Legit Reviews

The reason I bring this up is because on another forum, someone asked for help buying a ready-made or built-to-order gaming system online for around $1000. I just so happened to have a couple dozen links sitting in my favorites folder and browsed through a few of them. Besides, I was in the market to get rid of my old clunker sometime in the near future as well.

What was surprising was when I came up on one of the links that I generally thought of as "just another built-to-order site" by the name of CyberPowerPC, they are of course CyberPower Inc now, so just goes to show how old the bookmark is.

Anyways, the main item I noticed on the site was this:
http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/system/ ... sp.asp?v=d
The "LAN Party Special".
Basically, it’s an X-QPack, A64 3000+, 6100 BioStar microATX, 1GB Corsair Value, 160GB SATA, LG DL DVD+-RW, and 420W PSU.

I went about it haphazardly, tossed in a 7800GT, upgraded to 2x1GB of memory, upgraded to MS optical mouse, and ditched XP Home and the speakers. The total came to $1024. Now I thought to myself "that’s pretty damn cheap" and then realized there was a coupon code for 5% off of $999+. So that reduced the subtotal to $972.80.

Of course, afterwards, the inevitable thought that came to mind was: "I wonder how much I could save by building my own."

Well, after a quick run through on NewEgg, I managed to come up with a similar system. You can see the results below.


NewEgg:

[$80] - ASPIRE X-QPACK & 420W PSU
[$199] - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200
[$135] - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice S939
[$75] - BioStar TForce6100-939 MicroATX Motherboard
[$14] - Microsoft USB Wheel Optical Mouse
[$5] - LITE-ON PS/2 Keyboard

Subtotal: $508

[$40] - LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner
[$7] - SAMSUNG 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy
[$77] - Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 7200RPM SATA 300MBps
[$325] - eVGA GeForce 7800GT

Total: $957 + $40 S&H = $997


CyberPower:

[$541] – Identical Case/Mobo/RAM/CPU/PSU & Mouse/Keyboard (compared with above subtotal.)

[$38] - LG DVD Writer
[$5] - 3.5” Floppy
[$72] - SATA150 Hitachi 160GB 7200RPM 8MB
[$368] - 7800GT

Total: $1024 x 95% + $65 S&H = $1037.80


Now, of course, I got what I expected, a cheaper build by building it myself with slightly better components (eVGA, LITE-ON, WD, Microsoft), but only a difference of $40.80?!?!

And compared to the built-to-order PC with a 3 year limited, 1 year on-site, lifetime tech support warranty?

Now, I'm getting mixed emotions here. On one hand, it's great that they can offer such an amazing system at that price and with that kind of support, but then on the other hand, when did the price gap shrink to this degree? Shouldn't I be able to build a system like this for much cheaper?

I know it's hard to beat OEMs on cheap budget "internet PCs" but this is a pretty damn nice gaming rig isn't it?

So yeah... I was hoping maybe someone knows something about CyberPower that I don't, like maybe if they use child labor camps, or use dirt cheap OEM parts that didn't fully pass QC, or if their support is just rock bottom like Compaq/HP? Because I'm debating whether or not I should just order one from them or build it by myself like I normally would.
Though, I'd probably still build it myself regardless just because I like to.
It would certainly be a nice option for recommending to my friends though.

Edit: And yeah, forgot to mention, I know NewEgg isn't the cheapest place, but even going to several other places for all the different parts the most I could save is probably another $60 or so total. That and their RMA is awesome (had to RMA the PQi RAM in my sig because one stick was bad).

Edit2: Grammar & stuff.

well, let's look at it this way Kerii: while I don't know anything about CyberPower (except they make AVR's and surge protectors and the sorts), the way I look at it, is that you know exactly how you put the unit together, and for the pure satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself!! Yeah, I'm a purist in that respect, but think about it. You have a manufacturer doing it for you, but usually they use thermal pads, which melt as they get hot, and solidify as it cools back down. It's an inferior thermal solution IMHO when you consider you have AS 5 thermal paste, which is damn good at keeping cores cool with minimal degradation. With the thermal pads, manufacturers usually build their systems to run at the maximum thermal spec of the processor, so you have a shorter shelf life. When you send it in for service, and usually you have to send it through someone, it's a pain in the ass to have to wait on your PC to get there and come back, and some people don't have backup units (like myself, this is all I have, what you see below) and some people need their stuff that day, and are willing to pay anything to have that, trust me I've serviced people's computers at Best Buy who had manufacturer's warranties....and they gladly paid a lot (the Big Blue Whore's prices are way too high for parts and installation) to get it back within hours, not weeks. Something I've come to understand: don't shorten the life of your one and only system if you don't have the means to replace one or more affected components if they die. If you build it yourself, put a good cooler on the unit, and AS 5, along with good system cooling, you will greatly extend the life of your PC as compared to what a manufacturer can provide. It's all about convenience, and I don't see inferior PC's with a warranty that requires me to wait awhile for it to be fixed and sent back is not a good value, but a pain in the ass. Sorry I wrote so much about this, but it's something I've come to understand after seeing hapless people buy PC's from Best Buy and buy their warranties, and then complain when they find out it has to be sent off for 2+ weeks, and sometimes several times if they don't get it right the first time. What can I say? I'm a damn purist simple and plain, lol.

