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James G.

James G.

Joined on 11/17/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 13
Most Favorable Review

Awesome device

IOGEAR GUB401 USB2.0 Peripherals Sharing Switch
IOGEAR GUB401 USB2.0 Peripherals Sharing Switch

Pros: -No Software required (although some cool software features) -Supports Four PCs -Connects to USB hub to switch more than one device -Switches input devices (keyboard and mouse) -Nifty indicator lights -No power supply

Cons: -Kind of small. Once you connect all the USB cables, would be as difficult if not more to position on your desk as a standard USB hub. -Switching speed. If you're planning on using it as a "twitch switch" spend more money. There's a roughly a 3-5 second delay when switching from one PC to another. The countdown is built-in, it actually beeps 3 times when switching. -Sometimes the buttons are not very responsive, takes a few clicks to initiate a port switch. -Won't accept the "next port" switch command from a keyboard that's attached to the switch (or from the PC that it is currently controlling). Not a huge drawback, but worth mentioning.

Overall Review: The Pros outweigh the Cons. It's definitely a cool device, and hard to beat for the price. I wish it were faster, but hey, you can't always get what you want. I have a 7-port USB hub connected to it with an external power supply. It draws it's power from the "B" connections going to the PC, not the "A" connector from your device. Seems like a no-brainer, but you might be curious.

12/25/2008
Most Critical Review

Failed

MASSCOOL 5C12B3 50mm Ball CPU Cooler
MASSCOOL 5C12B3 50mm Ball CPU Cooler

Pros: Cheap, small, effective.

Cons: Died after 10 months. Fan started moaning, processor overheated. Thankfully the processor is still OK.

Overall Review: I was very happy with this thing for 10 months. Worked well and was relatively silent. Of course, I'm looking to get a bit more life out of an HSF. I guess I can't complain too much, it was super cheap.

12/31/2010

Amazing

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK

Pros: Good price, exceptional product, exceptional customer service.

Cons: One stick went bad after about 4 months of use.

Overall Review: In my opinion, buying memory is a risk all on it's own. It's arguably the most sensitive part of your computer, it's easily the smallest and probably handled the most during packing and shipping. Who's to say that any of these steps along the way didn't contribute to a possible failure at some point? I had one stick of this memory go bad after 4 months. I sent an e-mail to G.Skill tech support Friday night about it. I received a reply from them the same night about replacing it. I submitted the RMA form later that same night, and received the corresponding RMA back from them within an hour. I packaged up the defective piece and dropped it at UPS Saturday morning. I received the good RAM back on Thursday. For 6 days total turnaround (including the weekend) and plain English instructions every step of the way, I consider this customer service experience to be exceptional. 5 Eggs. Thanks, G.Skill!

I like Motorola, but...

Motorola Over-The-Ear Bluetooth Headset Black Bulk (H710)
Motorola Over-The-Ear Bluetooth Headset Black Bulk (H710)

Pros: - Very good call quality, loud and clear. - Above average battery life. Depending on how much you talk, can last two days at high use and up to a week with low use. - "Flip" off feature is three-fold: ease of power on/off helps preserve battery life, and physically makes it easier to store. - Good signal strength. Can walk 20-25 feet away from the phone and still hear the call clearly.

Cons: My unit died after 5 months of medium use.

Overall Review: I have days where I use the phone a lot, maybe 8 hours per day, and some where I don't use it much at all, like an hour of talking. After 5 months, my H710 died. I'm still giving it 4 stars because of the pros listed above. I was pretty harsh on it. It spent a lot of time in my pocket, so it's been crushed, squeezed, sweated on, submerged, flipped open and shut 20 times per day, washed in the washing machine, etc. Whether or not it died because of what I did to it or because of a manufacturing defect/design flaw, it's hard to say. Others have reported the mic fails also, so it could have been either. All that said, I plan on buying another. I like it a lot when it's working!

Could Be Better

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: 4 SATA Connectors, nvidia chipset, SLI, Easily overclocked, ASUS "Q Connector" makes hooking up the case buttons and LEDs incredbily easier than any of my previous builds, tons of other features.

Cons: Overall arrangement of connectors (I had to tie a lot of cables out of the way to keep them from hitting fans and such). SATA connectors are OK, but make sure you hook up the case panel first. Only 6 mount points with nothing under the last 3 inches to support the insertion of RAM chips/other connections. Have to be very careful installing not to bend the board so much. Only 2 PCI slots (one of which would be unusable in SLI). Not a big gripe there but if you wish to add sound and TV tuner card to your SLI setup, look elsewhere.

Overall Review: This board has many, many known issues with RAM configuration. The default/auto settings in BIOS will cause you problems installing Windows if you don't manually set your RAM voltage, and latencies. Check ASUS forums and your RAM manufacturer. I founld hundreds of users on Corsair's forums having trouble with RAM (as I did).

Fantastic drive

CORSAIR Flash Voyager 1GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) CMFUSB2.0-1GB
CORSAIR Flash Voyager 1GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) CMFUSB2.0-1GB

Pros: Quick to connect, no special drivers or software needed. Transfer speed is good.

Cons: Rubber loop is a little weak, seems like a lot of use or not very much pressure would break it. I use the lanyard, but I wouldn't put it on my keychain.

Overall Review: Very good deal. Corsair is A+ on memory applications.