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Christopher B.

Christopher B.

Joined on 07/29/11

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 10
Most Favorable Review

Interesting little gadget if you have extra 5.25 bays

Scythe KC02 - ABK - 5 Kama Cabinet Pro Storage Box for a 5.25" Bay
Scythe KC02 - ABK - 5 Kama Cabinet Pro Storage Box for a 5.25" Bay

Pros: Front panel looks good, nice bright White LEDs, nice storage for odds and ends

Cons: USB ports are not terrible practical, construction is not solid.

Overall Review: I got a new case recently and it did not come with 5.25 blank panels for cover all the holes. I decided to get a couple of these because they looked neat and would fill my open slots. For it's appearance it was great. Looks really nice. Functionally, it's decent. It's a small drawer and it will hold odds and ends... USB drives, small tools, CDs, whatever you got cluttering around. The two white leds make it nice a bright inside when you open it. The USB ports are not very practical. They are in the very back of the drawer and are to put something into... just not ideal design. The drawer is all plastic and just slides in and out on plastic rails. There is nothing to keep the drawer from pulling out all the way. Nor is cable design planned out real well. If you are tight on space in your case, your cables could get tangled and pull out of the drawer bad. Still, for the price it's worth it in my opinion.

10/10/2011
Most Critical Review

Absolute failure

SYBA USB 3.0 PCI-e Card with HDD Power Connector (3 + 1 Ports) Model SD-PEX20080
SYBA USB 3.0 PCI-e Card with HDD Power Connector (3 + 1 Ports) Model SD-PEX20080

Pros: The little green LED on the card lights up nice and pretty.

Cons: Fails to work. Plugged into my computer, followed instructions to install the driver. Doesn't work. Tried to update drivers as other people said in reviews, doesn't work. Worked with Syba tech support, tried all their options, doesn't work. Returned card as defective, got a replacement, new card doesn't work.

Overall Review: Syba's tech support seemed less than stellar. Their forums are a joke. Here's the response I got on their forums after I posted my problem: "Dear Customer, I have tested this SD-PEX20080 and I did not come up with this issue. The drivers worked for me. Note that I am using Windows 7 64-bit." Not real helpful there...

Excellent control, just needs better cords

Rheobus-Extreme Fan Controller Panel
Rheobus-Extreme Fan Controller Panel

Pros: Six channel, light up dials that change in brightness based on speed, large range of speed, solid construction

Cons: Clear plastic front plate, supplied cables are not real long, and a bit strange assortment

Overall Review: I wish I would give it a 4.5 of 5, cause my cons are relatively minor ones. Thought the clear plastic front plate was silly looking, but as others mentioned, you can take this off easily and the black metal under it looks good. I LOVE the dials and how they change brightness based on where you turn the dial. My computer sits under my desk and this allows be to easily see the approx. speed without even having to find the little black dot that indicates where the dial is. They are a tad bright on full speed, but nothing horrible. I wish they had just one standard cable type, rather than three different extensions, all different lengths and connectors on them. Fortunately my fans came with both three and four pin so I was able to make it work, but it was odd. Otherwise, great product.

10/10/2011

Cheap, but perfect for the price

StarTech BRACKETFDBK 3.5in Hard Drive to 5.25in Front Bay Bracket Adapter
StarTech BRACKETFDBK 3.5in Hard Drive to 5.25in Front Bay Bracket Adapter

Pros: Low price, easy install, front panel looks nice

Cons: plastic, not exceptionally rigid

Overall Review: Needed one of these for my new case. The body is plastic, and it's super solid. But hey, for the price, I'm not expecting earthquake proof engineering. It works, and it works well. Plus the front looks decent to me. All around a win for just $9.

10/10/2011

Good mic for my needs

SYBA CL-ME-001 Black 3.5mm Connector Desktop Hi-Fi Microphone with MP3 Earphone
SYBA CL-ME-001 Black 3.5mm Connector Desktop Hi-Fi Microphone with MP3 Earphone

Pros: Wide base for extra stability, long goose neck, low price

Cons: Placement of on/off switch, base could use a bit more weight

Overall Review: A nice cheap desktop mic with a good long, flexible neck. Construction seems very solid. I have young kids who love to re-position the mic all the time and the neck still seems just as solid as when I first bought it. Ideally I'd like to see the on/off switch in the front or side so I could see the position of it. Additionally I'd like the base to have a bit more weight so that it stays in place even when the mic is swung to the side. But those are minor complaints to an other wise good mic at a low price.

Looks cool, but not that great

SIIG AC-LG0212-S1 USB LED Light + Fan
SIIG AC-LG0212-S1 USB LED Light + Fan

Pros: The fan most air well. Size is pretty small so it doesn't take up a lot of space. USB powered

Cons: Minor: The LED is not very bright. Granted, I'm not looking for this to be a desk lamp or anything, but I expected a little brighter. Minor: The on off buttons are cheap looking. Nothing wrong with them physically, but it just looks cheap. The base is not very heavy. There is enough weight to keep it from tipping over, but not enough to keep it from pivoting when the fan is running, meaning you have to re-position it all the time or tape it or have it up next to something. Noisy! I'm really surprised at just how noisy it is. I suppose when you have a fan motor on a flexible arm you're going to have this issue, but it's just louder than I thought it was going to be. To be fair, this isn't an issue if you're playing a game or listening to music at a average level, but if you need quite, it's going to be a problem.

Overall Review: Really had high hopes for this item. Really liked the looks of it and thought it was going to be a neat little desk top gadget that was also functional to help in my stuffy home office. The fan does work to keep air moving and keeps me cooler, but the noise and other problems make it un-usable for me.