Joined on 08/08/03
Excellent Value and Quality
Pros: Getting this card on sale is a ridiculous gaming bargain Plays every game I throw at it without a hiccup at 1080p
Cons: Doesn't make breakfast for me.
Overall Review: I have a 680 on my main machine (Also from MSI) and from the positive experiences I've had with this company, I plan on continuing to purchase from them. They've always been delivering on well designed, quality hardware at a great price. For a HTPC/gaming build it's perfect. The PCB board is smaller than most gaming cards yet retains excellent cooling properties and low power consumption. Since I'm running this little guy on a TV, games only need to run at 1080p it doesn't need to perform with the big boys with 1440p resolutions or higher. Graphics are flawless and smooth and Nvidia's CUDA and PhysX features are icing on the cake. Know the limitations of the specs and you shouldn't have any problems at all with this card. Don't expect to run Crysis 3 on 3 1440p+ monitors and you'll be fine. I have nothing but praise for MSI and Nvidia for releasing this budget friendly, efficient yet powerful piece of equipment. Thank you!
Warning To Those Sending Rebates
Pros: Rebate processed reasonably quick. FAR... at least it should be. Product is good for those who really need it.
Cons: Rebate was initially "invalid". Borderline rebate scam. Software is too bloated for high level users.
Overall Review: I made sure to include everything in the rebate process so you can imagine my frustration when I got an "invalid" status for a Free After Rebate. Here's a little excerpt from a chat I had with the rep: 7:32:26 AM : Margaret: you sent in the original upc label? 7:32:31 AM : Me: yes i cut it out of the box 7:32:36 AM : Margaret: did you make a copy? 7:32:46 AM : Me: I didn't realize you needed to make a copy 7:33:01 AM : Me: I never had an issue just sending out rebates 7:34:02 AM : Margaret: Well I don't know what happened to it, but we didn't get it. We only got your rebate form and receipt information. We need to verify that the correct product with the valid upc was purchased to be able to verify this rebate *****Make sure you make a copy of EVERYTHING you send out to McAfee****** Do not give them any excuse to deny your rebate!!! Only after offering to provide my serial key and posting this chat online for everyone to see did they finally resolve this issue. After processing five other rebates with other products without a hitch in the same day, of course the one with the biggest rebate would be "invalid". Be EXTREMELY careful when dealing with rebates for McAfee. Check your status when you get the rebate confirmation. Make copies of everything you send in. As I haven't had a single issue with any of several rebates sent in, I can only assume McAfee is attempting to pocket cash from people who don't check on the rebates.
Great value and potential
Pros: Extremely affordable piece of wireless tech when on sale. Excellent signal strength with 3 antennas, I've never experienced a disconnect yet. Yields transfer rates of 10 MBps or around 80 Mbps from 15 yards away with walls and one floor separating a N300 router. Simple hardware and software installation without bloatware.
Cons: Drivers are clumsy as they are unsigned. Windows will not automatically install drivers. If you lose the CD, good luck finding them online... on another computer.
Overall Review: I have no doubts of the claimed specs as I live in a very crowded wifi area yet still maintain a very strong and fast speed with an admittedly aging router. More than enough to take full advantage of streaming/transferring HD movies from a NAS or online. I'll update this review if I have any reliability issues as others have claimed but everything is running as quick and smooth as I could want it with a price that I could live with. Thanks Rosewill but please get these drivers signed.
Exceeds my computers limits
Pros: Achieving speeds that is capping out my SATA 2 motorboard. Loads Windows 7 Ultimate in mere seconds. My BIOS takes longer to get through Instant application loading. Amazing price to performance ratio. Corsair brand still outstanding. Zero stability issues so far. WEI rating of 7.8 Hitting 450MB cap with SATA2 on benchmarks.
Cons: Not plug and play installation. Research on installing before even ordering. Requires BIOS and windows tweaking to work right. Makes me want to spend more money on a new motherboard with SATA3 support. Didn't have the latest firmware installed.
Overall Review: Im not sure if people are assuming these work like regular HDs but I've had zero problems by following the instructions on the firmware page on Corsairs website. Can't say enough positive things about this drive.
Amazing Results
Pros: -Massive heatsink. -Dropped my CPU temperature by 20C! -Relatively quiet compared to stock fan running at full blast. -Simple installation, no harder than stock cooler. -Insanely cheap: ~$11 after rebate. -My room is no longer a sweatbox. -Allows a ton of room for OCing. -Good quality and effective heatsink
Cons: -Massive heatsink, make sure your case can handle it. -No more space heater during winter. -Horrible instructions with barely any text. -Fan seems to be on the cheap side and doesn't have variable speed control. -Heatsink barely cleared over my RAM and is nearly touching the side of my case.
Overall Review: I had a hard time believing the results people were getting for such a cheap heatsink, but I can personally vouch that this thing makes your CPU ice cold even with OCing. I'm currently running an 1055T Phenom 2 which was running at around 55C with stock cooling with light browsing and video playback, now it's is averaging 25C. Couldn't be happier with my cost/performance ratio. I'm sure that there are much better coolers out there but for the price, it simply can't be beat.