cover
Randy G.

Randy G.

Joined on 11/12/08

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

Great gaming mousepad

SteelSeries 63005SS QcK mini Mouse Pad
SteelSeries 63005SS QcK mini Mouse Pad

Pros: I bought one of these about five years ago and it still works. I bought a new just one because the old one lost some of it's color.

Cons: Five years of daily use and the only thing wrong with it is it's lost some of it's color.

Overall Review: I didn't even need to replace it, but did so anyways. Also it came with a sticker back then, as well as now.

Most Critical Review

Great while it lasted.

Cooler Master Seidon 240M - All-In-One CPU Liquid Water Cooling System with 240mm Radiator and 2 Fans
Cooler Master Seidon 240M - All-In-One CPU Liquid Water Cooling System with 240mm Radiator and 2 Fans

Pros: It kept my CPU cool while it lasted.

Cons: The pump died after two months of 12 hour daily use. The radiator fins are quite thin and delicate. A bump with anything solid is likely to bend them out of shape.

Overall Review: As is the norm, the included fans do not come pre-installed. Installing a 240mm radiator can be somewhat of a hassle due to it's size and weight, but installing the waterblock afterward is quite easy. The blue LED on the waterblock looks good in a case that has blue LED fans. It would look out of place in a case that uses any other color LEDs.

Mostly Happy.

Cooler Master HAF X Blue Edition - High Air Flow Full Tower Computer Case with Windowed Side Panel and USB 3.0
Cooler Master HAF X Blue Edition - High Air Flow Full Tower Computer Case with Windowed Side Panel and USB 3.0

Pros: Needless to say it has great airflow. The fans move enough air that with a closed-loop liquid cooler on the CPU the case's fans can keep everything nice and cool without making much noise. A Corsair H100 will fit just fine. This case has ample room for several very large GPUs. The included EPS extension cable was needed. Without it feeding the cable behind the case would have been impossible. It's good they included it. The perforated 5.25" bay covers are a nice touch. They even have their own mesh dust filters.

Cons: With all the external drive bays there isn't a single 5.25" to 3.5" adapter to mount a card reader. CM should have included an adapter. They should know that many people use 3.5" card readers. The quick start guide was almost useless. Each page has literally 1 sentence in English and even then most of what it actually says you can glean from the mostly unhelpful pictures. I gave up on the guide very quickly to poke and prod (so to speak). This case doesn't include a manual. You'd have to download it from ASUS's support section. It would have been nice if the fan at the top had blue LEDs too. It's an easy enough fix, but CM's own 200mm LED fans cost $20 each. Replacing the LED-less fan and adding a second fan is going to cost an extra $40. I find the Hot-Swappable bays to be a joke. Shouldn't have to screw down the hard drives just to use the bays. The idea is quickly in and quickly out.

Overall Review: Have plenty of zip ties at hand. You're going to need them. The GPU duct is only useful if you have 2 or more cards that run very hot. I'm so used to my old computer sounding like a jet engine when it's running that I'd almost forget that this rig is even on if I wasn't looking at it. All in all this case is definitely worth the price. With a bit of extra money for fans, adapters, etc. this case is a good purchase and will serve well.

Enough to last a while.

Rosewill RCT8W-100 White 8" Cable Tie
Rosewill RCT8W-100 White 8" Cable Tie

Pros: Cheap and abundant. I took some out to put them in a toolkit (Also made by Rosewill) that didn't come with any. There are so many that i pulled an extra one just to tie down the small bundle i made. They are very easily bendable and stay where you bend them. This helps immensely in positioning the ties how you want them before you put them in the case.

Cons: Most are positioned so that the bend helps with getting them around cables in tight spots, but some are positioned in the opposite direction. It's annoying to get it in the right place just to find it's the wrong direction.

Overall Review: Just make sure you put the ties in the right direction before you snake it around your computer. You will save time and frustration that way. It also helps to bend the whole thing into a circle before you put it in the case to make getting the ends into each other easier.

Worth the price.

Rosewill Tool Kit Computer Tool Kits for Network & PC Repair Kits with Plier Hex Key Bits ESD Strap Phillips Screwdriver Bits & Socket Sets RTK-045
Rosewill Tool Kit Computer Tool Kits for Network & PC Repair Kits with Plier Hex Key Bits ESD Strap Phillips Screwdriver Bits & Socket Sets RTK-045

Pros: Comes with most of the tools I need for building and maintaining a computer. The fact that none of the tools are magnetic means you won't ruin any components due to the magnetic field getting too close to sensitive parts. The needle nose pliers and the wire cutters have springs on them to keep them open so while you do have to put more pressure on them to keep them closed they do open easily when you ease the pressure. That makes using them with one hand much easier. All in all it's worth the price for what's in it.

Cons: It doesn't come with a set of precision drivers. Not that it matters for the price. There is no documentation of what is where in the small box of screws. The box compartments are labeled with letters, but I found nothing on what they mean. If you don't know what screws you are looking for you could easily use the wrong screws and strip the threads on both the screw and the socket. The hex keys are secured on one end by springs that don't come off. That makes using them in certain situations difficult or impossible. It would have been nice if they had keyring holes instead of springs. Would have been nice if it included at least a few zip ties.

Overall Review: It comes with a semi-precision phillips head driver, but it isn't actually a precision drive. It's small enough that it can be used as a precision driver. I was able to use it to remove the plastic shroud on my GPU to clean the fan and heatsink. It's never a good idea to use magnetic tools with computers. Some parts are very sensitive to even the slight magnetic field given off by a magnetized driver. Better safe than sorry. Keep magnets away from these tools.

High quality and cheap fan.

AeroCool AEROFANS-X X-Blaster 80mm Case Cooling Fan
AeroCool AEROFANS-X X-Blaster 80mm Case Cooling Fan

Pros: Very good fan. Sucks in a lot of air. My case has somewhat of a funnel in the front bezel to allow air from under the case to go in and the fan slot was empty so i put this in there. It draws a lot of air even through that less than optimal funnel. This fan really seems to shine at getting air through areas that would take a powerful fan to get good airflow through. It came with decent mounting screws. For the price you can't go wrong.

Cons: The only con i can think of is it didn't come with a sticker, but it's just a fan.

Overall Review: The cable is so long that it could easily get from one end of a full tower to the other. I ended up actually using cable management even with it mostly curled up. Could be a pro or a con depending on how big your case is. I like stickers and would have liked to get one with my very nice fan.