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Jimmy G.

Jimmy G.

Joined on 09/09/04

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Most Favorable Review

Great budget board

BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ AMD 880G + SB850 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
BIOSTAR A880GZ AM3+ AMD 880G + SB850 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: - Inexpensive...excellent for a budget build - Core unlocker works and is stable - Small footprint - Visually appealing

Cons: - Only SATA onboard so plan accordingly

Overall Review: Got two of these as a budget build for my kids. The first thing I did was unlock the second core on the AMD Sempron 145 Sargas 2.8GHz CPUs I bought and it worked flawlessly. Perhaps I got lucky but we haven't had any stability issues at all.

Most Critical Review

Good at 1333

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9

Pros: High quality Low cost

Cons: Doesn't operate at the rated speed on a Asus M4A79XTD EVO. Once I set the speed to 1600 MemTest pours out thousands of errors. When I set it back to 1333 there aren't any issues. I've trudged through multiple forum posts on the manufacturers website and enthusiast websites to no avail...no combination of timings or voltages appear to make this work realiably at 1600 with my motherboard.

Overall Review: I've resigned myself to just stick with these modules at 1333. In reality 1333 vs. 1600 isn't much of a noticeable difference. That said, I'm giving 3 eggs because these should run at rated speed. The description says these are compatible with AMD platforms and although these specific modules aren't listed on my motherboard's compatibiltiy list, the advertised timings and voltage match other compatible modules. That leads me to believe these modules are limited to certain platforms.

Good budget gaming case

Gamdias ATHENA M2 LITE mesh case ITX mini-ITX mATX Micro-ATX, Tempered glass, 2x 120mm ARGB fans 5v-3pin sync, plus 1x 120mm rear fan.
Gamdias ATHENA M2 LITE mesh case ITX mini-ITX mATX Micro-ATX, Tempered glass, 2x 120mm ARGB fans 5v-3pin sync, plus 1x 120mm rear fan.

Pros: - Lots of space, good airflow. - Solid cable management options. - SSD mounts behind the motherboard are very helpful. - Decent room between the power supply and removable drive bay for cables. - Both panels slide into place smoothly and were thoughtfully designed.

Cons: - Proprietary fan controller and fans. - Rear fan is 3-pin, non-RGB. Honestly the RGB fans are so cheap to begin with, why not include one in the back? - Front USB port came bent but I was able to bend it back into shape.

Overall Review: Make no mistake, this is a budget gaming case and as such, it's cheaply built. That said, Gamdias has made a very spacious gaming case with good airflow and lots of options you typically find in more premium cases. Although I don't like the proprietary fans and controller, you would be hard-pressed to find a better value for controllable RGB fans. Note: My build has extra fans in it that I got from a Skytech gaming PC. Those fans happened to be the same model and worked just fine with this controller.

Great Memory

PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model MN8192KD3-1333
PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model MN8192KD3-1333

Pros: Inexpensive

Cons: None

Overall Review: Upgraded my Gateway P7811FX in 2011 and haven't had any issues. My laptop automatically detected the correct timings as it should and 8 passes of MemTest came up clean. Very happy with this purchase!

Shocked

Curtis 24" 60Hz LED-LCD HDTV
Curtis 24" 60Hz LED-LCD HDTV

Pros: - Price. - Thin and lightweight. - Picture looks great. - Plenty of inputs.

Cons: - Stand is pretty flimsy and doesn't adjust. - Speakers aren't very loud and I would say the sound quality is below average.

Overall Review: I got two of these for my children for Christmas and didn't wanted to spend much. You run a risk with refurbished products but I've been pleasantly surprised. We have had zero issues and saved some money on our electric bill with its power saving features (we upgraded from smaller CRT TVs).

Dead after 6 months

Seagate Desktop HDD ST1000DM003 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Seagate Desktop HDD ST1000DM003 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: Greats specs for the price

Cons: Dead after 6 months. The drive just clicks at this point and isn't recognized by the OS. We bought 5 drives and the other 4 appear to still be working...crossing my fingers.