[Mrbobcat]

I need to upgrade my older AMD based pc I built in early 2014 soon and think I would rather go with a good prebuilt this time mostly to make sure everything is put together right with the airflow and cable management optimized. I think I know what components I want. I was thinking at least a Rysen 5600X, 16GB ram, 3060ti card, 750w power, a 500GB SSD for boot up and a 1TB HDD for storage and good airflow with some RGB fans (new to me as I've never had them) and a decent sound card. I have not idea what motherboard to get and new to overclocking too and not sure if its needed. My plans for use is general streaming, watching movies, music and I may get back into gaming at some point. I just want something more up to date that will be good to go for many years. I've been searching for about 5 or 6 weeks now and was originally going to go with something like ibuypower or Cyberpowerpc, but heard they were more toward the low end. I then found some places like CLX, Xotic, Xidax and Digital Storm that all look good and was going to go with one of those.

But I just noticed that HP came out with the Omen 45L that looks awesome and a quick build looks like I could put together a rig with slightly better components than the other places for around the same price (looking at staying right around 2k max or below). What do you guys think of it? My main concerns is that the warranty isn't as good as the dedicated gaming places because you have to pay for extended tech support (which I probably will need), while most of the other places have free tech support for life plus most likely less bloatware. BTW, I would also like to get a new keyboard, speakers with a subwoofer or soundbar and also a better monitor at some point and will need advice on what games to start with so I pretty much need the works.

 

[xxicrimsonixx]

You have experience building computers... Seems like you would mostly need help cable managing, picking the right components (including a nice looking case with proper airflow), and the occassional tech support.

OCN can offer the tech support, and you already know how to build computers (not much has changed from 2014 to now).

If you really must go with a pre-built. I recommend a boutique, such as the ones you mentioned (CLX, Xotic, Xidax and Digital Storm). If you go with Dell or HP, chances are you will get lower quality parts, or even some random proprietary ones too.

 

[shilka]

Gamers Nexus on youtube has a whole series of pre built reviews
Dell is still one of the worst but many of the others are just as bad if not worse and often way overpriced

You are better off building your own system instead of that pre built crap

 

[Mrbobcat]

Yeah, but from what I've been finding its about the same price to pick out the parts at some of these places especially if they have some kind of sale or deal going on and most of them do. The one place I found that is a little cheaper is microcenter, but then again I would rather have it built professionally with somebody that knows what they are doing and then get a better warranty and tech support. Its worth it to me if I have to end up paying $100 or so more for that. I was going to show you the specs on the AMD build that was better than the other places, but just checked their site and it is gone! ***. They have a similar one, but the price went up by about $400 and it is not customizable. It looks like they put a 3070 in it instead of the 3060 so that could be the difference. They do have an Intel build that is customizable for around what the AMD was the other day, but I wanted to stay with AMD. I guess I should have jumped on it when I had the chance. Oh well, one of the specialty places may be better in the long run.

 

[xxicrimsonixx]

I think microcenter will build it for you if you pay a little extra... I would just do that -- go and pick parts, have them assemble...

I trust microcenter > others.

 

[shilka]

I think microcenter will build it for you if you pay a little extra... I would just do that -- go and pick parts, have them assemble...

I trust microcenter > others.

Last year or the year before i helped someone that needed a PC but he lacked the know how and the time to build himself so he bought all the parts from microcenter and paid them to build it for him

They somehow somehow managed to lose all his info and refused to give him his PC he paid for and they also somehow threw away the extra top panel for his Define 7
They got it sorted out in the end but the experience was not in any way positive

 

[TwilightEscape]

Gamers Nexus on youtube has a whole series of pre built reviews
Dell is still one of the worst but many of the others are just as bad if not worse and often way overpriced

You are better off building your own system instead of that pre built crap

Yep, this. I bought a prebuilt last year solely to pirate out the GPU and other components to make some upgrades to my current ones but wouldn't ever leave it as is. Didn't pay extra for cable management since I was going to part it out but it wasn't even attempted in the slightest. Two of the fans were mounted backwards, motherboard missing screws, TIM applied in globs. PSU was also unmarked hot garbage. But for the main parts I was able to choose and part out (CPU/GPU/RAM/Mobo/SSD) I paid less for the entire prebuilt, and was able to extra parts like case/fans in some free computers I gave to relatives, was still a few hundred cheaper for nearly what I would have bought separate.

Separate to that a lot of the HP/Dell OEM's and not 'more' custom builds also use custom PCB's and make future upgrades not worth it or even impossible.

I used CyberPowerPC for mine during one of their sales. Depending on which base model you pick and adjust the price was drastically different. Making two identical builds, literally everything the exact same, the price could vary by $500 depending on whether it initially had a 3060 vs 3090, AMD vs Intel, and then simply changing the parts around incremented differently.

