Internal Desktop Components Reviews

Western Digital 2 TB RE4 GP SATA 64MB Cache Bulk/OEM Enterprise Hard Drive WD2002FYPS is the best

2010-10-23T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Western Digital
Model : WD2002FYPS
Product Features :
- Offers data hungry organizations massive capacity with significant power savings and lower cost while delivering performance
- Designed based on WD s exclusive GreenPower platform to deliver power savings and equipped with 64 MB cache and dual processors
- A fine tuned balance of spin speed transfer rate and caching algorithms designed to deliver both significant power savings and solid performance
- RAID specific time limited error recovery TLER Prevents drive fallout caused by the extended hard drive error recovery processes

Western Digital 2 TB RE4 GP SATA 64MB Cache Bulk/OEM Enterprise Hard Drive WD2002FYPS
>> Works great with 3ware
I ve been using these drives for several months now on a 3ware 9650SE 24M8 24 port RAID controller All of my drives are still running firmware 04 05G04 and I have had no issues I started with 3 and have been adding to and migrating the RAID 5 volume by a disk every few months as my needs increase I have had no bad drives and no data loss through any of my live migrations
>> WD 2 TB Hard Drives Five
I purchased five of these 2 TB Western Digital Data Center Rated Hard Drives for a new Synology DS509 Network Attached Storage Server I bought for my small business After about two weeks up and running so far so good They are extremely quiet and generate just a small amount of heat The variable speed capability works great When there is no read write activity the drives are very quiet and consume less energy When read write activity is high they are only marginally noisier The read write speed at least from a subjective viewpoint when doing backups is outstanding
>> Just as expected
I purchased two of these drives for a NAS They are fast quiet and since purchase have 0 reallocated sectors I d buy again

Save price on Scythe S FLEX SFF21G 1900rpm 120mm Silent Fan Retail SKU SFF21G

2010-10-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Scythe
Product Features :
- Introducing the high quality quiet 12cm fan with patent pending FDB Fluid Dynamic Bearing technology
- This Fluid Dynamic Bearing technology from SONY Corporation can provide a dramatic reduction in fan noise and prolong the life of your fan
- Long life time the S FDB has a sealed structure that gives imporved oil carrying ability for long life
- Anti Shock Ability

Scythe S FLEX SFF21G 1900rpm 120mm Silent Fan Retail SKU SFF21G
>> Brrrrrr
I replaced the stock fan on my new CorsairH50 water cooler Huge difference The liquid bearing is amazing I use a fan controller to slow it down under light use This combo keeps me below 37c at all times and my cpu operates at 3 6 Ghz The fan controller cuts all noise by lowering speed At 1200 rpm it is silent

Diamond XtremeSound 7 1/24 bit Sound Card with Dolby Digital Live XS71DDL on shop

2010-10-22T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Diamond
Model : XS71DDL
Product Features :
- 24bit/96khz playback
- 8 channel audio output
- Easy connection to home audio equipment
- Dolby Digital Live
- 50 Free MP3 downloads from emusic

Diamond XtremeSound 7 1/24 bit Sound Card with Dolby Digital Live XS71DDL
>> Works exactly as advertised Windows 7 x64 working
I bought this card about 2 months ago to get 5 1 audio from my computer to my entertainment system which only has a Toslink Optical input port so I got this and hooked it up to my system with a 25 ft optical cable When I installed it into my Windows 7 x64 machine it was recognized with no problems because I had another PCI card installed with the same chipset manufacturer but different version
As stated on previous reviews the CD on the box comes with practically no drivers for newer machines so I previously did a little research to find out if the chipset manufacturer had any driver for it and the answer was positive Beta drivers so try at your own risk
After I updated the drivers and rebooted the PC It only took me a few minutes to figure out where to find the settings so I could output the sound not by the Analog plugs but the Digital Optical Output So far even when is attached with a really long cable the Audio Quality for 5 1 movies is just great
I would rate it 5 starts if it didn t require external beta drivers to work but if you are willing to do a little research do not hesitate on getting one of these for Vista or 7 x32 or x64 Really happy with the product
>> Poor software
Purchased this card to use the SPDIF In Connected PS3 optical out and only was able to get stereo 2 channels Dolby Digital 5 1 and DTS 5 1 are not supported You can use this card for gaming video etc I have a Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum 2 and its much better in all aspects Good support drivers for all systems The Diamond only has drivers for Windows XP Vista The software its ok Windows 7 will find a beta driver for it but still limited functionality hard to make things work using the software I will give this card 3 stars For the price is ok For home theater I think there are cards better then this As I said before Sound Blaster is much better or HT OMEGA Since it did not worked for me I returned it back Hope this helps to someone
>> DDL on the cheap
I wanted to spend as little as possible for SPDIF 5 1 from games specifically Crysis and this board was just the ticket But being too smart for my own good I tried to install it with the drivers from the Diamond website and I got nothing at all out of the SPDIF I thought I had a bad optical cable I should have let Vista 32 bit Home Premium have its head from the start I then downloaded the right driver from C Media the maker of the chip and voila DDL surround sound pass through of DD and only one cable to add to the spaghetti behind my machine Be aware that in order to get DDL to work you have to set Windows Sound to Speakers and not Digital

Fast Shipping GIGABYTE GA EP45 UD3L Core 2 Quad/ P45/ DDR2 1366 / A GbE/ ATX/ DES Motherboard order it now

2010-10-22T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Gigabyte
Model : GA EP45 UD3L
Product Features :
- Sold Individually

