Pros: - Fairly breathable - Lightweight - Adjustable - Metal nose piece - Secure - 5 filters
Cons: - Still fogs up my glasses - Filters could be a little bigger for some - Filters seem to be only 4 layers when advertised at 5 - Not medical rated
Overall Review: During these crazy time it's good to wear a mask even when cycling. Neck gaiters don't offer great filtration and can get hot and stuffy. Most medical or cloth masks simply aren't breathable enough and hinder performance. This cycling mask is mostly made out of mesh and has 5 layers (I see only 4) with a carbon layer and has two one way valves on it to allow for better airflow. The mask and filters are not medically rated should not be used in any kind of medical setting or in circumstances where social distancing can't happen since this mask will allow some particles from you to be emitted. One filter comes preinstalled and the manufacture supplies 4 additional filters. The mask fits securely with ear straps and a Velcro neck strap and the nose is adjustable since it has a metal band on it. My qualms would be that the mask while breathable still fogs up my cycling glasses when not moving, the filters coverage will be small for some faces, and like I said before the filters seem to only be 4 layers not 5.
Pros: - Reasonably priced - TB3 port - 2 M.2 NVME slots - Very good VRM
Cons: - M.2 heat sink screw stripped with little to no pressure - 2nd NVME on back can get toasty - Not the most compelling aesthetics - Only supports 32GB of RAM - TB3 port is nice to have but only runs at half speed
Overall Review: This is the best performing Z390 ITX board out there but subjectively it looks pretty plain and not as premium as the ROG Strix version. The TB3 port is a nice touch but it doesn't run at full speed. Only supports 32GB of RAM so if you need more get the ROG Strix board. My biggest complaint about the board was that the heat sink screw for the M.2 cover easily strips with little to no pressure. I thought I was the only person that had this problem but after reading other users reviews this is fairly common problem so be very careful.
Pros: - SO-DIMM M.2 adapter can house two NVME M.2 drives and since it connects off the board M.2 temps are very good - 802.11ax - Built in IO shield - Easy to read BIOS FlashBack, Clr CMOS, Q-Code and FlexKey functionality on IO shield - SupremeFX S1220 and ESS SABRE9023P audio - 6 x USB 3.2 gen 2 and 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 type C - Supports 64GB RAM - Amazing VRM performance for size - On board power button
Cons: - DTX size will not fit everyone's case - SO-DIMM adapter is very tall - Fan and RGB headers on SO-DIMM adapter are a pain - Price and value just isn't as good compared to the X570-I
Overall Review: So if you want the best of the best for a small form factor PC w/ X570 than this DTX board is it. Granted the board will not fit every ITX case and the SO-DIMM adapter is almost unreasonably tall. This boards VRM's are amazing and performs really like an upper mid tier ATX board and is loaded with features that lends it to water cooling and overclocking. My huge gripe with this board is that Asus also makes the ROG Strix X570-I which isn't as feature rich but is very similar VRM wise and at almost $200 less it is the board the majority of people should buy if they are looking to get a Ryzen 3900X or 3950X
Pros: - RGB - Cost - Speed - Overclocks to 3700+
Cons: - Out of the box only runs at 3200
Overall Review: Using this with a ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Impact X570 board and for the money the RAM is a great deal and great for Ryzen 3000. Kit is rated at 3600 but ran at 3200 out of the box but overclocks to 3700+ which is that sweet spot for Ryzen 3000. I am not usually a RGB fan but it looks cool on this kit and the RGB isn't too bright. Overall I would say this is my top recommendation for any X570 Ryzen 3000 build
Pros: -Ray Tracing -DLSS -Only a two slot -4352 CUDA Cores -Very fast memory -Runs cool at 72-74 degrees gaming -Kills it at 1440P and really only true 4K 60+ FPS card
Cons: -Styling with the clear plastic -Runs a bit loud and fan on stock settings consonantly ramps up and down -Price -RTX features at this point aren't being utilized -Not the best overclocker
Overall Review: The RTX 2080 Ti cards are the fastest gaming cards money can buy and boy do you need a lot of money. The card offers real time ray tracing and features like DLSS but those features aren't being utilized at the moment since there are zero games at launch that support these features. While I applaud EVGA for making a 2 slot GPU when most companies are doing 2.5-3 slot GPUs the clear plastic shroud looks worse in person compared to pictures. Simply it just comes off as cheap. Since this is only a two slot card this easily fits in my SFF NCase M1 and works with my SF600 PSU. Temps IMO are very good at a stable 72-74 degrees while gaming. In comparison my former EVGA SC2 Hybrid 1080 Ti would hit around 60 degrees while gaming and my iCX 1080 Ti would hit 77 degrees. However the card is pretty loud and the stock fan settings have the card constantly ramping up and down. The 2080 Ti series is a seriously powerful card with 4352 CUDA Cores and with screaming fast DDR6 memory. The card easily handles any variant of 1440P and at 4K is the only true 60+ FPS card with all settings cranked up. My system being linked to a SF600 isn't awesome for overclocking but I was a little disappointed to find out my card was only getting 1950 MHz. Overall not the best value but ones of the few 2 slot 2080 Ti cards that can easily fit in any system while running cool.
