cover
Stephen K.

Stephen K.

Joined on 07/23/08

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 54
Most Favorable Review

Nice stable board

Foxconn A78AX-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
Foxconn A78AX-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: I have built several computers with this board, and they have all worked perfectly and been stable. I have used the following processors with no problems: BE-2300, BE-2350, 5000+, LE-1200, and Kuma 7750. The Fox One and Live Update programs are really nice. Easy to update the BIOS and all drivers/utilities.

Cons: Only supports 4 GB ram Only one PCIe slot Doesn't use solid capacitors (Truly, for this price I can't imagine you are looking for 4 memory slots and 2 PCIe slots. Get another board if you want that.)

Overall Review: Excellent for a budget build. But also good for a medium-level gaming machine. With the Kuma processor and a HD 4830 video card, I score 10,800 on 3DMark06, which is darn good.

Most Critical Review

OK for 65 W processors or less

Thermaltake TMG A3 92mm Enter CPU Cooler
Thermaltake TMG A3 92mm Enter CPU Cooler

Pros: Does a good job on my 5000+, lowered the temperatures by 8C. Quiet.

Cons: It did not do an adequate job on my Kuma 7750 processor. It would go to the high 60's running Prime95. I switched it out with a Arctic Freezer 64, and it did a MUCH better job on the Kuma cpu. Spend 10 bucks more and buy the AF64.

Overall Review: AF64 is copper, this one is not

Amazing cost to performance value!

Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe M.2 2280 1TB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) WDS100T2B0C
Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe M.2 2280 1TB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) WDS100T2B0C

Pros: Lightning fast. I installed Windows 10 in ~10 minutes. Western Digital SSD software updated the firmware quickly and flawlessly. This is my go-to drive when people are on a budget but want a 1TB NVMe drive. Great brand name.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: Highly recommended. Very impressed with the SN550 performance.

Excellent price to performance

Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe M.2 2280 500GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) WDS500G2B0C
Western Digital WD Blue SN550 NVMe M.2 2280 500GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) WDS500G2B0C

Pros: Western Digital is a very good brand name that can be trusted. The SN550 drive is faster than the last generation, and it is still inexpensive. I have used these in several builds, and the buyers have been really happy with the speed.

Cons: Lacks some of the specs of the elite NVMe drives from Samsung, but it makes up fur it in price.

Overall Review: Great drive if you are on a budget.

Great value, speed, and quality. Hard to beat.

SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series 2.5" 500GB SATA III V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-76E500B/AM
SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series 2.5" 500GB SATA III V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-76E500B/AM

Pros: Samsung SSDs are the best. I've never seen one fail, and I have installed so many of them. I will gladly pay a few extra dollars for a Samsung drive. The prices now are so low too. There is no reason to not use a Samsung SSD as a boot drive.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: Great drive and incredible value. I think I paid 13 cents per GB! Crazy!

11/17/2020

Great motherboard for an office PC or budget build

GIGABYTE GA-H110M-M.2 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel H110 HDMI USB 3.1 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-H110M-M.2 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel H110 HDMI USB 3.1 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: I specifically purchased this motherboard for the m.2 compatibility. I installed a Samsung 961 256GB NVMe drive, and it recognized it with no issues. G4560 is my processor + 16GB of DDR4 2133, and the PC flies and is so quiet (and runs cool). The PC is being used in an office environment, and the owner is very happy with it.

Cons: None as I didn't even use the one fan header.

Overall Review: This is a solid board if you want Kaby Lake + NVMe, all for a cheap price. I think I paid $40 for it.