Pros: Combined this processor with an ASRock H170M-ITX DL motherboard, 8 gigs of GSkill DDR4 2133 memory and an 850 EVO SSD. The combination provides very snappy performance that will meet the business or personal computing needs of the vast majority of computer users. I don't game so I can't comment on that aspect of the processor's performance. Costs a little more than an I3 Haswell or the soon to come Skylake I3's, but what the heck you only live once.

Cons: None

Overall Review: This build provided a huge performance increase since it replaced an I3 Socket 1156 Clarkdale. Those of you currently utilizing I5 Haswells would not experience anywhere as big of a performance increase. The improved electronic efficiency of the chip might be a bigger factor in deciding to upgrade for those users.

Pros: How much fun is this! I have built 50+ computers over the last 30 years and this is my favorite although it is a stretch to call it a "build." It only took about 30 minutes to put together with an I5 12400, 32 gigs of ram, a WD SN850 and an 850 EVO for a little extra storage. As a business / productivity desktop it can't be beat. If you want to use it as a file server it even has room for one 3.5 inch SATA drive. It runs cool for my purposes with the stock Intel fan (idles temps less than 40) and takes up very little space on my desk. Unlike it's cousin the DeskMini it has an internal power supply that for me beats the heck out of having a power brick to deal with. It also provides more USB connectivity than the DeskMini. I may never build another full-size desktop.

Cons: I don't game so can't comment on how it would perform for those that do. It is small so don't expect to have a lot of cable routing options. Would be nice if the power supply were semi-modular so those that were only using the M-2 slots could eliminate the SATA power cables.

Overall Review: I would recommend this to friends and would purchase it again if I needed another one.

Pros: Over the past four years I have built a number of computers utilizing this case. It works perfectly if your build includes an optical drive a hard drive and an SSD. These days you don't need much more than that for a basic build since 2 GB and larger hdd’s are not that expensive. I have removed the front fan to reduce noise and have not experienced any heat related issues with any processor including an overclocked socket 775 E6600 Dual Core Pentium / Hyper 212 EVO combo, a non overclocked Intel I5 2400 with a stock Intel heat-sink and fan, and a non overclocked Intel Sandy Bridge I3 also running a stock Intel heat-sink and fan. I don’t game, so if you do you may want to retain the front fan to ensure adequate cooling. I have no doubt that cool running Skylake and Kaby Lake processors will love this case. The 4 USB connections on the front cover are definitely a plus. The side panels are as easy to remove and replace as any computer I have ever built.The fit and finish on the inside and outside of the case is as good or better than expected at this price point.

Cons: Cable management is not this case’s strong point. If you mount your optical drive in the lower bay it gives you some usable space above for your cables. You may need a SATA power adapter to connect a bottom mounted SSD if your power supply has a single string of 3 SATA power plugs since the bottom of the case is a long way away from the optical drive bracket.

Overall Review: Not a fan of screw-less drive brackets in general, but not an issue for me since I have lots of small screws lying around that I utilized to mount the drives in this case. In the past my builds with this case have included both GTS 450 and GTX 550 video cards. The cards fit with no problem. If you need space for 4 hard drives, two optical drives, an SSD, and are OCD about cable management, this case is not what you are looking for. But, if you are on a budget and your build includes a hard drive, an SSD, and an optical drive, and you can live with a little cable clutter, this may be the perfect case for you.

Pros: I have been using two of these devices (6 available tuners) for the last 3 years with fewer issues than we had with the Charter cable boxes. My wife was skeptical at first, but has become an expert at running Windows Media Center (WMC) with a wireless mouse. We have recorded thousands of programs with fewer problems than we experienced with a Charter DVR. Don't believe those who complain about WMC it works perfectly with these devices. We no longer stress about recording space since both of our primary HTPC's have their own 2T WD AVGP hard drives dedicated to WMC storage. The processing power of my I3 HTPC's and WMC provides a more responsive interface than the Scientific Atlantic DVR provided by Charter. The WMC interface is also very responsive with my other computers running Old tech Socket 775 Pentium Dual Core E6600 processors. The great thing about an HTPC and the HDHomeRun Prime (HDHRP) is that you can seamlessly change from watching cable TV to surfing the internet with a couple of mouse clicks and a wireless keyboard. The currently available Smart TV's, Blue Ray Players, and HD devices that allow internet access are not capable of providing the same web experience as a Pentium Dual Core or I3 powered HTPC utilizing a wireless mouse and keyboard. I have multiple computers that utilize my HDHRP's via wired Gigabit LAN. I like the wired Gigabit LAN since 3 HD streams can take up a large chunk of the available bandwidth on a 10/100 setup. I also have the HDHRP boxes and the HTPC's plugged in to a gigabit switch that is plugged into the router rather than having them plug directly into the router. Don't immediately blame the HDHRP if you have a problem installing the device. My first cablecard was defective. My firewall software initially interfered with the installation of the software on one of my computers. Those were my problems, not problems with the HDHRP. If you have problems tuning channels check the signal strength utilizing the provided software before blaming the problem on the HDHRP. I was able to improve the quality of the signal by eliminating unneeded splitters. I currently have one 3-way splitter from the main line. That splitter sends two lines to the Cisco Tuning Adapters which connect to the HDHRP's. Another line goes to a two way splitter that feeds my cable and telephone modem boxes. This setup provides excellent signal strength and quality to both of my HDHRP's. The phone and cable modems seem to be unaffected by the additional splitter. Each computer that is attached to a television is left on 24/7. None of them have any problems sleeping or waking up when it is time to record something with WMC. I have chosen to reserve one of my HDHRP's for my main TV. The other HDHRP's tuners are shared by the other computers in the house. This includes an old computer in the garage hooked up to an older TV upon which we can watch a football game in HD while playing darts. You may want to review the Silicon Dust website to ensure this product fits your needs.

