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Scott B.

Scott B.

Joined on 03/29/12

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 3
Most Favorable Review

pleasntly surprised

ADATA Ultimate SU650 2.5" 240GB SATA III 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ASU650SS-240GT-C
ADATA Ultimate SU650 2.5" 240GB SATA III 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ASU650SS-240GT-C

Pros: Easy to install You get a free key for Acronis to clone from your old HDD Way faster than a traditional HDD Came included with a mounting bracket

Cons: Cheap packaging with little to no documentation Feels cheaply made Ugly labelling that won't look good with any setup unless it's green

Overall Review: This is my first jump into using an SSD so I'm gonna gush a little bit but it's night and day compared to a traditional hard drive. From 0-fully booted with startup items it's substantially faster than my old drive, so much so it's done that in the time the old one is still loading to the login screen. If you need a fairly cheap SSD for your OS this would be a great potential fit for you (If you can get over the ugly, green, shiny sticker on it) Using the included Acronis offer, cloning my old drive was easy and straightforward. I did have an issue with my system forgetting it had my storage drive and it lost the drive letter and ramped up usage to 100% on that drive so loading was hampered a little, after running chkdsk /f it fixed the assignments and everything is running buttery smooth. Transfered over Fallout 4 to the SSD to get a good idea of load times and it's roughly 20-30 seconds faster, with less stuttering. I am thoroughly impressed with this drive and it didn't break the bank which was a bonus. The SSD also supports trim which from what I've been reading is a good thing as not all of them do. The only major issue I have is it feels cheap, like really cheap. When I first pulled it out of its box I thought I would break it just trying to mount it in the case. If you must hide that unsightly sticker on the front there is an included bracket with strips on it to stick it to the backside of your Mobo tray if you don't want to peel the sticker off.

Great mid tower case with a few little issues.

NZXT S340 Matte Black/Red Steel ATX Mid Tower Case
NZXT S340 Matte Black/Red Steel ATX Mid Tower Case

Pros: Very easy to build in Lots of room for all your components Nice to look at with a minimalistic design instead of looking like something ripped out of a sc-ifi B-movie set Plenty of cable management room Dust filters of the front and bottom (I received the V2 with the better filter on the bottom) Room for a water cooler setup can accommodate 4 140mm fans, great for optimal airflow Includes 2 120mm fans on the top and rear of the case This thing feels like it was built to take a tank shell, very sturdy with little to no wobble in the frame

Cons: No rubber grommets for ports unnecessary holes in places that make no sense (Like the bottom of the case) No acoustic reduction, this thing is on metal, with metal, surrounded by metal and doesn't include any rubber rings or dampening components for things like the HDD cage. You will hear your mechanical drives grind away, even from across the room. Scratches like no-bodies business Window is a cheap plastic scratch magnet No dust cover for the top fan port

Overall Review: The case offers a pleasing aesthetic for those of us who want a more mature look to our PC instead of a flashy box that stands out like a sore thumb. Acoustically its not the best, you can pretty much hear everything running in it. It does need to be handled with kids gloves as its finish is very scrape and scratch prone. Aside from the few arguably minor issues you get a great looking, sturdy tower for a reasonable price. It was fun and hassle free to build in this little gem of a case and it looks slick all together with some subtle lighting.

Decent card

MSI GeForce 210 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Low Profile Ready Graphics Card N210-MD1G/D3
MSI GeForce 210 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Low Profile Ready Graphics Card N210-MD1G/D3

Pros: Price Quiet Great for dual monitors or HTPC use

Cons: Not much of a con but if you are buying it for gaming better look at something else. Although it can render games well enough it will struggle at high setting and resolutions.

Overall Review: Not a gaming card but works well enough, Fallout NV for instance works really well on medium settings (xbox equivalent graphics) Excellent little card if you are looking for something more of an HTPC or multiple monitor use. Can't beat the price really If you are looking for a good mid range card.

10/19/2013