Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Thoughts on Cyberpower PC

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 02-23-2009, 02:35 AM:

Looking at buying a new PC. The configuration I want would only be $100 more from Cyberpower PC than if I built it myself. What I'm wondering is has anyone had any dealings with them in the past? What quality are the computers they build? How is their support?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-23-2009, 02:45 AM:

Buy a Dell.

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 02-23-2009, 03:11 AM:

Haven't checked out dell yet. My current PC is a dell and other than a hard drive failure (admittably a big thing, and wasnt' that old at the time) Its given me very good service.

I originally was intent on building my own computer, to save money, etc. A co-worker pointed me int he direction of cyberpower though and if they are a decent company the price is certainly right.

Posted by Todd McCracken (Member # 4718) on 02-23-2009, 01:38 PM:

If your going to buy a pre-built get a Dell. They are the only company with anything that resembles real customer service if you need warranty work.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-23-2009, 01:44 PM:

Shoot, if you know how to build your own, I would be heading in that direction hands down.

My laptop here (an Inspiron 6000) is 3 yrs old and no probs with it. Had to replace the keyboard and buy a new battery (normal wear and tear), but everything else has been great..

But, true ... buy a DELL ... for a storebought unit - best you can ever get due to the tonnage of support that comes from this manufacturer.

Looks like Cyberpower pertains to flashy gaming units and not to quality in a business sense. Makes you wonder on their support then.

Interestingly enough: This company is where LTI bulbs are also made in the same city... scary...

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 02-23-2009, 02:07 PM:

So let me get this straight. Because one company produces, in your opinion, a poor quality product, that means that other companies located in the same city are potentially poor companies or make poor products? Wow. Love the logic there.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-23-2009, 02:17 PM:

I don't think it makes sense to build your own PC yourself if the goal is to save money.

The only way you really manage to accomplish that is if you buy components from companies no one has ever heard of before with driver support that is, at best, questionable. Some people figure if they can order the parts off Newegg.com that ought to be good enough. It isn't.

If you're going to build a system with 100% with high quality components from reputable companies you can actually end up spending more money than if you bought a similarly configured system from Dell -or even Apple for that matter.

The other gotcha in the DIY PC building equation is knowing full well what parts really get along with each other. I've seen lots and lots of kit built computers that ran like crap because of little unforeseen conflicts between RAM, the main board and various other devices installed. You really have to know your stuff well to get it done right.

Posted by Todd McCracken (Member # 4718) on 02-23-2009, 03:20 PM:

If you know what your doing a self built pc in general would be of far higher quality parts than an OEM (I was a pc bench tech/service manager prior to my cinema career) OEM's use some of the cheapest parts available, however as a whole they are quite stable. The old issues of irq problems and driver conflicts in self builds by and large are a thing of the past.
If you are just looking for a basic pc for school or buisness, and you might as well get an OEM, as its a plug and play solution.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-23-2009, 03:42 PM:

Nah, nutting of the sort - just coinsidental that the two happen to be in the same city..and not impressed with either one of them.

quote: Todd McCracken
OEM's use some of the cheapest parts available

Packard "Hell", 'er Bell was one of them. Compaq almost followed behind in a close 2nd place.

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 02-23-2009, 06:28 PM:

I have nothing against Dell, like I said my current system is a Dell and I have not been dissapointed by them. However, getting the system I want from Dell would cost an additional $500 compared to newegg and $400 compared to cyberpower AND has a slightly slower processor.

The build I'm currently working with:

AMD Phenom 9950 Agena 2.6ghz socket AM2+ 125w quad core
Newegg

ASUS M3A78-T motherboard
Newegg

8 gig DDR2 RAM
Newegg

2 Radeon HD 4850 512MB graphics cards, configured for Crossfire
Newegg

650 Watt power supply
Newegg

2 Seagate 500gb SATA HD's
Newegg

DVD/CD ROM drive
Newegg

Blu-Ray/DVD/CD writer
Newegg

G15 keyboard and logitech gaming mouse
Newegg
Newegg

And case with plenty of cooling
Newegg

Thoughts on the build?

