IBUYPOWER Gamer Paladin F860-a

by Matt Campbell on 4/14/2009 5:00 AM EST
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  • 7Enigma - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - link

    I think these 2 things are a really poor decision. The DVD burner is a complete joke as I just built a system with a 22X SATA DVD burner...I think it was $25 shipped from NewEgg. And the stock cooler on a $2 grand system also seems like a poor decision. There are a large number of people that do not feel comfortable building their system, but do feel comfortable trying to overclock (moderately). Even a $25 less than fantastic cooler would have decreased the temps and given some headroom to OC, but more importantly would have brought that idle/load noise level down significantly as it's the diameter of the fan that really makes the biggest difference in noise levels.

    Maybe they'll get it next time, but I'm not sure. Overall seems like a low margin product that just has some critical flaws that make it not very attractive when compared to the 920 system you referenced in the article for....$500 less.
  • 7Enigma - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - link

    Wanted to also add I think with this being a "gamer" system the 4870 seems a bit weak. You could definitely build a significantly better gaming system with the cheaper 920 and a better video card (or 2). With the 4890 now out, it would be a bit better, but you will still be GPU limited in most cases.
  • Shadowmaster625 - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    Do people really still spend 2 grand on computers without an SSD?
  • Hxx - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    It comes with a free game, you cant beat that lol, people spend over $500 on watercooling, 2k seems pretty reasonable for an upper mid range box.
  • vol7ron - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    I've configured a system from iBuyPower in the past and basically found it cheaper than some other sites, until it came to the shipping. Other sites might do $20-$40 on shipping, whereas iBuyPower seemed to knock it up to $80+

    Does the $1720 include shipping?
  • Matt Campbell - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    No it doesn't, but neither does the $1975. That system ships for about $85, which is a little steep, but this is a very large case and box. Others we've seen in this range cost about $60-65 to ship, so the margin isn't too large.
  • jmekelb - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - link

    As far as shipping goes... If you start with one of their "Free Shipping" builds, you can build it however you like and it still ships for free. I built an i7 rig on IBuy and they actually came in about $40 less than my build on Newegg with the exact same parts. Coincidentally, that's almost exactly what the shipping charge was from Newegg.
  • vol7ron - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    I haven't tested iBuyPower, but I was really looking at it for the low-end midrange gaming-like system as this seems to match pretty well with price points.

    I don't know if this has changed, as I haven't been to their site in a while, but I also noticed their SSDs were way overpriced compared to the market. If you want an SSD in your system it seems best to just buy off newegg.
  • Souka - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    "All of the components in this system price out for just about $1720 on Newegg.com. With a sticker price of $1975, iBUYPOWER has a margin of about 13% to cover a 3-year labor/1 year parts warranty, 30-day money back guarantee (not including shipping) and lifetime technical support"

    $255 isn't bad considering the system is already built, tested, and has a warranty behind it...

    Yes I know many of you are enthusiasts and wouldn't consider this...ok fine...go buy the parts then build it yourself.

    However...if you have a kid, or kid-relative, and need a gift...systems like this would make them quite happy...and keep you from having to build or perform tech support for the little brat! :)

    My $.02
  • mariush - Monday, April 20, 2009 - link

    if you don't have experience on building computers, then yes, it's a good investment.

    Otherwise, that 10-15% can be invested in better hardware or on other things. It's just not worth paying 250$ for the three hours of your time, required to build the computer and install the operating system.

    The 3 year warranty you already get for parts, separately, 3-5 years for hard drive, 3 years for processors, 2 years for motherboards, 1-5 or even lifetime for video cards, lifetime for memory modules and so on.

    Besides, you'll probably get replacement much faster from NewEgg on individual parts, instead of sending the whole computer to be repaired and waiting for it to come back.

    In the extreme case when something breaks after warranty, you can prepare for that by setting aside 150$ out of those 250$ in a bank account. If you no longer have warranty on that specific item, you'll be simply able to buy a much better part straight from NewEgg.

    I doubt their "lifetime technical support" means taking free calls from brats, it's probably some basic email support or forum.
  • Hxx - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    You're basically paying $255 for the commodity of having it aseembled for you.
  • san1s - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    don't forget paying for the building the computer was assembled in, the worker's wages, power/water bills...
    $255 over is a very good deal
  • Rasterman - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    I totally agree, in fact its quite a good deal IMO, if you are building a similarly specced machine you would be crazy not to just get a pre built one with being fully tested, warranty, etc, although I think the case is quite ugly in this one IMO. I was astonished how little markup there is, I thought it would be well over $400.

