Joined on 01/10/08
Best Android Tablet? Best Android Tablet.
Pros: - Blazing fast Tegra K1 SoC with Kepler graphics - Great speakers - MicroSD expansion slot - Good battery life - Crisp 1920x1200 8" display - DirectStylus 2 works very well - it's easily the best passive stylus out there right now - Stock Android KitKat with prompt updates - Unparalleled gaming options (Android, Shield Hub, Gamestream, nvidia GRID)
Cons: - Screen color temperature a little warm. Switching to native screen space instead of sRGB helps. - Ports are jammed too closely together. I use a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter to connect my headhphopnes, and there's not enough room to plug in a miniHDMI when an oversize headphone jack is connected (it works fine if standard headphone jack is used).
Overall Review: The nvidia Shield Tablet is the Jack of all Trades, and master of several. It is hands down the best Android tablet for gamers, but even if you don't game (whether on Android, PC or Gamestream), its convergence of performance and features (microSD, DirectStylus, great speakers, stock Android, mini-HDMI out with console and mirror modes) makes it one of the most rounded and versatile Android tablets out there. Battery life has also been impressive so far. After playing Cytus (Android game) for 3.5 hrs with wi-fi on, I still had 47% battery life. I've been holding out for an Android tablet with the right mix of features and performance until now, and nvidia checked all the right boxes with this one.
Quiet at Idle, Noisy at Load
Pros: Modular, quiet at idle and low load. 2x8-pin PCIE power plugs. Single 12V rail. Haswell-ready.
Cons: Noisy under heavy load (~300W est.), could use a couple more SATA power plugs.
Overall Review: My CX500M is very quiet at idle, but under gaming loads (i5 4670K + GTX 760), the PSU fan whirrs up and become the single noisiest component in my build. By comparison, my older PC P&C Silencer Mk III 550W unit is much quieter under similar loads, and that's even with my Corsair unit in a padded case and the PC P&C in a non-insulated case. Would recommend this for low-powered builds only, for which it is a great option.
Does not ship with thermal pads
Pros: - it's a heatsink
Cons: - note this set does not ship with any thermal pads. Fortunately, I had some adhesive thermal pads lying around that I could cut down to the right size to fit, but buyers should beware that they will need to get thermal pads to use these.
21C drop in load temps on Samsung 970 EVO
Pros: - Does a good job cooling NVMe SSDs, load temps on 970 EVO 1TB went from 62C bare to 41C after 10 GB of Crystaldiskmark write tests. - Relatively simple to install
Cons: - Finish on decorative boss chips easily; had to scratch off protective film w/ fingernails b/c there is no tab to peel it off, ended up with some minor scratches on metallic boss
Overheating VRMs, flaky Killer Networking
Pros: - Great sound for integrated, but then so does every other ALC1220 board
Cons: - VRMs overheat under Prime95. Getting 126C VRM temps and Thermal Throttling on delidded 8700K @ 4.6 GHz w 60C CPU temps (water cooled). Tehreport noted similar problems on Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 board. - Killer Networking NIC fiddly. Tried 3 driver revisions before getting stable set that wouldn't hang the PC on wake from idle.
Overall Review: - Don't get this board for overclocking. I've been using Gigabyte boards since Wolfdale, my last board was a Gigabyte Z87 board, and this Z370 is a Piece Of S. Get an Asus instead if you intend to overclock.
Great Performance, Easy Setup, Decent Noise
Pros: - Great cooling performance, 58C w 12T Prime95 threads on delidded and repasted 8700K (stock clocks), 26C idle - H100i V2 pump is quiet and PWM controls the two included fans with no extra setup, but can be further configured with Corsair Link software - Corsair Link software is actually pretty good - clean interface, information rich, good fan curve control options, configurable alerts - Fairly quiet when in Quiet Mode or with proper manual fan controls
Cons: - Loud in Balanced and Performance presets - intel backplate is plastic instead of metal and was fiddly to install on my socket 1151 board - USB header cable for Corsair Link is one extra cable to route
Overall Review: There's a reason the H100i v2 was the top 240mm CLC in toms' water cooling roundup, the performance is really good, and noise is well managed with the right presets. It also has a strong showing in frostytech's heatsink database, being at or near the top of its class. I will say I was not disappointed with the performance or the noise when I received my unit, and the Corsair Link configuration software actually exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations by being a useful and usable piece of software instead of the typical OEM tool that gets skinned beyond practicality (looking at you, ASUS ROG and Gigabyte RGB Fusion). Having said that, the large number of failure reports by users is a little worrying. I bought my H100i to replace a Cooler Master Master Liquid 240 that was starting to death rattle after a year, and have my fingers crossed the Corsair does not go down that same route. A key tip is that the pump should be fed 12V, so make sure there is no PWM/Voltage modulation on the input from the motherboad. If it's a case of radiator corrosion as some have claimed, though, then I'm gonna be S OL. Fingers crossed.
Fast speedy service
Great turnaround, no fuss.
Amazingly fast
Ordered a 64 GB microsd card from them, arrived in a, ahem, flash. 10/10 would buy again.
Excellent service
Excellent support, resolved issue with missing shipped items very promptly.