Joined on 02/06/10
PC enthusiast/builder for over two decades. Father of five. My basement is a private internet cafe. I build PCs for people and I also repair them. I write reviews and I have a YouTube channel. I also like to resurrect old PCs and save them from the dumpster to help reduce e-waste.
GIVE ME 40 LANES AND I'LL TURN THIS RIG AROUND
Pros: 40 lanes of bandwidth can be very handy when running multiple applications. The CPU can handle 128 GB of RAM easily and this I can attest to because I'm running it with that much Corsair Dominator memory as I type this review. I've used this chip for nearly a year now with minor issues. It is certainly fast but the best feature, in my opinion, is the 12 threads I get with this hex-core CPU. If you're a multi-tasker and you like to put your PC to work you definitely have enough "horse power" with this puppy. Thermals are a bit high but nothing that can't be rectified with a good cooler. Just for a test I ran a game, played YouTube videos, and typed a chapter with Microsoft Office open, while running a backup all at the same time with at least a dozen other tabs open on my browser. There was no noticeable difference in performance to what I would expect simply surfing the net. The extra bandwidth allows for multiple PCIe lane usage and my PC is jam packed with cards so this is a big bonus. For the record I'm running RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10 (via LSI FALCON) with this CPU without a hiccup so that should tell you something about what this chip can do. Data transfers are fast and smooth, it runs well with a RAM DRIVE, and can handle as many hard drives as you are willing to plug into it. (Mine currently runs twelve.) It may not be your best "bang for the buck" but it does have Intel's reknowned tried and tested reputation going for it and for me, it has passed the test of time with flying colours. Works well with the NVIDIA GTX 1070 GPU. What more can I say? It's a beast.
Cons: SAMSUNG informed me that I cannot run their EVO 850 M.2 card with this particular chip. I had to return the SSD but Newegg was very good about the matter and accepted the return without charging me a restocking fee. Plus they refunded me shipping. WOW NEWEGG YOU GUYS ROCK! Once you know Newegg...
Overall Review: I would recommend this CPU to anyone who uses an X99 WORK STATION motherboard and needs more bandwidth. This is not a gamer chip per se but you can certainly game on it if you want to. It's great for video rendering, work station, home server, and forensics. I also use it for data recovery. I wouldn't say this chip is a good "overclocker" but it is certainly stable out of the box. It was designed for heavy workloads and it certainly performs well in this regard. I would not down play the speed of this chip. It is fast for all intents and purposes but if speed is your number one priority you're probably better off with a Skylake or one of the newer chips. Think of a high performance semi-truck and you're on the right track.
Nowhere near advertised speeds
Pros: It's NVMe. It works. It looks nice?
Cons: I typed a long review for this NVMe before and it seems to have not been accepted because I compared it to various other brands of NVMe. I also included screen shots of Crystal Disk benchmarks on this showing the differences. Evidently none of my work made it here. I will be brief: This is the slowest NVMe I've ever owned. Don't try to RAID it, don't expect blazing fast speeds, and don't pay over 100 dollars Canadian for storage like this when there are so many better choices out on the market. Since I can't mention other companies I'll leave it at that. I've swapped out with other NVMe that puts this storage to an open shame and paid much less for it than I did for this. When you pay for Corsair you're paying for a name and I can assure you that Corsair isn't what it used to be.
Overall Review: Overall, don't buy it.
ASUS STRIX AGAIN!
Pros: - Affordable - Gold certified - 10 Year Warranty - 750 Watts of filtered power - Came with zip ties and Velcro ties for cable management - Clean magnetic "stickers" and magnetic logo - fully modular - well packaged and includes reusable tote bags There is just so much right about this power supply that I can confidently recommend it only after having recently purchased it. This unit looks good in the case and performs well. It will work with older system boards as well as new ones. IF you are looking for a quality ATX PSU this might be worthy of some consideration.
Cons: This unit is not RGB. That isn't an issue with me, but it might be for others. I think it looks good in the case as is and if your computer case has a "basement" then there's really no valid reason to get RGB anyway.
