cover
Anton N.

Anton N.

Joined on 06/04/09

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 12
Most Favorable Review

I'm Sold

Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooling System
Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooling System

Pros: 1090T no o.c. idle temp dropped from 28c to 21/22c, highload dropped from 45c+ to 36-38c. With slightly modified configuration. (*see other thoughts) -Not Difficult to Install -Universal Compatibility and Mounting -Perfect Price Point -Great for consumers who are looking for a water cooling solution, without the true water cooling price.

Cons: The instructions were not the clearest to follow. You may have to rotate the radiator depending on the clearance with your side panel.

Overall Review: *To me the main difference between this and the KUHLER H2O 920 (aside from the slightly bigger radiator and software) is that the 920 comes with 1 additional 120mm fan. Most rigs should already have a 120mm fan where the radiator goes anyway. By sandwiching the radiator between the fan already in your case, and the one provided, you should increase the airflow through the fins in the radiator, boosting the performance your $70 kit (7/2011), and getting it closer to that $120 kit (7/2011).

Most Critical Review

Buy the Silent series 200mm

NZXT FN-200RB 200 mm Case cooler
NZXT FN-200RB 200 mm Case cooler

Pros: Large fan, relatively quiet (initially), high CFM

Cons: I've bought 4 of these fans now, the first two that came with the Phantom went bad, and started rattling, possibly the ball bearings. I replaced them now 2 times, and all of them have the same rattling sound.

Overall Review: Buy the silent 200mm NZXT fans. They move less air, but i've found they don't rattle after a few months like this one does.

Best Ultrabook for the Cost

lenovo IdeaPad U410 (43762CU) 14" Ultrabook
lenovo IdeaPad U410 (43762CU) 14" Ultrabook

Pros: -Great price point -Low weight (maximum allowable wieght for an ultrabook) -Ivy Brdige I5 -Fast boot up due to hybrid HDD+SSD -6gb Ram (up-gradable) -Good battery life - Full day's use of web browsing and word processing YYMV. -Great standby battery life -Fast charge time - Dedicated graphics / smart switch with integrated graphics for battery saving. -Lenovo Software suite and recovery

Cons: - On the heavier side compared to other ultrabooks - I recommend a screen protector, or a "key sheild". The keys leave imprints on my screen due from being compressed in my bag. - "Flex" - When in my bag, I can hear the laptop flex, and pop which worries me to death. So far no performance issues due to this. - Size - Aside from the weight, the U410 has the maximum allowable dimentions for an ultrabook as specified by Intel.

Overall Review: I keep bringing up the price of this machine, because for the price I do not think you can find a better ultrabook, with the specs and features this packs. This is not a gaming laptop. It is not the thinnest ultrabook on the market. Its doesn't have the "umph" or "wow factor" that a true ultrabook, or powerhouse laptop would have. What this is a solid 4 egg machine, and very cost effective, well preforming computer. In my opinion there is simply the best ultrabook for the cost. It is a bit on the heavy and thick side, as I mentioned earlier, it maxes out the allowed specification for Intel's ultrabook classification. The U410 comes with a fair amount of Lenovo's goodies built in. I usually hate pre-bundled software, however with this model, I didn't feel the need to uninstall anything. It comes with a hybrid HDD-SSD, which have been on the market for a while now, and I'm glad started making the transition into the notebook market. I believe also that Lenovo makes use of the RAM to cache boot files. These two together give a very competitive boot time to other more costly ultrabook's with true SSD's. At time of purchase the U410 was around $650-700, and was comparatively cheaper then most other ultrabooks on the market. Bottom line is that this is a great machine. It packs great hardware and some welcome software, in a small form factor.

Great RIG

iBUYPOWER Desktop PC Gamer Power 502D3 AMD Athlon II X2 250 4GB DDR3 500GB HDD Dedicated ATI Radeon HD 5450 Graphics (512MB) Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
iBUYPOWER Desktop PC Gamer Power 502D3 AMD Athlon II X2 250 4GB DDR3 500GB HDD Dedicated ATI Radeon HD 5450 Graphics (512MB) Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Pros: Cheap, Solid Hardware.

Cons: The sata cable for the HDD was unplugged, gave me a scare on first boot. Not enough to deduct an egg, just make sure you check it before you RMA

PSU

CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750 W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Compatible with New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready
CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750 W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Compatible with New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready

Pros: Great Cpu, lots of connections, wires nicely grouped and braided.

Cons: Its no modular, so you will have some extra cabling.

Overall Review: Had a case big enough to route everything behind MoBo. Otherwise would have had some clutter inside. ASUS M4N98TD EVO AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition CORSAIR XMS3 8GB WD1002FAEX 1TB EVGA 768-P3-1360-TR GeForce GTX 460 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX

12/25/2010

best ram for the $$

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M4A1600C9
CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M4A1600C9

Pros: I got the 8gb kit on new egg for around $110, all sticks installed great. MB and Win7 recognized all 8gb.

Cons: it wasn't free

Overall Review: ASUS M4N98TD EVO AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition CORSAIR XMS3 8GB WD1002FAEX 1TB EVGA 768-P3-1360-TR GeForce GTX 460 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX

12/25/2010