Is Cyberpower worth getting over a major company like HP?
Question by Rob: Is Cyberpower worth getting over a major company like HP?
I’ve heard the HP uses cheap PSUs and is very overpriced. Would you recommend Cyberpower over HP or Dell for a gamer?
Best answer:
Answer by !There is no cure for ignorance!call a vet!
All company’s have problems the only way to guarantee a sound build that works is buy all the parts your self and build one .
What do you think? Answer below!
Posted November 29th, 2012 in Discount 500 Watt. Tagged: company, Cyberpower, getting, like, major, Over, worth.
Yes, companies like CyberpowerPC and Ibuypower are better because their emphasis is on gaming. But unless you’re building a custom unit direct from their websites, be careful- they also make plenty of low-end builds that aren’t worth buying. And their upgrade component prices are higher than you’d pay on Newegg or Amazon. So they’re a better deal, but still not as good as building from scratch.
ALL computer companies tend to use low-wattage power supplies in their off-the-shelf builds to save money. Dell’s PSUs are slightly better than average quality while HP, Acer, Gateway and others are generally subpar.
And most brand-name computers like Dell, HP, Gateway, Acer etc have weak graphics except really expensive models- which are often way overpriced because of other specs being much higher than necessary. In general, HP and Dell aren’t particularly overpriced- it depends upon the specific model of computer. Alienware IS overpriced, especially at the high-end.
For gaming, 70% of your performance is determined by your computer’s graphics card. Not your CPU, RAM or hard disk, but your graphics card. A computer with Intel’s Core i3 2120 processor can play Skyrim and Battlefield 3 smoothly on high settings, provided it has strong graphics card in the $ 130-$ 180 range. A Core i5 processor along with a graphics card in the $ 250-$ 300 range can play titles like Battlefield 3 and Metro 2033 on maxed/ultra settings.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5541/amd-radeon-hd-7750-radeon-hd-7770-ghz-edition-review/17
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7870-review-benchmark,3148-21.html
The problem is that major manufacturers only offer those types of graphics cards on computers with the most expensive Core i7 processors with 16GB of RAM, the biggest hard drives and sometimes other extras that raise the price even further.
Core i7 doesn’t perform any better in games than Core i5- the Core i7’s hyperthreading is a big advantage for tasks like video editing and 3D design/rendering but doesn’t boost your fps in games.
On RAM… no current titles use more than 4GB, so 8GB is enough to keep a gaming build future-proof for the next few years. Again- movie editing and professional design programs benefit from 16GB of RAM, but not games.
If you buy a custom unit from CyberpowerPC, always choose a higher quality PSU upgrade (Corsair or Antec)- their “standard” ones aren’t good. If you buy a prebuilt CyberpowerPC unit from another merchant, I recommend replacing the factory PSU as soon as possible.
For midrange gaming, a great approach is buying a fairly low-cost starting unit from a major manufacturer, then replacing the PSU and graphics card. That way you don’t have to build from scratch, and get a substantial discount on the cost of Windows.
For example, you can find Core i3 tower desktops made by Gateway, HP or Dell for under $ 500 at Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+Desktop+-+6GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5611456.p?id=1218672937187&skuId=5611456
Now grab Radeon HD 7750 from Newegg for $ 100 and you’ve got a decent entry-level gaming rig for under $ 575!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102969
The 7750 is a very low power consumption card (draws less than 50 watts maximum) so it actually works fine on Dell’s stock 300W PSU.
For higher performance, buy a 500W Corsair PSU for $ 60 and Radeon HD 7770 for $ 130.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161402
That’s less than $ 650 total (before rebate), and much better than any stock unit from CyberpowerPC or Ibuypower for the same price.
Or buy a Core i5 desktop for $ 550:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Desktop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5424601.p?id=1218644416142&skuId=5424601&st=gateway%20desktop&cp=1&lp=1
Then upgrade with a 620W Antec power supply for $ 70, along with a Radeon HD 6870 or GeForce GTX 560 for $ 175. That gives you a system equal to CyberpowerPC’s $ 1000 units, for less than $ 800! Plus you’ve got a better quality PSU.
Now if you want something REALLY high-end, then I suggest building from scratch or configuring a custom build. The stock Dell/HP/Gateway cases aren’t spacious enough to properly accommodate $ 300-$ 400 cards and provide them with good airflow. And custom builds will have better motherboards which support SLI or Crossfire upgrades down the line. But for entry-level to midrange performance on the cheap, you can’t beat upgrading.
November 29th, 2012 at 2:01 pm