Joined on 10/18/05
Good Install But...
Pros: This is definately one of Microsoft's better operating systems. I currently have 3 machines operating on WIndows XP Professional in my home. Its a really good and, (so far), solid Operating System. Its still the best choice for gaming systems in my opinion, especially if the equipment is slightly older like mine, (AMD Socket 939 Systems). But the point is this Operating System does not require lots of overhead for its background systems to function properly.
Cons: On your install, when you start collecing the Windows Updates, be sure that the last update you install is the Internet Explorer 7. If you allow Windows to choose the time to install it, it creates a data corruption that will force you to go to the Customer Support Center and spend a few hours talking to Bagladesh. They are very helpful, but it makes the install take a very long time. After talking to their representatives, they informed me that Internet 7 should be installed very last to ensure all of the necessary updates fall into place properly. I recently did such an install, and guess what they were right.
Overall Review: It would be nice for Microsoft to realize this issue and fix it! Newegg, thanks for your continued excellent service!
GPA: 1.0 Failing Grade
Pros: It fits the case, (Xclio A380 Engine Case). Two fans, one in the side door, and one in the front on the bottom. The fans, (when properly operating), move a very good amount of air, and for gaming machines, these cases/fans do make a huge difference. But... these replacement fans are not as well built as the factory Xclio fans, (Which are unavailable). I still have the case hoping to rebuild it and obtain replacement fans which actually work as designed!!!!!!!!!!!
Cons: These fans have thinner blades than the factory fans, hence the clicking and knocking issues. This comes from the fan blades actually acting like a Helicopter Blade and flexing "up" out of the fan duct/cage. In order to get mine to work properly, I had to maintain the lowest RPM Setting, and build a 1/4 inch offset collet in the screws to mount the fan back off the door. As for the front fan on this case... lets just say its only there for ornamental purposes. I could not get the fan to clear the mesh in the front of the case, and there is no room to engineer an offset for the blades to clear. I have a 120mm mounted directly behind it to push air across the HDD cage/mounts. and an 80mm mounted on the other side to form a push/pull air movement area over the HDD cage/mount. Too bad I had to retire the case because these replacement fans, (the fan blades), are too flimsy to move the air they really should.
Overall Review: To the Rexus Engineers: You guys need to beef-up the fan blades, and test your products in close tolerance environments to ensure the blades to not flex above the duct cage. One of the solutions I found after reverse engineering your fan was to build an actual ducted fan design, (which worked by the way). I built an outer ring and epoxy'd it on the intake side of the fan blades using small pieces of poly-styrene from model sprues. I then balanced the fans to ensure the blades did not vibrate during the high RPM test. The unfortunate part is that though this worked, I was not able to install this in the case because of the way I had to alter the fan. (Folks: Understand I did this just to see of it would work, don't do this then install it on your machines. Point: I did not install this modified fan on my computer. This was a bench test only). The engineers should be able to create an actual ducted type fan with the blade tips supported with an outer ring spinning inside the mounting frame without protrusion from either site. In fact a few years back Cooler Master made an 80mm Tip Drive center bearing fan that actually worked very well. I used this product on a heatsink for a P-4 3.0E gaming machine. That type of fan might be an option for this application.
Great Bang for the Buck HDD
Pros: The drives I have have been in operation for the better part of 10 years without failure. My systems are on 100% of the time, unless power outages occur. These drives are solid and have been through a couple of Rebuilds where power supplies have failed. I purchased these at the End Of Life for Windows XP Professional, they have operated through Windows 7 lifetime and am going to reformat and use them for Windows 10. Just purchased another pair for the Wife's machine that just croaked, (power supply failure), using them as a fresh start to her new system, she will now have a total of 4 of these in her machine. If you are looking for a truly solid drive, HGST Deskstar is the drive that is like a Timex, (Takes a Lickin' and Keeps on Tickin').
Cons: None... When do they die? Never?
Overall Review: To the Manufacturer... Please read the top comment. This drive should be a testament to your quality standards for these Hard Drives. These are literally the best drives I have ever used in any of my systems. These are nothing short of stellar. The quality level should be nothing short of your company flagship for these drives. They are really fine pieces of equipment. Keep it up!
