Pros: I thought my upgrade from an old i7 920 (4 coresx2) would be a marginal improvement, but this one is fast! My video rendering time is cut in half and I didn't know web pages could be loaded that fast - I always assumed that I was constrained by network speed.

Cons: None

Pros: Impressive performance - I was surprised at the amount of improvement over an older drive. It's worth upgrading if you have SATA 6.

Cons: Arm actuator seems noisier than my older drives. Minor issue and subjective in any case.

Pros: Nice looking and practical minimalist design, very easy to build in, quiet but not silent (just what the product name promises). Can't hear the computer in a room with normal background noise. Runs cool with stock fans.

Cons: When the HD is working hard the actuator noise booms through the entire case like a drum – the case vibrates and transmits the vibrations to the floor it is sitting on. Not a big deal for me because my system drive is an SSD. In my opinion, this case is not fully engineered for silence although the large front fan and shield are effective. The design of the drive cage is unimpressive.

Overall Review: I chose this mid-range case for two reasons: its minimalist design and its touted quietness. I would have happily paid for a premium silent case, but the premium cases are all aimed at gamers who seem to prefer gaudy designs. Despite my long-winded 'con' this is a very good case for the price, therefore 4 eggs.

Pros: It works, what else can I say!

Cons: None

Pros: The build was a piece of cake and the stock performance is impressive. (With the help of an i7 4790).

Cons: None

Overall Review: A couple of very minor issues. The BIOS UI is impressive, but ...it misses the boat on guiding first-time builders to the default boot HD and memory speed settings that most builders will need to change (yes, it’s trivial once you know where to look). I have not yet discovered how to access all that monitoring information in Windows, despite searching. ASUS builds great hardware but does not always read users minds well.