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Travis G.

Travis G.

Joined on 03/30/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 15
Most Favorable Review

Greatest Case Ever

GIGABYTE Setto 1000 GZ-AX1CBS-SNB Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
GIGABYTE Setto 1000 GZ-AX1CBS-SNB Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: This case has it all: A lot of room on the interior The PSU at the top Lack of lights everywhere (I know my computer is on, thank you) Decent cooling from a couple fans A SMALL side vent Not obnoxious And the screwless mounts are just icing on the cake The market for cases like this has faded over the years, but luckily this one is still in production. If I were you, I would get at least 5 right away before they stop producing this case in favor of one made completely of blinking lights, fans and fans with blinking lights.

Cons: If you have a ridiculously long video card, this might be a little short. It fits my GTX 275 with room to spare, so most people are probably good. Also, the hard drive mounts are not vertical, which could be trouble if you're finicky about these things.

Overall Review: Fantastic! Would recommend for anyone!

Most Critical Review

Terrible Case

Eagle Tech Black Aluminum CA-EC1-K ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Eagle Tech Black Aluminum CA-EC1-K ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

Pros: The 20/24 pin connector for the motherboard comes pre-broken, so you don't have to fiddle with the pains of having just one main power connection. Many screws come pre-stripped so that you don't have to bother doing it yourself. It exhibits a lovely feeling of cramptness for such a large case. The flip-down DVD panel hides the giant gaps between the DVD drive, floppy drive and the case (bonus points: you know your 5 1/4 inch optical drive will fit in the 5 1/2 inch hole).

Cons: Everything about this case reeks of poor design. If it was 1/4 of an inch taller or the motherboard mounts were not almost an inch, it would be possible to fit a modern video card without modification. There is an 8x30 cm block of space, taken up by an air duct that is BOLTED to the bottom of the case and occupied by a single power cord and a fan. For some reason, the top of the case is attached to the body in four places and not physically locked in front, meaning that having thumbscrews in the back is pointless, as you'll have to get out a screwdriver to open the case anyway. Furthermore, this causes the front of the case to bow outwards.

Overall Review: Do not get this case. While putting it together, I had to waste countless time backtracking, asking myself: How in the hell? And after putting it all together, I realized the power supply was broken. Wow. If you have made the mistake of getting this case and your computer will not get any power at all, the PSU might be turned off. Take off the left side panel (it takes 11 screws to remove this) and flip the switch on the back of the power supply.

Works Great.

IOGEAR GCS1104 4-Port USB DVI KVMP Switch with Audio and Cables
IOGEAR GCS1104 4-Port USB DVI KVMP Switch with Audio and Cables

Pros: The best thing about this KVMP switch is that it actually supports all the advertised functionality. It is somewhat sad that I have to say that, but this is one of the few KVM switches you can say that for. The front audio ports do proper switching when you plug headphones/mic into them, the device maintains the monitor EDID so you don't have to bother with resolution switching all the time. It does everything it claims to really well.

Cons: After pressing the button on the box itself, there is about a two second delay before it does a port switch. This is not a big deal for me since I generally just use the keyboard shortcut.

Overall Review: Other people have complained about long switch times when changing ports. This happens *occasionally*, but most of the time, port switching takes under a second to do.

Best Mouse Form Ever

Logitech MX 518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 1800 dpi Gaming Mouse
Logitech MX 518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 1800 dpi Gaming Mouse

Pros: This is the mouse I have in this version and the wireless version (MX 700) and I have used them for about six years. This is the mouse I suggest to other people when they are thinking about getting new mice. It fits like a glove and is incredibly accurrate in movement tracking on almost any surface - Logitech quality merchandise.

Cons: It's wired! Granted, this isn't a problem for some people, but it's quite annoying to me.

Overall Review: As previously mentioned, Logitech used to make a wireless version of this beauty called the MX 700. I have 2 of them, but they're getting old and the paint is fading in certain sections from overuse. If there is someone with a connection to Logitech reading this - PLEASE start making the MX 700 or a simelar product again. You can change the way it senses movement, but keep the buttons and the form the same. Thanks!

Huge - But Quality

Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard

Pros: This keyboard is the quality I've come to expect from Logitech. The keys have a soft feel, the backspace and enter button are the correct size, the backlight makes typing in the dark easy and it has just the right amount of media keys. The "gaming switch" right above F3 disables the Windows key - simple, but extremely helpful. I use the G-macro keys quite a bit. Although the software could use some work, they've got a fairly good start on it (and it is updated each month).

Cons: It's quite large, so if you're short on desk space, I would suggest against this. The G-macro keys don't work in every application (it all depends on how it captures keyboard input), which I find rather odd. The keyboard doesn't work before the OS boots up, but that is fairly normal for backlit USB keyboards.

Overall Review: I would prefer if the volume control would represent an absolute percentage of OS volume level instead of being an "up-down on click" as it is now. It is certainly possible, as Logitech does this on the "touch sliders" on other keyboards. If anybody from Logitech reads this, please consider the change.

It's a Drive

Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500 7H500F0 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive Bare Drive
Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500 7H500F0 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: I have four of these on a RAID-5 (SiI 3114 - yes, I know it's for SATA150, but the drive read speed is still the limiting factor). None of them have broken on their own, but I did break part of the plastic backing for the power connection when installing, but the metal is still there and the drive still works. Very fast transfer rate and reliable - what more can you ask for from a hard drive?

Cons: Maxtor drives tend to be louder than others, but most cases have the closed front to dampen the sound, so it's not really an issue.

Overall Review: To the last person: it's most likely a problem with SATA or RAID controller. Check through the BIOS for settings that look like "Large Disk Support."