Joined on 12/16/09
Corsair XMS 1600
Pros: Easy install. Works perfect. Tested at 1600 (XMS on mobo) with Memtest 86+ booting off CDROM. All voltage set to 1.65. Initially set i7 to underclock at 3600 MHz (turbo mode off in BIOS). Passed at tests. No BSODs - no errors. Set Turbo mode on (CPU now normal). Running at 3800 MHz. Same results. All ok. Overclock to 4000 MHz. Same results. Overclocked to 4500MHZ. Same results. Memory passed every test all the time no BSODs. Perfect.
Cons: Failed Prime95 Torture Test at 1600 MHz and at ANY CPU speed. Loaded Prime95 64-bit. Initiated "TORTURE TEST". Ran the above speeds in reverse order starting at 4500 MHz first and working down to 3600MHZ. Prime95 erred in memory after 2-3 minutes. No BSOD, no rebooting. Just an error (ntoskrnl.exe) flagged on Prime95's window. Reset overclock from 4500 MHz down to 4000 MHz. Same result after 2-3 minutes. Set to normal (turbo on). Same result. Error after 2-3 minutes. Set to 3600 MHz (turbo off) - same error. All errors were ntoskrnl.exe related. Researched ntoskrnl.exe error. Figured either CPU or Memory error, maybe mobo chipset. Set CPU at normal 3.8 GHZ /turbo. Set Memory BACK (underclocked) to 1300 MHz. Ran prime95 torture test. After 20 minutes, no errors. Set CPU to 4000MHZ and then 4500MHZ. Same results. No errors. I believe memory is ok. Works as advertised, but is rated slightly too high.
Overall Review: Very little specific information given on Corsairs testing procedures at their site. I have no way to know if memory is bad/good. Only know that it will not run at any speed and at 1600MHz (o'cocked) without failing Prime95. I do video editing. Do not need any errors of any kind. I had ORIGINALLY planned to run this memory at 1300 with no overclocking of CPU. I ALWAYS overbuy RAM and CPU as over clocked RAM can sometimes be difficult to tweak for any given mobo/CPU/memory combination. Sometimes memory is BAD. However, I think in this case the memory is ok, there just needed to be some fine tweaking to get the memory to clock as 1600. Performance gain (about 18%) in memory access is negligible for my applications. Intel i7-2600K @ 3.4GHz / ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) B3 / Win7 Pro SP1 64-bit / Antec HCG-750 / 16GB CORSAIR XMS (4 x 4GB) DDR3 CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 / Noctua NH-D14 / EVGA GTX 460 SE / COOLER MASTER HAF 932
BEST DEAL IN TOWN!
Pros: Previous card, a GTX460SE had maxed out all CUDA cores when rendering video. This card does the same job faster and at 35% of capacity! Card does not go over 60-62C at 35% usage, which is 100% of the speed of the rendering software - Indigo RT. Indigo RT uses the CPU/GPU in HYBRID rendering. The CPU, a 17-2600K (OC'd to 4.3GHZ), ran at about 33% capacity with all 8 cores maxed out.
Cons: Not really a CON but a condition you MAY encounter. My ASUS P8P67 MOBO Rev.3. lost BIOS with the GTX970. Tech support was unable to come up with the fix before I did and I spent 4 days at it :( Problem on install. GTX 970 would BLOCK system BIOS from showing. Removing it and replacing with GTX460 returned the BIOS to normal. Changing back to GTX970 removed BIOS again. If you can't see the BIOS on boot - you cannot enter the BIOS. Not good. The fix was to set UEFI / Legacy switch in the BIOS "BOOT" sub-menu, to Legacy. The BIOS is UEFI, but the O/S is Windows 7 64-bit Pro, which is not, so this may have been part of the problem. That's what I get for jumping the card series up 5 levels from 460 to 970 :)
Overall Review: I bought this particular version of the GTX970 because of the fan design. When not rendering, it's silent. When it hits 60C, the fans rev up to between 2500 and 2700 RPM. The noise is audible above the multiple fans in the HAF932 case. No complaints. I'm using an ANTEC 750wt PS rated at 40A on the 12V+ rail. The GTX970 actually consumes LESS power than the GTX460SE! i7-2600k Ock'd to 4.3GHZ / Noctua NH-U12P SE2 / 16GB Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1600C99 / Asus P8P67 Rev 3.1 MOBO / Intel 120GB SSD / HP LP2475w Monitor - DVI input
Happy 1 year Birthday P8P67!
Pros: Purchased 7-11-2011. No problems since install and extensive testing. Nice heat sinks / designed well / made well. Easy to overclock. Board did 4.5GHZ without changing RAM timing. Did not try for more as I will be doing video editing with this board. Just wanted to see what it was capable of. Noctua fan fit with no problems. Computer in AZ. Room temp 80 F. Board and CPU run 'ice cold'. Well almost :)
Cons: MOBO says can use PS/2 Keyboard & Mouse. Not with my IBM 'clicky' Kybd, though. Required cold boot followed by warm boot to bring Kybd up. I ended up using a USB Kybd & wireless mouse. 2 days of various memory tests. Most difficult test started to fail RAM after 15 minutes. Repeatable. Suspect RAM timing/RAM overheating as culprit. No RAM problems noted at up to 3.8 GHZ.
