cover
Donald J.

Donald J.

Joined on 02/02/12

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

Solid PSU

NZXT HALE90 V2 NP-1GM-1200A 1200 W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active@0.99(Typically) PFC Power Supply
NZXT HALE90 V2 NP-1GM-1200A 1200 W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active@0.99(Typically) PFC Power Supply

Pros: -Fully Modular with enough hookups for any set up could possibly want to run. -Lots of extra cables. -White and black color scheme, with understated logos. -Low power consumption when not being fully utilized, extremely energy efficient. -Fan is very quiet. -Quality of PSU and cables is top notch no fears of shorts because of this unit. -80+gold certified.

Cons: -Cable length while plenty to fit through out the case could have been a little longer for my liking.

Overall Review: I see people complaining about the price of this unit however comparable units of equal quality cost as much as $80 more than this one. Yes there are cheaper 1200w units out there but I doubt they are of equal quality. A nice option would be to buy this direct from NZXT and receive custom sleeved/colored cables at a small price hike. I have quite a few NZXT products which I use quite a bit and heavily and have had no issues with them what so ever. Fantastic company.

What's the fuss about

Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit
Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit

Pros: -Requires less system resources. -More secure network. -Utilization of multi-threaded app/programs and hardware. -Very responsive

Cons: -Required user log in.

Overall Review: Okay I understand switching from another version of Windows to this one can be a bit jarring. However all the people complaining about the METRO interface. Click desktop, boom METRO is gone and you do not have to use it. You can even go into Windows so it bypasses METRO on boot up. Or you can download an app to do it as well. Okay so now that I've covered the %99 of complaints from people. Navigation in the METRO interface is great even with out a touch screen, so long as you have a mouse with a scroll wheel. Ease of installation and use is great. the one problem with the installation would be the required microsoft account to install it. Which basically is hotmail email account so not a big deal. At first I thought if I was not connected to a internet connection there would be a problem but realised this is not the case and feel dumb for thinking something like that. There is also a neat option for start up that let's you log in easier, instead of typing your password in you can set a pin # and log in much easier this way. Quite simply navigation is easy and intuitive. All your old and familiar features are there for you to use simply laid out a bit differently. Control Panel, Search etc. are quite easy to access. Overall the operating system feels snappish, faster boot up times, faster load times for most everything. As I seem so happy and like such a Window Licker. Why the -1 egg? Well as much as I don't mind the hotmail account as I already had one. It is a bit of a strongarm method in my opinion. Also while I like the METRO interface absolute frustration you feel the first time you open a file on accident and it takes you to a page with no noticeable way to close it. For instance you click on something uses one note and you get a full screen view of your file. Nice feature. Please keep the small close window icon somewhere, not everyone knows hotkeys or shortcuts. I can only imagine how many Customer Help claims have been filed over something so simple. So overall a vast improvement in resource optimization and feel. With some slight oversights and heavy handed Microsoft branding. Nothing worse what competitors do though. Recommend buying this product and giving it a chance maybe even read a forum or two about it, plenty of videos on YouTube as well. Sorry for the rather inarticulate review. While trying to write this I am overwhelmed by thoughts of all the complaints I have heard or read and there is no way I can address them all. So tried to simply touch on the most prevelant and simple ones while highlighting a few things I like. If you have any specific questions please ask I will try my best to answer.

Excellent Cooler

NZXT Kraken X60 RL-KRX60-01 Ultra Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler 280MM
NZXT Kraken X60 RL-KRX60-01 Ultra Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler 280MM

Pros: -Ease of installation. -Noise levels. -Price. -Stellar cooling.

Cons: -Wire lengths. -Fans.

Overall Review: I love this CPU cooler! I thought for sure this would be harder to install and operate. Aside from my OCD personality once you set it up you don't ever have to touch it again. I have 2 complaints. The included fans while they work fine, could be better optimized for use with a radiator. NZXT sells fans specifically engineered for use with a radiator. Also one of my fans under high RPMS rattles so I need to replace it. Another small gripe I have is that the cable lengths from the pump itself could be longer so I could easily route them to be hiddedn. Simple aesthetic issue and I had planned on purchasing new fans anyhow for a push/pull set up. Nothing to knock an egg off for. For a look at results my Intel core i7 4770k overclocked to 4.5Ghz idles at 26c and under full crazy loads hits as high as 67c. Typically under gaming loads such as Battlefield 4 I stay around 60c

Solid Case

NZXT Phantom 530 White ATX Full Tower Computer Case Includes 1 x 200mm Front, 1 x 140mm Rear 2 x USB 3.0  Fan Controller
NZXT Phantom 530 White ATX Full Tower Computer Case Includes 1 x 200mm Front, 1 x 140mm Rear 2 x USB 3.0 Fan Controller

Pros: -Color Options -Fan Control -Wire Routing -Cooling Options -Easy Assembly/Disassembly -Filter Maintenance -Clearance for clean wire management

Cons: -Size -Lack of filter for side intake

Overall Review: I bought the white case and love it, unlike other users my panels match in color. I am happy with the size but this thing absolutely dominates a desk if you plan to put it on top. I recommend keeping this on the floor preferably hardwood anything but carpet, also keep it out of corners as this will make it sound louder. My only real complaint would be that the front filter is a little bit of a pain to remove and clean you have to remove your front panel then remove the filter and reassemble the whole thing. A filter I could easily slide in and out with out having to remove the front panel would be awesome. Nothing to egg an over though. Case is fairly quiet, though if you have loud fans there is no dampening and a lot of openings for noise to bleed out of. The airflow of this case is fantastic, assuming you have a good fan setup. The inside of my case stays around 35c under heavy loads with a GPU pouring tons of heat out. I love my case and would highly recommend it just keep in mind it's size.

Rabbit Vs. Turtle.

CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 Desktop Memory Model CMY16GX3M2A1866C9R
CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 Desktop Memory Model CMY16GX3M2A1866C9R

Pros: -Color option. -Price. -Speed.

Cons: -Have to manually set BIOS to have the 1866.

Overall Review: So about the only con I find. Nothing to do with the company or the product itself. the 1333mhz stock setting is something Motherboards do automatically. I am often told by people that 1866mhz is not necessary as anything past 1333 or 1600 is overkill. However I feel my system much more responsive to anything I ask it to do with this over my old RAM. Ram is much taller than I expected it to be however still much shorter than competing high performance RAM modules. Love this product.

Such pretty colors.

NZXT 5.25-Inch Hue RGB LED Color Changing Controller (AA-HUE30-01)
NZXT 5.25-Inch Hue RGB LED Color Changing Controller (AA-HUE30-01)

Pros: -Cable length is great for any size case. -Color options should cover anything you could possibly want to have. -Options and settings galore. -Simple to use. -Simple to install. -No software required to run or utilize.

Cons: -Cable length for most cases is excessive. -Light bleeds through the head unit for the Hue.

Overall Review: The cable length is both great and bad. It is too long for my case not an issue as you can simply tie it up and tuck it away cover the leds with tape if need be. the light bleed through is easily remedied with a simple piece of cardboard set behind the face of the unit. I have read many complaints about the adhesive not sticking properly to cases, I say either lack of surface prep or a case that shakes like a blender. I don't have my strip taped or tied down at all just tucked against my case and they have not shifted an inch.