Joined on 05/03/09
Beautiful Monitor
Pros: - Beautiful Color - Very Crisp and clean. Colors are very vivid and clear - Stand is sturdy, although a little wide in the front - Great add-ons like DVI/HDMI - Love the physical buttons. Not a fan of monitors that use touch screen buttons - Very bright screen. Can be turned down, but it can be quite bright - Surprisingly light for it's size - Speakers are actually not bad. Not sure why everyone doesn't like them. They don't get SUPER loud, and it's not like it's 5.1 or 7.1, I mean....they're built-in speakers. But they're not bad.
Cons: - A little bulky. Definitely more bulky than newer monitors - Older monitor compared to what's out there. I plan to get three, and I hope and pray these stay in production for a good year, or more. Asus, Newegg, PLEASE KEEP THESE IN PRODUCTION, AND IN STOCK!
Overall Review: For those of you who wants to hook up a PS3 (or Xbox 360/Xbox One/PS4), I had a little trouble getting my PS3 to detect and use 1080p. (Note: I use my HDMI for my console, and DVI for my PC. I do this because I can use the speakers for my console, which is carried through the HDMI cable) Try these things if you are having trouble getting it to work: - First things first, TRY ANOTHER HDMI CABLE. The quickest and easiest solution could be to just swap out your cable. It could be something wrong with it, or it's just not wanting to work properly. - Unplug everything from your monitor and console. Then plug your console back in, and JUST your HDMI to the monitor. Then try selecting the 1080p option. Then plug your PC back into your monitor. - Reset your video settings. On the PS3, turn off the console, then press and hold the power button until you hear the second "beep". Not sure how to do this on other consoles. Hope some of that information helps someone.
An update to my previous review
Pros: Read cons if you want to overclock
Cons: So after getting everything installed, I wanted to see what I could get out of my new 770. The answer was not much without some heavy modding. First off, the voltage is capped at 1.215v which limits what you can do with the core clock. With mine, I am only able to max out my core clock at 1254MHz (memory clock at 1850MHz but not maxed). The way to get you OC to stay is that you have to mod your BIOS, and change the default clocks. Every time I tried to OC my card, the OC would get throttled and it would lower it. Sometimes it would go back up depending on the GPU load, but more often than not it would stay down, and I would have to quit MSI Afterburner and restart the program to get my OC back. Now that all is said and done, I do have an OC on the card ONLY after modding the BIOS. But sadly, I can't OC anymore because I am limited to an increase of +12 on MSI AF for my voltage (because it's max is locked at 1.215V). To me, this is pretty much a joke. If I want to OC a card, that should be my business. If it bricks, that's my fault, but I shouldn't be limited on what I can do with my hardware. - 1 Egg for my previous review -1 Egg for locked voltage and having to mod my BIOS to get any kind of OC to stick.
Best case I have ever owned.
Pros: - Great design - All metal (except the front bezel which is a hard plastic, but with it being a brushed plastic, it makes it look like it's metal) - PLENTY of hard drive cages - PLENTY of places to mount fans - Juuuuuust enough room to fit my H100i in push/pull at the top (the top fans mounts for a dual radiator are moved twoard the window to allow large VRM coolers are RAM heatsinks. An AMAZING idea) - Dust filters are very easy to remove and clean, and they have a thick mesh which grabs a lot of the dust - Tinted window is dark, but definitely not too dark, you can definitely still see inside (especially with case lighting) - Fans are good for being stock
Cons: - I wish the motherboard tray went all the back to the front of the case. Had to move some cables around to hide them. - I wish this case was tool-less on the PCI brackets, HDD mounts, and the drive bays. But it's not a deal breaker.
Overall Review: Bought this case on sale for $75 bucks, and I'm glad I did. It's high quality, and just an amazing case overall. i5 2500k @ 4.2 H100i MSI Z77A-GD-65 Twin Frozr III GTX 570 HyperX Black 2x 4GB XFX Pro XXX Edition 650W
Great PSU
Pros: - Sleek design - Semi modular is nice (when will you not use CPU/PCI-E power?) - PCI-E cables are 2x 6+2, CPU is 4+4 - The cable mesh is a nice black, hard to see through - SATA/Molex cables are all black, very nice looking - 5 year warranty is a nice peace of mind - Hybrid fan - 80 plus bronze
Cons: - Short cables. I have a mid tower, and found it hard to reach my 24-pin. The SATA/Molex cables are quite short too. If they were an inch or two longer, it wouldn't be a problem. Had to route some of my cables different because they wouldn't reach. Hate to see this thing in a full tower. - Not a con for everyone, but the logo on the front (near the modular connections) is upside down if you want the fan facing up. If you want the fan facing down, you have a big sticker on the opposite side of the fan.
Overall Review: Got this on the daily deal for $45 after $30 mail-in-rebate, and after tax. Can't beat that price for this PSU.
Great board, came with a slight problem...
Pros: - Beautiful Board - Nice Layout - Very nice BIOS - Power/Restart/OC buttons on the board is quite nice - If your OC fails and your PC won't boot, after a minute the board will automatically restore your OC to factory settings. A VERY nice feature
Cons: - Came with bent CPU pins which was causing a boot loop issue when I would use the 3rd & 4th slot on my RAM. After an hour or so with a needle I was able to bend them back into position (I don't recommend you try it if you don't quite know what you are doing). I called MSI discussing my rebate because I was too late to turn it in, and while explaining my problem that I had, they informed me if I had wanted to send it back, it was NOT covered under warranty. Really, MSI? - Front panel connectors are in the middle of the board at the bottom, instead of to the bottom right. Not a big deal if you have long enough front connectors, but for me kind of annoying. - Annoying little blue flashing light under the last PCI-E slot. Not sure what it is (it seems to go steady the more use you put on your system) or how to turn it off. Not a problem if you don't have a window though (I do) - On-board audio sucks. It works, don't get me wrong, but the sound is very low compared to my old sound card (it's a legacy PCI card, so I can't use it). Apparently this is just a feature of the board that isn't too great. I would recommend a sound card.
Overall Review: 4/5 eggs. It's still a great board and despite some of the flaws, I am happy with my purchase. Rig: i5 2500k 4.2GHz @1.26V MSI Z77A-GD65 Kingston HyperX Black 2x 4GB MSI GTX 570 1 TB Caviar Black/Green Silencer 610W PSU Corsair A70 CPU Cooler
Very good
Pros: Great looking mouse pad. All black besides the logo in the corner, which looks very good. Smooooth. Very smooth. My mouse glides perfect, and my keyboard barely moves (the rubber feet plus this pad make for good resistance). Was able to fit my keyboard, 2 monitors, mouse, and iPod dock on this thing, with plenty of room for my mouse. This thing is so big I could use it as a blanket. Make sure you measure your desk space! Easy to clean. For the most part, I can just take my hand and swipe dirt and stuff right off. Anything else, a very lightly wet rag does the trick.
Cons: Can get dirty kind of easily, but honestly, what mouse pad like this doesn't? Edges can be a little frayed. Nothing major at all (so far), but there are a few spots here and there.
Overall Review: Overall a good mouse pad. Very big, very smooth. I would/will buy again.