Product Review Thread

Half Evil

Golden Master
Messages
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This is how it's going to work. You will be able to review any ([new];being the objectional word) computer product. This will not be a thread for convorsation. Any convorsation will be edited out. Any questions or comments can be Pmed to me. This is just a way to get the word out on prodcuts. Although, mind you the prodcuts have to be ones that you have personally experienced. I'll try this for a few days, and if it doesn't work, i'll scrap it.​

Intel Pent 4, 630. (3.00ghz).

Overall, this is a very well rounded product. I think its greatest flaw however, is the difficulty to process larges amouts of data quickly. When playing games, it does so flawlessly. However, the case is no the same, when doing file conversions (400+ songs from .wav to .mp3). It's a work horse and does it very nicely; at 100% CPU usage. That does not mean however, that it laggs at doing other tasks while converting files. Still when doing that, I was able to Browse the Internet, with several different windows; Listen to music though WMP; talk on instant messaging programs (AIM, MSNmessenger, XFire.)

Like I said in the above (subtly), that this multitasks like none other. It does many things at once (Play a game, [Guild Wars {CPU Intensive}], burn a CD, Listen to music, and have instant messaging programs open, along with several browsers). Occassionally hitting 100% usage for a split second.

Yes, amout and type of ram does matter, along with the video card (when I was playing the game), and hard drive speed. But all in all, most programs run were CPU intensive.

So far, best processor owned. Happyness with it, 6-7/10. Solely because when playing games, there is unexpected lagg. Although, that may be due to video card, although unlikly. It just acts up at times, but just the same as any other processor would on the market.
 
Windows XP under a Pentium MMX 200MHZ.

The PC is powered by PCTF and the review by FlashRev 2K6

REVIEW #6
Windows XP with old PC


PC Specs:
Intel Motherboard
Intel Pentium with MMX 200MHZ CPU
64MB RAM SDR
ATI Mach 64 2MB PCI
2.00GB HDD
52X CD Drive
FLoppy drive not able to read


First part: INSTALL

The installation of Windows XP LIte is a success. The second part was a little slower, but hey, it is not a Pentium 4! During the restart of the first part, it was the decisive part: Windows XP...boot or not? The result was confirmed. Windows XP will boot only with a Northbridge and Southbridge Chipset. The installation, overall, was a big success.

Second Part: The first run

Windows XP and all shows normally. Although, at startup, the system properties shows:
Intel Pentium MMX Processor
199MHZ
64MB of RAM

Next, I open Task manager and this is how many free memory I get during idle:
CPU idle load: 4%
MEM left: 22724KB

Opening IE, the page loads, the CPU is high processing (80-100%)
When idle again, this is what is remaining:
CPU load: 5%
MEM left: 15032KB


Third part: Conclusions

Overall, Windows is stable and the CPU is keeping up. The PC is cool enough to run still. The only thing I will need to solve is to upgrade the memory to 128-192NB. Without it, it will be a pain.



Another Reviews signed and Genuined by FlashRev 2K6

Lhuser FlashRev is under Beta develloping and is confined to reviews only.


UPDATE: The shut down rate took less than 20 seconds. Fast enough!
 
Viewsonic VX2025WM - LCD Widescreen Monitor

Features:

Screen size (diag.) 20.1"
Native Resolution 1680 x 1050
Aspect Ratio: 16:10
Response Time: 8ms
Display Colours: 16.7 Million
Display Connections: DVI, VGA
DVI Modes: DVI-D
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 800:1

First Impressions out of the box:

When the delivery lady arrived and handed me this big box it was like xmas again, you know when the bigger the box the present came in the more excited you got. Unpackaged everything and put it on my desk. The look of the monitor is sleak. It has a nice black border around the screen whihc i like as i believe it makes the picture stand out more. The base is of a good design which helps to save desk space by being able to put those little things in the middle of it that roll around. The back of it has one DVI and one VGA inputs. this is hidden by a plastice cover that hides all of the wires until they come out of the bottom of the stand and then they disappear down your desk. Very nice i thought as I for one gets annoyed with lots of wires everywhere. The only thing that some may find bad about it is that it only has a vertical tilt on it but that really didnt bother me as the only place i can view it from is straight in front of me anyway.

