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David R.

David R.

Joined on 12/01/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

great board for mid range systems

GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 / nForce 430 ATX AMD Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 / nForce 430 ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: been stable for a good 5 months now.

Cons: the northbridge runs a little hot. not dangerously though. couldn't hurt to remove the heat sink, clean it, and reapply some good thermal paste. agree with other reviewer about location of sound lead. forces me to stretch the cable across the board now. not a big deal though. realtek audio driver on cd doesn't work. download current one and it works fine.

Overall Review: i want to correct the last two reviews here. this is a great board and potential buyers shouldn't be turned off by incorrect reviews. first, this board is at least a decent overclocker. my 5600+ is at 3.0 currently and memory timings are 4-4-4-12. hit ctrl + F1 in the bios to unlock more settings. yes, you can change the multi. yes, you can change the memory timings. second. the onboard video won't work with vista cause vista is very video intensive! it has 6150se graphics so that's probably equivalent to a midrange nvidia 5xxx series stand alone card. the graphics are fine for xp and older games. don't expect to run new programs on under rated hardware though.

Most Critical Review
RAIDMAX SAGITTA 1 ATX-921WBP Black / Silver 0.7mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Removable MB Computer Case With 450W Power Supply
RAIDMAX SAGITTA 1 ATX-921WBP Black / Silver 0.7mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Removable MB Computer Case With 450W Power Supply

Pros: this is a very nice looking case for the money especially since i got it with a rebate. gloss black finish all around. out-of-the-ordinary side fan grill. room for extra 120mm fan in the front. nice and quiet. moves a good amount of air.

Cons: certain parts of it feel cheap. the quality just about matches the price though. sata power cable will not reach upper HD bay without really stretching. i'm not displeased with the case but the bundled psu is junk. i have a very minimal system with only 1 HD, 1 dvd, and onboard graphics. it powered up twice during the build. upon completion, it did nothing when i pushed the power button. about 5 seconds later made a loud pop sound, smoked, and smelled like burning. qa sucks. contacted raidmax to ask if they'd replace it. got very quick reply emails saying they would and when i forwarded my invoice, i got an RMA number. i contacted again by phone + email to ask if they would reimburse shipping. i've still had no response. decided to forget the rma and get a rosewill stallion psu. dismantled the raidmax psu and found what popped. two transistors between the heat spreaders literally exploded and left burn marks on surrounding parts. won't deal with raidmax again. they're shady

Overall Review: check out raidmax's website. full of dead links. phone system is really ghetto too. buy your case and psu separately. return shipping on an rma is barely worth it.

Works but is noisy now

Rosewill Stallion Series 500W ATX12V Gaming Power Supply - RD500-2DB
Rosewill Stallion Series 500W ATX12V Gaming Power Supply - RD500-2DB

Pros: Purchased in 2007 for a desktop build used mainly for email, internet, light gaming, and htpc duty. Runs an AMD 5600+, 4 gigs ram, HD3870, 2 HDs, 1 DVD, and 3 case fans. Never had any power related issues. The cable sleeving is nice. No issues with cable length in mid-tower case with full ATX AM2 board.

Cons: The above build was behind a tv stand so any noise was deadened. Transplanted it into a new build and have noticed that one or both of the fans have become very noisy. It makes a constant scratching sound, likely a failing bearing. It's louder than anything else in a relatively quiet build (120mm fans, upgraded video cooling, passive cpu cooling) so is getting replaced despite still being functional.

5/22 review update

RAIDMAX SAGITTA 1 ATX-921WBP Black / Silver 0.7mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Removable MB Computer Case With 450W Power Supply
RAIDMAX SAGITTA 1 ATX-921WBP Black / Silver 0.7mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Removable MB Computer Case With 450W Power Supply

Pros: has held up well enough for 5 months. included case fans haven't degraded or gotten louder.

Cons: never received $20 rebate from raidmax. i followed all the rules.

Overall Review: just wanted to post something i realised last night. the rear 120mm fan and the side 80mm fan are configured as intake. i thought the 120 was exhaust. the 120 intake i added up front was really killing ventilation (basically 'pressurizing' the case) and only allowing it through my psu fan and all the little gaps and edges which got really dusty cause of this. turned around the front 120 to be exhaust and my temps dropped 4-5 degrees. processor is 44C under full prime95 loading. unconventional airflow but it works well now. lots of fresh/cool air on processor. i added a switch in line with the front blue leds so i can turn them on/off and see the red HDD lights better. it looks really mean this way.

works well

ENERMAX UC-12EB Case Fan
ENERMAX UC-12EB Case Fan

Pros: works well enough for what it is. clear shiny blades look nice. seems to move enough air but not a huge amount as others have said. i'm going to eventually cut away the stock fan grille on my case and that should take some resistance out of the air path. seems like a great fan for under 10 bucks. make sure you buy it with something else to get a break on shipping.

Cons: fan touted as removable for cleaning. it takes a lot of force to get it out. it's doable though.

Overall Review: i put a little oil on the shaft just to make sure it stays quiet and has so far.

it's just a power strip. it works

BELKIN F9M923-08 8 Feet 9 Outlets 2655 joules SurgeMaster Maximum Series
BELKIN F9M923-08 8 Feet 9 Outlets 2655 joules SurgeMaster Maximum Series

Pros: outlets are well spaced. the integrated cover things are a genious little feature. right angle plug so i can put my desk really close to the socket.

Cons: non really.

Overall Review: don't be amazed by the $250,000 coverage for connected equipment. read through the contract and see that they'll give you the money but then go after your homeowners/renters insurance to get it back. i guess it would work if you don't have insurance but the whole process sounds like a big hassle.