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Charles W.

Charles W.

Joined on 10/19/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 11
Most Favorable Review

Exceeds expectations for 1080 gaming!

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 02G-P4-2966-KR 2GB SSC GAMING w/ACX 2.0+, Whisper Silent Cooling Graphics Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 960 02G-P4-2966-KR 2GB SSC GAMING w/ACX 2.0+, Whisper Silent Cooling Graphics Card

Pros: GeForce GTX 960 was released this last Tuesday. I ordered mine on Tuesday night and had it delivered on Friday. I got the EVGA SuperClocked ACX (Advanced Cooling Extreme) version with 2 GB video memory. I was previously running a GTX 460 SuperClocked with 768 Mb of RAM. It was a decent card and still able to handle most of my games. Newer games off Steam like Natural Selection and Orion would not run due to having less than 1 GB of video memory. I also could not run the Skyrim high res texture pack. I could run Crysis 2 on high settings at 1280 x 780 or so. The single fan was reasonably quiet. This new GTX has a lower memory bandwidth (only 128 bit vs. 192 bit for the other card), however, nVidea has touted that the efficiency of the Maxwell chip makes up for the lower bandwidth. I cannot disagree with that sentiment. The 960 optimized all of my games through the GeForce Experience program and is running all of my games at 1920x1080 or greater. This is where it gets weird. I have a 1920x1080 monitor, but some games, like Skyrim and DOTA, will actually render at 2500x1700, then scale down to 1920x1080 to try to capture the detail of an even higher resolution monitor. This Dynamic Super Resolution worked beautifully on Skyrim. Everything looked crisp with enough haze on distant objects to give depth to the field of view. I did experience one frame rate drop when approaching a waterfall, but that was only after four hours of running Skyrim at 1.5x my native resolution with everything maxed on the HD texture pack. The card looks clean and fit easily in my micro ATX TX-381 case after moving some SATA cables out of the way. I would say that the dual fans cool well, but at this point, I do not think they have even had to spin up. This version of the EVGA GTX 960 has a small switch to operate in standard BIOS, which will only spin up the fans over 60* C or so, or performance BIOS, which keeps the fans on for extreme cooling. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, Crysis 2, nor Skyrim even got the card hot enough to necessitate the fans. The triple-heatpipe heatsink seems to be cooling well enough with the air from my 120 mm intake fan blowing across it without needing its own two fans! I have only had the card for a day, but it has already exceeded my expectations.

Cons: I have no complaints with the design of the GTX 960 yet. This is a really well designed card!

Most Critical Review

Good overall keyboard, lacks customizable media keys

Logitech Comfort Wave 450 Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Ergonomic Keyboard
Logitech Comfort Wave 450 Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Ergonomic Keyboard

Pros: The typing button layout is very comfortable. I particularly like that the spacebar is both low and curved. The home/end/insert/delete key cluster is in the traditional horizontal layout, unlike the other Wave keyboards.

Cons: The curvature, though comfortable, can make the Windows key easier to hit when gaming. Unfortunately, there is not an option to disable this key. The Logitech software support for this keyboard is non existant. Neither Logitech's version 4.8 Setpoint Business nor Setpoint version 6 allow for media key functionality. Also, the media keys are poorly laid out. They all have the same angular feel, which is decidedly not following with the ergonomic feel of the keyboard as a whole.

Overall Review: I was very pleased with my previous Logitech keyboard and used it almost daily for over five years. This keyboard has some design advantages in comfort, but lost some great media function keys. Having volume up/down, mute, and play/pause functionality on a keyboard is fairly common place. It was sadly overlooked on this keyboard. I hope a redesign is released soon as I am not entirely happy with this keyboard.

great LAN gaming case-noisy audio headers

APEX TX-381-C Black Steel Micro ATX Tower Computer Case
APEX TX-381-C Black Steel Micro ATX Tower Computer Case

Pros: The integrated handle is sturdy and comfortable, the case has as much room as I would expect for a micro ATX build, and the front panel USB and audio ports are in a great location. There is room for a front panel 120mm intake fan and ventilation slots on the side panel to let air enter near the graphics card and processor cooler. The case has good airflow for being a micro ATX tower.

Cons: Unfortunately, the front panel audio headers lack proper shielding around the cable ends, which leave them susceptible to noise. If I use a USB flash drive in the front panel, the small magnetic field produced by the drive is enough to induce horrible noise into the audio jacks. This is a huge problem if using the 3.5 audio jacks for headset gaming. The front panel audio cables are mounted under the plastic casing connected to the handle, which makes it difficult for a home user to remedy the problem by shielding the cables.

Overall Review: I wanted a small desktop that could be easily moved for those times when I can get together with friends for a LAN gaming night; this case fits that description perfectly.

11/24/2013

Good so far

Rosewill HIVE Series, HIVE-650S, 650W Fully Modular Power Supply, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Single +12V Rail, SLI & CrossFire Ready, Black
Rosewill HIVE Series, HIVE-650S, 650W Fully Modular Power Supply, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Single +12V Rail, SLI & CrossFire Ready, Black

Pros: This Rosewill PSU is for a new computer build. I was very happy with the Rosewill Extreme 630 that I bought years ago. This Hive 650 watt supply is noticeably more quiet than the older model--likely due to the larger 135 mm cooling fan. The modular cabling is a nice addition since I do not need IDE, floppy, or additional SATA cables cluttering my case. Everything powered up on the first try. My BIOS reports that voltages are good.

Cons: The pictured power supply shows sleeved cables. The cables included with my power supply were unsleeved and solid black. These cables are quite stiff and difficult to route around the case. The lack of sleeving is not a deal-breaker, but it was disappointing.

Overall Review: I have been happy with Rosewill power supplies in the past. I am excited that this is a more efficient model with modular design and a larger fan. It is unclear if the pictures are out of date as my supply did not ship with cable sleeving.

11/19/2013

Solid memory

PNY XLR8 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model MD2048KD2-800-X4
PNY XLR8 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model MD2048KD2-800-X4

Pros: This is solid memory. All four modules were recognized immediately in my Dell Vostro 200. The heat spreaders look nice as well. I have had no issues with the memory for over two years of daily use.

Cons: I've had no problems at all with this memory.

Overall Review: DDR2 800 with a latency of only 4 is about the fastest this system can handle.

Best keyboard I've used.

Logitech  EX 90  Black  USB  RF Wireless Cordless Desktop
Logitech EX 90 Black USB RF Wireless Cordless Desktop

Pros: It is a basic keyboard with STANDARD layout. It does not have rearranged delete/insert keys nor does it have the direction keys misplaced. The Play/Pause key is useful for pausing Winamp or Windows Media Player (if the Logitech software is installed). The volume/mute keys work without on XP without installing the extra button support drivers. The battery life is long. I think that I have only changed the batteries twice in three years after daily use. The buttons have a positive click, but they are neither loud nor stiff. The curve of the Space and Alt keys is VERY comfortable on the thumbs.

Cons: The mouse feels cheap and has no extra buttons. But, I use the keyboard with a Logitech G5 mouse anyway. The receiver has a PS/2 connection for the mouse, though the keyboard is USB.

Overall Review: Logitech makes great input products. The mice are excellent and last for at least a few years. This keyboard is on its third year and still going.