Joined on 03/14/05
Best CPU ever!
Pros: I debated between this and an i7-6700K. Their price (pre-Black Friday) is comparable and so is their performance via cpuboss. Once it came on sale for Black Friday it was a done deal. Runs constantly under my Corsair H55 at 4.3Ghz. No overclocking or anything. I assume it is just the turbo boost is always on due to the CPU never going over 60 degrees under load. Idle it runs at 29 ~ 32 degrees.
Cons: Dear Intel, Thank you for the stock cooler which came with the CPU. Nevertheless, please remove the stock cooler from the package and take $20 off your CPU prices. At least do this for all "K" series of chips. Regards, Everyone
Overall Review: although it is a couple years old this CPU is still amazing. Great, but unnecessary upgrade for my still amazing i7-2600K.
Amazing case ... but a bit pricey
Pros: One of the best computer cases money can buy. This case has been around for several years and it is VERY difficult to find one for sale. I found this one from NewEgg.com and it was the most reasonably priced one I could find. No complaints other than the price due to the scarcity of the case. The case is arguably one of the coolest looking cases. I am not into the 'fish bowl' style of cases and I am not into RGB but I wanted to showoff my system. This fit the bill. That is why I paid so much more than a lot of other cases. MSI X670E Gaming Plus Wifi 64GB 6000MTs CL36 G.Skill Flare X5 XFX 7900XTX 9800X3D 360 AIO top mounted
Cons: None. Cable management was a breeze. Built-in fan hub is awesome. Dust filters in the front, bottom (PSU), and top help a ton in my desert climate.
Overall Review: I fell in love with the look of this case. I had to have one. By the time I saved up enough money to build my dream machine there was only like four of these cases for sale ANYWHERE on the Internet. So glad NewEgg had one and for a reasonable price.
Great bang for buck
Pros: I recently purchased a Samsung Odyssey Neo G7 165hz 4K monitor. To get 4k smoothly, AND CHEAPLY, I needed to upgrade my 6700XT. With the XFX Swift 9060XT I can now play any game at 4K. Even at balanced or quality (instead of performance) settings. Starfield, Horizon Forbidden West, and Helldivers 2 are the games I have been playing and they run 60+ FPS at 4K. With FSR, depending on the version, I get up to fifty percent more FPS over my old card. I opted for the triple fan and it is whisper quiet and ice cold. XFX is amazing. I greatly appreciate XFX opting to go with the PTM7950 TIM so I won't have to worry about drying paste or bleeding out. AMD drivers are rock solid. I have read, that in the past, AMD drivers had some troubles. For the past five years of owning AMD video cards I can confidently say I have not had any driver-related problems and the video cards have run without a hiccup. I have watched several 9060xt reviews online along with teardown videos. I think this XFX triple fan card is the best bang for the buck as of this writing.
Cons: None. Runs every game I have thrown at it at 4K 60+ FPS. Balanced or quality setting. High/ultra settings for everything.
Overall Review: I would highly recommend to anyone looking to upgrade their video card to go with a 9060XT. Only one 8-pin power connector. Cool and quiet card. Pass-through cooling. When not gaming the fans are at zero RPM. Just an amazing video card. Planning on using this one for many years.
Great PSU for the price
Pros: Semi modular design means the 24 and 8-pin power are not modular but since every motherboard requires them then it is a no-brainer to have them NOT modular. Many power cables to allow for many video cards, drives, etc. Quiet operation and looks good.
Cons: I do not know if it was me or the PSU but the non-modular 8-pin cable did NOT work with the CPU power slot on my motherboard. I had to plug in a separate 8-pin power cable to use for the CPU power slot. No big issue there but then the PCIe non-modular cable did not work with my video card, I had to plug in another PCIe cable into the modular PSU to get the video card to work. Bummer the non-modular 8-pin CPU power cable and the PCIe cables do not work. Just have to shove them in the back of my case cause I cannot do anything else with them.
MSI has created another fantastic MoBo.
Pros: The MSI Military-class components are long lasting and built to live through anything. The UEFI Bioses from MSI are regularly updated with the most up-to-date AGESA. The UEFI Bios is very easy to navigate. Just holding it, the motherboard feels sturdy and well built. There are four LED lights that let you know if there is an issue (or not recognize) CPU, RAM, Video, or boot device.
Cons: Only one USB3 port on the MoBo. (The B350M-Mortar has two USB3 ports.) If you use the bottom M.2 port it will disable the bottom PCIe slot so no Crossfire. Additionally, the bottom M.2 is only 2.0 x 4. I.e. only the top M.2 is 3.0 x 4. Not very many USB ports. I would like to get rid of the PS2 mouse/keyboard port and put another two USB ports on back.
You know that feeling of going from a HDD to an SSD?
Pros: Ultra fast. I am coming from a SATA 6Gb SSD and going to this felt like the time I switched from HDD to SSD. Super small. I did not realize how small these suckers are. Easy to install.
Cons: None yet.