Pros: Cools like nobody's business. Using stock cooler (Quad Core2) the CPU was overheating and shutting down on a complex IDX render. Installed the CNPS7000C-Cu 2 and all 4 cores were maxed for 2hrs and the temp never exceeded 41C. Cut the render time by 20%.

Cons: Slightly time consuming to install on an already built system, but easy none the less (very minor --).

Overall Review: Very easy install, very snug fit. Used high-end paste and not the stuff that came with the CNPS7000-CU 2.

Pros: newegg's RMA department

Cons: DOA

Overall Review: Yet another drive that was DOA. I've been building systems for > 20 years and the last two are by far the worst in history for drive reliability. 5-10% of the drives I get from newegg are DOA. Another 30-40% don't last a year. Probably close to 75% are dead by 2 years. With all the drive manufacturers dropping their warranty to 1 year, I foresee great profit in the data recover and backup markets.

Pros: Powered everything fine (until it died)

Cons: Dead after 3 months and the tech support won't contact me so I can get an RMA

Overall Review: This worked fine for almost 3 months then it started surging both the components and even tripping the UPS attached to it. I've tried to contact their tech support to get a replacement but I have not even received the most basic of replies yet.

Pros: Worked great for 18months

Cons: Almost 100% failure rate > 18months

Overall Review: I purchased 6 of these and every single one died between 18 months and 2 years. Very expensive but only carries a 1-year warranty so I'm out $3,500 plus labor to repair theses cubic paper weights.

Pros: Kept the CPU fairly cool when it worked

Cons: Fans died after a year in a fairly clean environment. No way to replace only the fan.

Overall Review: I bought 3 of these around the same time, and they all died about 16-18 months later. The fan started binding up and would turn slowly if at all. There is no way to replace the fan only so I have to replace the entire unit. Because it has the under-the-motherboard mounting bracket, it meant having to take the MBs completely out. Saved a few bucks on the front end I guess, but lost a bunch on the back end.

Pros: Price, lots of USB ports

Cons: Those USB ports don't seem to always work. Random BSODs. If this system is off for more than a couple hours it almost 100% of the time BSODs on boot up. I've replaced the RAM and video card, so those aren't the problem. Can't get some external USB drives to work. Have to unplug & replug USB devices to get them to work sometimes.

Overall Review: Due to the flaky nature of this board, I'm going to have to eat equipment and labor costs to replace the board for my client. I'm now going to lose $ on the sale. Bummer. I've never had problems with Gigabyte in the past but this has put a sour taste in my mouth. BTW, the replies from Gigabyte to folks having problems are a joke since the email address they give (newegg-support@gigabyte-usa.com) DOESN'T EVEN EXIST.