GIGABYTE GA EP45 UD3L Core 2 Quad/ P45/ DDR2 1366 / A GbE/ ATX/ DES Motherboard
>> Good mobo for overclocking
This motherboard has more options for overclocking than I ve even heard of and that s saying something Worked right out of the box
>> Easy Install Works Great
Very easy install I had no trouble at all replacing my son s crappy Intel motherboard with this new one Everything worked great afterwards I recommend it The board is well marked so I hardly had to crack open the installation manual at all I could easily determine where to slug in the HDD light On Button etc
>> Perfect for OSX86
I bought it to install OSX86 10 5 6 and it works perfectly Great motherboard for hackingtosh

Where to buy Unistar DF158 Multi functional 4 in 1 Portable Air Cooler

2010-10-21T22:00:00.001-07:00

Model : A399 512 Red
Product Features :
- Fan/air cooler/humidifier/ionizer 4 in 1 fan air cooler
- Three air speed with oscillation option Low/Medium/High
- 1 Hr/ 2 Hrs/ 4 Hrs/ 8 Hrs timer
- Three modes selectable normal/natural/sleep
- 30 day money back guarantee and 1 year limited warranty

Unistar DF158 Multi functional 4 in 1 Portable Air Cooler
>> LOVE IT
Really helps with my sleep apnea Making good use of the various times so I can set it for a nap or a full night s sleep The Unistar 4 in 1 air cooler is a product I ll use year round
>> Waste of my money
This was a waste of money if you are really hot I live in TX and my Central AC went out and I was looking for a solution to make it through the last month of summer I bought this for my 11 year olds room he can barely feel the air even when he is sitting right in front of it with water and ice in it A box fan would have worked better
>> Nice paper weight
Broke after the third day of having it it ll blow some cool air but it s a waste of time putting ice in it because there is no difference in the temp of the air it blows got it plugged in right now it s blowing cool air right now but other than that it dont work

Noctua NF R8 Case fan 80 mm is the best

2010-10-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : noctua
Model : NF R8
Product Features :
- Size 80x80x25 mm
- Rotational Speed / 10 1800 RPM
- Acoustical Noise 17 dB A
- Airflow 53 m /h
- Bearing SSO Bearing

Noctua NF R8 Case fan 80 mm
>> Noctua impresses again
There isn t much to say about this fan it is quite perfect As with all Noctua products the quality is great and it is virtually silent The fan comes with a couple of power adapters to regulate the RPM of the fan but honestly you can t hear it at full power

As a side note I am also a fan of the styling The colors are very unique and really let everyone know it is a Noctua
>> So much better
I installed two of these to replace my stock case fans that had become maddeningly loud Wow the difference is night and day They were easy to install in my case as well just popped them in and now I no longer have to crank up my speakers to hear over my PC
>> Part of My Quest for a Quiet PC
As part of my quest to quiet an older PC desktop computer I researched quiet PC case fans and came up with the Noctua 80mm fan Designed and built in Austria the fan produces a generally low decibel level particularly when compared with other case fans When I received my fan and installed it I was amazed at its quietness I would not hesitate to spend some 20 on one of these Noctua s anytime I was upgrading my desktop machine with this level of quietness By the way the fan comes in sizes all the way from 80mm to 120mm so make sure you know the size your particular desktop machine uses This fan s design shows what some computer based development coupled with acoustic sound testing and revision can produce I say Bravo But I say it in a whisper

Note If you need the same fan in a 120mm form factor try
Noctua NF P12 Vortex Control 120mm Quiet Computer Fan

OCZ OCZ600MXSP ModXStream Pro 600 Watt Power Supply reviews

2010-10-20T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : OCZ
Model : OCZ600MXSP
Product Features :
- Internal 120mm fan
- Can power SLI and CrossFire graphics
- Overvoltage/OverPower/ShortCircuit Protection

OCZ OCZ600MXSP ModXStream Pro 600 Watt Power Supply
>> Good product
Ordered on 4th Feb with amazon free Super Saver Shipping it left on the 6th feb from Seller facility arrived 8th feb in Lexington KY and then finally to Miami on the 10th feb I got it in Trinidad 2 days later via a skybox The connectors are nice and snug on the supply itself and on the peripherals The 4 pin molex connectors have two lips or ears on the top and bottom that you press to help remove them from a device Be sure you do not press them while putting them into the device as it would not be inserted all the way

It worked right out of the box The fan is silent my cpu and gpu fans are more audible The air coming out the back does not feel very warm and it does not feel like alot of air either There is a 4 pin p4 AND 8 pin EPS motherboard power connector made into the supply I only use the 8 pin so it would have been nice to be able to take the 4 pin out but it just has to be tucked away I bought this because I plan to do xfire in the future and this is xfire capable

I scraped a tiny bit of paint off the back while lining up the holes to screw it into the case The edges of the case are not sharp and I was not pressing the ps hard on the case the paint is just very soft It is barely noticeable as it is just a line on the edge of the opening on the back of the case and it is the back so it will not be seen anyway I wish the red ModXStream Pro sticker was on the opposite side so I could show it off instead of the voltage ratings sticker As with all other ATX power supplies the holes only line up one way with the computer case so the fan is on the bottom drawing air from inside the case and pushing it out the back

