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Mark C.

Mark C.

Joined on 12/08/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 10
Most Favorable Review

Works fine

RiDATA Lightning Series 16GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Flash Card Model RDSDHC16G-LIG6
RiDATA Lightning Series 16GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Flash Card Model RDSDHC16G-LIG6

Pros: Bought this for use with a Kodak Zi8 - keeps up with writing 1080p video which is all that's necessary in this application.

Cons: none found

Most Critical Review

Needs frequent reboots

Cisco Valet M20 802.11b/g/n Gigabit Wireless HotSpot Router up to 300Mbps
Cisco Valet M20 802.11b/g/n Gigabit Wireless HotSpot Router up to 300Mbps

Pros: Fairly easy to set up. Good price for features. Gigabit wired ports.

Cons: Seems to need too-frequent reboots, especially for handheld devices. Our Nook, Kindle Fire, and Android phones have difficulty connecting to it at times until I reboot it. Sometimes I have to power cycle it to get its full attention. This is after making DHCP reservations for all our devices to avoid potential IP conflicts. I'm not too bummed given the price I paid but routers shouldn't be an annual purchase. I went Cisco after my previous Netgear went insane after a year, but the previous Netgear lasted me until I wanted to go Wireless-N. Problem isn't heat-related as it's in a 66-degree basement with plenty of ventilation.

12/10/2012

Doesn't suck, but is close

BELKIN F5D8235-4 802.11b/g/n N+ Wireless Gigabit Router up to 300Mbps
BELKIN F5D8235-4 802.11b/g/n N+ Wireless Gigabit Router up to 300Mbps

Pros: Fairly easy to configure Orange/blue lights are blinky and pretty Can check for updates from router config page Guest access to WAN without allowing LAN access a plus, easy to set up, easy for guests to use

Cons: Why make this router stand on edge rather than lay flat as He intended? I bought it partly for the USB connection to make a simple NAS, but that's been a disappointment. I didn't try it out until a week ago when I started using it as a centralized backup point. It's very slow and as the drive got fuller it seemed to cause the router to hang, requiring a power cycle to clear. Disconnected USB drive and it's OK again. Since I have a desktop that is on 24/7 anyway, I'll move the drive to that. Forget about the USB port for all but the least demanding uses.

Overall Review: Could not make connection with this router through DSL modem, but didn't try too hard and let DSL modem handle it instead (this router is the sole DHCP client off DSL modem/router instead). No firmware updates from Belkin yet - must have been perfect the day it was manufactured. Riiiiiiight.....

Great while it worked

GIGABYTE Radeon HD 4670 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Graphics Card GV-R467ZL-1GI
GIGABYTE Radeon HD 4670 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Graphics Card GV-R467ZL-1GI

Pros: Easy to configure, no problems installing in new custom system (AMD Phenom II X3, ASUS M4A78T-E).

Cons: Died at about 10 weeks of age. Came into office one day and saw computer was off, wouldn't restart ("no VGA" beeps from BIOS). After removing video card and resetting BIOS, system would boot. As soon as I put the card back in, no boot. Never was pushed very hard, system always ran quite cool (CPU/mobo temps rarely above 45C).

Overall Review: Argh - now I gotta dig up the warranty information. Nuts.

Very pleased with performance

AMD Phenom II X3 720 - Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz Socket AM3 95W Black Processor - HDZ720WFGIBOX
AMD Phenom II X3 720 - Phenom II X3 Triple-Core 2.8 GHz Socket AM3 95W Black Processor - HDZ720WFGIBOX

Pros: Easily unlocked fourth core on Asus M4A78T-E mobo. Runs fine at 3.0 GHz with fourth core doing some video work, have not yet pushed up the frequency very far and stability tested it (system has only been assembled for a few days). Great price/performance tradeoff if you're willing to risk not having that fourth core be available.

Cons: None found to date.

They work

OKGEAR 18" SATA 6 Gbps Cable, Straight to Right Angle W/Metal Latch, Silver, Backward Compatible with 3 Gbps and 1.5 Gbps
OKGEAR 18" SATA 6 Gbps Cable, Straight to Right Angle W/Metal Latch, Silver, Backward Compatible with 3 Gbps and 1.5 Gbps

Pros: Data goes where it's supposed to

Cons: Not quite free, but close enough