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John R.

John R.

Joined on 02/19/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

Small flaws

ENERMAX SPINEREX ECA5010M-B-B Black SECC 1.0mm ATX Full Tower Computer Case
ENERMAX SPINEREX ECA5010M-B-B Black SECC 1.0mm ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Pros: Big and roomy, large, quiet fans, lots of drive bays

Cons: The hard drive mounts aren't as secure as I'd like. Quality control seems a little lax: The bottom hard drive cage was jammed in at a bad angle and was difficult to remove. Luckily it wasn't bent. One of the screws on the top fan shroud was forced in at a bad angle and over-tightened, which cracked the outside of the shroud, broke off some of the legs holding the shroud, and dented the case where the screw hole is, so I can't put the screw back in with the shroud in the correct position. None of this is important for operation of the case, though, so I'll live with it.

Overall Review: I bought this for a media server, and the multiple drive bays should work well for that. I turned off all the fan LED's. No need for bling here.

Most Critical Review

OK for the price

MASSCOOL FD12025S1L3/4 120mm Case Cooling Fan
MASSCOOL FD12025S1L3/4 120mm Case Cooling Fan

Pros: They work, have both Molex and 3 pin connectors

Cons: These fans are pretty loud, much louder than expected given the specs.

Overall Review: I installed two of these on the top of an Enermax Spinerex case. I had to put washers under them to keep the blades from rubbing on the top of the case since this case mounts the top fans on the outside of the case under a plastic shroud. These fans make this the loudest PC I own.

Doesn't clamp tightly enough

SILVERSTONE NT07-775 90mm CPU Cooler
SILVERSTONE NT07-775 90mm CPU Cooler

Pros: It's low profile, reasonably quiet, and fits in the case

Cons: The problem I have with this cooler, and probably the same thing others with poor cooling performance have is that it does not clamp down tightly enough to the CPU to transfer heat efficiently. At least not with my motherboard (Zotac GF9300) and CPU (Celeron 450 Conroe-L). The legs are too long, so the base of the heat sink doesn't clamp down onto the top of the CPU. You can tell because the legs are too easy to latch down. Maybe the 45nm CPUs sit up a little higher... That said, I get somewhat acceptable cooling, though a lot higher that I would have expected on a low power CPU (temps under load run close to 60C.)

Overall Review: I assumed that the 45nm designation was intended to indicate that the heat sink was not designed for the hotter parts on larger dies, but maybe there's a physical difference.

Nice little board

ZOTAC GF9300-D-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9300 HDMI Wi-Fi Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
ZOTAC GF9300-D-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9300 HDMI Wi-Fi Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Pros: NVidia GPU, small FF, runs well so far.

Cons: As others have said, lack of powered USB ports in stand-by mode. VGA out doesn't work with my TV unless I have another monitor connected. Not sure what the problem is yet...

Overall Review: The analog audio is working fine for me with 64 bit Windows 7 RC. I went to Zotac's site and downloaded the latest 64 bit drivers from there since no 64 bit drivers were included on the CD.

Poor dongle design

Targus Notebook Wireless AMW05US Black/Silver 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB RF Wireless Optical Mouse
Targus Notebook Wireless AMW05US Black/Silver 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB RF Wireless Optical Mouse

Pros: It was cheap (though mine didn't come with batteries). It worked well for a while.

Cons: The problem with this device is that the wires from the USB connection are embedded in the hinges on the dongle. After they get bent back and forth several times, they break and the dongle no longer works. I also found battery life to be poor, requiring recharging about once a week with constant use (I used this mouse with my laptop at work. You need to plug in the dongle to make the mouse work event if you're charging via the USB cable, so you need 2 USB connections while charging (which was a problem with my old laptop.)

Overall Review: Was OK for a temporary solution, but there are much better products on the market today.