Pros: Better than onboard, very easy software, slim card
Cons: Requires additional power, power connector is flimsy (i use electrical tape for extra security and peace of mind).
Overall Review: I have a Corsair SP2500 system. I had used onboard sound for several months with it and i was still kind of impressed. The system is clear, loud, and very very crisp. The manual says to buy a sound card to get the full potential though. So i bought this one. Right off the bat i did not hear much of a difference at normal - low volumes. Started to get worried. However, this card enables me to reach volumes i couldnt before. And the high volumes is where this baby really shines. I couldnt not believe the clarity this provides at high volumes when compared to onboard. There is no comparison. If you have an expensive system...grab this.
Pros: - Super cool temps - Not as big as the 680 (fits nice in my Antec 902) - Comes overlcocked and is able to be pushed significantly further - very very puuuuuurdy - Plays games better than both my GTX460 HAWKS combined. - Very low power consumption See other thoughts for comparison and system specs
Cons: Excellent cooling design but it does push the heat into the case. Make sure your case has several fans and has a good intake/outake balance. If you have a side fan(s), set it to exhaust. Also, if you plan on SLI'ing... i suggest you make sure you have a mobo with 2 slots between each PCIe lanes. They need breathing room.
Overall Review: First off i will just mention what i had previously so people know the improvement and capabilities of this card. I have an i7 950 OC' to 4ghz, 6GB of RAM running at 1600mhz, a 60gb SSD and several storage drives, and an ASUS sound card. I had with this system two MSI GTX460 HAWKS SLI'd and running like champs. The power load was very high especially at full load. The heat was pretty good at full load usually staying at or around 70C and 35-45 idle. I even had them overclocked pretty well (not too much. This single card is about 20% or so better than both my last cards combined. The power load is only a fraction of the last SLI setup. The heat is even better (and i overclocked this card pretty hard). Full load with the OC gets no hotter than 60C!!! OC specs...able to get +180 on the core clock and +750 on the memory clock!!! It is 192 memory bus so the memory being OC'd nets the best result. i7 950 @4ghz 6gb Dominators @1600mhz Asus Xonar DX MSI GTX 660 Ti PE Antec 950
Pros: Loud? They sound good even without running a separate sound card... (something i really need to pick up).
Cons: For the price they could be better. When i buy speakers i never blast them right away. I always break them in little by little over the course of a good week so i dont blow a speaker. It sounded great but i felt that it lacked. The subwoofer is pretty good but if your a fan of songs with serious bass (or at least low frequency bass) then dont get these. Most dubstep bass doesnt get produced with this woofer. Other than that, for rock, trance, jazz, rap... sounds good. Mids could be better. Highs are crisp until about 75% then they sound piercing. Left speaker popped after about 4 months. Not totally, but certain frequency's will distort the speaker and sound like its shredded. Pops and becomes "tinny." I have my old Logitech 5.1 530 system from years ago. It sounds better than these. And deeper bass too.
Overall Review: I feel that if not talking about the THX certified Logitech speakers, all the others took a backstep in quality. Between me and some friends, we still have old logitech equipment and they sound better than all the new stuff that isnt THX certified. Instead i went and replaced it with the Corsair 2.1 SP-2500 system. Got it on sale for $75 off at the time. Pulled the trigger on that one. Came out to twice the price of this but its 100x times better. Do yourself a favor, spend $40 more and get the Logitech Z623 THX system. My roommate has it and its phenomenal.
Pros: Green LEDs r bright
Cons: I read the reviews on this product and knew this was a gamble. Well i always did have bad luck with gambling. I ordered 3 of these fans. I replaced the front two fans on my Antec 902 with them and when i turned the case on the fans immediately started ticking and hitting the fan housing. Upon inspection i noticed the bearings are worthless and failed right away. Two with the same problem. Very poor design. The third ran fine thank goodness and i put it on the side window. Ran for 2 days and now one of the LEDs keeps flickering and it is extremely annoying. So much for my green theme. Ordered 3 and they all dont work. Returning and getting replacements almost dont seem worth it imo. I already have 3 CM 120mm Green LED fans on the way. They dont have green plastic and the LEDs arent as bright as these. but they push more air, make less noise, and have way superior build quality. Its a real shame.
Overall Review: Just built a $2k computer and everything started with no errors. Im glad... but 3 out of 3 fans not working right from the beginning AFTER you route wires is such a stupid problem to have. And to boot, my new Saitek keyboard runs and looks amazing except for the fact the up arrow barely works. This is horrible because its one of the most used keys for my game playing grrr..... >.<
Pros: Beautiful case. Plenty of space to work with. Great cable management options. Easy glass door. Amazing airflow. Easy to build in.
Cons: Edit: Read my overall to see why I wrote my cons the way I did. Shoddy quality control. And it's a shame. The case arrived with similar issues as others. The front fan cage that you attach the fans to was missing from the case. Now it's still possible to attach the fans but you'd need to head to your local hardware store and grab some extra stuff in order to attach it to the metal tabs. I will not be doing this as I paid for a case that should have the fan cage. I have emailed the seller and will wait to see how they respond. I will update my review based on the resolution. I am hoping they make things right.
Overall Review: Emailed Darkflash, got a response same day. Although they did respond quick, they said they sent me an attachment...but didnt actually attach anything. When i mentioned this i got no response. However, my issue with the fan cage missing I do not believe it to be an actual issue. For this case you do not need the cage or any extra hardware. What I believe is the issue is they use a standard manual for ALL their cases. The cases they make with the "mesh" front have tabs to screw 3 fans to. The other cases that have a solid front panel would require the fans to sit further back into the case and offset in order to allow airflow. The mesh cases do not have this issue. So I believe the mesh cases are not even supposed to come with a fan cage. This is something Darkflash will need to mention in their manual or SOMETHING so people stop getting the wrong idea that something is missing. Due to this I will update my rating from 2 eggs to 4 eggs. It really is a wonderful case, albeit tainted by something so simple.