Pros: Going from two 670s in SLI to a 970. Popped the card in last night and I am very impressed so far. Noise/Cooling: If noise is the biggest factor for you, then buy this card. It is without a doubt the quietest card I have ever owned. The fans will not start spinning up until the card hits around 60C. Some may see this as a negative thing. Because of this, the card will idle around a warm 45C... The heatsink is massive, so when the fans do start spinning up, it doesn't take more than around 1000rpm to keep the cards cool, so it is still quiet even under load. Overclocking: Overclocked the card to 1300MHz with no problem at all and I am sure it could easily push 1400+ Games: Started BF4 for a quick test and at max settings with a few options turned off it sat at a constant 200FPS and I was very impressed. I am going to test out Shadow of Mordor tonight which is said to require 6GB of VRAM.. Tests were ran at 1920x1080 @ 120HZ Aesthetics: This card looks really sexy, I really like the black and red look. It even includes a backplate
Cons: Size: Not really a con for me because I am using an 800D but this card is HUGE. Compared to my 670s, it is like another 2 inches longer. There is a slight whine coming from the coil which is my biggest gripe with this card.
Overall Review: I did a lot of research on this card and after reading all the reviews online I deciced to go with ASUS. My past cards have always been EVGA but after all the problems I have been reading with the ACX cooling I decided to go with ASUS and could not be happier.
Pros: -Bought this PSU well over 2 years ago and it is still running my gaming PC flawlessly. -80PLUS Gold -Quiet, I can't even hear it running -Fully modular, only use the cables you need for your system, this is a great spave saver -Beautiful PSU with rock solid build quality
Cons: None whatsoever
Overall Review: You know you are getting a quality product when you unbox a corsair power supply. The packaging for this PSU was simply amazing. The powersupply comes in a cloth bag and the cables come with a nice pouch too that I use for holding computer parts. I bought the individually sleeved cable kit from Corsair which is an awesome addition to this already excellent PSU. I reccomend the cable kit offered by Corasir. I am running overclocked dual 670s and an i72600K overclocked to 4.5GHz and this thing has power to spare.
Pros: -HUGE Subwoofer with great bass -Comes with great preprogrammed EQs -Desktop remote is very convienient: lets you control volume, sub gain, EQ -Sound from speakers is very crisp -Great for music and movies as well
Cons: None
Overall Review: I have had this set of speakers for over a year and have not had any problems with them. I am using this set with a Sound Blaster Z which makes the sound quality even better, not to say that the sound quality without them is mediocre ( which it isn't). This system can get LOUD!! And the system itself is really sexy.
Pros: -This is an awesome CPU for the price you are paying -Integrated graphics
Cons: None, got exactly what I expected.
Overall Review: Using this CPU to run my Linux server. The included CPU cooler is nice and quiet and keeps the CPU at reasonable temps. Have not had any issues thus far. Sid note: if using the included CPU cooler, I recommend removing it and applying your own thermal paste. But this is the same with the stock coolers that come with any CPU in my opinion.
Pros: -x8 SATA 6G Ports!! -up to 4 USB 3.0 ports -HDMI, DVI, and VGA, can run all three for triple monitor setup if you wish -Solid construction
Cons: My only problem with this board is that it only has 3 ports for case fans, and one of them has to be used with a CPU cooler (assuming you are air cooling). This only leaves you with 2 cases fans.. kind of disappointing. Of course you can buy a fan controller or something that will give your more fan ports.
Overall Review: The main selling point on this board for me was the amount of SATA 3 ports. I am using this for my Ubuntu server so I will be filling those ports up quick. I cannot properly comment on the BIOS because I have used it very much... I am a fan of the more traditional BIOS, I don't know how I feel about the whole UEFI thing.. Seems like they are trying to make it more approachable for the average user Ubuntu 12.04 was able to pick up all the drivers without a problem.
Pros: -Runs at 1600Mhz right out of the box, no configuration neccessary, unless you want to overclock of course -Cheap -Very well built
Cons: None
Overall Review: Corsair is my go-to brand for basically everything. And this is another quality set of RAM from corsair. Using this RAM in my server and it works without a problem.
Pros: -Modular, except for the 24-pin motherboard cable. -Quiet -Excellent build quality -Comes with zip ties, you can never have enough
Cons: None
Overall Review: This is my 3rd Corsair power supply. My 2nd one was DOA, but I like their power supplies so much that I won't buy anything else. Using this PSU to run my Ubuntu server, so it has been running 24x7 since I bought it and has performed flawlessly so far.
Pros: -Great response time -Good software - allows you to create 2 profiles that you can swap on the fly with the button under the scroll wheel -Plenty of programmable buttons
Cons: None
Overall Review: I love the rubberized feel on the mouse. I played a lot of competitive BF3 when the game came out and this mouse definitley improved my accuracy. I have pretty small hands and this mouse was a little bigger than my G9x but it felt just right.
Pros: -VERY COMFORTABLE!! -Awesome sound quality, especially with a dedicated sound card -Mic is very clear on voice chat -12ft cable -Mic is retractable
Cons: My only problem with headset is that the cord is a little flimsy, it would be very easy to roll over this with a chair and damage the cord.
