Joined on 03/09/05
Smart compromises make this the best SFF Option
Pros: -120mm fan in SFF size -10-year warranty -Quiet operation -Steady Power -Fully Modular
Cons: -Slightly longer than competitors (but this is to allow 120mm fan, so not really a con.)
Overall Review: If you are looking at a SFF PSU, you are likely building in a tiny case. That means you have three real options to chose from. This Seasonic FOCUS SGX-650, Corsair SF600, and the Silverstone SX650. All three of these Power supplies are fully modular and gold. However, the big difference comes in the fact that the Seasonic comes with a 120mm fan and a 10-year warranty. The Seasonic is 125mm x 125mm x 63.5. The Corsair and Silverstone are 125mm x 100mm x 63. By trading 25mm in length, you get upgraded from a 92mm fan (what comes with the Silverstone and Corsair) to a 120mm fan (what comes in the Seasonic). The end result, si a much quieter operating power supply. You also get to add in that it is paired with the best warranty on the market (Seasonic 10 years, Corsair 7 years, and Seasonic 1 year).
VOLTAGE LOCKED! Buyer Beware
Pros: Great Price 3gb VRAM Great cooler - runs whisper quiet (Cooler is extremely long. Barely fit in case. If your running anything besides a full size case, check the measurements)
Cons: VOLTAGE LOCKED Not a good value if you are going to OC!
Overall Review: Bought this for a friends build. The whole point about buying a 7970 is to OC it. A voltage locked 7970 is crippled. My EVGA 670gtx @ 1267 will outperform the 7970 @ 1025 (max stable OC). If you are going to OC, you WILL get higher FPS going with a non-volatage locked 7950 than this voltage locked 7970!!! This is a new design since the GHz editions came out. The old design had only ONE dvi port while the new edition has TWO dvi ports. The ONE dvi port is not voltage locked while the TWO dvi port is voltage locked.
Big Power, Little Card
Pros: -Power like a gtx 970 in half the size -lower PSU requirements for the power (one six pin)
Cons: -Not a 1080ti
Overall Review: Sure this card doesn't have 6gb like other 1060s and it doesn't have the ACX cooling. I knew that when I purchased it and saved some money by not getting those features. For the size and price, this is one hell of a card. Runs cools, never hear it, and it has plenty of power when you need it.
G.Skill knocks it out the park again
Pros: Some really great ram here. Paired this with an ASUS z-170m plus and i5-6600k. Was able to select the xmp profile in the settings and everything worked great. Also, this is a very good price for name brand, DDR4 ram.
Cons: None
Great chip, great OC, runs a little hot though!
Pros: Great little chip. I paired the i5-6600k with: ASUS Z-170M-plus and GSkill 4x4gb DDR4 2800mhz. Lapa AquaChanger 240 Changed the multiplier to 45 and selected the XMP profile. Everything works great. Peaks out at 80C with 1.348 volts with everything else set to auto. Probably could push this chip further, but I don't want to deal with any extra heat or voltage.
Cons: Run a little hot. Like other have said, with another die shrink comes more heat that is harder to dissipate. I will not dock this bad boy any since it clocked so easy to 4.5.
Overall Review: Highly recommend. Everything just feel so snappy.
Does its job and does it well, but know what you are buying!! This is for a 290x install
Pros: Great solution. High quality parts! So much easier to install than "DWood's Brackets" 92mm is whisper quiet. This is coming from someone with a case full of Noctua fans. Properly done configuration will make the EXTREMELY loud 290x be a whisper quiet. (The stock quiet mode on a reference 290x throttles down to almost gtx670 performance because of the heat. You can get rid of this by bumping up the fan speed but it sound just like my vacuum cleaner. Reminds me of my gtx 480!!) I've been using AIO coolers on GPU since they first became popular at OCN (Overclick.net) under the names the "Red Mod" and "Green Mod". An artisan by the name of DWood started making brackets that would allow you to mount the AIO coolers to the Gfx cards instead of using zip ties. While those brackets and these are functional identical, this bracket is A LOT easier to install! The hardest part of the DWood bracket was that you had to hold the bracket, AIO cooler, and screw at the same time. Which basically requires good skill or three hands. With the NZXT bracket, the back plate and screw or held to the PCB by bolts which makes applying the AIO cooler and retention brackets a breeze! BIG Props to NZXT on this one!!
Cons: None as far as it pertains to the bracket! Maybe manual doesn't say 290x needs a shim, but it does; however I knew this before due to research.
Overall Review: A few things a 290x buyer should be aware of. I am using a reference XFX 290x. First if you are buying this for a 290x, you will need to order THREE additional items. 1) An All In One (AIO) cooler with fans 2) You will need a copper shim to use between the GPU chip and the AIO cooler. 3) You will need heat sinks for the TWO VRMs on the 290x. For the copper shim, I went with a EK 7970 Copper shim. For the VRM heatsinks, I went with Gelid enchance 290x VRM heatsinks. Model: GELD-IV-R9-290/X-EnhKit (Kind of hard to find right now, but this is the one you need since it comes with heat skins for BOTH VRM 1 and VRM 2) Without out the copper shim temps will be go over 100C very fast and comp will shut down. Without the VRM heatsinks you CANNOT OC the card at all or temps on the VRM 2 (The VRM that is not under the fan and sits at the front of the board) will quickly get to over 100C! Even at stock clocks my front VRM hits 80C! My setup: Works great. Im using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste, an Antec Kuhler H2O 620, and Two Noctua NF-F12 fans that are connected to 290x fan plugin with a Gelid CA-PWM-02 adapter (Allows afterburner to control the PWM fans on the AIO). Temps: Idle around 40C with fans at 20% Load: 60-70C with fans at 50% I went for a quiet profile (the teme of my whole build) over low temps. Bump the fans up and the temps will go down quick.