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John I.

John I.

Joined on 02/03/10

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Seems Brand-New

ASUS Desktop PC Essentio CM5675-07 Intel Core i5-650 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD Intel HD Graphics Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
ASUS Desktop PC Essentio CM5675-07 Intel Core i5-650 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD Intel HD Graphics Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Pros: Asus & Intel compatibility & reliability New case design for this line (no more flip-door covering usb/card-reader, etc) Large RAM & HD, room for expansion Very little bloat-ware (Office 2010 preview edition and trendnet internet security)

Cons: none for my usage and I plan to add a few parts that some people may want to have in their machine from the get-go.

Overall Review: I was worried about getting a 're-certified' unit, and this is the first machine I haven't built from pieces- however, this computer exceeds my expectations, so far. The only indication I had that this machine was 're-certified' were the fingerprints and a bit of dust on the glossy-black finish. These wiped off easily using micro-fiber cleaning cloth. I plan on adding my own wireless card & a video card, eventually- I knew ahead of time that this model lacked wireless connectivity and a discrete graphics adapter, however, the Intel GMA graphics adapter (on-board video) is still far superior to what I have been using previously on my outdated P4. Despite coming from XP, I like Windows 7 a lot and I appreciate the response time and snappiness of this computer right-out-of-the-box!

12/22/2010

Best deal I could find

HGST Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 HUA723020ALA641 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive
HGST Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 HUA723020ALA641 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive

Pros: Amazing price for a great drive that should last at least until I can afford a larger capacity unit. Plenty of storage space, fast, quiet.

Cons: Should be sold as "used", not refurbished. I am not complaining, just stating that this would be a more accurate description for an item that has spent significant time (months/years) in use.

Overall Review: I would buy this again in a heartbeat!

Low Power Consumption

ASUS GeForce GTX 650 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card GTX650-E-2GD5
ASUS GeForce GTX 650 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card GTX650-E-2GD5

Pros: -Asus -Low Power Consumption -Under $150 -PhsX, Cuda, 3d support, dx11 Works with entry level PSU (300 watts in the system I put this in) and does not require extra power adapter. Feels solid, nicely crafted. Increased Windows Experience Index for Graphics and Gaming to 7.4 (was 5.4 with on-board Intel HD).

Cons: It isn't the fastest card on the block.

Overall Review: I do a multitude of things on my computer but budget and a small PSU were holding me back from gaming due to horrible performance of on-board graphics adapter in my system. I realize there are many cards out there that are much faster, more awesome, etc.- but for less than $150.00 (I received a $10 rebate that was actually easy to deal with NOT a scam like so many other reviewers say.) It also came with free NVIDIA gift card for use with 3 online multiplayer games (World of Tanks, Planetside 2, and Hawken). Turns out I really like world of Tanks and the free 30 premium subscription and 3500 gold was very cool. I also enjoy Planetside 2, but haven't really tried Hawken. Overall, the performance was awesome with both Planetside 2 and World of Tanks. The only other game I tried was QuakeLive, and it was so fast that I have to retrain myself to get used to the speed.

Green, Stable, Fast, and Quiet, ASUS

NVIDIA $75 value in-game coin coupon
NVIDIA $75 value in-game coin coupon

Pros: Works with 300W PSU! PhysX DirectX 11.1 3d Vision Cuda

Cons: Shipping took far longer thank I expected- in the past when ordering from Newegg, I have received items in about 2 days as opposed to more than a week with this order. No eggs off for this, since it had to be shipped from NJ instead of CA. It seemed to have been packaged carelessly, and I did not receive any paperwork, receipt, invoice, or packing slip. The nice ASUS box had been sliced with a razor blade. It would be nice if Newegg's shipping staff took a bit more pride in their work... it is the first thing that a customer notices when they receive something and careless packaging and silly mistakes give a bad first impression.

Overall Review: Finally added a video card to replace the integrated Intel HD in an ASUS CM5675 Desktop. The integrated graphics adapter was surprisingly fast for most tasks, including some gaming and video playback. However, playing games such as Planetside 2 is pointless without a dedicated GPU. I have built many systems in the past, and this was my first pre-built system. Since all the innards were already ASUS, I decided (with help from ASUS staff) to get an Nvidia based ASUS video card that 1. fit my budget (I didn't want to spend more than $150. 2. worked with my stock system's 300w PSU 3. worked with a 3d TV.

Seems Brand New

Vizio 32" 3-D Ready 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV
Vizio 32" 3-D Ready 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV

Pros: Great Price Good Picture Quality, All the right ports for my needs, Shipped & Received quickly.

Cons: I am not thrilled with the smart tv features on this TV. I have a Sony SMP-N200 media player that I prefer to use for streaming from the web- I just prefer the menus on the sony, and DLNA file navigation is cumbersome on the tv. It is nice to have the smartTV capabilities and they will work in a pinch, but if you have this capability as part of a blueray player, media streaming device, etc. , you might enjoy using that instead for your streaming needs. The Remote isn't great, and doesn't have a full keyboard like the one that comes with the 42"version of this tv.

Overall Review: I had NEVER viewed a movie in 3d until I got this device from Newegg. After watching Avatar & Prometheus in 3d, I gotta say I am impressed. The added depth 3d brings gives a feeling of realism (I think) and I didn't have eye-strain problems or headaches from either of these titles on this tv.

Did not need this cable, afterall

Rosewill HDMI Cable 6 ft., Support 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) and HD 1080p, HDMI Cord 6 Feet Black Male to Male, Gold Plated Connectors, Ethernet/Audio Return Channel, RC-6-HDM-MM-BK-3
Rosewill HDMI Cable 6 ft., Support 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) and HD 1080p, HDMI Cord 6 Feet Black Male to Male, Gold Plated Connectors, Ethernet/Audio Return Channel, RC-6-HDM-MM-BK-3

Pros: Cannot beat the price.

Cons: none

Overall Review: I purchased this because when I recently ordered a new monitor this was suggested as having been purchased by other customers when they bought the same item and I could not find any indication of what cables (if any) were included with my purchase. So, for $2.99 I thought I should play it safe and get it just in case. Well, I may use it someday on something, somehow.