IBuyPower or CyberpowerPC?

So hopefully I'll be getting a new gaming PC, which builder do you recommend IBuyPower or CyberpowerPC?

both are a recipe for failure

Neither; I and people I know have had terrible experiences with both. They're the "bottom of the barrel" PC makers.

I mean, if you're going off to school and your parents are nice enough to get you one, say thanks with a smile on your face, but don't willingly buy one.

I would either build your own, which is fun, easier than you think, far more inexpensive, and rewarding; or go with Dell or Gateway or some other proven brand.

I looked at the parts list of cyberpowerpc.com. The component brands and models seem pretty good. I mean you would know exactly what components you're getting down to the brand and model. That's more than I can say for either Dell or Gateway.

people are too quick to dismiss things. Not everyone has the know how, time or motivation to build a PC from scratch and doesn't mind paying the extra $100-200 to use one of the type of site OP is asking about.

OP I have used cyberpower in the past and I have had a good experience with them so it's up to you really as to which site you would use.

Heck, I've built every single PC I've owned in the past and my next one is going to be a pre-built from an online store.

I just don't have the time or the "inspiration" to do it anymore myself.

Yea I understand the desire to go with prebuilt, I am just saying dont go with those guys. Or do. Whatever floats your boat. Its just in my experience they have shoddy workmanship, and come preloaded with all kinds of terrible software that slows your PC down. Its like when they installed windows and started installing drivers and other software, they installed every single extra optional part of the software (like when you install Winrar and it asks you if you want the ask.com toolbar, they install that).

That was seriously like ten years ago though, so maybe they changed?

*Actually I think it was eMachines I am thinking of...so nevermind

@aretilda: Don't listen to anyone who says they're bad.

A) They're dumb

B) They've never used either

C) They always say "I heard from someone"

D) They never list a single fact as to why they're bad

Get whatever one suits your needs better.

In fairness @mrbojangles25 listed some facts to why he thinks they are bad

Build your own. You have hands and a brain.

Some people still don't get it do they..... sigh....

I'm with him, I've seen too many of these brands simply fall apart

Of course you need to find a good builder, but that wasn't what I was talking about.

A. No, I'm really not

B. Yes, I have

C. Yes, I heard second-hand but also first-hand

D. I listed plenty of reasons.

With that said, I agree, get whichever suits your needs. One nice thing about getting a prebuilt is they have warranties.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/cyberpower-pc-city-of-industry

Because the reviews look scary.

I think the two are the same company anyway...

I always go with building my own because I save a lot more money and I can pick the best parts for what I want.

I would say it's easy enough that a monkey could do it, but I've been messing with computers for over 20 years so my opinion can be a bit warped.

i used cyberpower before (the UK branch). it was grand, no issues and the PC was well put together (better than me who, yknow, just pops the spare power cables in a spare CD drive slot. i hate tidying cables :P.).

i would still recommend doing your homework on what exactly you are buying though just to you know exactly what you are getting. i think they tell you the brand and models of everything you buy so check reviews n such like. also check that you are getting things like a good enough power supply.

im actually considering one of their syber systems as my next PC. i want something that i can stick under the telly and that would certainly do it. currently the off the shelf selection for under the telly cases is a bit meh unfortunately.

I don't condone buying a pre-built computer. but you wont go wrong with either one. both are good in their own way

Neither! They cheap out on the psu... I bought an ibuypower once, psu went out and took out the motherboard and gpu got a free replacement and after my warranty ran out it did it again... Just bought my own psu, gpu and mobo after that and have never ever had any problems after that

Neither, Newegg.com is your best bet :D

I don't think it's a good idea. You're paying a lot of extra money for something that doesn't take too much work. Furthermore, if you put a PC together, you'll have a better idea on how to fix it if something goes wrong - you don't want to be reliant on other people to fix your software/hardware problems if you want a pleasant computing experience.

