DealExtreme for computer technicians
נכתב ע"י אנדריי ברנדס | תחת קטג' כללי
I have compiled a list of essential products which will be useful for computer technicians worldwide.
All the products are from the popular site DealExteme (Link to the computer category) which is based in China and ships products worldwide. Shipping is always included in the price of the product (free shipping as they call it).
ALL of the items posted here have been ordered by me (sometimes more than once) and have worked great.
1. SATA to USB 2.0 (12$) – This is my favorite one! Has a SATA and PATA connection. Very useful and very cheap. Saves tons of time connecting old HDDs to the new computers. Practically a must when dealing with laptops which have only one internal HDD connection. The adapter is bundled with a power supply. Tested on Windows XP & 7 and worked without needing to install any drivers. There is a new version which supports USB 3.0 but the price is double, here is a link (29$)
2. LAN to USB (8$) – Basically an USB connected lan card. Good replacement for dead lan adapters. USB connections makes it a breeze to setup plus Windows 7 has a built in driver for it. There is 5$ version here which I haven't tested.
3. PSU Tester (6$) – Turns ON your ATX power supply so you know it works OK before you fry your mother board. Shows operating voltages using LEDs.
4. USB Sound card (3$) – It is a sound card and it works, but don`t expect it to run a 100W speaker because it will simply get hot and die! With a simple two set speakers it is ok.
5. RJ45 Extender (Coupler) (1.25$) – For when you are stuck with short network cables!
6. USB bluetooth adapter (4$) – Used it to connected a Bluetooth hands free to a Skype and it worked great. Windows 7 worked with internal Bluetooth stack.
7. Anti static wrist strap (or cheaper) (2$-3$) – I use it when I fix laptop hardware.
8. Cable tester (6$) – Honestly I rarely use it, but I feel it is a good thing to have in the lab.
9. Screw driver with 45 bits (12$) – All the bits you'll ever need in life in one package!
10. USB HUB (4$-20$) – I don`t remember which one I bought, they were all OK. Get the powered ones if you want to be able to charge phones.
11. Card reader (5$) – Need I say more? Check out the Chinese specification: "Plug & Play: Up to 10,000 times" So.. No more p&p on the 10,001 time :) ?
1. Molex to SATA power (1.19$) – Order more than one, you DONT want to be stuck with one of these when installing a new hard drive. Here is one with two SATA connections (2.20$).
2. SATA Cable (long) (1.90$) – Extra-long SATA cable (1 meter or 40 inch). I never buy normal SATA cables because I got tons of them from mother board kits but this one is a must have.
3. PSU 4pin extender (1.40$) – I got this in stock all the time. It helps when you assemble or replace a PSU (or a mother board) and the 4pin cable (so called the "Pentium 4 power cord") doesn't reach the connector on the mother board.