Pros: -tiny -desktop i7 -quiet when fan set to 30% -not cheap but not expensive either -beautiful industrial design - gloss black/flat black -easiest PC to work on ever -about all the ports you would need, 4 USB3 (or more if you get a USB hub)
Cons: -an odd glitch: would not boot without a USB DVD drive. It does not give the BIOS beep, force it off then it will boot. BIOS is updated. So I leave the DVD connected.
Overall Review: 16 GB RAM 2x8G|HYPERX HX316LS9IBK2/16 R 256 GB mSATA M6M PX-256M6M 1TB WD backup disk WD10JPVX The I/O subsystem is faster than any PC I have seen. Talking about compressing large files, backing up, etc. Runs cool with 4 VMs up and not much activity. Something I found out: running YouTube in a VM on an i3 has performance issues, but not on this thing. I think there will be many more of these moments. If you don't need a game PC this is perfect. Just replaced my Alienware X51 with it and the Zotac is much faster. The X51 did not have Turbo Boost or SATA 3. I see there is an nVIDIA version too, that may work better for games. Actually this does play older titles well. Disabled hyper threading as someone suggested - running only VMs.
Pros: Seagate started making (more than usual) head noises, time to replace it. I thought I should spread my brand/time risk* and try WD, Seagate stopped selling the plain black book style and WD was cheaper. WOW the WD head is much quieter (motor about the same) and drive is cooler - replacing all 3 Seagates now. *I bought all three Seagates at once, so statistically there is a higher chance of -another- Seagate drive failure. Mixing in other brands of different ages minimizes this effect.
Cons: 1 year warranty, but if you back up that should not be a huge con.
Overall Review: visually the WD I like better too
Pros: fast drive power management quiet when sleeping excellent fit/finish cheap USB3 = O-M-G speed
Cons: vibrates a bit but that's 4 platters running at 7200 RPM warm but that's (see above) Seagate tools requires one heck of an install, failed in my XP 32 VM, worked on my WIN7 64 VM. All I wanted was the utility to put the darned thing asleep after x minutes.
Overall Review: I would have preferred a quieter cooler drive but at this cost I'll live with the cons and faster performance. Actually I originally wanted bare drives for a NAS but this was substantially cheaper so I built my own (see the $129 OEM PC). Don't need/want all of the hyped backup/apps, just wish the drive utility was a simple .exe with no install. I have used consumer RAID (8 drives, RAID5) and single drives (50 or so as JBOD) - JBOD is superior but you must have a backup (true of RAID5 too!). In 8 years I have not had a single drive fail, maybe because I upgrade every two years to bigger drives. I did lose my RAID5 array, several times. THANK YOU NEWEGG, MY VENDOR OF CHOICE
Pros: - simple construction - USB3 - Atom CPU (cool, low power/dual core/hyper-threaded) - Gb NIC - quite nice looking front panel - BYO OS Bottom line - CPU + Gb NIC + USB3 make for one fast NAS on the cheap
Cons: CPU fan louder than I like, used a fan controller to slow it down it is a bit bigger than a ZBOX fit and finish not as perfect as ZBOX runs warm (not hot) - thought it was the slower fan but the CPU heatsink is cool - must be the DC/DC or video chip - no worries, it ran all night at 70% CPU copying files.
Overall Review: I love NASs and needed a replacement for my 3 DLink 323 units, but faster and can take 4TB partitions. The DNS-343 appeared to be the solution except a) its over $400 and b) for some odd reason bare 4TB drives are more expensive than USB3 versions(!). The OEM PC on paper appeared perfect and the reviews were good except for the video speed (don't care, my setup is headless) and WIN64 drivers (don't care, 64 is mostly for using more than 4GB RAM). I bought it with 3 Seagate STCA4000100 (USB3 4TB) drives (on sale $170). Loaded WIN7 32 from an ext CD/DVD, installed NIC and USB drivers from the disc and tested it - it is at least 4 times faster than my DNS 323 NAS for half the cost (already had a spare SSD, RAM, and USB3 hub (not tested yet). A 4-bay NAS would have been tidier and had better cooling but at a much higher $$. This project has taught me throughput is hostage to the weakest link...SATA 6Gb means jack when your subsystem stinks. Final Thoughts - I have no need to learn Linux when WIN7 performs perfectly, and the disk format is usable on everything else! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Pros: Took 2 weeks to process the RMA, but NE was very helpful. New printer works as it should, looking forward to owning a color laser printer.
Cons: keep in mind the printer is 50 pounds - if anything goes wrong, you have to lug it to UPS. I took mine to an Office Depot, who were nice enough to print a receipt - if you take it to the UPS store and the printer vanishes, who makes you whole? NOBODY
Overall Review: HP tech support was not very helpful or pleasant - I mentioned that in an HP survey and they extended my warranty. All's well that ends well!
Pros: nice feel solid
Cons: no dedicated media buttons (must use FN key) no tilt
Overall Review: buying 2 more!