    What I would love to see is Newegg or Zipzoomfly offer a build option, order all your parts from them, and pay them $200 or whatever to completely assemble, test, and warranty the build, that would be awesome. Probably the biggest bonus I can see to this is getting a known working system, I can't stress how infuriating it is to get all your parts and build your system only to find out one component is bad then having to wait to get another. With a build option they could handle all of this for you and more quickly. And even worse is getting a glitchy product that causes intermittent problems.
  • Hxx - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    FYI u can get a glitchy product that causes intermittent problems with a prebuilt computer too. They're just "testing" it - whatever that means.
  • vol7ron - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    i agree. and not only that, moved into an apartment where i dont really have space to build anymore. this is what i'm looking at doing next.
  • MadMan007 - Monday, April 20, 2009 - link

    How much space do you need to build a PC?
  • poohbear - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    why do u guys even bother reviewing these pre-built fully loaded systems? most of us are enthusiasts that like to MAKE our own comps, it takes all the fun out of it if u pay someone else to build it for u. Seriously, just review parts, who cares what some company that caters to rich folks can offer.
  • snookie - Monday, June 1, 2009 - link

    "most of us are enthusiasts that like to MAKE our own comps,"

    Most of us? Who are most of us?

    Check their prices. Hardly catering to "rich folks".
  • Hxx - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    I agree, however unfortunately not everybody can follow a walkthrough on "how to build ur own computer in a few easy steps".
  • vol7ron - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    it's not a waste of time. putting my own parts together was fun when i had time (and excess parts to test). it's no fun when you have multiple dead parts all at the same time and you don't know what it is, with no voltmeter to check.

    this is exactly as someone else said, taking newegg, putting it together, and charging a premium for the service. it's like getting a dell, with actually good parts. not to mention, if it's not working when you get it, just send it back; no need to hassle with the testing.

    i also would like to see other "competitors" in this genre as cyberpower seems to be the only one and they're a little pricey.
  • Hxx - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    Buying a prebuilt computer has pros and cons. U dont know what u get, for all i know they could use some refurbished components and charge u full price. Putting together a computer on your own is still the way to go. It takes the average user a couple of hours to do it. A little research will save u from doing any testing in most cases; and u end up saving a couple hundred bucks. They one and only benefit is that u get it at ur doorstep and thats about it.
  • crimson117 - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    IBUYPOWER is hardly a rich person's computer supplier... IBUYPOWER is much more like someone putting your newegg-bought parts together. I like seeing just how much (how little?) I'm saving by putting my own machine together.

    http://www.falcon-nw.com">Falcon Northwest... now THAT'S a luxury supplier.
  • gwolfman - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    Was nero InCD installed or any type of packet burning software? I've seen that cause errors just like you ran into. Die packet writing software, die!!!
  • Matt Campbell - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    Thanks for the input, I'll take a look at that.
  • gwolfman - Thursday, April 16, 2009 - link

    Any news on whether this was installed (or similar software) or not?
  • Matt Campbell - Sunday, April 19, 2009 - link

    Nothing of this nature - in fact, the only 3rd party application installed was Cyberlink PowerDVD.
  • gwolfman - Monday, April 20, 2009 - link

    Ouch. Thanks for the update! :)
  • Gunbuster - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    You bash because it has windows update turned on but then turn around and say they don't do enough hand holding for prospective buyers?

    Yeah...
  • crimson117 - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    quote:

    For high-end systems, we recommended looking around at other suppliers, since they don't offer the "uniqueness" or handholding that buyers in that market enjoy.


    They say they don't do enough hand holding compared to other high-end system suppliers. When you're paying someone to build you a $2000 machine, you don't want some impersonal warehouse-feeling website.

    quote:

    Windows Update is turned on and set to automatic, which we dislike seeing on a gaming machine.


    Windows Update alerting you there are updates isn't bad, but most gamers prefer to choose when to download and apply them so they don't interrupt their gaming plans.
  • vol7ron - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    while i agree with you about the windows update, i also disagree with you. when buying a prebuilt computer, many times they're already loaded/configured and just sitting in a lot with one or two plug and play needed to be added... then things like the blasterworm come along.

    having windows update already turned on for the initial load is actually a good thing. it will help identify new drivers that might not have been installed when the system was configured... and then the user can turn it off.
  • neogodless - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    Noise... under "load" at 24" is 53.3 db? That doesn't seem "good" at all.
  • Matt Campbell - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    The results at idle are the lowest we've seen. I deliberately included the result under load so the impact of the stock Intel cooler on overall noise could be seen (and yes, it's loud).

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