System specs
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Intel Core i5 750 Processor 2 66 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I5 750BOX quad core turbo boost
Corsair CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 XMS3 4 GB PC3 12800 Core i5 Memory Kit 1600mhz
XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5 PCIE Graphics Card HD577AZNFC 1gb DX 11
Gigabyte Intel Core i7/ Core i5/ Core i3/ LGA 1156/ Intel H57/ 4DDR3 2200 /ATI CrossFireX/ HDMI/ USB3 0/ Raid Micro ATX Motherboard GA H57M USB3 usb3 7 1 audio xfire raid
Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3 5 Inch 32 MB Cache 7200 RPM SATA II WD1001FALS
OCZ OCZ600MXSP ModXStream Pro 600 Watt Power Supply ATX12v 2 2 modular cables 80
Thermaltake VI1000NWS M9 case 2 x 120mm fan toolless
IDE dvd burner
Logitech MX 518 High Performance Optical Gaming Mouse Metal
Dell S2209w 22 LCD 5ms 1080p DVI D
Logitech x530 speakers 5 1 70w rms
MS Keyboard
500VA UPS

>> OCZ Power activate
Great power supply No problems runs everything in my computer with no problems hang ups or glitches Great
>> Good for the price
I got this power supply PSU for 2 reasons
1 Brand OCZ has a good customer service reputation so if this PSU failed within the warranty perdio I know I would be covered
2 Good price for a 600W PSU

I got it for a mid range system with an AMD Phenom II X 3 720BE CPU a MSI 790GX G65 board an ATI HD4850 and 3 hard drives There were enough connectors for everything and I still had 1 connection on the power supply I didn t end up using System has been stable for a couple of months now The one thing about this PSU even if it s SLI capable or Crossfire capable 600W will not be high end cards It can do low end 7000 series nVidia cards or HD4850 X2 or lower but anything more would be pushing your luck

Pros
3 year warranty
Nice packaging came with a small zip to put away extra cables
80 Silver certified 82 efficiency
Very quiet fan
Sleeved cables

Cons
Nothing especially given the price point

Not 100 modular but this is more of an aesthetic con and doesn t affect the quality or function of the PSU in any way these 3 connectors are hard wired 24 pin ATX 4 pin and 8 pin mainboard connectors

While modularity is useful except that because the core connectors are always used there s no sense in making them modular from a practicality standpoint and making those connectors modular only serves one purpose aesthetics which if you are willing to pay for there are top notch products that have this

Gigabyte Intel Core ATX Motherboard GA X58A UD7 buy online

2010-10-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Gigabyte
Model : GA X58A UD7

Gigabyte Intel Core ATX Motherboard GA X58A UD7
>> Very Satisfied
Its been a few weeks now and so far its perfect not one complaint i installed 12GB s of RAM and haven t had any problems at all I also installed an SSD as the boot drive and its just blazingly fast its disturbing in a good way I d write a whole bunch of info but thats when i m not satisfied with the product there isn t much to say when you are I would highly recommend it with an SSD it reads at around 250MB/s
>> All bark no bite Allright nibbles maybe

Here is a flagship motherboard from Gigabyte that promises the world and leaves you hanging It all sounds amazingly good on paper but absolutely fails to deliver in practice Anyone who did a quick research about this board can easily spot widespread memory issues This board is very finicky about what memory is used In my case it didn t even like the one I picked from vendor s approved module list Patriot Viper Triple channel 2000mhz 6 gig kit Although explicitly stating it supported DDR3 2100 speeds people including myself had problems getting past the stock 1066Mhz setting Having said that it is a colossal shortcoming for an overclocker s board Turning to Gigabyte tech support for resolving this issue was in no way shape or form helpful Let s just say that Gigabyte Tech Support was a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic Bios flash after bios flash and various settings I came to the sad realization that at least in my case it was a no go for fast settings Overclocking capabilities are good but no cigar yet for this board Good overclocking yields is expected from a board of this price segment Things start to look even worse when compared to EVGA s X58 boards The chipset cooling attachment is big and intimidating and quite pretty to look at At first glance it arouses a certain level of curiosity and excitement Once again in typical fashion of this board the big bad mean NB cooler falls short also In fact under stock settings at full load it is very hot You can crack a few eggs on it

So what is good with this board Let s see The layout is good although if you incorporate the NB cooler it becomes very cramped in that section X58 UD7 incorporates 24 phase power USB 3 0 and Sata 3 as well as added copper which Gigabyte claims will result in a cooler running board less energy waste and a more stable board which yields better overclocking return

I feel that this is a half baked product rushed to the market to claim we did it 1st Obviously they are the 1st manufacturer to roll out a product with USB 3 0 and SATA 3 support However USB 3 0 and SATA 3 are not a part of an official AMD or INTEL controller yet Which means it is a 3rd party controller that is slapped on the PCIe bus Bad news is the more PCIe bus gets populated the less available bandwidth to each device That is true for your killer fast graphics card also There are few articles on hardware enthusiast websites which show that SATA 3 is essentially does not make any difference when compared to sata 2 However with the advent of insanely fast SSDs this is sure to change SSDs with their mind blowing speed will be required to saturate that kind of bandwidth Until then it only seems wise to wait until INTEL and AMD decide to incorporate USB 3 0 and SATA 3 into one of their upcoming chipsets Hopefully by then SSD prices will soften a little more

Coming back to our review at hand here This board is way too expensive to have all these issues and especially for a flagship hardware I cannot help but have a bitter smile on my face Because it is not worthy of that many dollars and that title If you are hellbent on buying this board because it looks good on paper feel free to do so And those who are looking for a great built with rock solid stability need to look elsewhere

Feel free to comment I would like to see what others thought about this review and the board

Buy it now Noctua NF P12 120 mm Nine Blade SSO Bearing Fan with VCN Retail

2010-10-19T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : noctua
Model : NF P12 1300
Product Features :
- Noctua NF P12 120mm Nine Blade with VCN SSO Bearing Fan Retail
- Spec Type Fan Fan Size 120 x 120 x25mm Compatibility CPU Cooler Water Cooling Radiator and Case Bearing Type
- Features Pressure optimized Nine Blade Design Vortex Control Notches Smooth Commutation Drive SSO Bearing
- Air Flow 92 3m /h standard 78 5m /h w/L N A 63 4m /h W/ U L N A Acoustical Noise 19 8 dB A /standard
- Nine Blade Design with VCN RPM / 10 1300 RPM standard 1100 RPM w/ L N A 900RPM w/ U L N A

