cover
Nicholas F.

Nicholas F.

Joined on 03/10/05

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 11
Most Favorable Review

excellent value

ARK 4U-500-CA Black 4U Rackmount Case 3 External 5.25" Drive Bays
ARK 4U-500-CA Black 4U Rackmount Case 3 External 5.25" Drive Bays

Pros: Sturdy case. Well-designed. Will hold up to 11 or more hard drives or more if you use 2x3 (Vantec) or other drive cages. Serviceable. Easy to pull 5.25" drive cage and 3.5" hard drive mounting brace to mount drives and reinstall in case.

Cons: none really, for the money it's a great case. It's designed to install components and leave them there though. Reconfiguration of hard drives or other components may take time. If you want a case with hot-swap bays look elsewhere.

Overall Review: This case is not very deep, so make sure your components will fit. Works well with iStar IS-26 rails if you want to rackmount it. Recommend replacing the case fans with Item#: N82E16835706036 Delta 120mm PWM case fan or equivalent and an 80mm PWM case fan or equivalent, for example: Item#: N82E16835426010 GELID 80mm PWM case fan

what's not to like?

ASUS VS Series VS228H-P 22" (21.5" Diagonal) Full HD 1920 x 1080 HDMI VGA DVI-D SPLENDID Video Intelligence Technology Asus Eye Care Flicker-Free Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor
ASUS VS Series VS228H-P 22" (21.5" Diagonal) Full HD 1920 x 1080 HDMI VGA DVI-D SPLENDID Video Intelligence Technology Asus Eye Care Flicker-Free Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor

Pros: nice contrast ratio (higher than Item#: N82E16824236052 which has more and better reviews and is also a great LCD). Very lightweight, easy to move. Runs cool. Bright and VGA input seems to give decent picture.

Cons: none observed thus far

Overall Review: some have said the base is weak and/or wobbly, I didn't find that to be the case. I use this with a mount, ERGOTRON 45-241-026 LX Desk Mount LCD Arm, Item: N82E16824994063 but the stock stand seems fine to me. Even better with a desk mount.

wow

Ergotron 45-241-026 LX Desk Monitor Arm and Mount
Ergotron 45-241-026 LX Desk Monitor Arm and Mount

Pros: This mount is surprisingly well made (seems very well machined), it's *very* sturdy and seems like a bargain at $110.00. It does have some rivets, but they are large and even if one failed it would probably be easy to replace with other hardware. It's aethetically appealing and positions an LCD monitor just where you want it. If you leave the stand hanging below the LCD you can easily remove four screws, move the Ergotron out of the way (if you've converted your kitchen table into a desk) and set the monitor aside.

Cons: none discovered yet.

Overall Review: if you need an LCD monitor mount, try this out.

decent

APEVIA X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 Black Aluminum 1.0 w/ ABS plastic front panel Micro ATX Desktop Computer Case 420W Power Supply
APEVIA X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 Black Aluminum 1.0 w/ ABS plastic front panel Micro ATX Desktop Computer Case 420W Power Supply

Pros: good case for mini ITX or Micro ATX boards. Has two thermistors you can place and monitor temperatures on the front LCD panel. Lightweight

Cons: aluminum: easy to strip screw mounting holes, bends easily.

Overall Review: I used this to mount a Foxconn Atom 330 board that came out of a Foxconn case with a failed PSU (proprietary and could not be replaced). It's an OK case, the thermistors are a nice feature and the motherboard tray is removable, so assembly is straightforward. I used hot glue to attach a themistor to a hard drive and wedged the other one in between the fins of the passive heatsink for the CPU. I'd rather have a heavier case that doesn't bend so easily.

excellent upgrade for Asus N56VZ

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 16GB (2 x 8GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory Model 997038
Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 16GB (2 x 8GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory Model 997038

Pros: I purchased 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) of Corsair Vengeance (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10) which was incompatible with an Asus N56VZ-DS71. I installed the Corsair in a Macbook Pro where it worked fine and purchased this Mushkin memory for the Asus N56VZ-DS71. The machine posted and came up with 16 GB of DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM at 1600 Mhz (as reported by dmidecode under Ubuntu).

Cons: none.

Overall Review: the Asus N56VZ-DS71 is picky about memory. Some report the Corsair modules work but despite trying three different BIOS revisions they did not. This Mushkin memory works very well in an Asus N56VZ-DS71 with BIOS version version: N56VZ.215 dated 11/02/2012.

12/21/2012

excellent Atom board

Jetway JNF99FL-525-LF Fanless Intel Atom D525, 6*SATA2, Dual Intel GbLAN, Mini-ITX MB
Jetway JNF99FL-525-LF Fanless Intel Atom D525, 6*SATA2, Dual Intel GbLAN, Mini-ITX MB

Pros: solid, well constructed board. Reliable, good performance.

Cons: none observed.