Pros: The device was purchased at a reasonable cost and the quality is good. The JMicron Hardware RAID Management software is working well also. Setup is easy.

Cons: An internal power supply would be nice but would most likely increase the size of the enclosure.

Overall Review: I have been running this enclosure for over a week now with absolutely no problems. I have four Seagate ST4000DM000 4TB drives configured as a RAID 10 array and used as the system backup drive for a Windows 2012R2 server. The ESATA port is being used. The enclosure is paired with a PCI-E ESATA card, using the ASMEDIA 1061 chipset, in the server.

Pros: I ordered two of these cases. They look great, and I especially like the ESATA, USB, Firewire, and audio connectors located on the top of the case. The case fans are large and can move a lot of air. The cable retention clamps on the bottom of the motherboard tray make it easy to route a lot of cables.

Cons: I encountered quality control problems with one of the two cases that I ordered. Two parts of the internal case structure that were supposed to be riveted together were not. The rivet was there, but it was only riveted to one of the two metal elements pushing the other element out. The motherboard tray does not slide into the case but rather hinges into it which just does not work as well as if the tray slid into the case because the IO plate is mounted to the chassis. When installing the motherboard tray the motherboard screws have to remaing loose to allow for positioning of the motherboard rear connectors through the IO plate holes. It is easier to mount the motherboard to the tray with the tray installed in the case. The motherboard tray design on my Lian Li PC-6077 case was better. The case chassis metal is a bit on the thin side. The metal in my PC-6077 case is thicker. The chassis is rather flimsy until everything is fastened together, and then the case becomes rigid.

Overall Review: It is obvious that a lot of thought went into the case design, but when paying $200 for a case I should not have to experience quality control problems. I rated one of my cases a 5 and the other one a 0 because it is can't be used. The average was 2.5 so I rounded to 3.

Pros: Board runs Windows Server 2012 without a problem

Cons: Console redirection in remote management does not work.

Overall Review: Board is running Windows 2012 Server without any issues. The problem is with the BMC/IPMI system. Everything seems to be working in the IPMI system other than Console Redirection. I believe this is related to the Java Jviewer applet that is downloaded from the server BMC. Java Version is 7, update 65. Java Runtime will not allow the Jviewer applet to be loaded and run. I have tried to use remote console in Windows Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome. None of the browsers will load the Jviewer applet. I have set the Java security level in the control panel to medium (as low as it will go). I have deleted temporary files in the Java control panel. I have added the IP address of the BMC to the Java exception list in the Java control panel. Nothing I have done has allowed Jviewer to load and run. I get the following error messages when Jviewer trys to load: Missing Application-Name manifest attribute Missing Permissions manifest attribute in main jar The Remote Control window on the Dashboard screen is all black with 0 x 0 displayed. I have sent a support request to ASRock and hope to hear back from them soon. If you are looking for a server motherboard with remote management I would say look for other options. This board is not ready for prime time.

Pros: This is a compact board with a lot of great features. It has been a solid performer. It fits well in my Silverstone SG06 case. I am running Windows 8.

Cons: I am using the VIA FireWire port on this board to communicate with a software defined radio with a 192KHz sampling rate. This does not work with the Windows 8 FireWire driver so I have to load the legacy FireWire driver from Windows 7, sign the driver, and use BCDEdit to put and keep the system in test mode. Then everything works great except I get a test mode message on the bottom-right of my display that is difficult to remove without having negative effects with Windows 8. For now I live with the test mode message.

Overall Review: I wish the board had a TI FireWire chipset. I wish Microsoft would provide the legacy FireWire driver for Windows 8.

Pros: The case has very nice fit and finish. I had no misalignment problems of any kind.

Cons: The case cables (USB, 1394A, USB 2.0, Power Switch, Power LED, HD LED, Reset) need to be longer by 20 percent. I had problems getting the HD audio cable to reach the socket on the motherboard. I am sure the cost to make some wires a little longer can't add that much expense to the production of this case.

Overall Review: I would recommend this case, but you may have issues with the length internal case cables.

Pros: Once I got this board working I found the DPC's were very good. This is important as I use the computer for digital signal processing applications.

Cons: Installed an I7 3770K processor and ended up in the boot loop that I heard so much about. I should have paid attention to the reviews. Also when in the boot loop keyboards, USB and PS2, are not recognized. I ended up purchasing an I3 processor from a local computer chain store and installed it on the board. The computer booted just fine. At that point I flashed the BIOS with F10 and put the I7 3770K processor back on the motherboard, and the system booted. The system has been running now for about 24 hours with no problems that I know of. I suppose I could have sent the board back, but I am tired of messing around with this board, and I needed a working computer. I am sure I will use the I3 processor for something, but I learned a $125 lesson (cost of the I3).

Overall Review: I currently own four machines with Gigabyte boards, but I wish I had never purchased this board. I gave the board one egg as the board is currently working. It's a good thing I bought a two-year replacement policy as I will probably be using it.