First Use:

You have to keep in mind that I went from using a Flat screen CRT 17" monitor with a VGA input. When i first turned it on and it went through bios and into windows my first thought was wow how clear and sharp is that text on the icons! i could really see a big differnece and the resloution was brilliant, much more space to browse the internet and have serval windows open at once.

Down to Gaming:

This monitor has had a good rep when it comes to gaming. My conclusion is that they are right. I have only had one experience of ghosting on BF2 Amoured Fury when flying those little attack helicopter around in circles. Thje brightness is godd and there is a good balanced differnece between shades of grey and black. For example shadows just dont appear as black blobs There is detail within the shadow. Everytime I load up a game I still love the fact that it is widescreen. I cant get over the fact that there is an exteremly big difference between this monitor and my CRT. If you are serious about gaming you have to get a widescreen monitor! All the latest games have now got native support apart from some titles such as BF2 but there are hacks and ways of making them widescreen.

All in all:

Well to be honest i love this monitor. I fact I have absolutly no regrets in buying it. The only thing that annoys me is that there is a bit of back bleading from all four corners. This is were the rear light shines through and makes the screen look more light in each corner. I dont have much experince with LCD monitor so I dont know what its like in comparision to others. But what I can tell you is that if its your first buy into the world of Widescreen LCDs then you really cant go far with this one. Infact Im usualy a lazy person but it has inspired me so much that I thought I would write this review about it.

I would give it:

!!! 9/10 !!!
 
I like this thread :)

I'll edit this post when i get my Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 PRO with a review compared to my badly cooling stock heatsink/fan for my 3500+
 
Sceptre X20G-Naga III LCD Monitor Review

Specifications:
Panel: Active Matrix, TFT LCD
Screen Size: 20.1"
Widescreen: Yes
Display Type: WSXGA+
Maximum Resolution: 1680x1050
Recommended Resolution: 1680x1050
Viewing Angle: 176°(H) / 176°(V)
Pixel Pitch: 0.255mm
Display Colours: 16.7 Million
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 800:1
Response Time: 8ms
Horizontal Fresh Rate: Analog: 24-82 kHz (H)
Digital: 31-80 kHz (H)
Vertical Fresh Rate: Analog: 50-75 Hz (V)
Digital: 50-75 Hz (V)
Input: DVI-D & VGA

First Impressions:

When I first bought this, I noticed it at Newegg. I wasn't very happy with my old Sony 17" CRT monitor and I was looking for a upgrade with DVI. I saw the price tag and it was the cheapest at the time (about $350), at least until the BenQ FP202W came along. When it arrived, the packaging wasn't deciving at all. Unlike some companies, Sceptre doesn't like to package their products in several layers. There was only the box and the monitor inside with two foam pieces on the side to hold the monitor and to protect from shock.

When I took it out, I noticed that it wasn't too bad. Construction wasn't the best, but it wasn't falling apart. When you press on the edges of the bezel near the LCD panel, the move a little bit, showing slightly loose construction, but it's relatively solid. The base also flexes a bit when moved with force. The Sceptre logo is in clear plastic centered on the bottom above the OSD buttons and is lighted by blue LEDs. When it detects a signal the blue is a bit bright, but nothing distracting. It dims after a certain period of time has passed. However, the annoying thing is that when no signal is detected, the logo flashes in bright red. This isn't too bad for me because I keep my computer somewhere else. However, those who keep their computers in their room might be annoyed by it. There are two solutions: put black electrical tape over the logo or simply turn off the monitor when you're not using it.

I might mention that the stand isn't adjustable, but for me it was okay since my computer desk has the extra riser for the monitor so it's eye level with me. This monitor isn't HDCP compatible meaning future HD content might be downgraded in resolution. There has been some rumors that this isn't true, but I thought I'd let you know. The OSD is a bit lacking as well, and looks a bit boring, but it's not really that important.

