Pros: Pros - I like the clean minimalistic case. Well designed from a parts and placement standpoint. Enclosed fans are quiet. I really like the front fan panel that unscrews, put the fans in, and reattach with thumb screws - smart design. Look to the right of the picture. I added 2 front fans and the case design made it easy. (You don't really need the extra fans) Great case. Light weight which I guess could be a con.

Cons: Cons - I'd like to see another inch at the top of the case. When you install the motherboard, there is minimal room between it and the topcase fan. It is difficult to install the motherboard screws, the fan headers, the CPU power plug, etc on that top edge. I don't know if you can tell from the 2 pics I took but above the cooler master hyper 212 it is hard to get your fingers down there.

Overall Review: I have used this case before but this is an updated version with a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C port on the top of the case. Old case had 2 regular USB ports. PAY ATTENTION! This is a problem if your motherboard does not support it. Look for a motherboard that supports a USB 3.1 GEN 2 socket. If you don't then you will have a front panel USB Type A that works and a Type C that won't (since it won't be plugged in). There is a Key A cable that you need to plug into the motherboard. You are looking for a motherboard with internal USB Type-E connector. See that first picture. If your board does not have one you will need either a PCI express card like this "Inateck PCIe to USB 3.2 Gen 2 Card, with 20Gbps Bandwidth, Internal USB Type-E Port for Front Panel USB Type C, RedComets U24" or if you have a second USB 3.2 Gen 1 header on the motherboard you can buy a converter like this "USB Front Panel Adapter, JoyReken Vertical USB C Header Adapter, USB 3.1 Type-E Key-A to USB 3.0 20Pin Header Converter for Type C Motherboard". This second option will limit your download speed to 5 GB/s since it is running through a Gen 1 port. It's all a bit confusing but hopefully this helps someone.

Pros: It was a nice board in its day but there is no reason to buy a Z68 board with the Z77 boards out there today for the same price. Not sure why Newegg still sells these.

Cons: After a year of great service, I started getting BSOD and crashes. Tried updating the BIOS, replaced PSU, cables, hard drives, etc and nothing worked until I replaced the motherboard. That solved the problem. My thought is that there is a short somewhere on the board. I got an RMA into gigabyte and I'll see what happens.

Overall Review: I love working with Gigabyte boards but not sure I want something that dies after a year. I got another model and I hope it lasts. It booted right up and updated easily. Computers - can't live with them and can't live without them.

Pros: Why did I pick this? Previous experience with Gigabyte and familiarity with their BIOS. But mainly I wanted to try a back connect board in white which limited my choices. I actually delayed this build until this board was available. Probably could have saved $50 by getting a traditional MB. Its a beefy motherboard. I like the design and esthetics. One note is the top of the back of the motherboard has an 8 pin power connector and a 4 pin power connector. The PSU I bought did have a 4 pin power connector but it masquerades as an 8 pin connector and you had to split it in two. The MB came right up when powered on. I used RAM that was on Gigabytes approved memory list but it was listed as XMP RAM (F5-6000J3040F16GX2-RS5W) not EXPO ram (F5-6000J2836G16GX2-FX5W). I was concerned but seems to work like it is supposed to and clocked to 6000 Ghz in the BIOS.

Cons: There is a removable panel that covers the NVME slots on the bottom of board. In the Antec C5 it is impossible to remove this panel without removing the fans.

Overall Review: Evaluate your case selection carefully. the motherboard is great. HA! I just saw the banana review below gave it a 1 star because he didn't read that it was a back connect board and didn't fit in his case. Blame someone else when it's your own fault for ordering the wrong part and then give a bad review. Probably shouldn't be building your own computer there Chris. Sheesh.

Pros: Why did I pick this? I was looking for an A tier power supply. I have had Seasonic and Corsair PSUs before. Why buy expensive parts and cheap out on a power supply? The criteria were 80 plus gold, white, and top tier manufacturer. Yes, I could have saved $80 but chose not to. Make your choice and roll the dice

Cons: Price but why cheap out on the PSU?

