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Wang Y.

Wang Y.

Joined on 12/03/02

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Most Favorable Review

Don't Let NaySayers Get the Best of You

COUGAR Spike Black Steel / Plastic Micro ATX Mini Tower Gaming Case with USB 3.0 and 12CM Cougar Fan
COUGAR Spike Black Steel / Plastic Micro ATX Mini Tower Gaming Case with USB 3.0 and 12CM Cougar Fan

Pros: 1) No sharp contacts in general. I intentionally felt all crevasses and there's none, except for the pieces blocking the DVD/SD Card reader slots. Note that I did NOT add a video card, so I did not undo any of the PCI/PCI-E slot covers. 2) Feels sturdy and good. Seems of quality material. The finish is not as good as the Rosewill Challenger's (I have both the USB 2.0 and 3.0 versions), but much better than the RAIDMAX Saggita. 3) USB 3.0 4) 3.5 inch slot for SD Card reader. 5) The tool-less thingys actually worked for me. I don't know if I trust my computer case in a move or on it's side or whatever, but then I don't do that often, and I take personal care and move of my computer stuff. I'm seriously not sure what other people are complaining about. Take a moment to study it folks. Don't just start flapping the things all over the place. 6) Airflow is good (I installed a 120mm fan in front. I can feel air rushing in).

Cons: 1) As others have noted here, you should install a traditional hard drive prior to installing the CPU HS/Fan if you are planning on using an aftermarket one. Or, you can use the DVD/CD ROM slot, but make sure you have adequate cooling for it because traditional hard drives are warmer than SSDs, and there's no air movement in that area. 2) When I first took out the side panels, I struggled just for a moment to fully take it out. The bottom connector pieces were slightly bent. I had to straighten them out to be able to put the side panels back on/take them off easily. I had to use a fair amount of force to fix the bends, so... I guess that's a good thing that it's sturdy. No problems after that. 3) The power and SSD/HD activity LEDs are obnoxiously bright. I had to use a 12-layer scotch tape square to block them. I guess I will use a permanent black marker or something to mark them later... 4) NOTE: This case is different from all other cases I've worked on in that the motherboard screws will only fit the little tiny threaded screws. Computer screws come with the little tiny thread ones, and the bigger thread ones. The bigger thread ones are generally for the motherboard and for holding down expansion cards such as a video card, and the smaller thread ones are generally for holding HHD/DVD drives. However, this case has that reversed in that you must use the tiny thread screws to screw the motherboard in. Otherwise, you will mess it up like I did. I got it stuck so I had to use a friggen adjustable wrench to hold the one side and use a screwdriver to unscrew the big threaded screw out, while holding the motherboard vertical! 5) Wish this thing was on sale when I bought it. Paid over $40+ for it. I'm cheap, what can I say? At least I'm not one of those idiot$ who spend $100 to $150+ on cases. 6) Only for a Micro ATX motherboard, but I already knew this and intentionally went for a Micro ATX case.

Overall Review: I've built over 20 different systems over the years, and started my first work with 386 computers. Hints and Order of Things Suggestion: 1) If you plan to put a 120mm fan in the front area, do that first. It's easier to do this when there's nothing in the case yet. 2) Install regular HHD (secure from both sides). You can put SSD down on the bottom or with the HHD. I put it with the HHD because I have a Rosewill SSD fan thingy. Since I put my SSD on the bottom slot, my SATA power connectors had a cord sticking upwards to hit the HHD’s bottom area so I had to use a straight 4-pin power to SATA power converter. 3) If you have a SD Card reader in the 3.5” slot, do that now. You will need to remove the metal piece blocking the front. If you add your BD/DVD first, the space may be too tiny to work with. 4) Install BD/DVD/CD drive (secure from one side) 5) Put your I/O backshield in/do your motherboard screws and put motherboard in. See NOTE above in the CONS section. 6) I use Arctic Silver 5 so I studied my aftermarket CPU HS/Fan and did my thang and finalized the CPU and HS/Fan at this time. 7) Put in PSU. Even though I use a modular PSU, I had everything plugged in. I stuck the unused cords on top of the BD drive. I always do that. That's just how I roll. I'm not sure why people complain so much about cable management. That’s up to you folks! I then used twisty's (not the website, but the little thingies, you know) to tie up the wiring. 8) I've worked with enough motherboards (maybe 50+ since I've replaced many computers over the years) so I didn't read the manuals. Again, that’s just how I roll. I studied my motherboard pins and then placed the case HHD/Power/Reset LED connectors etc. in one hand (in the correct position and orientation) and then stuck everything in at once. Worked like a charm. I use this cheap but very powerful Chinese knockoff headlamp to help. Thoughts: I have the Rosewill Challenger case and a bunch of others that are in the $50 range. This one, unlike what some naysayers are saying, is actually quiet sturdy. Not sure what they are smoken'. Setup: COUGAR Spike Black Steel / Plastic MicroATX Mini Tower Case GIGABYTE GA-H81M-HD3 Motherboard (4K baby) i3-4330 CPU (again, 4k HTPC) ARCTIC Alpine 11 Plus CPU Cooler ADATA Premier Pro SP900 ASP900S3-64GM-C 64GB SATA III SSD (OS and Apps drive) Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD5000HHTZ 500GB 10K RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s (Videos/Pics drive) Pioneer Blu-Ray Writer (BDR-209DBK) OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Modular High Performance PSU (purchased 4 years ago, but barely used) Thermaltake Thunderblade 120 mm AF0032 (Blue) (front). Win 7, 32-bit (not Win 8 junk M$ forces down throats of loyal customers). I'm using the integrated onboard video so I made a little heat capture makeshift thingy with tough 3M shipping tape: the bottom half of the CPU exhaust go towards the back 120mm exhaust fan. The top half goes straight to my PSU fan.

