Don't judge...but I want to buy a prebuilt HP Omen PC

[StompAWOT]

Used to come to Anandtech back in the day for my PC build recommendations, but this time I'm really leaning toward buying and getting it over with for a host of reasons that I won't bore anyone with. The deal that has me interested is the HP Omen 870 Desktop basically as configured.

http://store.hp.com/us/en/Configure...1&storeId=10151&catEntryId=1443654&quantity=1

$500 off brings it down to $1,499 for this pre Black Friday sale. I haven't built a PC since 2006 so I won't pretend to have any insights into what is good or isn't, just some cursory research in the last day or two. That said, based on the specs alone compared to what could be purchased through PCPartPicker it seems like a pretty reasonable deal to me.

A colleague has a Falcon Northwest and he swears by their tech support, but I'm not ready to pay that much of a premium.

Final consideration - we're going to be doing a home remodel shortly so family and I may end up living in a rental (or with my in-laws) for a few months. That has me wondering whether I should consider a gaming laptop instead. Any "deals" out there on Pascal based laptops I should look at?

Thanks for any feedback.

Stomp

 

[StompAWOT]

Ok - on second thought I think I want to upgrade to the 6700k for $50...so $1,549.00...still a good deal compared to most others from what I can tell.

 

[whm1974]

The specs don't look too bad. What resolution will you be using and/or gaming at?

 

[StompAWOT]

The specs don't look too bad. What resolution will you be using and/or gaming at?

Don't know how to answer that. Think I used to play at 1680x1050 back in the day. Now I guess I want a roughly 30" monitor and want to play at high resolutions /settings (Battlefield 1 is my go-to console game right now). I also have a Oculus that had been pre-ordered sitting in a box since May and I'll want to drive that.

I guess I want this rig to be highly capable, but realize I'm not buying a Titan X and some crazy CPU.

 

[whm1974]

Don't know how to answer that. Think I used to play at 1680x1050 back in the day. Now I guess I want a roughly 30" monitor and want to play at high resolutions /settings (Battlefield 1 is my go-to console game right now). I also have a Oculus that had been pre-ordered sitting in a box since May and I'll want to drive that.

I guess I want this rig to be highly capable, but realize I'm not buying a Titan X and some crazy CPU.

Then the Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070 will do just fine for VR and 2560x1440 resolution. That is what I would go with if I was building a new system with that budget.

 

[StompAWOT]

Then the Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070 will do just fine for VR and 2560x1440 resolution. That is what I would go with if I was building a new system with that budget.

Thanks, Whm. It's there something about the HP system that you see as an issue, are you trying to be more cozy effective, or is it something else? I've been so far removed from PC gaming for almost a decade that I'm really out of date on info.

 

[whm1974]

Thanks, Whm. It's there something about the HP system that you see as an issue, are you trying to be more cozy effective, or is it something else? I've been so far removed from PC gaming for almost a decade that I'm really out of date on info.

I would consider upgrading the configuration's storage to the 3 TB HDD and 512GB SSD. Games are requiring more storage now and it's going to get worse.

 

[Valantar]

I would consider upgrading the configuration's storage to the 3 TB HDD and 512GB SSD. Games are requiring more storage now and it's going to get worse.

Seconded. Or just buy a separate 512GB drive solely for games and stick it in there yourself. Should be easy enough, and that would net you more SSD storage for the same price (or less) than the 3TB/512GB solution.

Other than that, that PC looks like excellent value. An i7-6700, 32GB RAM and a GTX 1080 for $1500? That's great. For gaming, going for the 6700K is also a good idea (it has higer peak frequencies). For $50, I'd say it's worth it in the long run.

 

[StompAWOT]

Thanks, Valantar. It's in my cart (with the larger drives and 6700k) and my *only* concern is that the mobo seems to be some sort of no-name (Pegatron Thimpu from what I can tell). Should I worry about that?

http://support.hp.com/us-en/product...s/12079703/model/13191065/document/c04790224/

But I like the look of the case, the USB placement and everything else. There is one PC spec'd similarly at BestBuy for about the same price (assuming I add the larger SSD - I just don't want to deal w/ opening up or tinkering for a while).

Thanks so much for the guidance!

 

[Valantar]

my *only* concern is that the mobo seems to be some sort of no-name (Pegatron Thimpu from what I can tell). Should I worry about that?