Most importantly, PC components are complicated pieces of equipment. They're often prone to failure, compatibility problems, etc. If you get a PC that is already slapped together, odds are you'll experience problems that won't be easy to solve. Example: What if after getting your PC, you find out that the power supply is way louder than everything else in the PC, and you want to switch it out. If you bought your PC pre-built, it's not going to be a quick fix - you'll have to send your whole PC back and the whole process will take weeks. Or you just live with the loud PSU like a sucker. But if you assembled your PC by parts, all you have to do is order another PSU, and send the other PSU back for a refund (would take only 3 days to get back up and running with a better PSU). And then in this scenario, it would've been much less of a head-ache to just build it yourself in the first place.

And unless I'm mistaken, instead of getting the warranties of the products inside the PC, you're limited to the warranty provided by the site (which is only 1 year for parts for CyberPowerPC) - most PC products have much longer warranties than 1-year. So I think if you get pre-built, you're cheating yourself on the warranties you could potentially be getting (which is fairly important because lemons among PC products are common).

I have built two computers using Cyber power and have had good success with them. I did some research on the devices I wanted in it before I built the computer.

Boutique gaming PCs have been around since the 90's. They're nothing more than PCs that DIY-ers assembled and sold as their business.

The product may vary in quality just like DIY PCs, depending on the parts the buyer chooses. But, I don't see any reason to look down on them or their owners.

The problem with this is it just isn't a extra $100 to $200.. The systems always cut corners in having inadequate cooling, a poor case design, a lower quality motherboard and PSU.. Not to mention they are hilariously unbalanced where you will see a $1200 system from these companies with a I5 or I7 but with something like a 750ti.. There really isn't a excuse at this time if you want to get into pc gaming why you shouldn't build one.. There are how to guides everywhere on YouTube in what to do.. Hell ones like Linus shop all the pieces FOR YOU and go step by step of putting that specific build together in video..

And if you have time to play computer games, you have time to build a pc.. A first build will usually only take 3 to 4 hour tops to finish..

Agreed. It's pure laziness that will just cost you more time and money in the long run. Ultimately you're going to want a general idea of how your PC works, and there's no better first step to figuring that out than putting it together. Otherwise you're setting yourself up to be taking your PC to a repair shop and get charged $xxx every time you run into a problem that you could've potentially fixed yourself in under an hour.

That's not really it, some people just don't care. One of my friends is a pure maths major and is in the top 2% on the putnam exam and is in grad school doesn't want to have anything to do with building computers, so he just buys prebuilts. Some people literally don't care about computers at all, and just want to game on them. Also most of the people I know who are into competitive fps know next to nothing about computers.

To the op, out of the two, probably cyberpowerpc.

Ehhh. That was my point. Some people don't want to build their own.

Heck, I've built all my PCs in the past and next time I buy a new one I'm just going to pay extra to get it built by the shop. I just don't have the time anymore.

Oh woops, didn't mean to quote you.

I've referred two people to CyberPowerPC precisely because they didn't want to build a PC (and didn't want me to build it for them).

They both had to send their PC's back to CyberPowerPC due to problems they couldn't pinpoint and go without a PC for weeks.

Fact of the matter is in the long run, it's not necessarily more convenient nor time-saving to go pre-built. It can be the exact opposite.

And the only thing worse than a lazy person who can't put forth the minimal effort required to do things right is a lazy person who claims to be smart yet still can't put forth the minimal effort to do things right. Despite test scores, intrinsically it's smart to not be lazy in scenarios where a little effort goes a long way.

That's why he doesn't buy from cyberpowerpc, he buys from those high end boutiques like falcon northwest. I forgot where his was from.

I honestly think you're going pre-built - that's the way to go. I'd get an Alienware or Falcon NW pre-built. Despite the extra cost, I honestly do believe you'll have a lot better luck (they use decent parts and try to uphold a reputation for being premium pre-builts). I've never heard of anyone buy an Alienware or nicer brand prebuilt and complain about it not working, but I've heard quite a few negative stories from the more budget oriented sites. Of course, mileage may vary, there are surely tons of people who ordered from CyberPowerPC without issues. It's just a slight gamble IMO.