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-23-2009, 08:17 PM:

Building your own is great except if you like having software installed for you. If you want to use windows and word you'll need to buy them. Like I'm a linux fan so the lack is a plus but I'm not average

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-23-2009, 08:30 PM:

I'd do the build with the parts listed from Newegg.

I've built a few systems for my friends who bought the stuff from Newegg, installed the software and all the buttons and whistles needed.

They were tons satisfied with the outcome an glad they went this way instead of factory made units.

-Monte

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 02-23-2009, 09:17 PM:

Dustin, maybe I'm just not seeing it but the specific Corsair memory part number you linked to does not appear to be certified by Corsair for the mobo. A better choice might be TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX which is certified and slightly higher-performance. And only $30 a pair after rebate.

After having built ~20 PCs at work from newegg parts, I've learned to stick to memory that's officially certified for the mobo in question.

You might be able to save a few dollars by choosing a mobo without built-in video, which you certainly don't need with dual SLI video cards installed.

BTW newegg is awesome. Likewise for Corsair memory and power supplies. [thumbsup]

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 02-23-2009, 09:29 PM:

David, where do you see which motherboards the memory is certified for? I've never noticed this before, and I can't find it on either of these products.

Newegg is the shiznit. I've built a couple systems as well as upgraded plenty with parts purchased from them. Their prices, selection, and service are phenomenal.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 02-23-2009, 09:37 PM:

Ken, What I do is pick the motherboard I think I want, then go to a couple of memory manufacturers' sites and search for what they make that they claim is certified for that specific mobo. For example if you go to www.corsair.com and drill down through the online memory configurator questions (Motherboards, ASUS, M3A78-T in Dustin's case) you'll find what you want.

Does any memory mfr. list which motherboards are compatible with a particular model of memory? I don't recall ever seeing it listed that way. Always seems easier and maybe more logical to work the other way: Pick the mobo first, then find memory that's certified for it.

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 02-23-2009, 11:17 PM:

David, thanks, will do.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 02-25-2009, 11:18 AM:

I just went through this decision process, and lacking the ability to find a local place to build the machine, I have ordered the parts from Newegg and Amazon and I am building it myself. I've not done so in 15+ years, but I'm hoping that it goes smoothly.

I would have gone the Dell route, except for the fact that Dell's volume-priced equipment tends to be low-spec'd for ease of manufacturing and low cost. Very constrained component choices, few expansion options (forget about driving more than two monitors), and small power supplies are just part of what you have to accept when buying something pre-packaged.

I wasn't able to accept it for my system, but I bought a pre-packaged HP E5200-based system for my in-laws at Christmas-time that is working very well for them, and it was a very good price.

I was able to order the parts for a i7-920 based system with 6GB of RAM, 500W power supply, fanless 9500GT video card, 300GB Velociraptor HDD, and a motherboard with more options than I'll probably ever use, and a quiet Antec case for about the same price as a Dell Studio XPS with concessions here and there in components and future expandability. I'm probably saving about $300 by building it myself, a price I would gladly have paid if I could have found a local place that I trusted to do the custom build for me.

I'm hoping that building the system goes well. I haven't done it in a long time, but it's not rocket science. If everything works well together, I'll have a kick-ass system and I will have saved a couple hundred bucks in the process. If it doesn't go well, I'll have a frustrating next couple of weeks!

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 02-25-2009, 01:21 PM:

If you know what you're doing and have done your research on choosing the right components, you should be okay. Does your price include software?

Wow. I've been out of touch with the PC world for a while, it would seem. Last I built a PC, motherboards could only handle 4GB RAM. At least that I knew of. If there were boards that could handle more, they were really high-end and out of the question for me.

Which Antec case did you get? I had the Sonata II and freaking loved the hell out of it. (Notice I said had. It got jacked.)

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-25-2009, 02:09 PM:

The 4GB limitation is due to the fact that 32-bit hardware cannot address anything past 4GB. Now that 64-bit hardware has become common in the PC world, motherboards support more memory. Note that a 32-bit operating system cannot address anything past 4GB; a 64-bit OS is needed.

