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Alexander B.

Alexander B.

Joined on 04/07/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 9
Most Favorable Review

Second Unit

APC BR1500G Back-UPS Pro 1500 VA 10 outlets Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
APC BR1500G Back-UPS Pro 1500 VA 10 outlets Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Pros: This is the second unit that I have purchased. The first unit still works fine, but couldn't handle the amount of power my computer pulled.

Cons: Can't tell if they made the fan quieter or if my fan is not working in this unit, but when the power goes out, my old unit's fan kicks in and I can hear it and feel air movement out the top of the UPS. The new one, I can't hear the fan, and I can't feel any air movement (however, I do hear a buzzing sound intermittently, like a motor trying to move but not able to).

Overall Review: I got a second one of these because 885 watts was not enough for my computer and monitors combined. My desktop alone pulls almost 900 watts when I really load it up playing some game, and my monitors pull about 200 watts combined (3 1080P 3D monitors). The UPS my desktop is plugged into has the extended battery pack, so its run time is about 22 minutes on full load. This battery pack with only the monitors attached run time is about 26 minutes, so basically the same. If anything, the UPS on my desktop will die before the monitors, which is preferable (able to shut stuff down instead of having monitors turn off when trying to shut stuff down).

Most Critical Review

Works OK, but...

Pros: Reads power draw, voltage, and calculates how much power it has used in a given time and can tell you what it cost (assuming you program your energy rate cost into it).

Cons: After a power outage, it turns itself off and does not turn back on until you hit the power button on top.

Overall Review: I got this to monitor how much power my servers were taking so I could be sure to pay all of that each electric bill (didn't want my roommates splitting that cost with me and make them mad). I have a UPS plugged into it for back up power. When the power goes out, the unit turns off (as expected due to no power), and my UPS runs the equipment. However, once the power returns, the unit does NOT restore power to the UPS, which causes my UPS to completely die and turn off power to all connected equipment. I have to manually go and turn power back on to this device and all of my servers. That is a dumb design, once power is restored it should just start delivering power to the connected equipment by default, and if you want to use the energy saving feature you should have to enable that manually, not the other way around. I can disable all energy saving features, but when the power goes out and the unit turns off, it looses all settings I program into it and returns to factory defaults (power savings on, does not restore power to connected equipment till I manually hit the power button). I have had 3 power failures now, all three had similar results. The first two I got VERY lucky. The first one I was asleep, didn't even knew the power went out. Got up to get some water and heard the battery backup beeping. Power was out for only 5 minutes according to another UPS I have, but the server battery backup reported no power for 40 minutes! The battery was very close to dieing. The second time I was sitting at my desk when it happened and I watched it when the power came back. The unit turned on, but did not restore power to the equipment until I hit the power button on top. I need something that has no power saving features but a detachable screen (the outlet is behind a server rack and is hard to see where it is). I put the screen part in the rack on top of my router so I can see it from the front of the rack. The fact that it came with power saving features was no big deal, or so I thought. I have since unplugged this unit and just have the UPS directly into the wall. I will have to work something out with my roommates because I am NOT using this device for my servers any more. DL;DR - Works fine for simple appliances. Not good for computers or anything you want to turn back ON automatically after a power outage.

Wonderful

Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound AS5-12G
Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound AS5-12G

Pros: Works great. Wonderful temps, and ease of use.

Cons: Tube only comes about half full. Not really a problem, you pay for the quantity yo get (in this case, 12G).

Overall Review: Been using this stuff for years. I used to buy the smaller tubes, but lately I have been doing a lot of computer work for my friends (Building custom rigs, upgrading their systems, etc). As such, I wanted to buy a bigger tube of thermal paste to last me longer. My only wish is that I could get one where the large syringe was completely full. This one comes just over half full. Chances are it will last me a good long time, but I would rather have a LOT and not need to worry about it for even longer.

"Dumb" switch

NETGEAR 24 Port Gigabit Unmanged Plus Business-Class Rackmount Switch - Lifetime Warranty (JGS524E)
NETGEAR 24 Port Gigabit Unmanged Plus Business-Class Rackmount Switch - Lifetime Warranty (JGS524E)

Pros: 24 port gigabit switch, low power consumption, small size, no noise, rack mountable.

Cons: The switch I received would not let me access the management interface at all. It saw the switch, but refused the default password, even after multiple factory resets with and without tech support on the phone. The tech support wanted me to send it in, but I was not willing to wait weeks for a replacement.

Overall Review: Went out and purchased a Cisco switch instead. I have never had a problem with a Cisco device. Holding onto this switch in case I need a dumb 24 port switch for anything, but will most likely sell it off at some point. I have used Netgear switches in the past, but this was the first time I tried using one of their managed switches. I won't be looking at them for managed devices again.

Pretty good

Razer Megalodon Gold-plated USB Connector Circumaural 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset
Razer Megalodon Gold-plated USB Connector Circumaural 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset

Pros: These headphones are nice. Audio is pretty good, and they are comfortable. The case they come with is nice for transporting to events or a friends house.

Cons: The white-noise issue that everyone has with the mic. However, I found a solution that works for me, read other thoughts. Sometimes, the audio cuts out, and I have to unplug and replug the USB into my computer. But of a hassle as my computer is under my desk, and there are a lot of wires under there.

Overall Review: I was able to minimize the white-noise issue by doing the following. First, update your firmware (follow the instructions on Razer's website). Second, adjust the mic sensitivity and volume on the control pod to about half way. Third, open Window's Audio Settings, select Recording Devices, right-click the Megalodon Microphone, click Properties. Click the Levels tab, and adjust the Microphone slider somewhere below 10. I have mine set to 7, and my friends say I am crystal clear. You may need to tweak these settings a bit for your application, but the main problem is the Windows setting for the mic volume is way too high.

Moves a lot of air!

Vantec Tornado 80mm Double Ball Bearing High Air Flow Case Fan - Model TD8038H
Vantec Tornado 80mm Double Ball Bearing High Air Flow Case Fan - Model TD8038H

Pros: This fan is amazing. Yes its loud, but for how much air it moves, I don't care. The server we put 2 of these into is in a rolling rack, and the first time I turned the server on with these, I thought the rack was going to start rolling away. It sounded like I installed two jet engines into the rack. Not complaining, since I knew they were loud, just saying I started to laugh and told my friends that we may need to get some locking wheels so it doesn't roll away.

Cons: No cons on the fans other than all the people who don't read that these things are LOUD then complain about how loud they are. Not the fan's fault, but the people who don't read the product description's fault.

Overall Review: I purchased two of these to add to a 4U rackmount case. The case only had 2 case fans on it, a 120 at the front that moved a little air, and a 120 in the power supply blowing the air out the back of the case. The computer has a six core AMD CPU, and with the configuration of the motherboard and case, the heat comes of the CPU heatsink and directly into the power supply. When the system was under load, the air out the back of the power supply was almost hot enough that you could not keep your hand there. It was not good for the PSU. After installing these fans, I made a small modification so the air from the CPU cannot get back to the power supply, but has to go out through the back of the case. It now runs much cooler, and I don't have to worry about the PSU catching fire. Also, these fans are a little deeper than your standard 80mm fans, so keep that in mind when you order them.