Pros: -More compact -Same great Yeti sound quality -Nice solid premium design
Cons: -Fairly priced at $99 but a full sized model can be had on sale at the same price -Only two modes -Gain can only be controlled via computer -Stand is too short in most cases and mic should be mounted on arm
Overall Review: Blue Yeti are some of the best USB mics out there that are near professional level but are priced at consumer retails. The full Yeti is an amazing mic but I personally find it too big, which makes the Nano a great alternative for people with smaller desks or want to travel with their mic. My big issue with the Nano is the confusing price at $99, which is very fair but in comparison the full sized Yeti is only $130 is constantly on sale for $99 and usually comes with accessories or games even. Additionally the Nano only has two modes and the gain must be controlled via your computer. Overall the Nano lives up to Blue's quality standard but should be centered towards people that heavily prioritize size over features and price
Pros: -Extreme value at full MSRP for the amount of cores you are getting -Coolest retail box out there -Asetek TR4 bracket included -Very fast and a rendering and workstation tasks
Cons: -Massive in size with not many coolers available that cover the whole die -Motherboard options can be less or non existent compared to X299 -Can game but just doesn't reach i9 levels -Not that much better than a 1950X
Overall Review: For me it depends how much you value gaming. An i9 7960X can get easily get 10+ FPS over a 2050X even in PBO mode, so if you desire to get the best gaming experience and don't do as much workstations tasks then Intel if your horse but know a i9 7960X is literally twice the price if not more than a 2950X. If you want to game but are okay getting 10+ frames less and want to save $900+ than yeah TB2 2950X is an amazing value. I used the Asetek TR4 bracket w/ a NZXT Kraken X52 on a Asrock X399M Mobo and temps have been great. Great overall value but also consider first gen 1950X which is very close to a 2950X but at hundreds less
Pros: -Sale price -Competes with the Corsair H100iV2 while being cheaper -RGB block -Braided and flexible tubes -Cool looking open design fans
Cons: -Fans are cheap -Fans are too loud and should be replaced or you need to run them at lower RPM -Hoses comes out of the middle of the block
Overall Review: If the Corsair Hydro Series H100i V2 is one of the better all around 240 AIO coolers than the EVGA CLC 240 is one of the better values, considering it's cheaper than the Corsair but delivers really the same amount of performance. The EVGA especially for SFF builds is a better choice since it has thinner more flexible tubes, while the Corsair version are a tad too thick and don't bend easily. EVGA does provide RGB on the block but subjectively some might not like the huge EVGA branding. Where the Corsair has the EVGA unit beat is fan noise, the EVGA fans do produce more air but only at top RPM and at the point the CLC 240 is noticeably louder than the Corsair. Just beware for SFF builds the hoses comes out the middle of the block which might be an issue.
Pros: -Fully modular -1000 watts Gold rated -Smaller compared to previous gen -At the time offer up to 15 year warranty -SLI/Crossfire ready -Sale price of $99 was insane
Cons: -ECO Mode has the fans coming on a bit too late -Cables are way too long and chunky -By far loudest part of my pc
Overall Review: For the money an amazing value. Paid $99 for 1000 watts Gold rated fully modular PSU! PSU is fairly light and quiet, but overall my biggest complaint about the system is the cables. They are way too long for a mATX system and so chunky that cable management is almost impossible. I would highly recommend getting custom cables if you have a case that does't cover the PSU and/or have a windowed case. I would probably give this 3.5 eggs since the main issue I have with the PSU is how loud it is with Eco mode turned off. While gaming the fan comes on full blast and is louder than my GPU and AIO and the fast remains at full blast for at least 20 minutes after gaming. The Eco mode is quiet but if you do anything more intensive than browse the web the fan constantly modulate up and down which is really annoying.
