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Paul P.

Paul P.

Joined on 12/07/05

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Product Reviews
Seller Reviews
product reviews
  • 16
Most Favorable Review

Looks good, works well.

StarTech BRACKETFDBK 3.5in Hard Drive to 5.25in Front Bay Bracket Adapter
StarTech BRACKETFDBK 3.5in Hard Drive to 5.25in Front Bay Bracket Adapter

Pros: Looks totally natural in my case, unlike some other similar products that can add a Frankenstein element to a case. Has 3.5" mounting holes for both the side and bottom of the mounted device, so should be compatible with pretty much everything. Plastic is thick and sturdy.

Cons: The plastic is thick, so the fasteners for attaching the device to the tray will need to be longer than usual, maybe another 3-5 mm. It uses self-tapping fasteners for the tray's side mounts connecting to the bay. If the bay doesn't use the removable slot-type attachments, then attachment is likely only going to be single-use, as my experience with self-tapping fasteners has been that re-use just completely strips out the plastic, though I suppose wood glue could be used at that point.

Most Critical Review

Works until it doesn't

D-Link DGS-2208 Unmanaged 8-Port Desktop Green Ethernet Switch
D-Link DGS-2208 Unmanaged 8-Port Desktop Green Ethernet Switch

Pros: Works until it fails.

Cons: Fails. Bought one 4 years ago. Also, the warranty is 3 years on hardware, not 'lifetime limited' as newegg claims. I've had one other switch fail in my lifetime and it was just a cheap no-name switch. I've got cheap switches from the 90s that still work fine.

The test of a switch is how long it lasts.

TRENDnet 5-Port Unmanaged Gigabit GREENnet Desktop Metal Switch, Ethernet-Network Switch, 5 x Gigabit Ports, Fanless, 10 Gbps Switching Fabric, Lifetime Protection, Black, TEG-S50g
TRENDnet 5-Port Unmanaged Gigabit GREENnet Desktop Metal Switch, Ethernet-Network Switch, 5 x Gigabit Ports, Fanless, 10 Gbps Switching Fabric, Lifetime Protection, Black, TEG-S50g

Pros: Works.

Cons: Didn't include a unicorn. Update 5/16/16: one of the ports has gone bad and become erratic. Other ports remain reliable, so now a 4-port switch.

Overall Review: The test of a switch is how long it lasts. For whatever reason, I haven't had a 10/100/1000 switch last longer than 3 years, while I have 10/100 switches working great after more than a decade of use. If this one fails, I'll come back and update this review.

Solid, inexpensive drive.

SanDisk Z400s 2.5" 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SD8SBAT-128G-1122
SanDisk Z400s 2.5" 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SD8SBAT-128G-1122

Pros: Low price. I only need this for a network gateway running pfSense, which uses FreeBSD and doesn't require much in the way of performance from a drive. This fits the bill. Has threaded metal fastener holes on sides and bottom.

Cons: None, really, other than for a drive at this price, expectations shouldn't be too high, although if purchasing as an upgrade from HDD, it should provide a noticeable improvement in performance, though another $10-15 might get yet a better drive.

Overall Review: Comes with only the SSD, nothing else, so if you need a height adapter for installing into a device, such as some laptops and other applications, you will need to get that separately.

Works, but has no bottom holes.

Rosewill RDCR-11003 - 3.5" 74-in-1 Internal Card Reader with USB 3.0 Port
Rosewill RDCR-11003 - 3.5" 74-in-1 Internal Card Reader with USB 3.0 Port

Pros: Windows 7 sees it as a USB 3.0 device, but I don't have any media to max out the speed. I have one card that is faster than USB 2.0, and the reader maxes out the card. In fact, the card reads at 45 MB/s while advertised as a 40 MB/s card. The construction seems solid, but can't say since I didn't open it up and I've only had it installed for a few days.

Cons: There are no bottom holes, so if you have a case with only bottom holes to attach an external 3.5" drive to, this reader will not work in that slot. I had to purchase a 5.25" to 3.5" external bay adapter to install this reader.

Overall Review: Windows 7 did not discover the reader on bootup. However, Windows did see the new hardware immediately after unplugging the cable from the motherboard, then plugging the cable back into the motherboard. Since the motherboard port is just a standard USB 3.0 port, this doesn't cause any harm that might occur with other devices that attach to the motherboard. Also, Rosewill has a firmware update utility on their site that worked perfectly and quickly. The firmware that shipped with mine was two versions old.

Great economy external drive bay.

ORICO SuperSpeed USB3.0 & eSATA to SATA External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5" & 3.5" HDD, SSD Enclosure 12V2.5A Power Adapter and eSATA Data Cable Included [Support 8TB] - Black (6619SUS3-BK)
ORICO SuperSpeed USB3.0 & eSATA to SATA External Hard Drive Docking Station for 2.5" & 3.5" HDD, SSD Enclosure 12V2.5A Power Adapter and eSATA Data Cable Included [Support 8TB] - Black (6619SUS3-BK)

Pros: Cheap. Works perfectly.

Cons: Power button is really cheap, so I just unplug it instead.

Overall Review: I would not recommend this for heavy use. However, for light, consumer use, it does the job. I've only used it for 10,000 RPM HDDs, but it maxes out transfer rates, so internals seem fine.

seller reviews
  • 2

Fast shipping.

Received faster than estimated delivery time.

On-time
Delivery
Product
Accuracy
Customer Service
Satisfactory

Fast shipping, though it does come from China.

Professionally packaged, accurate description, and relatively fast shipping with a good price.

On-time
Delivery
Product
Accuracy
Customer Service
Satisfactory