Opinions on this barebones kit

The price on the bundle deal is nice, but I feel that you should be aware of a few things....
  • You'll need to pick up an aftermarket CPU cooler because the 5000+ BE processor doesn't come with one.
  • The Asus M2N-MX SE Plus motherboard has only one PCI-E x16 slot, two PCI slots, two SATA ports, and one IDE port (that can support two IDE devices). The lack of available ports may limit your expansion/upgrading possibilities. Though you could use add-on cards, those costs add up -- and could have been better spent by getting a different motherboard with more available features.
  • From what I could tell, the case only supports one 120mm case fan, in the rear -- and it only comes with one 80mm side fan. Heat output could be a major issue with this build, especially if you don't have adequate cooling coming from the front of the case.
  • The power supply that comes with the case concerns me. Because it's a "generic" model, it may not be able to handle the load it's rated for. Plus, since it was made with cheap parts, it could possibly fail without any warning... and if it does fail, it could take your entire system out with it.
I can't recommend the bundle deal as the risks far outweigh the advantages.
 
I concur with Tiraides' assessment of that barebones deal: Cannot recommend it. The PSU is the biggest concern for me.
 
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