cover
Matthew T.

Matthew T.

Joined on 06/09/09

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 12
Most Favorable Review

Fits where others do not

Noctua NH-L9x65, Premium Low-Profile CPU Cooler (65mm, Brown)
Noctua NH-L9x65, Premium Low-Profile CPU Cooler (65mm, Brown)

Pros: This NH-L9-65 fit inside my HP Pavilion Slimline S5704 case upgraded with an AMD 645 CPU (3.1 Ghz Quad core, 95W TDP), two sticks of RAM, and a Biostar TA-785-3G Mb. It runs much quieter and cools better than a stock AMD 8-core heatpipe cooler that was used previously. Since this computer is only used as an HTPC, it must be quiet, and this cooler fits right next to the RAM sticks and does the job quietly.

Cons: Could be cheaper?

Overall Review: A great cooler that is only recommended for applications with severely limited space.

Great half-height card for an older HTPC

MSI GeForce GT 710 2GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Low Profile Video Card GT 710 2GD3 LP
MSI GeForce GT 710 2GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Low Profile Video Card GT 710 2GD3 LP

Pros: Installed the MSI GeForce GT-710 into an ancient HP Pavillion Slimline S5704Y which has been upgraded over the past 11 years - Biostar TA785G3, Propus 645, 8Gb RAM, WD 500Gb SSD, Seasonic 300W TFX PSU. Using the Radeon HD 4200 integrated graphics thru a VGA cable, it could project at 1920x1080 which was NOT very sharp on my school's 75" flat screen. Using the GT-710 2Gb with HDMI, the HTPC can now project at UHD (3840x2160) which is very crisp on the 75" flat panel. As a side benefit, the HTPC seems more responsive, presumably because more RAM is available for applications instead of being dedicated as video RAM.

Cons: There isn't any mention of the half-height brackets being included in the box. I ordered them elsewhere and wasted $12 because the package did include two brackets- one for VGA-only and one for DVI-HDMI combo. BTW- gaming with this graphics card would only be appropriate for very old titles. For comparison, it is only slightly faster than the integrated graphics on a 4th gen Intel CPU (Haswell) or an older GeForce 9800 GTX (Tesla).

Overall Review: Great to save an older HTPC from being scrapped. The add-in VGA cable can be unplugged for half-height use with the included bracket. The DVI-HDMI output allows a presenter to use a small, DVI-capable flat panel for presentation setup and use an HDMI cable with Win 10's extended display to project to a large UHD flat panel at 3840x2160 resolution.

A good looking rail that is worth the price

Leapers Inc. PRO Keymod Compat. M&P10 17" SS FF Rail
Leapers Inc. PRO Keymod Compat. M&P10 17" SS FF Rail

Pros: Inexpensive compared to some well-known brands costing twice as much. Includes a barrel nut wrench for their proprietary attaching nut. It is a given that it is lightly constructed, but it has been strong enough for the task of a precision rifle build. The Picatinny rail does fit flush with a DPMS upper (LR-308 low profile, Gen1) and at 17" this free float tube looks really good with a DPMS 24" SS target barrel and a Sadlak low profile gas block. The UTG Recon Flex KeyMod Bipod fits properly on the sides of this tube and is a stable platform for long range shooting.

Cons: Attachment was a bit difficult because the barrel nut's rail-mounting holes did not line up initially with my barrel and upper. Rather than the old chore of filing/sanding the barrel nut for proper clocking, the kit includes steel shims to properly clock the barrel nut, and the holes did line up after three trial fittings. A longer Picatinny rail insert (it does come with two relatively short ones) would be nice to put on the bottom of the tube for older attachments like a vertical fore grip or a sling attachment.

Overall Review: A good looking rail that is worth the price.

Great convertor for the price!

USB to SATA Serial ATA Convertor USB 3.0 Adapter fit Kingston 2.5" SSD or HDD 60GB 120GB 240GB 480GB and 960GB
USB to SATA Serial ATA Convertor USB 3.0 Adapter fit Kingston 2.5" SSD or HDD 60GB 120GB 240GB 480GB and 960GB

Pros: Did a 120Gb cloning job to an SSD in less than eight minutes; way faster than a USB2 convertor which takes 15-30 minutes for that size. Also can turn an SSD or notebook HDD into a huge USB stick.

Cons: Convertor is a little flimsy in supporting the weight of a notebook HDD; it will need additional support. The included cable works for data transfer, but resistance is too high to power a 2.5" notebook HDD reliably- notebook HDD will constantly add/drop the USB connection.

12/26/2016

Good features for the price

ASUS Z97-A/USB 3.1 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
ASUS Z97-A/USB 3.1 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Maintains stable overclock (i7-4970K @ 4.85GHz on air); logical placement of fan headers that works well for a CM 922 case; Fan Expert 3 throttles front, back, & CPU fans, and it shuts off unnecessary case fans (side and top) reducing dust buildup inside the case. Fans will spool up when needed according to the profile you set.

Cons: Only 4 SATA III slots! I plugged in my DVD-RW and HDD's into them, but I had to use the SATA Express 10 Gb/s slots for my SATA 3 SSD . SATA Express is pretty useless anyway, but the board does have an M.2 socket if you are fortunate enough to own one.

Overall Review: Some others have complained about boot failures with this m/b- it might be the m/b at fault because no one makes 100% perfect boards. A few people have gone so far as to replace the PSU (should have diagnosed with a PSU tester), and when the system still refuses to boot, they conclude that the m/b must be bad. I used to think so, too, until I had the same problem with an Asrock Z87. I bought a new, bigger PSU when the PC failed to boot with no error codes (black screen) or error beeps. You do need to buy a motherboard speaker today as most m/b's do not come with them nowadays; I bought a pack of ten off ebag for less than $5 and gave a few to friends. When I pushed the PC's soft touch ON button- still nothing after buying a $200 1Kw PSU! To make a long story short, I thought it was the m/b but it was the CMOS battery. DVOM showed 2.8 volts. When I replaced the CMOS battery (new=3.1V), the system worked properly- it was not the PSU and not the M/B, just a weak CMOS battery! M/B Manufacturers get the CMOS battery as cheap as possible and I would not be surprised if a lot of m/b problems can be traced to a weak battery.

Inexpensive and does its job

StarTech.com 15 ft Thin Toslink Digital Optical SPDIF Audio Cable
StarTech.com 15 ft Thin Toslink Digital Optical SPDIF Audio Cable

Pros: I needed a long optical cable to go between my motherboard's SPDIF and the home theater receiver/amplifier. 15 feet was the proper length, and this cable works properly!

Cons: Really thin. I wouldn't use it in a high traffic area or if you have pets (cat or dog) because it looks like one biting incident would destroy it.