Joined on 03/05/10
Neat Idea, Ok Application
Pros: Really Cool Idea. I bought with the thought of forcing myself to minimize and ditching the bulky wallet filled with junk I really never used. Holds two credit cards and my ID and nothing more without not closing flush at the seams. All the buttons still feel nice and "clicky" and access to the ports are good. I like that it came with a rear film protector as many cases end up leaving marks over time. Price is nice as I remember similar cases for the Iphone 4S being close to 60 or 70 bucks.
Cons: Only holds 3 cards. Course to hold more would make it thicker. I don't like the closure. If it is holding something as valuable as my credit cards and ID, I want it to be able to really snap shut and I want to be able to feel it and if I put too much in there, it really doesn't shut well. With 3 cards, although it doesn't "snap" shut, it does take a bit of effort to open it making me feel a bit better about not coming open inadvertently.
Overall Review: Really neat idea without it being too thick of a case. Feels sturdy like it will protect during a fall. Feels a bit heavy, but with as light as the new iPhone is, its actually kinda nice to add some weight to it.
Should have listened
Pros: Cheap and well, cheap... The power-save feature was nice although it game me the impression that it failed within 20 minutes, just have to press a key to activate rather than just move it. I'm sure if I were to keep using this thing the battery would last a bit. (see below)
Cons: I really wanted this to work well, but the range is sooooo frustrating. If I get further than just 3 FEET from the USB receiver, it starts going out!!!! It becomes choppy, something I can't stand. I bought this as a combo with the USB keyboard and the keyboard works just fine, so now I await my new mouse and this will go in a box.
Looks Awesome and Works so far
Pros: Looks really cool on the front of my CM Storm Scout case. Touch screen seems to work fine and controls the fans I could hook up to it (see cons). Comes with tape to hold temp sensors on but I think to get an accurate read with my cpu I'll have to take my heat sink off, not something I feel like doing right now. Can hear fans gear up as I turn them up so it's working right so far.
Cons: Comes with Male molex connectors! Check your case fans before ordering. This was pretty frustrating as I could only use this for three of the fans it will take, including the CPU fan. I ordered some molex female gender changers (newegg didn't have them :() to fix the problem but I haven't gotten them yet.
Overall Review: As some of the other reviewers said, each connector has a molex as well as the 3-pin connector so this does provide for a sloppier look. Would have been 5 eggs if it came with female adapters though. Oh well.
Not bad.... Good value
Pros: Bought to put together a budget superbuild with an i5-2500k. Good price. Works or seems to so far.
Cons: Couple things. I owned an ASUS mobo before and if it didn't post during overclocking, it would just reboot back to the bios. The biostar sometimes would require me to use the on board reset button to reset. Make sure you use the saving feature when you make changes. If it doesn't post, it will automatically set it back to defaults and you have to do everything over again. Was a pain at first but I started using the saving feature and it was ok. Also, there are some components of the mobo around the processor. This caused some problems with my aftermarket cpu cooler during installation, just kinda got in the way. Also, been having some trouble with my audio connector but I haven't had a chance to see if it is my case or the onboard.
Overall Review: Like I said I paired this with the i5-2500k. I have overclocked before with an i3 and it went ok. The software the mobo comes with is pretty much useless to overclock with. With the i5, use the bios and multiplier to overclock rather than the frequency and don't be afraid to increase the voltage a bit. I set mine to offset with an increase of .15 volts over the stock 1.25 and I was able to overclock to 4.7 GHz on an aftermarket cooler. I would go higher with better cooling. Without a decent air cooler much higher won't be possible, and above 5 Ghz, which I've heard is plenty possible, you'll need water. For extreme situations like that though you might want to invest in a higher end mobo that will keep it more stable. I was pretty surprised to keep stable at 4.7 with this board, so that was a nice surprise.
Hauls
Pros: Unlocked. I've overclocked to 4.5 Ghz and its stable on a cheaper aftermarket cooler. Would like to get it higher but I'm not that experienced and don't want to mess with too many voltage settings and things like that. It's quick and on the WEI (in case you care) gets 7.7 at 4.5 Ghz.
Cons: None
Overall Review: Was hesitant to spend the money on this. Was originally going to try the new Bulldozer eight core by AMD, do your research, this KILLS it in just about every benchmark.
It's a HYBRID modular
Pros: Pretty nice, it works. Big blue light you can turn off if you want. Modular (sort of, look at other thoughts). Price is pretty good.
Cons: None really
Overall Review: People keep complaining that its not a modular. It is a hybrid modular. It comes with short cables off unit and extension cables to plug in your components, not plugs on the unit itself. But it still eliminates the excess cabling.