cover
Nathan W.

Nathan W.

Joined on 07/19/10

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 33
Most Favorable Review
APEX MI Series MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply
APEX MI Series MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply

Pros: + Looks nice, small and lightweight + Doesn't feel cheap + PSU works

Cons: - Cramped.. but this is a mini-itx case so what do you expect

Overall Review: This case is small but I had no problem fitting my AM1 Athlon 5350 inside with the stock heatsink. There wasn't a lot of clearance left between the PSU and the top of the heatsink but it did easily fit. The Athlon 5350 has no problems keeping cool, even at full load for days. I'd buy this case again.

12/11/2014
Most Critical Review
Cooler Master Elite 430 - Mid Tower Computer Case with All-Black Interior and Windowed Side Panel
Cooler Master Elite 430 - Mid Tower Computer Case with All-Black Interior and Windowed Side Panel

Pros: + Got it cheap, I think I paid $24 for it after a rebate + Looks nice + Arrived at my house in two days, with the free shipping + Feels sturdy, but lightweight + Came with plenty of screws

Cons: - Mine showed up a little broken. The front face on it came broken in half with some of the slot plates bent and scattered around. - The side panel door has no locking ability at all without the little thumb screws, it's not really an issue since you won't likely be moving the computer around much after you build it

Overall Review: As I said earlier, my case arrived not in perfect condition. I rated 3 eggs because all a case really is supposed to do is... not arrive broken. The metal 5.25 and 3.5 drive plates I could bend back straight so you can't even tell that they were messed up, and the thin piece of plastic that was broken in half lines up mostly straight so it's also hard to tell. In the end it's difficult to tell it arrived messed up but, it did; and since I could repair the damage with little time invested it's not a big deal. I would buy this again, because I'm sure that mine was a strange and probably rare problem and the case does look nice and have a quality feel

ADATA Premier SP600 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ASP600S3-64GM-C
ADATA Premier SP600 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ASP600S3-64GM-C

Pros: + It works and I got mine cheap + It's an SSD so it's fast + Random access times are fast + Enough space for an OS boot drive, and still having enough space for 2 large games or several smaller ones

Cons: - None

Overall Review: 64GB is on the smaller side but this is a great option for an OS boot drive. I'd buy this again. Peak read speed: 260mb/s Minimum read speed: 136mb/s The write speeds are a little slower, at 90-100mb/s

12/11/2014
Pareema 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MD316C81609L1
Pareema 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MD316C81609L1

Pros: + It works, and it stable at the speeds listed + Tightened the timings to 8-8-8-24 and seems 100% stable at 1.53v

Cons: - None

Overall Review: Not much to say, it works and I got it at a good price. I'd buy this again

12/11/2014
MSI AM1I AM1 USB 3.0 HDMI Mini ITX AMD Motherboard
MSI AM1I AM1 USB 3.0 HDMI Mini ITX AMD Motherboard

Pros: + Looks and feels like it's quality made + It works, and I got it cheap + USB3.0, SATA6GB/s, HDMI + Mini-itx, so it's very small

Cons: - No full-size PCI (you should know this) - No PCI Express (you should know this too)

Overall Review: The main power connector was somewhat difficult to get in, don't know if it was the PSU connector or the MB connector but I did eventually get it. That's really my only issue with it, so just nitpicking. I'd buy this again for another HTPC or general MS office / internet browsing PC. I paired this with an Athlon 5350.

12/11/2014
AMD Athlon 5350 - Athlon Kabini Quad-Core 2.05 GHz Socket AM1 25W AMD Radeon R3 Desktop Processor - AD5350JAHMBOX
AMD Athlon 5350 - Athlon Kabini Quad-Core 2.05 GHz Socket AM1 25W AMD Radeon R3 Desktop Processor - AD5350JAHMBOX

Pros: + Cheap for the performance you get + It's only 25W, so it stays cool and uses very little electricity + Runs great on multi-threaded programs + GPU is more powerful than I thought + Stock heatsink is very small, and quiet (only barely audible even at 62.5% fan speed.

Cons: - Single threaded performance isn't that great - Single channel memory support

Overall Review: I paired this with MSI AM1I AM1 Mini ITX AMD Motherboard, and haven't had any problems. For the given total cost of a motherboard, this CPU and one stick of memory the value is great. This is obviously not a gaming CPU, I use it in an HTPC to play 1080p quality videos and also as a BOINC PC that is always on. If you know what you're getting into before you buy this, you won't be disappointed. This CPU would be a good option for an HTPC or a small workstation running MS office and general internet browsing. The idle temps on this are very low (if speedfan is giving me reliable information) around 16-18°C, at full load for a few hours I've seen it hit 48°C.

12/11/2014