Noctua NF P12 120 mm Nine Blade SSO Bearing Fan with VCN Retail
>> Almost too quiet
The fan comes with some rather nice features including converter cables the cable itself is much longer than your usual fan cable meaning fan controllers with the headers on the controller itself should reach from the exhaust

The fan s magic quiet everyone talks about is indeed the quietest fan I ve ever had however I wish it was actually capable of pumping the air a little louder I can hear the HDD over everything quite clearly with only the soft whoosh of the fan operating at capacity via SpeedFan

The cable is covered but the header is not I did not use the included rubber screws however they appear troublesome to actually get into the system without some dainty work they don t exactly exhibit any idea of sturdiness

I ll say this again however if you like a nice strong whoosh sound to your fans don t look here these are far too quiet for that and astonishingly at their low RPM and noise level they re cooling my AVC Hercules radiator block at lower temperatures than the included AVC fan

As a system builder I recommend this my aside taken into account
>> Worst 120mm fan I ve ever used
I d heard good things about this fan and about Noctua as a brand
But after installing this exactly as the instructions entailed I was greeted by some of the worst sounds and noise I had ever heard in my life I used both the screws and the rubber pulls to mount the fan only to hear it make the same awful buzzing and rattling noise again and again
Do not buy this fan not only is it not silent but it didn t drop my temps either

False advertising and a shoddy product are not signs a of a reputable company
>> Noctua NF P12 120mm fan
Noctua makes the best fans in the world Period
5 year warranty moves massive amounts of air at a virtual whisper
Cooling problems in your machine NOT with these istalled
Sure other fan brands may be cheaper but you get what you
pay for and with these you never have to worry about heat again

Fast Shipping Diablotek 650 Watt ATX Power Supply PHD650

2010-10-19T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Diablotek Inc
Model : PHD650
Product Features :
- Ultra large14 cm cooling fan design low noise
- Protections against over voltage over power and short circuit
- Advanced cable management for improved airfolow and ease of use
- High efficiency performance
- 6 SATA connectors

Diablotek 650 Watt ATX Power Supply PHD650
>> Power Supply
Good Power supply Works like it was advertised Easy to install Satisfied with process of purchase and fuction of the Power Supply
>> Fantastic power supply
Not only has this power supply been 100 reliable it s pretty neat looking it has heat resistant wrapping on the wires which helps prevent short circuits from wires resting on hot internal parts of the computer what happened to my last one This also helps to keep the wires orderly inside your PC also I can t really think of anything negative about this power supply It s quiet and powerful A great buy all around
>> Diablotek 650 Watt ATX Power Supply PHD650
Diablotek 650 Watt ATX Power Supply PHD650

Installation was simple Very minimal case mod required a different brand of power supply I installed on the same model computer needed to have the case cut away for the AC plug to clear etc This supply only needed a small metal tab on the case cut away The tab was there to make the O E M supply fit snugly A file would do the job and a Dremel tool with a cut off wheel got it done quicker than telling about it Has been running for one month now with no complaints

Fast Shipping Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core Processor 3 16 GHz 6M L2 Cache 1333MHz FSB LGA775 is the best

2010-10-18T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Intel
Model : BX80570E8500
Product Features :
- Sold Individually

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core Processor 3 16 GHz 6M L2 Cache 1333MHz FSB LGA775
>> Intel Inside
I dislike AMD processors Not much else to say It s an Intel it s Dual Core
>> Nice rejuvenation for my PC
Upgraded from an E6420 to this E8500 Besides the speed / performance improvements I noticed mostly the much smaller cooler that comes with this almost double the speed processor It s only about half as thick as the E6420 cooler and much lighter No copper core either It still keeps the CPU sufficiently cool even after a full run of Futuremark benchmarks So the new design must create a lot less heat while greatly improving performance Good job INTEL
>> Awesome Processor
The Core 2 Duo E8500 exceeded my expectations By far it is the best processor I ve owned Super fast and capable of multi tasking with ease Worth every penny I invested

Save price for OCZ OCZ2G10664GK 4GB 1066MHz PC2 8500 Gold Edition Dual Channel DDR2 Kit order it now

2010-10-18T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : OCZ
Model : OCZ2G10664GK
Product Features :
- Gold XTC Heatspreader /2 15V EVP
- 1066MHz DDR2/Unbuffered
- CL 5 6 6 18/ CAS TRCD TRP TRAS
- 2 1 Volts/240 Pin DIMM
- Available in 4GB Dual Channel Kits

OCZ OCZ2G10664GK 4GB 1066MHz PC2 8500 Gold Edition Dual Channel DDR2 Kit
>> Great OC RAAM
I ve put in 8GB s of this RAM and it s great for OC your PC
Runs with no problems Using it on my Gaming Machine
Satisfied with OCZ
>> Great Ram for Great Price
I have an Asus P5WD2 E motherboard and this ram works great I started with 2gb and got this 4gb to go along with it
I believe this is the perfect price point as of my purchase date

Booted up the PC with no problems checked and noticed it read at 1066Mhz

perfect
>> Pretty Good and saved 30
I am VERY happy with this RAM It let me bump my E5200 from 2 5GHz to 3 5 with no problems It s been stable an zero issues plus it looks pretty cool I ordered it at 80 now it s 120

