Joined on 04/15/03
Serious problems
Pros: Is a SSD. Stores data.
Cons: Has trouble detecting on reboot.
Overall Review: I installed one of these on a server, intending it to run the host OS for some guest virtual machines. Solid state, so this would not be the point of failure, yes? Foolish thought. This drive is now stuck in a server in colocation three hundred miles away and only works on the first hard reboot. Remote boot control from my colocation provider surprisingly does not make it show up again either, though the rest of the system remains fine. A real lemon. Do not buy this product. Two eggs because it's always possible it's a compatibility issue with the motherboard - Supermicro X8SIE-F. If this is so, let me know RiDATA, I'd be glad to know if you deserved at least three...
Defective, no other word for it
Pros: This product is a motherboard. It nominally has a BIOS, and boots.
Cons: The IPMI is unable to hold connections. It will, after high transfer, disconnect for 5-10 seconds and lose all TCP connections. It does this quite often in fact, often enough that the IPMI is 95% of the time unusable for installing an operating system. I even tried Ubuntu's mini.iso (12MB!) and it loses connection when it switches to the color loading screen. Reconnects don't have a working KVM keyboard. Great. The motherboard has disastrous NIC problems, probably due to faulty power management if bug report 'fixes' are any indication. See Sourceforge's e1000e driver. Notice all the 82574L NIC bug reports. Notice how many are for the X8SIE motherboard set. The chipset does not accept high density RAM. In the normal price range then you are stuck with 2GB instead of 4GB ECC.
Overall Review: This is a _seriously_ defective product.
Works ok, terrible install
Pros: It's cheap. It seems to work, so far.
Cons: Of all my years working with computers, this heatsink/fan was the hardest part to install, of any kind, that I have encountered. It is absolutely ridiculous. It looks like it should be simple, but since this was an upgrade instead of a new PC, I had very little room for my hands to work, and you need it for this one. On that note, it isn't terribly quiet. I think I may have pressed down on the fan instead of the body while trying to force the heatsink/fan in. I at least assume it was my fault, because the fan is *rated* as being quiet...
Overall Review: Would not buy again... unless for a new computer. Yes, it's cheap, but the install is a nightmare. For a dirt cheap new PC, I might think about it. If you are working with a motherboard that is not already *in the case*, you may be fine.