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Jesse S.

Jesse S.

Joined on 12/01/07

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Power of 2x680 in SLI, in a much smaller, cooler package!

EVGA Signature GeForce GTX 690 4GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 SLI Support Video Card 04G-P4-2692-KR
EVGA Signature GeForce GTX 690 4GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 SLI Support Video Card 04G-P4-2692-KR

Pros: I'm not going to try and touch base on anything everyone knows already, but more of the things that aren't really said. +Future proofing, while saving money in the long haul. *What I mean by this is I was able to spend roughly the same amound of money as two 680's, but now if I ever need more performance, I can just snag another one in the future when the price has dropped (Used) and I don't have to both about selling my GPU's to upgrade. I plan on holding onto this card for a year at LEAST before I pick up another. Even them I'll have those two for another 2 or 3 years before they've aged too much. +No compromise! *Unlike in the past when I get a dual GPU card, where you get less performance than 2x of the single GPU's in the same series, this thing is RIGHT THERE with two 680's. This GPU IS GTX 680's on the same PCB. Just clocked down about 100MHz. (Easily combated by Overclocking a little bit). +Pure Craftsmanship. *ALL Metal, AND powerful? It's too beautiful..

Cons: The only Cons this monster can be accused of are ones that aren't even it's fault. -2GB per GPU (4GB total) instead of 4GB per GPU (8GB total.) (more of a personal gripe) * I'm using 3x1080p monitors, and this can be really it's only achilles heel. The card can cap out at 2GB in games like Skyrim that have massive amounts of texture mods, or games that like to use any form of MSAA. I personally wish it has 6GB, or 8GB total so that I could be more comfortable in the long haul. But that's ok, because I plan on going to a single 1440P IPS montior soon, and this will no longer be an issue for me. -The usual: Won't make me breakfast, doesn't kiss me back, and illegal to marry in 49 states.

Overall Review: PLEASE keep in mind I've been researching this card for about 2 months now, so I know quite a bit regardless of owning the card for only 3 days. Anything TRULY noting will come with time, and I WILL update my review once I encounter more things. Other things to note: Drivers don't like Borderlands 2 @ 6050x1080, although the game has only been out for 3 days, so this is to be expected. I'm sure a driver update will fix this. System specs: CPU: Intel i7 3960x @ 4.5GHz Mobo: ASRock x79 Extreme 4 GPU: GTX 690 (durr) RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) G.Skill Ares 1600MHz SSD: Mushkin Callisto 60GB (x2) Raid 0 for OS & games. Storage: WD Caviar Green 2TB PSU: Antec 1200w TPQ Case: NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK (Black) Monitor(s): (x3) Asus VS238 23" 1080p

It works!

OCZ Vertex 4 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) VTX4-25SAT3-512G.M
OCZ Vertex 4 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) VTX4-25SAT3-512G.M

Pros: High capacity, EXTREMELY fast, highest IOPS for an SSD as of today. Came with everything you needed to mount it properly. From a few tests I've done, and doing a few benches, I can say I'm impressed. You hardly find an SSD that will always reach its max R/W speeds, but this thing comes close 100%, and then on some large tests gets right up close and person with the spec'd speeds. I got it here during the Black Friday for $300, and I can honestly say its been my first no-regrets spontaneous buy. Highly recommended.

Cons: For the price, capacity, speed, and accessories? None. Except maybe it wont get hot enough to cook eggs on...

Overall Review: Ponies.

WOO, It POSTS!

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL10Q-32GBZL
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL10Q-32GBZL

Pros: 32GB, higher than average clock speeds, relatively low timings, and it WORKS! I was able to run a 24 hour Memtest: zero issues.

Cons: Doesn't tell me bedtime stories, takes a LONG time to do passes in memtests due to capacity.

Overall Review: It's RAM... There really isn't much to talk about. As long as you post, and can get a a few passes in a memtest, you're golden.

Came used from OCN. A+. Flawless BIOS.

ASRock X79 Extreme4 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock X79 Extreme4 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: This board is FLAWLESS. I was able to successfully slap my i7-3960x and do a temp OC to 4.0GHz while I wait for my H100. Setting up Raid-0 for my SSD's was a breeze, and I'm getting much better read speeds than my old EVGA Tri-SLI board. Although I picked this up used from OCN, it came with everything, and was like new. The person I bought it from updated the BIOS for me, so I didn't have to deal with the nightmare that some here are having to deal with. My two 7970's have been running in crossfire in Eyefinity without any hick-ups, and the top two PCI-E lans are spaced perfectly so that to top card has room to breathe. I was easily able to bump the speed of my memory up ~100MHz, and have been running stable for just over a month and a half now. Triple SLI Bridge IS included!

Cons: Although I have proper spacing for my GPU's, I'm still limited to only a triple-GPU setup for future builds. I would have liked a LITTLE more Sata ports for my storage, but hey, this thing wont run as a server for more than maybe 4 hours out of the day. I'm fine with what I have. SOME people here have been having to deal with BIOS update issues. Sadly, there isn't much you can do but wait for ASRock to send you a new BIOS Chip for FREE. This issue is NOT ASRocks fault if you are getting a board that was made and shipped out AFTER intel released its 3820 chips. ASRock did what the could, and we're able to make this board run out of the box for the chips they initially had launched it for.

