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Michael M.

Michael M.

Joined on 11/18/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 36
Most Favorable Review

This Ram Delivers

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ

Pros: Recently, I purchased this ram for a little gaming computer that I built. On the e6420 processor (2.13ghz, 4mb L2 cache), I EASILY OC'd my processor to 3.2ghz @ 1.4 vcore. This ram allowed me to increase my FSB to 400 / 1600 Rated FSB. This ram is running flawlessly at a 1:1 ratio UNLINKED in my eVGA 650i motherboard. I simply increased the vdimm to 2.0 volts, manually set my timings on this ram to 5-5-5-15 @ 2T. This ram, I feel, is capable of squeezing a little more speed out of it (DDR2-900 speeds?) with some minor tweaking. What can I say that hasn't already been said? This ram has the BEST performance to price ratio that I've seen for a 2gb kit of DDR2-800. You WON'T be disappointed. The heatsinks are sufficient and disapate heat very well. On this build, I also purchased the Coolermaster Gemini 2 here on Newegg and that monster HSF towers over my ram. It does a GOOD job keeping my ram nice and cool.

Cons: Absolutely NONE!

Overall Review: I have been building custom computers for several years now and this is one of those rare occassions for us (the consumer) to really take advantage of a GOOD product and such a LOW price.. At the time of this review, I paid e i g h t y - e i g h t dollars for this ram.

Zotac ZBOX MI640NANO-U - 1st customer review

Zotac ZBOX M Series ZBOX-MI640NANO-U Mini / Booksize Barebone System
Zotac ZBOX M Series ZBOX-MI640NANO-U Mini / Booksize Barebone System

Pros: This review is for the Zotac ZBOX M Series (ZBOX-MI640NANO-U). It has the Int*l Core i5 8250U. I’ve searched everywhere for a review of this specific mini pc. As far as I know, this is the first review by someone who actually owns this mini pc. I received this mini pc and was very impressed with its simplicity and clean lines. It is very compact and was a snap to setup. Installation of the necessary hardware parts took less than two minutes. Because this is a bare bones mini pc, I had to purchase my own SSD, Operating System and System Memory, which I purchased ALL of the items here on Newegg. I bought Wind*ws 10 x64 bit as my choice of OS. This OS was installed on a Cr*cial MX500 250GB SSD. Finally, I completed the build with two 4GB sticks of 260-pin DDR4 SO-DIMM P*triot Signature Line memory modules. I quickly installed everything and finalized the installation with the Zotac drivers provided within the Zotac mini pc box. Interestingly enough, Zotac offers these drivers on a CDROM and on a provided USB stick. I used the USB stick. It worked great. I checked my system upon boot up and everything registered fine, no errors. This 8th generation Intel i5 processor is excellent! Very low power consumption and this mini pc generates an undetectable to extremely low amount of heat after hours of use. I stressed the CPU using CPUID and I could hear just the slightest increase in what I believe to be a very tiny fan. It was almost inaudible. I have this mini pc mounted on the back of my 42” UHD 4K TV / Monitor. Let me be the first among the many that will soon confirm that this setup easily displays 4K flawlessly and beautifully. I’ve watched tons of 4K content without a single hiccup. If you are looking for a non-gaming home computer / home theater PC with a very tiny footprint, look no further. You will not be disappointed.

Cons: Not really a con but the price point could be just a tad lower considering the saturation of the mini pc market.

Overall Review: I highly recommend this mini pc to anyone who is in the market for a very small footprint mini pc. If you are a gamer, this mini pc is not for you. If you are considering it for a home theater pc, 4K capable personal computer, this mini pc just might be the perfect solution for you!

Best bang for the buck!

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

Pros: I posted a review of this ram on a well known computer forum website. Simply stated, it is the best bang for your buck. I tested Gskill DDR3 1333, 1600, 2000 modules on an 1155 socket (i7 2600k processor) and ran a multitude of benchmarks. With VERY little real world differences between the different 1333, 1600, 2000 modules, the clear winner here is the 1600 modules. Newegg was wonderful enough to dip these modules down to $29.99 and if you were lucky enough to snag a set (or two), you would be doing yourself (and your computer) a great favor. I was able to run many memory intensive programs (various video editing software) without so much as a hiccup. For my personal computer, I have two sets of this particular ram plugged in, for a total of 16gb's of system memory. Windows 7 x64 makes quick use of it. In this day and age, 16gb's is MORE than enough for most users. For under $60, 16gb's of ram never felt sooo good!

Cons: None observed.

Overall Review: If you weren't able to take advantage of the price that Newegg had on this ram, no need to fear.. this is still great ram. I've purchased (10) sets of this ram and have not had a single problem. I'm not sure about the AMD crowd but as far as the Intel crowd goes, not a single bad stick. Each Intel setup I've built with this particular ram, works like a champ!

11/29/2011

HDD Cooling made simple

Vantec Hard Drive Cooling System with 80mm Fan - Model HDC-800A
Vantec Hard Drive Cooling System with 80mm Fan - Model HDC-800A

Pros: Active cooling with a 80mm fan helps those of us who wish to keep a fresh supply of air over our HDD's. For me, I recently purchased a custom computer case that has NO hard drive mounts. However, included with the custom case, is the ability to mount up to (3) 5.25" bay drives. I planned on mounting my Bluray / CD-DVD ROM drive in my case, which leaves TWO open 5.25" slots. The Vantec Hard Drive Cooling System completely solves my issue(s). It allows me to mount my (2) 1TB hard drives in RAID0 *and* it has an 80mm fan blowing fresh air across both of my drives. The finish is clean looking and it's well built. Holding it in my hand, there is an overall feeling of quality and not something cheaply put together. I highly recommend this product. I've read a few other reviews about putting a higher cfm 80mm fan in it but people should remember that cooling a hard drive is far from the same cooling solution such as cooling a CPU. High cfm fans are NOT necessary. This fan is quiet. Kudos!

