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Medsport

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I've been trying to decide what company to order a new prebuilt gaming pc from and am having trouble. I built my current one myself about 8 or 9 years ago and have been having issues with it again. I've had it worked on twice before and figured its about time to upgrade to the latest tech anyway rather than sinking more money into an outdated model. I wanted to go prebuilt this time to avoid that rats nest like cable routing I did in this one and also so I can get a warranty and some tech support for the new one. I have a pretty good idea of what components I want, but still trying to decide on the case. I am a newb to RGB fans and lighting, but would like to get one that has some of these that you can adjust fairly easily. My budget is around 2k up from 1.5k when I started as I know that is most likely not possible with what I want. The original specs I was looking for were the AMD Rysen 5 5600x, GeForce RTX 3060Ti, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD and a 1TB HDD for storage, 750W Gold power supply and whatever MB that would support a good sound card. Lately I've been thinking of going with an AMD 7 5800x and maybe upping the hd's to 1TB SSD and 2TB HDD since the prices are not that much more for those.

I've looked at places like ibuypower, CLX, Digital Storm, Xidax, Xotic, Origin, HP, NZXT, Corsair and Metapc to name a few and can't decide who to go with as they all seem to have pluses and minuses. I really like the looks and specs of the HP Omen 45L, but hear some people have had issues getting the exact parts they ordered and you have to pay extra for tech support. I know I could use pcpartpicker or microcenter and build it myself, but like I said I want it to be put together professionally this time. I like the look of Corsairs stuff too, but I don't think they put together a complete system unless you go thru a third party retailer like best buy to actually purchase it. Any advice from you computer geeks or gamers out there that know more about putting a good rig together?
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Maingear and Cyberpower are the two go to's these days if you want a prebuilt. I've built my own for 15 years now, give or take. The 5600X is still great with the recent price drop, but consider an alder lake (Intel 12 series) build instead, since intel plans to support that platform through 2023. AM4 is already end of life. The 12400 is good value, and the 12600K is a monster for the price if you can stretch for that. 3060Ti is a good card for now since the new stuff is coming out at the end of this year.
 
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Medsport

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Yeah I've heard Intel is slightly faster in most aspects, but AMD may be a little better for multi tasking and is a better value. I also heard cyber power was sort of a low tier sort of like ibuypower, but they both do have tons of options, almost too many really for somebody like me that is still learning about them. Maingear looked kind of generic to me sort of like metapc, but will take another look. I've looked at so many it's hard to keep track of which is which and what one has the best deals.
 

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Yeah I've heard Intel is slightly faster in most aspects, but AMD may be a little better for multi tasking and is a better value. I also heard cyber power was sort of a low tier sort of like ibuypower, but they both do have tons of options, almost too many really for somebody like me that is still learning about them. Maingear looked kind of generic to me sort of like metapc, but will take another look. I've looked at so many it's hard to keep track of which is which and what one has the best deals.
Intel is oddly better value at the moment, mostly because AMD was on top for about a year which caused Intel to play the game harder than they usually do. But both CPU architectures have their strengths and weaknesses, and trade blows depending on the situation. For a gaming PC, a 5600 or a 12400 is all you really need, but if you wanted to splurge for a longer lasting setup, the 12600K is impossible to beat right now as an overall pick for the price.

There's a youtube channel called Gamers Nexus that's reviewed several pre-built PC's, and they do a very in depth look at things like performance, value, thermal performance, etc. I recommend checking them out because they have a review from most OEM's at this point so you can get a general idea of which ones are good and which ones aren't.
 
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Medsport

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I did check out that gamers nexus the other day. All I could find was about 4 or 5 recent reviews of prebuilts and they were all bad according to him except one from skytech I believe and even it had some cosmetic issues. I don't think they reviewed any of the top ones I'm considering though. That hp onen has some good reviews oddly, but I did hear several people got one of the 45L's that didn't have the rgb light on the cpu cooler.
 

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I've heard people like CyberPowerPC but I will never consider them again. I had BSOD issues with mine and sent emails to their support team and filled out the online support form multiple times and gotten zero response. I don't want to call because I prefer email communication which is on me but no response from a dedicated support line is goofy.
 
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Medsport

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That may be why I've heard they are considered more of a lower tier builder. It sounds like digital storm, xotic, xidax, metapc and maybe origin are more reliable and a little more premium, but they are a little more expensive too. But I guess paying a little more and not having to worry as much may be worth it in the long run.
 

