Pros: The Xonar DX is a balanced card, and has good value for the money. It is not strictly a "gamer's" or an "audiophile's" card, and has a good mix of features for both purposes. It is an amplified card with EAX, Dolby, and 7.1 capabilities, so you will not have any problems getting plenty of ear splitting decibels out of it, and it produces clean and crisp sound. With high end speakers or headphones such as my Sennheiser Audiophile 555s and even my HD380Pros it sounds amazing. An added luxury is the ability to attach your computer chases’ standard front audio to the card, giving you easy access to the system without having to buy anything. The Xonar DX uses standard Intel HD audio front panel pin-outs, and is set up for ease of access. Overall it is a great card, and quite frankly, ND annihilates the competition in its price range. If you are shopping around for a good all around sound card, the Xonar DX is a good option to consider. Overall my I have been very happy with this card.

Cons: The Xonar DX is not the "best card" for a single purpose. It sounds great, but not as good for games as the ASUS Xonar Essence ST or STX, or at recording or listening to music as M-AUDIO's Audiophile line. If you are looking for a single role, multipurpose card the DX is OK but not the best.

Overall Review: Overall, the Xonar DX is a great card in an affordable price range. It takes a balanced approach to sound and is a great choice for overall quality. If you are looking for a balanced mid-end sound card, the Xonar DX is a good choice.

Pros: The Athlon 5150 consumes very little power, costs less than $50, and has the advantage of being a quad core processor. The fact that it is an ALU makes it particularly well suited for use in entry level machines, and the on die Radeon 8400 has more than enough power to deliver a seamless multimedia experience at a full 1080p image quality. Beyond the technical jargon, this is a solid product, and it works well for my father. Though, the CPU delivers slightly less performance than the Phenom II X3 in his old machine, the on die GPU seems to more than make up for it.

Cons: The Athlon 5150 would not be a good pick for serious gamers. It lacks both the CPU and GPU power to make for a passable entry level gaming machine.

Overall Review: As an entry level option for basic computing and multimedia entertainment this processor is well worth the purchase. If you are looking for a sub $50 CPU with a decent power to performance ratio the Athlon 5150 is worth a look.

Pros: Great Graphics, good car selection, nice controls, and a high degree of customizability.

Cons: PS3 exclusive title; game play can get repetitive.

Overall Review: Overall GT5 is a great racing game that provides a decent challenge, and immerses the player in a highly realistic world. If racing games are your genre, and you own a PS3, GT5 will make a great addition to your game library.

Pros: Going from 4 to 8GB of RAM was a great decision, and this RAM runs fast and stable.

Cons: None

Overall Review: Some systems underclock this and other manufacturer's RAM. This is a not a RAM issue, it is a BIOS issue. If you find that your system is underclocking your RAM you may need too hand set the timings, CAS, RAS, and tRAS. Another thing to note is stability and voltage. When buying RAM, remember to check your manufacturer's motherboard spec sheet. Look for compatible RAM nomenclatures with the correct voltages.

Pros: The card installed without a hitch. The card I purchased is PCI so I do not lose a PCIe x1 slot, this could be a con in some cases, PCIe x1 is capable of 400Mbs verses PCI at 133Mbs. As of Linux kernel 2.6.30 and ALSA version 1.0.20 there is an DS/STX driver available, OSS 4.2 drivers support the card in FreeBSD and Solaris. The front panel audio support for standard HD Audio dongles is very nice as well.

Cons: Have not had one, running Windows 7 Pro x64 and 32bit , as well as XP and Vista. I have yet to try it in a Linux/UNIX environment; not really a con.

Overall Review: If you are experiencing hardware issues try disabling redundant hardware such as other sound card. Remember to check for hardware conflicts in device manager or a similar Linux/UNIX utility, and when in doubt, install drivers directly from ASUS. If all else fails, remember to be persistent; search Google, try some tech forums. It may seem like a pain; it makes you a better tech, and worthy of claiming high tech knowledge. It also gives you the knowledge and experience to help your self in the future.

Pros: All my high end components fit in this case with room to spare. It has solid construction and great cooling options.

Cons: It is a big case, and requires a considerable amount of space.

Overall Review: The added 2.5 inch bay on the bottom of the case is a nice addition.