Joined on 11/09/08
Great case for the price
Pros: It's a great case for the price. Looks half way decent. Has four front USB ports. Well ventilated.
Cons: Sharp edges. A little wobbly when the side is open.
Overall Review: I've bought two of these cases to build PC's for friends over the past couple months. They both arrived in good condition and both people seem very happy with what they got. The directions for connecting the case wires to the motherboard could be better but are decipherable enough. The edges are sharp and it is a little wobble when open but it's fine when closed and how much can you really expect for a little over $20. If your building a budget PC this is the way to go in my opinion.
Best 560 Ti around
Pros: Cool as cucumbers right out of the box running at about 27°C without going beyond the factory OC. With the superior cooling set up on this card you can crank it up even further. I got mine running with a 1GHz Core Clock, 2GHz Shader Clock, and 2.1GHz Memory Clock at 1.1V. Stable as can be and never above 60°C under max load. I can play Skyrim on Ultra settings (with Occlusion enabled) while getting a steady 60 FPS. Also, I can't hear the fans running until they go above 75%. What more could you ask for?
Cons: None
Overall Review: It's big and people with smaller cases might have trouble trying to run these SLI
Buuuuurrrrrrr!
Pros: Dropped my CPU temps by about 7-9°C and temps remain lower and more stable under load than it did with the stock Intel compound that came on the heatsink for my i5 2500k 3.3GHz. Also as stated below....it's sweet to be able to say you cool your rig with diamonds!
Cons: none
Overall Review: I did find this to be a bit more firm than your average compound (more like clay than paste) but it can be worked into a nice flat thin layer if you spend a bit of time working with it. I think some of the negative reviews are stemming from poor quality control more than a bad product. If it drys out it becomes hard and flaky. I have used this on a few different chips now and I find that the best way to spread it is to place a pea sized bead in the center of your heatsink. Then gently tap and push with your finger to spread it out evenly in all directions until you have a very thin even layer about the size of your CPU. Make sure you wear gloves when spreading as the oils from your skin can make the compound less effective.
10-12°C lower temps!
Pros: It is what it claims to be, quiet and cool. Upgraded to this from the stock Intel heatsink and fan that came with my i5 2500k 3.3GHz. I used the Antec FORMULA 7 Nano Diamond for my thermal compound instead of the tube that came with the cooler. With all the power saving settings off @ 3.3GHz I'm seeing temps in the upper 20s. They were just under 40°C with the stock intel cooler. OC'd up to 4.2GHz it runs right around 75°C under max load for extended periods and in the upper 30s idle. Couldn't ask for more for the price. The pushpin design makes for easy installation if you have a case without a cutout behind the chipset. Just make sure the are all seated nice and tight as they can be a bit deceptive if your haven't have much experience with them.
Cons: None so far
Overall Review: Like all pushpin designs these could wear out and break if the cooler needs to be reseated too many times. Not really a con as I knew that about pushpins going in and they work well out of the box. Just something to think about for first time buyers.
Great board for under $100
Pros: This was about as easy to install and set up as a board can be. MSI make a reliable product with excellent configuration accessibility. It's got a popular socket (1155), z68 capabilities, and is easily OC'd with clickBIOS II. This board also comes with all the latest tech you'll want for the newer hardware on the market. USB 3.0, 6Gb/s SATA, PCI 3.0, SLI, CrossFireX, etc.
Cons: No OC Genie button as advertised (-1 egg) but the OC Genie II in the click BIOS is easier anyway.
Overall Review: You would be hard pressed to find a better board with these capabilities for under $100