Overall Review: Don't give the board 1 egg reviews because an accident happened, and the manufacture is willing to work with you to get your issue resolved. Be patient, and review the board AFTER you have the proper BIOS. For others looking to get this board, DON'T THINK TWICE. GET IT NOW. I'm loving every minute of this board. RIG SPECS: i7-3960x (4.0GHz temp-speed with temp Air Cooler) ASRock x79 Extreme4 2x Sapphire 7970's (Ref) OC'd 1125/1575 1.15vC G.Skill Ares 16GB (2x8GB) 1600MHz 2x Mushlin Callisto 60GB SSD's in Raid 0 + 2.5TB for storage (2xHDD's). Asus DVD Drive Antec TPQ-1200w PSU NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BLK 3x Asus VS238 23" LED Monitors

Best Power Supply I've owned

Antec TPQ-1200 1200W Continuous Power with PowerCache Technology SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Antec TPQ-1200 1200W Continuous Power with PowerCache Technology SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: Lots and lots of power. I'm able to power all three of my GTX 480's an still have headroom for overclocking, and being able to have as many of the PCI-E cables I need, this isn't an issue. It's colors-scheme goes well with my case and lights, and It's extremely quiet. Luckily, my GTX 480's are loud enough with a load, that I've never been able to notice how loud this PSU can be on a load. It also fits in my NZXT Phantom!

Cons: It's a little big, luckily it fit in my NZXT phantom, and the capacitors at the end of each cable make it a tricky task to get managed into the grommets. It's also not 100% modular, but despite these cons, I'm still giving it 5 eggs; because I'm using nearly every non modular cable anyways.

Overall Review: It doesn't get hot enough to cook eggs on, nor does it get loud enough to distract my cat from sitting in the heat of my 3 GPU's.

Best mouse I've EVER used.

Microsoft SideWinder X8 Black 12 Buttons Tilt Wheel 2.4GHz Wireless 4000 dpi Gaming Mouse
Microsoft SideWinder X8 Black 12 Buttons Tilt Wheel 2.4GHz Wireless 4000 dpi Gaming Mouse

Pros: PLZreadALL First thing I noticed was how cool it looked. It looked like it would have made me feel like I had the power of a tank in my hand. But this mouse isn't all about looks. It talks-the-talk, and boy let me tell ya... it can sure as heck walk-the-walk. Immediately after placing my hand on this mouse, I knew I was going to surf, game, and just flat out move comfortably. After a month or so of use with this mouse, I can that this is going to make your hand feel great in the long run. No cramps, aches, no nothing. Next would be its functionality. 12 total buttons, 7 are programmable. The "left and right click" buttons are pretty basic. the feel great to use, and are fairly quiet compared to past $20 mice i've had. The thumb buttons are a necessity. Surfing would suck without them, and the are in just the right position, regardless of the size of your hand (as long as its not in the "petite" category.) both me and my older brother reach them just fine. And his hands a

Cons: One Con I guess would be there are too many Pros.. I ran out of characters to use in the "Pro" section of my review :( SO instead of talking about the non-existent Cons, I'll talk about the rest of the Pros! Back to functionality. The On-The-Fly DPI setting buttons ARE PERFECT!!!! I can't tell you enough how helpful these are, especially when I play any First-Person Shooter game that involves Sniping. For me, I switch to a lower DPI when I snipe, and a higher DPI for anything else. (My settings are: Top - 1500dpi for normal fps control, Middle - 2000dpi for desktop and normal use, and 1000dpi for sniping and photoshop.) Not much to say about the scroll wheel except it feels great, functions correctly, and is metal. (Rubber ones don't last long when I'm around :) Macro button is nice, I've used it for ingame stuff, but I use the software for other macros. The Quick Launch is useless to me unless you're oldschool playing minesweeper ;D SWAPPABLE FEET RULE!!! The white i

Overall Review: I'm tired of running out of characters... Good thing is I'm almost done :) Mouse pads- People are talking about it not tracking on cloth mouse pads - especially black ones. I got my mouse WITH a DOLICA Midnight Edge mouse pad. And if you can't tell by the name, it's black. This is my current mouse pad for now, and I'll tell you its the best! It replaced my World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Collectors Edition mouse pad. Its a good size, feels great, and WORKS WITH THIS MOUSE!!! I heard a few "rumors" that this will interfere with anything the runs at 2.4GHz (routers, phones, etc.) but mine has had no such issues. One last thing I have to cover is the super amazing Recharge cable. I haven't had it die yet, but it got close when I forgot to charge it one night after 4 hours of gaming (surfed the web A LOT prior to that.) It's really cool when it dies, because the LCD screen, and the "Eye" on the back start to blink when its dying. Recharges fast though. Wow... 3000 cha