Which is better for the money? HP i7 or Ironside i5?

[UberSkillioz]

I am looking at two options trying to decide which I should buy. I know many folks will suggest I build my own, but for the purposes of this question please assume that is not an option.

HP Phoenix $845
Windows 8 64
3rd Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 quad-core processor [3.4GHz, 8MB Shared Cache]
8GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs]
2TB 7200 rpm SATA hard drive
No secondary hard drive
1GB AMD Radeon HD 7670 [DVI, DP, HDMI, VGA adapter]
Liquid Cooling Solution
Wireless-N LAN card (1x1)

Ironside Silver $1059
Case Thermaltake V3 Black Edition (Mid Tower)
Intel Processor Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo Boost (Quad Core)
CPU Cooling Asetek 550LC High Performance Liquid Cooling
Intel Motherboard ASRock H77 Pro4-M [VGA DVI HDMI] SATA 6Gb/s USB3 {4 DDR3
Slots Max 1600MHz}
Overclocking Processor [FREE] Overclock Processor up to 10%
Memory 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
Primary Hard Drive Corsair Force Series 3 60GB SSD Read: 520MB/s Write:
490MB/s
Secondary Hard 500GB 7200 rpm
Graphics Card AMD Radeon 7770 1GB (Min. 600 Watt Power Supply)
Power Supply Standard 600 Watt
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit

 

[twelve25]

Ironside has more flexible case, overclocked processor, much better video card, much better power supply, and an SSD. Easy winner.

 

[UberSkillioz]

Ironside has more flexible case, overclocked processor, much better video card, much better power supply, and an SSD. Easy winner.

Thank you for your help! Before I spend the extra $200 I want to make sure its worth it.

 

[twelve25]

What are you trying to accomplish and where are you buying from? Maybe we can get a better configuration for $1000.

 

[UberSkillioz]

What are you trying to accomplish and where are you buying from? Maybe we can get a better configuration for $1000.

I am trying to find a prebuilt gaming/general purpose PC from a reliable vendor for around $1000 or less. I am avoiding companies like Cyberpower and Ibuypower because their reputation for reliability and customer service issues seems bad. I did a little searching and settled on Ironside Computers (http://www.ironsidecomputers.com/) because they seem to be reliable and their customer service seems good. They are also doing free shipping and no tax based on where I live, which will save at least $150. If you have other suggestions for companies or if you can build something better on their site, I'm open.

 

[BwwwJ1st]

I bought an HPE 1280T back in June and happy with the value of what I received. For around $1000 I got an I7 3930K CPU, 2TB HDD, DVDRW, AMD 7570, the only upgrades to the base model being the 3930K and 600 WATT power supply. This was cheaper than I could price and build a comparable system at the time. The 3930K was around $600 alone in June. BE VERY CAREFULL WITH OEM UPGRADES!! You will be charged much more than the upgrades would cost you to do yourself. I added my own SSDs, BluRay burners, 16GB 1600 RAM, and video card for a third of the HP upgrade price. The one benefit from buying a base model from a big OEM is the warranty and time saved with initial assembly and compatibility problems. The regrets I have from not building a complete system is not being able to choose exactly each component in my computer. For example, I do not have enough room in my mid size computer case to add the video card I really wanted, and I only have 2 SATA III ports. I hope this helps.... There is always trade-offs.

 

[twelve25]

Those Ironside builds seem rather pricey; at least 20% more than cyberpower.

I might try to find a pre-built with at least a 450W power supply and then add in your own Radeon 7850 or GTX660 card yourself.

Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103638
or this if you need to go cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883258012

And then add in a card like this (easy to do even for a newbie): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130825

 

[djangoringo]

Why don't you buy the components individually and get to a local pc shop were they can assemble the parts(since you don't have the knowledge) for a price ?
You can get a much better pc that way.