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Teni E.

Teni E.

Joined on 06/07/10

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  • 18
Most Favorable Review

So far, So good

GIGABYTE Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 ATX Graphics Card GV-RX580GAMING-8GD
GIGABYTE Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 ATX Graphics Card GV-RX580GAMING-8GD

Pros: - Short card fits in cases very easily - Quiet cooling - RGB LEDs can be controlled with Gigabyte Fusion applications easily - Good performance and decent power usage - Only one 8-pin PCI-E power cable required - Good quality backplate and robust cooling - Mine came with Samsung RAM and a 75% ASIC

Cons: - Default fan profile a bit on the conservative side.

Overall Review: I'm not going to comment on performance, but it performs on par with a regular RX 580, but extra performance through overclocking with Afterburner is readily available. 1400 mhz and 2100 on the RAM set, and the card didn't have any issues at stock voltages. The cooling seems solid and robust, and viewed from the side seems to cover all the pertinent components extremely well. The fans don't start spinning until the GPU hits somewhere north of 50 celsius and they never, ever seem loud at stock. The GPU is reaching around 73-75 celsius on the most extreme torture tests, but I found I can spin up the fans easily another 10% and lower that to less than 70 celsius. This is probably my only gripe with the card. The cooler seems very powerful, it dissipates heat very well, but the fans are set a tiny bit too low for my tastes at default. Even at 35-40% they are basically inaudible. Not until they reach over 2200 RPMs can you even hear them. The RGB functionality is nice but rudimentary, but for my purposes I downloaded the latest Gigabyte utilities for the card and set the LED to white without any issues. I like the fact that the PCB is just over 9" long, making this easy to fit in smaller cases with thick fans or front mounted radiators. All in all, it's a solid card so far, with the slightly conservative fan profile being the only negative to note (and this is a subjective comment on my part).

Most Critical Review

Needs more time in the oven

Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 (CC-9011069-WW) Arctic White Steel Micro ATX Mid Tower Air 240 High Airflow MicroATX and Mini-ITX PC Case ATX (not included) Power Supply
Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 (CC-9011069-WW) Arctic White Steel Micro ATX Mid Tower Air 240 High Airflow MicroATX and Mini-ITX PC Case ATX (not included) Power Supply

Pros: -Good-looking -Feels generally well constructed -Compact with nice proportions -With a Mini ITX board fits up to 8 fans in motherboard chamber or up to dual 240mm radiators -Large acrylic window -Dual chamber design in a smaller form-factor than the Air 540 -Lots of storage options -Three different orientations

Cons: -Too compact, needed to be between 1 to 2 cm wider -Flimsy side panels -Average filters in motherboard chamber -Dual chamber design doesn't seem to keep a lot of things as cool as it should -Scratch friendly acrylic window

Overall Review: First things first, they made a HUGE mistake in making the motherboard chamber so short! They needed to add 1-2cm in height as most normal video cards with top mounted PCI-E power cables have the cables touching and scratching the acrylic window! How did this pass design QA? Also any video card with a common water block will likely not fit in the case, or if it does, the top mounted water ports also scratch up the window. They needed to put a slight bulge in the side panel, side panel window, or just make the case another 1-2cm wider. I guess they just thought everyone would use an AIO with one of their HG10 brackets (which weren't available at the time this case came out) and it wouldn't be a problem, but they were wrong. The side panels are pretty weaksauce, and sometimes vibrations can cause them to resonate a bit, so you have to make sure they're properly fastened, sometimes a bit tighter than usual. Also the PSU/storage chamber needs better airflow. Be careful of orienting the case with the PSU on the bottom and the window on top, as the warm air might rise into the motherboard area, which isn't a big deal if you have good exhaust fans, but be warned. It's a very good-looking, possibly even cute case that has a lot of potential, but if you're going to go Mini ITX just get a Graphite 380T which is a better built, and generally better thought out case than the Air 240. If you are heart-set on getting a cube case, the Fractal Design Node 804, while a bit less attractive, is a much better designed cube case that has fewer compromises with Micro ATX boards, supports lots of cooling, and is generally a lot easier to work in.

