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Thomas B.

Thomas B.

Joined on 09/02/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

Expensive, but worth it

areca ARC-1261ML-2G 16-port PCI-Express X8 w/2GB Cache on-board SATA II Controller Card RAID 0/1/1E/3/5/6 JBOD
areca ARC-1261ML-2G 16-port PCI-Express X8 w/2GB Cache on-board SATA II Controller Card RAID 0/1/1E/3/5/6 JBOD

Pros: Hardware Raid6, 2GB cache (a MUST), great interface, and very fast

Cons: I haven't experienced the "failed drive on reID" like the other reviewer, but I've only played with it a little bit. It allows hotswap without issue and doesn't even need to repool the existing drives.

Overall Review: I've got eight 1.5 TB seagate 7200.11 drives in raid6. Very fast and was easy to set up.

Most Critical Review

Doesn't work!

KWorld UB435-Q USB ATSC TV Stick
KWorld UB435-Q USB ATSC TV Stick

Pros: Driver installation was painless

Cons: Did not tune any ATSC OTA channels, and could not lock any cable clear QAM channels in Windows 7 x64 Media Center. The included software was no better, and froze after auto-tuning (with no channels found). Heats up VERY quickly. RMA'd to newegg, but return shipping was half the cost of the product!

Overall Review: KWorld finally did reply to my email in broken engrish, but only told me to check the website for support. THANKS!

Backlight Leak

Toshiba 37" 1080p 60Hz LCD TV
Toshiba 37" 1080p 60Hz LCD TV

Pros: Nice cabinet, tons of inputs, easy setup

Cons: Unfortunately, the product I received had a huge backlight leakage issue in the upper right of the screen. In any dark scene, it was light a flashlight was being shined onto the TV. This has been RMA'd to Newegg, and I would've tried another set, but it was sold out by the time the RMA was processed.

Overall Review: Toshiba includes a "Please Do Not Return This Product To The Store" flier in the box, but upon calling them I was instructed that they will simply send a tech out to repair in 3-7 days, and potentially replace the entire TV if it's a panel issue, with a delay of approximately 2 weeks. I asked why I wouldn't be better off just returning it to the retailer, and the customer service guy said "yeah, that'd be a lot faster" and indicated that there was no reason for ME the customer to follow their request, but it saves THEM money by processing a return that need to be repaired anyway. Build quality aside, this interaction with Customer Service has turned me off to buying another Toshiba product at any price. Too bad, since I'm planning on replacing all the TVs in my house shortly, and want them all to be the same brand.

Awful - Reboots and crashes

SYBA PCI-Express 4 Port Serial Card Model SY-PEX-4S
SYBA PCI-Express 4 Port Serial Card Model SY-PEX-4S

Pros: Controls 4 RS232 ports!

Cons: Disable power saving for a SERIAL port? No thanks. It took me a long time to figure out that this card was the bane of my computer. Windows 7 (x64) would reboot FREQUENTLY (3 days uptime was a miracle) and blue screen. Vista was better, but still random freezing that I couldn't diagnose. There are no updated drivers on Syba's website, in fact they don't acknowledge its existence at all! Unfortunately I've owned this card almost a year, so I can't return it. I bought it when there were no reviews on newegg, but now I can see that everybody else hates it too. The only thing I'm going to use this for is the 2-port extension slot to connect my motherboard header. Now that I've removed this card, my computer runs like it should be, and shuts down properly!

Overall Review: Steer clear of this card and of Syba. I emailed several times to find a solution to the obvious flaws of this card, but got no response on their technical or sales addresses. The only phone numbers they list are a fax line and for checking rebate status, neither of which could connect me to a person.

12/28/2009

Solid case, might buy another

NORCO RPC-4020 4U Rackmount Server Chassis w/ 20 Hot-swappable SATA/SAS Drive Bays
NORCO RPC-4020 4U Rackmount Server Chassis w/ 20 Hot-swappable SATA/SAS Drive Bays

Pros: Sturdy build, drive status lights, plenty of room for an ATX board, 20 bays for a fantastic price. Airflow is very good with the 6 fans.

Cons: Molex power on the backplane. If we're using SATA data connectors instead of SAS, why not give us SATA power too? I had to buy some adapters to convert SATA power to Molex since my power supply only had eight on two runs, and i didn't want to Y- it and overload the rail.

Overall Review: Bought this primarily for media storage, and am only half filled with 1.5TB drives. Plenty of room for future expansion, and I might buy another to replace another case that has gotten cramped over the years. I'm using Norco 26" rails, which seem to be made specifically for this.