Well... there is an option on there for professional cable routing and use of some CoolerMaster stuff instead of pads for $19, but I think I get what you mean.

I know I'd hate to wait as well and that it's probably not worth the time, but I'm mainly concerned about that 1 year on-site and lifetime tech support. Hell, for $40, I'll give that money directly to my friend and get him/her off my back forever with their computer problems, lol.

And yeah, I forgot I had AS-5.

Actually, I just realized it's not CyberPowerSystems, it's just CyberPower Inc. Only their URL states "CyberPowerSystem". So, no they don't make surge protectors and stuff, sorry for the confusion, lol. I'll fix that now.

And didn't realize it before but the built-to-order system has a free coupon for a downloadable copy of HL2 Bronze. Not that I particularly like it but hey, there's always eBay.

oh ok, I was wondering about that, lol. but just so long as you understand what I mean. this is why you hone your skills to the point where you make any on-site service tech look like a complete n00b, lol. I've showed up techs at Best Buy, lol, it's funny really, and sad considering they're supposed to be up on their training. I was one of their mindless drones, trust me, I know their ways......they would screw the customer for a quick margin jump. Sounds harsh, but I almost lost my job there quite a few times for not doing just that, and I've had to do my fair share of it, but that was almost 3 years ago, so it's safe for me to say this, lol.

Well, another thing to consider in the price gap is Software, what about the cost of the OS, and anything else bundled on the pre-built rig?

Also, i just have to throw this in.. I used to work at best buy Waaaaayyyyy back in the day as a tech, back when i was in college. and its true, they dont know anything and they dont have any requirements to work in there. infact the manager of the tech's worked in car stereo as a sales person..

its amazing how they dont tell you anything either, cause even if a customer DID NOT purchase the BB extended warranty they Had to service it and repair/replace your unit under the manufacturers warranty.

the markup at these places on comptuers is so small it doesn't account for anything, the big markup is on the accessorys like the USB cables. the best buy discount for employees is like 5% above actual cost so employees got USB cables for $6.00, they sold for roughly $30.00

I refuse to enter that store again... Fry's is my new friend for local purchases

The great thing about building it yourself is that if you have problems with hardware or want to upgrade later, you are already intimately familiar with the layout, components and any quirks to the build (i.e.- part A can't be removed until part b is removed because it's in the way). Every setup varies and they have their own personalities.

Do take into consideration software though...Windows alone is at least $100.

Even if it costs a little more initially, over the long haul, usually it is cheaper to build your own... Many of the pre-fabs do not let you upgrade components. With your own box, you can upgrade to whatever you want. So, initially, it is a little more money, but later on, it will be cheaper to upgrade.

Well the thing is, the site looks like they use only off the shelf brands to build their computers. Not a single proprietary piece of crap goes into it. Believe me, I wouldn't even consider it for my friends if it had a layout even resembling a Presario, but all the parts they let you choose are ones you could grab off any e-tailer like NewEgg.

I suppose I don't worry too much about software, I generally just tend to "recycle" them so to speak. And interestingly enough, the software seems to be at the same price points as for retail as well. Which still goes back to my original uneasiness about the place. How can they offer near retail for all the individual parts and still provide support? What's the catch?

well, simple- they are getting it wholesale not retail, so still headroom there...

yep, they gotta make their change off you too, not just the manufacturer. The funny thing is, you can compare the price of a custom-built PC with all sorts of goodies from a site, and compare buying the individual components and doing it yourself, and you come out cheaper, with the same machine, and you know what you did to it......it's like I said before, I don't really trust OEM manufacturers, or any other manufacturer for that manner when it comes to pre-builts, because of that reason and also the major pre-builts come with a crappy cooling solution, sub-par RAM, and sometimes (like in the case of Compaq back in the day, though they still may do it now) substandard remanufactured parts are used. This is the very reason CTX and Compaq alike went bankrupt, though HP picked up Compaq. Just something to think about.......

Frys is even worse!!!!! the people there no jack crap!! LOL However the prices are better and i can seem to get away from it!! LOL

I still think you should build your own system, mainly because YOU have control over it and what you can do with it. And again, you can build it with better parts. All my computers that i have built that have the same specs or even less than a manufactuer have been faster! Plus they also load the crap out of it with software/spyware to make the computer cheaper(DELL!!!!!!)

Build your own!!!! If a part fails O.O.W. buy that same part at frys and put your old in the box and return it. LOLL JK As cheap as parts are.....Just buy the new part.