Pros: -Only mATX X399M board out there -SLI/NVLINK/Crossfire capable -3 M.2 slots -Came with latest BIOS to run 2950X out of the box -Sale price -RGB
Cons: -WIFI antenna are too close together -M.2 #1 and #2 are only PCI, while #3 is SATA and PCI just FYI -MSRP -Always seems to be out of stock
Overall Review: If you are looking to go X399M in a mATX case then this is your only choice but boy is it a good one. 3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots with three card spacing means you can do SLI/NVLINK/Crossfire. It has a massive 3 M.2 slots but be reminded only slot #3 can do M.2 SSD SATA, others are PCI only. Latest BIOS out of the box allowed me to run my 2950X without any issue. My biggest qualm is the item seems to always be out of stock! Other than that an awesome mATX X399M board.
Pros: -good static pressure and airflow -anti vibration pads and mount -tons of accessories -very quiet -SSO2 bearing should last a very long time -long 6 year warranty
Cons: -gross Noctua brown -expensive -not a leader in airflow, SP, or quietness -no LED/RGB
Overall Review: While Noctua's never are the best in any one category such as airflow, static pressure, or noise they are the best overall. These fans are highly engineered and IMO there biggest selling point is how quiet they are in comparison to how much air they move. Typical Noctua you get an amazingly engineered and built fan that seems to last forever. If you have a case with clear panels these fans aren't the prettiest to look at and don't offer LED/RGB.
Pros: -Good NVME speeds -Sale price made it the cheapest M.2 NVME at 512GB -M.2 Form factor
Cons: -Not as fast as Samsung's M.2 NVME but costs less -Newegg Egg Saver shipper is terrible
Overall Review: Great value for the money considering you are getting a NVME M.2 for what you would pay for a 2.5" SSD or SATA M.2. It's not as fast as Samsung's version but still 3 times faster than a SATA SSD. Really the only thing I didn't like was Newegg's shipping, yes the Egg Saver option was free but the item shipped from NJ (same day as I ordered) and was going to NY, normally this only takes one business day, but took 5 business days instead.
Pros: -14MM thick -Build quality -Mounting and cables options -PWM -Airflow -Newegg pricing
Cons: -Brown and Khaki coloring -Not as quiet as other Noctua fans but not bad
Overall Review: Awesome little fan at only 14MM so it's great for SFF builds. It's your typical well built, high airflow, Noctua fan but it a tad louder than I expected but nothing terrible.
Pros: -Slim -Quiet -Newegg has the best price -PWM -Comes with a slew of mounting and cable options -Build quality
Cons: -Ugly aesthetically
Overall Review: If you don't mind the khaki and brown plastic looks Noctua makes the best fans in terms of build quality (no flex), quietness, and airflow plus this comes with a slew of accessories and is only 15mm thin.
Pros: - WIFI & BT included - HDMI 2.0 - Dual 10/100/1000Mbps - 6 x USB 3.1 - 2 M.2 (one with heat guard on top) - Classic black and white color scheme
Cons: - No RGB lighting - VRM heatsink small, no a great overclocker but what Mini ITX board is?
Overall Review: One of the few Mini ITX Z370 boards with an M.2 on the top and bottom of the board. For it's price the Z370N is pretty complete besides RGB. I wouldn't recommend overclocking on this board since the 8700K runs hot unless you have a really great air or AIO cooler.