Overall Review: I was surprised to discover that this unit was built by Seasonic, but I probably shouldn't have been since it is backed by a 10 year warranty. Make no mistake. ASUS certainly had some say in the design of this product and the heat sinks (developed by ASUS) in this power supply are huge. That Republic of Gamers is written inside and outside of this device is no mere metaphor. TBH this is the first time I've ever purchased a PSU retailed by ASUS but I have a feeling that I won't be sorry I did. The first thing I noticed was that the weight of this power supply was broaching twice that of the original PSU that it replaced even though the original was only 100 Watts less power. This can only mean more filtering and quality components. I'm pretty sure the heat sinks also have a lot to do with it. All this helps to explain why it is gold certified. Admittedly, I didn't purchase this power supply for myself. I'm a PC enthusiast and so is my daughter. She had donated her 650 Watt PSU to the guest PC because she likes to run lan parties (yes, that is still a thing) and she provides 1 PC for a guest. The rest must supply their own. Since she is a big Strix/ROG fan I thought this PSU would be just what the doctor ordered. When she got it she was ecstatic as it was a "surprise just because" present. I later learned that this particular unit was also given Kit Guru's endorsement as being the best power supply of the year back in 2019 so I know that it has already been tried and tested. For those of you who are keen on specs I recommend going to the web page and having a look at them. Very impressive. Here is a quote from that site about this power supply: "This is one of the finest 80 Plus Gold power supplies on the market in 2019. ASUS have modified and enhanced an already very capable Seasonic platform. Its expensive, but if you want the ultimate in quality and component selection, the ROG STRIX 750W deserves serious consideration." Kit Guru I'm hoping this review posts as the other one does not seem to have made it.
A GOOD BUDGET BUY BUT . . .
Pros: Ventilation on front and side of case is very good. With two fans mounted in the front of the case and the rear fan (included) air flow should be adequate for most budget builds. One front bay for a CD/DVD ROM or Blue Ray player, or manual fan controller, card reader, etc. I would have preferred at least two of these but I knew there was only one when I paid for it. Not everyone desires the minimalist "less is more" look and it's getting increasingly more difficult to find budget cases with usable front bay options. More often than not those who boast them lack enough clearance for ROM drives. This one has clearance and adequate ventilation so that's worth an egg. Sturdy, metal case with rolled edges so there is little risk in slicing ones' fingers on the edges as is with cheap and flimsy sheet metal cases. I was very impressed with the gauge of metal used in this case and the reinforced side panels. They won't warp or bend. Plus the case has proper containment in the basement for a good sized PSU to make for a neat and organized cable management. This is definitely worth another egg. Adequate dust filters on top and on the bottom where the power supply goes. The top filter is magnetic, making it easy to remove and clean. The case is black inside and out and there are no runs in the paint or silver patches showing through. Coverage is good. I've seen much worse on more expensive cases. This, and the fact that the case is very easy to reassemble, is worth a third egg. This is a good sized case. If you are looking for something smaller or something micro I don't recommend this case. It can handle a full sized ATX system board and that's exactly what I was looking for. I imagine it cannot hold an EATX board but that is likely why it is called a mid tower case and not a full tower case. This case is both tall and wide and that's a good thing as I foresee no problem with installing a tower cooler or huge graphics card in this case. In this regard the case delivers for gamers and those who wish to indulge in video rendering. The case is NOT RGB (thank goodness). It's a practical option for those who desire to invest savings where it counts, namely in components that can perform efficiently. It has adequate clearance on top for liquid coolers as well. The sides are bevelled outward to provide even more room for cable management so you shouldn't have much trouble sliding the panels back on if you do the job right. The PCIe slots at the back are a bit cheaply done, but at least it does have a retaining bracket to hold the cards firmly in place. Be careful with this as it is made of plastic. It has a good discreet look to it. Nothing flashy. Yet you could put enough fans in this machine to provide the positive pressure needed for a high performance build and turn it into a "sleeper". (A machine that looks like nothing impressive on the outside and total performance within.) For this reason I gave it yet another egg.
Cons: Although there is plenty of room for cable management the cabling that came with the case leaves a bit to be desired. In time the client might wish to consider better wiring for this unit than what it came with. All the screws, extra little pieces of hardware, and instruction manual came with a cute zip lock bag, but the packaging was opened and there appears to be some pieces missing. The little piezo beep code buzzer was not to be found and the package normally containing the nuts and smaller pieces of hardware was completely empty. Being a PC builder for decades I can easily remedy this but on principle I'm removing an egg. This package was obviously opened by someone else before it was shipped to me.
Overall Review: Overall I would recommend this case to someone looking for a case for a budget build. It stands tall and elegant, but very discrete. I'm using it to save a system board from the land fill. As I type this currently, the case is selling on New Egg for 55 dollars Canadian and I'd say that is good value. If you can get it for 50 bucks you made a bargain. I do NOT recommend paying more than 55 dollars Canadian for it because you will have to pay for shipping as well. The one feature about this case that impresses me is how solid it is built. This is not a flimsy sheet metal job that I've seen in other budget cases with sharp edges and burrs, so in this regard you can safely give it to a junior PC builder, niece or nephew as a gift and rest easy.
