Joined on 10/05/13
Pros: Very powerful card for its power draw and size, factory overclocks are convenient, small size improves cfm and air flow.
Cons: No sli but if your buying a card to minimize space you shouldn't be thinking about sli.
Not sure where this fits in the market
Pros: Decent cooling performance, very low cost, supports push pull configuration, install on AMD is pretty straightforward.
Cons: Horizontal on AMD CPU only, no Motherboard mount for AMD CPU included, CPU block bottom not flush, see other thoughts.
Overall Review: Considering its size, the performance does not meet expectations. Considering the price, it does. However, many other smaller CPU coolers do as well. If you have an AMD CPU you have to get low profile ram (no extended heatsinks) or only install two sticks. To be honest this doesn't open up any real overclocking room, but likely at this price point your not thinking of doing that any way. Get a smaller cooler if this is what your looking at. They cost the same, sound the same, and most importantly, they do the job and are easier to install with out worrying about the size. Also, be sure your case vent out the top as well for AMD CPU's or this cant do the job right. Which brings me to my point, why so big if not for overclocking, sure is quiet, but so is my Zalman that works just as well, costs the same, and is 5x smaller. Go with the Hyper 212 evo for 5 dollars more, it fits better, installs the same, and has far better performance.
Good, but a few notes
Pros: This case is solid, not easily scratchable, and I have seen worse dust collectors in my time. Airflow is very good, lots of water or air cooling options, sturdy back plane for motherboard mounting, and plenty of cable routing options.
Cons: Only a few issues. The window is mounted on twisted clips that allow it to rattle, this is easily solved with some silicon or rubber. The power supply cable routing options are not quite up to snuff, larger holes would have made this build look a little cleaner and faster to put together. And the side air vent for GPU cooling seems to be benign, additional noise without cooling benefit.
Overall Review: Overall a good looking, sturdy case with few issues and should make the average builder pretty happy, but their are better options for this price range though they may not look as edgy.
Two Years and still strong
Pros: This board is still running strong coupled with an i7 3770k. Never once had any issues with it. 1866 memory, several CPU coolers, and cases later it has not had a single issue.
Cons: Only ones I can think of is the board is a bit dated at this point but there really isn't much reason to upgrade as of now, and the pin outs for case buttons and the E light in the center of the motherboard are very flexible, it's better than brittle but a little stiffer would have been nice.
Overall Review: A great board if your still running sandy bridge, first and still only EVGA board I have ever bought, but their customer service is excellent and their GPU's are strong without looking overdone.
Actually good
Pros: Stays cool, performs, full HDMI slot (I don't like the mini HDMI on a lot of GPU's), runs very quiet.
Cons: Full plastic shroud, sticker decal, power connections facing the side panel.
Overall Review: When I first looked at the card, I didn't want to like it much. the front side looks plain, and a decal sticker on the shroud. This isn't the late 90's or early 2000's MSI. But none the less 300+ fps in a lot of low end games, and 70-80 in most high demand games. This cooler needs to be provided with fresh air, and needs you to not put your case against something. For me, I have it in a corsair air series 540 and it stays well under 70c. And as a hobby I work on indie games with crydev and udk. This card makes that and 3-d modeling pretty smooth without having to get a workstation GPU. All in all, this card is great for gamers, but if thats all you do and you only play at 1080 I recommend going with the 760. And this guy in a 4GB model for 2k resolution, 2 in SLI for multi-monitor.
Solid PSU
Pros: Quiet, reasonable price, looks good, no shifting parts, low heat, stable output, and from a reputable brand.
Cons: Not 450 watts. I don't like odd levels BWE.