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Jason C.

Jason C.

Joined on 10/11/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

Great Performance

MSI GeForce GTX 980TI 6GD5T OC
MSI GeForce GTX 980TI 6GD5T OC

Pros: This card is pure power, and has maxed every game I've thrown at it. The Afterburner software is intuitive and easy to use, and the card is (relatively) quiet, even at full load. After adjusting the fan profile (see cons) the card hits a max temp of approximately 78 degrees C. A perfectly acceptable temp. There is the slightest whine, but nothing uncommon in high performing cards like this, in fact this card is significantly quieter than others I've seen.

Cons: The default fan profile is absolute junk. The fan doesn't ramp past 70% speed until the card hits 70C. Which means your card is almost always running at 70C+, which is far too hot for idle temps. I ramped up the fan profile and now have idle temperatures of 30-35C, mid load temperatures of 55C and full load temps of 75-78C.

Overall Review: At the time I bought this card it was the least expensive 980ti (including reference). I was a little worried but the build is solid. You get great performance, factory OC and upgraded fans for a great price.

11/23/2015
Most Critical Review

Dead Pixels, no Support

ASUS VS Series VS247H-P 24" (Actual size 23.6") Full HD 1920 x 1080 60Hz HDMI VGA DVI-D SPLENDID Modes Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor
ASUS VS Series VS247H-P 24" (Actual size 23.6") Full HD 1920 x 1080 60Hz HDMI VGA DVI-D SPLENDID Modes Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor

Pros: Good Cost, Good picture (if it works)

Cons: After about a month, a couple pixels died. This is my second of these monitors. Asus has categorically refused to do anything about it though the monitor is new. Apparently imperfectly functioning products are acceptable.

Overall Review: The monitor itself is a good value if you get lucky, but you have to get lucky. Asus does not stand by their product, even brand new ones.

Faulty Components- Replaced Twice

DELL XPS 15.6" Intel Core i7-4712HQ 16GB Memory DDR3L 1600 512GB SSD Windows 8.1 64-Bit
DELL XPS 15.6" Intel Core i7-4712HQ 16GB Memory DDR3L 1600 512GB SSD Windows 8.1 64-Bit

Pros: I got the laptop for $500, and for the price is acceptable.

Cons: First product came with a faulty track pad. Shipped in for repair and it came back worse than when shipped. Then fought for a new replacement. Finally received a replacement to find new issues. The OS was improperly installed (Dell provided a backup USB for me to fresh install). The trackpad is substandard- pressure on the back of the case can cause the mouse to click- or stick when clicked. It is better on my second laptop, but still is the worst I've had on a laptop, $200 netbooks included. Worse are two issues that cannot be fixed- the NVIDIA GPU is worthless. When running games, the computer, after time defaults back to the intel processor. This even after extensive troubleshooting. My guess is that the cooling is not sufficient to run the GPU at capacity. Battlefield runs at about 80 fps for about 10 minutes, then drops to 10 when the hardware switches. When on the GPU, the card runs at about 70C mostly idle, which indicates a cooling problem. Also, there is a distinct, high-pitch coil whine that is enough to drive you mad. Dell has known about the issue in the XPS series laptops since at least 2012 (by my research). They have not fixed it.

Overall Review: Go elsewhere for a high-end laptop. I'll never buy DELL again after my experience.

Only for Iphone

Sennheiser OCX 685i Sport In-Ear Headphones (White)
Sennheiser OCX 685i Sport In-Ear Headphones (White)

Pros: Sound Quality: I own several Sennheiser headphones, and have never been displeased. They are my go-to for great quality sound. And these headphones are no slouch in the sound department, but they are not noticeably better than my other exercise phones (which cost about $30). This makes me question the price point. When I bought my HD280's (which aren't even top of the line) I immediately saw the difference over $30-60 headphones. Not so much here, though part of this is probably due to the lower source quality coming from a smartphone (S4). Nevertheless, the headset does have crisp sound with a solid bass reproduction.

Cons: Functionality: The primary problem with these headsets is that they are NOT "IDEAL for use with all MP3, iPad, iPod, iPhone, miCoach, CD players, mobile phones (3.5mm) and AV systems installed in gyms" as the product page claims. The inline mic and remote only function on apple products. This is fine, just don't claim that the product is ideal for use in smartphones. I know it is hard to find a remote that works with android, and one of the reasons I bought this set was the fact that A) nowhere does it say that the remote ONLY functions with Iphone and B) the page says these are IDEAL for those settings. If you have an apple product, these SHOULD work well. This con is mainly about poor product description. Size: Despite being adjustable, the earphones are rather large even at their smallest point. These were a gift for my wife who is rather petite. The ear wraps didn't fit her ears very well, and left a lot of room for movement. They fit my ears just right at the smallest setting. Would not recommend for young people or people with small ears.

Overall Review: Would probably rate at 4 eggs if only considering apple products. Would rate at 2 if only considering smartphone/mp3 players. Returned the product for one that functions with android.

Good sound when not in 5.1

Rosewill 5.1-Channel Vibrating Gaming Headset- USB Connector - RHTS-8206
Rosewill 5.1-Channel Vibrating Gaming Headset- USB Connector - RHTS-8206

Pros: Very nice Bass and clarity of sound- even compared to my $100 Sennheiser headset (more bass in the rosewill, but less clarity). The rumble feature adds depth to the sound.

Cons: When playing video games, the surround sound speakers in the back of the headset are VERY murky. They sound like the noises are coming from bad phone speakers. This is especially noticable in games like Fallout or the Elder Scrolls. People walking behind you sound like their footsteps are under water. This problem was so bad that I end up turning OFF the surround feature when playing those games. This problem is less noticeable in shooters like Battlefield or Call of Duty. Additionally, there can be feedback with the rumble feature.

Overall Review: Overall, these are nice headsets with deep bass and clear sound (when not on surround mode). If you need a surround speaker headphone, I'd look elsewhere. If the surround sound rear speakers did not sound TERRIBLE, I would rate this headphone considerably higher.