Joined on 11/26/04
Very Stable and Powerful
Pros: The wires are all sleeved, which makes organization very easy. They also claim greater airflow because of it, which will keep your case cooler. This unit comes with a plethora of wires, giving you a connection for anything you install (except for dual floppy drives ... but who does that??). It has both a 4-pin and 8-pin cpu power connector, which will fit any motherboard. As it claims, its SLI certified, and has two dedicated PCI-E power lines. The PSU is also extremely stable - a friend of mine lived in an old Boston apartment with three other guys, and he had the only PC P&C. When the power would drop off or surge, every other computer but his would shutdown. This supply is *very* stable. Its also 610W, so even with SLI configurations, you should be running smoothly (they suggest 550W). SLI also calls for 38A (I think) on a 12V rail - this supplies 49A. You should have no problems at all. This unit is also extremely quiet, which is a big plus.
Cons: The unit is long, so it took a bit of maneuvering to fit it into my case (actually, I had to remove a top-mounted USB/Firewire assembly, but that's more the case than the PSU). As I said before, there's only one floppy drive power line, so if you're planning on using two you'll have to look for another PSU. Also a warning, the main motherboard connector is a 24-pin, as opposed to 20+4, so you'll have trouble with older motherboards (I think all newer ones have 24 pin connections ...). For new builds though, this shouldn't be a problem, just keep it in mind.
Overall Review: Obviously time will tell as to the stability of this power supply, but its been running perfectly so far and from the stories I've heard, I expect it'll run smoothly for years. Oh, and the black sleeves went along well with my motherboard's data cables ;) Thermaltake Tsunami | Intel E6600 | GeCube X1950XTX | EVGA 680i | Corsair XMS2 Dominator 2x1Gb DDR2 800 | PC Power&Cooling Silencer 610W | Logitech G5 & G15 | Western Digital Rapter X 150Gb | 3 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 500Gb
Junk
Pros: This device is very powerful. Compared with a thumbdrive-styled USB adapter which got about 1-2 out of a 5 bars, this thing got 4-5.
Cons: That said, I've never been able to keep a connection to my router for over 30 seconds. When I do connect, the connection speed starts out high, then drops off to nothing. Tested using speakeasy's speed test. That's if I'm actually able to connect. Occasionally my router'll disappear from the list, then come back half an hour later (the router hasn't been off in at least two weeks). This device also freezes my XP Pro SP2, like a previous reviewer.
Overall Review: Currently trying to start a dialog with the EnGenius tech support to solve these issues. More than likely, I'll just be returning my product, and probably will have to pay shipping to return it. This thing seems to be hit or miss ... I would keep looking if you want a solid, proven product.
Buyer Beware
Pros: I can't comment on these - the product isn't supported for my operating system.
Cons: Creative does not support Windows XP Professional 64-bit, and I would assume they don't support Windows XP Home 64-bit either. If you've got any 64-bit operating system, go spend your money elsewhere. I don't know if Creative plans on releasing drivers in the near future, but as of today you're out of luck.
Overall Review: My rating is average simply because I have no idea how the modem would work, and newegg forces a rating when reviewing.
Great Buy
Pros: This motherboard easily handles all the latest hardware (or at least everything I threw at it), recognized my memory (see below) without a problem, and if it wasn't for an improperly seated cpu heatsink (my fault) would have powered up on my first try. I haven't had any problems with it so far, although I still plan on updating the BIOS, etc. whenever I get a chance. I wasn't sure if the motherboard would complain about my ATI graphics card, but I've been running smoothly so far :) The EVGA site and its community forum are excellent, and barring that the phone technical support easily figured out my heatsink problem (although that may have been because I'd tried practically everything else before calling).
Cons: The optional northbridge fan really isn't, so go ahead and install that. The screws used to do that are extremely small though, it took a few tries of balancing the screw between the screwdriver and my finger to get it properly in the hole. If you're installing a 3rd party CPU cooler, be careful when installing the backplate as there are a couple of crushable components sticking out the back. A quick search through the EVGA discussion forum will get you tutorials on how to install your backplate without damaging the board.
