Category Archives: NT IT Reviews

Samsung 860 EVO Series 250GB SSD Review

<![CDATA[I am going to be reviewing the Samsung 860 EVO Series 250GB solid state drive. I purchased the SSD for my home motherboard which was the ASUS Prime B2-50 Plus motherboard. I think the solid state drive was a quality lower end option that exceeded my expectations and did not break the bank!

I love using Samsung products so I had no doubt that the Samsung 860 EVO Series SSD would be a great fit. Samsung was founded on March 1, 1938 by Lee Byung-chul. Their headquarters are located in Seoul, South Korea and as of 2016 Samsung had the 6th highest brand value in the world (Wikipedia).

The solid state drive can run for up to 1.5 million hours. This is a long time. When installing the Samsung 860 EVO Series SSD it was a breeze. The installation disk was not needed during the time of setup. Overall, it made my computer 1-2 times faster after installing the SDD. The solid state drive also has 3D NAND memory components.
 
Specifications:

  • Speed: 550 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write
  • Size: 250 GB
  • Input/ Output per Second: up to 90,000 IOPS write and 98,000 IOPS read
  • Transfer Rate: 6Gb/s
  • SLC/MLC/TLS: 3 bit MLC (Since it is MLC it means that it is doubled the amount of bits per cell)

I would recommend the Samsung 860 EVO Series 250GB SSD for anyone looking to purchase a lower end solid state drive for a home motherboard. The drive met all of my computers needs in order to make it run faster and more efficient. It also had a lower power consumption, used for cooling and speed. The total cost of the solid state drive on Newegg was $94.99. This is not a bad price for the specs you are gaining for your PC. Although there is probably a cheaper option you could find through research, the Samsung 860 EVO Series 250GB SSD was a great option that will not disappoint!
Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.
References:

  • www.newegg.com/Product/
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung
  • www.samsung.com/semiconductor/
  • www.newegg.com/Product/

 
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Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB

<![CDATA[ 
 

I am reviewing the Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB Solid State Drive which I bought off of Newegg for $156.99. I have been an avid admirer of Samsung products when it came to their televisions and cellphones, so I figured I would try out this SSD for a couple of months. In the elapsed time, I was impressed with the overall performance and speed of the hard drive for its price. $150 may be a little too much for someone interested in building computers, but if they want better overall performance and speed I recommend this SSD until their prices drop.
Samsung products have always been reliable and some of the best. Samsung was founded on March 1, 1938 in Daegu, South Korea by Lee Byung-chul. Samsung started producing Solid State Drives when they partnered with Seagate who was already in the Hard Drive business. Samsung sold its HDD business to Seagate for $1.375 Billion while Samsung decided to produce SSD’s.
I used the GA-970A-D3P AM3+  Motherboard to test this product. I use this motherboard for business and testing purposes so Gaming and home uses may vary for other users.
    Benchmarks:

  • Dimension 2.5″
  • Interface: SATA III
  • Sequential Read: Up to 540 MBps
  • Sequential Write: Up to 520 MBps
  • 4k Random Read: Up to 98,000 IOPS
  • 4k Random Write: Up to 90,000 IOPS
  • MTBF: 2,000,000 hours
  • 3 Bit MLC
  • 3 Year Warranty
  • 3D NAND

The overall performance of this SSD left me highly satisfied by booting my computer and other programs almost 3x faster than a traditional HDD. The installation was easy since the drive is fairly small and connects with SATA ports. The read and write speeds allowed my applications to load and run faster, and opening multiple tabs and programs was no problem when switching between them. The only real complaint I have is the price for the capacity. Traditional hard drives could store a lot more for a lot less but if you are a speed freak, then you’ll have to sacrifice a bit of your cash. Samsung has a brand loyalty to it’s name simply for the fact that there a really big company. This means that the price will be higher than most market demand, so you can find SSD’s for cheaper prices most likely. If you want durability though, the Samsung EVO lasts pretty long despite not having a lot of storage.
“One of the best things about Samsung’s drives is their reliability and warranty.”- Lifewire
“Its blistering speeds, five-year guarantee and best-in-class endurance rating, it’s sat near the top of most best SSD lists ever since it first came out .” -RockPaperShotgun
References:
Reviews: LifeWireRockPaperShotgun
SSD: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?
Motherboard: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?
Samsung: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung
Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.
 