Overall Review: This is the most comfortable headset I have ever worn. The floating headband makes it easy to forget that you are even wearing a headset. This headset has some pretty solid sound when paired with a soundcard.
Pros: -Tears through any game I can throw at it -GPU Boost 2.0 is awesome, card will automatically overclock when running graphics-intensive applications -Idles around 30C and maxes at 62C -Relativley quiet operation -EVGA is a rock solid manufacturer
Cons: None whatsoever
Overall Review: This is my third card from EVGA, and I couldn't be happier. Their warraties and customer support is unmatched. They also have a huge customer base that is very supportive. The overclocking software from EVGA: Precision X, is really nice. It is really easy to overclock and it lets you do anything afterburner can do.
Pros: -Huge improvement over any onboard audio you will find -Great sound quality -Looks pretty -Good price
Cons: After about 3 months of usage, I experienced some software failures. I would boot up the PC and Windows would not recognize the card, and the creative software also would not recognize the card. I had to reinstall all of the software and drivers to get the card functioning again. I also have random times when Windows will stop recongizing the card and I will just have to reboot.
Overall Review: For audio equipmet I use the following: Speakers: Corsair SP2500 Headphones: Steelseries Siberia V2s The sound card makes movies, music, and games sound much better than onboard audio on both devices. But the software problems have been frustrating, I would have rather spent the money and went with the ASUS Xonar..
Pros: -Works exactly as advertised -Cheap
Cons: None
Overall Review: This stuff is basically necessary if you want to properly prep your chips for thermal application.
Pros: Picked this up in one of the platinum deals for 79.99. Couldn't ask for more, works like a champ and for an awesome price. 2TB 7200RPM and 6GB/s for this price... I mean come on, what else do you want?
Cons: None
Overall Review: Using this for one of my storage drives.
Pros: This case is rock solid. I bought this case for a server build and it has plenty of room for multiple drives. This case also has plenty of space if you are looking to build a gaming PC. The selling point for me on this was the small form factor and the fact that I can fit 8 drives in it. It is also a beautiful looking case. Fan Holes come with preinstalled with noise-dampening rubber grommets which is also a nice plus.
Cons: Unable to remove the front panel. Not a huge deal but a little inconvienient.
Overall Review: This is my second Corsair case. I have the 800D for my gaming PC. The 200R is another quality edition to the Corsair line of cases.
Pros: Good looking power supply, solidly built, its a Corsair.
Cons: Power supply was dead on arrival. New build wouldn't boot at all. Swapped out with my known working PSU and was able to boot right away with no problems.
Overall Review: I have bought many Corsair products over the years and I love their build quality and reputation. It just so happens I got a bad power supply, it happens, no bid deal. RMA already submitted through Newegg, and guess what, I am buying another Corsair PSU.
Pros: The setup for this couldn't be simpler. Only tool you will need is a screwdriver. I also love the magnetic bracket. Keeps my 2600k around 32C at idle and maxes out at around ~57C. The corsair link software is very nice. Able to control fan speeds, LED settings very easily.
Cons: None.
Overall Review: I used to have a custom colling loop setup with a 360 rad. But I was tired of cleaning it out every 6 months... I wanted to go to an all in one cooler so I could install it and forget about it. I have the h100 setup in a push/pull config and the cooling performance is almost the same compared to the custom loop with a 360mm radiator. I am very impressed with this cooler and it looks sexy!
Pros: - 120Hz, never going back to 60Hz ever again. If you are a serious FPS gamer, make the upgrade, you will thank me. -Colors are amazing after being tweaked -Super bright
Cons: The color settings out of the box are very bleak. But with some tweaking you can make this kitty purrr. I suggest using the color profiles from TFT
Overall Review: This monitor was worth every penny. Playing BF3 was like a whole new experience on 120Hz. Your game will improve with this monitor alone. I have this bad boy mounted with a dual monitor stand, so I cannot properly comment on the included stand because it is still in the box.
Pros: I bought this case as soon as it went on sale for 259.99. It included USB 3.0 on the front panel and SATA3 hot swap. Case is enormous and has plenty of room for parts and will last for years. Build quality is top notch. I also love how easy it is to take off the side panels of the case as well as put them back on.
Cons: none
Overall Review: Buy this case and you will not be dissapointed whatsoever.
Pros: Size: Thin and light, around 8 pounds Brightness: Extremely bright with vibrant colors. Price: Picked this up for 140$, excellent price in my opinion for the quality of the product.
Cons: Blue power light is very bright, may be annoying to some. Color settings out of the box are horrible, but this can easily be fixed with some tweaking. I have another acer monitor with the same stand and it sucks. It only tilts like 15 degrees. I have them both mounted though so it is not a factor for me.
Overall Review: Have this monitor mounted on a stand, looks beautiful without the stand that comes with it. I got this monitor so I could have 3 in total. I did not want anything fancy, I just needed more screen space. All in all, this is a great everyday use monitor.