Joined on 03/07/08
Nice
Pros: Upgraded bios to 1.74 beta. As mentioned the stock heatsink is small but ok if you don't overclock. Improvement over my old Windsor X2 6000+. Overclocked well with low temps. Just bumped up the multiplyer to 18 for 3.6GHz.
Cons: The temperature reading using Coretemp, OCCT and Everest 4.5 are not correct. At stock clock idle was 16C and load 22C with a Thermaltake V1 cooler. My ambient was 22C-23C. Idle temp 16C is not possible. Bios temp at idle was 7C higher, ~23C. Keep this in mind when overclocking.
Overall Review: With the above issue noted I was amazed at how low the temps are ~32C-34C at load(scaled up 10C from coretemp reading) clocked at 3.6GHz using 1.42volts. Unfortunately takes too much voltage to boot at 3.7GHz. Stepping 0904CPMW. MSI K9A2 Platinum v1, bios 1.74 beta X3 720 with Thermaltake V1 cooler, air cooled @3.6GHz 4GB GSkill DDR2 800 4850's crossfired Vista 64bit OS 850watt p/s
Pros: Solid mounts that hold up to 8 pounds. Nice swiveling ability.
Cons: Drywall mounting hardware is junk. Screws are too large and will spin the drywall mounting insert. Do yourself a favor and get some decent drywall mounts before you start the installation. All hardware is metal (silver) against the black plastic mounts. You may want to pick up some black paint to provide a professional look.
Overall Review: Overall, a good product considering the low cost.
Pros: Solid mounts for the price. Satisfied with the kit overall.
Cons: The drywall stud mounts are junk, mounting screws are too large and spin the drywall insert. Do yourself a favor and get good drywall mounting hardware before you start. If you are attempting a clean look, supplied hardware is not black. So you will need to paint the exposed hardware black for a clean and professional result.
Overall Review: Overall, they are a decent mounts for the money.
Very nice.
Pros: Very quiet even when overclocked. Very good performance. Got it is as an open box for $240.
Cons: The price for DX11 products is still too high. Shame on ATI and Nvidia.
Overall Review: Installed it and upped the core to 850 in CCC, no voltage adjustment needed. May get another one later this year if they prove capable of running heavily tesslated games in crossfire.
Works
Pros: Does the job.
Cons: For those that can't figure out how the retaining ring relates to the hsf orientation, have someone else do it for you.
Overall Review: Works fine on Gigabyte X58-UD3R motherboard with i7 920. Good cooler for the price but an extra 20 bucks willl buy you a few more degrees for overclocking headroom.
Solid Motherboard
Pros: You do not have to remove the battery to clear the CMOS. There is a jumper pin lower right of the board. Read the manual, really helps all you High Tech level guys who apparently don't need it. For the price it's a great board. Good reviews from several sites. Overclocks likes it's bigger brothers. Thanks to the person who returned it. Got this as an open box for $139 and all items were in the box. The cables were even in the original bags unopened.
Cons: It is a little slow to post but not dramaticlly long as some would have you believe. Now my old school 7200rpm hard drive is the bottle neck. Need some SSD's!
Overall Review: Everything worked with out a single issue during the build to OS install.Overclocked my D0 920 to 195 Block X21 = 4.0GHz but likes the VTT 1.3-1.375 volts. CoolerMaster HAF 932 i7 920 D0 This motherboard 320GB WD HD 6GB Corsiar XMS3 1600 Sunbeam Core Contact 120