Joined on 12/27/03
Nice drive no on-off
Pros: Drive works well. It is fast and quiet. Average dimension sizes and basic design drive. Of course the formatting really brings all these drives capacities by 10% and this one is no exception. One of the proprietary software is useful and appears to help speed the file copying process possibly due to the large drive cache.
Cons: No on/off button. The drive automatically turns itself on/off with a signal from the computer. Drive enclosure does not appear to be well designed, which is more apparent in the rear connections as it seems to not quite fit well together. I hope it has nothing to do with the quality of the hardware inside. It is made in China, even if the corporate address is in Texas US.
No support
Pros: Nice looking board. Board appears well made and solid. Many goodies in the box. Bought it from newegg.
Cons: Two boards, and they would not start or POST. I tried two of everything (cpu, gpu, memory, hd) and could not get these boards to POST. The worst part is not getting defective boards, but the lack of customer service. I received a response, from what appeared to be unknowledgeable folks. The only reply was an email message that I should try a PS of at least 850 instead of a 600. I did that and still no POST. 3 weeks later and I am still waiting for a reply to my second email for support!
Overall Review: I could'nt wait a few weeks for a tech support email reply. The savings of $30 bucks were used up in shipping the bad boards back to newegg. The board comes with extreme cooling liquid nitrogen cup for the northbridge and water block. I'd rather have decent tech support than these extra toys.
Seagate CS said look-up "Backup"
Pros: Nice form factor. Well ventilated. An on-off switch. Bars in the front approximate storage use/left. Quiet drive and very fast. It is detachable from the base and you essentially have a hard drive that can be stored inside of your box.
Cons: Windows 7 did not recognize the drive after 10 months of use. I used the "SeaTools for Windows" to no avail. I used Acronis, no good either. Drive was still under warranty. Called Seagate Customer Service (CS) to find out what they could do. CS offered to replace the drive as it has a 3 year warranty. I simply asked for help to see if they could assist in restructuring the data or let me try to retrieve about 2TB of information and backups. Seagate CS said I would have to go to their DIY department. Their DIY department said I would have to purchase their software for about as much as I paid, during a Cyber Monday, for the drive. I asked, you mean you don't stand behind your claim and drive name "Backup Plus"? The Seagate CS lady said, I quote, "Well Sir. If you look up backup in the dictionary, it means you have your data in two places." So I guess the Seagate Backup Plus should not be one of those places. Needless to say, I will make an effort to not purchase Seagate drives again. The store I purchased the drive is my only salvation, they will provide a full refund. What good is 3 years warranty if Seagate is not willing to stand by their "backup" products.
Excellent Sound - Hybrid System
Pros: Appears to be an excellent addition to any system lacking bass and boom. The sound of a 12" subwoofer is very powerful. Older windows will rattle and any glass that is not heavy will be heard vibrating. The sound fills any room and in my case a small house. The cable passthrough allows me to use a 2 channel stereo amplifier, since it will receive the input and allow an output to two other speakers. Reading about the fully digital and analog systems, it seems the best deal is a hybrid system. This subwoofer combines the two.
Cons: It is made in China, so I don't know what to expect in the long term.
Good quality - dislike the rebate games
Pros: Single rail, very quiet and apparently solid construction. Powering a Rampage II Gene, i7 920, Radeon 4870, 1TB WD Black and no hiccups. Does a perfect job of not providing any residual power to USB peripherals.
Cons: Felt like returning it because of all the rebate games. Missed out on rebates because purchased between $20 and $30 rebate. The customer is the loser.
Overall Review: Newegg please figure out or negotiate better prices instead of the rebate games. Example, I missed a $20 rebate (Sept 1 - 15) and $30 rebate (Oct 12 - 18) because I purchased Sept 27! Very much dislike these rebate games. Newegg -- Would have rather saved $omething straight out, or Newegg should email a copy of the rebate with the invoice
Excellent Quality
Pros: Easy to set up. Recognized the i7 cpu! and 6GB of memory on the first go'round. The LCD poster gives useful feedback. The manual is excellent, just like they used to make them. The board has many useful indicators and is well labeled. There are 6 banks of memory and all appear to be available, despite some articles I've read on the 12GB limit of using 1600. Many OC goodies. All board software seems geared for the OC and gaming enthusiast. I am not an enthusiast but do appreciate the good quality and stable software.
Cons: Price is a little high for a microATX. Wish it was a mini but don't know how I'd cool the i7. For the price I was hoping for at least an external USB/IEEE or miniUSB port. Does not come with CrossFire bridge.
Overall Review: I was about to give up after trying 3 boards from Foxconn with no luck. I am running a simple setup, Win7U, i7 920, 6GB OCZ Gold, 850Corsair, ATI 4870, OCZ Vertex 60 (64bit OS), and WD Black 1TB. This is the fastest and most stable sys since my Athlon XP WinXPpro. Hope it stays that way. Nice sticker for a see thru window.