 

[Mrbobcat]

I was looking on microcenter a couple weeks ago and almost went with them, but couldn't find a case they had I really liked. I was thinking of getting one with a 5.25 drive at the time too, but hear they really aren't needed anymore and just get an external one if needed. BTW, MC is only about 3 hours from me so that would be a plus. I will look around on there again later. IDK, digital storms work looks pretty good too, but they are a little pricey. But a couple hundred difference when spending around 2 grand isn't too much to be worried about.

 

[StAndrew]

I was looking on microcenter a couple weeks ago and almost went with them, but couldn't find a case they had I really liked. I was thinking of getting one with a 5.25 drive at the time too, but hear they really aren't needed anymore and just get an external one if needed. BTW, MC is only about 3 hours from me so that would be a plus. I will look around on there again later. IDK, digital storms work looks pretty good too, but they are a little pricey. But a couple hundred difference when spending around 2 grand isn't too much to be worried about.

They are the best place for a "built" system. I bet if you sourced the case you wanted and gave it to them, they would build what you want.

I have a love of good sound cards but with GPU interference becoming more of a problem, I ditched mine and got a Sound Blaster X3 (USB DAC / AMP) which uses the same software as my old Sound BlasterZ card. They support 5.1 speakers which was a requirement for me. The X4 is supposed to be better but it used the newer Sound Blaster App software which I'm not really keen on. But I highly recommend ditching the interior sound card and getting an X3 (or X4). I think the Sound BlasterX G5/G6 is better for headsets (from reviews I've read) but they don't support 5.1 speakers which was a deal breaker for me.

 

[TurboMach1]

I bought an omen 30L at one point because it was what was available. Ended up returning it because it had a bad gpu but outside the case itself (which is pretty nice tbh) everything was low quality about it. They use some proprietary stuff too so upgrading can be hard or impossible. I would stay away from OEMs like HP and dell. I ended up with an MSI aegis RS which is a very good quality pre-built since MSI uses their own parts for most of it. The only issue I had was they shipped a 10700kf with a 120mm aio and that's not enough to cool it. I've since replaced everything but the case and the psu but it was perfectly fine as is.

 

[ozlay]

Go with microcenter if you can. They should let you bring your own case. But you should ask them before hand. Because not all microcenters have the same policies.

 

[Formula383]

If you want something to perform great you want to build it your self. if you just want something and dont really care about it go for the prebuilt.

Money wise it can go both ways. But if your building your own we are here to help you pick out the parts that will give you what you are looking for.

 

[aweir]

Yeah, I had two HP Omens and returned both. HP uses custom Cooler Master power supplies without an on/off switch.

Now, I don't know about you, but it doesn't seem very safe to plug a power cord into a power supply with it's power already on and going to the motherboard. HP also thinks a 120mm radiator is enough for a 5800X.
HP also uses custom BIOS that is so stripped down that you can't even enable your RAM's XMP in it, but have to use their software.
The cooling is so bad in the OMENS that some of them DON'T EVEN HAVE INTAKE FANS.

I would only recommend an HP for someone that takes their car to the dealership for an oil change and doesn't mind if the mechanic puts conventional oil in it but charges for full synthetic and reuses the old filter but charges you for a new one.

I would only recommend HP for someone that has their home's electric rewired and the electrician charges them for AWG 12 wiring but installs AWG 14.

I would only recommend HP for someone who buys 1000 thread count bed sheets and then realizes that they are only 400 thread count sheets, but weaved in a strange manner such that the sheets can be legally sold as 1000 thread count.

 

[Mrbobcat]

I hear what your saying about HP, but have you actually checked out the specs on the Omen 45L yet? I'm still learning, but like I said most of their components look pretty good to me although I'm not sure about the power issue you mentioned. They have thier own patented cryo chamber now with excellent cooling and their own game hub. Most of the reviews are good too, but the fact they raised the price and discontinued the model I was wanting already may be a dealbreaker. I just looked at Microcenter again too and they do have a lot of options, but IDK just not feeling it. They also charge 150 to put it together while the other places don't so you are not really saving much at all. I did another build at digital storm also and it came out much higher than last time. It does look like the graphics card I was wanting went up and I thought they were dropping. I guess like anything else, the components can vary in price almost daily. I'm still thinking that xotic or xidax are looking the best to me right now. Any of you guys have experience with their products or any other places that has a good reputation I could check out?

 

[Formula383]

Problem with prebuilt is they care about one thing. making money. in this industry things can change very quickly sometimes more than once in a hour. if you dont mind researching a prebuilt and waiting until you find the best bang for your buck then yea it can be ok.