Usage:
When I first powered this baby up, I immediately noticed how everything was crisp and sharper. Things were more detailed and looked better over DVI compared to VGA. Gaming is also a treat, especially if the game supports the Widescreen 16:10 aspect. Most will auto adjust and some will require the gamer to manually switch it. If it doesn't, the game usually gets a little stretched out, but it's nothing too bad. However, I might note that widescreen tends to drag down your framerates, so if you value that highly, look for a nice 19" monitor instead. Watching movies on widescreen is absolutely splendid, as you get the whole shebang. Just the fact that this monitor is widescreen just makes me salivate.

However, there are drawbacks with this monitor. For inputs, all you get is DVI-D and VGA. There is also a speaker jack as this monitor does have built-in speakers, but they're of low quality and unless you don't care about music, videos or games, they'll just do. There are no Composite inputs, unlike most widescreen monitors that support HD resolutions (more expensive ones), meaning plugging in that console might be a little harder.

Final Word:
This monitor is very nice in terms of LCD quality and price, but they could definately improve on a few things. However, I might add that all the negative things I stated in this review are all minor things. The LED logo, the stand, the Composite inputs, all those are by personal preferences. If you just want a simple widescreen monitor for a good price, THIS IS IT!

Pros:
- Cheap price
- Widescreen
- Large LCD area (20.1")
- Crisp, sharp and beautiful images
- Thin and compact
- Sceptre LED lighted logo

Cons:
- Construction needs improvement
- OSD needs shining
- Composite inputs needed
- No adjustable stand
- Sceptre LED lighted logo

Alvino's Final Verdict: 9/10
 
MAC OS X 10.4 under my PC

This PC is powered by PCTF and reviewed by FlashReV.

Review #9:
MAC OS X 10.4 in a PC.


Part 1: INSTALL
The installation was easy to handle. Slow getting into menu. One hitting the first page of Setup, I can easily figure that mouse moements are difficult. It will take a few cm to move...really a pain. Another trouble was with the Hard drive configurations. I could not see any hard drives on...which made me think MAC uses only MAC HD's...but no. I went into the HDD management and found out that I needed to partition it for the MAC OS File System. The installation was fine (I guess...I falled asleep) Although, I noticed something with the installation time estimation. It started at 7 minutes and ended in 2 hours slowly.

Part 2 Running

The MAC environement was fine. Although, I was aware that both onboard ethernet and sound would not work. I had a Sound Blaster Live 5.1, so my guess is that it would have worked. Another issue was that I could not set the screen resolution higher than 800x600, which is a pain. Mouse movments were hard too.

I wanted to test my sound card to see if it worked, but it seems that all audio players are outdated, and I needed to use Safari to run it...but with no internet, no update.

Part 3 Conclusion
Overall, MAC was stable, smooth and well organised. A clique not to be ignored. Although it is made for Apple PC's, the only issues with PCs, would be the mouse.

Under a final score, theis dude smashed a 7.25/10.


Another Reviews signed and Genuined by FlashRev 2K6

Lhuser FlashRev is under Beta develloping and is confined to reviews only.
 
ATI Brand X300se

First thought-
Good low profile budget card.

Actuality-
Not so much. This is a good card, hardly. It gets by though. At near 325.00mhz core, and just over 180mhz memory, this card really isnt even a video card. Sure it processes graphics, but cant handle load too well. Even with a CPU intensive game, this card cant do max.

Taking Half Life 2 for instance, I can run it on max for a good 10 minutes, before the screen blanks out, and I have to restart my computer, as it overheated.
Playing Guild Wars, I get it on max, and it has lagg spots. I play the game for a good 8 hours late at night, and I will get artifacts, and the game is still running, but unplayable.

Midpoint-
This card works, but dont expect anything out of it. This card is solely for someone that doesn't want intigrated, but has no need for a 'real' video card.

Lastly- You want something more then this card, for any game. Something more then 100 dollars. This card clocks in at about $40. That is as cheap as they come.

Chipset Manufacturer: ATI
Core clock: 324MHz
D-SUB: 1
DirectX: DirectX 9
DVI: 1
Memory Clock: 181mhz
Memory Interface: 64-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 1.5
PixelPipelines: 4
TV-Out: S-Video/Composite Out
 
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