I just wish I could do a Spock mind-meld to teach these people the right way to view building PC's. I think people are intimidated by things they haven't done. Building a PC is the epitome of something that sounds complicated before you do it, and then after you do it you realize it's something that a 12 year old could do. People think they're going to touch a PC part and kill it instantly with static electricity or something. Or they just think it's going to take forever. But man, if you don't have an afternoon to spare to build a PC, you probably don't have enough time to game to justify getting that gaming PC in the first place.

Can you honestly spill out any more BS out of that mouth?

Don't you get that some people don't want or care about building their PCs? they just want to use it.

Wanting to game on a PC or console or whatever has NOTHING to do with your care or ability to build the PC. NOTHING.

To even suggest that someone doesn't deserve a PC because they don't build it themselves is not only insulting to PC gamers out there, but also plain stupid. Get your mouth in check for once and respect others.

Way too much misinformation on this thread. Of course their reviews look scary, every unbiased review of a company on the web looks scary. You know why... People only go through the trouble of reviewing a companies performance if the have 1) an exceptionally horrible experience (the majority of online customer reviews) or 2) an exceptionally good experience (the minority of online customer reviews). Every company under the sun has those same reviews bashing & praising their performance because people barely ever review something if it all goes smooth, the experience was neither exceptional or unbearable, & the product/service works/went as expected.

I got my new rig from CyberpowerPC & everything has been fine. The build quality while not exceptional was good (cable management wasn't great) & the experience was ok. They seem to have pretty poor communication with their customers but other than that everything went smoothly. There is a few caveats if you are going to have PC built for you. Knowledge about the components is key! If you do not know much about PC parts get someone who does to help you pick out what you need. As long as you can configure the PC to your liking & ensure it has all high quality parts in it there really isn't too much to worry about. They do warranty their work so it's not like they are churning out half-assed builds out of a garage somewhere. The other big caveat is shipping. Not only is it expensive for something that big it is risky for something that fragile. I paid for the upgraded packing & it was well worth it. Most of the damaged products gripes you hear about are from the shipping process not the building process.

All in all it is fine to get a PC built for you from one of these vendors, just make sure the build has all good quality parts & pay for the upgraded packaging. If it arrives damaged in any way contact the supplier & shipper they will make it right as long as you are dealing with a reputable company. Both of which CyberpowerPC & iBuyPower are, sure the are more geared towards value than quality but they would not have been around for so long if they were putting out straight garbage so like some people on this thread claim they do. Also they both make builds for Newegg & Tigerdirect to sell. Newegg & Tigerdirect are highly respected companies in the electronics game & would not sell PCs from a company who has a terrible reputation for low quality.

Quite honestly, a DIYer is just as likely to run into a lemon part as someone who buys a pre-built. There's no special mojo that allows a DIYer to predict the part he mail-ordered will be trouble-free. A DIYer can buy high quality components to reduce the chances of a lemon. But, then, so can the guy who wants a pre-built. A close examination of the component selection in CyberpowerPC shows a good selection of quality parts. I mean the selection may not satisfy all people. But, it's not like there's a one size fits all configuration that the buyer will be stuck with.

Yikes, my point went right over your head. People don't necessarily want to be ignorant about their PC - they mostly just don't want to take the time to learn about it because they think it's time consuming, difficult, or inconvenient. My point is that learning basic PC stuff (assembly and maintenance) can be less time-consuming and less inconvenient than relying on other people to do all your PC assembly and maintenance for you. And ultimately, it's always good to learn something (particularly when you don't want to). Why would you discourage someone doing something that's ultimately good for them? Do you also tell fat people to eat more McDonalds because they don't want to eat healthy? Being honest with people is the best way to help them.