Overall Review: The stock fan that came with the e6600 wouldn't snap in while the motherboard was installed, and the entire board won't even try and power on unless both the CPU and heatsink are seated properly (*that* took a while to figure out, once everything was attached). I recommend installing the CPU before putting the motherboard into your case. Also, my memory defaulted to different timings than advertised, but I changed them easily in bios before even trying to install Windows. All-in-all, I'd definitely buy this product again. Thermaltake Tsunami | Intel E6600 | GeCube X1950XTX | EVGA 680i | Corsair XMS2 Dominator 2x1Gb DDR2 800 | PC Power&Cooling Silencer 610W | Logitech G5 & G15 | Western Digital Rapter X 150Gb | 3 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 500Gb
Handles Everything
Pros: This card has handled every game I've thrown at it, all with every video option maxxed, including Half-Life 2, Battlefield 2, Hitman Blood Money, etc. My setup (see below) handed me a 3DMark score of 6,333 without any overclocking, and with stock cooling. For comparison, the leading competitor scores around 10,000, although at a much higher cost to you. The card also comes with Delta Force Extreme, which is an ok game, but I wouldn't have paid money for it. The card comes with any cords you may need, including VGA to DVI adapters for those of you with CRTs. The catalyst program gives you a lot of control over your video options, including the ability to overclock your card should you feel so inclined. The temperature reading that you can get from within Windows is also quite useful.
Cons: ATI's support is pretty terrible, from what I've experienced. I've tried contacting ATI to ask what the safe operating temperatures are, and they responded within a day, but only to tell me how to compare different video cards. I'm going to assume they've got some AI program handling the first round of emails. Either that or they don't speak English as their primary language. Either way, I submitted a response clarifying my question, and they haven't responded in several days. Clearly this has nothing to do with the card itself, but it does reflect poorly on ATI. I just emailed GeCube with the same question, hopefully they'll be a little more speedy with a response. Its not DX10, so I'm sure at some point it'll become obsolete. ATI is expected to release their response to the 8800's in Q1 2007, so if you're looking to buy right now, it might be worth holding off for a month or two.
Overall Review: The GPU idles at 60 degrees celsius, and peaks at 77 degrees. All-in-all, I expect this card to last me for at least a couple of years. Nothing taxes it too badly, or at least enough for me to notice a drop in performance. Thermaltake Tsunami | Intel E6600 | GeCube X1950XTX | EVGA 680i | Corsair XMS2 Dominator 2x1Gb DDR2 800 | PC Power&Cooling Silencer 610W | Logitech G5 & G15 | Western Digital Rapter X 150Gb | 3 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 500Gb
I wouldn't do it again
Pros: This is a solid case, very sturdy. The tool-less design makes installing drives a simple task. The removable hard drive cage has also been useful, as it gives more hand space when working on the motherboard. The three case fans keep everything fairly cool (35 celsius case temp with all stock cooling). There's no enough con space, so here's some more: I installed the EVGA 680i motherboard, and the bottom left (PCI corner) doesn't have anything behind it to support it. I can push down on that corner and it will ride up and down the screw - I can't tighten it any more because it'll start bending the board itself. The side fan collects dust very quickly, so be prepared to clean it off every couple of days. Mine collected an appreciable amount of dust after only 36 hours of uptime (spread across several days). Documentation is poor at best, and Thermaltake has never returned an email requesting information.
Cons: The Firewire assembly at the top must be removed before installing your PSU (or at least longer ones, see below for mine). Be careful reinstalling, the plastic is very flimsy - I broke mine while trying to be careful. Installed or not, the top ports allow easy access for liquids to pour onto your video card. The tool-less PCI assembly must be removed before installing your video card, but I was able to put it back on and snap it into place without a problem. With longer video cards (see below for mine), you'll only be able to use 3 or 4 of the 5 hard drive slots in the lower cage. The metal cages are also flimsy - again, I bent some interconnecting pieces without even trying. That said, they bend back just as easily. The top CD drive cover can't be removed without snapping the plastic - the door hinge gets in the way. You won't need it post-installation though, so breaking it isn't a problem. The blue LED fan is bright, I know my roommate will complain when he tries to s
Overall Review: Given a second chance, I'd have chosen another case. There are just too many design flaws here, that Thermaltake will hopefully take into consideration in the future. Again though, it will take a lot of convincing to buy from them again. That said, I'm keeping the case and using it anyways because almost all of the design flaws are only noticeable during installation. Thermaltake Tsunami | Intel E6600 | GeCube X1950XTX | EVGA 680i | Corsair XMS2 Dominator 2x1Gb DDR2 800 | PC Power&Cooling Silencer 610W | Logitech G5 & G15 | Western Digital Rapter X 150Gb | 3 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 500Gb