M Audio Audiophile 2496 MIDI Digital Recording Interface on sale

2010-10-17T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : M Audio
Model : 2496
Product Features :
- The Audiophile 2496 PCI Audio Card from MIDIMAN provides wide range of applications for recording and playback from stereo to home theater
- 24 bit 96 kHz multitrack recording
- MIDI recording and playback
- Digital transfers and Digital mastering
- LP/cassette to CD transfers

M Audio Audiophile 2496 MIDI Digital Recording Interface
>> Professional sound card for professionals
Installing and configuring this sound card is not for the faint of heart But audio professionals would probably find the experience par for the course Once you get that card up and running however everything is fine in this world Excellent sound simple to use at a great price All the pain was worth it
>> No customer service customers too annoying
bought two of these in order to slide old PCs into my audio component stacks and use them as digital jukeboxes Installation is not all that simple because the existing PC audio drivers battle with the new audio card There is a long list of driver installs and system changes necessary to make the card work Unfortunately the manufacturer skimped on printed instructions they haven t changed in years and still refer to Windows 98 no kidding To further cut costs M Audio no longer bothers to answer the phone all that much I got intelligent US based help with my first card but with the second I ve never been able to get someone on the phone and so that PC is silent Avid/M Audio s stated call center hours are M F 9 5 Pacific time but closed from 12 2 for training Even within that limited window I waited for more than an hour and still never got to speak to a human And if you are calling more than 30 days after buying the product they provide a number for support from a third party for 2 60 a minute not US based and not intelligent Good luck with that

If you are tech savy you may want to take a chance on this card If you need instructions or after purchase support forget it

I was planning to buy a third card but passsed because of the poor customer service Glad I did I found the ASUS Xonar Essence which offers superior sound quality and even an up to date installation manual Guess they want repeat customers
>> Works perfectly buy it
I popped it in my computer installed the drivers bingo Quickest install ever You can download newer drivers from their website if need be

It s been working great for the past few years now

Best price on Creative Labs SB1040 PCI Express Sound Blaster X Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card order it now

2010-10-17T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Creative Labs
Model : 70SB104000000
Product Features :
- Device Type Sound Blaster
- Interface Type PCI E
- Sound Output Mode 7 1
- Recording 24 bit/96kHz

Creative Labs SB1040 PCI Express Sound Blaster X Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card
>> Don t buy it if you plan on recording internet streams
When this product was first introduced under Windows XP it was able to record internet streams When the drivers were updated to Windows Vista and Windows 7 the What You Hear option was NO LONGER INCLUDED Therefore you will be paying full price for a card that only does half the job This card is so limited in function software wise that you would do just about as well with the integrated audio on your PC or another card I found this out after paying to have this installed in my new Dell PC Had I known this beforehand I would not have bought the product Please don t support SoundBastards by buying a product that only does half the job Teach them a lesson in the pocketbook
>> Too easy
This is the simplist piece of computer equipment that I have ever installed
Put it in a X4 slot connected the speakers and turned on the machine Win 7 64 bit
The drivers loaded and the job was finished
>> Creative Labs SB1040 PCI Audio Card
Poor Manual had trouble setting it up After hours of trial and error it works fine I wish you could switch from 2 speaker system to optical output system without having to unplug from back of card each time you want to switch Program software is poor and limited

TRENDnet 2 Port USB 2 0 PC Card TU2 H2PC most popular

2010-10-16T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : TRENDnet
Model : TU2 H2PC
Product Features :
- 2 x USB 2 0 Type A Ports
- 32 bit CardBus PCMCIA Type II Slot Compatible
- Compliant with USB 2 0 and USB 1 1 Specifications
- OHCI 1 1 Open Host Controller Interface Compliant
- Supports all USB speeds Low Speed 1 5Mbps Full Speed 12Mbps and High Speed 480Mbps

TRENDnet 2 Port USB 2 0 PC Card TU2 H2PC
>> Was not recognized in two of my laptops XP and Windows 7
Amazon was great in returning both yes I both slot cards

Neither worked in either of my laptops the card was not recognized The manufacturer s 800 number customer support India recommended that I goto a computer store to see if the 2nd unit worked I did not choose this course I want it to work in my laptop not someone else s

So I returned the 2nd one and will look for another
>> A great product for older laptops
I bought this for a Dell Inspiron laptop which had non operational USB ports and this card worked flawlessly at high speed USB 2 0 Much easier than a new motherboard hundreds of dollars
>> TRENDnet 2 Port USB PC Card
Installation was easy however I have not been able to get any USB devices to function when plugged into it I haven t had the chance to call technical support yet so I cannot rate at this time I am using it on a Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop

Cheapest price for Sabrent SATA ES2P Internal SATA to 2 Port eSATA II 3GB External Host Bracket Cable 6 3 inches is the best

2010-10-16T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Sabrent
Model : SATA ES2P
Product Features :
- Allows use of SATA equipped devices outside of a computer case
- 6 3 inches long 16cm
- Two internal SATA connectors
- Two external SATA eSATA connectors
- Compatible with cables up to 2 meters long

Sabrent SATA ES2P Internal SATA to 2 Port eSATA II 3GB External Host Bracket Cable 6 3 inches
>> Maybe they changed the cable length
I m not sure what they were shipping before but the pair I received were excellent quality the cables were well shielded and the both connectors appeared to be high quality The cables measured exactly 18 inches from connector tip to connector tip longer than I needed in fact It appears obvious from earlier reviews that these probably were 6 3 inches at one time the label on the bag still has that length printed on it

I haven t found any other dual connector backplane brackets of this quality for this low price and I d buy this one again should I find myself needing another
>> This is the one to get
I was a little nervous about buying this bracket because the description states a cord length of only 6 3 inches But now I m glad I got this one

