Pros: 4320 joules is close to the maximum amount of protection you can find in a surge protector extension cord.

Cons: Not just Rosewill, but I don't like the way the surge protector manufacturers add up all the surge protection and come up with a number like "4320 Joules." There are separate protection circuits for the three AC wires and the coax and the phone jacks. In this case, they all add up to 4320 joules, but it's left unsaid how much protection each circuit gets and what philosophy is used to determine how the protection is split up among the different circuits. You don't get the specific numbers for each circuit until the product is delivered to your hands -- I don't see it on its Newegg webpage. Rosewill still needs to start putting right-angle AC plugs on these devices. The wire is very heavy duty, so it's not going to bend easily. Without a right-angle AC plug, it's going to be messy to plug this into the wall behind a couch or a bookcase, because the couch or bookcase will need to be pulled forward almost a foot to make room for the heavy cable sticking out of the AC socket. Having the heavy cable sticking of the wall will also tend to make it fall out of the socket because of its heavy weight and the furniture being pushed up against it, another problem that would be significantly minimized with a right-angle plug. At worst, it stinks when an AC plug falls out of a wall socket and you have to empty a whole bookcase and move it just so you can plug the AC plug back in. I'm surprised that Rosewill released this new product and included telephone jacks (RJ-11) which are going out of style, but didn't include ethernet jacks (RJ-45) which are the standard broadband wire; that's all a bit retro. And it's not the first time I've seen Rosewill commit similar technical faux pas.

Overall Review: Before putting this surge protector on the coax cable for your cable modem, go into the cable-modem's web interface and record the upstream and downstream levels 'without' the surge protector. Then check that the levels don't change more than a dB or two when you add the surge protector into the coax line. There's no splitter inside the surge protector, so it shouldn't create any more losses than a couple of barrel connectors if the coax-protection section is built with good quality. The radio-frequency cable-modem signal is sensitive to failing F connectors and coax cables that are starting to fail from being flexed a lot. If you start having trouble with your cable modem signal, the first step in troubleshooting will be to remove this surge protector to see if that cures the problem, since it doubles the number of F connectors on the line.

Pros: Intel made two different Core-2-Duo processors that were 3 GHz. The E6850 has 4 MB of L2 cache and its top instruction set is SSSE3, and it's 65 nm technology The E8400 has an extremely juicy 6 MB of L2 cache and its top instruction set is a screaming SSE4. It's 45 nm technology, a generation later than the E6850. I would say the E8400 is worth $50 to $100 more than the E6850.

Cons: I'm kind of tired with descriptions of refurbs that don't specify what processor is inside. Just providing the "speed" is not sufficient to specify the processor. How can we consider buying your computers if you don't tell us what's the processor? Also, regarding the video, there is no such thing as "GMA 4500." It demonstrates lack of concern about the marketing and your customers. There is GMA X4500 and GMA X4500HD. The former is not able to play blue-ray disks, and "HD" is capable of playing blue-ray discs, so the difference is significant. Carelessness in describing the integrated graphics. I get my information from wikipedia.

Overall Review: I would like to see a lot more care taken by a qualified marketing salesperson to describe exactly what refurb equipment is being offered for the money. Just because they're "refurbs" doesn't mean that proper specifications don't matter.

Pros: Windows 7 installed the octopus in two seconds. My USB wifi adapter and the wireless keyboard receiver dongles were sticking out of the front of the computer, waiting to break off when the grandchildren come near. I moved both to the octopus, and they're continuing to work fine. Now, the dongles are dangling, and the angles are almost 180 degrees, just in case you were wondering. Shipment includes a USB extension cord, which goes into the junkbox for future use; thank you very much. Working fine on XP, too.

Cons: None. Update -- Jan 31, 2016: After about a year, the plastic clam-shell -- the body of the Octopus, started to break open. I couldn't find my superglue, so I wrapped a rubber band around the body. So far, the rubber band has lasted a couple of years. Then, a year later, the male connector [that plugs into the USB jack on the computer] started getting loose. Other things are tight when they plug into the computer, but now, the male connector on the Octopus fits loosely. The male plug is wearing out. With the male connector wearing out, the Octopus and everything plugged into it is intermittent. Best I can do is to try not to physically move the Octopus -- not a millimeter, or risk losing connection to the Octopus and everything plugged into it. But it drops out sometimes, anyway. The loose male connector is not something I can fix with superglue. Shopping Newegg for another hub. Might get another Octopus, but I'll glue it up when I receive it.

