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Bryan L.

Bryan L.

Joined on 04/08/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 13
Most Favorable Review

Basic Functional Router

TRENDnet TEW-673GRU N600 Concurrent Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, with USB Storage & Printer Sharing
TRENDnet TEW-673GRU N600 Concurrent Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, with USB Storage & Printer Sharing

Pros: Very easy to setup. Really like the dual band, but have to get a dual band adapter to run on the 5.0GHz band. connects easily to any adapter (have 3 Trendnet, 2 random on-board adapters, and multiple PCs and laptops). I've had it running 24/7 for almost a year now with no problems. I restarted the router a couple times early on, but after that it's been forgotten about and is used daily.

Cons: None that I can blame on the router.

Overall Review: I use this to stream full HD videos from a server wirelessly and have no issues. You do need to have a good 270Mb/s connection for completely seamless video, but as longer as you use Trendnet's dual band USB stick you won't have any problems.

Very Small

GIGABYTE GB-BXA8-5545 Mini-PC Barebone
GIGABYTE GB-BXA8-5545 Mini-PC Barebone

Pros: Very small, quad-core, low power consumption, dual memory slots for 16GB total, HDMI, dual monitor support, wireless N card occupies mini-PCIe slot for easy upgrade later.

Cons: USB 3.0 ONLY! Most likely not a big deal for most people, but I was building 3 of these for use in corporate environment and Windows 7 does not have built in USB 3.0 drivers. I actually put the drivers on the Windows 7 boot image (USB drive) and it would get all the way through installation, but after initial reboot the keyboard/mouse would no longer work. This is more of a Windows 7 issue and my own lack of foresight, but thought it would have been nice if Gigabyte kept at least 1 USB 2 port for anyone who still needs to install Windows 7. I actually had to install Windows 8 to get this to work at all which is why I removed 1 egg.

Overall Review: Awesome little system...obviously not a heavy gaming system, so anyone who complains about that is not too bright. Overall the 16GB memory capacity along with all the other Pros above makes this the perfect little system for a lot of basic applications. Would recommend this to anyone needing a small PC with light to medium (non-gaming) use.

Okay Stand

inland 05309 Triple LCD Desk Mount up to 24"
inland 05309 Triple LCD Desk Mount up to 24"

Pros: Can handle three 24" monitors easily. Solidly built (weighs a ton). Pretty easy installation (nothing is overly complicated, but I have seen better).

Cons: This is kind of a huge con, but the inward curvature to the outside bars is very small. If you mount three 24" monitors then be prepared to not only turn in your chair, but lean/roll from left to right depending on which monitor you want to look at. There is also some slight sagging, though this is which non-LED monitors which are obviously much heavier.

Overall Review: I gave this 4 eggs because I received exactly what was advertised, it was solidly built, could handle three 24" monitors, and had a good height to the monitors. I dropped 1 egg (very close to 2) for the minimal curvature.

Great Drive!

Kingston 16GB DataTraveler SE9 USB 2.0 Flash Drive (DTSE9H/16GBZ)
Kingston 16GB DataTraveler SE9 USB 2.0 Flash Drive (DTSE9H/16GBZ)

Pros: This is much smaller than you would initially think as others have said...although there certainly are smaller. This is very well made and very sturdy. There is no feeling that this will break due to rough use (other than water or maybe dirt/grime getting in the open end). It fits easily on my key ring, but I don't worry about it falling off like others. I really can't say enough good things about this drive. I can't really speak to transfer speeds as it was not a concern of mine. I use it for moving small files between work and home and if the few times I use it for anything larger, I don't think I'll care if it takes 10 mins to copy a couple gigs.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: It is a snug fit...although it does fit with a little extra push considering most drives glide right in. But certainly NOT a con! I really like the snug fit and it appears to fit in any computer I use. Fits my Mac Air just fine as well...other people had concerns, but I would disregard those.

Great Memory

Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BC1067
Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BC1067

Pros: Lots of memory for a good price. Seems very reliable and I have had no issues whatsoever. Use for my new AMD Fusion build for basic stuff, but occasionally do video conversion/compression and transfer 30+GB to my server.

Cons: None.

Good Drive

OCZ Vertex 3 2.5" 60GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) VTX3-25SAT3-60G
OCZ Vertex 3 2.5" 60GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) VTX3-25SAT3-60G

Pros: Small, quick drive. Used on a Zotac AMD Fusion Mini Box build. Boots very quick and I've had no issues yet.

Cons: Expensive! though I knew that when purchasing.

Overall Review: I don't use this for gaming or anything that a typical 2.5-3.5" green drive couldn't handle, so I can't really judge this too well.