For one thing the description is not accurate the cord length is actually 18 from end to end Even the plastic packaging that it comes in states 6 3 so I m at a loss

Also the cable itself is not the cheap thin type as I feared based on the price It is the slightly thicker variety which is nice

The external eSATA connectors are centered perfectly side to side so there aren t any issues as far as the eSATA connector coming in contact with the edges of the slots in the case

Bottom line not only is this one of the cheapest SATA to eSATA brackets listed on Amazon it is also one of the best

BTW anyone reviewing a product such as this and claiming that it somehow doesn t work doesn t understand what they re getting It s just two cables connected to a bracket If their drives don t work or can t be hot swapped or anything else this product has nothing to do with their issues I wish such people would not add negative reviews that only serve to illustrate their lack of knowledge
>> Why pay more
I ordered this then got worried about the cable length and ordered the Cables To Go version too
Both arrived to today Both brackets have the same length cables About 19 long Now suppliers may change but for now there is plenty of cable length no need to pay more for the CTG version
That said the Sabrent bracket has slightly thinner cables than the CTG one but the sockets themselves are tightly screwed down while on the CTG one all four screws needed to be tightened

On Sale Corsair Memory VS4GBKIT667D2 4 GB PC2 5300 667Mhz 240 Pin DDR2 Desktop Memory Kit

2010-10-15T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Corsair
Model : VS4GBKIT667D2
Product Features :
- 4GB of memory guaranteed to work on all current DDR2 desktops and motherboards
- Superior performance with maximum memory density offered for current desktops
- Online 24/7 Customer Support available at www asktheramguy com for your convenience and questions
- DDR2 667 MHz 4GB 2x240 DIMM Unbuffered CL5 5 5 5 18
- Lifetime Warranty

Corsair Memory VS4GBKIT667D2 4 GB PC2 5300 667Mhz 240 Pin DDR2 Desktop Memory Kit
>> Works great
Product was easy to install and started working immediately That s about all you can ask for out of RAM chips
>> Desktop memory Corsair 4GB dimm 240 DDR II 667 Mhz
Great product great price I would like recommend to my frieds and family
Thank you Amazon
>> Good Stuff
Product came on time which is a plus For the price i paid in purchasing this product there is a lot of value Highly recommend to anyone running vista and experiencing slow down

Buy Online Corsair Memory VS1GB333 1 GB PC2700 184 pin DDR Desktop Memory

2010-10-15T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Corsair
Model : VS1GB333
Product Features :
- Each memory module is individually tested to give you Peace of Mind that it Will Not Fail Guaranteed
- Online 24/7 Customer Support available at www asktheramguy com for your convenience and questions
- Corsair Memory is optimized for the Microsoft Windows Vista client operating system
- Lifetime Warranty
- 1GB PC2700 333Mhz 184 pin Timing 2 5 3 3 7

Corsair Memory VS1GB333 1 GB PC2700 184 pin DDR Desktop Memory
>> Problem Free Addition
This RAM addition seems to have made a difference in an older workhorse computer There is less hard drive activity in normal use less paging going on Otherwise it is like any RAM should be works without being noticed

Save price on Noctua NH U12P Special Edition SE2 for AM2 AM3 775 1366 1156 is the best

2010-10-14T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : noctua
Model : NH U12P SE2
Product Features :
- Award winning NH U12P Heatsink
- Includes 2x NF P12 Premium Fan 1x NT H1 Thermal Compound
- Complete premium value package that s backed up with 6 years manufacturer s warranty and contains everything you need
- Compatible with the latest and greatest Intel family of processors
- Socket Compatibility AM2 AM3 775 1366 1156

Noctua NH U12P Special Edition SE2 for AM2 AM3 775 1366 1156
>> Noctua NH U12P
I purchased this fan to replace an old stock fan on an AMD X2 My old fan was getting way too loud so I spent a lot of time researching quiet solutions Noctua is very well known for producing quality quiet fans so I thought I d shell out for one of their CPU coolers Shopping around I found the best price here for 65 shipped This is a great price as most other places list it for around 85 shipped When I got the fan it was fairly easy to install the parts were well organized in the packaging no complaints there The cooler is large but most coolers are It s still dwarfed by my Cosmos case The cooler came with two fans only needed one so I mounted the other one to replace a case fan After booting up and leaving my computer idle for about 6 hours my CPU temp is around 32C much lower than the 40 I was getting with stock This is a great cooler and I would recommend it to anyone who s even considering it My one and only complaint is that my case is so quiet now that I can hear my monitor buzzing
>> Great Cooler and Quiet
Bought this from one of the resellers for 66 49 don t know where Amazon get s their 140 price from Am using it on i7 860 chip This is one of the few coolers that has a bracket for the 1156 socket The unit comes with two 120mm Noctua fans I only used one and used the other to replace an Antec case fan that came with the case

With no OC the idle temp ranges 24 27 C Using an Asus P7P55D motherboard and using their auto OC tuning idle temp range jumps up about 10 C Have only had this build up and running for two days so I have not had a chance to do much testing I m not a gamer so it should be more than adequate cooling for my needs And it s quiet really quiet

Caution this is a large heat sink and will not fit in some cases I m using an Antec P 183 case and have about an inch clearance between the top of the cooler and the case cover

Cheapest price for Startech 10/100BT PCI Fast Enet Network Card order it now

2010-10-14T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : StarTech
Model : ST100S
Product Features :
- Lifetime warranty and FREE LIFETIME technical support
- Full duplex design doubles data transfer rate to 20 Mbits/sec and 200 Mbits/sec
- Easy plug and play installation and built in drivers for Windows and most other systems for quick setup
- Compatible with PC and Mac system

