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John S.

John S.

Joined on 01/01/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

Perfect for early adopters

Kingston SSDNow V Series 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SNV125-S2/40GB
Kingston SSDNow V Series 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SNV125-S2/40GB

Pros: The biggest pro here is cost. Other SSDs are well out of a low end price range, and Kingston did a great job sacrificing just enough storage space to get the cost down to affordable prices. SSDs will certainly drop in price, but for someone who wants to adopt early and doesn't mind sacrificing a little space on the main drive, this is a great match. Putting it in my HP laptop was as easy as taking out the old HDD, swapping the SATA adapter from HDD to SSD, and plugging in the new drive. From there I reinstalled Windows 7. With Windows 7 Pro, a good amount of programs including Firefox and Office 2007, no hibernation, and a 2GB page file, I still have just under 20GB free, which is perfect for temporary storage until I can move things to my external.

Cons: Size, first and foremost. You will be making some compromises if you don't have readily available storage, especially on a laptop where you don't always have your external with you. Consider buying an 8GB to 16GB flash drive just for that "emergency" space. The speeds aren't quite as fast as more expensive SSDs, but it still blows regular HDDs out of the water. No competition there.

Overall Review: I used to warm my hands on my laptop's keyboard right above the HDD, I can't do that anymore because it doesn't get as hot! Oh well. As of 11/25/09, this drive does not have TRIM support. Kingston has stated that it is in the works. Can't wait for the Intel 160GB G2 to get to a decent price point.

11/25/2009
Most Critical Review

Quiet and cool until pump failure

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240 AIO CPU Liquid Cooler, White LED Pump, FEP Tubing, Dual 120mm Air Balance MF, Dual Dissipation Technology LGA 1700 Compatible
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240 AIO CPU Liquid Cooler, White LED Pump, FEP Tubing, Dual 120mm Air Balance MF, Dual Dissipation Technology LGA 1700 Compatible

Pros: - Excellent price, no RGB - No issues with fan noise despite what others have noted - Cooled very efficiently, lowered my temps significantly without being loud

Cons: - PUMP FAILURE AFTER 1 MONTH - TWICE. See update below. - Cooler Master logo is brightly lit white and cannot be turned off - Logo can't be rotated, depending on pump orientation it may be upside down when your PC is standing up. Not a great look with a glass panel. After two months of use the pump started making a severe grinding noise. I've reached out to CM support, hopefully can RMA this. - Update, the REPLACEMENT pump is now making the same horrible grinding noise. I will be refunding my purchase and choosing another brand.

Overall Review: 8/10 when it worked. 0/10 because I had two fail within a month.

Good hardware, Great support team

Rosewill RNX-N600PCE - Dual Band Wireless N600 Wi-Fi Adapter - IEEE 802.11b / 11g / 11n, Up to 300 Mbps (5.0 GHz) + 300 Mbps (2.4 GHz) Data Rates, PCI E Interface, 2 High Power Dual Band Antennas
Rosewill RNX-N600PCE - Dual Band Wireless N600 Wi-Fi Adapter - IEEE 802.11b / 11g / 11n, Up to 300 Mbps (5.0 GHz) + 300 Mbps (2.4 GHz) Data Rates, PCI E Interface, 2 High Power Dual Band Antennas

Pros: Hardware was recognized by Win8 immediately (though only 2.4ghz, see Cons) Form factor is extremely slim and fit nicely in my case Connection so far is solid, no issues

Cons: 5ghz band NOT supported by default in Windows 8, and the drivers that came on the included CD were out-of-date and only worked with Win7. Installing from the CD on Win8 caused the device to stop working entirely, not even recognizing the 2.4ghz band. A quick call to tech support and I had the answer (download the newest version from the website) within minutes with zero hold time - very impressive.

Overall Review: The drivers are only available from Rosewill as an executable installer, not bare. I asked the tech if they had access to the standalone files and he told me to search for Ralink RT5592 which is the chipset for the adapter. I was unable to find a download. Fortunately the executable installer worked great once I got the right version. Windows 8 requires 3.2.13.0, the included disc only has 3.2.12.0. Be sure to download the new version before you take out your old wireless card! Also, if you have an extended antennae from Rosewill, it is compatible with this card. The one I have has three connectors instead of two, but the card works quite nicely with a strong signal with just two connectors attached.

"Works"

COBY Pocket AM/FM Radio CX71 Red
COBY Pocket AM/FM Radio CX71 Red

Pros: Technically works, picks up AM and FM frequencies. Good volume, decent reception indoors, has a DBBS switch for better bass sounds.

Cons: Don't even look at the tuning dial when trying to find the station you want. Mine is currently set somewhere above 102 FM and picking up 92.7 FM. It's loud and clear but it's nowhere near what the dial says it should be.

Overall Review: Use a digital radio to find your station and tune this one until it matches. I only use it for an early-morning talk show before work and don't need to switch stations or scan for anything, so it works for my purpose, but $15 is expensive for a single-station portable radio. My local dollar store carries FM radios.

Great for the price

IOGEAR GCS42UW6 2-Port Compact USB VGA KVM with Built-in Cables
IOGEAR GCS42UW6 2-Port Compact USB VGA KVM with Built-in Cables

Pros: Works great for switching between two computers and only one set of mouse/keyboard/monitor. I managed to set it in a nice spot under the desk that is easily reachable by my toe and still out of the way. A remote switch or hotkey would be convenient but for basic functionality this is perfect.

Cons: No remote switch, but cheap enough that it isn't much of an issue.

Overall Review: My Windows XP machine wanted me to click "OK" before it would install the drivers, but without the drivers it wouldn't recognize the mouse/keyboard yet. A quick switch of the mouse from the KVM to the actual computer, "OK", and it worked fine from there on out.