Pros: This card rocks! Now that it is on sale, it only gets better. Lifetime warranty is sweet. Easy-to-install Bios upgrades and latest drivers from EVGA's web site make this card perform quite well. Idles at 46C. Loaded, it'll hit 65+ C. CoD4 and CS:S frames are through the roof. Some benchies: 3dmark2k1se 59,446 AquaMark3 189,000 3dmark 2006 14,466

Cons: You'll need a higher-end box to really lean on this card. The card's heat sink comes covered with a very thin plastic wrapper to prevent scratches. It doesn't look obvious if you don't notice the wrapper, but you should remove this plastic wrapper for better heat dissipation. The instructions/install guide don't mention this.

Overall Review: q6600 @ 3.4 GHz w/ Rosewill RX-Z775-EX Cooler, GA-P35-DS3L, G. Skill DDR2-800 4-4-3-5, EVGA SC 8800GT 512 oc'd to 710/995 w/ NTune, Antec 900 case/Tru-Power Trio 550W 3dMark 2006 - 14,466

Pros: I like the power output specs (has great amps on 3.3V and 5V rails)and the modular plugs. That is why I got it to begin with. The main ATX plug is sheathed in a very sexy looking material. Antec brand name and reputation too.

Cons: This thing failed on me after 6 months. The fan blades have not even collected any dust! Fortunately, it protected my system from total failure, unlike some other power supplies.

Overall Review: I've had the Antec TruePower 430W for over 4 years before it failed the same way. I could live with that. I am feeling that the Smart Power series is just bad news. I have built several systems with the Smart Power 350W and they all failed the same within a year. This 500W was no different. Is the legendary Antec reliabilty going downhill? Or is it just the Smart Power design? I RMA'd through the retailer.

Pros: I really like Polk Audio products for their superb value. These Monitor 70 Series II speakers in cherry do not disappoint. I am running them with an older Yamaha HTR 5740 receiver that only does 75W per channel. I did not bi-amp or bi-wire, yet the speakers reproduce the mid-range and bass with great fidelity, even without a subwoofer. I could not be happier about my purchase. My wife likes the styling too. For me, I needed a tall floorstanding model to fill in the voids around the tv in the entertainment nook in my home. These fit the spot perfectly and produce ample, beautiful sound.

Cons: If you have the space for floorstanding speakers and want to lose the subwoofer, these work great.

Overall Review: Yamaha HTR 5740 (0.06%THD, 75W per channel) Polk Monitor 70 front x2 Polk RM101 rear surrounds x2 Cambridge SoundWorks MC150 Center

Pros: Fast, Durable, Large Capacity, and USB 3.0. It is very fast even on USB 2.0, which tops off at about 30MB/s sustained read speed on USB 2.0. USB 3.0 is a luxury for me with one computer at the moment and I have seen the 200+ MB/s speeds. Pure awesome. It was also pre-formatted NTFS for my larger files, like ISOs, Installers, and VM images.

Cons: The larger size than typical USB Flash drives makes this drive hard to fit on some USB ports. Because the body is larger, the cap is also larger. If I use a lanyard, I can't use the back of the drive to snap the cap onto. As others have noted, there are no activity lights. But, I can see the drive visible as a drive letter anyway. I rename to volume label to "64GB Flash" and that is how I know this thing is on the system.

Overall Review: It is a large capacity USB flash storage device that rivals SSD speeds. I use it for my work and need something that is reliable and fast. So far, it has more than satisfied my needs.

Pros: I love this game. Great graphics, cool tunes, amazing trophy trucks, buggies, and rally cars, and fantastic maps make this a wonder. The driving is realistic and with a lead foot you are going to spin out and lose control. Afterall, you are not driving on pavement all the time. The cars have a lot of power compared to most people's daily drivers. I love Baja racing and there is plenty of it in this game.

Cons: Windows Live is a pain to get initiated and patched. Once you get in to Windows Live, it is not so bad. I also hate how it is difficult to exit the game quickly. You just have to navigate this way and that to quit. I wish there was some way to make that quicker.

Overall Review: My rig is a Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.2GHz, 4GB RAM, and Nvidia 9800 GTX 512 MB on Win 7 Pro x64. It plays this thing like a dream at 1680x1050. I get about 65 FPS in the game typically. I record the replays with FRAPS for fun to show them to my friends. They envy me. If you know how to drive a real car, this is a blast. If you give this to kids that like arcade racing, then they will get frustrated easily because they will always spin out. There is sooo much power on tap. You are driving in the dirt after all.

Pros: This game is pretty cool when you first try it. But like another reviewer said, it gets old pretty fast. It reminds me of a high speed midtown madness/spyhunter game fused with NFS racing, but with booby traps that you can trigger. You earn the booby traps for drifting and drafting cars through the race. I find the driving style to be very unrealistic for driving games (Disney), and the price of this game is a bit high. The graphics, sounds, and explosions are realistic and cinematic. The cars are fictional. I would highly recommend downloading the demo and playing that first before buying this. The demo gives you 3 laps of the Airport track, which is really cool. Then decide if it is right for you.

Cons: The driving style seems a bit watered down for younger audiences. It would be better if you could fly the copter and shoot at the cars. like in multiplayer mode. The price is a tad steep for the PC driving game.

Overall Review: I had to decide between this game and Dirt 2. I am glad I got Dirt 2 instead. I love offroad racing with trophy trucks, buggies, rally cars, and a realistic Baja experience.