Before I start my review I will list my specs (so you have an idea):
* Kingston ValueRAM - Memory - 4 GB ( 2 x 2 GB ) - DIMM 240-pin - DDR2 - 800 MHz / PC2-6400 - CL6 - 1.8 V - unbuffered - non-ECC
* 2 64GB SSDs (Dual SNV425-S2/64GB) in a software RAID 0
Misc Stuff:
* SILVERSTONE SDP08 3.5 to 2 X 2.5-Inch Bay Converter for SSD storage
* Apex MI-008 Case
* Zantec 160mm Fan
And operating system:
* Debian Squeeze (x86_64)
I have had this system for about 2 months (as of this writing) and it works great.
CPU: There are two hyperthreaded cores in the system supporting EM64T (x86_64). The cores work at a good speed for normal operation. With hyperthreading 4 threads can run at a single time (theoretically) and it appears to do so resulting in smooth program operation. You can have different tasks executing at the same time without any problem (I've done massive compression (xz -9) and used the system as normal to no effect, I noticed nothing). However, the processor uses in order execution instead of out of order execution, so some things will be slower with it but with normal usage you shouldn't notice any slowdown much (it all depends on the code that's running). Still beats my Dual Pentium 3 SL4BS hands down.
Memory: Access to memory is fast, memtest86+ reports the memory speed to be 2GiB/s and completes a single pass in 2-3 seconds, that is if it works correctly. It appears the board accesses memory at a good rate. Rumor has it that slower DDR2 memory does not work in the system but I tried it and it worked for me, mileage may vary. However the system requires the correct voltage memory otherwise it WILL NOT start.
Graphics: Don't even bother using the integrated graphics support. The integrated graphics is really bad and doesn't really do much at all. Quake 3/OpenArena plays at a nice 20-60FPS though, however stuff such as FlightGear and a few others go pathetically slow even at very small resolutions. If you want graphical performance, get a real video card, there is an AMD 5450 PCI version available. If all you intend to do is look at spinning gears at 405FPS (small window) or 60FPS (large window), use some basic OpenGL programs, play 10-20 year old games then you should be fine.
Power consumption: My system uses up to 40W max, my electric bill is actually lower since it mostly replaced older power hungry systems. The 40W includes my power supply (which probably isn't efficient or anything) and my SSDs.
Temperature: This current system averages 40C for the board and 32C for the CPUs. I suggest that you place a large fan near the memory slots and the CPU to remove the heat from them and have proper airflow. With an added fan the temperatures are stable and only rise when the CPU is used alot. However if you do not believe in fans, the system does run a bit hotter up to 60C depending on the environment with heavy usage. Since this system replaced an older heater, my room is cooler.
Other: There are 4 USB 2.0 ports and they seem to operate at 2.0 speeds provided you have 2.0 devices. There are more pins for more USB ports, I think 2 more on the board that your case may utilize. The AC97 Audio works fine without any problems. The board has two drive access modes, AHCI and IDE, I recommend AHCI, it's better provided your operating system supports it.
However, there are some minor problems but they aren't really problems:
* Sometimes when you boot the system it will put the fan on full power and report the CPU at a high temperature (161F/72C) and stay like this. A warm reboot (w/o power off) fixes the problem and the fan slowly slows in speed with normal temperatures. The hardware might think the temperature probe is dead when it really works, maybe it's too slow?
* With an attached video card it appears the system doesn't use it as a primary device, that is, it still displays graphics through the integrated port (through bootup). The attached card is functional but only if the operating system actually uses it.
Some of these problems may have already been fixed in a BIOS update, I have not updated the BIOS at all.
So in short, I recommend this product, it works great for what I do, however if you do plan on playing games it can still play games provided you have a video card as the integrated card won't cut it (of course with a card the power consumption will rise unless you get a low power PCI card). Anything CPU intensive should be fine provided it's not super intensive (ex: ray tracing, emulation).
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