Joined on 01/10/11
Good unit for the price
Pros: Inexpensive Plenty of SATA and IDE ports Quiet Good paint job
Cons: lower energy efficiency at load (known when purchasing) undisclosed combined 12v rating
Overall Review: I've bought multiples of these units with the expectation to power 300w max builds, which they do phenomenally. Don't expect this to power a mission critical server farm for 24/7 operation at max load, that's unrealistic and a better unit should be purchased.
Solid case with quirks
Pros: Heavier duty steel for the price Removable HD cage Very long cables for front panel/USB Includes reuseable expansion port covers Relatively quiet decent sized graphics card can fit, though not the longest
Cons: Poor cable management options (modular PSU recommended) Can't install 120mm front fan (front bezel can't be reinstalled with fan, installing inside of case the holes aren't properly aligned) Glue holding magnets in place doesn't last (the front door uses these magnets remain closed) Doors can be challenging to realign/install if removed
Overall Review: This case feels like it's was designed to find solutions looking for problems, which in some areas works, and others doesn't. The gull wing doors could be neat, if the motherboard tray wasn't attached, forcing all cables to be removed if you want to open the doors to add something. Thermal wise, temps are average, though they'd be better if all the fan bays could be properly used.
Phanteks Eclipse P300 case
Pros: At this price point, I was blown away by well built this case was. - Easy to assemble into the case with cable management thought out - Real tempered glass (others I've seen in this range use acrylic panes) - Ample motherboard / PSU / other screws and zip ties - Plenty of space for additional fans / coolers - Replaceable rear PCI slot covers (many inexpensive cases use punch outs) - Built-in RGB color changing system (I'm not into the colors, nice feature though) - Newegg, as always, shipped quickly
Cons: - While I didn't use any 3.5" drives in my build, I can see how stacking 2 up in the PSU compartment with no airflow would be problematic. - I like the rubber liners that are inserted in the cable passthroughs from the cable management side of the case to the visible side of the case. I knew they weren't included at purchase, but still something that would be neat to offer
Overall Review: I will be buying this case every time it goes on sale, fantastic bargain IMO. Only thing to see now is if Phanteks has any issues honoring their MIR.
Patriot Burst SSD works as expected
Pros: I've purchased 4 of these drives on sale, they work exactly as you'd expect a 2.5" SATA 3 SSD to function. Reads/writes are in spec. Packaging is minimalistic, which is fine with me. Newegg shipped quickly
Cons: None so far
Overall Review: This has been as good as SSD I've used from other manufacturers, the technology is stable and it's a great upgrade to older, non-M2 machines.
Excellent budget power supply
Pros: Great price Quiet, OCCT power supply test ran and fan was inaudible Long enough cables, built into a Corsair Graphite 230t mid tower Power supply tester shows stable voltage
Cons: Yellow color scheme may bother some, it was subtle enough for my build
Overall Review: This power supply was a great find, and complimented this build perfectly. Most of the wattage is on the 12v rail, it looks great and is fully sleeved, and can power a good build with a decent GPU without issue. Will buy again if Antec offers another rebate
Excellent Case
Pros: Very aesthetically pleasing with ability to turn fan lights on/off 4x preinstalled fans with fan controller Easily fits all hardware, very easy build Plenty of room for cable management Fits most dual rad liquid cooling solutions (using H100i) Good accessory kit Great job at keeping out dust
Cons: Unable to close panel if hard drive mounted in bottom drive bay Not enough room between motherboard mount and top to install 240/280mm radiator with fans in push and pull configuration Firewire port (an extra USB 2.0 or even eSATA would be preferable, but I knew going in I wouldn't use it) Proprietary fan controller
Overall Review: Purchased this to replace an aging Antec 900 case as I wanted better cable management and the option to install dual radiator liquid cooling. I agree with other reviewers that the proprietary fan controller is disappointing, since it would be nice to have the ability to easily replace a fan if it fails and still use the controller. This case was sub 80 bucks at the time of purchase after MIR, which I did receive from Corsair. All my Corsair products have been top notch, and this is no exception.