Cons: We are longer able to access video on demand services from the Cable Company. Not really a con for us since there are so many online options for viewing movies or TV shows you may have missed. In addition, you shouldn't miss much since you can record three shows at the same time with the HDHRP.

Overall Review: The initial cablecard I obtained from Charter was defective. If the second indicator light from the left does not come on when you plug the cablecard into the HDHRP you need to take the card back to your cable provider and get a replacement. If you plan on retaining one of your cable boxes and want to access on demand services with those boxes, make sure they don't change your account to “cablecard only.” Have had to reboot the boxes and the tuning adapters a couple of times to correct cable provider issues. This is actually an improvement over the Charter DVR which required frequent reboots. WMC will not be available with Windows 10. Windows 7 extended support continues until Jan 14, 2020. Windows 8 extended support continues until Jan 10, 2023. If your current operating system is Windows 7 or Windows 8 Pro (WMC only available with Windows 8 Pro) your best bet is to utilize WMC until you need a new computer that comes with Windows 10. Silicon Dust is working on DVR software that will replace WMC and be the only option if you want to view and record DRM protected content on a Windows 10 computer. The DVR software is currently being Beta tested and is not quite ready for prime time. Your best bet right now is to stick with Windows 7 or 8 utilizing WMC until the bugs have been worked out of the Silicon Dust DVR software. With WMC recorded DRM protected content can only be played back on the computer on which it was recorded. Content that is not DRM protected can be streamed to and viewed on any Windows device that is connected to your network. The new Silicon Dust DVR software is supposed to fix this and allow the steaming of protected content to other Windows devices on your network. The HDHRP is also capable of streaming content to non Windows devices on your network. I am not familiar with this aspect of the product but a little research will get you up to speed on the topic.

Pros: This little jewel makes for an excellent desktop or HTPC that is capable of meeting the computing needs of the average user in a package that is not much bigger than an ATX power supply. My build that includes Win 10, an inexpensive Intel Pentium G4560 Kaby Lake CPU, a 250 gig Samsung 850 EVO SSD and 8 gigs of G.Skill SO-Dimm Ram performs slightly better than an I3 Haswell 4150 with similar components. Most users would probably want to add at least a 500 gig 2.5” SATA 3 HDD for storing their data. It took about 45 minutes to install the components, upgrade the BIOS, and load Windows 10 from a thumb drive. Once that was completed I hit the switch, and after it booted on the first try, I loaded the drivers from the included disk even though it was probably not necessary. If you don’t have an external DVD drive you can either copy the drivers to a thumb drive on a computer that has an optical drive or download them from the ASRock website. This box takes up very little space on the desktop, connects to wifi without any issues, and is so much fun to show to others who are amazed that it constitutes a complete computer.

Cons: No digital or analog speaker jack on the back which isn’t a problem for HTPC’s that will get their sound over HDMI but may be an issue for those utilizing PC speakers that will need to be plugged into the jack located on the front of the case.

Overall Review: I had a hard time getting the wireless connectors attached to the card but that was probably due to never having done it before. Used the stock Intel fan that I installed when the motherboard was out of the case for installation of the SSD. Be careful with the SATA connectors, they are very delicate. I managed to break one and was extremely pleased that ASRock was nice enough to mail me a replacement. Definitely not designed for gaming since it only supports on board video. RealTemp idle 38 degrees C with fan set to normal RealTemp after running Prime95 for 20 minutes 58 degrees C RealTemp XS Bench Score = 1567 9.334 Seconds I definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a full on computer in a 6” x 6” x 3” package.

Pros: There is no driver disc included with this device it is automatically recognized by Windows 7. I had installed another device the same day that utilized a driver disc. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

Cons: None