Joined on 10/25/09
Pros: Works exactly as you'd expect a CPU to work. Love that the AM3 socket is still compatible with the motherboard I purchased a couple years earlier, for my last PC build (in fact, this is the primary reason I chose AMD initially; the lower price vs competitors is a very nice bonus).
Cons: Stock cooling is very loud. I don't overclock or anything, but when I play a game or do something highly CPU intensive the volume is comparable to what you'd expect from a 1U rackmount server. I could not live with this in the same room as me. The CPU temperature was getting up above 60 degrees C. I replaced with a liquid cooler within a couple days of owning this, so that was also an extra $60 or something that getting this really cost me.
Overall Review: Within two days, I purchased and installed a Antec KÜHLER H2O 620. Made a HUGE difference. Sound of my PC is barely noticeable, and the temperature barely goes above 50 degress C at most -- usually hovers around 38. Factor the cost of aftermarket cooling into your purchase.
Alright, but not reliable
Pros: Decent picture for the cost. Has day/night, controllable LEDs, audio. Nice versatile mounting bracket -- works as a stand, wall or ceiling mount, and allows pointing in any direction in any setup.
Cons: Connection is not very reliable. Has trouble especially with multiple connections at once, even when connected via wired ethernet. I have two, and they both do this -- for many minutes, one just won't be accessible. Try again a while later, and it works fine. Night mode switching is a bit aggressive, and can't be adjusted. Inside, if there's not light directly shining on the area being watched, it tends to go to night mode.
Overall Review: Many ways to access, but basically no documentation. I had to packet sniff to figure some URLs out: JPG Image: /cgi/jpg/jpg.cgi MJPG Image: /cgi/mjpg/mjpg.cgi MJPG image: /cgi/mjpg/mjpeg.cgi (this is used by the included software, but doesn't work properly in browser. I haven't investigated much) Audio: /cgi/audio/audio.cgi (16-bit PCM, mono, 8000hz. streamed in 3868 byte chunks as mime type multipart/mixed) By running a proxy in front to remap URLs, I'm able to use this (including audio) with off-the-shelf software (I randomly picked a Trendnet TV-IP121W and used with TinyCam Pro).
Good unit
Pros: Allows things to be charged while the pack itself is charging. Two ports (2A and 1A) gives some flexibility in charging tablets or multiple phones. Seems to be of rated capacity: Can easily charge a phone 4 or 5 times. Charging power-hungry Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10" tablet uses about half capacity (according to the LEDs). Control is very easy: press the button, blue lights turn on, good to charge. Unplug and it shuts off on its own a while later.
Cons: A bit bulky (but it's also 11mAh), plus you also have to carry around a charge cable. Flashlight is not very bright (most cell phone flash lights will far surpass it), if that is important (I never use it).
Pros: Great that it has a switch built-in. Form factor is nice, easy to blend in or hide under/in/behind furniture (as opposed to being a giant wall wart like many of the other powerline AV stuff). More reliable connection than wireless (at least where you have lots of competing Wifi networks). A great option for media streaming devices and VoIP phones that don't have wifi (and would otherwise require expensive wifi adapters). Doesn't interfere with my Insteon lighting network at all.
Cons: Connecting to an existing network is frustrating. I may have done something wrong, but I had to reassociate everything (including two pre-existing powerline AV adapters) to get it working -- feels a bit sketchy when you are sitting there holding buttons on different devices, waiting for the lights to blink the right way. I had to get everything into one room to do it so I wasn't running all over the place, then moved them back to their original locations once they were all synced. Speed isn't great. Even on the same circuit I was only really reliably/consistently getting ~50 Mbps, though it would burst up higher occasionally. I tried unplugging all my UPSes (all computer gear in the house is on a UPS), but it didn't really seem to make a noticeable difference. I do have some Insteon switches in the house but I don't think they broadcast except when you use them so I doubt they're the issue.
Overall Review: My wife's PC was also hooked up for a while, and it was fine for causal browsing, but she absolutely hated it for trying to copy/manage photos stored on the NAS in the basement. I have since run cat6 to that room and now the PC is on gigabit. That said, until I got around to doing the renovation that allowed me to get ethernet in the room, this was a great temporary fix. I do still have my Smart TV and a voip phone connected, and will continue to for the forseable future (I would still switch to wired ethernet if I ever renovated the kitchen and had drywall on the walls and ceiling down to be able to run the cables).
Pros: * Great sound and especially bass * Comfortable to wear for a few hours * Great quality microphone. Very handy to be able to place it whereever you want or even detach it * Can be used while they are charging. The cord is in a spot that effectively makes them no different from wired headphones. * Good range, provided you put the the USB dongle in a good spot. Plugged into the back of my computer case caused occasional interference while sitting 4' away, while plugged into a USB hub mounted to the bottom of my desk surface I can use them from 20' away in the next room. Considering buying another pair for work, though I may get the wired version (see Other thoughts).
Cons: Not really "3D", at least in the games I've played. I have a 5.1 speaker setup and I can hear stuff behind me using those. With the headphones, it just sounds like normal stereo sound to me. Perhaps it's just because I'm comparing it to true surround speakers, but I was totally underwhelmed by the "3D" aspect. The USB cable even after a couple months of use is a bit stiff (it still has the bends in it from shipping) and its high-friction rubberized coating means it tends to catch on things rather than slip past. It would be nice to have a cord better suited to using them as if they were wired headphones, although that said I'm still using the included cord so it's not a big deal.
Overall Review: I actually don't use the wireless as much as I thought I would. Don't get me wrong: it's convenient, and it lasts a good 8 hours. I am just lazy and plugging them in every time I am doing using them is not as easy as just leaving them plugged in and putting them on. When I first got them I was using them wireless all the time, but forgetting to plug them in meant they'd die while I was in the middle of using them so I had to use them while plugged in anyway, or worse I'd accidentally leave them on overnight and find them dead when I went to use them the next evening.
Only 4 PoE ports!
Pros: I do not own.
Cons: Despite what the description says, this only has 4 ports of PoE according to the picture and Cisco's datasheet: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/switches/ps5718/ps10863/datasheet_C78-582017.html
Overall Review: Posting this only due to misleading description. There is actually at least one other site on the internet that describes this as having 8 PoE ports.