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Jacob M.

Jacob M.

Joined on 03/20/08

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 15
Most Favorable Review

Server CPU

Intel Celeron G1840 - Celeron Haswell Dual-Core 2.8 GHz LGA 1150 53W Intel HD Graphics Desktop Processor - BX80646G1840
Intel Celeron G1840 - Celeron Haswell Dual-Core 2.8 GHz LGA 1150 53W Intel HD Graphics Desktop Processor - BX80646G1840

Pros: Low cost CPU for Intel based server Low power and heat output Great performance for price Supports ECC. No need to buy a Xeon CPU for server applications. If you need a server CPU that supports ECC RAM but don't want to pay the higher cost for a high performance Xeon part, look no further.

Cons: None

Most Critical Review

Dead USB ports

GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Pros: Great features from the X87 chipset. Great looks, color scheme, general layout.

Cons: After about 6 months, I noticed my USB devices stopped working. Only 2 out of 6 rear USB ports were working. Front ports still work along with the other 2 headers.

Overall Review: i will be RMAing this board eventually.

FreeNAS build

AsRock Rack E3C224D2I Mini ITX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C224 DDR3 1600 / 1333 ECC UDIMM memory
AsRock Rack E3C224D2I Mini ITX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C224 DDR3 1600 / 1333 ECC UDIMM memory

Pros: - onboard USB port - server grade, supports ECC - IPMI management - compact ITX for small NAS build - Dual Intel NICs - 6 SATA ports

Cons: none

Overall Review: Paired with a Celeron G1840, 8GB of ECC RAM, 3 hard drives inside the LIAN LI PC-Q25B case

Great on a budget gaming rig

CORSAIR CX Series CX500 500W 80 PLUS BRONZE Active PFC ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply
CORSAIR CX Series CX500 500W 80 PLUS BRONZE Active PFC ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply

Pros: Running a GTX 970 and Intel i5 without any problems. Reliable brand.

Cons: none

Good value

SilverStone PS08B Black High-strength plastic and meshed front panel Micro ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
SilverStone PS08B Black High-strength plastic and meshed front panel Micro ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Pros: Decently-solid construction One of the few cases that have two USB 3.0 front ports at this price point. Easily removable front mesh fan cover and dust filter Good value for $40

Cons: Power and Reset buttons are in a strange spot. HDD activity light is overpowerd by the insanely bright power light. Stock fan in the front is very loud. Restricted airflow due to filter and mesh makes it even louder. Difficult to mount a hard drive when motherboard is installed. I would suggest installing the motherboard first without CPU heatsink or RAM as these were the two components that tog in the way when installing the Hard Drive. Knockout PCI covers are just lame.... Oily smudges show up easily on the exterior when handling.

Overall Review: For those complaining about lack of 2.5" SSD mounting options... just use one screw... anywhere... thats all it needs.

Great value

ASRock H97M Anniversary LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock H97M Anniversary LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: POSTs and boots extremely fast. Everything works. NO problems found. Great price for what you get - USB 3.0 header - 6 SATA ports - 3 display connections - 4 RAM slots

Cons: Only 1 fan header (besides CPU fan header) Lots of flex on the VGA connection when plugging in 24 pin was nearly impossible to connect / disconnect; extremely tight. No Intel NIC - it uses a realtek

Overall Review: Wish it had a 4th PCI slot Great value overall. Highly recommended.