Startech 10/100BT PCI Fast Enet Network Card
>> So far so good easy install
The ethernet port built into my motherboard on my HP desktop was fried by an electrical surge so I popped this into an available PCI slot and Vista installed the device without needing to insert the CD I was back up and running on the internet in minutes A very easy and affordable solution to my problem Very satisfied
>> Worked just fine in my Dell computer
My integrated network card was fryed in my Dell PC and so instead of ordering a new board I installed this card and it works great Takes 2 minutes to install and then you re back up instantly

The network card was delivered quickly and that is why I shop at Amazon
>> Not all created the same
One of the sellers of this item is shipping a slightly different card The seller says that this card is AKA MOTOROLA LPC810 But beware this card the Motorola version is NOT the same as the Startech product It does not work in Macs The seller was quick to refund my total purchase amount and that was nice but he was really reacting to a low rating that I gave him I maintain that this was misrepresenting the product because Amazon Customer Reviews clearly say that this card works with a variety of Macs and the one he sent doesn t Don t make the same mistake if you have a Mac Frustrating and of course it took a week to find all this out

CoolIT Systems ECO A L C CPU Cooler ECO R reviews

2010-10-13T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Coolit
Model : ECO R
Product Features :
- CoolIT s selection and design of each component has been scrutinized to ensure the ECO A L C provides industry leading performance and reliability resulting in the ultimate maintenance free cooling solution
- High End Performance The ECO A L C features a copper base and highly efficient micro channel design that extracts the damaging heat from the CPU and transfers it into liquid
- Innovative Design The ECO A L C system is an elegantly engineered ultra low profile thermal solution and flexible to various 120mm mounting locations near the CPU
- Extremely Quiet The whisper quiet ECO A L C cooler features its own 120mm fan with 4 PIN fan cable allowing for PWM regulation through the motherboard CPU FAN header up to a maximum of 1800RPM
- Easy To Install Utilizing thumbscrews and universal mounting retention the ECO A L C is the most simple liquid cooler to install

CoolIT Systems ECO A L C CPU Cooler ECO R
>> Cool it Watter Cooler worked Great
I have a i7 930 2 8 GHZ processor and a ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution motherboard I was using a high end air cool fan while trying to over clock the system at 4 0 GHZ The air cool system didn t work as expected so I ordered this I had to modify my case a little but it wasn t a big deal because the radiator is a little taller than the 120mm fan attached to back of the mid tower case After putting the motherboard back in I found the issue with the radiator and had to take the motherboard out again because of the case modification

After getting both of my ATI 5870 back in and attaching everything I fired up the system I printed the Everest reports before I started this project My normal temp without doing anything was a 52c running at 4 0 GHZ with Hyper Threading on 190 x 21 After installing I played with the over clocking and I could run the system stable at 4 35 GHZ with temp of 51c Using Everest stress test it didn t take long to bring the vcore s to 100c but it never crashed The test was for 5 minutes I have now put the system back at 4 0 GHZ and turned Hyper Threading off and the temp is 42c It stays 42c all the time now and without stress testing it would never change The vcores stay around 50c but don t change much I did get this to run at 4 6 GHZ without the blue screen but didn t like the temps on the vcores The bios on the motherboard is easy to over clock with all the setting you will ever need

This is a great product I understand I could have bought a 400 system and it could have done a lot better but at higher risk with a system that I would have to seal and check for leaks and stuff like that With this it s easy If needed I would have bought the 400 system if this didn t work

>> The ONLY way to cool your CPU
Heat is the number one killer of your expensive computer components and the ECO keeps em cool I have an intel quad core 9650 overclocked to 4 ghz and it idles around 40 C and tops out at 65 C ish There is nothing bad that I can say about it what so ever Well the stock heat sink compound isn t real good I replaced it with some arctic 7 silver This is the best and cheapest water cooling I have seem yet Top quality construction no refill of the coolant over time No worries about leaking THIS is the only way to go

Cheap price for Corsair Memory VS1GBKIT400 1 GB PC3200 400Mhz 184 Pin DDR Desktop Memory Kit order it now

2010-10-13T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Corsair
Model : VS1GBKIT400
Product Features :
- Each memory module is individually tested to give you Peace of Mind that it Will Not Fail Guaranteed
- Online 24/7 Customer Support available at www asktheramguy com for your convenience and questions
- Corsair Memory is optimized for the Microsoft Windows Vista client operating system
- Lifetime Warranty
- 2 X 512MB PC3200 400Mhz 184 pin Timing 2 5 3 3 8

Corsair Memory VS1GBKIT400 1 GB PC3200 400Mhz 184 Pin DDR Desktop Memory Kit
>> More Power Scotty
Arrived promptly Easy install for a dummy me My only regret was not getting the larger memory I did not realize my Dell had only two slots so I had to remove what
I already had
>> Wow
This product was as advertised The service was amazing It arrived prior to estimated shipping date Did everything and more than expected Thanks for the great service
>> Memories
Installed very easily Turned the computer back on and there were no issues at all From shutdown to restart took maybe 5 minutes and there is a noticeable difference in load times

Fast Shipping ASUS M3N78 VM AM2 Nvidia 8200 DDR2 1066 Nvidia Geforce 8200 IGP mATX Motherboard order it now

2010-10-12T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Asus
Model : M3N78 VM
Product Features :
- Sold Individually