Cons: The molex connector. Within 15 minutes of receiving this product from Newegg, I had an old fan laying around with a standard 3 pin connector. I snipped off standard 3 pin fan connector that was on MY old fan and then snipped off the molex connector that was included on the Vantec 80mm fan. Very simple connection for those who have any experience splicing (2) simple wire connections. BLACK to BLACK .. RED to RED. I applied (2) layers of tiny heat shrink to insulate the exposed connections and voila. Molex gone. Now I have it on a standard 3 pin fan connector. I plugged it straight to a standard motherboard 3 pin fan output on my motherboard. Works like a champ.. Problem solved! Took less than 10 minutes from beginning to end.

Overall Review: This Vantec product will be featured on my upcoming rebuild at [H]. If you you know the website I am talking about, you can find me there. Same name as my Newegg nickname! Be sure to check out my video review of this product.

11/15/2011

Kickin' some mini ITX buutt

ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
ASRock H67M-ITX LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Well, at the time of this review, there were only two reviews for this product. I went ahead and purchased it for my wifes Lian Li ITX case. I was not let down. It's a solid ITX motherboard. I paired it with a Core i3 2100 and I am very excited to find out that the Intel Graphics native to the i3 players VERY well with an aftermarket Nvidia GT 440 graphics card. No conflicts at all. The drivers installed without a hitch. My keyboard and mouse installed just fine and I have not had one single system "hiccup". VERY STABLE on Windows 7 x64. I installed the driver for a USB aircard for my internet access and everything works fine! I paid sub $100 and it is worth EVERY penny. I am NOT O/C'ing so I can't comment on that. The stock Intel i3 CPU Cooler seems to keep the i3 cool enough on this board (I do NOT have any system fans). There is only 1 'con' but it's not even a 'con' really, if I would have paid closer attention. See below..

Cons: I see this written sometimes and it usually starts with "This is not really a con.. but.." ...I never understood why people write that but I think I understand now. When you're installing the drivers on the supplied ASRock Driver / Utility disc, there is a screen for the various drivers that can be utilized on this board. Without reading anything in the manual or online, I simply clicked "INSTALL ALL" on the driver screen. It looks like it would only install all of the DRIVERS.. Not every single thing on that disc! Well, B-E-W-A-R-E! It does install ALL of the drivers but it also installs the various packaged utilities like NORTON Anti Virus (Ugh, no thank you), some ASRock endorsed Game link, the O/C'ing utility, the instruction manual, Adobe Reader, etc.. I could have done without all of that stuff. So, word to the wise.. Install each driver independently and stay away from INSTALL ALL option.

Overall Review: I would recommend this board to anyone looking to get into an ITX case. Super nice looking (if that's your thing) as super stable. Before you buy, make sure you will have enough USB headers, etc..

Great case but...

Antec MicroFusion Remote 350 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Antec MicroFusion Remote 350 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Pros: *Disclaimer* - I gave this case 5 eggs but for the average person, they would probably rate it around 3-4 eggs. Here is why: This case, in my opinion, is a solid case. It is low profile and fits my HTPC needs, to a 'T'. With that being said, I will pass on some of my experience with this case, for those who are interested in buying it. First off, this is strictly a HTPC case. Nothing more. If you are into medium / heavy overclocking / high end gaming, look somewhere else. This case is NOT for you. If you are strictly into the HTPC aspect of it, it is a nifty lil case (and comes with its' own proprietary power supply). Not necessarily a CON, but understand if your power supply fails, you will need to buy another one through Antec. All of my parts seem to fit nicely and even though it is a little 'cramped' inside, you will fare well if you bring some wire ties when you start building your HTPC. The overall finish is nice. LCD readout could be a tad better but overall, its acceptable.

Cons: Main CON: Space for the motherboard. If your motherboard has SATA connections that face 'UP', then you will be OK. If your motherboard has SATA connections that face to the side, you WILL HAVE TO CUT / MODIFY the outside hard drive wall and internal hard drive mounting cage. Not a deal killer if you are a 'modder' like me but for those who do not own a dremel tool, BEWARE.. For this HTPC case, I purchased a DFI LP JR GF9400-T2RS LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI micro ATX motherboard. If you check out this board and how the SATA connectors are positioned, then you will understand what I am talking about when it comes to modding this case. I am using an Intel E3200 (not overclocked @ 2.4ghz) and the supplied stock cooler. I am simply using the onboard video (via HDMI) and everything works like a champ (HELLO BLURAY)! My CPU has yet to see 30c and everything runs nice and cool (runs around 25c - 26c pretty much the whole time).

Overall Review: This case was paired with the following: (1. Intel E3200 @ 2.4ghz (2. DFI LP JR GF9400-T2RS LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI motherboard (3. Gskill DDR2 800 ram - 2gb's (4. Western Digital 640gb Hard Drive (black edition) (5. Windows 7 Professional (6. An old Westinghouse 37" 1080p monitor (7. An old Pioneer 500w Receiver via SPDIF cable - All items were purchased here on Newegg minus the Pioneer Receiver.