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I've been trying to decide what company to order a new prebuilt gaming pc from and am having trouble. I built my current one myself about 8 or 9 years ago and have been having issues with it again. I've had it worked on twice before and figured its about time to upgrade to the latest tech anyway rather than sinking more money into an outdated model. I wanted to go prebuilt this time to avoid that rats nest like cable routing I did in this one and also so I can get a warranty and some tech support for the new one. I have a pretty good idea of what components I want, but still trying to decide on the case. I am a newb to RGB fans and lighting, but would like to get one that has some of these that you can adjust fairly easily. My budget is around 2k up from 1.5k when I started as I know that is most likely not possible with what I want. The original specs I was looking for were the AMD Rysen 5 5600x, GeForce RTX 3060Ti, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD and a 1TB HDD for storage, 750W Gold power supply and whatever MB that would support a good sound card. Lately I've been thinking of going with an AMD 7 5800x and maybe upping the hd's to 1TB SSD and 2TB HDD since the prices are not that much more for those.

I've looked at places like ibuypower, CLX, Digital Storm, Xidax, Xotic, Origin, HP, NZXT, Corsair and Metapc to name a few and can't decide who to go with as they all seem to have pluses and minuses. I really like the looks and specs of the HP Omen 45L, but hear some people have had issues getting the exact parts they ordered and you have to pay extra for tech support. I know I could use pcpartpicker or microcenter and build it myself, but like I said I want it to be put together professionally this time. I like the look of Corsairs stuff too, but I don't think they put together a complete system unless you go thru a third party retailer like best buy to actually purchase it. Any advice from you computer geeks or gamers out there that know more about putting a good rig together?
Your built computer lasted 8-9 years with minimal issue? Hats off to you... great job. Seriously, no rub. I've built computers since the 90s... you will always have some issue over time (mostly software or power supply for me... others may have different experiences).

The quality you will get for building it yourself vs. what someone will mass produce won't be the same at the same price points. In general, you will be able to build a better computer yourself price for price. IMO the mobo is the key.... get that right, and everything else falls into place (that is assuming you buy a nice ps).

My last build was 2017... I decommissioned it last weekend and now I'm 100% laptop from here, more than likely. Picked up a surface pro 8 and it does everything I need. I don't game (but even then I could hook up an external gpu). Not sure I'll ever build a desktop again.

I like taking my computer and having everything with me vs. trying to keep a spare laptop in sync with my main desktop.

My post was only to suggest maybe a carefully planned build might be a good option for you. You seem to have done well in the past. Many websites offer "suggested builds" at different price points (although many of those don't do much research they are only hoping you click on their affiliate links).
 
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Medsport

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Thanks for the compliment, but I can't really say I haven't had issues. I've had to have a repair guy fix it twice for some kind of virus in the past. But recently it has been shutting off by itself and I can't figure out why. I've done numerous searches on the web and tried most of their suggestions and it still does it. I did notice if I remove the side panels and put a fan on it, it doesn't shut off quite as much though. It only has one exhaust fan so it could be overheating or maybe something with the driver updates or avast (both of which I cannot figure out how to update without subscribing to a service I don't want). Other issues that have occurred in the past couple years are the cd/rom does not open anymore, the speake system I got with it died a long time ago so I got another cheaper pair that will only work plugged into the front usb port, the monitor won't turn off and the computer takes at least 5 minutes or maybe a bit more to get up and running if it shuts off or I power down.

But like I said, I could most likely build my own, but I really wanted the wiring and such to be done professionally this time and I'm a newb to RGB and want to add some of the fans and lighting to the case of my new build and have no idea how to set them up. But the main thing I want is good tech support mostly for help transferring my old data from my current HD to the new one and to be sure I can get it up and running without issues and I'm sure I'll run into other issues at some point and it would be better to be able to call someone that knows what they are doing rather than taking forever to try to figure it out myself and/or having to call a pricey computer repair guy.
 
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Medsport

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Perhaps with the chip shortage that cost USA $240B so far consider taking what you can get at fair price. I'd be partial to a prebuilt one that's proven.
But how do you know which one is proven? I mean the ones that are most common and have been out there the longest like ibuypower and cyber power have tons of options, but a lot of reviews rank them more a lower tier while others rank them higher. Then you have the newer places like digital storm, origin, xidax, xotic and metapc that look to be more premium but do not have as many buyers yet, then you have places like CLX, NSXT, maingear and a few others that are more middle of the road. I'm still liking the looks of the HP Omen, but it is fairly new and not built by a dedicated gaming place, but it seems to have very good reviews. But then again their prices and builds have been fluctuating almost daily, but its hard to know if that is a good or bad thing...
 

