Joined on 04/29/08
Cheapest board you can actually OC
Pros: Booted my E7400 out of the box. Has all the basics you could want. Great for first timer or budget OC HTPC with the right hardware. Used it for a Hackintosh build to run OSX - was one of the only boards that would fit into a modded Mac G4 case and had the right chipsets to support OSX install. Everything out of the box works in OSX except for LAN (Atheros-based). No prob - just get a 1.99 Realtek based PCI lan and your good.
Cons: Locked Multiplier. No Vcore adj. Its a G31... NB gets a bit hot. 5-5-5-15 are highest memory timings. DIMM voltage is 1.8-2.0-2.2 ONLY. Important things to know - pick the right memory! Sparse OC options - again a G31 people... Please dont buy this board to use it for its on-board GMA3100 - everyone knows Intel graphics are horrible. Even a simple $20-30 low end nvidia or ati card would make this thing rock!
Overall Review: You can do Mildly Mid level OC's on this board. Has 5-10-15-20-30 % Auto OC or manual settings. Never used auto - sorry. You can get FSB up there but because of lack of OC options you have to manually underclock memory to adjust for the overage. EX. Using 1066 memory, E7400 at 266 stock - raised to 300 required memory to be set to 800, 333 to 667... Math equals in the end... Get a small 40mm case fan, mount it to the top of the northbridge heatsink after removing the "ASUS" plate thats taped on. Worked killer. I highly suggest if OCing to just put all the voltages up as high as they can go. Dont worry - you cant input any values at all - only select pre-defined voltages so it almost idiot-proof cause those voltages are too low for any damage at their highest! I suspect 45nm chips would be better for OCing on this board.
1 out of 2...
Pros: Ordered 2 - 1 worked. Lit up the lower front of my case.
Cons: Ordered 2 - 1 was a dud. Not worthy of postage to send back. This is where the trade-off between Fry s and NewEgg occurs!
Overall Review: Oh well
It Works
Pros: Pretty straightforward - either works or doesnt - Mine does!
Cons: none
Great Drive!
Pros: SATA, its quiet, LightScribe, comes with White and Black front panel face.
Cons: None. They are all the same except for Quality, thats what you pay for.
Overall Review: Works Great. No problems at any point.
Good case...
Pros: A showcase of your equipment. Very good case with complete hardware. Holes drilled in all the right places and case is very roomy. Good CPU cooler clearances and fan locations. Is better than the pre-built logisys one.
Cons: All fan ports are 80mm. Its a bit flexy, but as to be expected with a plastic case. Thumb screws are cheesy and use the smaller thread style than the standard replacement thumb screws.
Overall Review: Looks great but you should have all LED fans with fan filters on every one, grills for every fan, atleast 2x cathode lights, a nice looking PSU with only the number of leads you need (maybe modular would be best), an aftermarket CPU cooler, All SATA drives (DVD & Hard Drive), etc. Take your time - finger prints and scratches show up easily.
Cant beat Crucial Memory
Pros: Always works, flexible latencies make this memory compatable with just about anything a default BIOS setting can throw at it. Easily OC's and handles excess voltages and heat.
Cons: None. Period.
Overall Review: Awesome memory, Crucial stomps em all for quality and reliability. Rig: E8500, Asus P5E3 Premium, 4GB DDR3 1600 Crucial Ballistix, 2x Asus EAH3870TOP Radeon 3870's, 2x WD Raptor 74's, Corsair 750W PSU, Antec 900 case