 
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WD Black 6TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive Review

<![CDATA[ Western Digital is a diverse, global company with strong values and a passion to innovate and lead the charge in the transformation of data. Quality products, exceptional customer service and industry-leading solutions all come from a culture that’s inclusive, forward-thinking and bold enough to imagine the possibilities of data.
The WD Black 6TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive was a good choice for my computer. This hard drive has those great qualities that makes it a good hard drive for a computer. All for the low price of $229.99 or get it on sale now for  $228.50.
Specifications:

  • Size:
    • 6TB
  • Rotational Speed:
    • 7200 RPM
  • Cache:
    • 128 MB
  • Read/Write:
    • Operating ( 2ms Write)
    • Operating ( 2ms Read)
    • Non-Operating ( 2ms)
  • Transfer Rate:
    • 227 MB/s
  • Buffer:
    • 128 mb/s
  • MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure):
    • 1.5 Million Hours
  • Warranty:
    • 5 year

Looking back at these specifications, this is a pretty good hard drive. The size is big and it can last a long time. That 1.5 million hours transfers to a lot of years. This is a very good choice for someone looking for a big hard drive that will last them years in the long run.

Note: This review is part of a classroom project. 
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822235281
https://www.wdc.com/region-selector/splash-region.html]]>

Western Digital Black Hard Drive – Review

<![CDATA[Western Digital is an American computer data storage company. The headquarters are located in San Jose, California. The company was founded in 1970  by Alvin B. Phillips. They bring in about 19 billion dollars a year. While they employee about 80,000 people. They produce hard disk drives, hybrid drives, and also solid state drives.

Recently I bought a new hard disk drive for my ASUS ROG ZENITH motherboard. I chose Western Digital due to good reviews read online. I got the WD Black 6TB, the reviews I read online were great. The reviews and specifications I read online were phenomenal and I could not wait for it to arrive via mail. Upon delivery the package looked a little more on the rough side. The price for this specific HDD was $246.99. The price per gigabyte was approximately six cents.

As I connected it into my PC tower things went very smooth. There was no damage done to the actual product itself. I booted up my PC everything seemed to be working fine. I logged on and continued to put my HDD to the test.
Specs:

  • Size: 6Tb
  • Price: $246.99
  • Interface: SATA 6Gb/s
  • Transfer Rate: 227 MB/s
  • MTBF: 1.5 million hours
  • Warranty: 5 years
  • Access Time: N/A
  • Speed: 7200RPM
  • Buffer Size: 128 MB

Overall my experience with this HDD was fantastic and I highly recommend to those who are looking for something that has a great amount of storage as well as a HDD that does not have a high failure rate.
NOTE: THIS IS A REVIEW FOR A CLASSROOM PROJECT
REFERENCES:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=234-000G-000W5
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813119003&cm_re=rog_zenith_extreme-_-13-119-003-_-Product
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Digital
 
 
 
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Samsung SSD 860 EVO Review

<![CDATA[This is my review if the Samsung 860 EVO. I bought this on Newegg for around $150. Though it is not very inexpensive, this is a quality solid state drive. I believe I got my money’s worth. I have yet to have any problems though I have only been using this specific SSD for a few months.
When buying SSDs, I always go to Samsung. I have been buying from them for years and have yet to be disappointed. Here is a little info on the company: Samsung was founded by Lee Byung-Chul in 1938. Their current headquarters is in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korean. As of 2017, Samsung has the 6th highest global brand value. (Samsung Wiki)
 
Warning: I will be using my ASUS Prime B350M-A/CSM to test this product. I use this specific motherboard for business so results may differ when using a gamer or home motherboard.
Benchmarks:
 
 

  • Size: 500 Gb
  • Read speed: 550 MB/s
  • write speed: 520 MB/s
  • Read IOPS: 98,000 IOPS
  • Write IOPS: 90,000 IOPS
  • MLC
  • MTBF: 1.5 Million Hours Reliability
  • Warranty: 5 years
  •  2.5″
  • Memory Components: 3D NAND

I was expecting great things from this SSD because I have always had a great experience with Samsung. I was correct in my expectations as this SSD blew me out of the water. The installation was easy I did not even need to use the installation disk. It made my computer 2-3 times faster and I would highly recommend. The only item that could be considered a problem is the price. I feel as though this is a fair price for the speed that was acquired but with some research, one might be able to find an SSD just as reliable for a more affordable price. Again I used my ASUS business motherboard for this test. Different problems could occur using a home or gaming motherboard. I would highly recommend this SSD for its speed alone and lack of problems. I was expecting greatness from Samsung, but they have outdone themselves this time.

