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Vincent M.

Vincent M.

Joined on 06/24/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 11
Most Favorable Review

Bulletproof router

Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g
Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g

Pros: It's a solid, reliable piece of networking equipment. I got it up and running with wireless (WPA2) encryption in less than 5 minutes. The interface isn't very hard to navigate, and the settings are upfront.

Cons: The model I received was the V8. While it works and all, they removed quite a bit from the previous versions. It has an integrated antenna for those who like to replace them, and it has less RAM and Flash memory than V1-V5.

Overall Review: It works just fine. If you're looking for something that's easy to set up, or a cheap but decent router, look no further. This is the second one I've owned (the 1st having worked for 3 years before kicking the can), and I've recommended and set up several of these for other people. Also, open source firmwares will work if they're smaller than 2mb.

It really makes a speed difference

G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory Model F3-1600C11D-16GSL
G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory Model F3-1600C11D-16GSL

Pros: 1) A lot of RAM for the price 2) Compatible with many motherboard manufacturers 3) Very fast RAM

Cons: 1) CAS Latency isn't the best 2) Only running in single channel

Overall Review: I bought this kit to replace the 4GB DDR3L stick that was in my new Lenovo G50-80E1, and after popping them in, I noticed that load times were significantly cut, and I was able to multitask easily without any perceivable lag. It just works--plain and simple. After running a Windows Performance Index test, it scored a 6.9 on memory, achieving a bandwidth of 6800 MB/s. That's pretty quick. However, I think AMD limits these two sticks of RAM to single channel, and this may be faster in a comparable Intel setup.

A surprisingly powerful budget laptop

Lenovo Laptop AMD A8-6410 4GB Memory 500GB HDD AMD Radeon R5 Series 15.6" Windows 8.1 G50 (80E301GUUS)
Lenovo Laptop AMD A8-6410 4GB Memory 500GB HDD AMD Radeon R5 Series 15.6" Windows 8.1 G50 (80E301GUUS)

Pros: 1) Surprisingly good at multitasking, especially with upgraded RAM and SSD 2) Integrated AMD Radeon R5 graphics make 1080p video playback smooth, and some gaming experience is possible 3) Decent battery life when power saving mode and half brightness on the LCD screen are enabled (3-6 hours, depending on use) 4) Thin and lightweight for the features included

Cons: 1) At 4GB RAM, performance is slightly sluggish 2) Does not have gigabit ethernet 3) Does not have 802.11ac wireless 4) The included 500GB HDD is slow 5) Accutype keyboard not as good as previous Lenovo keyboards 6) Keyboard not backlit 7) Front-facing webcam is only 640x480 resolution

Overall Review: I bought this laptop as a replacement for my aging Alienware M11x R1 since it temporarily was out of order. This laptop was on sale, and I decided to buy it since I would be using it primarily for grad school. When I ran it out of the box, it was reasonably fast for the price. It's a much better value than any netbook in the same price range. However, I knew that I would be wanting more RAM and a faster SSD. After installing 16GB of G.SKILL DDR3L RAM and a 240GB Patriot Blaze SSD, this laptop is incredibly quick. Boot times are under a minute, multitasking is achieved with ease, and aside from the graphics scoring a 4.6 on the Windows Experience Index, everything else was above a 7. This is amazing for a budget laptop with a few upgraded parts. While the AMD Radeon R5 M230 isn't an incredible graphics card, it will still play League of Legends at a smooth 30-35 fps at 720p on high settings, and more demanding games will most likely still run on low settings. A suggestion: before switching to an SSD, I would recommend taking a USB flash drive and making a recovery drive for Windows 8.1 using the USB 3.0 port. It makes reinstalling Windows on the new drive much easier and faster. Lastly, I know it is not the fault of Newegg, but I had to RMA the first laptop I had because of a non-working headphone port and stuck pixel on the LCD screen. Newegg was quick to rectify the issue, though, and I got my new laptop about 1-2 weeks later. Lenovo might want to work on its quality control, even if these are budget laptops.

This ICY DOCK mounting kit is pretty cool

ICY DOCK 2 x 2.5 Inch to 3.5 Inch Drive Bay SATA SSD/HDD Mounting Kit / Bracket / Adapter - EZ-FIT MB082SP PRO
ICY DOCK 2 x 2.5 Inch to 3.5 Inch Drive Bay SATA SSD/HDD Mounting Kit / Bracket / Adapter - EZ-FIT MB082SP PRO

Pros: - Easy to install - You can secure two 2.5" drives quite easily without screws

Cons: - Price point

Overall Review: I ordered this item from a certain other online retailer because of my Prime subscription, but it was called the CREMAX PRO, although it had the same model number (MB028SP). And when it arrived two days later, the box said ICY DOCK. Weird. Anyway, I purchased this to house a Samsung 840 EVO 120gb 2.5" SSD and a 250gb Hitachi 7200 rpm 2.5" HDD in my PC case, and it fit right in. It's a rather clever device, using springs and a peg to conform to the length of whatever drive you insert into the bay, and then it's clipped in there by a thumb switch. Out of all the other options to house 2.5" drives in a 3.5" bay, this one made the most sense. And the build quality seems pretty good. Another thing of note, though. I noticed that the 7mm thickness drives have a bit of room to move. The bays are meant to accommodate thicker standard 2.5" HDD's. But then again, SSD's don't have any moving parts, so it's of little to no consequence.

Keeps things cool

Arctic Silver CMQ2-25G Céramique 2 Tri-Linear Ceramic Thermal Compound
Arctic Silver CMQ2-25G Céramique 2 Tri-Linear Ceramic Thermal Compound

Pros: There is plenty of it to go around. 25 grams is good for approximately 200 square inches. Non-capacitive and non-conductive. It works and lasts a long time.

Cons: Can be a bit messy. Slightly more viscous and harder to spread than other thermal compounds, like Arctic Silver 5.

Overall Review: I bought a tube of this to apply onto my Core 2 Duo E7200 and Zalman CPNS9500 cooler since I planned on overclocking this thing. On stock speeds (2.53 GHz), I was idling at about 29-30°C and hitting no more than 37°C under load, even without break-in. Now I'm running at 3.16 GHz, idling at 30-32°C, and hitting 40°C max under load with median 35°C. Still have yet to break it in since it takes about 25 hours of use, but all temps will probably drop about a centigrade once things finally settle.

Truly a good dual band USB adapter

Rosewill RNX-N600UBE Wireless N600 Dual Band USB 2.0 Adapter
Rosewill RNX-N600UBE Wireless N600 Dual Band USB 2.0 Adapter

Pros: Strong signal (802.11n @ 5 GHz and 300 Mbps) with 4 out of 5 bars through walls in an apartment. Much stronger when operating at 2.4 GHz. Actually dual band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. No dropped connections thus far. Quick speeds and latency. Did a speed test on testmy [dot] net, and I actually scored higher than normal. Price was good (picked it up on sale when it was 29 bucks, AND there was a 3 dollar off promo code). Comes with two 4 dBi external antennae and a neat activity LED.

Cons: Requires that you install the drivers using the supplied CD if running Windows 7, Vista, or XP. Not the most mobile solution for wireless networking.

Overall Review: A friend recommended that I try Rosewill for wireless networking on my PC, and I found this on sale last week. For the price I got it at, you can't beat the performance, especially since similar offerings at brick-and-mortar stores cost almost double what this did. Even at full price at forty dollars, it's not bad at all.