Joined on 01/09/07
Great PSU, not thrilled about cables
Pros: Lots of power. Runs QUIET. Tons of connectors.
Cons: I wish it was modular. The cables on this thing are nice and heavy duty, but unfortunately that creates a different set of problems. The cables are everywhere and they don't tuck away as nicely (my case is part of that problem, so it's not totally the PSU's fault!). The SATA device power connectors are wonderfully rigid and sturdy, but this also means that they don't flex worth a darn, partly because of the zip ties that hold the mesh on them. This makes it hard to connect several hard drives in a stack because of how rigid the wiring is. Since this problem is created because they are high quality, I'm leaving five stars here.
Overall Review: Great PSU. Got this thing for a good price, so I'm a happy camper. I also love that it's so quiet. I have a Rosewill case and a Rosewill PSU, but the venting holes don't line up between them. I may replace the case, but the power supply isn't going anywhere!
So far so good
Pros: So far I haven't burned any coasters. I've done half a dozen or so, and all have verified fine. It will, of course, be a matter of time to see if they last.
Cons: None so far. They're quite a bit more expensive than the other brands, but in this case, based on all the reviews I've read, you really do get what you pay for here.
Nice power supply
Pros: The modular cabling is great. Really saved me space inside the case. It's also performing as it should.
Cons: None so far
Holds its own
Pros: Admittedly I don't have a ton of the absolute latest games, but every game I own, I've been able to max the settings out at 1080 without suffering a bit. This card was easy to install, and the driver update app is great. I'm sure if I pick up a few new games, I'll wish I had a second one of these, but for now, I'm thrilled. 3Dmark really does give it a hard time, but for every day use, I love it.
Cons: None so far. This thing is solid. The only con is that I can't afford more of them.
Overall Review: A great card for the money. Not sure it would do so well with BF4, but for my purposes, it's a great card. Hopefully I can justify grabbing a second one to push the newest games farther.
Solid piece of equipment
Pros: Great CPU. Performs very well.
Cons: It's not a whole lot cheaper than the 4770K, and I understand that you can really blast those things. This 4770 gets really hot really fast. I'm using the stock heat sink and thermal paste. I may throw some Arctic Silver on there to see if it helps, but when I render video, it hangs at about the max temp the entire time. I worry that this will degrade the processor over time.
Overall Review: This is a great alternative for those who can't afford to drop the full cost of the 4770K.
Great value, not great worksmanship
Pros: Great case for the price. Very high bang for the buck. The case is very quiet, and the blue light on the fan is pretty sweet. I love the front-access eSATA and USB ports.
Cons: The case has drive bays mounted sideways in the front. While this is great for access, the case is too narrow to properly fit the SATA and power connectors in the drives. If the drive bays were a little more to the left it wouldn't be as bad, but as it is, I feel like I'm mashing the drives against the back wall of the case. I'm terrified that I'm going to break the SATA or power connector on my SSD because of it. This case is by no means a tank. It's made of cheap materials. The front panel is difficult to get off without breaking it. You have to pull very hard on it to remove it, and the second time I pulled it off, one of the four pegs that hold it on snapped off and stayed in the case. The front panel vibrates and makes a buzz from time to time. This may be because one of the three pegs that holds it in place is now broken off. Since the case is so narrow, it's very hard to run any cables behind the side panel. Even the 24-pin power barely snakes around back there, and the metal side covers are such a flimsy metal that it's hard to get them on with cables behind there because they bow out around the cables instead of pushing them in. The array of holes in the bottom to vent the PSU isn't very large or very well placed. Half of my Rosewill Capstone 750 PSU fan is covered by metal and misses the holes entirely.
Overall Review: This is a great case for the price, don't get me wrong, but it's made of shoddy materials and isn't very well thought out. This is the cheapest feeling case I've ever owned. If I were to do it again, I'd probably buy a bigger case, but this one runs so quiet, I'd be terrified about getting one as loud as my girlfriend's Cooler Master monster. I would give this three stars if it cost more, but I'm giving it a solid four because of the value you get. Sometimes you need a "good enough" case for half the cost of a "great" case.