Which system to buy of these 3 Prebuilt PCs?

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NewtoMasterRace

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Hey Guys,

New here and new to the PC gaming world but looking forward to learning as much as possible from all of you. Was curious if you all could help me out with a decision on my PC. I don't have alot of money to spend and $800 is my max. I've done some looking around at various places, both online and in my area (Cincinnati) and I've found 3 PCs that look pretty good but I was wanting some thoughts on which one to buy. Obviously, I want the best PC I can buy in that price range and the best graphics that I can get. I may eventually move into VR but not immediately, although I think all 3 of these PC are VR ready. I'll list the specs and the prices too. So, here we go......

1. Powerspec- G220

This is a local brand (I believe) from my local store of Micro Center and they use all name brand parts. Good thing about this is also the year warranty with local store. The specs are :

I5-6500 @ 3.5 GHz Quad core
MSI B150 PC Mate
500W PSU
16GB DDR4-2133 RAM
1TB HD
250GB SSD
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB video card
Windows 10

Price= $800



2. Asus G11CD-WS51

I've had a Asus laptop with no issues but I know this is not comparable. Heard some good things about Asus. This was the floor model they had out at Micro Center.


Intel I5- 6400 @ 2.7 GHz Quad Core
500 W PSU
8 GB RAM
1 TB HD
GeForce GTX 970 4GB
Windows 10

Price= $630 but I will but a 250 SSD in it immediately, so the actual price will be $680


3. CyberPowerPC Gamer Ultra- GUA4500

This was the 1st PC that I found that I liked but I know nothing about CyberPowerPC.


AMD FX-6300 @ 3.5 GHz
16 GB DDR3
1 TB HD
120GB SSD
24X DVD & RW
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Mouse and Keyboard included


Price $820



So, those are the ones that I have found thus far. I would appreciate anyone's opinion. You guys know a helluva lot more about this than I do. I am learning g but it's going to take awhile. Let me know which one you would go with in this situation. Money is a definite thought and just how much better are the others compared to the Asus? Why?

Thanks is advance and hope to learn alot from you guys!


Cory



 
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Jeff Kaos
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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One thing you have to be extremely careful with when buying prebuilt - if they say components are "major name brand" but refuse to disclose the make and model of the power supply being used - DO NOT BUY under any circumstances. This means that they use low quality junk units that are almost guaranteed to fail. I personally wouldn't buy any of the three for that reason. Buying an off the shelf unit like that Asus means that you're buying a PC with tons of bloatware that makes the OS near unusable. This would be a better use of your money:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($254.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $845.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-07 13:27 EST-0500

That's a little bit over budget but will be infinitely better than just about any prebuilt you can buy.
 
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Jeff Kaos

Jeff Kaos

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I'd consider the first one. It's a solid setup and since it's local it's nice that in case anything goes wrong you can just drive it to the store and have them fix it. And while PSU's are definitely the component most prone to failure (speaking as someone who used to do PC repair) there's no guarantee that any particular PSU is going to fail. I've been running an extremely cheapo PSU in a low budget gaming rig for years despite everyone promising me that it would fail within a year. Is a good name brand PSU better? Of course. But does buying a pre-built PC mean that the installed PSU is going to die? No.
 
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NewtoMasterRace

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I know I'd prolly be better off building a system but I am clueless as of now on how to do that and I'd be afraid to run into too many problems. Although, I'm trying to learn as much as possible and will almost certainly do that in the future but I think I'm stuck with a pre build for now.


I tried to look up the PSU of the Powerspec and found this ......

EVGA 500W


Is EVGA the brand name?


The Powerspec seems like the best but Ive been being told that the Asus is the better deal and the GTX 970 is just as good as the GTX 1060. Not sure if that is true but the Asus does seem like a really good price. Is Asus a trusted company? Or is this a bad enough PC that it's definitely worth the extra $120 to go to the Powerspec?


Also, I'm all about the gaming and graphics. I'll mostly be playing games like Arma, BF1, Insurgency (I think that's the name), Day Z, War Thunder, and definitely Steam games and from what I've read, I may want to go with a PC with a AMD 480. What are your thoughts on that?
 
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NewtoMasterRace

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You guys have no idea how much I appreciate your help!! I really do. I feel like this is the only place for good info without someone with an agenda to sell me something. LOL! So, thanks so much! I really appreciate it!
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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It's not as hard as you would think it is. In fact it's actually fairly simple. There's hundreds of tutorials on Youtube that can show you. Even at the top of this forum there's links to TH approved tutorials. Once you get the case wiring hooked in the motherboard and the motherboard screwed down, everything else hooks into place. It's fairly simple.

I tried to look up the PSU of the Powerspec and found this ......

EVGA 500W

Is EVGA the brand name?
Click to expand...