No problems running at rated speed

G.SKILL Trident Z Neo Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C14D-16GTZNB
G.SKILL Trident Z Neo Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C14D-16GTZNB

Pros: - Good looking Samsung B-Die RAM great for Ryzen CPUs - Well built heat spreader that is not massive like some competition

Cons: - Pretty darn expensive for a 16GB kit

Overall Review: - I had no problems running this RAM at full DDR4 3600 mhz speed at the rated CL ratings (14-15-15) on my Asus B450-I Strix Gaming Mini ITX motherboard with my Ryzen 3800x. I think I just added a .01 upgrade to the SOC voltage on the chip to ensure stability on every boot, and ran the RAM at it's chosen 1.45V voltage. No problems here. My only issue is that the RAM was pretty expensive for a 16GB kit, but it will also give me top-notch gaming performance on this PC, so I knew what the cost-benefit is. Nothing new with Samsung B-Die. I haven't tried overclocking it yet, but I will work through that sometime in the future.

Well built and well designed medium size Mini ITX case - but understand what you are getting here

MetallicGear Neo-G V2 Mini-ITX Case, Compact Chassis, Sand Blasted Aluminum, Tempered Glass Panels, Black
MetallicGear Neo-G V2 Mini-ITX Case, Compact Chassis, Sand Blasted Aluminum, Tempered Glass Panels, Black

Pros: - Extremely tasteful aesthetics and high quality materials - Vertical GPU set up with three slots and two different positions for wider cards - Good length clearance for up to 345mm video cards, and easily swallows up extra "tall" video cards - Well filtered both bottom, front and side for intakes and nicely open back for exhaust in positive pressure mode - Allowance for 2 x 2.5" and 1 x 3.5" hard drives - Flexible radiator configurations - Good water cooling support for a fairly small (25.8 litre displacement) case - Careful component selection can create a Mini-ITX beast of a PC - Ships with high-quality Phanteks PCI-E extension cable

Cons: - Needs more cable management space - Velcro straps need to have the abrasive side out or they snag paracord and PETE sleeved cables - If you are using a video card, CPU air coolers are out of the question Front panel room between glass and filters could use another 5-10mm of space to be used for fans - If using an SFX power supply, PCI-E cables may not be long enough to easily route to the video card

Overall Review: I would recommend this case for those Mini ITX aficionados who desire "power over portability". It is not like the Lian Li TU150 which has a handle to be easily transported to LAN meetings or friends' houses, nor is it ultra compact like the smaller sandwich style cases. One may argue that it is a sandwich-style case, but it is more of a Mini-ITX with vertical video card type case. Since there are 3 x PCI-E slot covers and a movable mount for the PCI-E extender, airflow clearance for 2.5 or 3 slot thick cards should be more than sufficient. With an almost completely open bottom, airflow for any video card should be more than enough. In addition, an all-in-one cooler is very well supported with up to a 280mm space for a front mounted radiator of any height. I would not recommend a CPU air cooler, because of the setup of the video card, it can cover the CPU slot enough that any air cooler above 45-55mm may have problems co-existing with a video card. I was able to actually shoe-horn a front mounted 27mm, 240mm radiator with 20mm thick Deepcool fans between the metal chassis and front glass, as well as a 29.5mm side radiator 240mm from Corsair (Hardware Labs GTS240) with dual 120mm Noctua fans into this case with a 3800x Ryzen, Asus Strix B450-I motherboard, two WD NVME M.2 1TB drives, and a Radeon VII with EK WB clear copper water block mounted in the middle position. I used a Silverstone SX600-G SFX modular power supply with stock cables. I would recommend going with a Corsair SF750 instead, or any 160mm or shorter ATX PSU with flat cables. Unfortunately that is my only real gripe with the case. The cable management space in general is around 12-15mm with only a larger 25-30mm indentation next to the top mounted power supply and area where the cable cutouts are. Using sleeved cables that are not almost exact length can be an exercise in futility, and part of the reason I used an SFX PSU was to allow for space between the PSU and the metal next to it for extra cable slack. I personally think a slightly wider case of 200mm versus the 190mm current width would absolutely make this case go from a good Mini ITX build experience, to a dream experience. Overall I am very happy I purchased this case. I do believe it is very, very well-priced for what you receive. The materials are high quality, the inside feels like high strength steel with a quality powder coating, and the outside sand blasted panel plus patterned glass are tasteful and attractive. But I'd recommend if f you don't have need for vertical video card, I'd recommend getting the "non-G" Mini V2. That would allow for a very quiet and well cooled airflow setup with extra fans on the bottom and a fairly large air cooler as well.