Pros: +
Cons: -
Overall Review: I own different ZBOX, thought I would mention to Mike that overscan is controlled via the Catalyst drivers under scaling options I have nothing but good things to say about the ZBOX running WIN7 and XBMC
Pros: I wanted most of the Harmony features (minus Activities, which are not needed) in a basic remote for the BR TV + other devices - the 300 delivers cheap looks new most Harmony programability learning feature svelte design
Cons: web issues WIN7 100% CPU the num pad is far too low, must use two hands to enter a channel
Overall Review: I was challenged by the missing instructions/disc (which I usually ignore) when I found the 300 does not work with the older Harmony software. The setup is Internet based, meaning you go to MyHarmony.com. First you download an installer then create an account then set up the devices. I ran into the well known "server error" issue immediately (XP/Firefox). Switched to WIN7/IE8 and was able to complete the whole setup and sync. Then I was rewarded with 100% CPU/forced shutdown (verified this multiple times/PCs). The remote seem to work well despite the web/driver issues Logitech support, as seen on their forums seems clueless - like volunteer staff unfamiliar with the actual hardware Frankly it is shocking to find such an amateurish user experience from a mature device manufacturer Final note: XP with IE6 seems to work as intended - perfect for those who have a time machine or VMWare (like me) Knocked off 2 stars for the setup hassle
Pros: FYI: DDR3 1333 RAM works OC to 1100/1650 will not boot - had to use BIOS reset jumper excellent quality, design, and support HDMI sound works even when booted disconnected from TV/receiver
Cons: wish it had an i5 or i7 CPU option on/off from IR remote would be cool
Overall Review: ZBOXHD ND22 is a nearly perfect HTPC, except for (CPU dependent) games (known issue, CPU is too slow). I was able to overclock the intel U2300 to 1050/1575 and the ION +50 so now some games play better (2x4GB DDR3 1333 RAM has yet to arrive; that should help a bit). No extra heat or fan noise...it's like a free upgrade. I look forward to the day when mini PCs have i5 mobile processors - which they should now, because what's the difference between this and a laptop, other than the ZBOX is easier to work on.
Pros: SSD worked as advertised, no issues
Cons: Sent in rebate form + UPC + receipt and checked the Kingston site - "We received an invalid barcode/UPC" This after I stapled the UPC to the rebate!
Overall Review: as always shop lowest price without regard to a rebate
Pros: cool quiet
Cons: none
Overall Review: DNS 323 (1.0.8) tried to RAID the new drive to the other drive; had to remove drive #2 to format the new drive. Replaced a faster/hotter/older dying WD drive.
Pros: Fast writes, super fast reads, no pauses when running Outlook. 80GB vs. 64 GB. No rebate needed...YAY!!
Cons: slightly thinner than old SSD, needed to flip laptop to seat drive
Overall Review: Originally bought a Gskill but found it as (others) cannot deal with the small file writes that Outlook performs. Not talking stutters here, the thing would freeze when Outlook sent/received. Hated to buy another drive so soon; thankfully the Intel was the fix. Formatted with a WIN7 disc and then installed XP. I run several VMs and have seen no slowdowns. Cloned the drive in case it slows down later (no TRIM command)
Pros: heat-sensing fan Gb ethernet easy install of drives drive power management relatively quiet works with XP and Vista very low power use now a rebate!
Cons: limited username length (16) no front cover latch not good at multitasking
Overall Review: Buying my 3rd 323 today - these units are reliable and fast. Not so fast when one drive is deleting files...hence the multitasking comment. I use 1 TB WD green drives, so the device stays cool and quiet (compared to a PC). Had several power outages; so far no lost data. I do not used the RAID or printer functions. My sympathies to the individuals who formatted the wrong drives, but as other have said a backup copy is not optional in data management. A true 5-egger. tips: turn off itunes and upnp servers if not using (incessant activity otherwise) do not install programs from the NAS to your PC, otherwise Windows will occasionally spin the drive up looking for updates...copy the files to your PC, install use the web interface; no need to install the D-Link software
Pros: Solid case. Lots of fan mounting points. Nice looking. Excellent mounting rails for 5.25 drives.
Cons: beware of the motherboard mounting holes...one was in the wrong place and I burnt a MB. White EVO on the front ruins the look. Blue LEDs on PS fan.
Pros: Nothing like having a trackball in your hand. Lots of MCE buttons.
Cons: Buttons don't always click right, must use multiple presses.
Overall Review: I would rather have a MCE type interface than use a trackball on a Windows desktop, but this device works well enough.
Pros: Lots of BIOS options like overclocking and Quiet-Fan. Clear-Video technology from Intel allows for HW acceleration on BluRay and HD discs (using ArcSoft or PwrDVD). HDMI out.
Cons: no TV out, just HDMI (with DVI converter) and VGA. No serial port (unless you have a serial port module plate already), I use a USB to RS232 adapter.
Overall Review: OC a Celeron 1.6 to 2.8 easy. A 2.2 Dual Core will not OC at all. Would reboot with Mushkin DDR800 memory.
Pros: fast quiet
Cons: All was good for two weeks until HD dropped offline while PC was not even accessing it. Its back up now, running and passing full WD diags, no SMART errors. Not sure what to blame the drive or the SATA on the MB. If this was a glitch it will be the very first I have seen on a SATA drive directly connected (no cable, HD connects directly to MB).
Overall Review: This is a backup drive so it will be no issue to replace it and the data. I guess if nothing ever fails we really learn nothing. Lesson for those who never back their data up - no backup = data I don't care about.