Mini review - Cyberpowerpc "Gamer Ultra" desktop

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
XfnQiUu.jpg


First, the specs:
  • AMD Ryzen 1400
  • MSI B350M Bazooka
  • 8gb GeiL Evo Potenza DDR4-2400
  • MSI Radeon RX580 4gb Armor OC
  • WD Blue 1tb 7200rpm HDD
  • Gigabyte PCI-E WiFi/Bluetooth card
  • Phanteks Eclipse P400s RGB case
  • EVGA 450w 80+ Gold PSU
  • Cheap "gaming" keyboard and mouse - Cyberpowerpc branded

The system looks very slick with the tempered glass and multiple color selections for the RGB lighting strips, as well as controllable LEDs on the MSI motherboard as well. Those aren't very bright, though. The power button changes color with the LEDs, which are controlled by a small button under the front upper lip.

The cable management is very well done, with cables routed behind the motherboard tray with basically only the connectors showing, and the Phantec case has no 5.25" drive bays and hides the 3.5" drive bays under the PSU shroud, leading to a very clean looking interior. 2 2.5" bays for SSDs or laptop HDDs are hidden behind the motherboard tray and easily accessible through the other side panel. That particular side panel is a pain to get back on, though, and the captive thumbscrews are difficult to turn.

The components are cooled very well, with two large fans (120mm or so) as intake and exhaust, and a Deepcool 3-heatpipe tower HSF. The CPU reached a max of 61C and the GPU 75C under a full load while gaming. I have only tested with Metro Last Light Redux though.

It performs very well, being able to maintain a locked 60fps with max settings at 1080p in Metro Last Light Redux, even in the most stressful sections of the game. Mass Effect: Andromeda was able to sustain above-50fps at 1080p with no resolution scaling and a mixture of high and ultra (Everything ultra except shadows set to high, DoF, Grain, Chromatic aberration, and motion blur OFF). I will be doing more tests later using AC4: Black Flag, The Witcher 3, Quantum Break and Forza 6 Apex.

Now, for a couple of negatives - MSIs software suite is kind of junk. You're supposed to be able to link the motherboard, RGB ram sticks and RGB lighting controllers together and control it with an MSI app called Mystic Lighting on your phone or PC. Problem is, the PC app doesn't exist. The phone app won't connect to my motherboard no matter what I do or what device I try. It simply doesn't work. The Deepcool fan is a bit noisy at 3000rpm, and it doesn't seem to be controlled by the system for variable speed. There were very few extras included with the system, limited only to the motherboard and GPU paperwork and Wi-Fi card antenna - no extra cables, no screws, no extra adaptors. And finally, Windows 10 did not come activated out of the box, and the "as-installed" key did not work, requiring the user to punch the key from the side of the machine into the "Change Windows Key" tool. Which for a non-technical user, might be a bit too much to ask.

I did upgrade the ram to a 16gb of Corsair Vengeance RGB 3000 DDR4, because muh RGBs, but also for the ram capacity - and I got a good deal on it.

Total spent on the system (not including the SSD and 2.5" drive I pulled from my laptop) was $920. A comparable build with all the included components would cost, after rebates, $1127 and an unknown amount of time waiting. Assuming one could source a similar GPU, that is.

I'm more than happy with the system and the price I paid for it - and using 100% off-the-shelf parts means I can upgrade anything, and re-use or sell anything.

I give the machine a positive rating, and I can safely recommend it to anybody who doesn't want to build it themselves, or is having a hard time finding a GPU, and is above-average in technical ability.

Thanks for reading!
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
I'm more than happy with the system and the price I paid for it - and using 100% off-the-shelf parts means I can upgrade anything, and re-use or sell anything.

I give the machine a positive rating, and I can safely recommend it to anybody who doesn't want to build it themselves, or is having a hard time finding a GPU, and is above-average in technical ability.

Thanks for reading!
Sounds great to me! Though, I would be disappointed by only the Ryzen 5 1400 CPU. I would want at least a 1600, or if it were primarily for gaming, a 1600X.

Everything else sounds fine, and I'm glad that they're now using EVGA PSUs, rather than what they used to use.

The having to punch in the Windows key is a PITA, but I can understand why, I guess.

Edit: PS, thanks for the pics. If that PC were the same, but included the 1600 or 1600X model, I might have gone for it. That's basically what I wanted to build, or wanted my build to look like in the end. Seems just right for a Ryzen 5 CPU.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
I think the 1400 is fine for now, it's a 4/8 configuration and games aren't as multithreaded as they could be. When they get more threads, I'll consider throwing in a 6/12 or even 8/16 Ryzen.

I went into the BIOS, turned on XMP and "Game Boost" and am currently running at 3.6ghz on the CPU and 2933mhz on the ram.