EVGA is the reseller name. They're a hardware reseller and distributor. Different manufacturers have different OEM (original equipment manufacturers) that they use to sell a variety of products. That particular unit is a B line PSU and that is made by HEC, which is a rather low end PSU. Their much higher end units - the GQ / GX line are made by Seasonic, and the even higher end models - the G2 / P2 / T2 / B2 units - are made by Super Flower. The Super Flower and Seasonic PSUs are the best you can get. You don't want to get anything less.

The Powerspec seems like the best but Ive been being told that the Asus is the better deal and the GTX 970 is just as good as the GTX 1060. Not sure if that is true but the Asus does seem like a really good price. Is Asus a trusted company? Or is this a bad enough PC that it's definitely worth the extra $120 to go to the Powerspec?
Click to expand...

Asus makes great motherboards, they're among the most recommended here. And their desktop PCs are decent but you can definitely get better. I would spend the extra money. In the short run it seems like a good deal, but in the long run when you add up the costs of upgrading to something capable of VR or whatever you want, it is not a good deal.

Also, I'm all about the gaming and graphics. I'll mostly be playing games like Arma, BF1, Insurgency (I think that's the name), Day Z, War Thunder, and definitely Steam games and from what I've read, I may want to go with a PC with a AMD 480. What are your thoughts on that?
Click to expand...

Then don't get the Asus with a last generation GPU. The 480 is decent but the 1060 performs much better and uses less power and generates less heat.
 
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Jeff Kaos

Jeff Kaos

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I totally understand OP's fear of building his own system because the only reason I don't feel the same way is that I somehow stumbled into a job bench building PC's after college. If I didn't have that experience under my belt I don't know if I'd be willing to risk up to a thousand dollars on parts hoping I do it right. The best thing to do for a new PC gamer/future "enthusiast" is to buy a decent system and perform a handful of what I call "mid-level" upgrades; stuff like replace the PSU, upgrade the RAM, add an HDD or SSD and maybe upgrade your optical drive to a blu-ray drive. None of these are overly complicated tasks (except maybe the PSU) but doing them will give you more confidence. Once you're comfortable with the inside of the box and see how things work you'll be ready to build your next system yourself.
 
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Zerk2012

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Everything can only go one way and their a ton of videos on everything.
 
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NewtoMasterRace

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Looks like everyone is in agreement that the Powerspec is the best of the 3 builds above. Let me add this one to the mix and see what you think about this one. I just found it tonight


PowerSpec X251 Mini ITX
Intel Core i5-6600K Processor 3.5GHz
AMD Radeon R9-390X 8GB GDDR5
16GB RAM
480GB SSD
750W PSU


Price: $807

This seems to be a great deal and even better than the Powerspec build #1 from my first post (based off my limited knowledge of course). I'm interested in hearing what you guys have to say about this one and the AMD Radeon R9 card. There is only 1 of these PCs left and I will have to go get it early before it's gone if you guys agree this is the best. So hopefully some will check back here and give me some advice. I'll be checking back in the morning.



Thanks guys! You've been awesome and a freakin HUGE help. I'm learning so much.
 
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MadOver

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For sure this is a better choice.
Would just opt for a RX480 instead for 1060, it seems to me better choice for DX12.

 
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Jeff Kaos

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That's not a bad build either. The only problem is that you're going to be limited in your storage capabilities since it doesn't have the now standard 1TB HDD. And since it's a mini case you're also going to be extremely limited in what sort of upgrades you can make in the future. I personally don't like mini systems unless it's a secondary system you use for LAN parties. But as a primary gaming rig I'd stick with a mid-tower build. The caveat here is that I've never owned or used a mini system but I have built a few small smaller thsan "mini") form factor non-gaming systems that were used as controllers for medical equipment and speaking from that experience I can say that they are a complete pain in the butt to work with; especially if you have big hands.

*edit*
Just for the heck of it I put together the parts from the first system on PCPartPicker.com https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ntHXJV
Since I don't know what brand the GPU, memory and PSU are I used the cheapest ones they had listed and all together, with OS, it came to about $930.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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The thing about hard drives is that you can always add more as you need them, and storage is something that I really only buy out of necessity. The thing that I would still question about prebuilt systems is the power supply. For $800 you're not getting a Seasonic or Super Flower. You're getting a tier 4 or 5 PSU that will most likely fail on you after a couple of months. And then the replacement PSU will set you back at least $100 minimum. Plus the time that it would take you to replace it yourself. Or you could build it yourself and be totally done with it, and not have to worry about your PSU choice. So you have to ask - how much is your time worth? A couple of hours building your own system could save you several hundred bucks and endless frustration vs. buying prebuilt.
 