If you're going to want to use something, you're going to also want to know how to maintain it. If you want to game on a PC, you're not going to want to run into a dozen problems every time you use it. Common sense. I mean, if you want to take a shit, you might not necessarily want to wipe your ass, but you're going to have problems if you don't. It's exactly the same with PC gaming. There are lots of things in life you don't want to learn at first but they greatly benefit your life if you take the time to learn them. I can give you a million examples, if you really need them...

By the way, every time you disagree with someone, you always go "You're full of shit, get your mouth in check" - you sound like you're throwing tantrum. Why not just refute what I'm saying directly without getting so mad?

Honestly, you must have a really idealistic view of PC's if you think they're easy to use without knowing how they work. I have to personally help people with their PC problems non-stop, 99% of the time I'm helping people with a problem that they could have easily fixed themselves, but merely because they don't want to click a few buttons on their screen, they've wasted own time (and often their money too).

The difference isn't about running into lemons, it's about dealing with them. A DIYer is likely to willing to figure out how to diagnose and fix the problem themselves. If a fan starts making a loud noise, a DIYer could fix the problem in 5 minutes. Someone who opted for the pre-built on the other hand will take their PC to the shop and waste an amount of time equal to the amount of time they could've used to build a new PC from scratch in that single visit. Over something that could've potentially been a 5 minute fix.

It's something I've seen a million times.

It takes 45 minutes to build a PC, an hour if you want to do the cabling nice.

Don't you understand? It's so much easier to spend 4 hours equivalent at work to earn money pay someone to do it for you than it is to spend 45 minutes to put some parts in some slots by yourself.

And?

You both still don't get the point that some people just don't want to learn or do it themselves. Sure, I can go learn how to fix the plumbing and do it myself, but instead I might call a plumber to fix a problem. Sure, I can learn how to build a retaining wall for my backyard, but maybe I want someone with more experience to do it for me.

These days online shops charge you like $50 to build the PC (not 4 hours work). Retail shops even do it for free if you buy the PC from them, so why even bother to spend a couple of hours doing it yourself? (and I say this from the point if view that I have built all my PCs myself and also many others).

And KH, I'm not over-reacting or reading past your point. Your phrase "if you don't have an afternoon to spare to build a PC, you probably don't have enough time to game to justify getting that gaming PC in the first place." meant that people that don't/can't build their own PCs shouldn't be justified to game on them, which is total BS. People like you are what gives PC gamers a bad name. If someone wants to go to a shop to buy a gaming device, be it a console, handheld or PC, then they should be allowed to and game on it without people saying it isn't justified because you didn't take hours to learn something and then hours to build it.

Learning Plumbing takes a lot of time to learn. It also requires a lot of tools. Learning to build a PC doesn't. If you understood my point, you wouldn't have made that comparison.

I understand that some people don't want to do it, but it's the smart option regardless. If you're trying to hundreds of hours of use out of a PC, but can't spend .01% of the time using it just learning how to build it or take care of it, it's going to cost a lot of additional time and money.

meant that people that don't/can't build their own PCs shouldn't be justified to game on them, which is total BS

No, that's your exaggerated interpretation of what it means. It means that if you don't have an hour or two to build a PC, then you're not likely going to have enough time to play games in the first place to justify that purchase. I would rarely recommend someone to spend hundreds of dollars on something they're barely going to use. It's fine if you disagree with that, but I'm not going to retract my opinion. At that point it might just be smarter to buy a console (it's cheaper). I said "probably don't have enough time...", which means that there are exceptions to what I said, unlike how you've interpreted it. There are some people where money is absolutely no concern, in which case I'd recommend Alienware or Falcon NW (which I mentioned earlier in the thread). But most people are trying to get the most for their dollar, and spend the least amount of time hassling over PC concerns in the long run. I agree that nobody really wants to spend the time building the PC - and I also agree most people just want to play games. I know I didn't want to do it when I was 11 years old, but people told me it was easy, and I listened to them, and I absolutely don't regret building my PC despite not wanting to do it at first. I wouldn't be surprised if most people who built their PC's here - the same people who are recommending other people to do it, also didn't want to learn how to do it at first.

