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Matthew M.

Matthew M.

Joined on 12/30/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 25
Most Favorable Review

Great

Tuniq Potency PSU-POT550-BK 550 W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Tuniq Potency PSU-POT550-BK 550 W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: Runs quiet (not media center quiet, but quiet enough). Has all the connectors I needed for my new i7 build. Built very solid.

Cons: Kind of heavy?

Overall Review: I was leary about this because I had never heard of Tuniq before, but I have no complaints now. Would buy again.

Most Critical Review

Good but Thick

Link Depot SCW-10-BK 10 Pack of Black Anodized Thumbscrews
Link Depot SCW-10-BK 10 Pack of Black Anodized Thumbscrews

Pros: Sturdy, attractive. Good grips.

Cons: A little thick. They only work about 80% of the time I want to use them because sometimes they are too thick for the given component's hole.

Overall Review: Still worth it.

11/11/2008

Great

Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: This is my second of these cases and I just love them They're very solid and come with great pictorials to show you how to break down the entire case if you need to. The case comes with 3 cooler master 120mm fans and has room for SEVEN!!! My i7 is running at 22C and the rest of the system is at about 32C, and I'm just using the stock equipment. There aren't words to describe just how great this case is, so I'll move on to the few qualms (which combined weren't even enough for me to think about knocking off an egg).

Cons: One of my fans (out of both of these cases I own) has a wobbly fan. I emailed Cooler Master about this, and havn't heard back. This is still not enough to even come close to taking away from the awesomeness of the case. The cable management system is helpful, but comes right up to the edge of an ATX motherboard. I had to turn mine sideways to fit the motherboard in, although I could turn it right back afterwards and it worked fine. Also, if your mobo has the SATA or IDE ports that face towards the front of the case instead of being on the front of the mobo, then one of the links in the cable management system may need to be removed or it may interfere with the port. Again, just tweaking, not even close to taking away from the absolute greatness this case professes.

Overall Review: The power switch and reset switch are designed to be pushed to the left, not in towards the case. This takes some minor getting used to. Also, while it does come with standoffs, it does not come with motherboard screws. I know, this is standard of a case, but some people thought they were missing and I wanted to set the record straight that those are supposed to come with the motherboard you buy.

Can't say enough

MSI X58 Pro LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
MSI X58 Pro LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: EVERYTHING. Onboard cmos reset button, attachments to make it easier to attach USB/Audio/front panel connectors, x58 chipset, easy overclocking,DrMos keeps things COOL

Cons: Barely even a con: 6 of the SATA ports and the IDE/ATAPI port all face to the "Right", which can make it hard to get at them if you have to add somthing later.

Overall Review: I bought this because it was so cheap but I'm blown away by its performance. My i7 is running at 22C and the rest of the system is at about 32C.

Great

Crucial 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT3KIT25664BA1067
Crucial 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT3KIT25664BA1067

Pros: Runs great with cheapest i7 and cheapest x58. My machine doesn't even break a sweat.

Cons: None.

aka "Skynet"

Intel Core i7-920 - Core i7 Bloomfield Quad-Core 2.66 GHz LGA 1366 130W Processor - BX80601920
Intel Core i7-920 - Core i7 Bloomfield Quad-Core 2.66 GHz LGA 1366 130W Processor - BX80601920

Pros: So powerful I don't need to overclock it. With heavy loads (see Other Thoughts) it still runs at about 24C with the stock cooler. I finally leave the Gadget bar open in Vista.

Cons: The x58 chipset that supports the i7 is new and only works with ddr3 and needs 8 pin power support. While this does guarantee an awesome machine, it can also add up. I bought my whole machine (including case, psu, cpu, ram, mobo, video card, and hdd) and had to drop over $800 to get it all.

Overall Review: I bought it so I could use VMWare to simulate different networks with Virtual Machines. I have 7 Virtual Vista PC's all running on the Vista business platform. All of them have sidebars enabled with multiple gadgets, and one additional virtual pc (the 8th) is running server 2003. This thing and the 6 GB of ram don't even sweat.