 
Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.
References: 
Motherboard: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?
SSD: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?
Samsung:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung]]>

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series Desktop Memory Model F3-17000CL9D-8GBXM

<![CDATA[*This is apart of a classroom experiment.
This Ripjaws X Series 2 X 4GB Model is an excellent addition to your business computer. This ram is made by G.SKILL which is a very well known company for their memory they produce. It is fast for the fairly low price. No I would not recommend putting this into a gaming PC of yours however it works great for an everyday PC.

Here are the specs for the memory in which we are reviewing:
  • Capacity of this motherboard is 8GB (2 x 4GB)The memory sticks are 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM. The memory is DDR3 2133 megahertz (PC3 17000). CAS Latency is low at 9. The following is the timing as well, 9-11-10-28 It requires 1.65 volts of power to run smoothly. The memory is non-ECC as well as non-parity. The memory is dual channel maximum. The memory is always very appealing to the eye with its blue color. It only comes with the stylish heat spreader to upgrade the performance.

 

  • One of the most impressive things for this memory is how fast it is for the price. The access time for this memory is 4.2914 nanoseconds. That is a very fast access time for the memory only costing $77.99. Another bonus for this memory is that it has a heat spreader which helps keep the memory cool which will help the memory preform at its highest capability.

 

  • The memory works very well for your everyday business PC. It is DDR3 so make sure that it is suitable for your motherboard. One suitable motherboard for this memory is this ECS AMD Motherboard Supported A55F2P-M2(V1.0). I recommend this memory and worked very well for me.

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_Overview.aspx?DetailID=1528&CategoryID=1&DetailName=Feature&MenuID=12&LanID=0
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231476
https://www.gskill.com/en/]]>

CORSAIR Vengeance LPX Review

<![CDATA[Corsair has been a memory manufacture since 1994 and has produced some of the top line peripherals for computers. The company’s headquarters is located in Fremont, California and has a recorder number of around 800 employees in 2012. I will be reviewing one of their products: The Vengeance LPX RAM.

This is a fast RAM designed for the GIGABYTE GA-AB350-GAMING 3 motherboard and similar motherboards. The specifications of this motherboard requires 4×288pin DDR4 2667* / 2400 / 2133. The memory we are reviewing has a speed of 2667* since it’s the maximum speed this motherboard can handle. I found the memory when scrolling through TomsHardware and seen its overclocking capabilities and lower cost.
 
Specifications:

  • Generation: DDR4
  • Storage: (2x8GB)
  • Speed: 2666MH/z
  • 288 PIN SDRAM
  • CAS Latency: 16 (72ns)
  • Timing: 16-18-18-35
  • Voltage: 1.5 V
  • Non-ECC
  • Bandwidth: 14,888 MB/s (Passmark)
  • Supports Dual Channel

 
The Corsair Vengeance LPX did exactly what it was advertised to. Its overclocking capability was amazing for its low price and its native speed meets the minimum requirements for gaming. The Vengeance LPX 2666 outdid its 3000 MH/z competition which is surprising for its low price of $189.99 for 2×8 GB Sticks. The Vengeance LPX performed amazing in most games like Battlefield 1 and had a higher rating than its competitive counterparts which could be due to its lower timing and CAS Latency.