IMO, your better off just building your own. But i know people who think its just too much like work to plug in a few parts so i guess thats up to you. (i know of 2 people who bought a 6900xt over 6 months ago and have yet to use them, they could have just waited to buy and saved 600$)

 

[Mrbobcat]

I found a couple more that look interesting, AVA Direct and Origin. I guess ibuypower and NZXT don't look bad either. IDK though guys as I know its a fairly minor thing, but I can't decide on a case I like for sure. I know I want a fairly basic shape mid-tower with some rgb fans and maybe some case lights, but nothing extreme. I may have to set the computer to the left on my built-in desk too so it may not be ideal to see into the left side of the computer. I have my current one on the floor under the desk which I know isn't the best location. I'm not sure how I'm going to route all the cords either as there is no holes unless I drill some towards the back. I guess I could always just buy a new desk and put it downstairs so it would be more convenient. I'm also totally clueless as far as the rgb fans go and not sure which ones to choose and how they work. I'm sure its not that difficult once you play with them, but I noticed some builds have hand held controllers, while others have the setting adjustments in the actual computer software and others have an adjustment knob on the computer case which I think would be useful.

 

[bajer29]

Microceneter or NZXT. I went with IBuyPower because they were having really good "spring cleaning" sales on upgraded memory, MVMe, and GPUs. I sprung for what I have now instead of waiting for parts to come back in stock. I went with IBP because they've been around for a long time and generally have a pretty good track record with warranty claims (already have had one fan replaced without question, I'm sure this experience differs with other components).

That said, I would have gone for MC or NZXT if the deal wasn't so good on this PC. I now have all of the components I wanted/ needed for an upgrade from my old 4th gen i7 gaming PC. The only thing I'm going to change out of this pre-built is eventually the case and the sub par 360 AIO cooler. Everything else has been great.

 

[1Kaz]

Maingear Did It Right: Secret Prebuilt Gaming PC Review ($1700 Vybe)

I'd consider that company. A lot of prebuilt's cut corners. Gamer's Nexus thinks very poorly of IBuyPower for good reason.

They have thier own patented cryo chamber now with excellent cooling and their own game hub.

This sounds like marketing PR. "Cryo chamber" is just pushing ambient air through a radiator, it's doing the exact same thing as every other case with an AIO cooler. It's not like a chiller, which is expensive and comes with it's own set of problems. It would be nice to know what AIO they are using, as cheap ones have been known to cause system damage. If they are making a custom in house AIO, why are they not selling it to the mainstream market? Probably because they are making it cheap and it doesn't compete with a good AIO.

Game hub looks like an attempt to be steam (Games/social in one place), to include software overclocking (yuck), and RGB light control. They don't have some special magic for overclocking and flat out warn that it can cause your computer to crash. Overall, I'd classify it as unnecessary software (bloatware) at best. At worst, it can be damaging.

Overclocking shortens the lifespan of a CPU. If your going to do it, do it right and use the minimum voltage for the frequency. Not a randomly picked voltage that should get the job done. Excess voltage creates heat and can degrade the cpu.

OpenRGB has become the go to for RGB control because it works with multiple brands and is lightweight. I personally dislike RGB so I try to disable or avoid it.

 

[ozlay]

Well Origin and Maingear better do it right as much as they overcharge for their service.

 

[Mrbobcat]

I have no idea what openRGB is 1kaz as I'm a total newb to the lighting. That Maingear doesn't look bad except I don't really like the case. I guess if I had to pick one from them it would be the R1 RTX 3060 Ti. That case is also kind of plain and not sure how good the cooling would be, but it has the Razer Chroma RGB that sounds pretty good. It looks like you can't customize it either (at least at purchase), but looks to have about the exact components I would pick anyway for 1.8k. I did a build at Origin last night and came up with an awesome looking config based on their Millennium, but way over what I was planning on spending at 2.5k. But then again, it would be future proofed a bit and that price includes some extras I added like an external DVD player, gaming keyboard and mouse and the Soundblaster X Katana Soundbar. Most of the components are from Corsair which I hear is good including the iCUE RGB Lighting with Node Pro, but not really sure what this means for sure. They also offer extended financing which would make it more doable, but I also know that usually means you end up paying more if you don't pay it off early.

Any of you know where to get some discounts or specials at any of these places? I had been signing up for email alerts to most of them, but couldn't get it to work at Origin for some reason. CLX keeps sending me specials and the latest one is 6% off my order, but it expires tomorrow. I may have to check out what they offer again. I've been looking at so many different sites that its starting to get confusing which is which as they all seem to have some pluses and minuses.