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Doris S.

Doris S.

Joined on 04/19/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
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Most Favorable Review

Q9650

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 - Core 2 Quad Yorkfield Quad-Core 3.0 GHz LGA 775 95W Desktop Processor - BX80569Q9650
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 - Core 2 Quad Yorkfield Quad-Core 3.0 GHz LGA 775 95W Desktop Processor - BX80569Q9650

Pros: Easy to Overclock if that's your thing. I haven't tried to push this chip too much. It did however go from its stock 333FSB (3.0Ghz) straight to 400 FSB 3.6Ghz on STOCK voltages and settings. This is plenty for my needs and very happy with 3.6 at stock voltages. IBT stable 10 passes , Prime 64bit stable for 14hrs. My guess is that these will easily do 3.8 - 4.0 Ghz stable, although I have not tried. Runs Cool!! My DFI Guardian and Real Temp both report 28C at idle and 53-55 max load @ 3.6 after 14hrs of Prime stressing.

Cons: A bit on the expensive side. This CPU has without a doubt made everything seem to run much smoother. Its a must have for anyone who does a lot of video encoding and lots of multitasking. If you are the type of person who basically uses your PC to surf the internet, use messengers, and play the occasional game and that's it .. you'd likely be better off with one of the E8*** series dual cores, as they are half the price and will serve you well.

Overall Review: I just upgraded from the E8400. And while its an excellent dual core CPU, I can definately tell a difference! I love this thing. My E8400 ran a bit warmer actually, and took more Vcore to run at 3.6-3.7 , but I also had upgraded to a Antec 900 case at same time as the quad. So I think the case has a lot to do with cooler temps. My setup: DFI DK x48 MOBO Q9650 @ 3.6Ghz (air cooled Xigmatek HDT-S1283) 8GB Corsair Dominator @ 1066 Corsair TX650 PSU ATI HD3870 GPU X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Antec 900 case

Most Critical Review

If having problems

SAMSUNG S24A350H ToC Rose Black 24" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)
SAMSUNG S24A350H ToC Rose Black 24" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

Pros: I do not own this product and can not comment on the quality. I was looking around for a second monitor. The purpose of this post was to hopefully help some I ahve seen with the balck border issue.

Cons: For those that are having issues with Black Border with a HDMI cable, this can be easily fixed and is quite likely not the fault of the monitor. I have a LG one that done the same thing at one point w/a HDMI connection. The porblem, 99% of time lies in the Overscan settings of the GPU driver. It may not be set properly. This can happen on occasion.

Overall Review: In the Catalyst Control Center, you need to configure the monitor. The setting you are looking for is 'Overscan" Properly set the Overscan to fill the entire screen as it should be.

P67 SLI

EVGA P67 SLI 130-SB-E675-KR LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
EVGA P67 SLI 130-SB-E675-KR LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Excellent board. Booted up the 1st time, without any issues and been running well since. Few minor hiccups, but nothing that makes me dislike this board. Overall, its solid, a good OCer, and a very good performer. No complaints, and despite some minor issue would still highly recommend it. OK, so now the bad stuff, which may be a issue for some.

Cons: ---PLL Override--- It doesnt like going into sleep mode if heavily OCd using the PLL override. Apparently, this is a issue with this particular chipset across various vendors, and not specific to eVGA. So I really can not fault the board for a issue such as this. ---Sometimes hangs at boot if PLL override is used, but will boot normally after a few seconds after it syncs. Not a huge issue, but mildy annoying. This only happens with PLL enabled, and heavier OCs. I found for my 24/7 OC, the PLL Override wasnt needed anyway so this is a non-issue for me. In fact, my board/CPU doesnt need it untill 4.6Ghz and higher. But I do not run at 4.6 for 24/7 clocks. For benching, its not to much of a issue.

Overall Review: Can not comment on USB3 as I have mine disabled ATM, no need for it yet. This board is running a 2700K, and 8GB Mushkin 1866 RAM with a 24/7 OC of 4.4Ghz @ 1.22 Vcore. It was also able to OC it to 5.0Ghz with some tweaking, but was a bit over 1.4Vcore to be stable, which is to much for me for a 24/7 OC. But it is quite capable for those who want to. Then again, OC voltages will also depend heavily on the CPU itself.

Excellent

Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model 997008
Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model 997008

Pros: This RAM actually looks better in person. Its more of a dark, satin red ... rather than a bright Red as it appears in the pictures here. Feels very heavy, and very well made. Perfect match for my EVGA MOBO. All I cant say is ... BRILLIANT!

Cons: None other than .... It wasn't free? Free is always good right? :)

Overall Review: This has been my second set of Mushkin RAM, and certainly will not be the last. The other set I have had the Frostbyte Heatsinks on them. For 1.5v RAM, large heatspreads probably are not needed, unless you plan on heavily OCing them but ... I find the Ridgebacks to be much more visually appealing. But to each thier own. Cant go wrong either way. Great Stuff!! You get what you pay for!

11/18/2011

Its OK

Rosewill 3.3-Foot Black Flat eSATA to SATA Cable - Supports 6 Gbps, 3 Gbps, and 1.5 Gbps Transfer Rates (RC-3.28-SATA-MM-BK)
Rosewill 3.3-Foot Black Flat eSATA to SATA Cable - Supports 6 Gbps, 3 Gbps, and 1.5 Gbps Transfer Rates (RC-3.28-SATA-MM-BK)

Pros: Feels thick and sturdy. Its a flat sytle cable.

Cons: I really wish it had little locking push in clips for the connections. Oh well, it wasnt advertised as such so I cant fairly knock a egg for it.

Overall Review: Its a ESATA to SATA cable. make sure this is what you need before you purchase it. I had an extra HD in my case, but no free internal SATA ports. I used this to connect to a Backup drive mounted inside the case, and wired it out the back of the case to a ESATA port on the I/O. (much like you do for a front USB3 port) For its purpose, it worked brilliantly.

11/18/2011

Good fans

XIGMATEK FCB (Fluid Circulative Bearing) Cooling System XLF XLF-F1255 120mm Power Management White LED Black Case Fan PSU Molex Adapter/extender included
XIGMATEK FCB (Fluid Circulative Bearing) Cooling System XLF XLF-F1255 120mm Power Management White LED Black Case Fan PSU Molex Adapter/extender included

Pros: For the the price, very good. They move a decent amount of air. The pictures here really do not do it any justice. Once powered up, these fans look very nice. They white Led looks good, without being to bright. Just right.

Cons: None. Its a decent fan that performs just as it is advertised.

Overall Review: Used as a replacement 120mm exhaust fan on a 600T white. It seems to be moving more air, and is quiet. So it served its intended purpose perfectly.

11/18/2011