Joined on 06/05/04
AMD FX-8350 Black Edition 4GHz

Pros: Everything about this thing was easy. Install, set up, cooler. Got a nice XPS video card to compliment this bad boy, and it works great. Still pretty early, but no packet lost, hickups or stalls. Fairly cheap too.
Cons: Hot hot hot. The heat sink that came with this sucked. after a few days of usage, there were instances were the temp would soar for no reason at all almost causing the whole system to shut down. I got a liquid cooler for it, and it seems to have fixed what ever the problem was. Still the idol temp is way higher than what I'm used to.
Overall Review: After installing the liquid cooler, this handles all my games at max spec. I still watch the temp like a hawk tho. The last thing I want is this to burn out so soon.
Cheap and effective room heater

Pros: -One card will run most games very well. -It's got Cross Fire, so if you wana get a second one later to close the requirement / recommended gap with games, it's a cheap option. -Tried it with a ASUS mother board and GIGABYTE board, and it worked and fit great on both. (the GIGABYTE board said it could handle cross fire like set ups, but this card seems a little too big for the board.)
Cons: -This is really REALLY hot. Not like attractive hot, like temp hot. It will heat up not only just your case, but your whole room. -Overclocking is a joke. You can force higher settings, but something happens with the card's system. I'm not sure if it is just from overheating, or a cycle of errors in the AMD program, but I do know the card will crash, and restart your computer if you push it (even just a little) for more than 5 minuets.
Overall Review: -Powering it shouldn't be a problem. Most power sources are able to plug into this card. -I am not a fan of AMD patches to the driver. Even after a patch, some games will not work, even if they used to before.
BEAST

Pros: Oh it's big. Comes with two 240mm LED fans, that are pretty and movable. Dust covers don't block any air as far as i can tell, very good design. The cut out on the "non-motherboard" side is very nice, it displays a lot more then what ya may want displayed, but still nice. Has two other fans barely worth mentioning, cuz they don't light up, I replaced them with ones that do. Wire management is there and it works, but I didn't use it that much. Air flow is amazing, in such a big case it's nice to feel and see air move inside this thing. More credit to the dust filters.
Cons: Wire management is a little silly. Its there, but you wont "want" it. I don't know, if you really want to hide your wires from the cut out on this case, your gona spend a lot of time cursing the wire management provided. I didn't hide all my wires, cuz I kinda like the look of some wires, and the case works fine in that situation, , but if your the person to hide them completely good luck. NOTE: I did have a motherboard with tons of ports and stuff, you may have an easier time hiding your wires than me. Also, it's heavy, so don't plan on attending regular LAN partys with this thing in tow.
Overall Review: Its big, black, and blue. If you like having tons of drives and ports and stuff it's great. They design team could rethink placing the ports. I have the case on top of my desk, and the case ports are on top. I considered this when i bought it, and I'm fine, but it's really for placing on the ground. It's got a nice 3/4 inch clearance from the leg supports, so if carpet is your thing, then beware this limitation.
Nice and strong

Pros: Very easy to install into a large case. It's easy to plug something in, ie RAM, Vid Card, CPU; it's very sturdy. Love all the port and plugs for audio and USB.
Cons: Windows 7 is having a BIOS problem with it, even after the driver updates, but one 5 min call to Microsoft fixed it; still wish i didn't have to do that. -1egg Some power plugs and ports are a little hard to find, but if you take your time, it shouldn't be a problem.
Overall Review: the slogan for this model was "durable" and while I didn't want to test this description, I did get the feel that i didn't have to baby this thing. I still grounded myself, but I kinda slapped in the vid card and RAM... and works fine, but I don't see the point. Maybe its good for people who are extremely heavy handed?
Crucial Ballistix 8GB

Pros: Got two of these and wow. Each one has a spectacular timing table, so my games are getting all the delicious ram they need
Cons: Two might be a bit excesive since its for $70 for one 8GB stick.
Thermaltake TR2 700W Power Supply

Pros: Very nice, fits well with just about anything. I have it now in a Thermaltake case, so I wasn't worried about it not fitting. Never have a moment where power is an issue. Great price for such power. It makes me want to get a second vid card NOW just to see CrossFire in action... but I'll wait for now.
Cons: IF ANYTHING - lots of wires... it tries to minimize the wires by putting multiple plugs on a single set of wires, but even for 700w, it's kinda silly. - kinda wanted some energy saving rating, but I was more worried about a constant stream of power.
Overall Review: Wires were not a problem, with my full case having awesome wire management. Adapters galore; not really a good thing or bad for me. could be good if you have 10 HHDs and 4 fans and you wana convert those extra vid card plugs. Could be bad if you don't know were to put extra wires.