So considering I also didn't want to build PC's before I actually started doing it, it's pretty easy for me to recommend most people to give hard thought into building a PC instead of going pre-built despite how undesirable it might be on the surface. Obviously if you think you have a good reason that it's 100% impossible for you to do, then you shouldn't do it. But if you're not handicappeed in any way, it's not hard to do. It would be misleading for me to say otherwise. Building a PC is a lot easier now than it was when I started doing it.

And if you don't want to do it, don't. I'm just saying in the long run, it could potentially be a bad idea.

One thing is learning and building a PC, another is using it. They have NO relation.

I know people that haven't build their own PCs that have more gametime than you and me put together, and I know people that have built their own which just play casually.

Are you saying that all those girls that play World of Warcraft or similar, or The Sims, or Sim City and have hundreds upon hundreds of hours of gametime don't "justify" it because they didn't build their own computer?

My wife plays more Sims than anyone I have ever known, but she doesn't know the difference between a RAM stick and a CPU, does that mean she isn't "justified" to play the game?

I have no problem with people wanting to learn about PCs. Fixing them, building them, maintaining them etc. I teach as much as I can to those who want to learn.

I have a problem with you thinking that those that don't care or want to build a PC, can't use their PC because YOU think it's not "justified". Let people do what they want.

That's true. Part of being a DIYer is being able to troubleshoot and perform repairs. But, there are also people who can't be bothered to try. I don't see why they can't apply to PCs. I mean there are varying degrees of people who do not want to do their own diagnosis and repairs. Take me for example. I use to do tuner cars, taking apart engines and modding them when I was single. I also did my own car maintenance. After a while I got tired of it. Nowadays, I bring my car to the dealer when I want maintenance done. It's the same way with many computer users.

Just got a custom build from Eurocom, their m5 pro which is a Clevo p650g a variant of the clevo p650se. In the states Sager has the same thing called Sager NP8651. So far I'm loving it, though they did give me a free upgrade too a 980 instead of a 970 which is awesome. I'd recommend this model a lot actually. Was originally going to buy it from xoticpc which I've heard decent things about but I'm Canadian and it was still cheaper to go with a Canadian company. Though cool thing about xoticpc is they do custom builds of every companies stuff, so you literally can choose any laptop you want form any manufacturer. I do recommend the Sager NP8651 or a variation of though, as so far I'm loving the one I have. And an upside is you can take apart the Sager, swap parts in and out (note cpu and gpu are soldered), and even re-paste the gpu and cpu and not void the warranty.

Exactly this.

I used to love building my own PC, buying different things, even putting fancy lights and stuff on them.

These days I'm married, my life is busy as hell so instead of spending 2-3 hours building the computer, I would rather spend that time installing the OS, getting it the way I want it, installing the software I need and then game. Doesn't mean my time isn't "justified" to use the PC.

The only prebuilt I would ever recommend is the Alienware Alpha.. When on sale you can get it for under $400 with a size and performance that just can't be matched even when building a machine.. The little system is a helluva entry level system or counterpart for lans/traveling/living room etc etc..

And it looks so sexy too. Shame they went with i3 instead of i5 (although I think the new models will come with i5).

But I've seen it play the Tomb Raider reboot on mostly high so it's a trooper...

The I3 is more than enough for the majority of games out there.. Games like MGS5 I get mostly 60fps and when it drops (which is around larger settlements) it is only around mid to high 40s.. This is at 1080p with a mixture of high and extra high settings.

@aretilda: I got my first gaming PC from AVA Direct... It was a decent experience, but after deciding to build my next one myself I regretted not just doing that in the first place.

I don't know anything about those. If they let you pick the parts, that's good. Building your own is not hard and getting parts is easy. Just get good parts no matter what you end up doing. Do not try to save money by getting a cheaper power supply unit (PSU). Also get a graphics card that has at least 4GB or memory. 8GB of RAM is enough for gaming.