PC Case Antec Nine Hundred Steel ATX Ultimate Gamer (Black)

Buy this product from Amazon
Buy this product from Amazon
Buy this product from Amazon

I build my own computers and for family and friends as needed. I researched several for the purpose of building a quiter gaming case for family use than the one we had which enclosed several 80mm fans and still gave the option of a side mounted fan and a window to show off the inner workings or even give you the peace of mind to make sure your fans still work and maybe that everything is still there. Well, anyway, this case has the power supply mounted on the bottom which allows for the top to house the 200mm fan which has 3 speed settings and is almost silent on the high setting even.

The P/S being mounted on the bottom allows for cool air that falls to be pulled through it and not cause premature wear and heat related shutdowns with that particular device. I have always considered the bottom of a vertical case to be better than the top for a power supply since many bulk manufacturers use only the fan in the P/S to pull heat out and this "cheap trick" significantly shortens the life of computer hardware by not allowing heat out of the case except through the unit which makes it even hotter. Power supplies and hard drives die early because of heat problems almost exclusively. The fans in this case are more than adequate to provide enough circulation with very little noise and plenty of room to expand and work. The case is also very light in weight as it is mostly made of aluminum. The handy tray on top works well for holding anything from ink pens to screws while working on the case.

It looks very well built and I must say that it is even better than the pictures can show. Combined with a good power supply, this case is an excellent start to a new system or, as in my case, a very welcome and fully featured upgrade to an existing system. The only thing lacking, which doesn't really bother me that much but may others if it is a feature that you feel you really need, is that it does not have a removable motherboard tray meaning that you will have to do most of the work while it is installed in the case. This is an extraordinary product for the price and a very nice step in the case industry for Antec.

Computer Dell Super Fast Optiplex Multimedia With Giant 250 GB (Gigabyte) Hard Drive

Buy this product from Amazon
Buy this product from Amazon
Buy this product from Amazon

I purchased this PC from this seller, assuming that his description of the PC was accurate. I bought into it because his feedback is always good. However, when I got this machine, it was only 512MB RAM and not 2GB like the description promised. I contacted seller and left him negative feedback, to which he responded to promptly ... He apologised profusely and offered to send me two 1GB each sticks of RAM, and if I removed my negative feedback right away, he'd throw in a 4GB flash drive for my troubles. I wouldn't have removed the FB if I knew that I couldn't replace it with another. The seller knew this, and that's why he had me do it. He sent me that flash drive to cover his behind.

Basically, this guy bribed me so he could get more sales and sell his fake PCs. Also, this seller dropped the price, [...] ... I wonder why that is ... Too many complaints ? Anyone who bought this PC and left good feedback obviously doesn't know how to check their systems and HDs to make sure they are accurate.

So, I removed the feedback and received the RAM and flash drive in the next business day.

Today, I tried to move files from my other PC (which is 176GB HD storage), and it stopped at 30GB to tell me there isn't enough space to do so. I checked it out, and what do you know, it was only 40GB !!! So, not only did this seller goof up on the RAM, he also lied about the HD space, as well as the processor. He says it's 2.8 and it's only 2.4 ... So far, this has been nothing but a nightmare.

I will NOT be removing this review this time, because I think this seller's potential victims/customers have the right to know what they are purchasing.

I will be more than happy to provide screen shots. As a matter of fact, here they are :

http://i41.tinypic.com/2h55nwj.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2ljgq9z.jpg

If for some reason, the above links do not show up, feel free to e-mail me : alicyn.eastlack@gmail.com

I wish I didn't have to leave a 1-5 star review for this product, because the seller doesn't even deserve one star.

Netbook Lenovo Ideapad S10 10.2-Inch Netbook

Buy this product from Amazon
Buy this product from Amazon
Buy this product from Amazon

Buy this product from Amazon


I'm comparing this with my wife's Asus 901. The Lenovo build quality (and style/design) are really quite good, and it feels more solid than the Asus. Bigger keyboard, slightly better trackpad, bigger screen. I immediately installed Ubuntu Linux and its quite speedy, and suspend/hibernate are flawless. The biggest problem is the battery life: I haven't done a quantitative comparison, but the Asus battery lasts much longer - I plan to order a 6-cell battery if/when they're available. I've tweaked power performance with PowerTop, but its still not what I would want for a long trip. Its a shame to have to plug something so portable into the wall!

FWIW, I actually ordered the 512MB memory and 80GB hard drive, and they're plenty, at least for Linux. I can't imagine what I would want a 160GB hard drive on something like this, unless you were storing your DVD collection for travel (see battery life issue, above).