“Our Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 16GB quad-channel kit provides better overclocking at a lower-price than its “value-priced” DDR4-3000 competition.”-TomsHardware
“the Corsair Vengeance LPX 2666MHz kit of RAM is a solid offering into the new world of DDR4.”-play3r
Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.
References:
https://play3r.net/reviews
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews
http://www.corsair.com/en-us#
https://www.passmark.com/
 
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Kingston HyperX Fury RAM Review

<![CDATA[Kingston Technology It is the largest independent producer of DRAM memory modules, currently owning 64% of the third-party worldwide DRAM module market share. (Wikipedia)
I was looking for the FASTEST* RAM I could find for the MSI B350 PC MATE. I had done some extensive research on good, reliable, and fast RAM. Through this research I came acrossed the HyperX Fury RAM by Kingston Technoloy

Some specifications of this RAM is:

  • Amount of RAM: 8GB (2×4)
  • Speed in MHz: 2400
  • Generation: DDR4
  • Parity/ECC: No
  • CAS Lantency: 15
  • Access Time: 6.25ns

After using the RAM for an extensive amount of time, I am able to say that I am impressed. For the low price of $101.99, I can say  that this RAM is at the higher end of the spectrum when it come to looking for high end RAM for a lower price. With the high speeds that it can handle, and the low price, I can safely give Kingston’s DDR4 HyperX Fury RAM a 8.5/10.
 
NOTE: This is part of a classroom project.
 
Links:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820104566
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Technology]]>

GeIL Memory

<![CDATA[
This is a review of GeIL EVO POTENZA memory that is compatible with any motherboard that takes DDR4 2400 memory.  This model is designed for desktop memory. This memory can be used for a faster gamer PC without overclocking the motherboard. This model is up to date, and the memory can be used for business purposes. While you could use this for lower end use like for home use, it is not the purpose that it is being reviewed for.
The GeIL EVO POTENZA RAM (random access memory) is manufactured by GeIL. GeIL stands for Golden Emperor International Ltd. GeIL is a manufacturer of computer hardware components and one of their focuses is on the development of RAM (random access memory). They are headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Jeff Hsieh founded the company in 1993. Since being founded they have focused on memory design and their memory technology. (GeIL Wikipedia)

Specifications:

  • 2×4 Gb
  • Bandwidth: PC4 19200
  • Parity vs Non-Parity: Non-Parity
  • ECC vs non-ECC: Non-ECC
  • Channels (single, dual, tri or quad): Dual
  • CAS Latency: 16
  • Type: 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM
  • Access Time: 6.67 ns
  • Voltage: 1.2V
  • Speed: 2400 MHz
  • Lifetime Warranty


With these specifications, it worked really good and really fast for my ASRock H270 Pro4 business motherboard. When I found these specifications fit my motherboard I double checked them, so I could use this as fast memory on my business motherboard without overclocking it. It was also only $89.99 on newegg.
Note: This review is for a classroom project.
References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeIL
http://www.geil.com.tw/home
https://www.newegg.com/]]>

Kingston Memory Review: KVR26N19S8/8

<![CDATA[Kingston Technology is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products (Kingston Technology).  Kingston manufactures flash memory products and other computer-related memory products. In 2015, Kingston generated revenues of over $7.0 billion USD (Kingston Technology).

I was looking for a Kingston memory module to fit into my MSI Z370 SLI PLUS gaming motherboard. I went to the Kingston Technology website and their website recommend several of the ValueRAM options in 16GB and 8GB memory stick. I chose the 8GB KVR26N19S8/8 as a consideration for my memory.
I then did research on the KVR26N19S8/8 to figure out if it would be worth spending my money on. A read a rating from Overclock, initially being interested in it’s cost efficiency but it’s ability to overclock for it’s rated clock speed. I ending up purchasing the KVR26N19S8/8 for it’s cost efficiency and it’s basic gaming capabilities.

Specifications of a KVR26N19S8/8 Memory Stick:

  • Amount of RAM: 1 x 8GB
  • Generation of RAM: DDR4
  • Access Time: 7.1267 nanoseconds
  • Bandwidth: 21,328 MB/S
  • Non-Parity
  • ECC/EDO/FPM: No
  • Channels: not specified
  • CAS Latency: 19
  • Warrantee: lifetime warranty

Overall I wasn’t impressed with this cost efficient memory module. The KVR26N19S8/8 has a high CAS Latency that I do not recommend for gaming purposes. If you spent more money, you could buy Kingston’s HyperX Predator series.  Kingston’s Predator series is much more impressive with a higher ability to overclock and a more efficient gaming memory module.
Note:  This review is part of a classroom project.
References:
<<https://www.kingston.com/us/company>>
<<https://www.newegg.com/>>
<<http://www.overclock.net/>>
<<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Technology>>
 
 
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