Overall Review: I've had external hard drives that didn't work well when plugged into hubs, but recovered when plugged directly into the computer. That was a long time ago, but watch out for that.

Pros: $300 for an i7, you can't go wrong, mostly.

Cons: On wikipedia's article "List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors," I count six different i7 processors, running from the ancient and high current draining to modern and cool running. Also, the newer processors have additional instruction sets, which is the equivalent to adding additional GHz to the clock speed thereby increasing energy efficiency, if you care about stuff like that. Unfortunately, in the old tradition of most refurbished PCs being sold on Newegg, the marketing information provided here neglects to specify which processor is inside this computer. i7 only tells us which family, not which specific processor. If you want the efficiency of the modern i7, then you might not want this computer, even if it is only $300. But if you find that webpages are getting a little more complex than your old computer can handle anymore, and browsing is one of the more complex things your processor would have to handle, then this computer would keep you happy for at least a few years.

Overall Review: The i7-2600 is 3.4 GHz with 8 MB L3 cache and uses 95 watts at full CPU usage, with instruction sets up to AVX. The i7-3770 is 3.4 GHz with 8 MB L3 cache and uses 77 watts at full CPU usage, with instruction sets up to AVX and F16C. With an additional, powerful instruction set and using less power than the i7-2600, it's worth at least $100 bucks more. The i7-4770 is the latest and greatest, running 3.4 GHz with 8 MB cache, 84 watts at full CPU usage, with instruction sets up to AVX, AVX2, FMA3, F16C, and BM1. Granted, a few watts more than the last version -- which is unusual to go in that direction in the world of microprocessor evolution, but it's going to work a lot speedier, and with 3 (!) instruction sets more than the i7-3770, especially is you do video things, this processor will ultimately save energy over the i7-3770. You might not be able to get this processor to run at 100% usage because it's so powerful, and I mean it just won't have to run at 100%. But I'm sure this processor isn't being sold in a $300 computer. A computer with an i7-4770 processor is worth at least a few hundred dollars more than with an i7-2600. But instead of having to assume, it would be nice it they'd specify which processor is inside. The specific processor speaks to the value of the computer, and we should be told specifically what we're going to get for our money.

Pros: Get crystal clear TV on your computer.

Cons: Interface is like a DOS program. And not user friendly.

Overall Review: I bought two. One didn't work. It's been a long time, but there was some kind of a verification required, maybe between a serial number on the included CD and the serial number inside the dongle's firmware, before the dongle would start receiving. One of the two that I bought wouldn't verify. Shame on me for not pursuing a resolution.

Pros: Wikipedia lists a Core i5-450M, which is a mobile, 2.4 GHz i5 processor with instruction sets that only go to SSE4.2, and peak at 35 watts. A more modern i5 that also runs 2.4 GHz has a very powerful, additional 3 instruction-sets beyond SSE4.2, and peaks at 28 watts, a very significant 20% less than 35 watts, and that's the Core i5-4258U. The monetary value of a computer with one i5 is a couple of hundred dollars different than a computer with the other i5. But the marketing information on this computer neglects to specify which CPU is inside.

Cons: Without Newegg specifying exactly which processor "is inside," it's impossible for the educated consumers to know if they're getting a good deal or not. When purchasing a computer, the first consideration is what processor is inside. The marketing information for this computer doesn't provide this primary information. Very few of Newegg's refurbs provide this most primary information.

Overall Review: At best, the problem causes loss of sales revenue for our Newegg. At worst, Newegg's customers are continually offered refurb computers but not being provided the basic facts to justify the purchase, and so, those purchases are made with an element of ignorance or blind optimism. "2.4 GHz i5," for instance, is too non-specific. If we can ever break Newegg of that bad habit, we can start working on them about starting to regularly providing the number of memory card slots, the maximum amount of memory the computer can take, and what memory cards are provided in the sale item; e.g., is it a 4 GB card in one slot and ready for three more 4 GB cards for the other three slots? or four 1 GB cards, one in each slot, and if you want to max out to 16 GB, then you'll have to throw out the little 1 GB cards supplied. I'm just using those numbers as an example, because the marketing information for this computer does not say how many memory slots there are, no less how they are populated. Almost as bad as not providing the CPU "model number" is not providing the maximum amount of ram that the computer will hold, and this computer is an example of that shabby practice, too.