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Robert M.

Robert M.

Joined on 12/25/02

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

Good Low Priced router

TP-LINK Archer C7 Wireless AC1750 Dual Band Gigabit Router, 450 Mbps on 2.4 GHz + 1300 Mbps on 5 GHz, 1 USB Port, IPv6, Guest Network
TP-LINK Archer C7 Wireless AC1750 Dual Band Gigabit Router, 450 Mbps on 2.4 GHz + 1300 Mbps on 5 GHz, 1 USB Port, IPv6, Guest Network

Pros: Price, ease of setup, Stability. Gigabit LAN, Wireless Footprint. Can be Flashed with DDWRT or OpenWRT

Cons: Internal 2.4 antennae reduces ranges.. Factory firmware could use more settings options

Overall Review: I replaced an ASUS RT-N16 router that started flaking out after 3 years. The ASUS was running TomatoUSB and was very stable until recently. Starting to look for a new router but wanted to keep price point low. Also wanted a router that supported 2.4 and 5ghz. All other vendor options are twice the price and 99% of all HOME users will never fully utilize the router anyway. I plan on flashing with DDWRT or another custom ROM at some point but for now the factory firmware once updated works pretty solid.

Most Critical Review

Reality Check

APEVIA X-ALIEN MX-ALIEN-BK/500 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 500W Dual Fan W/ Automatic Fan Speed Control. Power Supply
APEVIA X-ALIEN MX-ALIEN-BK/500 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 500W Dual Fan W/ Automatic Fan Speed Control. Power Supply

Pros: removable motherboard tray removable hard drive rails Overall size 120mm case fans x2

Cons: Flimsy front bezel, cover for front audio, USB, Firewire, came off while mounting front case fans.. need to contact manufacturer as it doesn't pop back in. 500(watt) no name power supply doesn't appear to be completely stable. While not going too far out of spec to raise a real alarm it varies enough even when connected to a UPS to deem it NOT worth the risk. I had to physically modify the mainboard tray in order to get it to mount properly with a mainboard mounted to it. Problem was the board would not align properly to the I/O shield. While not a major modification, you shouldn't have to do this on case that costs anywhere near $100. Cost... This is a clone of an earlier ANTEC, and Thermaltake and numerous others. Both of the aforementioned appeared to be of better build quality, and both included a Name Branded power supply.

Overall Review: Not a bad case, but not stellar either. If you can get it for $50-$60 then your ok... Definitely not worth $100 pricetag. If you can find the Thermaltake or ANTEC versions you probably would be happier with the build quality. Powersupply was not an issue as I replaced it with a Corsair anyway. For the price they should have tossed in the 80mm front fans as well. Summary.. there are better cases in this price range but not a total loss.

So far Good low cost Headphones alternative

Turtle Beach PS3 Video Gaming Headset Ear Force PX21 RECERTIFIED
Turtle Beach PS3 Video Gaming Headset Ear Force PX21 RECERTIFIED

Pros: Cost, It works. Volume controls adjust both game audio, and chat audio. Allowing you to adjust both separately.

Cons: Does not handle bass very well

Overall Review: I Picked this up for a PS3.. I wanted something that worked, and wasn't going to be as expensive as a car payment.. Works.. It would be nice if they could just put this in 1 plug, rather then a USB plug and a phono plug... but meh

Dead in less then 90 days

WD Blue 500GB Mobile 7.00mm Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5 Inch - WD5000LPVX
WD Blue 500GB Mobile 7.00mm Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5 Inch - WD5000LPVX

Pros: It worked when I first got it. I ordered from newegg 8/6/2014

Cons: Dead in less then 3 months.. unbootable and data is lost. Just got off the phone with Western Digital support so case is developing.

Overall Review: I have mixed feelings on this since I am in the grey area with Newegg as its over 30 days, and Western Digital Support line is like Running through hoops.

10/22/2014

Good Board easy setup and install

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Replaced a Gigabyte P35C-DS3R board with this one, much like the old board build quality was pretty high, and ease of basic setup out of box makes this simple even for novice users. MSata on board is a plus, eventually I'll get around to using it. Lots of decent features and not a real high price tag. There are better boards out there but way the price versus, features you may not use and make your decision.

Cons: The front facing Sata connectors... This was probably the biggest PITA on my build. Prefer the connectors just straight up on the board. While I see the advantages for some cases, for mine its a deterrent made cable management a chore trying to keep stress off the cables and connectors.

Overall Review: So Far another good Gigabyte board easy to adjust timing settings, and overclock if you choose to do so. Still see potential issues dealing with spacing between the expansion cards and onboard components. Cable management on this board was an adventure with the front facing sata connectors, its a gimmick at best. I am using the factory cooler currently on my I5 (not OC'd) and its running pretty cool even under load, one of my concerns would also be clearance with an aftermarket cooler setup if I decide to overclock.

Kingston Memory

HyperX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C10D3B1K2/16G
HyperX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C10D3B1K2/16G

Pros: Runs 1333 out of box, on a Gigabyte board everything set to Auto To get 1600 as per Kingston 10,10,10,27 then set to 1600 as Per Jason from Kingston Tech support. FYI Runs Stable at 1333 will see how she goes at 1600

Cons: So far nada not looking to tweak looking for stability.

Overall Review: Remeber 10,10,10,27 then set to 1600 in your BIOS. Gigabyte board makes this cake. Would have been nice if this info would have been readily visable when I first got it, and didn't have to dig it out.