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Matthew B.

Matthew B.

Joined on 02/09/11

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 11
Most Favorable Review

Metal parts are sturdy, dirt cheap

Rosewill RHMS-11003 - Dual Tilt-Arm Desk Mount for 13" - 27" LCD / LED Monitors
Rosewill RHMS-11003 - Dual Tilt-Arm Desk Mount for 13" - 27" LCD / LED Monitors

Pros: Dirt Cheap. I got this with a promo code for an extra $40 off, so I only paid about $60 for it. Because it was so cheap, I'm not taking any eggs off for the cons below, since overall it works great. Works well. I installed a pair of Samsung Syncmaster 204B's, and it works like a charm. I had to increase the tension holding the monitor to the mount, but that was easy. The most important components are made of steel, and are totally sturdy. This is a con, but I'm at my character limit for the con section: Shipped in manufacturer's packaging, and the bag of screws tore open, spilling screws all over the inside of the box. Fortunately, the box was well sealed, so after hunting around for them, I was able to find all the screws.

Cons: There are several parts made of plastic, and they break very easily. It's not clear how to use the included cable management, which seems to consist of several plastic pieces attached to the arms. When I tried to use it, bits of the plastic broke off. The bracket for mounting it to the desk has a big L shaped bolt. While that makes it easy to tighten and loosen, it also runs into the legs of my desk, which keeps me from putting it where I want. It would be much better if it were adjusted using a wrench. As one other reviewer mentioned, the handle used to adjust the height is flimsy. There is a steel nut with a plastic handle on top of it, and the plastic can easily get stripped to the point where it can't turn the nut at all. Fortunately, this didn't happen to me until after I got it adjusted to where I want, but if I need to change the height again, I'll have to use pliers.

Overall Review: I bought this to make it easier for me to swap between monitors in portrait (for working) and landscape (for watching video). It's now super easy, I just grab the monitor and move it. The maximum distance from centerline to centerline of the two monitors is 27", so if you're using two identical monitors, they have to be less than 27" WIDE. A 27" monitor means that the screen measures 27" diagonally, but doesn't say anything about how big the rest of the monitor is. However, if you do have monitors that are 27" wide, you're going to have no room to adjust them, which is the best part of this stand. There are two plastic stoppers included, and the instructions don't make any mention of what to do with them. I put them on the bottom of my monitor mounts, so that they can't slide up and out in case gravity switches direction. Also, there's a set screw on each mount that you should tighten with the included allen wrench to lock the monitors into the stand.

Most Critical Review

Cheap, but obsolete

Hitachi GST Microdrive 3K8 HMS361006M5CE00-5 5GB 3600 RPM 128KB Cache IDE Ultra ATA33 / ATA-4 1" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Hitachi GST Microdrive 3K8 HMS361006M5CE00-5 5GB 3600 RPM 128KB Cache IDE Ultra ATA33 / ATA-4 1" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: at $4, they're dirt cheap

Cons: This technology is totally obsolete. This is the type of hard drive that was in the iPod mini (not the nano) from 2004-05. They've been completely replaced by flash memory.

Overall Review: It's the same size as a Compact Flash memory card, but from the description, it seems like it has a different kind of connecter. Make sure you know the connecter will work for your application. Note: I don't actually own this.

Pay attention to rebate rules!

Total Defense Anti-Virus – 3 PCs
Total Defense Anti-Virus – 3 PCs

Pros: You come out $10 ahead after the rebate and the gift card.

Cons: You have to activate the product with a credit card to get the rebate, then remember to cancel your subscription before your free trial ends.

Overall Review: I haven't actually done this yet, so I'm not sure how long the free trial is.

DVI port is not defective

SAMSUNG 23" 60 Hz TN LCD Monitor 5ms GTG D-Sub, DVI B300 Series S23B300B
SAMSUNG 23" 60 Hz TN LCD Monitor 5ms GTG D-Sub, DVI B300 Series S23B300B

Pros: I don't actually own this monitor

Cons: This is a response to the poster on 11/29/12 who said the DVI port was incorrectly manufactured.

Overall Review: To the poster on 11/29/12 who reported that the monitor came with a "defective" DVI port, you are mistaken. The port you described (which is the same as the port pictured on the back of the monitor, if you zoom in), with no pins next to the slot, is a standard DVI-D (D for digital) dual link port. Yes, it's different from the DVI port on the back of your computer, (which is most likely a DVI-I) but that's because it serves a different purpose. See the wikipedia article on DVI for more details, but basically, DVI can carry either a digital or an analog signal. Since there's a VGA input right next to it, there's no reason why you'd want to use an analog signal over DVI, so Samsung disabled it. The hardware behind the port requires a digital signal, so they used the correct connector. The problem is your cable. Get a DVI-D cable, and you'll be all set. And before you ask, no, you can't convert your DVI-I cable to DVI-D by removing those 4 pins. The flat blade on the DVI-I connector is too long to fit into the DVI-D port.

12/11/2012
Link Depot POW-ADT-3PY 3 Pin Fan Power Y Cable
Link Depot POW-ADT-3PY 3 Pin Fan Power Y Cable

Pros: Powered both fans when I first plugged it in.

Cons: Tachometer input from two fans at once confused motherboard. My fan speed indicators were jumping all over the place, from way to low, to way to high.

Overall Review: I solved the problem by cutting off the yellow (tachometer) wire on one of the branches of the Y. Now the cable provides power to both fans, but only sends tachometer data back to the motherboard from one of them. My fan speed indicator is back to normal.

11/30/2011

Works Flawlessly

AT&T Black Car Charger with USB Port For iPhone (32520att)
AT&T Black Car Charger with USB Port For iPhone (32520att)

Pros: Works great. Charges phone quickly. I love that the cord coils itself up like a telephone cord when not in use, so that it's not dangling on the floor of the car and getting stepped on. Great price.

Cons: White light can be distracting for nighttime driving. Solution: black electrical tape.

Overall Review: I haven't had any need to use the usb port, so I can't comment on that.