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Gary E.

Gary E.

Joined on 02/27/15

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 10
Most Favorable Review

Just Right!

Phanteks PH-FF120RGBA Halos Lux RGB Fan Frame – High density LEDs, RGB, 120mm fan mounting
Phanteks PH-FF120RGBA Halos Lux RGB Fan Frame – High density LEDs, RGB, 120mm fan mounting

Pros: Kit includes all the wiring and screws you're likely to need. Workmanship is excellent, the frame lined up and fit perfectly. It provides just the right amount of illumination, not too dim, not too bright.

Cons: As I'd often the case, instructions could have been clearer. Someone who's not used to working inside their PC might easily hook the wiring up incorrectly.

Overall Review: While it may seem rather expensive for what it does, and perhaps it is, this is rather a niche market.

11/29/2019

A lot of laptop in a small package at a good price

GIGABYTE U4 UD - 14.0" Thin Bezel FHD IPS-Level i7-1195G7 Intel Iris Xe Graphics 512 GB PCIe SSD Win 10 Home Laptop (U4 UD-70US823SH)
GIGABYTE U4 UD - 14.0" Thin Bezel FHD IPS-Level i7-1195G7 Intel Iris Xe Graphics 512 GB PCIe SSD Win 10 Home Laptop (U4 UD-70US823SH)

Pros: Crisp, clear IPS screen with good color accuracy. Speedy NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4 SSD with room to add a Gen 3x4 drive. Very thin, very light.

Cons: Sub par battery life. Dull, flat speakers. Cooling fan can be noisy when it kicks in.

Overall Review: Mostly excellent value. Pros definitely outweigh the cons. I would recommend to anyone looking for nice general purpose laptop.

It's a Beast!

Intel Core i7-12700K - Core i7 12th Gen Alder Lake 12-Core (8P+4E) 3.6 GHz LGA 1700 125W Intel UHD Graphics 770 Desktop Processor - BX8071512700K
Intel Core i7-12700K - Core i7 12th Gen Alder Lake 12-Core (8P+4E) 3.6 GHz LGA 1700 125W Intel UHD Graphics 770 Desktop Processor - BX8071512700K

Pros: Smooth and stable, good thermals with an Aorus Waterforce X 360. Barely cracking 60° C

Cons: None so far.

Overall Review: The only downside so far isn't a mark against Intel. Not their fault that the DDR5 RAM you'll need for the motherboard this beast deserves is still STUPID EXPENSIVE!

I had forgotten the difference a discrete sound card can make

Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus SABRE32-class Hi-res 32-bit/384 kHz PCIe Gaming Sound Card and DAC with Dolby Digital and DTS, Xamp Discrete Headphone Bi-amp, Up to 122dB SNR, RGB Lighting System
Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus SABRE32-class Hi-res 32-bit/384 kHz PCIe Gaming Sound Card and DAC with Dolby Digital and DTS, Xamp Discrete Headphone Bi-amp, Up to 122dB SNR, RGB Lighting System

Overall Review: It's a reasonable price that will probably result in a noticeable improvement in the audio quality of your games. I don't know that I'd spring for it if you haven't got a decent set of speakers but, if you do, I'd easily recommend it.

12/20/2021

Details Count

AORUS FI32Q 32" 165Hz HBR3, G-SYNC Compatible SS IPS Gaming Monitor, Exclusive Built-in ANC, KVM, QHD 2560x1440 (2K), 1ms (GTG), HDR, 94% DCI-P3, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 2 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB C
AORUS FI32Q 32" 165Hz HBR3, G-SYNC Compatible SS IPS Gaming Monitor, Exclusive Built-in ANC, KVM, QHD 2560x1440 (2K), 1ms (GTG), HDR, 94% DCI-P3, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 2 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB C

Pros: (1) Extremely solid base. Tilt, twist, raise and lower to your hearts content. It's not going anywhere. (2) Multiple dimming zones. (3)HDR 10 for better shadow detail in otherwise bright areas. (4) 98% color accuracy with good saturation levels (5) Freesync and Gsync compatibility. No more tearing, just smooth motion. (6) Built in KVM functionality, limited but perfectly usable. (7) Solid, quality design and build. Looks GOOD on your desk.

Cons: (1) Connector location can be awkward if you don't have easy access to the back side of your desk. If you have enough slack in your cables rotating the screen solves the issue but... (2) The built in audio enhancement is nice but kind of useless with a headset as it doesn't appear to support a microphone.

Overall Review: Definitely a major upgrade to my system!

11/18/2021

Dead Silent Fan.

be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM
be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM

Pros: Even after 30 minutes of system benchmarking, barely audible at full speed. Rifle bearings Fully sleeved cable

Overall Review: be quiet! is the only brand of fan I use. I recently added a 280mm AIO CLC to my system. The only reason it got to keep the fans it came with was because they were be quiet! fans.

10/11/2019