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Ryan W.

Ryan W.

Joined on 01/02/12

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 3
Most Favorable Review

Kinda big for Low Profile...

ARCTIC Freezer 11 LP CPU Cooler for Intel, Support Multiple Sockets, HTPC Ready
ARCTIC Freezer 11 LP CPU Cooler for Intel, Support Multiple Sockets, HTPC Ready

Pros: Very quiet, it cools pretty well. With the stock fan my CPU ran at about 55C in my cramped ITX case and now it runs about 43C at idle (probably could have been lower but that was my fault, see Other thoughts).

Cons: It's much bigger than I had anticipated. I have a GA-H61N-USB3 ITX motherboard and the cooler covers one of the RAM slots and the copper tubing is pushing against the Graphics Card...so it just barely fits. Although the PSU originally sat on top of the stock cooling fan, it will not fit inside the case (Apex MI-008) with the cover on because the new cooler is so tall (I'd guess I would need another 7 or 8 millimeters of clearance to make it fit). So I guess I gotta buy a new case and just hope that I never need more than 8 gigs of RAM. The instructions should have been clearer as to what position the CPU Cooler needs to be in, so if you buy it, make sure that the copper tubing is facing against the GPU, not the memory, or else it will get stuck on the plastic brackets that are used in installation and the cooler will never touch the CPU.

Overall Review: The reason it still runs at 43C at idle is because the instructions weren't very clear, so I just thought that the reason the CPU temps were so high after putting the cooler in was because the thermal paste hadn't cured. Well woke up the next morning with temps at around 80C wondering whats up. I took the cooler out to see that only half of the CPU had paste on it. I turned the cooler 90 degrees and it went in perfectly...although this is AFTER the paste cured so if I bought some new compound It'd probably be in the 30's, but not their fault so I can't really take a star off for that. Only reason it isn't 5 stars is because the instructions could've been a little better and even though the dimensions were listed and I just assumed it would fit because it's low profile...I was wrong and paid for it.

INCREDIBLE Performance

EVGA 600 B1 100-B1-0600-KR 80+ BRONZE 600W Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply
EVGA 600 B1 100-B1-0600-KR 80+ BRONZE 600W Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply

Pros: It actually puts out 600W continuously. I have it hooked up to a Precision Power 600W RMS amplifier (which I have hooked up to an old school JBL subwoofer). I was worried that the peak power of the amp would kill the PSU, but it has yet to short it or anything. I've had everything hooked up for an hour and a half running full blast and at the end of that time, the PSU was COLD TO THE TOUCH. I swear that amp is 600W RMS and peaks even higher. This PSU must be underrated, because the performance I'm getting is just great.

Cons: Nothingggg

Overall Review: Nice job EVGA! This experience will likely result in me buying more computer components from you!

Pretty nice case...until you want to install a new CPU cooler

APEX MI Series MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply
APEX MI Series MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply

Pros: Very sturdy, love how small it is so it can sit on my desk pretty easily. Building the entire thing was extremely easy.

Cons: As many others have pointed out, the Power Supply sits DIRECTLY on top of the CPU cooler. Not only limiting how tall your CPU fan can be (stock intel i3 fan fits fine), but it also blocks HALF of the air coming to the CPU. That's why my stock temps are in the 50's at idle. So I went and bought a new low profile cooler...and it doesn't fit. I bent the case a little to make the power supply fit, but even then the power supply is now sticking out of the case, making it impossible to put the metal cover back on the case without some serious modding.

Overall Review: I would not buy this case again just because I plan to expand my PC as I go along and this case does not allow me to do that. I don't think I would recommend it to a friend either. Just spend a few more dollars...It's definitely worth the investment. But for an HTPC or something along those lines it isn't that bad. Just don't game or do anything that throttles the CPU temps.