Joined on 05/07/01
Scotty says "We don't need more power, we've got all the power we need with this baby."
Pros: Pleanty of power for future upgrades. So silent, that if the PC wasn't running I wouldn't have been sure it was on. Modular is great and was able to use only the cables I needed and the case isn't a mess.
Cons: Won't quite power the phasers on a Galaxy class star ship.
Overall Review: Installed this in an HTPC case. Oops, this is a bottom sucking PSU. I was able to install upside down in the case and it still works great.
Not Raven Ridge Compatible
Pros: So far none. Will change my review based on my how AMD's boot kit loaner works out
Cons: Even though in the description of this motherboard it says it is Raven Ridge compatible, the bios has not been updated to be Raven Ridge compatible, therefore in my opinion, it is NOT Raven Ridge compatible. If you put a Raven Ridge CPU into this motherboard it WILL NOT post. I'm having to wait for AMD to send me a "Boot Kit" so I can try and update the BIOS of this motherboard to be compatible with Raven Ridge.
Overall Review: DO NOT BUY unless you want to jump through hoops with AMD (sending them a photo of the CPU with the model and serial number, and a copy of your receipt), then wait for a boot kit to arrive. I'm in the 6th day of the waiting process. The boot kit will require you to remove the Raven Ridge processor you installed on your motherboard, install the processor AMD will send you in the mail, boot to the BIOS menu, update the motherboards bios, reboot to ensure the motherboard is still functional, power down, remove the processor AMD sent you, reinstall the Raven Ridge CPU, then boot and hope everything works. This is not how I planned a build to go and you shouldn't either. I'm VERY tempted to send everything back.
Pros: I received two sticks (2 x 8GB) for basically $10 when I purchased two Samsung Evo 850 500gb SSDs. My 5 year old MSI 890GXM-G65 Bios immediately recognized them as DDR3 1600. I not yet tried to OC these sticks, but with the new SSD and the Memory, I've for the first time scored a Windows 7 Experience index of 7.9 (which is the max you can score). I'll post more after I have time to overclock this memory.
Cons: None at this time
Samsung 850 evo 500GB Sata III
Pros: My OCZ 64Gb drives was down to the last 420mb. They were great drives, but a 5 year old Sata II SSDs don't compare to this Sata III beast. I bought 2, one for my PC and one for my wife's PC. I will definitely be buying one more of these for my daughter's PC. This Samsung SSD comes with Data Migration software for cloning an existing partition as well as Samsung Magician software for optimizing the drive. There is no need to buy or download any other cloning software. The cloning process was easy and took about an hour with an external USB to Sata II enclosure (I had one laying around). The Samsung Magician software identified that I had the SSD set for IDE and not AHCI (AHCI is much faster). Benchmarks with the SSD set for IDE were terrible, and here they are: Benchmarks are as follows: Sequential Read - 346 MB/Sec Sequential Write - 440 MB/Sec Random Read - 9074 IOPS Random Write - 18,623 IOPS After correcting and converting to AHCI my benchmarks are as follows: Sequential Read - 532 MB/Sec Sequential Write - 506 MB/Sec Random Read - 39,839 IOPS Random Write - 34,084 IOPS Much improved and you can really tell the difference, especially with game loading.
Cons: None at this moment. I'll update this review in a month or two.
Overall Review: If you installed Windows 7 in IDE mode and realize you actually needed AHCI mode for better SSD performance, you can fix this issue easily. You can't just go into the Bios during windows 7 boot up or your OS will crash. The following are instructions on how I corrected my IDE to AHCI: 1) Startup -> Regedit 2) Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlset / Services 3) Open msahci 4) In the right pane, left click on "start" then right click and select "Modify" 5) In the "value" data field enter "0" and click OK. 6) exit Regedit 7) Reboot your system and enter your BIOS (hold "Delete" key while rebooting) 8) In the BIOS select "Integrated Peripherals" and Onchip PATA/SATA Devices. 9) Change SATA Mode to AHCI from IDE 10) Save and exit BIOS, and boot into Windows 7. The OS will recognize AHCI and install the devices. Your system will now need one more reboot, then you'll have the screaming SSD you've always wanted.
Really nice case
Pros: Looks really nice, installing components was easy, plenty of room inside the case for large hands to manipulate components. Plenty of fans and they are quiet.
Cons: Not really a con but make sure you study the dimensions before you buy.
Overall Review: This case is HUGE! So huge that you could probably park your 1950's Buick inside of it. I'm also looking for a 1950's/1960's automobile chrome headlight bezel to mount to the front over the lighted fans since the lighted fans remind me of headlights with the brights left on.
Pros: Easy to set up, easy to use.
Cons: None