Last Updated on March 4, 2017
Today I’d like to review one of Amazon’s top selling computers which is the CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A2 desktop. It is promoted as VR ready, but is it actually ready?
VR today takes quite a bit of power and the future of it will inevitably take more so any gaming PC that is advertised as being “ready” for it had better have the future in mind as well.
With that, let’s get to the review.
Product: CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A2 Gaming Desktop
Price: $719.99
Cheapest Place To Buy: Amazon.com
Warranty: 1 Year
My Rating: 8 out of 10
What Does VR Require?
I really only want to bring up the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift since those are the two “mainstream” VR gaming headsets out there.
I’m going to list the recommended system requirements for both of the headsets and then get into the specs that are inside of this PC.
Both of the headsets are basically identical when it comes to recommended hardware specs.
Recommended requirements for virtual reality:
- Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 or better.
- CPU: Intel Core i5 4590 or AMD FX 8350 or greater.
- RAM: 8GB or more.
- Video port: HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2, or better.
- USB port: 1 USB 2.0 or faster port.
As you can see, for the graphics card, you’ll need a GTX 970/R9 290 or better. This pre-built desktop comes with a 4GB RX 480 which is a competitor of the GTX 970. In tests and when looking at the numbers – a 4GB RX 480 has a 1% disadvantage to the GTX 970 meaning that they’re practically the same card.
When it comes to the recommended graphics requirements, this PC would definitely be able to run VR games. I have a GTX 970 in my current build and I’ve been running the Vive very well so far.
As far as the future of VR, I could see the 4GB RX 480 hold up for a good few years before really wanting to look at any upgrades.
For the CPU you’d need an Intel Core i5-4590/AMD FX-8350 or better. The CPU that is inside of this PC is an i5-7400 which is a 3.0GHz quad-core processor.
That’s a bit lower than the recommended requirements that are listed by almost 10% which in reality isn’t too bad. An i5-4590 is 3.3GHz whereas the i5-7400 is 3.0GHz.
As far as the longevity of the processor… It’s a pretty good processor, no doubt about that. But there will not be any overclocking options with it when it starts to become obsolete which really won’t be for a good while yet.
This is the newest generation of Intel processors and the i5-7400 is really a great processor for today’s demands for PC gaming. It’s also ready for what’s coming in the future!
I’d estimate about 3-4 years until you’d want to start thinking of upgrading it. Keep in mind that this is only with VR gaming in mind. The future of it is going to take more and more power as we move forward with new tech.
Other Specs Of The Desktop
As listed above, you’ll also need 8GB of RAM, a HDMI port and at least one USB 2.0 port for the Vive. You’ll need some more USB ports if you planned on using the Oculus Rift.
These other specs are also met, the desktop basically has all of the recommended requirements for today’s VR gaming industry. Now let’s talk about everything that it comes with!
The RAM is 8GB of DDR4 memory which is the latest release for RAM. Since it uses a Skylake CPU it needs to use this newer RAM as well which is good.
It’s going to come with a 1TB hard drive which is going to be more than enough room for installing all of your programs, games and etc.
So far, most of the VR games that I’ve downloaded aren’t 20+ GB (yet) so you should definitely have enough space for most of the games that have come out so far.
A USB wifi adapter will come with for those of you that aren’t able to connect directly with an ethernet cord. Most of the PC builds that I share here use a USB wifi adapter – they are pretty reliable if you’re sort of close to your router!
Windows 10 will come pre-installed and it’ll come with a CyberPowerPC keyboard and mouse. I have no information on the DPI of the mouse but based on the reviews – it’s good enough for 1080p resolution. The keyboard actually has multi-media keys as well!
Most pre-built gaming PCs are a rip off but this one actually caught me by surprise…
When looking at the hardware itself, you’d be able to get it a bit cheaper if you were to build it yourself with the same exact parts. But after adding in Windows 10 you’d actually pay a bit more than you would by getting this pre-built and it also comes with a keyboard/mouse.
This is one of the first times that a pre-built gaming desktop actually makes a bit of sense! Is the pre-built industry changing..?
Is This CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme Desktop Enough?