GOOD VALUE
Pros: Affordable RGB that's easy to install. All that cable off to one side makes cable management a whole lot easier compared to modular power supplies. Lots of different RGB modes to choose from. The switch on the back makes this so easy to access.
Cons: It's Bronze certified so you're not going to quite have the power efficiency you would with higher end, more expensive power supplies.
Overall Review: It fits the bill and it is passing the test of time. It's in my daughter's PC now and she loves it. If you're looking to make an affordable RGB build and you want an RGB PSU then this might just be the unit you're looking for as it will be enough for most graphic cards these days. AZZA is really starting to surprise me with their affordable and reliable products. Hopefully they will continue to maintain this standard over the course of time. :)
My Wife Loves It
Pros: I'd consider getting this for myself if it were in black. It has the tactile feel of Cherry MX switches but is even easier on the fingers compared to most other mechanical keyboards. It's very fast and responsive and has such a good feel about it. You won't have to worry about fatigue from typing because it is gentle on your fingers. The keyboard does not feel cheap. It's not ultra light so it doesn't slide around on your desk. No, it's built solid and has a fair bit of weight to it. The layout is perfect and the lights, although adequately bright, aren't blazing hard on the eyes. There are little tiny blue function lights that are exactly right and compliment the rest of the board, giving it a refined look, and these are tucked just under the top row of the keys on the right hand side of the board. One can easily see that much thought was put into the design of this keyboard.
Cons: Some might consider this a con but my wife does not: The board is pink. All the keys light up all pretty in pink. It can be put into RGB mode but the reason she wanted it is because it lit up pink. Honestly, I cannot think of any cons because every time she lets me type on it I'm amazed with the feel of this board.
Overall Review: Do you like pink? If you do then this is your board. Do you like pink with RGB? It can handle that also with all sorts of variations and options. Do you like quality? This keyboard literally exudes quality. My wife waited for years for someone to come out with a board like this. She has a bubble gum pink PC case and this keyboard looks like it came with it. Her mouse is pink, her desk is pink. What can I say? She likes pink. There were other keyboards that came close but always something was off. Beware of cheap, junky knock offs. We've burned through many boards to find her precisely what she was looking for. This one is the real deal. Discrete lighting, a refined look, easy functionality, easy on the fingers, mechanical, durable, reliable, responsive . . . Perfect! :)
Suprisingly Fast
Just got the item so it's hard to make a judgment at this point.
So far, so good
Originally I had purchased this keyboard for a guest PC, or possibly for use by a client. However my wife has a weakness for pink and although her keyboard lit up with pink LEDs, it was basically white. The soft bubblegum pink colour of this keyboard matched her pink Apevia case and matched her pink computer desk and back shelf perfectly. This keyboard is 100% pink and it was something she has been wanting for a long time but I wasn't certain how well she would take to the feel of a mechanical type keyboard. The short answer is that she absolutely loves it. The tactile feel of the blue switches is a bit gentler than the original cherry MX blue switches and after testing it I was convinced that she would take to it like a fish to water. The unit has a bit of heft to it, indicating that it is built strong and solid. It doesn't feel cheap and junky at all. It has weight like a proper durable keyboard should. Although it comes with 18 types of RGB (some of them rather engaging) I am not surprised that the solid pink lighting was what the user preference became. Not hard on the eyes at all but not so dim that you can't make out the characters on the keys either. Just right. I couldn't find this keyboard anywhere else but on NewEgg. I saw many imitations but nothing that matched this one entirely. It is a full featured keyboard with the number pad and my wife especially appreciated that. Since I just purchased it this month I can't say much about it passing the test of time but for the time being it rates 5 eggs here because #1) It is everything it was advertised to be. #2) It doesn't feel like a cheap second rate piece of junk. #3) It is built solid. #4) The cost was reasonable #5) My wife was happy with it. (And she isn't easy to please.) My daughters are envious. Depending on how long this keyboard lasts I may have to buy more.
Timely Delivery - affordable price
Save yourself the trouble and do the math. What you are being charged for these compared to what you would pay for say a 500 Gb Western Digital SSD is hardly worth the expense you shave off your investment unless you are really desparete. I paid too much for these and although they were functional Crystal Disk still gave me yellow flags. I could have bought a brand new 1TB hard drive for the price of these two refurbished 500 GB drives but I was trying to restore RAID 1 for a client at an affordable price. Unless you insist on using a mechanical klunk drive this isn't what you need and IF you insist on any mechanical drive you're better off buying brand new hard drive with a dependable warranty.