appears to be the standard detection mechanism used in cameras of this sort, so I can't complain about it that much. * Defining motion detection areas requires ActiveX and so has to be done with Internet Explorer, which I don't use. It may be that the provided software (which needs to run on Windows) can be used for that, but I cannot use that as well. This also means that motion based triggering for doing FTP uploads or sending email notifications won't work; fixed schedule triggers (e.g. a picture every 30 seconds) work fine. I guess this is a known limitation, yet I find it an unacceptable one given the choices that software vendors have today. * I could not register the camera with the monitoring website (http://c4mi.com/), which kept claiming "device offline" whereas it was connected to my router (tried both wired and wireless). It may be that I have to have a PC running the provided software in order to connect to the service---? In any case, I should be able to monitor it remotely without the said service (see below), albeit not on a mobile device. * IR LEDs produce a dim reddish glow when on, which makes them clearly visible in the dark; not clear why this is the case---? * Switching to night vision and back emits a loud clicking; it sounds as if the relay that drives the IR LEDs is doing this. This is especially annoying when light level is borderline and the camera switches back and forth... I just keep it turned off regularly and turn it on by hand when needed, but this would prevent the motion detection from working in the dark. * The camera body and mounting kit are entirely white, but it ships with a black power brick and cord. Go figure. * Sloppy documentation with many typos, hard to read.
Overall Review: * I managed to connect to the camera from the outside world via an SSH tunnel to my home server. The video stream is as clear as it is on my home network, but that would vary based on your uplink and where the stream travels through on the Internet. In theory, I could use the same method to watch video from a mobile device, but I haven't gone through the pain. For some reason, plain port forwarding from the router to the camera did not work for me, but I have to say that I did not insist that much---the SSH solution would be way more secure and just a tiny bit less convenient. * Haven't tried mounting it yet, but I suspect that the straight angled DC plug sticks out more that I'd want it to; I may end up replacing it with a square-angled, white one (the camera takes a standard 5V DC input). * Bottom line: I'll need to get a Windows machine to talk to the camera in order to be able to use it's full line of features, namely motion detection and native remote monitoring on mobile devices. The image recognition based motion detection is inferior to PIR and/or microwave technologies used by alarm sensors, but I guess that's common in these consumer devices and to be expected. All in all, seems like a good buy for under $50.
works fine with Linux
Pros: Easy to install, works fine once CONFIG_SCSI_MULTI_LUN is enabled. Recognizes and accesses my SDHC card immediately.
Cons: Wish I knew how to disable the annoying blue led.
Overall Review: Great deal!
great case, watch out for compatiblity issues!
Pros: Nice good looking case, good build quality, clever cooling solution (too clever? see below); In-Win tech support very responsive.
Cons: (1) Mobo must be chosen to fit *exactly* with this case's unique cooling solution; (2) unlikely to work with AMD-based mobo's (although not specified on Newegg's product page, only implied on manufacturer's product page); (3) USB connectors too short for some mobos (but manufacturer's tech support very effective in sending a replacement); (4) first case had a noisy PSU fan, Newegg replaced without further questioning.
Overall Review: Working with this case requires that (a) the mobo's CPU socket is located precisely underneath the special "cooling sleeve"; (b) the CPU cooler is a 92mm radial one, heatsink height does not exceed 35mm and total height (w/ fan) does not exceed 60mm, otherwise your cooler clashes with the sleeve and/or the optical drive... In doing so, I tried one AMD board (GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2H) and one Intel board (GIGABYTE GA-945GCM-S2C) before settling on one ( MSI P6NGM-L) that actually has the CPU socket at the right location; I got and returned several after-market coolers only to discover that the cooler in Intel's retail CPU package (Pentium E2180) is just fine! Finally, In-Win's tech support were great in replacing an annoyingly short USB cable so that it can actually reach the connectors at the far side of the motherboard. Finally, I had to replace the case itself due to a noisy PSU fan... All-in-all, once you have the right (working) components you get a neat, quiet, and cool case.
Solid, efficient, very quiet
Pros: Two 12V rails; whisper silent 80mm fan, keeps cool and quiet; plenty of connectors; quality build.
Cons: None, but be sure 380W is enough for your needs.
Overall Review: This is a great quiet PSU for a low-end setup: mine runs is an Athlon XP desktop w/ 2 HDs, 1 CD-ROM, 120mm rear-fan and 80mm CPU fan, and the PSU is more than enough. Also, the price (with rebate) is unbeatable! Great buy!
robust, effective socket A CPU cooler
Pros: Good heat spreading, nice construction, easy installation, CPU temp dropped by 8-10°C.
Cons: Definitely noticeable hissing noise.
Overall Review: I was hoping to get an almost silent air cooling setup when I purchased this heatsink; the dBA rating and other reviews looked promising. However, while my other purchase (an Enermax 120mm rear fan) delivered as far as silence, the Masscool 80mm fan makes a distinctive and noticeable hissing sound as it spins. This is not to say the fan is of low quality (which it is not) but apparently the high RPM on a ball bearing has its penalty. I'm about to replace the fan only with a 20 dBA rated Silverstone 80/92mm fan with similar air flow rating, hopefully eliminating my noise problem.