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Thomas K.

Thomas K.

Joined on 01/08/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 14
Most Favorable Review

Simply Amazing

MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: - Well laid out. - The method for wiring in the case power and LED's makes installation a breeze. - Buttons prove useful for resetting the bios while overclocking - Digital display is great, and having the temps displayed once it's running is pretty snazzy if you have a windowed case. - Great looks (again, a windowed case thing). - Easy to upgrade the BIOS

Cons: I have not run into any issues at all with this board. From an aesthetic stance, all of the LED's on the board are blue (the digital display is green), so if you're trying to do an all red lighting thing, that might possibly matter. As is common with MSI boards, some of the settings in BIOS have to be set with the +/- keys on the number-pad (and only the number-pad). Newer OC'ers ask about that a lot. For anyone reading that might not be aware, nVidia SLI is not supported. This is an AMD chipset thing, not something specific to this board. If your looking AM3 and want SLI, you'll need to wait for another chipset.

Overall Review: This is probably my favorite board out of all that I have installed thus far. It's a very simple board, it's laid out well for dual ATi cards in Crossfire, and it even manages to look great! I've been building systems since the mid 90's, and this board is simply excellent. Obviously an OC friendly board.

Most Critical Review

Good keyboard, driver needs work.

Logitech G510 Keyboard
Logitech G510 Keyboard

Pros: -Very configurable -Backlighting -Display is very usable

Cons: -Driver/software crashes occasionally on wake

Overall Review: I got this keyboard to replace another one that was a complete nightmare with driver bugs that caused volume up or down to get stuck there. I decided to come back to logitech because I thought they would never release a product like that.... Well it's a MUCH better keyboard that what it replaced, but it does have a some driver issues. The "Logitech Gaming Software" crashes occasionally on wake, which causes the display to stop working and a lot of the customization to go away. Restarting the software fixes it, but it is still a very annoying issue. For what it's worth, the keyboard still works when the software crashes. All basic functionality remains. All in all, it's an easy fix. I hope logitech fixes the issue. It's very close to a 4 egg with the issue, and without the issue it's easily a 5 egg keyboard.

Great Value

LG 49LB5550 49" Class 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV
LG 49LB5550 49" Class 1080p 60Hz LED HDTV

Pros: Picture Quality, Viewing Angle, Form Factor

Cons: Stand, Volume level

Overall Review: I bought this TV over the "Black Friday/Cyber Monday" period of time and was really stressed about it. There were almost no reviews on this product anywhere. Because of that, I decided I would make an effort to come back and post my thoughts once I had a chance to check it out. I was very pleasantly surprised with this TV. The picture is very clear, and it remains so even at fairly extreme viewing angles. There isn't much wash-out from below nor from the side, which is really nice. It's super thin, and works very well mounted on a wall. The outside boarder is thin, and dark metallic color... It looks quite elegant on the wall. It's performed pretty well for football and basketball games. It's not quite as fluid as my Samsung 240Hz LCD, but it's close... a lot closer than my older Sony 60Hz. I can honestly say the picture quality was shockingly good for 60Hz... I guess the 60Hz processing has improved quite a bit. I mounted mine to the wall, but I did take the time to check out the stand before doing so. I had a hunch that the stand would be a bit distracting and awkward, I feel I was right. I really was not a big fan of it. The sound quality is actually pretty decent... but the volume control could be an issue if you have a big room or a lot of background noise. I do not currently have mine hooked up to external speakers, however, and I do fine with it. There is a volume limit, though... so I wanted to mention it. There are also no "smart" functions, and the controller is light and has a cheap feel to it. It is very responsive, however, so there isn't much I can complain about other than that. Overall, this is a really good set. I bought mine for a little under $400, and at that price it is unspeakably good. Even for $500 I feel it would be a really good deal. I expected to get a mediocre TV for my secondary room, but I really did end up with a surprisingly good TV. If your in the market for that sub-$800 LED TV, I would encourage you to go physically compare the picture at a local store if you have one. I really do feel it outshines everything in it's price range, especially if you consider form factor (the Samsung's in this range are a full inch thicker, for instance).

Great AM3 mobo with Sata3!

BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ AMD 880G + SB850 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ AMD 880G + SB850 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: 4 sata3 ports Nice bios Great price

Cons: None

Overall Review: This is my third Biostar board, and I've really been impressed with them. This is the only mid-grade AM3+ Micro-ATX I could find, which is the real reason I picked it up, but I really think this is a great board. Easy to put together, and running solid.

No problems!

Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model TPRD38G1333HC9DC01
Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model TPRD38G1333HC9DC01

Pros: Both modules error free Good price

Cons: none

Overall Review: Modules tested clean, computer is working great. Nothing else to say, really.

Great monitor!

ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" 5ms Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 w/Speakers & HDMI
ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" 5ms Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 w/Speakers & HDMI

Pros: No dead pixils Great picture Great color Great brightness Clean look

Cons: Speakers are not good Confusing menu

Overall Review: I bought this to sit along side my Asus VH236h I bought a year or so back. I wanted something that would match, and obviously this monitor shares the same housing. This is my second Asus monitor, and I'm pretty sold on the quality. The Menu's are awkward, and the built-in speakers sound like built-in speakers, but aside from that these things are an excellent product for a really great price.