Joined on 03/04/05
Upgradeable thin and light
Pros: Smooth touch pad due to the fact its also a screen pad Relatively thin and for 15.6" light however if you are looking more into ultra portables I would get something with a smaller screen Small bezels Windows Hello facial recognition with a serviceable webcam not amazing but better then some of the built in webcams I was seeing during video conferencing Has a Numpad No bloatware pre-installed Screenpad more useful if you are using an external mouse.
Cons: Screen pad Kept turning back on when I would use the 3 finger tap to disable it, so I ended up turning it off completely with the Fn hot keys it kept getting frustrating, maybe I need some more time with it but it feels like an attempt to make something to compete with the Apple Touchbar. Non touch screen. Keyboard back lighting is uneven, the top rows of keys get the most back light while the bottom rows are significantly dimmer. No Ethernet jack, these can be fit on thin and lights. No Type-C charging Windows can behave a bit weird as it seems the touchpad as a separate screen instead of another input sort of device, when you disable it with the Fn keys Windows acts as if a device was unplugged which is fine.
Overall Review: The 512GB Version does not have dedicated graphics, if you want to do some light-medium gaming get the MX250 version. The 512GB SSD is a QLC Intel 660p SSD ScreenPad has two different resolution and refresh rates, it defaulted to a lower resolution and @ 50Hz. The left side's USB 2.0 ports may seem unusual but they serve a good purpose, the USB 3.0 signaling rates actually interfere with 2.4Ghz wireless traffic, so if for example you have a wireless dongle for a keyboard or mouse, plug it it on the left side, you will have much more stable experience using a wireless keyboard/mouse, and you can use them from further away. Battery life is around 4-5 hours
Fits me well audio quality pretty good, Microphone not so much
Pros: Very comfortable, it is not too tight on my head but not too soft either (I had a larger than normal head). Blocks out other sound very well if you like that, headphones audio quality is pretty good. Range is pretty good, it stays connected through a few walls and even if I go downstairs (as long as I am near my room above me) Mic auto mutes when moving up which is great for voice activation users. You can charge and use the headset at the same time Corsair's CUE software can control the Equlizer and RGB settings making it your one stop software for Corsair Products. On headset controls for muting Microphone and changing volume and EQ settings
Cons: Microphone audio quality is pretty bad compared to my other headset, sure my other headset cost $250, but there is a hissing noise when I talk, and according to my friends in Team Speak and Discord it sounds kind of hollow, and like I am in an empty room. There is a hissing noise coming through the head phones when it is powered on. The microphone wind guard is a bit difficult to fit onto the headset I had to force it on and was a little concerned I would break it
Overall Review: Wireless receiver seems a bit large, I could easily see it being half the size. Included MicroUSB cable for charging has some neat looking strain relief on the connector ends of the cable. CUE Software is a bit behind in displaying the RGB colors that the headset is showing. LED's will decrease battery life so if you are looking to do long sessions unplugged I would recommend turning them off. If you walk away with your headset on please be sure to mute it before going to the bathroom!
Alot of power in a small size
Pros: Another quality unit from Corsair. Adequate cable lengths for smaller cases, this may not reach in larger full tower cases where you would use a typical ATX power supply, but these shorter cables are needed in small cases where space is a premium 0 RPM mode under light loads Includes adapter plate for use in ATX form factor cases. 16pin PCI-E cable is rated for 600w, includes also 3x 6+2 pin cables for graphics cards as well. The full 1kW available on the 12v rail
Cons: Somewhat audible under heavier loads (the 1kW unit), depending on your noise level tolerance you might want to look elsewhere, the fan profile is rather aggressive, so under heavy GPU+CPU loads you will hear it, its noticeable to me with my 3090 and 5950x.
Overall Review: This PSU is manufactured by GreatWall 7 Year warranty is a bit shorter than other leading PSU's but still respectable, I am used to seeing 10 year + warranties in this price category. Uses Corsair Type 5 cables.
Budget RAM
Pros: Plug and play for JEDEC @ rated 4800Mhz CL40 speeds simple as that. (Mine booted with 40-40-40-77 timings) Standard height RAM. This will allow it to fit in all builds regardless of the CPU cooler installed / the size of the case. Black stealthy PCB which looks nice, No RGB. Cheaper then fancier high end RAM which not everybody needs, and still a name brand company that you can trust
Cons: Nothing to write home about. Only 4800Mhz with loose timings, it did not play well with overclocking for me (7950x) so your only options may be to tighten the timings if you are a tinkerer. Don't buy it expecting it to overclock. Price compared to DDR4, even high end DDR4
Overall Review: Memory is single sided, nothing on the back. Who is this RAM for? This RAM is mostly for the non enthusiasts/gamers due to the lower base frequency. I would advise against this on AMD platform's due to the infinity fabric, and Intel platforms with unlocked DRAM multipliers. For a standard PC this RAM is a great fit. Also tried mixing with another brands DRAM and that worked just fine.
