cover
Jerry O.

Jerry O.

Joined on 09/23/05

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

Good for PC gamging, too!

BenQ RL2455HM Black-Red 24" TN 1ms (GTG) Gaming Monitor, 250 cd/m2 DCR 12,000,000:1 (1,000:1), 2 Speakers, Black eQualizer, HDMI DVI-DL D-Sub
BenQ RL2455HM Black-Red 24" TN 1ms (GTG) Gaming Monitor, 250 cd/m2 DCR 12,000,000:1 (1,000:1), 2 Speakers, Black eQualizer, HDMI DVI-DL D-Sub

Pros: While most of the reviews and videos you can find about this monitor on the internet talk about playing a console or the technologically misinformed who use FRAPS to "show" you how awesome the monitor is. I am here to tell you that this monitor is awesome for PC gaming. Even for First-person-shooters, which is what I mainly play. Battlefield 4 looks good, League of Legends looks good, World of Tanks, etc etc. By good, I mean, fan-freaking-tastic compared to the 20" CRT I had been using for several years. This monitor has all the connections you would ever need...DSUB, DVI, and 2 HMDI ports. The pre-programmed display settings are great. You also have total control of the settings. If you need to, you can even scale down the size of the monitor from a 24" to a 17" view area. This is great if you do plan to participate in a tournament and will be playing on a smaller monitor. The 1ms GTG response time really shows, as does the flicker-free technology. The refresh is 60Mhz, but I have yet to see any ghosting or response/refresh issues in any game. Don't kid yourself, if you are used to a 120Mhz or 144Mhz monitor/TV, this picture won't be as "crisp". However, if you don't want to shell out $400 for a 24" monitor or more for a new TV, the $200 regular price for this monitor is fantastic. 60Mhz will never be as clear as 120+ Mhz. Who are you kidding though? You're looking at this monitor because you don't want to drop $400+ on a monitor to occasionally play games on. If you're only looking to play on a console, it won't matter anyways, because they only display at 60Mhz, which makes that extra $200+ just wasted cash. I will say though, that while this monitor is only 60Mhz, it looks as clear as the 75Mhz refresh rate of my old CRT.

Cons: The default display mode for the monitor is the pre-programmed settings called "RTS 1". This is great for gaming as it gives some extra brightness and pop to the screen and colors. It helps by making it easy to differentiate similar colors. However, it is a little bright for normal computer use in a medium-dimly lit room. --This is easy to fix by programming one of the buttons has a hotkey to change the display mode. Thus, no mark off on the egg-rating. This monitor does have 2 small speakers. They are in the heat/air grill along the top of the monitors back side. I am pretty sure these speakers are more designed for a low-end laptop. I did connected and play some sound through them... They exist, they work and if you really need something, they'll get you by. They are too small and shallow to produce any bass and with their placement, the sound can be a little off or echo-y. I didn't mark off any eggs in the rating for their either. Why? Because I have a nice Creative speaker & subwoofer set and for other times, I have an awesome Plantronics gaming headset. I don't have any reason to use the monitors speakers. Also, because they are speakers in a $200 LCD monitor. This isn't a Sony, Vizio, Samsung, or [insert TV manufacturer here] HDTV that's going to sit in your entertainment center and be your sole source of TV and video games. --Sure, maybe you can get a small HDTV for ~$200 that might have better sound, but your computer games will never look as pretty as they do on this monitor. The only other downside is that it is labeled as "Red and Black" and from the pictures, you can see a little red on the base. I think it would have been nice to have a little more red somewhere, but that doesn't really affect what you really want this monitor for.

Overall Review: There are a LOT of monitors out there in general and there are not always a lot of reviews. I had a hard time finding a PC gamer-type review of the monitor or a video displaying PC game play. What I will tell you is that they do exist if you search youtube for RL2455HM and BenQ has HD videos for some very similar monitors as well. I spent many hours looking for the right monitor. I am a gamer and I wanted something that was going to work well, but I don't always have wads of cash to spend on fancy monitors. I believe I made a great choice and I do not regret the decision on bit. This monitor is fantastic. You can set your own display settings, but I've found RTS1 works great for any game I've played, whether its an FPS or RTS.

Most Critical Review

More Headaches than bandwidth

TRENDnet TEW-640MB N300 Wireless 4-Port Media Bridge
TRENDnet TEW-640MB N300 Wireless 4-Port Media Bridge

Pros: Small, light-weight, good signal strength, fairly easy setup (If you know how to find its IP address in your router, it is much easier as the intranet website it has didn't always work)

Cons: Tips easy as it needs a wider base or more weight if 4 cables are plugged in to it.

Overall Review: As far as the non-feature piece goes... It looks pretty easy to configure, but I spent 2 days messing with it, trying to get it to work. I would get it configured, but as soon as I plugged in a laptop or directv, the connection would drop and it would become totally unresponsive until I power cycled it. Obviously, this made it impossible to use. Initially opened ticket with TRENDnet, but decided to RMA based on other reivews and complaints on the internet.

DFI LanParty UT RDX200 CF-DR 939 ATI Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire ATX AMD Motherboard
DFI LanParty UT RDX200 CF-DR 939 ATI Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire ATX AMD Motherboard

Comments: I just purchased this motherboard and used it in a new PC build. So far things are rockin' and rollin'. This motherboard is very easy to use and the documentation that comes with it is a dream compared to some manufacturers. From time to time on reboots, the PC will freeze right after the BIOS/POST screen. Aside from that this mobo runs like a dream. Between this and an ATI x850 and an anthalon 62 3700+ I've been playing BF2 and DOD:Source with all settings on high and no video or processor lag. I am sure the slight reboot problem will be fixed in a BIOS upgrade, but I still give this board a 5.

11/22/2005
gigaram 512MB DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model GR9053-512MB/400/SA
gigaram 512MB DDR 400 (PC 3200) Desktop Memory Model GR9053-512MB/400/SA

Comments: If you wnat abng for the buck, this is the RAM to get. I am running this on a new DFI ATI Xpress board and so far it has performed extremely well.

11/22/2005
AeroCool JETMASTER JR SS Silver SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
AeroCool JETMASTER JR SS Silver SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Comments: The case not only looks awsome but has everything you could want. panel opens from right to left, has all the audio ports and controls you need on the front-side, and provides excellent cooling.

11/22/2005