Short and Sweet: This is the best performing TR4 air cooler I've tried

be quiet! Dark Rock Pro TR4 CPU Air Cooler | 250W TDP | AMD sTRX4 and TR4 Support | Quiet Operation | Airflow Optimized Cooling Fins | Easy Install | Black | BK023
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro TR4 CPU Air Cooler | 250W TDP | AMD sTRX4 and TR4 Support | Quiet Operation | Airflow Optimized Cooling Fins | Easy Install | Black | BK023

Pros: - Gorgeous - Easy installation - High quality Silent Wings 3 fans means quiet cooler

Cons: - Hangs over closest two RAM slots

Overall Review: So far with my 1950X at 3.8Ghz with around a 1.2 volt VID, I haven't seen the chip exceed 69 celsius at full load with (unnaturally high) Prime 95 super heat mode/32 threads full bore. This is the 4th air cooler I've tried with this chip, and this is the only one that can handle the overclocked load outside of high-end DiY water cooling that was well over twice the cost. I have tried the Noctua NH-U14S (with dual fan) which is a close second at somewhere between 72-73 celsius on this overclocked 1950x. I also tried the Cooler Master Wraith Ripper and DeepCool Fryzen. Both were lower performance with the Fryzen having great RAM compatibility, but with greater height and much louder fan, not as good. The Wraith Ripper was also fairly noisy and was much closer to the video card and worse RAM compatibility. Installation is fairly simple. Ensure your video card is out of the PC, and you are best served by having your case on its side. You put in two cross bars on each set of screws which go through a plastic standoff each, and a middle cross bar that spans the two. They include a nice long screw driver to help screw in the two nuts on each end because you unscrew two dots on the top of the cooler to expose a couple of holes to go through to screw it in. It's not mandatory to do this, but helps in smaller cases.. Have a flash light handy if lighting in the area is not good, because the all black nuts on the all black cross member may be a bit hard to see. Once on, mating seems very solid and there is very little movement. Thermal paste is included, and there is a fan splitter for those motherboards like my MSI X399 Gaming Pro Carbon which only have one CPU fan header. place the clips on the middle fan and pivot them outwards and fit it through. Once done they are relatively easy to clip on, and then finish by putting the first intake fan (over the RAM) on. Once done expect a quiet cooling experience. And at 163mm tall it's the shortest of the coolers outside of the only short option, the Noctua NH-U12S which doesn't perform nearly as well. I'm extremely impressed with this cooler, and if you are not assured of the safety of water cooling with all-in-ones, this is basically your best bet.

