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Brian C.

Brian C.

Joined on 12/26/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 42
Most Favorable Review

Excellent NAS for home use

Synology DS413j Diskless System DiskStation
Synology DS413j Diskless System DiskStation

Pros: After debating whether to build a FreeNAS or getting Synology - I'm glad I went with Synology. If I went with FreeNAS, I'm not too certain whether I would have been able to set it up correctly. Synology setup guide was well documented & easy to follow. Well, I'm not much of tech person at all - especially when it comes down to networking as well. If it's easy enough for me to get it work, it should do for anyone who's willing to spend just little bit of time to learn about networking.

Cons: Synology products are little bit more expensive than other NAS products - but the robust web based OS definitely makes the whole thing so worth it.

Overall Review: Quite possibly, best purchase I've done for over few years. I've been worried about my child's digital footages/photos being lost due to HDD failure & all - and while this isn't 100% disaster proof, I can definitely relax a little bit due to the 1 disk redundancy.

Most Critical Review

SAPPHIRE 100562L-GN Radeon 9600PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

SAPPHIRE Radeon 9600PRO 256MB GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Graphics Card 100562L-GN
SAPPHIRE Radeon 9600PRO 256MB GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Graphics Card 100562L-GN

Pros: Price & Features. A perfect fit for low-end users.

Cons: I bought this card for as an replacement card for a fried Geforce Ti 4600. My Dell Dimension 8200 has 2x/4x AGP slot (@1.5v) - and this card should be compatible, as it accepts 4x and 1.5v - but no such luck. Nothing came up when I booted it up - I tried w/ a different AGP card and it was working just fine. Sent back for RMA, and waiting for my 2nd card. Hope the new one might be okay - otherwise, I'm going for something else.

Overall Review: I'm seeing quite a few similar problems on this card in the reviews here - perhaps Newegg received a defective lot of this card?

Great looking retro case

Silverstone Retro-inspired tower chassis with high-performance cooling and expansion support
Silverstone Retro-inspired tower chassis with high-performance cooling and expansion support

Pros: Looks (if you are going for the retro look) and front panel gimmicks. Very much configurable. Plenty of Storage option. Love the GPU support - very stable and assuring. Roomy bottom PSU chamber is helpful to tucking in cables. Looks. Looks. Looks.

Cons: Didn't come with any manual. (online only) and expensive for being a niche case based on a SETA D1 case. Airflow design could be improved - only 2x120mm front and half of it goes to the bottom PSU chamber leaving just one 120mm fan blowing towards the GPU. A long & big GPU can be installed after removing HDD cage, but it could literally block the air flow to the CPU due to the location of the front fans. AIO may be a better solution for this build, and top as intake instead of exhaust. At least it comes with top filter. I changed my 120mms to Arctic P12 Pros to begin with, and have short GPU, removed HDD cages, and routed bottom chamber airflow to be guided towards CPU cooler, added a top rear exhaust - and thermal's pretty satisfactory now. (Not sure how well it does with stock fans) 5.25in bays could be converted into air intake - but honestly that defeats the purpose of the case. Front panel connector - you need to purchase separate break out cables if you are using older motherboard. With no instruction, it was somewhat of a surprise. No sound dampening material on the panels - and I expected a better at this price point

Overall Review: I would recommend this case for people who want the look, but if you are looking for the thermal performance, look elsewhere - so all comes down to functionality vs look in your build. I was pretty shocked how little of 5.25 inch bay accessories are available these days, especially in beige color.

More than enough for XBMC

Intel Celeron G1610 - Celeron Dual-Core 2.6 GHz LGA 1155 55W Desktop Processor - BX80637G1610
Intel Celeron G1610 - Celeron Dual-Core 2.6 GHz LGA 1155 55W Desktop Processor - BX80637G1610

Pros: Bought it for a basement build for internet surfing / youtube streaming and 1080p XBMC use. Thought of going with i3 or at least G2020, but I'm glad I went with this. More than enough power, including 1080p decoding with H10 codec or whatnot. I've played around with all these gadgets and streaming stuff - nothing beats real pc for its functionality and usability.

Cons: Stock cooler, while nice - I am not too fond of the mounting mechanism. Somehow it doesn't give me any assurance...

Great HTPC keyboard

Logitech K400 2.4GHz Wireless Touch Keyboard
Logitech K400 2.4GHz Wireless Touch Keyboard

Pros: Great little keyboard for light HTPC use. Decent range, and good typability without being too large for a HTPC keyboard. Integrated multi-touch pad is nice. Solid performance considering its price - Have had several Logitech keyboards and this one is one of my favorite in terms of its value.

Cons: Keyboard layout is little funky on directional keys. Well, having full sized directional keys are nice, but not at the sacrifice of right side shift key - that I keep pressing "up" arrow when I intend to press right Shift. Also the software doesn't allow to configure what "home" button do

ASUS P9X79 PRO LGA 2011 Intel X79 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with USB BIOS
ASUS P9X79 PRO LGA 2011 Intel X79 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with USB BIOS

Pros: Very versatile mb. ASUS's pro line, always feel right for the money and feature wise - no nonsense features for everyday user like myself. Some high end boards only have 4 memory slots (probably due to high OC purpose) - and some have non PCI-E (not 3.0 - but old PCI-E 1.0) - but this boards have all the features I could ask for. With Ivy Bridge E coming out, (and probably will be compatible with this board) - I'll be all set for next few years.

Cons: pro line packaging feels little cheaper than other premium X series boards.