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Justin C.

Justin C.

Joined on 10/05/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 24
Most Favorable Review

More than enough power

SAPPHIRERadeon HD 7850 OC 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card  ( 11200-01-20G )
SAPPHIRERadeon HD 7850 OC 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card ( 11200-01-20G )

Pros: Short. Fits in my Fractal Design Define Mini with plenty of room to spare. Stays cool. Plays huge maps in Civilization 5 with all settings maxed out. Maybe this is overkill for what I used it for, I only play Civ 5, but with this kind of power one can play just about anything on Ultra. It was packaged with a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter which I didn't need, (I already ordered the Mini to DisplayPort cord from that cord site), but surely it will be handy for some folks.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: Note to all of you that feel that you need 750W to 1000W PSUs to run modern GPUs: you don't. Max power draw on this is 130W. I'm running this with an i5-3450, 1 SSD, 2 1 TB HD's, 3 case fans, and 5 USB peripherals plugged in at all times, on a Seasonic 430W PSU. No issues at all. Do your homework and don't spend $150 on some beastly power supply that you don't need. I did not use the included drivers. I downloaded them directly from amd.com. If you play DX 11 games and are considering buying a 6850, buy this. Various benchmarks on the Internet show a big jump in fps for those games.

10/20/2012
Most Critical Review

Steer clear of the ea500D

Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.2 80 PLUS Certified  Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply

Pros: Still works, kind of.

Cons: I will be replacing in January, when I can afford it. I hope it lasts until then.

Overall Review: Why are so many people finding fault with reviews that tell the truth about this product? Don't buy this power supply people. Chances are, it will give you trouble.

Great Customer Service from CoolerMaster

Intel Core i5-750 - Core i5 Lynnfield Quad-Core 2.66 GHz LGA 1156 95W Processor - BX80605I5750
Intel Core i5-750 - Core i5 Lynnfield Quad-Core 2.66 GHz LGA 1156 95W Processor - BX80605I5750

Pros: Cooled my old i5-750 very well, temps never went over 45 C with a slight overclock, which isn't bad considering the price.

Cons: The metal retainers to clip the fan to the heatsink are very difficult to get on, later versions have plastic clips which look like they are easier to deal with.

Overall Review: I bought this in January of 2010 for my i5-750. After about a year I decided I wanted a larger heatsink, so I bought a Xigmatek. I eventually got rid of that build and went with a laptop for a while, but the urge to game came back to me. I recently bought an i5-3450 with a new build, and upon finding this heatsink in a box, found that I had lost the metal retaining clips. I went on Cooler Master's website, and after proving ownership with a copy of my newegg invoice, they sent me a notice today that my new retainer clips are in the mail. I hope I get the new plastic ones, but no matter what, I am very happy with their willingness to send me new clips despite the fact that losing them was completely my fault, and for free! Thanks, Cooler Master.

Works alright

On Networks N300MA N300 Wireless Micro Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates
On Networks N300MA N300 Wireless Micro Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: I'm getting 30 mbps speeds with this, 15 feet away from my router, with a stone wall and a washer/dryer in between. The PC next to the router that is hooked up with a CAT-5 gets 50 mbps on speedtest, and I am getting better ping speeds. So yeah, I am happy considering the price. It's tiny. I really like that.

Cons: None so far.

Overall Review: Works pretty well. Driver installation was a breeze and I have had no issues since I got it.

10/20/2012

Gorgeous. Who cares about HDMI?

Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Full HD 1920 x 1200 60Hz 8ms DisplayPort VGA DVI-D 4xUSB 2.0 Pivot Swivel Height Adjustable LED Backlit IPS Widescreen LCD Monitor
Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Full HD 1920 x 1200 60Hz 8ms DisplayPort VGA DVI-D 4xUSB 2.0 Pivot Swivel Height Adjustable LED Backlit IPS Widescreen LCD Monitor

Pros: Using this with a Sapphire HD 7850 OC. Colors just POP out. The best monitor I have ever owned. Completely adjustable. 16:10!!! No dead or stuck pixels. The USB inputs on the left side of the monitor are nice to have.

Cons: It's a Dell. This was a turn off for me initially but I got over it after reading reviews. I'm glad I did. This is beautiful. Default brightness is overkill. I kicked it down to about 35 and it's plenty.

Overall Review: This monitor does not have speakers, therefore those who complain about it not having an HDMI input are just being silly. Buy a DisplayPort cord (like me) if you don't want to use the bulky DVI-D cord. You can find them on the Internet for around $2.50. The initial settings were pretty atrocious. I downloaded an ICC profile from the Internet and after applying it, I found myself looking at light that appeared to be natural. My desktop background was a forest scene, and it went from looking rather bluish and sickly to warm and cozy. It was almost as if I could tell what time of day the picture was taken by looking at the quality of the light on the monitor. Superb. I was going to buy one of those Catleap 27" 2560x1440 monitors from Korea on that auction site, but I like warranties, so I bought this. I made the right decision. Other reviewers brought up how whites look on this monitor due to the anti-glare coating. My previous monitor was an HP 2709m with a glossy screen, so I was concerned about this too. I've never liked how matte screens looked, it's just my preference. The image quality immediately squashed all of those fears. I wish that I had the desk space and the cash to buy another one!

10/20/2012

I've found a new favorite RAM manufacturer

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 997069
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 997069

Pros: They work at advertised speeds without any fuss on an ASRock Z77 mATX Pro-4 board. I used to be a GSkill and A-Data guy, but I'm sick of buying RAM sticks with ridiculously tall heatsinks that make it difficult or impossible to put in a large CPU cooler on mATX boards.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: Give this brand a chance, especially if you are considering a large CPU cooler!! I want to be able to max out my memory at 32 GB someday (for no reason other than for my friends to think I'm insane), and I like not worrying about these RAM sticks getting in the way of whichever huge CPU cooler I end up buying in the future.

10/20/2012