No. OEMs like HP always design their own motherboards (only "botique" PC makers use off-the-shelf parts for the most part). Pegatron is a well respected component manufacturer. OEM motherboards are usually very decent quality, but don't expect any real BIOS access, overclocking or fancy features. It will do the job, though. I'd be more concerned with the form factor, wether it's a standard size (ATX, mATX, ITX) so that you can upgrade some time down the line.

Edit: checked out the link, that motherboard is mATX (great!) and uses the Z170 chipset! It even has an m.2 slot for storage! Wow. That's more than I had expected. You might actually be able to overclock some, should you want to. Looks great.

 

[StompAWOT]

Thanks for the feedback and help from both of you - I need to get my butt back to working and not being distracted by this so I clicked through and ordered. Now I can hopefully find a good deal for a (4k?) monitor at the Microsoft Store (online or retail) since I have about $400 in gift cards that I'd like to use!

 

[Torn Mind]

One of the most common misconceptions about prebuilts is somehow inferior "quality". This would usually refers to the budget lines for regular big box buyers that managed to fail in the past. Once you go up a level to higher end and especially workstations, they are well-endowed indeed, such as Dell Precision T3500s packing Rubycons on the mobo.

The manufacturer builds according to the demands of their master. If the master wants quality, you get quality, which is why Foxconn in Apple leads to the belief held by Apple-philes that Apple's closed system is superior to the variety of Windows. But Foxconn's own budget boards are untrustworthy because they are trying to make profit themselves at a budget pricepoint and have no Apple looking over their shoulder, so to speak.

Pegatron used to supply ASUS but they have pretty much severed their ties now and now makes stuff for Apple now. Once upon a time, it was a part of ASUS, but these origins do not matter on a practical level.

 

[whm1974]

I know what you are saying Torn Mind, but I for one like to build anyway.

 

[Torn Mind]

Well, whether one likes to build is a separate matter entirely. There is a certain kind of addictive thrill to building your own. The feeling of control and getting exactly what you want. I get it. I'm quite the control freak myself.


I just don't see the need to baselessly write off a prebuilt's "quality". Don't get me wrong, there are bad ones out there that should be written off, but these usually exist in absolute low end. That usually dies off eventually, like with Emachines. Even Micro Center's PowerSpec, which used to be just as guilty of cheaping out on the PSU, now packs an EVGA budget PSU instead of the cheaper Allied PSU garbage they used to field. Usually, the bad prebuilts are the ones who makes people go the "wow, bang for the buck. An i5 at this low price." and then their entire system dies 3-5 years later.

Typically, with the higher grade stuff, it's not so much lack of quality, but rather paying a premium and getting less than by building your own. Also, the restriction of not being able to adjust clocks, voltages, etc. Or, the potential of running into random quirks that you don't know the prebuilt has.

Nothing wrong with being passionate about building, but I don't like misinformation being spread due to some folks having a great zeal wanting to spread the word about building. The threads on Slickdeals have debates between the sides.
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Oh, and StompAWOT.
Anandtech is a relatively dead forum and the regulars tend to just give out advice on the quieter sub-forums like here or General Hardware. Things get hot elsewhere, like the GPU section or Politics.

 

[whm1974]

Most of the people I know in person that have computers don't tend to buy anywhere near high end or even mid-range. They buy cheap computers at Walmart or Best Buy and then complain how slow they are.

 

[StompAWOT]

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Oh, and StompAWOT.
Anandtech is a relatively dead forum and the regulars tend to just give out advice on the quieter sub-forums like here or General Hardware. Things get hot elsewhere, like the GPU section or Politics.

Thanks for the heads up. Where did everyone go? This forum used to be hopping in the age before social media. Once again, thanks to all for the feedback and help.

 

[you2]

I wouldn't buy a bronze psu or mechanical hard drive at the price they quote you for that system.

 

[Burpo]

That's a Z170 motherboard, and a decent machine overall. You'll be happy with it, I'm sure.

 

[Commodus]

One important note: the larger Omen X is actually a perfectly standardized machine, funky cube-on-its-side design notwithstanding. You can even buy just the chassis, or get a rig from Maingear with the same case. Not that I'd suggest it in this situation (you clearly buy the Omen X as a design statement more than best value for money), but it's something to consider for gamers who want a pre-built PC without giving up DIY upgrades for all components.

And you definitely won't get any judging from me! One of the things I've learned over time: occasionally, it's worth paying extra to save yourself time or indulge in good design. Yeah, a custom-built PC will cost you less for similar parts, but you'll also have to give up a good chunk of your weekend (and possibly more, if it doesn't go smoothly). Reclaiming time with your friends and family might be worth the premium.