Steven R.
Joined on 07/20/01
- 11
Updated Review

Pros: Low price. Able to fit a ASUS Rampage II , i7 930, Radeon 5770, Intensity Pro Capture Card, 2 DVD/BD Drives, 3.5" card reader/eSata panel, and 4 HDs into a portable case. I've got an HD workstation that can be lifted with one hand (though it's kinda heavy for one hand).
Cons: It's a tight fit putting all that into this case, and some pieces are pushing against others, but everything works...so far. If you use a front fan, I suggest getting one of the slim 120mms, my HDs are bumped up against my standard fan and vibrated loudly until I stuck a thin piece of rubber between them. I ordered a slim one. Lots of places inside this thing are razor sharp. Rear fan seems noisy, ordered a replacement fan there too.
Overall Review: I got this case to transform my video editing workstation into a portable unit for capturing uncompressed video in the field. My first attempt to keep as much of my old 775 system was a disappointment. Finally took the i7 plunge and the Rampage II motherboard was the key to making it all come together. This little black box now bristles with multimedia inputs and outputs and inside is enough power and storage to edit uncompressed HD video. It took me a while, but I finally got my dream machine inside a portable package.
so far nada

Pros: I'll let you know when I find one
Cons: When I download the ubCore driver that's linked by SYBA to this product, my Canon XH-A1 becomes an unknown device...if I update the driver, it installs a 2006 TI OHCI driver that recognizes the camera, but the video capture is covered with digital noise...i.e. useless.
Overall Review: Running Windows 7 64 bit and Vegas Pro 9 64 bit, tried latest and an older version of 64 bit drivers with no luck. Not sure what the problem is, but definately not plug-n-play. May have to switch back to 32 bit OS and software.
Very easy case to work with

Pros: The stand-offs are built into the case. The extra stand-offs are for non-traditional motherboard holes. It's just one of the features that makes building in this case easier than any other case I've worked on. Everything about it makes sense. It has plenty of drive space...the 4 included fans keep everything cool...not a single scrape or cut on my fingers (that's a first). It's obvious the person who designed this knew a lot about building computers.
Cons: Doors look very thin and don't slip on and off easily. I'd prefer no lights on the front fans, but at least they match the blue light on the power supply (which faces down so that the blue light from it's fan spills out from underneath the case)
Overall Review: I got it for a video workstation at my office. Has the room and cooling I needed. 4 HDDs, huge CPU cooler, 6850 card, large audio card and large RAID card, Blu Ray burner and card reader all went in like they were made for this case. Makes me want to replace my home case with this.
Life simplified

Pros: Easy to set up. The interface is so simple, even a technophobe can operate it. My cable box remote was so cheap, you had to practically stand 4 feet in front of the box to change the channel. This remote works from anywhere in my living room.
Cons: Sometimes a piece of equipment will get out of sync with the remote, but the help button usually solves that problem pretty quick.
Overall Review: I used to have to rewire the inputs and call up on-screen menus whenever we switched from DVD to cable to digital media player. Now I push 'activities' button and the LCD screen asks me which I want to watch...it does the rest. So simple even guests can use it instantly.
Great MP3 for the kids

Pros: Got this for my 8 year old because she was always borrowing our iPod Classic. It's tiny but does everything the iPod does and a few extras like voice recorder, FM radio w/recorder and photo album. She loves it.
Cons: Screen size and resolution is smaller and lower than the iPod, not surprising given the size and price. Software doesn't come in the box, but you can download everything you need. I'm having trouble converting some DRM video from iTunes-not really Sansa's fault but the workarounds do take more time than it would if you download to an Apple product. The 2GB memory fills up real fast...will probably end up adding a memory card soon, doubling the cost of this thing.
Overall Review: For what it does, the refurbished price makes it a steal.
very handy

Pros: dirt cheap, carrying handle, plenty of vents for good air flow, nice subtle styling
Cons: for a micro atx case, its almost as big as the sonata case it replaced...but more cramped on inside, some razor sharp edges on back and inside...my hands were full of cuts by the time I finished installing everything, front USB cable too short to reach header
Overall Review: I wanted something portable but still big enough to fill with video editing gear. Can't get over how cheap it was. It has only a slightly smaller footprint than my old sonata, but the handle frees up one hand when lugging this around. I should buy some spares before someone realizes how underpriced these are.