ASUS M3N78 VM AM2 Nvidia 8200 DDR2 1066 Nvidia Geforce 8200 IGP mATX Motherboard
>> Easy to get started difficult to get perfect
I bought this Asus board to replace a MSI board that had gone bad I installed it hooked it up turned it on and it booted up the very first time It had no problem with my old memory which is slower than 1066 800 I think I had to re do my network settings which is par for the course with a new mobo

Now for the fancy stuff Despite the fact that this board has THREE video hookups VGA HDMI DVI only ONE of them will work at a time because of the limitation of the Nvidia 8200 So for dual monitors you need to add a graphics card Luckily I had one ready

Then I tried the digital audio The manual said coaxial SPDIF but it was actually optical TOSLINK on the board I could not get it to work even with the latest development version of Ubuntu 10 04 From what I could find on the support forums you need to use the built in HDMI and perhaps only that for video in order for digital audio to work and nobody outside the Windows universe has ever done it successfully

Analog audio worked with no fuss when I tried it
>> Corporate Stable Solid Mobo
After months of trying to find a stable mobo for my build a previous Gigabyte mobo was defective I found this one at Frys It is 100 compatible with all my hardware and I have had no real issues with its performance

PROS
Stable
Compatibility with AM2/AM2 processors
Fast boot up POST
4 slots for DDR2 in a DDR3 world
DVI/VGA/HDMI support
Blu Ray support

CONS
Raid issues I did not configure mine for raid
No firewire
Poor placement for power switch connections

A Cert former CC firedog
>> Excellent motherboard with lots of features
Another excellent quality product from Asus Bought it as a replacement for a HP board that went bad dropped it in and it worked beautifully No problems lots of features decent quality video for an integrated chip the option of using it in an SLI setup is a neat feature as well I m very happy with my purchase

Save price for Thermaltake V3 Black Edition SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case VL80001W2Z Black

2010-10-12T06:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Thermaltake
Model : VL80001W2Z
Product Features :
- Fully black coated interior
- High opening ratio front mesh design to accelerate cool air intake
- One included 120mm Blue LED rear exhaust fan with ability to upgrade to up to 4 fans
- Massive expandability 10 drive bays 4 x 5 25 ODD bays 1 front accessible 3 5 bay 4 internal 3 5 HDD bays 1 internal 2 5 SSD
- Thermal friendly bottom PSU mounting allows for efficient heat removal and isolation

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case VL80001W2Z Black
>> Good case but has some minor issues
I really like this case but it does have some issues

Pros

Very sturdy case
Holds 6 fans 1 bottom 2 top 1 rear 1 side 1 front
Nice paint job on both inside and outside
Dust filters in most fan intake spots
Comes with a nice quite fan
Looks awesome with red lights

Cons

Top fans will not fit inside case must put on outside
Cable management isn t so great but doable It s really not so bad
Side panels fall of easy but a simple thumb screw will take care of that
There is only 1 3 25 bay but not a huge issue
My ASUS Triton 78 CPU cooler almost wouldn t fit because the motherboard is too close to the top of the case Be careful if you have a wide cooler

Really good case for the money and I would by again The only thing I really hate about it is that the top fans have to go on the outside I don t see them fitting on the inside at all My RAM slots are almost touching the top of the case If Thermaltake would make this case taller and lower the motherboard holes about an 1 5inches then it would be a great case Also they need to give you more space behind the motherboard tray for cables and supply a grill for the bottom fan because your cable will get caught in it

Fast Shipping M Audio Delta 1010 LT PCI Digital Audio System PC Mac

2010-10-11T22:00:00.001-07:00

Band : Midiman
Model : Delta 1010 LT
Product Features :
- 10 inputs / 10 outputs
- Two XLR microphone inputs with preamps alterable by jumper to line level inputs
- S/PDIF I/O MIDI I/O Wordclock I/O
- 8 analog balanced XLR unbalanced RCA female inputs
- Bit for bit accurate communication via S/PDIF with pro DAT other devices

M Audio Delta 1010 LT PCI Digital Audio System PC Mac
>> This thing is a Workhorse
I bought this card 4 5 years ago for appx same price and this baby still purrs This is one purchase I ll never regret

>> Small wonder
I was really excited when I received the M Audio Delta 1010LT in the mail Out of the box it was just a few easy steps for installation If you know how to install memory or a hardrive into your computer you can install this in a flash It took some time to disable my previous soundcard and all the default settings for routing audio but I eventually set the M Audio soundcard to its new default
The sound quality is absolutely stunning I havent ran anything out of the preamps channel 1 2 I actually run all my channels in through a 6 channel mixing board i have I only have 2 GB of RAM but with this soundcard I ve been able to simultaneously track 8 separate channels into my sound editing program Mixcraft 4 0 flawlessly with M Audio s ASIO low latency drivers The only downfall or maybe i just havent figured it out is the Delta Outs system I expected to be able to run more than a pair of outs left right at a time however you are unable to do so To monitor with both headphones and my personal monitors i have to switch outs every time

I d definitely pick up another one of these to run clocked with this one to be able to record even more channels
A definite buy for someone looking to do small multitracking band rehearsals live performances etc
>> GREAT card Especially for the price However
THis is an excellent option for the hardware required to run pro tools m powered However you need to make sure that you have a computer with the proper older PCI ports to install it in I installed it on a brand new computer that only had PCI EXPRESS slots available I had to get an adapter to convert my pci exress slot to normal pci to get the card to work The adaptor pushed the size of the card to be too big for the case so I had to break out the metal hack saw to get it to fit in in the computer It fits now and works perfectly with the adaptor about 30 bucks If you have a Normal PCI slot to put this card in your computer I would Highly reccomend it otherwise be prepared to get the adaptor and bust out your Hack saw to you case

PCI Express TO Pci Adaptor Link