Most Critical Review

FINAL UPDATE TO REVIEW

Rosewill - Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Dual Front Mounted USB 3.0 Ports, Three Preinstalled Fans: 1 x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1 x Top 140mm Fan, 1 x Rear 120mm Fan - CHALLENGER-U3
Rosewill - Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Dual Front Mounted USB 3.0 Ports, Three Preinstalled Fans: 1 x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1 x Top 140mm Fan, 1 x Rear 120mm Fan - CHALLENGER-U3

Pros: .

Cons: .

Overall Review: I noticed the 3.0 USB slots were a little slow. USB sticks that should be reading 100MB/s is only reading 40MB/s and then gradually slows down to like 15MB/s over the course of a few mins. I bought the Anker® Uspeed PCI-E to USB 3.0 2 Port Express Card, with 1 USB 3.0 20-pin Connector and 5V 4 Pin Male Power Connector and plugged that into my USB 3.0 I/O connector on my motherboard. I also purchased the Anker® 3.5 inch Front Panel USB Hub with 2 USB 3.0 Ports [20 Pin Connector & 2ft Adapter Cable] and that combo gave me 100MB+ sustained reads on the same devices. Just FYI in case your USB 3.0 devices have poor transfer speeds. Don't blame the device makers.

Too big and doesn't last

Rosewill 17.3" Notebook Computer Backpack Model RMBP-12001
Rosewill 17.3" Notebook Computer Backpack Model RMBP-12001

Pros: -Lots of compartments

Cons: -It's too big. If you want to carry all sorts of junk, you'll consider this a pro. If you just want a bag that carries your laptop and don't want it like 4 inches bigger than your laptop, or you are not 6 feet 5 inches tall, this is not the bag for you. It's ridiculously big for no reason. Hard to find spots to put in the car when traveling with a lot of other belongings. -It doesn't last. I used it a total of maybe 30 times (I only carry on special occasions - I don't even take it to school or work or anything like that daily like some poor saps probably do). The strip is coming off and the little inside compartment where you place your phone/mouse is coming off.

Overall Review: I do NOT recommend this unless you like to keep purchasing bags repeatedly or want a really large bag that doesn't last.

Excellent Size - Not too big

Targus 16" Trek Laptop Backpack - TSB193US
Targus 16" Trek Laptop Backpack - TSB193US

Pros: -This one fits my 15.6 inch Acer laptop perfectly with barely half a inch or an inch to spare (which I like). -It's not overly huge. -Has a tiny Velcro slot which fit my mid-sized wireless Logitech mouse. -Has padding between the laptop and the other immediate compartment, which is where I've put my power supply. -Seems of quality material, but we shall see. -Did I mention it's not too huge? For those who are petite, this is the one for you. Do not buy a Rosewill laptop bag if you are petite (see below).

Cons: -I wish it had better padding between the laptop and the area next to my actual back. But then again, all these laptops are like this. Since my Rosewill laptop bag (noted below) started ripping only after about 20-30 uses (I only bring my laptop to friends and family's houses on special occasions, so it's not like I bring it to school daily or something), I'm going to strip out the padding and use that on this Targus bag.

Overall Review: -I had a Rosewill laptop backpack meant for a 17 inch laptop but it was 3-4 inches taller than the laptop, which meant the bag was FRIGGEN huge. It is great for someone who's 7 feet, but for even someone who's 5'7", it was still too large. It looked ridiculous and was hard to fit in my large SUV. -I've used Targus brands before for laptops and they generally last a long time (5+ years), so hopefully this one will too.

Works great

Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD5000HHTZ 500GB 10000 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD5000HHTZ 500GB 10000 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: -10k RPM, what can you say? -Fast! -Still working after more than 3 years.

Cons: -It's not an SSD -It's hecka not as fast as an SSD (probably 1/4th the speed)

Overall Review: -I got this puppy when it was on sale for $79.99. It's over $200 now. Are you kidding????????? SSD prices have gotten much lower than this! -Just get an SSD. If you're buying at this price, there's something really wrong with you. -Western Digital has lagged behind with SSD technology, and their hard drives are getting more expensive and has hecka lots of horrible reviews. I fear they were going down the drain. I used to buy WD drives exclusively, but have found the Toshiba 3TB (3 year warranty) to be very reliable. Too bad Toshiba made a new model with only 1 year warranty. Talk about taking care of your customers. Oh how the mighty (WD) hath fallen! WD recently agreed to purchase SanDisk in Oct, 2015. Hopefully Western Digital doesn't mess up SanDisk, which has some super fast EXTREME USB 3.0 sticks after Corsair's GTX series, has awesome super fast 95MB/s+ SDCards, and decent SSDs.

Dent???

ZALMAN Z5 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Compatible with Standard ATX / ATX12V (not included) Power Supply
ZALMAN Z5 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Compatible with Standard ATX / ATX12V (not included) Power Supply

Pros: Update to prior review. I liked it due to the quality, so I purchased a second one on sale.

Cons: The case came with a dent below where the PSU would be. This caused the scre.w holes not to line up. There were NO damages to the shipping box so that means this damage was done BEFORE whoever placed this into the box. This damage is blatantly visible. I am upset whoever did this to it made no attempts to fix it. 2 stars off for poor product care

Overall Review: I hammered it for about 15 mins, being careful not to damage it further. I forced my PSU into the area and tightened the screws as I could.

11/11/2015