I'm not really in touch with desktop PC hardware at the moment (I last built a machine from scratch about six years ago). When I last built a machine from scratch, PC Power and Cooling was the preferred power supply manufacturer (they now seem to be defunct) and Intel was the preferred motherboard. I believe that Plextor is still the preferred brand for optical drives, but I don't know if they make a Blu-ray reader/burner. If you really want to find out the best hardware for a desktop PC, you need to ask a gamer--they always seem to be knowledgeable about such things.

Dell is a good choice for prebuilt machines with support and a warranty, as others have mentioned. Building your own doesn't really save money any more, but you can use better hardware than Dell (etc.) would and it is usually easier to upgrade a homebuilt machine.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-25-2009, 03:04 PM:

quote: Scott Norwood
Note that a 32-bit operating system cannot address anything past 4GB; a 64-bit OS is needed.

Software is another major key to the equation. Very little in the way of mainstream computing software is compiled in 64-bit code. Nearly all is still 32-bit. Some is even a hodge podge of 32-bit and 16-bit code.

32-bit software can still run in a 64-bit OS. However, the code of those applications usually needs at least a few patches or upgrades in order to run correctly. Lots of Adobe CS3 customers jumped to WinXP Pro x64 Edition and Windows Vista64 without investigating the situation closely enough. Many problems developed.

Adobe's newest "CS4" suite of applications is still largely 32-bit. Adobe Photoshop is the only one that has been recompiled for native 64-bit operation. Old applications like Adobe Type Manager and Type 1 Multiple Master fonts don't work in the 64-bit version of WinXP and don't work in Vista at all.

Device drivers are another potential problem in jumping to a 64-bit OS. Better make sure those are documented to work before making the big switch. It would suck to have a scanner or desktop printer turned into a useless paperweight over inoperable drivers.

Posted by Robert Minichino (Member # 3495) on 02-25-2009, 03:44 PM:

PC Power & Cooling is still around and making excellent power supplies, but they've been purchased by another company.

There's still a benefit to running a 64 bit OS even with 32 bit applications. If you're running multiple memory-hungry apps at once, the 32 bit memory limitation applies to each app individually, so you can still get good use out of your 8GB of RAM. [Smile]

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 02-27-2009, 10:57 AM:

quote: Ken Lackner
Does your price include software?

Yes, the comparisons I gave included the cost of Vista64. Since no other bundled software is worth anything, I didn't factor it in.

quote: Ken Lackner
Which Antec case did you get?

The Sonata Elite:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129057

I had looked at the Three Hundred, but I was concerned with how much noise would leak out of it. I boiled it down to the Elite Black and the Thermaltake ElementS:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133077

The ElementS seemed nicer, but not worth the extra money, since the Elite Black had a combo deal with the power supply for $20 off.

I'm going for quiet operation, so that's why I've gone with a fanless video card, a quiet case w/ adjustable fans, and if I need to, I'll get a replacement CPU fan that should be quieter as well.

The Velociraptor drive is probably going to make the most noise, but I'll put up with it to get the performance that I've been seeing in reviews.

The motherboard (ASUS P6T Deluxe) can handle up to 24GB in six slots, so the 6GB (3 sticks) I'm putting in should do fine for a year or two or three and when I need more, hopefully 4GB sticks will be in the stream for a decent price. I like future expansion capability!

I've been using the same Pentium 4-based system that I bought 6 years ago, and I've managed to wring more use out of it than normal by upgrading the original 2.4GHz CPU for a 3.06GHz Hyperthreading Pentium 4, upgrading to 4GB of RAM, and adding a 500GB data drive. I had to do some video work recently, and the rendering times were downright painful, so I'm really looking forward to the new box!

For a person with modest needs or without the skill and desire to build one from scratch, I'd recommend going the route of Dell or HP. Dell has so many sales and discount codes that you should never buy anything full-priced, and Best Buy, Office Max, and Office Depot put the HP desktops on sale on a rotating basis. You're not going to get the same bang for the buck, nor the longevity, but you will get less hassle, a machine that someone will support with a warranty and hopefully some technical support if trouble hits, and you won't have paid a large sum of money if you end up replacing it in a couple of years.