Joined on 12/19/03
Nearly perfect case, marred by cheap plastic parts
Pros: Brilliant design overall--they've clearly been listening to their customers. This case is in many ways the culmination of the innovations in the last few generations of Cooler Master enthusiast cases. Ample airflow. Well-designed, if not perfectly executed, tooless installation. Lots of space to work with. Very few sharp edges--most are either covered with a plastic guard or bent inward to prevent injury. Holes in motherboard tray allow for very efficient cable management, keeping bundles of excess cable out of sight and out of the way of the airflow.
Cons: Cheap plastic parts: The casters are extremely fragile (I had one shatter while setting the case upright). The hard drive trays work great, but they feel like they will break easily, and I have a feeling they'll be difficult to replace. There's no way to install hard drives in the hard drive cage without the plastic trays. The expansion board retention system is clever, but again, the parts feel brittle, and they don't hold the expansion boards securely. Not a big deal for a network card, but no way will I trust my large, heavy video card to these little plastic clips. Fortunately, unlike the hard drive mounts, they're designed so that you can still screw the expansion cards in if you're so inclined.
Overall Review: Note that if you have the kind of power supply that draws air from the case and blows it out the back, you'll have two options, neither of which is ideal. You can mount it on top of the case, but you'll have to remove the top fan to do so, or you can mount it on the bottom, but with the fan drawing air from the space underneath the case instead of from inside the case. It would be nice if the case had extra screw holes so that the power supply could be installed upside down at the bottom, to draw air out. The only places you'll need a screwdriver are to mount the motherboard, to attach the casters, and to attach a drive to the 3.5-to-5.25 inch adapter (to add a floppy drive or a sixth hard drive). Overall, this is a nearly perfect case from a design standpoint. I'm not sure what else I could ask for in terms of features. I do wish Cooler Master had used a more durable material for the plastic parts, and there's still room for improvement in the expansion card retention sys
It's not a real Intellimouse Explorer 3.0
Pros: It's almost an Intellimouse Explorer 3.0. The side buttons are easy to reach with your thumb, but not so much that you'll accidentally hit them all the time, once you get used to them. Response time is quick, and motions are precise. It really wants to be a good mouse.
Cons: Like everyone else has said, the scrollwheel is a deal breaker. Unlike on the original Intellimouse Explorer 3.0, this wheel is obnoxiously loud, poorly fit, and has a tendency to get stuck so that it takes a distracting amout of force to get it moving again, which is very bad for gaming. The wheel of the original 3.0 was almost perfect--smooth and quiet, with just enough feedback. This one is just plain clusmy and clunky.
Overall Review: The original Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 was the best mouse I ever used, and I've had it for over four years with no problems. When I needed a mouse for another system, I went straight for this one. Since I have gotten in the habit of using my scrollwheel, this one has been a major disappointment. If you don't use the wheel, though, it's a perfectly good mouse.
CPU LED
Pros: Very pretty lighting effects for the 1.5 seconds it stays on.
Cons: Does not POST. At power on, fans spin and lights come on, including the CPU warning LED, then it powers off within a couple of seconds. It will then cycle on and off indefinitely until I pull the plug. Sleazy Newegg "limited replacement" return policy.
Overall Review: I've never had a problem with Newegg before, but I'm afraid this "limited replacement" policy just became a complete deal-breaker for me. I bought this motherboard as the basis for a new machine for my parents for Christmas, along with a number of other parts. If it were not for the "limited replacement" policy, I could go out and buy a replacement at a local retailer, send this defective board in for a refund, and have my parents' machine up and running tomorrow. I'd be happy, my parents would be happy, and I'd be making many future Newegg purchases. Instead, I'm going to have to exchange it via UPS, and by the time the replacement arrives, I'll be back home, and won't be able to finish the build until I'm back in town. This will of course be way too late to file rebates on other components, so I'll be out another $30 or so that I wasn't expecting. I'm remembering why I was always nervous about shopping online in the first place. I think Newegg just lost me as a cus