Great Motherboard, ASUS Customer Support Lacking
Pros: Motherboard works as advertised, no issues thus far. Setup, straight forward and easy. Newegg's Customer Service, has been nothing short of exceptional. Order was delivered on time and undamaged. Newegg, keep it up!
Cons: ASUS, you do not make things user friendly on your website. Fellow users of this and other ASUS Motherboards... obtaining the Memory Qualified Vendors List, is absolutely frustrating and horrible. This list should have been included in the instruction manual with the motherboard. It was not. I had to go out to the ASUS Website and look there, I followed their prompts, and never was able to obtain or download a copy of the QVL. This is one of the most important pieces of information needed by builders. Every other ASUS Motherboard I have purchased in the past has come with a printed copy of their QVL included in the setup manual. Its absolutely disgusting that someone in ASUS Corporate decided to omit that information just to save one sheet of paper and some ink. To the manufacturer... Send me a copy of the QVL for this Motherboard please or the direct link to the downloadable PDF. I refuse to use your user unfriendly site. Sincerely, Shane McGuire
Overall Review: For the product itself, I would recommend and ASUS product. They make good products. @ASUS- Please have your people do their due diligence and check the "complete package" before delivering to your customers. Nothing is more frustrating when you are building a system that requires stability and necessary information is missing or omitted. More frustrating is going to your website looking for the support for the product you are selling and you cannot get the support you need. Really not cool folks...
Great CPU Cooler
Pros: This cooler is an excellent option for Motherboards where the CPU sockets are a little on the tight side to the RAM Slots. Excellent choice for the ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 Motherboard, (currently in my system). The installation instructions are a little tricky, but just follow the diagrams and you will be OK. This is a great setup for either a push or pull type setup depending on your motherboard configuration. I chose this over a different product that claimed to fit, but once installed the fan obstructed the first RAM slot effectively making it useless. I contacted ASUS directly, they suggested to either stick with the stock Heatsink/Fan, (BOO, HISS), or look into the Thermaltake Frio Series CPU Coolers. I have not been disappointed with this CPU Cooler, it has operated as designed, (I do not overclock my systems), but this cooler is more efficient than the stock one, and at this point has rarely spooled up off idle RPM. Lastly, its super quiet and that 120mm Fan moves the air!
Cons: The only con, is this cooler is a bit of a dust magnet and does require regular cleaning to maintain efficiency, in particular if you have pet, (such as myself, cats). So cleaning on a regular basis, (monthly), will be the chore.
Overall Review: Great product, no overall real complaints!
Update On Product
Pros: I am writing this as an update to my previous post. I again noticed a few negative reviews recently posted. This Motherboard is a solid gaming Motherboard and I have had no issues with it. It has been stable and has been operating perfectly since installed. The most important aspect of this is following the installation instructions to the letter. This includes updating the BIOS after installation. This BIOS shipped with this motherboard is indeed out of date and can cause some issues if it is not addressed immediately upon the finish installation of Windows. Once this is completed, there will be no issues with this motherboard. Installation was very easy, and went as designed. Be sure to obtain the proper RAM for this Motherboard, the vendor list is very specific on the types and manufacturers tested. I chose Corsair for the DDR3/1866 @ 16GB, (SN: CMZ16GX3M4X1866C9R). These have been running stable and clean.
Cons: The only complaint I have is with ASUS directly. The update files for the BIOS should not require you to download a copy of WinZip to extract/open your files. ASUS should be supplying those files as a direct download without the need for WinZip. The WinZip aspect is an unnecessary step, in the installation/flash process for updating the BIOS on the product. Simply put, there is absolutely no excuse for this step.
Overall Review: My System: Processor- AMD: Vishera Black Edition 8320 AM3+ RAM- Corsair Vengeance Series DDR3-1866 @ 16GB MoBo- Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 Optical Drive- Plextor PX-891SAW Hard Drives- HGST 1T, 7300 RPM SATA, (X2 @ 2T Total) PSU- Coolmax ZP-850B Video Card- Asus STRIX 960OC Sound: Soundblaster Xtreme Gamer Series CPU Cooler- Thermaltake Frio Silent 12 Case- Thermaltake Urban S2