Overall Review: Build list 7/2025 Motherboard Gigabyte B850 A STEALTH ICE ATX $265.00 CPU - AMD Ryzen 5 9600X $180.00 CPU Shield - Thermalright AM5 Secure Frame Black V2 $7.00 CPU cooler - Thermalright Assassin X 120R Digital ARGB $25.00 CPU Thermal Pad - PTM7950 40x40x0.2mm $13.00 RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 32GB F5-6000J3040F16GX2-RS5W $105.00 GPU - ASRock Steel Legend Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB $700.00 Case - Antec C5 ARGB White Fans Included $120.00 SSD Nvme Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD 2TB, PCIe Gen 4x4, Gen 5x2 MZ-V9S2T0B/AM $130.00 Monitor Gigabyte M28U - 28" IPS Gaming $330.00 PSU - SeaSonic FOCUS GX ATX 3 (2024) GX-850 White $160.00 PSU Extensions - AsiaHorse Power Supply Sleeved Cable, 16 AWG PSU Extension Cable Kit of White Connector, 1x24Pin/2x4+4 EPS/3x6+2 PCI-E, 30cm Length with Combs-White $32.00 DP cable - Cable Matters [VESA Certified] 80Gbps DisplayPort 2.1 Cable - 6.6ft / 2m $16.00 Keyboard - Montech MKey Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Gateron G Pro 2.0 YELLOW Switches Full size - $59.00 Mouse Pad - Montech Samurai Spirit Theme Gaming Mouse Pad - 35.4" x 15.7" Osaka Castle Design $20.00 Alex Tech 25ft - 1/4 inch Split Wire Loom Tubing White $11.00

Pros: Why did I pick this? I tried to research 4K monitors and was hoping to go OLED but they were stupid money $800-$1200. Kind of like GPUs. I found this 4K IPS monitor on sale for $330 which I thought was decently priced. Probably could have spent $200 on a 27 and not noticed a difference. Your mileage may vary.

Cons: Not OLED

Overall Review: Build list 7/2025 Motherboard Gigabyte B850 A STEALTH ICE ATX $265.00 CPU - AMD Ryzen 5 9600X $180.00 CPU Shield - Thermalright AM5 Secure Frame Black V2 $7.00 CPU cooler - Thermalright Assassin X 120R Digital ARGB $25.00 CPU Thermal Pad - PTM7950 40x40x0.2mm $13.00 RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 32GB F5-6000J3040F16GX2-RS5W $105.00 GPU - ASRock Steel Legend Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB $700.00 Case - Antec C5 ARGB White Fans Included $120.00 SSD Nvme Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD 2TB, PCIe Gen 4x4, Gen 5x2 MZ-V9S2T0B/AM $130.00 Monitor Gigabyte M28U - 28" IPS Gaming $330.00 PSU - SeaSonic FOCUS GX ATX 3 (2024) GX-850 White $160.00 PSU Extensions - AsiaHorse Power Supply Sleeved Cable, 16 AWG PSU Extension Cable Kit of White Connector, 1x24Pin/2x4+4 EPS/3x6+2 PCI-E, 30cm Length with Combs-White $32.00 DP cable - Cable Matters [VESA Certified] 80Gbps DisplayPort 2.1 Cable - 6.6ft / 2m $16.00 Keyboard - Montech MKey Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Gateron G Pro 2.0 YELLOW Switches Full size - $59.00 Mouse Pad - Montech Samurai Spirit Theme Gaming Mouse Pad - 35.4" x 15.7" Osaka Castle Design $20.00 Alex Tech 25ft - 1/4 inch Split Wire Loom Tubing White $11.00

Pros: Why did I pick this? This is my first AMD CPU. I mainly chose this because Intel has been having issues with their CPUs. I waffled between the 9600X, the 9700X and the 9800X3D. Ultimately it came down to price. With GPUs being outrageous, I chose the cheapest CPU with the thought that when Zen 6 comes out I can swap the CPU. I really had no issues with it. Seems to install like any other CPU.

Cons: I can't think of any

Overall Review: Build list 7/2025 Motherboard Gigabyte B850 A STEALTH ICE ATX $265.00 CPU - AMD Ryzen 5 9600X $180.00 CPU Shield - Thermalright AM5 Secure Frame Black V2 $7.00 CPU cooler - Thermalright Assassin X 120R Digital ARGB $25.00 CPU Thermal Pad - PTM7950 40x40x0.2mm $13.00 RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 32GB F5-6000J3040F16GX2-RS5W $105.00 GPU - ASRock Steel Legend Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB $700.00 Case - Antec C5 ARGB White Fans Included $120.00 SSD Nvme Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD 2TB, PCIe Gen 4x4, Gen 5x2 MZ-V9S2T0B/AM $130.00 Monitor Gigabyte M28U - 28" IPS Gaming $330.00 PSU - SeaSonic FOCUS GX ATX 3 (2024) GX-850 White $160.00 PSU Extensions - AsiaHorse Power Supply Sleeved Cable, 16 AWG PSU Extension Cable Kit of White Connector, 1x24Pin/2x4+4 EPS/3x6+2 PCI-E, 30cm Length with Combs-White $32.00 DP cable - Cable Matters [VESA Certified] 80Gbps DisplayPort 2.1 Cable - 6.6ft / 2m $16.00 Keyboard - Montech MKey Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Gateron G Pro 2.0 YELLOW Switches Full size - $59.00 Mouse Pad - Montech Samurai Spirit Theme Gaming Mouse Pad - 35.4" x 15.7" Osaka Castle Design $20.00 Alex Tech 25ft - 1/4 inch Split Wire Loom Tubing White $11.00