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Javid A.

Javid A.

Joined on 09/16/17

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 10
Most Favorable Review

Second best after Asus B450-I

MSI PERFORMANCE GAMING B450I GAMING PLUS AC AM4 AMD B450 SATA 6Gb/s Mini ITX AMD Motherboard
MSI PERFORMANCE GAMING B450I GAMING PLUS AC AM4 AMD B450 SATA 6Gb/s Mini ITX AMD Motherboard

Pros: Good VRM heatsink and setup (6+1). Good chipset heatsink. Easy to use BIOS settings. Decent rear panel ports. Decent neutral color pallette of a motherboard.

Cons: Can't tell about other cases, but the layout of internal connectors inside Bitfenix Portal case is horrible. 2 fan headers instead of 3. Audio chipset could be better.

Overall Review: I think that the world would not turn upside down if 1 RGB header would be replaced for an additional fan header. Honestly, I would trade all RGB header for anything else any day. Sometimes, the board's software (especially BIOS) is buggy. Overall, the board is cheap and a good choice for a first build.

Most Critical Review

Not for overclocking

ASRock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac AM4 AMD Promontory B350 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI Mini ITX AMD Motherboard
ASRock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac AM4 AMD Promontory B350 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI Mini ITX AMD Motherboard

Pros: Durable The style of the motherboard Gold plated dual band WiFi ports USB 2.0 ports as some electronics don't work well with USB 3.0 ports

Cons: VRM heatsink Doesn't have enough USB 3.0 ports 2 HDMI ports are not really necessary as you'll probably use dedicated video card more than integrated Ultra M.2 interface doesn't have any heat sink, which has a potential of frying an SSD in the long run

Overall Review: For 90$, this motherboard is worth a shot, but if you are not in a hurry for an ITX build, i advice to wait for either a new ITX board from ASRock or other manufacturers to make an ITX AM4 motherboards. Update: VRM temperatures are fine on stock settings, but even on slight overclock, it goes over 55 degrees C on idle mode and 75-80 on AAA title games.

Costs a lot, but it's worth it.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C14D-32GVK
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C14D-32GVK

Pros: B-dies. XMP profile runs fine, without any issues. Stable on 3200 MHz, 14-14-14-34 CAS. True to advertisement.

Cons: Runs a bit hot, but i guess, it's not the product's fault, but rather lack of ventilation inside an ITX case. May or may not have cheap thermal tapes, which transfer heat from chips to heat sink.

Overall Review: Didn't have any problems with them from 2 years of usage.

Excellent product for an old hardware

StarTech IDE2SAT2 IDE to SATA Hard Drive or Optical Drive Adapter Converter - 40-Pin PATA to 2.5" SATA HDD / SSD / ODD Converter
StarTech IDE2SAT2 IDE to SATA Hard Drive or Optical Drive Adapter Converter - 40-Pin PATA to 2.5" SATA HDD / SSD / ODD Converter

Pros: Product arrived without any physical damage or cosmetic imperfections. Works, as it should be. Solder joints look good enough.

Cons: Not anything in particular.

Overall Review: Thought i'd have to use old IDE drives on a good old PS2, but this converter nearly upgraded an old console. I even went overboard and put a SSD on it and now, games run smoother than before, which seems to be impossible for a PS2.

Good performance and no leakage

DEEPCOOL Gamer Storm CAPTAIN 120EX WHITE-AIO CPU Liquid Cooler 120mm Ceramic Bearing Pump Visual Liquid Flow Metal Mounting Kit AM4 Compatible
DEEPCOOL Gamer Storm CAPTAIN 120EX WHITE-AIO CPU Liquid Cooler 120mm Ceramic Bearing Pump Visual Liquid Flow Metal Mounting Kit AM4 Compatible

Pros: The product arrived without any physical damage or cosmetic imperfections. Didn't have any leakage from 2 years of usage. Pumps are longer than expected.

Cons: The fan could be a little better. Had to change to Noctua's fan for better cooling. Not really a con to particular product, but i wish you could refill the water easily with any AIO.

Overall Review: Overall, It's pretty good for the price.

Standard among thermal pads

ARCTIC COOLING ACTPD00001A Thermal Pad, the high Performance Gap Filler -2x2x0.02 (0.5 mm)
ARCTIC COOLING ACTPD00001A Thermal Pad, the high Performance Gap Filler -2x2x0.02 (0.5 mm)

Pros: Better than OEM pads

Cons: None

Overall Review: Used it with laptops, consoles and mobile phones and it's fine. Don't except any groundbreaking results, it's just a good economical replacement of old 0.5mm pads. Sometimes, it's even better than cheap Orbit gum pads, which are used by big manufacturers to save on the cost of their product.