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Terence J.

Terence J.

Joined on 05/22/02

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I've built 40+ computers for myself, family, and customers - first in 1999 (Asus P5A / AMD-K6-III+/550 OC'ed to 630MHz). I'm an Electrical Engineer who ended up writing assembly code and 'C' for a tech company for 30+ years. Big fan of AMD but built Intel systems too. I love Newegg!

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Most Favorable Review

Great Barebone PC - Small / Runs Cool

Shuttle SH81R4 Intel Socket LGA1150 Intel H81 Black Mini / Booksize Barebone System
Shuttle SH81R4 Intel Socket LGA1150 Intel H81 Black Mini / Booksize Barebone System

Pros: Bought 2 of these. Added Intel Core i3-4150T low power CPU, Corsair Vengeance LP 1600 RAM (I recommend low profile to fit better in the tight space), an SSD in a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter, a 2TB spinning HDD, and a full size optical drive - very nice PCs in a small form factor. I liked being able to use full size components - they are cheaper and I already had some of them. I love that they brought back the ICE cooling (one of my older Shuttle didn't have it). It takes the CPU heatsink directly to the back fan and is far better than a fan on the CPU pushing hot air around in the case.

Cons: The older ICE coolers used screws to attach to the motherboard - this one uses those crummy plastic Intel push-pins but they did work for me.

Overall Review: I see comments about this being a case only - No. This is a barebones PC - just as described. It comes pre-assembled with 1) Case 2) Motherboard 3) Power supply and bonus 4) CPU cooler - just add CPU, RAM, and Drives - this IS a barebone system

Most Critical Review

Great cooler, but NOT the PWM version described

Deepcool THETA 31 CPU Copper base Cooler 100mm for Intel i3 i5 CPU LGA 1150/1155/1156,Heatsink,10cm Fans Cooling
Deepcool THETA 31 CPU Copper base Cooler 100mm for Intel i3 i5 CPU LGA 1150/1155/1156,Heatsink,10cm Fans Cooling

Pros: I really like these coolers - get cooling air all four directions for nearby components (RAM, digital power supply, etc.) which cools the critical components. Huge heatsink and quiet fan - they seem to fit every board I've tried.

Cons: This particular item was described as the PWM version - that isn't what I got - so beware

Great HDD - have had no issues

WD Red Plus 6TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5640 RPM Class SATA 6Gb/s, CMR, 128MB Cache, 3.5 Inch - WD60EFZX
WD Red Plus 6TB NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5640 RPM Class SATA 6Gb/s, CMR, 128MB Cache, 3.5 Inch - WD60EFZX

Pros: I bought 3 of these for a NAS. When they arrived, I ran ALL of the WD tools including a full surface test - took several days to complete. All 3 drives passed with no issues - I was surprised. When I loaded them into my NAS it took FOREVER for them to format, but that is not the drive's fault - they are huge! Working perfectly for 6+ months.

Overall Review: Recommended. I replaced 2TB WD Red drives and moved them to backup / storage drives in several computers and they are great for that use too. I don't know if the CMR is worth looking for or paying more for as that is all I've ever used - but I know these drives are very good - never had a problem with one and I have 10 in different sizes in my family computers and NAS

Great PC in great condition

DELL Desktop OptiPlex 3060 SFF Intel Core i5-8500 16GB DDR4 512 GB SSD Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
DELL Desktop OptiPlex 3060 SFF Intel Core i5-8500 16GB DDR4 512 GB SSD Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Pros: Arrived in perfect condition - looks brand new. Had a fresh install of Win10 just like I wanted and I was up and running in minutes. Boots up quickly and didn't have any issues. No extra, weird software installed - very nice PC for a family member. I loaded a few applications and copied over the saved documents and this was ready to use!

Overall Review: Recommended for office productivity or internet browsing - great little machine.

Great Asus Features and Quality - as Usual

ASUS Prime B450M-A II AMD AM4 (Ryzen 5000, 3rd/2nd/1st Gen Ryzen Micro ATX Motherboard (128GB DDR4, 4400 O.C.), NVMe, HDMI 2.0b/DVI/D-Sub, USB 3.2 Gen 2, BIOS Flashback, and Aura Sync)
ASUS Prime B450M-A II AMD AM4 (Ryzen 5000, 3rd/2nd/1st Gen Ryzen Micro ATX Motherboard (128GB DDR4, 4400 O.C.), NVMe, HDMI 2.0b/DVI/D-Sub, USB 3.2 Gen 2, BIOS Flashback, and Aura Sync)

Pros: I bought this motherboard for my lower power / quiet non-gaming build - it was the perfect balance of features and cost. A great value and has been very reliable for the last 2 years! I think the VRM heatsink makes the board more durable and I won't go without this feature. This mobo had all the features I needed at a great price - the layout and BIOS gave me no troubles in the build - even setting the RAM speed. in the last 20 years I've done more than 40 builds and this was the easiest ever PC to build, even the RAM is running at the correct OC speed and the machine runs so fast I can't believe it! AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Noctua NH-D9L ASUS Prime B450M-A II CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600 CORSAIR RM650x Power Supply 20 year old Dell retro case!

Cons: Would have liked a couple more USB ports instead of an old tech PS/2 mouse / keyboard port - can't think of any thing else

Overall Review: Great motherboard - I bought another for a second build I'm doing!

11/19/2023

Corsair is the Best

CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model CMK32GX4M2D3600C18R
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model CMK32GX4M2D3600C18R

Pros: I really like Corsair LPX RAM - I use it in every build that I can. I paired this RAM with an ASUS Prime B450M-A II and Ryzen 5 3600. This exact model was not on the QVL list but I've always had good compatibility with Corsair. I turned on the DOCP (AMD version of XMP) in BIOS to "OC" the RAM to its 3600 speed and it worked first try. I used MemTest86 and ran a RAM test for several hours - no errors and a perfect 4 pass test - no issues, perfect! Has been running this way for several months with zero issues.

Cons: No cons - working perfectly

Overall Review: Highly recommended