Good but not Great - 3.5 stars

Cooler Master MasterBox MB511 ARGB ATX Mid-Tower with Fine Mesh Front Panel, Mesh Side Intakes, Tempered Glass, Three 120mm ARGB Lighting Fans - Black
Cooler Master MasterBox MB511 ARGB ATX Mid-Tower with Fine Mesh Front Panel, Mesh Side Intakes, Tempered Glass, Three 120mm ARGB Lighting Fans - Black

Pros: - Good CPU cooler clearance of 165mm and 410mm of GPU clearance for easy component selection - 230mm power supply space to disk cage, 18mm cable room behind mobo - Tempered glass side panel with captive thumb screws and bottom retention hinge a big plus - RGB fans seem good quality and not too loud - Included RGB fan light controller and modular system for use with 12 volt NON-addressable RGB 4-pin mobo headers - Front 360mm radiator support for the latest coolers and top 240mm radiator support for medium size AIO or DiY water cooling - 4/5 length PSU shroud helps hide cables and drives but allow front fans to cool all components - Compact dimensions but decent to good clearances - Generally aesthetically pleasing though I'd have preferred matte side ventilation strips on the front, not shiny - Decently rigid but based more on construction type than quality/thickness of metal

Cons: - Metal is thinner and far cheaper feeling than the MasterCase series, not on par with NZXT H500 at a similar price - Front panel looks a bit like a snout, and side ventilation strips don't allow 140mm fans between front panel and metal chassis - 3.5" disk cage is non-removable unless you use a 1/8" drill bit to remove rivets and potentially damage the case - Molex fan splitter for the three front fans power is like a throwback to the 2000s, SATA is where it's at-a - Bad perforated plastic PSU filter that doesn't slide out in any direction :(

Overall Review: Overall for $95 CDN/$69 US with a $10.00 rebate the case acquits itself well in airflow, great tempered glass mounting mechanism, water cooling potential and easy component selection. A push-pull set up AIO or radiator fits great in the front even with a 300mm GPU installed. Up to 165mm of CPU cooler clearance is great, and unless you are using a 200mm power supply there should be enough space under the PSU shroud. If you are in the 180mm PSU range and have cable extensions you might need to hook everything up first otherwise you will be frustrated due to limited clearance. The inclusion of RGB makes this case feel a bit lacking and cut corners, ie. they put in RGB fans/controller but cheapened it otherwise. First, the PSU filter is cheap PVC perforated plastic that relies on static to control dust and is a pain to remove. It's hard to just slide it out without moving or tilting your case, and similarly priced cases from NZXT (h500) and InWin (101/101c/303/303c) don't have this issue, and both feel more premium quality. While this case beats those on airflow, the front filter panel impedes 140mm fan installation between the front and metal chassis, which wastes space because now you have to put the 140mm fans on the inside of the metal chassis and if they are RGB they won't show through the front panel unimpeded. This could have been solved by making the side vents not a 90 degree convex design. Alternatively you have 3 120mm front fans for airflow strangely going into molex, but an included single button SATA powered RGB controller, but if you want, and have Asus Aura, MSI Mystic light or other 4-pin 12 v non-addressable motherboard headers you can connect straight to those with a female 4-pin RGB cable header. So if you want that Disco Fandango RGB built this case is great. It also has a decent top 240mm radiator mount or 120/140mm x 2 fan set up in the top with a decently low restriction magnetic attached fan filter, which is also a nice touch. If you want to put a 240mm radiator up there your RAM should be 45mm or shorter as it is an offset type design with 30mm clearance from the top of the case to the motherboard, so the fans would be move towards the left side. Overall I like the case and will likely use it. If you want high airflow and RGB bling with either a large AIO or just air based builds, this is a solid choice. But if you want a more attractive build in a higher quality chassis in a similar sized package I'd go with the InWin 101c black or white, which is a great ultra quality case, or the NZXT H500. If you can handle something a bit bigger with high airflow and have $30 more in budget, the Cooler Master H500 or personal fave Phanteks Enthoo Pro M is probably better.

seller reviews
  • 3

Fine seller. Case came well protected and in great shape with proper config (white with PCIE4 cable)

Not much else to say, the product came as expected and on time.

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Satisfactory

Top notch product, top notch experience

The NH-D15 Chromax is a gorgeous, high quality cooler, and it came on time, and in perfect condition.

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11/26/2019

Be quiet is top notch

I would recommend all their products and the item was available for pick up quickly.

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Satisfactory