Pros: - Quiet on idle since fans don't run unless above 60 degrees - Really solid build with nice back plate - 8 pin power supply - Nice big vents by I/O - Core Clock 1708 MHz Boost Clock 1847 MHz is a nice tick up from FE 1607/1733 - At the moment $5 less than a FE - Runs perfectly fine on a 400 watt PSU - Size wise fits perfectly into my Gigabyte Brix GT
Cons: - When the fans do spin up they are strong and in my SFF these create a wind tunnel - Design is subjective some might not like the steam punk look - The lights can't be controlled by EVGA software - A lot of EVGA branding
Overall Review: Coming from a GTX 1070 Gigabyte G1 I wanted to go GTX 1080 but the card needed to be 11" X 4.5" or less. The FE card would have been a solid option but the stock speeds and what some would consider as poor cooling/thermals bothered me since my SFF case is 10 L and already has poor air management (really bad). The EVGA SC ACX 3.0 seemed to fit the bill because in reviews I found it ran 2-3 degrees lower and a good 5 decibels lower than the Gigabyte GTX 1080 G1 which I also was considering. Since my system is a closed case system where you can't view the internals , most of my cons are not pertinent to me. I found the EVGA 1080 in some games ran cooler and quieter even compared to a 1070 (only a few degrees). The one game that the 1080 can't get a handle on is PUBG, where temps hit 78-80 degrees and at 3440 x 1440 on high was getting 60 FPS and on ultra 50-60 FPS. Also when the fans kicked in my small tube of system created a wind tunnel like sound with my vents open. This was only on PUBG a course one of the worse optimized games. Overall the card gives a nice 20% boost over a GTX 1070 wile still running perfectly fine on a 400 watt PSU. The like many air cards, the noise/thermals/performance is only as good as the case it is in, so if you have a very poor airflow case looking at a beefier card or an AIO would be better
Pros: SFF 10L Up to 32GB Ram Full sized GTX 1070 Fast performance I/O galore Fairly up-gradable compared to competitors Awesome cable management Unique design
Cons: Love it or hate it design Fairly noisy idle and very loud under loud Gets very warm No included keyboard and mouse Not a huge deal but 6th gen processor
Overall Review: At $17000 MSRP this unit would be a tough sell. I missed the sale for when the unit went for $1K, but at $1299 I still think you are getting quite the value compared to a MSI Trident 3 Arctic at $1500 or a Corsair One at $1800. The unit ships with a fairly clean copy of W10 Home and boot times are fast. The highlighter green mesh isn't as obnoxious as I thought it would be and the lack of gamer red is refreshing. The opening vents are a cool concept but cooling and fan noise could be better, since the system gets hot and under load the unit is loud, like multiple hairdryers on max loud. I/O is really good. At the moment I have the unit in my living room and while some sites have said it looks like a modded PS4, the unit only sits vertically and is vastly bigger than a PS4, but still is small enough for living room VR. Since the computer sits vertically all the cables run under the computer and are hidden so cable management is beautiful. Shipping to the NY Metro area was insanely fast since it shipped from their NJ warehouse. Overall I think this is a good compromise between Corsair's, MSI, Asus, and other SFF desktops but just be aware that the system when heavy gaming gets loud. Edit: I was able finally able to obtain the unit at $1,000 once it went back on sale for $1,000 but it was like pulling teeth trying to get Newegg to honor the price. Eventually they allowed me to return my 1st unit for a refund so I could buy the 2nd unit at the sale price. I was able to upgrade the GPU to a EVGA GTX 1080 SC ACX 3.0. Overall I just gutted the system for parts and built a new system since original system got so hot and was so loud due to little to no airflow. Also note the memory is SO-DIMM and the motherboard is custom. The system also had a problem recognizing my Pixio monitor. When I booted up or restarted the PC with the monitor already on it would not recognize the monitor and display no signal. In order to work I would need to startup the computer with the monitor off until it reached the login screen. I tried multiple cables, updated all drivers, and even exchanged my monitor for a new one. However when I tried the monitor with my laptop and Corsair Bulldog 2.0 it worked perfectly.
Pros: - Pretty much everything can be upgraded -Good airflow - While not tiny the unit is compact - Value of parts greater than sale price - SF600 great power for a SFF unit - Hydro Series H6 keeps everything nice and cool - Case supports extra 120MM fan or 120MM radiator for liquid cooling - Supports up to three SSD
Cons: - Cable management is horrible - Not really a small system just compact - Front piano black plastic is a fingerprint magnet - My unit had some panel gaps - While the motherboard has a M.2 there is no easy way to access it, you need to remove the motherboard to install
Overall Review: I have a i7 6700K, 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000, 240GB M.2, 1TB 2.5" 7200, and an EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC2 Hybrid for a fully liquid system that keeps everything quiet and cool. Pretty impressive what you can fit into this case and how breathable everything is. This was my first ever build and it was fairly easy but the hardest part was the GPU installation. A GTX 1080 Ti Hybrid does fit with the radiator but it is very tight. The first card I put in I scraped the radiator and the face of the card, luckily the card had a defective fan and I was able to RMA it. The second time around I was a lot more careful installing everything and I even taped the radiator to make sure nothing got scratched. If you do use a AIO water cooling card I recommend running the tubes under the card since the hard drive tray sits on top of the card and there is very little room for the tubes to run without getting smashed down. Cable management is terrible. Airflow is surprisingly good. Pretty much everything can be upgraded down the line. While this is a compact case by no means is it a small case since it is about 20 liters. In prospective a Corsair One Pro is 12L, my previous Gigabyte GB-GZ1DTI7-1070-NK 10L, MSI Trident Arctic 5L and the popular Dan Case is about 7.2L. Update 3-22-18: I recently upgraded the unit to a Gigabyte Z370N Mini ITX board which has two M.2 slots, with one being on the top which solves the problems of accessing the bottom M.2. Installing the board was fairly easy, just a little tight. I upgraded the CPU to a i7 8700K (I have not overclocked it). The H6 SF is an entry level AIO and with the 8700K that runs hot, I would only recommend a light overclock or just skipping the overclocking. Without an overclock in Prime 95 my system was hitting 90 degrees but again that's a stress test and most people will never push their computer that hard. Gaming wise the CPU is in the low 60s.