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But how do you know which one is proven? I mean the ones that are most common and have been out there the longest like ibuypower and cyber power have tons of options, but a lot of reviews rank them more a lower tier while others rank them higher. Then you have the newer places like digital storm, origin, xidax, xotic and metapc that look to be more premium but do not have as many buyers yet, then you have places like CLX, NSXT, maingear and a few others that are more middle of the road. I'm still liking the looks of the HP Omen, but it is fairly new and not built by a dedicated gaming place, but it seems to have very good reviews. But then again their prices and builds have been fluctuating almost daily, but its hard to know if that is a good or bad thing...
Warranty is short for the Omens... but they "look" (lights and all) good.

Omen Warranty: 1 year limited hardware warranty (information at www.hp.com/support); 90 day phone support (from date of purchase); Complimentary chat support within warranty period (at www.hp.com/go/contacthp)


That one comes with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 Graphics Card... if you buy the card separately, the warranty is:


Warranty
  • Manufacturer's Warranty - Parts
    3 year
  • Manufacturer's Warranty - Labor
    3 year

Of course you do get that one year of being able to call someone if something goes wrong. Maybe even extend that to two or three years at a cost....
 
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Medsport

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When I was looking at the Omen a few days ago, I was under the impression there was no tech support since they have that "smart friend" tech support option for 6 months or 1 year for an additional fee and was one of the reasons I was hesitant. But if what you stated is true (and it looks like it is) and the fact they just dropped the price by $50 make it very tempting. I just configured it with a couple of the few options they offer like the 3060ti card and a bigger SSD and added an HDD so total price comes out to about $1950. Not bad for the components it comes with, although it is in the same ballpark as some of the other dedicated gaming builders.

IDK, the case looks nice, but may be kind of big with that cryo chamber, but they do say it's an easy way to move it like a built in handle. I really like the looks of the Griffin from metapc too. Pretty close to the same specs, but the total build price I came up with them was about 22.5k so a little more than the hp. However I did add some extras like case lighting. I do like their cases too. They have a Phanteks P400a in black or white or the bequiet! 802 for a few bucks more. If I went with them I'm not sure which of the three I would chose. I've had other people say I would not be disappointed with a build from xidax either.

Forgot to mention, one other thing I'm not sure of if I were to go with the Omen is the motherboard. I'm assuming its proprietary while the other places usually let you pick the one you want. But this is one of the components I really don't know a lot about. I usually just pick the default one in each build as long as it works with the other parts. Is this an issue and what should I be looking for in a MB?
 
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I went with a prebuilt because I don’t know how to do it myself. I ordered a Corsair i7300 with a rtx3090 and i9-12000k. Should be in later this week. I got it for VR.
 
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Medsport

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That should be a good system. A little out of my budget as I was looking to spend no more than 2k or so and I'm more of an AMD guy. They do look to have a couple that I was kind of interested in although you can't customize them very much. I was thinking of something like the Vengence a7200 with the 5600x, 3060ti, 16gb and 1TB M.2. It is $300 off right now at 1599 so not bad and I could always add an HDD to it later. I almost ordered it last week, but when watching reviews some people had issues with the front dust filter being sucked into the fans. I don't know if that is common or not. They do appear to have some of the best fans and RGB lighting and a 2 year warranty, but not sure how good the mobo is and if it supports higher end audio components and the like as it doesn't give a detailed description of everything. I think you have to go through a third party retailer too correct? Their a4100 streaming pc with Elgato 4K60 Pro capture card looks interesting too, but not sure how cool it would stay with the front glass panel and how the GeForce RTX 2070 Super compares with the 3060ti. They are not in stock at the moment either.
 

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NVMe is the way to go with a board paired with the latest chips
This is what I am building for my customers currently
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MKMX2m

The board will accept the PCIe 4 drives and is PCIe 5 ready for faster drives when they become a bit cheaper. You can add a wireless chip on the board if you need wireless. It plugs into one of the NVMe drive slots
You can spring for a better video card and still come within budget.

The issue with box store builders is that they use the cheapest parts and most of their devices are underpowered.
I built a few back in 2010 for some of my customers and they are still in operation, I am slowly phasing them out before the hardware dies as all hardware eventually does

Just last year I told a customer and good friend that I absolutely love building machines, and that I could do that all day long. Now, after building 8 within the last 2 months and yet another one coming in tomorrow, I can safely say I don't want that again, :cwl::cwl:

Build your own, you won't regret it.
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