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Jeff Kaos

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I thought about the idea you could always add a 1TB HDD for less than $50 but then I actually looked at the case and realized that a standard HDD probably wouldn't fit which is why I stay away from micro systems. And after putting one of OP's systems into PC Partpicker it came out to cost a lot more than $800. While I would never under any circumstance recommend a cheap PSU I wouldn't tell someone that their PSU will "most likely fail in a couple of months". True the PSU is often the first component to die on any given system that doesn't guarantee it's going to die in any set amount of time, if at all. I've had high end PSU's fail right out of the box, I've had them fail during stress tests in heat chambers and I've had some extremely cheap ones last years while running heavy loads. You just never know. I'll always recommend building a system yourself but if someone was going to buy a pre-built system they have to consider: would a company stay in business if they sold stuff that absolutely failed after a few months? Probably not. Not everyone is comfortable building a PC themselves; it's a lot of money to spend on something that uses a lot of fragile parts; parts that can be damaged simply through shipping. And If you don't know what to look for if you do end up getting a damaged component you'll have a pretty hard time determining which one it is. And then you'll come here and have people telling you to "breadboard" the system or something when all it was was that the novice didn't fully seat the RAM or maybe didn't have the power switch connected to the board the right way. "Pre-built" shouldn't be a dirty word is what I'm saying.
 
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NewtoMasterRace

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That's what I fear with building my own also. If I put everything together by watching video or following instructions and then I turn it on and see nothing, I won't know where to even begin to troubleshoot to find the issue.
Also, it seems like the OS is always pushing the budget too far. For example, I love the build from above and would like to do that but the OS would push it another $100 and that's just too much for me to spend.

The thing with the Powerspec "Prebuilt" is that it's a local place called MicroCenter that puts them together from parts in store. While it's technically prebuilt, it's not made on a assembly line or in mass production in any way. Also, if the PSU goes out within the first year, they will replace it for me. I could also just buy a new PSU and have then put it in for me. It's local, so I just take it to them and they have a guarantee 48 turnaround. So, I have it back within 2 days. It sucks that this latest one is a Mini cause it seems like an awesome deal but I'm sure I'm going to want to upgrade it in the future and I don't want to be stuck not being able to do that simply because of the case. The original price on it is $1300.
 
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Jeff Kaos

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MicroCenter is pretty well known; especially to anyone who visits PCGamer.com and looks at their "Deals of the Week" article. I wish there was one in my area because they always have pretty insane "in store only" deals on high end PC parts. Like I said that first system in your original post is solid and a great deal when you consider that it has the OS and the retailer is a drive away. And with a 48 hour repair turn around I can't see why you WOULDN'T get that system. And like I said in an earlier post: if this is your first gaming system there's no reason for you to jump right in and build your first one if you're not comfortable doing it. Buy a rig, do a few minor upgrades yourself and get comfortable with the inside of your the system. Then when you're ready for your next system you'll be more comfortable with the idea of building it yourself.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Define "micro systems". Are we talking mITX? mATX? All of those have bays that can accommodate 3.5" drives. I have a 2TB hard drive in my Silverstone Raven and it works perfectly fine.

While I would never under any circumstance recommend a cheap PSU I wouldn't tell someone that their PSU will "most likely fail in a couple of months".
Click to expand...

Because it will. It's not rocket science. The cheaper your PSU is the more likely it will short out or blow up on you, and I've seen it happen. You can't deny that it doesn't. Ask Samsung. :lol:

True the PSU is often the first component to die on any given system that doesn't guarantee it's going to die in any set amount of time, if at all. I've had high end PSU's fail right out of the box, I've had them fail during stress tests in heat chambers and I've had some extremely cheap ones last years while running heavy loads. You just never know.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's a crapshoot for sure. There's good and bad from every manufacturer. But you never know if you're going to get a good unit or a bad unit.

I'll always recommend building a system yourself but if someone was going to buy a pre-built system they have to consider: would a company stay in business if they sold stuff that absolutely failed after a few months? Probably not.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not. There's two kinds of companies of course - the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) like Seasonic and HEC. And then there's resellers like EVGA and Corsair. EVGA sells tons of PSUs from different OEMs. If they manufactured their own, they could go out of business. But the OEMs would be the ones affected by a bad line, not the resellers.

Not everyone is comfortable building a PC themselves; it's a lot of money to spend on something that uses a lot of fragile parts; parts that can be damaged simply through shipping. And If you don't know what to look for if you do end up getting a damaged component you'll have a pretty hard time determining which one it is.
Click to expand...

What parts would be damaged by shipping? Most parts anymore are packed inside of packing inside of packing. If they break it's most likely because of cluelessness or laziness. But blaming the shipping company for a defective part is like blaming the dog for a bad smell - you know you are the one who most likely committed the error.

And then you'll come here and have people telling you to "breadboard" the system or something when all it was was that the novice didn't fully seat the RAM or maybe didn't have the power switch connected to the board the right way. "Pre-built" shouldn't be a dirty word is what I'm saying.
Click to expand...

What's breadboarding? I've never heard that term. And "prebuilt" is a dirty word. Most prebuilt mid range vendors are crap, and if you want any decent prebuilt from a company like Falcon Northwest or Maingear, you will pay 2 - 3 times what you could build it for yourself.
 
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