Pros: -3440x1440P -100Hz refresh -Curved -Massive 34" -FreeSync -Amazing Value -Works great with Nvidia cards -I could not find any dead pixels -Samsung PVA panel good in between IPS and TN -Great customer service
Cons: -Terrible stand (little motion and no height adjustment) -No Vesa mount to make up for terrible stand -Onscreen controls are horrid -Only three inputs and only one can do the 100Hz (DP) -Really weird 80-100 FreeSync range -Crackling noise for the first 20-30 minutes -1st unit had bad clouding and 2nd unit had bad light bleed in lower left hand corner
Overall Review: A lot of times these types of value monitors present one too many compromises, making them a hard sell even at their low prices. There are a few well known cheap Korean brand monitors like this that all use the same curved 3440x1440P screen at 100Hz, but what made this monitor different for me was the $490 price tag shipped. By no means is this an Acer Predator or a Asus ROG gaming monitor and the gaming elite will probably still want 144Hz or above or GSync since minor tearing can occur. Build quality and price reflect this since the Pixio Prime is anywhere from $250-$500 cheaper than those monitors. But with the low price you have to compromise on the stand which is borderline useless and on screen controls, which again are horrible. If you are team green and don't need GSync, performance wise the Pixio with Overdrive on at 100Hz is awesome for $490 but gaming. If you have a Radeon card FreeSync is a nice option but is set to a weird and limiting 80-100FPS, making almost useless for most games. At 34" the curved ultra wide screen is immersive and crispy at 2K+ resolution. I couldn't find any dead pixels on my unit but it did have the crackling problem for the first 30 minutes or so. Hopefully this rids itself out overtime. The box shipped in it's manufacture boxed just covered with a cardboard sleeve, I think Pixio ships this way due to the fact a few people complained that they got their monitor in larger cardboard boxes allowing the Pixio box to freely bounce around. It's nice to see that Pixio is addressing concerns like this and even on other sites they tend to respond to any negative reviews by offering to mend any problems. Pixio's dead pixel policy I believe is 5 or greater and any repairs besides DOA require you shipping back the unit back to Pixio. With this said Pixio is still a fairly new company, but they have created a really awesome monitor that can compete with some really great mainstream monitors like Samsung, just beware of the monitor's shortcomings especially the stand. Edit: my first unit had some noticeable clouding and light bleed so Pixio decided to RMA it and gave me a call saying they thought nothing was wrong with it even though I provided pictures prior to sending back the monitor. They agreed to send out a new one but stated that they couldn't guarantee that this monitor wouldn't also have light bleed. I got the 2nd one and while there was no clouding there was even worse light bleed in the lower right hand side. After not having a primary monitor for 2+ weeks I decided to just live with the 2nd unit. While the product is far from perfect I would say Pixio's CS is top notch. Also Pixio came out with a Vesa adapter which you can get through their own site, which has made my overall viewing experience much better.
Pros: - Great value - Runs fairly cool - AMD optimized - 3600 MHz with XMP profile no issue - 2400 MHz stock - Fairly low profile
Cons: - Not the greatest timings - No RGB
Overall Review: Used this on my GIGABYTE B550I AORUS PRO AX with no issues. If you need fairly low profile AMD optimized RAM that can hit at least 3600 MHz at a good price than this set is an awesome option. No RGB and the timings aren't great but they run at stock 2400 MHz.