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Victor T.

Victor T.

Joined on 02/26/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 25
Most Favorable Review

Good for the price

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heatpipes
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heatpipes

Pros: Fits in an Antec P183. Seems solid enough. The infamous metal clips for the fan were replaced with plastic ones which are easier to use. Installation procedure was easy enough and I only build one or two systems in a given year. Cools the processor well. The machine sits in a relatively warm place, so I don't expect low temperatures. Much better than the stock Intel HSF.

Cons: Poor instructions, but it's easy enough to figure out, even when I installed it without removing the motherboard from my case.

Overall Review: This cooler isn't for you unless you have a full tower or a BIG mid-tower like the P183. This could definitely be used as a passive cooler with low-TDP Core 2s. Don't try that with an i5 750 or i7, though. Relevant specs: ASUS P7P55D, Core i7 860

Most Critical Review

Killed my drive

KINAMAX ADP-IDE23 Laptop 2.5" to Desktop 3.5" IDE Hard Drive Adapter Converter
KINAMAX ADP-IDE23 Laptop 2.5" to Desktop 3.5" IDE Hard Drive Adapter Converter

Pros: None.

Cons: This adapter seems to have fried the circuitry on my laptop's hard drive when I attempted to attach it to my workhorse PC. Useless.

Inexpensive. Fast. Reliable.

Canon MX350 Black ESAT: 8.4 ipm Black Print Speed 4800 x 1200 dpi Color Print Quality Ethernet (RJ-45) / USB / Wi-Fi InkJet MFC / All-In-One Color Printer
Canon MX350 Black ESAT: 8.4 ipm Black Print Speed 4800 x 1200 dpi Color Print Quality Ethernet (RJ-45) / USB / Wi-Fi InkJet MFC / All-In-One Color Printer

Pros: - Allows printing AND scanning over the network. - The ADF is reliable and fast. - Flatbed is also speedy. - Color print quality is not exceptional, but acceptable. - Black print quality is "low-end laser printer" level. Good for an inkjet, though. - Pretty easy to use. - Software isn't bundled with toolbars or other crapware. - Supports 32-bit/64-bit Win XP and up and Mac OS X 10.4 and up, PowerPC and Intel.

Cons: - Software is pretty bloated, but not intrusive. - It's BIG, as in Texas-size. This is not for your bedroom. - Output tray does not extend, although it is deep. - It does not do automatic duplexing!

Overall Review: Canon has never left me unsatisfied with any of their products that I've owned or used, whether it's a camera, printer or projector. They stand behind their products 110%. I use this printer in a home environment with three PCs running XP, Vista and 7. Printer is connected to a network switch via Ethernet and one of the PCs is normally connected wirelessly. All work flawlessly.

Great PSU with a drawback

XFX XXX Edition P1-650X-CAG9 650 W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
XFX XXX Edition P1-650X-CAG9 650 W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: Much quieter than the aging 550W it replaced Nice packaging Powers my system fine Very good build quality Cables long enough for an Antec P183 case

Cons: It was buzzing when I first powered it up, but that went away shortly afterwards Four uninterrupted PCI-E cables is somewhat excessive, though this is expected from a GPU vendor Too much packaging

Overall Review: XFX needs to cut back on the uninterrupted cables in this model. The point of modular PSUs is to reduce clutter, after all.

Drops connections

TRENDnet TEW-647GA Wireless N Gaming Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n Ethernet Port Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates
TRENDnet TEW-647GA Wireless N Gaming Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n Ethernet Port Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: It works when it needs to. The speeds aren't bad.

Cons: It drops the connection quite often while my other devices do not have connection issues with the same router. I have to reset the power often when I power on the BD player it's connected to. Thankfully it hasn't failed while watching a Netflix movie or anything.

Overall Review: It works when it needs to, but use this for a BD player or game console, not your desktop PC.

Not bad for the price, but aim higher

LG Blu-ray Player BD370
LG Blu-ray Player BD370

Pros: It's a BD player with Netflix for a decent price, but there are caveats.

Cons: You CANNOT play ANY video files on a USB stick with this unit. That is not supported on the North American version for some odd reason. Requires a 1 GB+ USB stick to be inserted for BD Live. The menus and manual read like they were translated from Korean word-by-word.

Overall Review: This player is good for a room that you don't watch a lot of movies in, but don't buy it for your home theatre.