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Kevin T.

Kevin T.

Joined on 07/11/09

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

Simply beautiful

KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-1220MA1S 1220 W ATX / BTX SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-1220MA1S 1220 W ATX / BTX SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: Extremely simply installation: mounts to the bottom of my case with the fan pointed up. The flexibility with their modular cabling is great. When they say modular, they mean it! You have 8 ports (as you can see by Newegg's pics), 4 of them 4-pin and 4 of them 5-pin. This means you can't plug one of the modular leads into the wrong connector; if the pins match the lead you're using, the connector is compatible with that lead. Additionally, all of the modular leads have a threaded end similar to the female end of a garden hose, so you screw them in place to avoid disconnection. The blue LED is lovely, matching that of my Antec Twelve Hundred case. It's über quiet generally, and even when it really kicks into gear with higher demand games, etc., it's not really very loud.

Cons: None I can think of. Still working well after 6 months.

Overall Review: I would highly recommend this PSU for anyone needing power and modular in the same box. I have had enough need of SATA connectors that it's flexibility gave me what I needed (which you can't say about a lot of PSUs, even higher-end ones).

Great little mouse

Logitech Wireless Mouse M505 (910-001326) Red 3 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse
Logitech Wireless Mouse M505 (910-001326) Red 3 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse

Pros: This USB mouse was a great solution for me. Wireless, so no cords to get in the way on my desktop. The size is nice, not too small if you have larger hands but not too big if you don't. It's a very comfortable fit, with slight dips on the top of each button to follow the natural contour of fingers. The USB interface connector is TINY: it only sticks out maybe ½" from the port into which it's plugged. This makes it great as a front-case USB device, since it's pretty much impossible to have someone accidentally knock it with a chair or anything.

Cons: The down-click of the mouse roller (for dragging to "speed scroll" down a Web page, for example) is a bit rigid; it works but sometimes requires a second attempt to get it to remain depressed while dragging the mouse up or down.

Overall Review: This is a great mouse! Once again Logitech scores great quality along with price.

Excellent for the Gamer in Me

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Pros: The case is very large, albeit a tad heavy (even with nothing in it). But that weight comes primarily because the case is mostly made of VERY STURDY STEEL (as the Newegg's name listing indicates). It's wide open inside, a virtual prairie for all of the other parts to graze across. The motherboard—an ASUS M4A79XTD EVO—fits very well with nothing even close to crowding it. I also have a KINGWIN Mach 1 1220W PSU with plenty of room and even an XFX Radeon HD 5870 (a behemoth video card), all fitting nicely with plenty of room to spare. Cable management is great, since there is some space between the internal and external walls, with squarish holes provided for feeding them through. This keeps all but the power (20+4 pin main) and 12V cables (4-pin) out of the way for better airflow and cooling. (OK, I have a couple of LED cable extensions on top too. Oh, and looking through the clear side at what's within looks so much better without all the cables, too.)

Cons: I mentioned this is heavy, right? Lol. 32 lbs. (14.5 kg) of monster ready to take anything you want to put inside. The only other thing I can think of is that the Power LED cable is on the TOP of the case, but the PSU mounts to the BOTTOM. ? A little odd, but with a couple of extensions purchased (for maybe $5 each), this "problem" is easily solved.

Overall Review: This is an amazing case. It has SIX fans (3 intake in front, 120mm each; 2 exhaust in back, also 120mm each; and 1 exhaust on top, 200mm) to keep it ultra cool, in addition to whatever internal cooling you may have going. On top of the front, there are 2 USBs an eSATA, and a headphone and traditional mic jack. Additionally, you have water cooling hose holes on the back. Also, the fans have little knobs for adjusting their speeds, and the back uses switches (upper left) for the exhaust fans (back and top ones). There's even a switch for the LED, since not everyone can handle the cool blue like I can. :)

Solid DVD Drive

ASUS DVD-E818A6T/BLK/B/G Black  18X SATA  DVD-ROM Drive - Bulk - Retail
ASUS DVD-E818A6T/BLK/B/G Black 18X SATA DVD-ROM Drive - Bulk - Retail

Pros: This is pretty much a standard DVD-ROM drive in function. What is NOT standard is the way it performs. Other brands and models do the same, but this was a CHEAP drive ($16.99 at the time I bought it) with solid performance. It has never failed or even thought of failing, it's super quiet, and its nondescript cover actually matches very well in my Antec Twelve Hundred case.

Cons: It didn't come with a SATA cable, but I suppose at this price I shouldn't complain. Besides, my PSU came with plenty of modular cables, including SATA (KINGWIN Mach 1 1220W), so there was no need. And even above THAT, how much does a SATA cable run these days, $8.00 tops?

Overall Review: If I need another DVD-ROM drive, I would probably try to find one of these again.

Sweet Jamima, it's fast!

XFX Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card HD-587X-ZNFV
XFX Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Graphics Card HD-587X-ZNFV

Pros: I max my graphics on everything I've played so far using this and haven't noticed any lag or any kind. I haven't bothered actually measuring fps, but I don't think I've needed to. I've noticed no dipping, clipping, or slipping graphically, even in more intensive games.

Cons: The first card I got was defective; I would get into Windows only to frequently see a "blink effect" as if either the card wasn't seated properly or the monitor cable wasn't completely plugged in. I finally figured out it was the card.

Overall Review: HOWEVER, the defective copy wasn't *exactly* a con, since they were extremely easy to deal with in getting an RMA and even sent me ANOTHER copy of AVP with the replacement! What a fantastic company with a great product! Will almost certainly buy from them again!

Solid memory

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

Pros: What can be said? My system is incredibly fast now and I've had no issues of any kind. DDR3-1600 for a great price and solid performance. Couldn't ask for anything more, really. I'm probably going to be buying another of these to up my RAM to 8GB.

Cons: None I can think of. Performing well over 6 months later.