Joined on 05/17/10
Smallest case you can fit full size ATX parts in
Pros: Big enough that I can pass down almost any parts from my full size PCs Looks good, its not glamorous, but doesn't have that "Oh a hodgepodge pc" look to it Well built, not a throwaway product for an odd purpose, feels like a good PC case
Cons: Just slightly too small for a lot of cooling solutions, it gets really hot inside mine, had to come up with some weird fan configurations to keep temps under control
Overall Review: This is a pretty big case for an HTPC, and that's what a like about it. After years of upgrades I had enough parts laying around I was able to build another PC, but they're all ATX parts and HTPCs are supposed to be small. I have a 660ti in mine with a Noctua low profile CPU cooler, a HDD and a blu-ray drive. If you take the hood off, the inside is almost solid cables and parts, no wasted space. My top vent fan is sitting on my CPU cooler which is sitting on my RAM chips. Its tight, but I got everything in there, and now I have a gaming worthy HTPC. It sits in a cubby in my entertainment center, I had to cut the back out of it and order a USB powered vent fan otherwise everything got too hot. That's what this is for, big parts that need to fit into a small space. Measure your parts to be sure, but you're best chance of them fitting is here. I love this thing.
Unfortunate...
Pros: Can't comment
Cons: Had many of the same issues the other 1 star reviewers had. Wouldn't allow the computer to POST from time to time, when it did it ran best without drivers. RMAed, second card acted exactly the same. Tried tons of drivers, different BIOS settings, AGP hotfix, everything. Finally gave up when ATItool reported core speed as "#J" and froze my computer. Never ran a single game for me, furmark crashed every time.
Overall Review: I hate to give this card a 1 egg, but its just one more heads up that it doesn't particularly work with certain motherboards. No idea why. I'll be heading back Nvidia way to replace my 7600gs, sorry ATI.
Admirably tackles the living room peripheral problem
Pros: Quality build Small, like Logitech K400 small Looks great Does Razer things, decent DPI mouse, high polling rate, anti-ghosting
Cons: Mousepad and mouse ONLY WORK WITH EACH OTHER Magnetic mousepad delivers less than ideal smoothness Awfully expensive
Overall Review: I paid $100 for this thing, and some days I wonder if maybe that was too much. $150 feels a bit outlandish. The thing is, this product has the market cornered. There's really nothing else out there that isn't either equally expensive or just downright garishly ugly. The keyboard is fantastic. Obviously its no Cherry MX monster, but for a membrane keyboard with 10 key anti-ghosting, it feels great to type on. The range is fine, I sit about 10 ft from my TV, I used the extension cord and placed the receiver beside my TV. The mouse, on the other hand, is just alright. There's a little extra drag you get with the magnetic mousepad that makes it feel sluggish. I can absolutely play games with it (Hitman, Titanfall, No Man's Sky), but I will never have the control with it I would with a traditional mousepad. The worst part is that no other mouse will work on the Turret mousepad, and the mouse that comes with the Turret won't work on a traditional mousepad. That being said, the only other solution would be something like a K400 and a separate mouse pad you place on the couch or coffee table. I don't like that solution. I like this one. Its more elegant if maybe a little less capable. Maybe someday I'll get fed up and just cut and glue a Goliathus to the mousepad portion of the turret (which will complicate charging because of the shape of the dock) so I can use a better mouse, but for the time being this thing works, and it looks great while doing it.
It works
Pros: Inexpensive, modular, not flashy
Cons: None yet
Overall Review: Got mine for $70 after rebate. More power than I'll ever need, then again the R9 390 I have requires its own nuclear power plant to function, and produces as much heat. I've had no issues. Its gold rated, 850W, Corsair, and its inexpensive. Hard to beat. Honestly I'm just writing in to say mine wasn't DOA and it still works 8 or so months after I got it.
Great for my sauna of an HTPC
Pros: Has a heat sink Decent reception for being across the house inside a media center
Cons: None yet
Overall Review: My HTPC runs hot, it cooked the last Intel wifi adapter I was using (I assume, it would intermittently cut out and then just died). This sits in a sweet spot of not breaking that bank just to add wifi to my PC while still being decent quality. As always you'll probably have to fight with drivers a bit because Windows is so handsy, but that isn't TP-Link's fault. The beamforming apparently works because I get decent reception through 3 walls, the floor, and the entertainment center (on the 2.4ghz band).
A sweet spot in quality/price
Pros: Super clear 144hz Good Freesync range Very responsive
Cons: Navigating menus is weird All the drawbacks of a TN panel
Overall Review: I switched to this monitor from an old IPS TV. The color differences are definitely noticeable, but I won't dock eggs for it, that's just the tech. The responsiveness on the other hand is also very noticeable. I've been playing Titanfall 2 on the XG2701 and I absolutely feel like I have a better sense of what's going on. Huge improvement over the old TV. Quick response time and fast framerate are what you're getting with this. Nothing more. Its a 1080 TN panel. I got mine for $290. That's basically why I bought it. It does everything it says it does, and it was only $290. Most of my other options were around $400 or more. If you play a lot of snappy games but don't want to blow half a grand on a monitor, this is a great option. If you want the prettiest, showy-offiest monitor, this couldn't be further from what you're looking for.