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Jason H.

Jason H.

Joined on 10/16/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

Don't hesitate to buy it

ASUS Z97I-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
ASUS Z97I-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Good quality, good packaging WiFi works great for me The placement of items on this board I feel is superior to a lot of the other z97 ITX cases. Updating the BIOS was completely painless. The options in the BIOS for overclocking and other things are endless.

Cons: This applies for all ASUS boards. The AI Software suite will give you c̶a̶n̶c̶e̶r̶ 2 minute boot times. I recommend only installing parts of it if anything at all. Most of the things the software suite does can be done better with other software or through the BIOS.

Overall Review: My build: i7 4790k, EVGA GTX 980 Reference, 16gb Corsair Vengeance 2400mhz, 2x Crucial BX100 in Raid 0, Seasonic 750w gold, Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX.

Most Critical Review

Dead after 3 months

SeaSonic SS-750KM3 750W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready
SeaSonic SS-750KM3 750W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready

Pros: See below

Cons: Dead as a doornail 3 months after purchase. Now I have to pay to send a heavy power supply back to seasonic for replacement. I liked this power supply and I thought with a name like SeaSonic I wouldn't have any issues. Having to tear down your entire rig to remove your power supply is no fun. Hopefully it is replaced in a timely fashion or you will see me update this review with another rant.

Great little case

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv iTX Black Steel / Plastic  Window Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case  PH-ES215P_BK
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv iTX Black Steel / Plastic Window Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case PH-ES215P_BK

Pros: This case looks amazing Front I/O is on the front of the case Tinted side window Included front 200mm fan is great Fits basically any PSU and GPU Everything was pretty well though out in this case. It is NOT a tiny ITX case however I think it is a great size. It really allows you to do a 'no compromise' ITX build. (Now if we could just get 32gb max RAM on an ITX board.) This case really gives you a lot of options and Phanteks may be my new favorite case builder.

Cons: Not a major con but if you have an AIO CPU Cooler (like an h100i) that you are mounting to the top you need to know that removing the radiator to replace the fans or clean them will require you to remove the block from the CPU to pull it out. The tubes on the cooler are not long enough to allow you to slide the radiator out from the top of the case. The slide-in feature at the top really only solves the issue that you would be unable to use a screw driver inside such a small case to mount the radiator to the top. YMMV. My case also came with a dent on the top panel most likely caused by shipping. I was able to mostly fix the dent with some gentle bending/pressing/hammering so I did not return the case because I was too excited to start my build. But I would like to see better packaging for the case so this doesn't happen when shipped. The HDD LED light on the reset button will give you seizures. No seriously when this thing starts flashing in a dark room it is debilitatingly bright. It's like a strobe light. I recommend you disconnect it or cover it up.

Overall Review: I wish this case had been made with the same materials and build quality of the matx version. I would have gladly paid more money to get a thick aluminum version of this case. The matx version unfortunately has the front I/O buttons placed on the right side which ruins that case for my setup. The front I/O on this case is actually on the front which is perfect in my opinion. The vents at the top of the case are adequate for my h100i to keep my overclocked i7 nice and cool. I actually prefer this design as it helps keeps things from falling into the top air vents. If you want to use both SSD mounting points you will need to purchase a Phanteks Enthoo SSD bracket. They were easy to find as of the date of this review. My build: i7 4790k, ASUS z97I-Plus, EVGA GTX980 Reference Design, 16gb Corsair Vengeance Pro @ 2400mhz, Corsair h100i, 2x Crucial bx100 in raid 0, Seasonic 750w PSU

Big fan of cooler master

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: -Great airflow with space for lots of fans. -Filters everywhere -Black inside and out -LED on front fan can be turned OFF -Good cable management space -Can hold a 120mm cpu fan/heatsink -SATA hot-swap built in on top.

Cons: -The hole for easy CPU fan installation does not line up with my motherboard (as it doesn't for many people it seems.) Luckily I'm happy with mine so I probably won't be replacing it. -The included fans aren't really that quiet unless you have them on a fan controller. They aren't loud - I just like a quiet case. -Price dropped another $10 right after I bought it! -The lid that covers the hot-swap sata bay on the top is really cheap and doesn't seem to fit very well and slides off easily.

Overall Review: I installed another 140mm fan up top and a 120mm fan on the side. I keep the side fan turned off unless I'm playing games. I bought more fans but I'm not going to install them because all my temps are so low. I also have the bottom part of the hard drive cage removed. Keeps everything in my case very cool: 2 WD Black HDD 30-34c CPU core 19 idle - 25c avg GPU (overclocked) 30c idle, stays around 58-67 playing games, 72 max. The side fan noticeably lowers my GPU temps. To match the 140mm fan in the top you need this fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103078&Tpk=R4-S4S-10AK-GP My build for this case was (what's relevant): ASUS m4a8pro mobo, AMD phenom II x3 720, 4g g-skill DDR2 800, Coolermaster Silent Pro m600, Zotac GTX 460, Cooler Master RR-B10-212P-G1 Hyper 212 Plus 120mm CPU Cooler Overall I would recommend this case to anyone looking for a sub $100 case. I like it better than the antec 900 which I have built with before also.

10/31/2010

Flash Drive

LaCie iamaKey 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive 130870
LaCie iamaKey 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive 130870

Pros: Sturdy construction Speed is fast enough for me

Cons: Like others said the plastic cap is worthless. I lost mine after about a week but I don't miss it... so not really a con

Overall Review: If you have ever lost a flash drive because it broke off of your key chain then buy this! I've lost 3 other flash drives that I carried on my key chain because they broke off so I saw this and knew it would be perfect. It fits great on the key chain and I don't think there is any way that it will break off.

10/20/2009