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Peter G.

Peter G.

Joined on 05/02/01

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 73
Most Favorable Review

GREAT RAM IF ...

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ

Pros: good-looking IMHO; effective heatsinks, cool to the touch in normal operation; standard height (no problem with overhanging heatsinks); ample margins for MILD o.c.; booted up 8 GB in my Gigabyte board (MA790GPT-UD3H) first time, without bios mod; Memtest 86+ v. 4.00 loves these memories, even at 8-8-8-20 1600 timing, 1.5 Vmem, i.e. w/ mildly aggressive timings, no Vmem boost; good value if free ship, even w/out rebate.

Cons: None found, provided your bios lets you mod mem internal timings, otherwise see below

Overall Review: Default timings of these dimms in most mobos may NOT be the advertised 9-9-9-24 1600 (PC3 12800), they will likely be significantly slower (in order to guarantee operation in slower / marginal mobos.) So ... in order to achieve advertised performance you may need to mod the mem timings via your bios to std. 9-9-9-24 1600 mhz internal membus clocking or equivalent. BTW the above caution applies to most DDR3 and DDR2 dimms in most mobos. Also - be sure your cpu supports 2-channel (as opposed to 3-channel) DDR3 operation.

Most Critical Review

midrange coffee-maker

GE 169209 Black Digital Coffee Maker
GE 169209 Black Digital Coffee Maker

Pros: price I paid was a small fraction of list price, plus free shipping; it does an adequate job of making coffee; I appreciate the three levels of keep-warm temperature; it is not quite as noisy as some coffeemakers;

Cons: instructions are in small type and not that easy to follow; the display sometimes shows E R 5 (error #5) for no particular reason; it is too large to fit under some over-counter cabinets; some of the plastic parts seem quite fragile; some exotic features seem to be lily-gilding; its release of substantial amounts of steam can damage overhead cabinetry

Great Board!

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: All the features seem to work as advertised (I haven't tested the SLI features). Reasonably priced, given the functionality. Only board I've ever had where all the BIOS features worked as they should and were clearly labelled. both XMP's worked with no problem w/ G. Skill dimms. Manual was dense but useful. OC features worked well.

Cons: I haven't found any reason to complain yet.

Overall Review: Building another PC w/ same model mobo.

11/30/2012

eggcellent memory

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL10Q-32GBZL
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL10Q-32GBZL

Pros: attractive exterior; only slightly higher than std. size; ran 48 hrs memtest86+ v.4.02 full suite no errors

Cons: none apparent

11/26/2012

Great Case

Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid-Tower Gaming PC Computer Case, Expansion Ready: Internal 3.5" Bays & External 5.25" Bays, 3 Pre-installed Fans with Side Fan Mount Option
Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid-Tower Gaming PC Computer Case, Expansion Ready: Internal 3.5" Bays & External 5.25" Bays, 3 Pre-installed Fans with Side Fan Mount Option

Pros: small, light, comes w/ 3 good quiet fans, can mount 2 more in side panel, nice black "crinkle" finish, no wasted space, mounts PSU fan up or fan down, nice carriages for the disks, comes w/ tray for the SSD, no special tools needed, reasonable number of thumbscrew fasteners, will fit a C-M Hyper 212+ HSF, vacuum-cleaner-cleanable dust filtering, many openings in the sheet metal facilitate connecting devices to the mobo, was super-bargain-priced when I bought it; glory be, they included clever rubber tie-cords to neaten up the wiring.

Cons: No cons at the price I paid - the designers made the trade-offs I would have made. The improvements I could think of are minor conveniences only.

Overall Review: I have an identical case I bought several months ago - no problems have surfaced in that case. Anandtech and Toms Hardware also like this case.

11/22/2012

good deal

Patriot Memory 32GB Supersonic Boost XT USB 3.0 Flash Drive, Speed Up to 150MB/s Durable Rubber Housing (PEF32GSBUSB)
Patriot Memory 32GB Supersonic Boost XT USB 3.0 Flash Drive, Speed Up to 150MB/s Durable Rubber Housing (PEF32GSBUSB)

Pros: very fast - I didn't clock it against other USB 3 flashdrives but it was several times faster than my USB drives; won't slip out of your fingers - "sticky" rubber casing; cap fits on end, if you lose the cap it's your fault; the blue X on the exterior tells you it's the USB 3 version versus the USB 2 version (red X), handy when you have both kinds; the rubber casing should prevent damage from falls or being stepped on by a non-giant; with exFAT format will accommodate all but largest movie video files.

Cons: Not inexpensive when I bought it. But prices are coming down.