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Mike M.

Mike M.

Joined on 06/26/03

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 30
Most Favorable Review

Good board, with one annoyance

ASUS PRIME H310M-E R2.0 LGA 1151 (300 Series) Intel H310 HDMI USB 3.1 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
ASUS PRIME H310M-E R2.0 LGA 1151 (300 Series) Intel H310 HDMI USB 3.1 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: I've been using ASUS boards for years, never had a problem with them.

Cons: Could someone explain to me what the point was of having to scan a QR code to get the layout for the front panel connector? Would it have killed them to just put it on a page in the manual like they've always done? I've never even used a QR code before and I had to find out how to do it. Whoever came up with that idea should be fired.

Overall Review: It's a good basic board if you don't need a lot of add-on cards or memory slots. My only real complaint is the issue with having to scan a QR code which I described in the "cons" section. It probably bothers me more than it should, but I can't help wondering if the company is starting to go down the wrong path.

Most Critical Review

Works, sort of

Hauppauge TV/FM Tuner Card 401 PCI Interface
Hauppauge TV/FM Tuner Card 401 PCI Interface

Pros: Does what it's supposed to, if you only use the included software.

Cons: Could not get it to work with Media Portal. There are only a few supported TV cards, and while this one was listed, the chipset turned out to be different from what was on the listing. Also, could only get it to work with the analog sound ports. It would not work with the Optical port.

Overall Review: Replaced this one with a WinTV-PVR 500 MCE, which worked flawlessly. This card is fine if you plan to use the included software and analog sound. If you plan to use Media Portal, don't get this one.

Exactly what I needed

JAENFONG USB to 2.5G Ethernet Adapter, USB 3.0 Type A to 2.5 Gigabit Network Adapter RJ45 LAN Converter for for Mac OS, Windows, Linux Backward Compatible with 2500/1000/100Mbps
JAENFONG USB to 2.5G Ethernet Adapter, USB 3.0 Type A to 2.5 Gigabit Network Adapter RJ45 LAN Converter for for Mac OS, Windows, Linux Backward Compatible with 2500/1000/100Mbps

Pros: Easy to install

Cons: None so far

Overall Review: I bought this when my onboard LAN jack stopped working. It works so well, I almost forget that it's there.

11/10/2025

Good product with not-so-good cables

Corsair SF Series (2024) SF1000, 80 PLUS Platinum, Fully Modular SFX Power Supply, CP-9020257-NA
Corsair SF Series (2024) SF1000, 80 PLUS Platinum, Fully Modular SFX Power Supply, CP-9020257-NA

Pros: Easy to install, and working so far. Nice and quiet.

Cons: Included cables are ridiculously short.

Overall Review: I bought this to replace an ATX supply, not realizing this was a smaller SFX. Luckily, they included an adaptor bracket so I was still able to use it. Unfortunately, the cables they include are too short. If your power supply is mounted at the top of your case, you might be OK. Mine is mounted on the bottom, so none of the cables reached, except for the PCI-E ones. I had to order extensions. I was finally able to install everything yesterday, and so far so good.

10/24/2025

Huge card but works great!

ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 Gaming Graphics Card (PCIe 4.0, 16GB GDDR6X, HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 1.4a) TUF-RTX4080-16G-GAMING
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 Gaming Graphics Card (PCIe 4.0, 16GB GDDR6X, HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 1.4a) TUF-RTX4080-16G-GAMING

Pros: Working great with my graphics-intense games!

Cons: This thing is huge, but I guess it's just the nature of the beast.

Overall Review: So far it's working great. My old 2080 card would get very warm when playing some of my newer games, and the fans would spin like crazy. This one barely even breaks a sweat. I was hoping by now that they'd be able to come up with powerful cards that are more compact, but I guess that's not happening just yet. You'll definitely want to check measurements and make sure your case has enough room for this beast before you order it.

10/24/2025

So far, so good

Rosewill RKV-18003 2-Port USB HDMI KVM Switch with Audio, Built-In Cables and Remote Switch
Rosewill RKV-18003 2-Port USB HDMI KVM Switch with Audio, Built-In Cables and Remote Switch

Pros: Setup was easy. Switching between computers can be done through the button on the connecting cable, or with a key combo.

Cons: None so far.

Overall Review: I got this for my wife once her job starting having people working remote full time, so that she could use her own monitor/keyboard/mouse instead of having a bunch of extra equipment taking up space. I was so impressed with it, I got one for myself to replace the ancient and buggy one I had previously. It's been over two years, and no problems so far.