Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
iBuyPower List The system I’ve spent the last month playing on isn’t particularly flashy, nor is it a shining example of the heights gaming PC brands can reach. However, it’s a perfectly usable system with minimal bloatware, and any concerns I had about some of the weird selections don’t hurt gaming performance.
At a listed price of around $2,000, this iBuyPower configuration charges you a modest premium just to install (almost) all of the components, but frequent sales and discounts make this a more palatable deal as the price comes down.
It’s actually only held back by some minor assembly issues, as well as parts that may limit future upgrades, which currently affect users at opposite ends of the PC building spectrum disproportionately. Given current RAM pricing issues, this is better value than ever, and probably cheaper than the off-the-shelf version.
Photo: Brad Burke
Mixed experience
First, the good stuff: The GPU is assembled separately from the rest of the system, which may seem strange, but I’ve found this to be one of the most common pain points when shipping a new gaming PC. I’ve seen system builders use expanding foam, special brackets, and folded cardboard supports, among other solutions, but packing graphics cards in their original box is much simpler and safer, and other methods of shipping a computer with a graphics card installed still require opening the system anyway. I wish the instructions were more specific to the case, especially since the PCIe chip can be a bit difficult for beginners, but anyone who has worked with gaming systems in the past shouldn’t have any issues.
The case isn’t particularly unique or eye-catching, but it has a wide, slightly smoky glass side panel that helps give it a clean silhouette. The dark tint allows the lights underneath to shine a little without the entire system being overtly coded for players, but it also makes it highly reflective. There are no screws holding it in place, it’s just a push fit, but it’s nice and sturdy, and I didn’t have to worry about it falling off. Like most glass panels, it blocks airflow, so iBuyPower set the front fan assembly an inch or so from the panel, and added mesh sections at the top and bottom, which helps alleviate the problem. However, I can’t imagine the fan directly behind the central glass panel doing all that much.