Overall Review: P8P67 Pro V3.1 MOBO/Intel i7 2600k/16GB Corsair XMS/Geforce GTX460/Antec HGC750 PS/Noctua NH-D14 CPU fan/Cooler Master 932 case/Win7 Pro 64 bit/5x Samsung 'Spinpoint F3" (pre-flood drives. Paid Newegg $49.95 for the last one - free S&H. Looks like current (last year) of problems happened after my board was slod. I still prefer ASUS. Previously used ABIT mobos - dual Overclocked Celerons in a BP-6 (yeah baby!) until the mobo caps crapped out. Yes, I did read most of the recent comments. Sounds like a QC control problems. Most likely I would NOT buy this board after reading the recent problems. PS, In case you don't know... there is appears to be no Quality Control in China. You, 'Dear Buyer', are the QC :) Sad, but true.
Lots of space and cooling!
Pros: Great case. Recommended. HAF design (high air flow) keeps everything cool. Case design is well thought out. Easy drive install.
Cons: 1) Case side panel with window will slip off track by itself after removing 2nd of 2 thumbscrews. This is the side with the fan. Be careful or you may damage fan and/or electrical connection. 2) No dust screens, although after market screens are available. At about $60 a set. I put some screen door screening front intake to catch cat hair :). One piece folded over. Used door sealing tape (Homedepot) to make gasket to hold screen in place. Put single piece of screen between side fan and case. Case may still collect dust. Will need to clean periodically. 3) Access to back of Mobo through small 'window' in case is slightly too small and off center for my Mobo's CPU. I put on CPU cooler support hardware, CPU, RAM and cooler on first before installing Mobo in case. Hardware screws supplied. 4) Manual printing is small in about 350+ languages (just kidding about the 350!). There's about 6-8 or so :)
Overall Review: Highly recommended this case. Newer style P/S sucks air from outside case and blows downward out of the case botttom. P/S heat is kept out of case. About time, guys! I moved the red fan from front to side of case. Fan speeds reads accurate within 5% of rated. Case is large and heavy. Measure for tight space requirements. Case temps are: mobo 35c, CPU 36c, with ambient at 30c, on idle. I live in Phoenix, AZ. 115 today. CPU temp never moves past 54c even running Prime 95 ( 8 CPU threads at 100% indefinitely - no errors) with ambient at 28-35c. Noctua NH-D14 cooler (full on @ 1300 rpm). Shipping container 'bulletproof". Even UPS could NOT dent the case although they tried :)
Don't use with iPhone 3GS
Pros: Works ad advertised with Windows 7 64 bit. Installs with drivers supplied by Microsoft.
Cons: Hub working fine. Plugged in Apple iPhone 3GS. Windows could not see the phone. Spent a couple hours searching for solution. None found. Took chance, plugged phone into open USB port on the back of Mobo (Asus M4A785-M). Phone now seen by Windows 7 and driver for it was installed. Phone shows in Windows Explorer. Then I plugged the phone it into the Rosewill hub. Nada. Furthermore, nothing else works in the hub, now. After several hours of searching and applying various “solutions”, I disconnected the hub’s power and data cables, rebooted (2X), and re-installed it. Now works ok, same as before, just can't see the iPhone. Also, tried the iPhone on my Win XP SP3 box. No problems with WinXP. Popped up as “USB device”, got a software install and I could see all files fine in Windows Explorer. Problem appears to be with the iPhone. When the phone did connect (on back panel USB port), and files were readable, there was NO USB disconnect notice in either Win7 (64-bit) or in WinXP (32-b
Overall Review: Conclusion: Works with Windows 7 64 but as advertised, but not usable for iPhone downloads. I would buy the Rosewill hub again.
Inspirion 5675
I bought 2X of these. Dell Inspiron 5000 Series Desktop, AMD Ryzen 7 1700X Octa-Core Up to 3.8GHz, 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD Plus 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, DVD-RW, Wifi, Bluetooth, Windows 10 Professional 64Bit and plenty of USB 3.0 ports. Product arrived double box and in excellent condition. Easy setup. No manuals, but they are available online from Dell. Dell computer build was well thought out. Setup of pre-installed Windows 10 Pro was easy. I used a Microsoft wireless mouse and keyboard and it was recognized immediately during install. Took about 1 hour to do the Windows updates and changes Windows settings choices. Boot up using SSD takes about 20 seconds to login. Once logged in and return pressed, the computer finishes and is ready to use. The supplied 1 TB HD is too small for my needs to I am installing additional 4 TB hard storage drives in each system. No bloatware on this computer. A very nice surprise. Overall: 5 eggs !