cover
James C.

James C.

Joined on 11/21/12

0
0

Gallery
Product Reviews
Gallery
  • 0
  •  
  • 1
  •  
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

Works well on Gigabyte B650 and ASUS X670E

G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 5600 Desktop Memory Model F5-5600J3636D32GX2-TZ5RK
G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 5600 Desktop Memory Model F5-5600J3636D32GX2-TZ5RK

Pros: Runs great at advertised XMP speeds on AMD B650 and X670 (at least the two boards I have. Wasn't technically on the QVL for the Gigabyte Aorus B650 Elite AX but ran fine, anyway.

Cons: No cons, really...unless you hate quality RAM and RGB. DDR5 is still much more expensive than DDR4, but it'll continue to get cheaper.

Overall Review: This RAM has been running fine for a couple weeks now. The only issue I saw (and this may be more of a motherboard thing), is that both boards kept getting stuck on memory initialization every time they booted. They'd boot eventually, but would both take over a minute just to POST and get to the Windows load screen. I later learned you have to enable "Memory Context Restore" in the BIOS after you get XMP/EXPO all set up. Weird that they just don't flip that on, automatically.

12/11/2022
Most Critical Review

Ok board, with a few issues

GIGABYTE B650 AORUS ELITE AX AM5 LGA 1718 AMD B650 ATX Motherboard DDR5, M.2, PCIe 5.0, USB 3.2 Gen2X2 Type-C, WiFi 6E, 2.5GbE LAN, Q-Flash Plus, EZ-Latch
GIGABYTE B650 AORUS ELITE AX AM5 LGA 1718 AMD B650 ATX Motherboard DDR5, M.2, PCIe 5.0, USB 3.2 Gen2X2 Type-C, WiFi 6E, 2.5GbE LAN, Q-Flash Plus, EZ-Latch

Pros: -One of the cheaper B650 boards from a reputable brand -Three m.2 slots is nice -I like that most B650 boards all have USB-C front panel connectors now -Lots of USB on the IO panel, which was missing from some B550 boards

Cons: -BIOS could be a little easier to navigate, I guess -LOOONNNGGGGGG boot times (especially on initial boot, but this appears to be a thing with all B650/X670 boards) -Getting coil whine from the VRM, second Gigabyte board I've had that does this

Overall Review: Seemingly solid B650 board with a lot of USB on the IO panel and what appears to be solid power delivery. I like this board, but that said, I am experiencing a couple weird issues. First, the booting takes FOREVER, even after the initial boot/memory training. Judging by the lights, it looks like it's working on a bit of memory training every time it boots. Once it gets by that, it's quick--it just does it every time I boot and takes forever. It would be great if I didn't have to wait a minute-plus every time I restart my computer. Second, I am getting some coil whine from the VRM. This now the second Gigabyte board I've had this with. It's not super terrible--generally, I can't really hear it unless I put my ear right next to the computer. My desk is large enough and I sit far enough away from my PC that it isn't a huge problem, but I do notice it from time to time.

11/29/2022

Fantastic performance for the price

ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 5600 6GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 x16 Graphics Card RX5600 CLD 6G
ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 5600 6GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 x16 Graphics Card RX5600 CLD 6G

Pros: -Inexpensive -Great value

Cons: -Only 6GB of VRAM -Older tech (but not too old)

Overall Review: For the price, this is a fantastic GPU. Looks like Newegg and/or ASRock found a batch of these in some warehouse and put them up for a little over $100. I was able to get one before they sold out. Even though the listing says RX 5600, all indications are that its specs match the 5600XT. Really, not much slower than an RX 6600 for considerably less money. It does come with 2GB fewer of VRAM, but if you're playing at 1080p, it's largely fine.

Best 120mm CPU cooler on the market

Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler with High-Performance Quiet NF-A12x25 PWM Fans (120mm, Brown)
Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler with High-Performance Quiet NF-A12x25 PWM Fans (120mm, Brown)

Pros: Cools great for a 120mm cooler. Even when the fans actually do ramp up near their max (which is rare), it's still relatively quiet. The noise they make isn't even that bothersome. Consistently getting upper 20s at idle on my Ryzen 7 5800x--a chip that runs notoriously hot. Most games hover in the mid 50s to mid 60s, with an occasional peak into the 70s. Stress testing the CPU tends to plateau around 75/76c. Considering the fact that I've seen some people say the get worse temps with a 240mm AIO, I'd say that's pretty good.

Cons: Besides the cooler, absolutely nothing. They really need to come out with a Black version though (I hear it's on the way).

Overall Review: Buy this cooler. It's easier to work with than Noctua's two 140mm coolers and works nearly as well.

It rocked my socks off

1ST PC CORP. CB-8M-8F 1 ft. 8-pin EPS Extension Cable
1ST PC CORP. CB-8M-8F 1 ft. 8-pin EPS Extension Cable

Overall Review: This 8-pin EPS extension cable blew me away. It saved my marriage and provided me with untold riches. I would not be where I am today without this 8-pin EPS extension cable. Thank you, Newegg. Thank you for making all my dreams come true.

Pleased with my 660 SLI setup

ZOTAC ZT-60901-10M G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
ZOTAC ZT-60901-10M G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Pros: These are about the shortest 660s you're going to find, so if you have a cramped case and want to do SLI, this is what you may want to go with. The dual fans are a nice touch...keeps everything pretty cool and quiet. I'm pretty happy with the speed, too. I upgraded from a GTX 460 SLI setup. Dual 660s beat just about every single card setup, save the 690.

Cons: My only major complaint is the 6-pin connector placement. This seems to be a thing on all 600 series nVidia cards. They put them on the side now instead of the back. Kind of a pain if your cables aren't particularly bendy. Also, since this isn't a shroud cooled setup, the cards do tend to kick heat around the case a bit, but it's not too terrible.

Overall Review: This is my first Zotac purchase and thus far have no complaints.