All in all, this desktop has the hardware you’d need to run the latest VR games. Not only that but it’s also at a pretty fair price.
Again, you could get this exact build for cheaper when looking at just the hardware by building your own but once you add in a full, legit version of Windows 10 into the mix… it’s actually cheaper to go with this pre-built than it is to go with a build of your own.
This is really the only time I’ve actually recommended picking up a pre-built if you’re in the market for budget VR gaming. It just makes sense!
Be sure to read up on what others have said over at Amazon, the reviews don’t lie!
So, are you going to be picking up this desktop?
Or do you still plan on doing a build of your own?
Let me know in the comments below! 😀
Hey there! 👋 I’m Colton, founder of PC Builds On A Budget.
Whether you need help putting your PC together, finding a great pre-built rig, or want some help finding awesome peripherals – I’ve got you covered!
I share my experiences of anything and everything related to gaming PCs with you here. 👍
Do you have any $1200 builds you recommend? And any monitor that is $200 or less, and a mouse and keyboard that is $150 together, (The Razer DeathAdder Elite and Razer Ornata Chroma seems good) and maybe a headset that is $30ish? Thanks
Hey Andy,
Feel free to look around at the different reviews I have here on the site, use the top navigation bar to see if there is anything I’ve reviewed that you’re interested in!
As far as a $1200 build, I don’t have a guide for that budget. I’ll look into getting one put together though for sure! Let me know!
Is this worth it?
http://amzn.to/2rQQ55U
Do you recommend a monitor, headset, mouse pad, desk, cable management kits and extras (like leds, headphone stand) that could go well with the pc but all together with the pc costs $1900 or less?
Thanks
Andy,
I don’t think it’s worth getting at all. For $1,300 on a PC build you could have something a lot more powerful than that. Even with a $1,000 build you’d have more power to go around. I would suggest not wasting your money on that pre-built.
As far as peripherals, you can check out what I recommend by going through the product reviews above and/or you can check out the different build guides here, there are monitor, keyboard and mouse suggestions with them!
I’m kinda considering to buy this build, are these good items to go along with the build?
Monitor- http://amzn.to/2pOzD1J
http://amzn.to/2pOERur
Mouse Pad-
http://amzn.to/2qKMx4S
I also noticed the keyboard and mouse included, which aren’t that bad but aren’t that good. Do you suggest I buy better ones, and if, which ones? And a bigger question, should I buy this? Thank you in advance
Hey Andy,
I have a full review on that monitor right here if you’d like to read up more on it. I’ve used that monitor for years and it’s a high quality pick.
As far as the headset, I haven’t personally used that brand but from judging by the specs and the reviews it seems like a good pick. If you’re wanting a lard mouse pad that’ll get the job done.
I’d say to start using the keyboard/mouse that comes with at first to see if you like it and if not then you could move forward getting different ones. You’re right, the keyboard/mouse that comes with is basically in the middle between being low and high quality. Not horrible but not great either.
Do you suggest I build my own pc or buy this one? I’m kinda researching on some ryzen builds, since the ryzen 7 looks really cheap.
You’ll always get a better deal doing a build of your own. If you wanted to save $100-$400 on the build (depending on the build etc) then I’d highly suggest going for a build of your own!
Do you suggest any good $1000 ryzen (ryzen 7 is really cheap) builds if I don’t go for the prebuilt?
You can take a look at this Ryzen 7 build to go off of, Ryzen is great when you’re thinking of having a PC as a workstation.
Colton I Am Looking To Spend About 3,000.00 Wat Would You Buy
Hey there Katie,
Honestly, for a pre-built computer, $3,000 is a bit overkill when thinking of the PC itself. Now if $3,000 is your budget range with the monitor and other peripherals in mind then you can really have a killer PC.
I’d recommend going with the GXiVR8080A2 model from CyberPowerPC since it’ll leave about $1,000 left for your budget for a nice monitor and other things to go with, or even being able to save a bit of money. For what you pay you get a PC that’s fully capable of 4K gaming and the future of VR gaming.
Let me know what you decide to go with!
