Pros: Extremely light comparing to other 1U chassis/bare bone. C2550 is adequate for NAS/basic web server/DNS server. Currently I'm one stick of 8GB Crucial ram to test in a pre-production environment. The C2550 will be mirrored with another E3 in the cabinet to provide HA. So far C2550 can handle the requests in the case of E3 failure, however the CPU usage does go up by quite a bit (Nginx + PHP-FPM + GraphickMagick for portfolios).
Cons: Though Supermicro claims that you can mount 4x2.5" with the cage MCP-220-00044-0N. Again, poor design by Supermicro's OEM manufacturer. The front panel connector is completely blocking the right side (behind the PSU). Only one screw can be used to mount the cage. But if are going to mount 2x3.5" or 1x3.5"+2x2.5", it is totally ok. ALSO, PCIE-E RISER WAS NOT INCLUDED. NO RACK MOUNT SCREWS WERE INCLUDED.
Overall Review: If you check the Supermicro website for manual (http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/superserver/1U/MNL-1581.pdf), it reads: "The box the SuperServer 5018A-MLTN4 was shipped in should include two sets of rail assemblies, six rail mounting brackets and the mounting screws you will need to install the system into the rack. Follow the steps in the order given to complete the installation process in a minimal amount of time. " It suggests that you SHOULD have the rails. But it did not.
Pros: Bought it as a Newegg combo with 1xE3-1230V3, 1xWD Black 1TB, 1x16GB (2x8GB) Crucial DDR3L ECC. I bought another WD Black hopefully to setup a mirror to have redundancy. I also bought another 16GB kit because I will be running ZFS. Cooling is great. In the cabinet with 25C/60%, CPU is idling around 26C with the air shroud. Burning prime95 is aroung 75C, and both hard drives are around 35C when doing intensive task, I would say acceptable.
Cons: Only problem with mounting two 3.5" hard drives is that the mounting on the right is crowded with the cables from PSU and the front panel. You will need to cut the zip ties on the PSU cables and re-routed most of the cables in order to fit the the second hard drive.
Overall Review: Although the 1U body is light enough to be front-mounted only, I would recommend getting the a shelf and remove the front mount.
Pros: Absolute quiet, even at 80% it's barely noticeable. Also when PWM kicks in and changing the rpm, the noise is smooth. However, like every other fans on the market, once the fan is at 100%, the noise is starting to be noticeable (80mm fans are noisy). But it's still quieter than most fans.
Cons: NOTHING. It's Noctua, bro.
Overall Review: Replaced my SilenX fans (these babies run at 3000 rpm and ~30 dB!) as case fans. Now my computer is finally quiet.
Pros: It's Noctua, what can I say? Purchased this after some research to replace the radiator fan on Corsair H55. The stock fan is absolutely horrible, and has no PWM control. Right now NF-F12 is controlled by CPU temperature, and this thing is absolutely quiet, most of the time it's running at 65%, barely noticeable. Even at full speed (~1600rpm in my case), the fan is still noticeably quieter than most of other fans.
Cons: NOTHING, IT'S NOCTUA.
Overall Review: It's good to use this fan as radiator fan or simply case fan. Either way, make sure you have the anti-vibration pad on, and PWM control settings setup properly.
Pros: Small and compact, perfect fit in my dorm. I love this case that it can fit a water cooler. But if you do decide to get one, I suggest a CM Seldon 120M where the tubes are more flexible than the one I have right now (Corsair H55), because the PSU mount is going to be a headache), If you get a 120M, you can mount the radiator side way, so it does not interfere the PSU.
Cons: The stock case fan is ABSOLUTELY LOUD. Get a Noctua NF-F12, it's 35 bucks, but you get what you paid for. Even at full speed it's barely noticeable.
Overall Review: Currently I am running A10-7850K, ASRock FM2A88X-ITX, G.Skill Areas 2133Mhz @ 2400Mhz, Corsair H55 with Noctua NF-F12, and two Noctua NF-R8-PWM on the side. Also a SSD mounted side way and two HGST 500GB 7200rpm on top of the PSU. It's perfectly doable.
Pros: Quiet fan (relatively). If you really want a quiet PSU, get a RM series (also Corsair). RM series has zero-rpm mode.
Cons: Nothing atm.
Overall Review: Cables are too long for my Elite 110 case.
Pros: Relatively low profile, maybe I am using water cooling so heatsink is not really a problem for me. Good overclocking potential. Running 2400MHz with my A10-7850k at 11-13-13-31 @1.670v, CL10 is doable but I am not able to achieve that atm.
Cons: Nothing atm.
Overall Review: Good rig for your bucks. Paying a 2133Mhz for a 2400MHz .
Pros: With a mSATA connection, good add on. As like every other ASRock BIOS, definitely love the UEFI and EZ OC.
Cons: The orientation of the CPU and memory -> weird. Also the golden caps WILL interfere your big heatsink. Big No: The VRMs are HOT. Make sure your case has good air flow.
Overall Review: The newest BIOS as of today is 2.10, definitely upgrade it as it better supports A10-7850K.
Pros: Solid iGPU performance -- better than the INTEL HD GRAPHICS, not even the Iris Pro in my iMac can beat R7. Running a Corsair H55 and OC'ed to 4.3Ghz with DDR3-2133 CL10. I would definitely recommend buying 2400 as I compared 1600 vs 2133: like every other benchmark, huge performance improvement.
Cons: IPC is the weakest point for AMD, so that's the only complain.
Overall Review: WARNING: DO NOT USE THE STOCK COOLER. IT'S HORRIBLE.
Pros: The drive itself is fine, but people assume that the drive would just work automagically.
Cons: None
Overall Review: Intel 730 does NOT have idle states, and it uses an overclocked controller, therefore it does NOT only draw 5V like every other SSD out there; it acts like a mechanical drive: it draws power from the 5V rail and the 12V rail. Therefore the 730 WILL NOT WORK if you connect it to USB.