Joined on 05/19/05
Bad Rap
Pros: Installed easy once I resolved my hardware issues. The "Driver Problem" is really overblown. If you need a patch for most mainline components, you can get it. If you cannot get it, you don't need it. All my hardware was fully supported. Think ahead, get your drivers on a USB flash drive then build. Once it was up, it has been flawless and everything works.
Cons: There is a known issue with trying to build with more than 3 gigs of ram. MS says to build with no more than 2 gigs, get the system stable, then DL the Vista Patch specifically addressing this issue. It isn't a normal "Update" DL that it will pull for you the first time it updates. You need to look for it and find it. Once I figured out why/how my hardware was failing, I pulled out one RAM stick and never had another problem finishing. I reinstalled the RAM and got it to work after the patch, but only intermittently. A voltage increase to the RAM above the bare minimum was all it took to stabilize after the patch. I increased it 0.15 volts and no more windows errors. That is 5 hours of my life I will not get back. Honestly, with one of the benefits of 64 bit being the increased memory addressing, and with Vista being a RESOURCE HOG no one is going to build a 64 bit system with 2 gigs of RAM. It should build fine with 8 gigs if that is what you choose.
Overall Review: MS should also make that memory fix patch part of the normal "windows update" downloads so you don't end up finding out about it by accident. Here is the link so you don't waste precious family time looking around on this. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777 Note for audio: even if it autodetects and installs proper drivers for your 7.1 card, you still have to go in to control panel into the audio set up and manually turn on the surround. Seems silly.
Disappointed
Pros: The boad itself works, is feature rich, and easy to work with.
Cons: I consider this board something of a "non-standard" board for two reasons. First, it will not support anything above a 2 gig stick of RAM, despite being touted as a server board. The newegg description does not say anything about having to buy 2 gig or less sticks, just says DDR3 etc. Second, the capacitors on the board are mounted very close to the cpu socket, and the capacitors sit at a level above the cpu socket. I bought a retail intel cpu and a retail intel cpu fan/heatsink specifically designed for this series of chips. It will not mount because the base of the heatsink sits right on top of the capacitors and prevents heatsink plate contact with the cpu itself.
Overall Review: I've used ASUS exclusively for years and this is the first bad I have to say about them. Maybe newegg should be more explicit on the RAM stick issue (or maybe i should go to manufacturer websites rather than relying on newegg) but I have never had this issue before. As for the heatsink issue, that IS a design issue with this ASUS board as industry standard heatsinks will not install with this board.
Excellent powerhouse laptop computer
Pros: The thing is a beast on graming graphics. Set to game mode and you will be getting 60fps+ on any game highest setting. It is nice to be able to dial it back in green mode for things like wordprocessing or surfing, which will get you 3 hours of battery life approximately. Screen is big and easy on the eyes. I bought this from another vendor for the office (newegg was having trouble on checkout, they called me the next day but I'd already gone to a local merchant to pick it up) and I plan on buying another.
Cons: The mousepad is inexcusably bad, and merits knocking off an egg from what is otherwise a marvelous laptop. The mousepad is positioned in a manner so that your left hand covers a lot of it while using the wasd keys, which for a gaming laptop should have been better planned. Also, the mousepad buttons are recessed below the level of the case. So with your hand resting on the case using the mousepad, you have to elevate your hand unnaturally to get the keys to click, otherwise you are just going to be clicking on the case and not the buttons. I bought a bluetooth mouse within a week. I cannot stress just how bad the mousepad is, in an $1,800 computer it should be functional. But this is the only knock I have against what is otherwise an excellent computer.
Overall Review: buying maximum accident coverage on this should be a no-brainer.
Nice processor
Pros: Got the G0. Installed easy. With ASUS "overclocking for dummies" AI overclocking (i.e. click here to overclock) it immediately boosted up to 2.8 GHZ rock solid, 52*c on air cooling. I'm sure it will go much higher with time to fiddle and manually change settings
Cons: I get intermittent low CPU voltage warnings. I have a 1,000w PSU and the ASUS Extreme MOBO with stock bios and standard settings. I got these even before OC. No power saving or green features are on. The CPU voltage should be stable :(
Overall Review: Happy so far.
Nice Piece
Pros: Plug and play, looks great in the case.
Cons: Asus has a Vista 64 bit driver for it, yet it appears unneeded. Drive works fine. If you try to install the driver you get an error message claiming there is no matching device.
Overall Review: Works as advertised, good price, SATA. What is not to like?
It is really, really big
Pros: Works as advertised as far as cooling.
Cons: Absurdly tall in the case. Had to take out low profile side fan to get case closed. And I am in the Enermax Huge Uber Chakkra case, aka "The Studio Apartment" case. Cases really don't come bigger than this one, and yet I had to remove a fan to get it to fit. Also, the mounting on a socket 775 board is a PITA. Make sure you mount the cooler bracket to the bottom of the mobo before mounting the mobo.