What’s the power supply like on it? Is it quality built?
Hey there Matthew,
I’ve found out that the power supply is the High Power HPG-600BR-H14S. You can check out specs and what not right here if you’d like to. I’ve heard mixed feelings about the manufacturer and this brand but from also judging on the Amazon reviews and how nobody has really had any problems, I’d say it’s good to go for a PC like this!
Could you replace the power supply with another one?
I’m sure you could but I don’t know what that would mean for the warranty and what not.
While I don’t buy pre-built PCs, I do have them built for me; this one and the one before it were both done by IBuyPower PC, a pick-your-components boutique. Sure, it’s a bit more expensive than building it yourself, but when you push so hard for DIY builds, you neglect so many of us incapable of doing it because of physical/medical conditions. Of course, we’re a tiny minority, so the fault is very minor. heh.
IBuyPower PC is not any better than most other boutiques, but they’ve been really good about answering questions and helping me get things setup properly. For @ $1600US, I got a i7-6700k/980ti SC+/16gbs DDR4 ram/256gb SSD-1tb HDD/Win 10/mouse/keyboard/NXZT Phantom case. The rig before this one was just as potent back then, and is still running great, Skyrim at full-tilt graphics, for example.
While I can’t build a system by myself, I can and do take the GPU out to clean it/clean out the case. So upgrading GPUs is easy enough for just about anyone to do.
Hey Tom,
For sure man, it’s awesome that companies like this exist so that people like you can enjoy a nice, high quality gaming rig. When did you get that PC?
Actually, in reading my own comment I noticed you said the DDR 4 is required for Skylake (Intel, not AMD).. I was reading both this review and the one you did on the GUA4500A so.. I got a little confuzzled 🙂
I’m still curious why the 2400BST ‘appears’ better while being lower in cost. Only difference is a better GPU, lower DDR and no optical drive. Is it just me? 🙂
Could you send a link of that PC Lenny? I don’t think Amazon has that one..
I did manage to find under comments it has the Asus M5A97 R2.0, MoBo.
For it being on sale like that, I’d say go for it.
That’s what I was thinking.. I just wondered why it would be cheaper than the one on Amazon. Seems odd, but then that is pre-built for ya lol.
I originally came here to look at reviews or build my own, which I haven’t done in 5 years (my how technology has changed).
Love your site, love all your info! Definitely think my wife will get your 600$ built system. Thanks for all your info here!
Yeah the pre-built PC market is all over the place, always has been and probably always will be lol. Though these days with all of the sales and what not I can see how one such as that one makes sense to be looking at!
Newer pre-built PCs that have come onto the market are actually starting to make more and more sense, hence why I’m taking the time to do reviews to see what’s going on.
Happy to hear that you are loving the site, always here for whatever else! 😀
BestBuy actually has a version much like this one, except with the FX-8350 processor and the same GFX card. It has 4 USB 3.0 ports and is going for $600.
The downside is it has DDR 3 SDRAM instead of DDR 4 (still 8GB).It also comes without an optical drive. I’m not sure how much the memory change would affect it since you said it ‘needs DDR 4’.
CyberPowerPC GUA2400BST
This pre-built sounds pretty good for the price, since you not only get free windows 10, a keyboard, a mouse, and a computer that can handle VR all for $720, it sounds like a great deal. However, I have no plans to buy it. I’d like to build my own build, with my own stuff, and upgrade it without worries. There’s also the thought that, on Amazon, I would either have to pay nearly $60 worth of tax, or buy it from people who just launched selling stuff, which just sounds risky.
However, it does sound pretty nice, just not for me. Other people? If they want it, then get it. Just make sure you click the “amount new from money”, that you can find on Amazon. Really, even if buying parts for your own build, click that, you might be able to pay less.
Sales tax will depend on where someone lives, where I’m from there is no online sales tax. Many places have it though. This PC is definitely worth the asking price and I also saw that it has Amazon Prime so members of Prime, or even a free trial just to get it, would result in free 2-day shipping from an Amazon warehouse.
I 100% get why you’d want to build your own, it’s pretty awesome putting your own PC together with parts that you pick out!