Joined on 05/07/13
Fast and Hot
Overall Review: The 13700K is an epic gaming CPU. Pairs perfectly with a 4090 and will likely continue to be a powerhouse for years. My only complaint are the temps. I was pegging 100C on CPU benchmarks and high 80s when gaming with a 360mm AIO. This is fine on paper and on spec, but a -0.120V undervolt completely cured that and it is 100% stable; I now see low 80s in benchmarking and 60s in gaming. Either way it's a buy, but, if you are comfortable with getting in the details it'll run cooler and likely last longer because of that.
Fast.
Pros: - Benchmarks on spec - Not DOA
Overall Review: It's a really fast gen 4 M.2. Team Group has been developing a reputation for quality... this is my first product from them and I'm satisfied with everything and it benchmarks on spec and works.
Best Case I've Ever Build In
Pros: - Dual chamber makes wire management easy - Great thermals - Lots of options for your build
Cons: - Screwdriver required to get access to areas other than main front and back panels - No cable management ties preinstalled
Overall Review: Building in this case was a great experience. I recommend finding the shortest PSU you can for your required wattage, but that was probably the only area of weakness. A 360mm and 240mm radiator, as I installed, fit easily and cleanly. Cable management was easy with plenty of spots for a zip tie; but I would have liked to see some velcro straps like other mfgs do... but you also get 3 decent fans. I am running a negative pressure rig (5x 120mm out, 3x 120mm in) and it's incredibly cool inside. The up-fire fans in the basement really seem to be effective; when I open the case while under load its almost no hotter than the room ambient temperature. I'm running a 13700K (slight under volt) on a 360mm AIO and and a 4090 with a 240 mm AIO and everything is pegged in the mid 60s. If you like the fish tank look and don't want to pay extra for Lian Li's vertical mount, this is the one and you won't regret it!
It's a 4090 and it hasn't melted
Pros: -king of the GPU market -runs cool and quiet -looks so fresh
Cons: -price -may melt power connectors (probably not)
Overall Review: Plenty of reviews on this card and they are accurate. Runs very quiet and cool, looks amazing, build quality is top notch. The RGB is tasteful and MSI's implementation of RGB software is on point with other manufacturers... clunky but fine. I have a PSU with a direct 12vhpwr connector so the power-connector-gate issue is minimized, but we'll have to see how that saga unfolds. In fairness, I have touched the plug multiple times while flight simming and pushing it hard at 400W and it was not even warm, so this whole ordeal may be just some combo of user error and random fault.
Great Looking Mini-ITX, Rear M.2 is Gen 3.0, BIOS flash not working
Pros: -Well build with very nice back plate -Good thermals on VRM and chipset
Cons: -It was unclear in product description that the rear M.2 is gen 3.0 only -BIOS flash does not work
Overall Review: This board looks and feels well made. It performs as expected and the BIOS is clean and easy enough for me as somewhere between novice and expert. I thought the marketing on the webpage was a bit misleading about the rear M.2. The full specs show that it is gen 3.0, but the marketing material is loud about gen 4.0. Biggest disappointment is the quick BIOS flash tool not working. The system showed power and the many, many USB drives I tried would show activity, but the flash would not start. This seems common for Gigabyte and for other manufacturers as well. I was lucky that this one was ready for 5000 series Ryzen otherwise it would have had to be returned. The in-BIOS flash tool worked fine.
Big, Beautiful, and Cool (enough)
Pros: -Well made, sturdy -More attractive than the Noctua dual tower (IMO) -Easy install on AM4 -So quiet
Cons: -Unclear instructions for AM3, spacers needed and it took way too much fine print to determine if I needed them for AM4
Overall Review: High performing air cooler. Installed in an open case on a 6800X. I had to remove the intake fan and am running with only the center installed. Temps are in low 60 C's while gaming in a 75F room and just barely hit 80 on cinebench R23. This cooler probably needs both fans if you are using it for CPU heavy tasks. Looks very nice on my build and makes almost no sound even with pegged to 100%.