Easy to setup, getting dropouts with one of the devices on another power phase.
Pros: Easy to setup (follow the guide, I skipped a step which meant I have to manually press the buttons to pair) Pass through power (shutters on the pass through port for child safety) Does not block the other power outlet (See picture), this is something my other powerline adapter is very guilty of doing. Dual ethernet ports on each wireless powerline adapter. Mesh is a feature and enabled by default. If you live in a home with multiple wireless access points you have probably encountered devices performance badly and low signal strength when next to a wireless access point, that is because you are probably connected to the AP far away. Mesh can help reduce the client from 'sticking' to the further away AP, and move it to a closer one Firmware updates are done automatically by default which is good. The windows app allows you to change which device is being used for the link back to your network. It also gives you easy access to open the web page of the devices. In here is where you can make changes like wireless networks, parental controls, scheduling etc.
Cons: As always going cross phase can cause performance issues. That and the quality of the interior wiring determines how fast these devices can connect. One of the powerline adapters (the one on another phase) drops out from the UI occasionally, and when that happens I loose connectivity to the unit. I have not have this issue with other powerline adapters, and being in a condo, none of the wiring is super long. I am honestly not sure why it keeps on dropping out, if I keep it on the same phase it remains stable. This is honestly a bit concerning. The total interior wiring length is no more than 30-40ft Application UI looks like it is from the 90's. I downloaded it off their website and immediately was told there was a new version which wanted me to reboot (come on guys). I ignored the reboot and it works just fine.
Overall Review: MSRP of 184.99 is rather expensive. I have an older TPLink adapter thats rated for 1Gbit (only one wireless access point and no mesh) that was quite a lot less. Hardwired ethernet speed 1.4Gbits (not going through powerline) The tests below were done using ethernet for the best possible results. Same Phase and circuit: Test A Denvolo App rated speed for test A: 965Mbits Actual received download speed 220Mbits Different phase and circuit: Test B, Devolo app rated speed: 424Mbits Actual bandwidth tests 80Mbits Both those test were done with nothing else using my available bandwidth, and no other devices connected to the powerline adapters. So expect to get about 25% of the speed listed in their app. This is in line with what I have seen with other adapters I also have a unique use case for these (Which is why I am currently using powerline adapters). I live on the 5th floor in a condo building. I am able to use these adapters where the gateway is plugged in in my condo, and the remove end is plugged in down 5 floors, through two breaker boxes, then an additional 50 ft run to the garage (for my car). Sure speeds (200Mbit listed, same phase) aren't great, they are in practice 40-50mbit but for going that distance and through two breaker boxes it does still connect and function flawlessly. A few other important things to note, try to keep the gateway and AP's away from units that can draw alot of energy, this can create 'noise' (think fridges, freezers etc), Also do not plug into a power strip (let the power strip plug into it), otherwise you will lose performance
Bad LLC
Pros: Newer BIOS's allow for semi passive on the fan, strong VRM's. Ok (but not great) PCI-E lane assignment for my usage.
Cons: The LLC is aweful on this board, if you expect to get decent results out of CTR.. dont. I have had issues going from various different BIOS versions and the stability of my RAM, going from sometimes it will boot once every 5 attempt, to booting everytime despite all the timings manually keyed in. The RGB software is not working with newer BIOS's last I checked, I want to disable the RGB on my RAM (maybe black electrical tape?) The "armor"/board shield is annoying and I just removed it. They give you open ended PCI-E slots (NICE!) but prevent you from using them with the stock metal plate installed. I did have to put a cooler on my Gen4 NVMe drive after removing the plate, I wish it had separate pieces
Overall Review: Ok board but at this price range I would look else where, epically if you want to OC/ use CTR. The thermal pad on the southbridge can be replaced with a better product and the heatsink can be tightened down lowering temps quite a bit, just be careful as it is a bare die underneath.
6 Pack of 9-LED flashlights
All the flashlights work well, shipping was done in a timely manner. One of the flashlights has a raw alumnium finish (I believe this is on purpose) however on that one one of the edges is rather sharp (only a issue if the batteries are being replaced. Also batteries made in China, not sure if they will create a black hole in my hand.