Cyberpowerpc Gamer Xtreme Vr Gxivr8020a2 Desktop Gaming Pc Review
Nosotros're back for yet some other in-depth expect at one of CyberpowerPC'due south college-end prebuilt computers, this fourth dimension it'southward the Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A2. In this review, we'll check out the differences betwixt this build and it'due south previous version (the GXiVR8020A which we reviewed previously).
Annotation: There are several versions of this PC which accept been released by CyberpowerPC. This review is for the GXiVR8020A2 model. The latest model is the GXiVR8020A4 equally of November 2017. For other versions of this PC, see our reviews beneath:
- CyberpowerPC GXiVR8020A4 Review
- CyberpowerPC GXiVR8020A3 Review
- CyberpowerPC GXiVR8020A Review
CyberpowerPC seem to be a pretty popular brand for prebuilt gaming computers, and we've reviewed quite a number of their builds in the past, including the GUA3100A , GUA880 and GXiVR8020A.
The CyberpowerPC GXi VR 8020A2 that we're looking at today seems to be an updated version of the previously released Gamer Xtreme VR and seems to have been available since January 2017. Given that nosotros were pretty impressed with the original build, the GXiVR8020A, we're very interested to take a closer look at the hardware of the GXiVR8020A2 to see what'southward new in this updated version.
Every bit we unremarkably do with our prebuilt reviews, nosotros'll be comparing the GXiVR8020A2 offering to our $700 gaming PC build so you can see how these both compare. CyberpowerPC'southward Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A2 on Amazon is priced at effectually $720 at the time of writing, then the ii are close in price.
Overview: CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A2
CyberpowerPC's Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A2 is a prebuilt gaming desktop PC parcel which comes complete with a separate USB WIFI adapter, wired gaming keyboard and mouse, and Windows 10 Dwelling edition preinstalled. The main difference between the GXiVR8020A2 and it's previous version the GXiVR8020A are a processor and motherboard upgrade to the latest Intel Kaby Lake compages.
The case used for this build is nicely utilized every bit a gaming PC. The huge clear viewing window into the example allows all your hardware to be on brandish. Red LED case fans go along parts running cool while highlighting the example interior and parts.
Nosotros're pretty impressed with the performance on this build. Dissimilar some of CyberpowerPC'southward lower-priced PCs that we've reviewed previously, the GXiVR8020A2 uses the AMD RX 480 graphics card. Being relatively new, the RX 480 is definitely up there in terms of functioning and tin can handle even the more demanding AAA games on high settings. At information technology's current retail price, the GXiVR8020A2 offers excellent value for money – the total price of individual parts would put you well over the amount CyberpowerPC are selling this fully-assembled PC for.
As with all desktop computers, this PC is fully upgradeable, but the hardware is all very recent so you could really run with the stock setup for a proficient couple of years.
Pros
- Cost
- Splendid graphics carte du jour for the budget – the AMD Radeon RX 480
- Complete package with keyboard, mouse and wireless connectivity
- Good looking case with viewing window and plenty of red LED instance fans for cooling
- Prebuilt arrangement, consummate with Windows x Domicile preinstalled
- Potential for future hardware upgrades
- 1 twelvemonth warranty and free lifetime technical back up
Cons
- No solid state drive
- No SLI (dual graphics card) potential due to merely one accessible PCI slot
- LED example fans remain on
- Those with older monitors will need to take either a HDMI or display port adaptor to plug in their monitor
- Lower quality mouse and keyboard
- Unknown make of power supply
- Component brands may vary depending on availability
- No ability to overclock with the stock parts (insufficient power)
Performance
If you've read our reviews earlier, yous'll know that we like to deep-dive into the performance on prebuilt gaming computers, and this review is no different. As usual, we'll be comparing the GXiVR8020A2 prebuilt with our $700 gaming build to see how the ii perform next to each other. We find that it's an interesting comparison of two similarly-priced computers.
Processor
At the center of the CyberpowerPC GXiVR8020A2 is one of the latest generation Intel processors, the i5-7400. This quad-core processor has a clock speed of 3.0GHz with turbo boost to three.5GHz and was released earlier this year in quarter one of 2017, and we're glad to see that CyberpowerPC accept updated to the latest Kaby Lake architecture from the previous version of this prebuilt reckoner that they were offering.
We compared the benchmark performance scores of the processors used in both the GXiVR8020A2 as well every bit the Cadre i5-7500 that we've selected in our $700 gaming build below. While the processor we selected for our build has a slightly higher clock speed, you can residuum assured that both take great performance.
Graphics
Next we'll look at graphics, arguably one of the most important hardware components in whatever gaming reckoner. CyberpowerPC have used the Radeon RX 480 4GB card in their GXiVR8020A2. The RX 480 has first-class performance which incorporates the latest graphics rendering technologies, having only been released relatively recently in mid 2016.
Following on with our comparing betwixt this pre-congenital and our $700 gaming build, we compared benchmark scores between the RX 480 and the GTX 1060 we had selected for our $700 build. As y'all can see, the GTX 1060 does perform a little ameliorate on paper and actually retails for a cheaper price than the RX 480 at the fourth dimension of writing. This highlights the benefits of existence able to choose your own graphics card when building your own PC – you can bandy out hardware parts to conform your budget and performance needs.
Don't exist mistken though, every bit the RX 480 is still an awesome graphics card! It benchmarks college than the GTX 960 and is near on par with the GTX 970 that we were recommending in our $700 and $800 builds last year. Technology moves fast, which is good for those of united states looking for gaming performance! Newer cards as well get the benefit of support for new technologies such as nVidia'southward G-SYNC, or AMDs liquid VR technology.
Retentiveness
Moving on to system retentiveness, the GXiVR8020A2 comes with two 4 GB DDR4 memory sticks to give a total of 8GB. Apart from being the latest generation of system retentivity, DDR4 RAM offers some power advantages over DDR3 within the Intel's latest Kaby Lake architecture.
While the two sticks accept up ii RAM slots it'due south not a huge issue for this particular build, as the motherboard used in the GXiVR8020A2 (the MSI Bazooka based on the B250 chipset) has four available RAM slots. Then y'all've still got two costless slots if you wish to go for an like shooting fish in a barrel RAM upgrade in the almost time to come. Just slot in your actress i or 2 sticks and y'all're gear up to get.
Comparing once more to our $700 gaming build, the total organisation retentivity is on par, with our build running a single 8GB DDR4 stick of RAM.
One affair we will annotation though is that CyberpowerPC don't guarantee the brand of RAM y'all'll be getting. They tend to vary the exact make and model of the RAM based on availability of parts. For most people this will not exist an issue, only just something to be aware of if you're picky and wanted a particular brand of retentivity.
Storage
In terms of storage, you'll go a 1TB, 7200rpm hard bulldoze on the GXiVR8020A2. 1TB is fairly big and should go along you going for a long time, but it'southward a real shame there'southward no solid land bulldoze (SSD) storage in this build. Of grade, in that location'southward plenty of space within the case to add together extra storage drives (may we suggest SSD!) at a afterward date if you cull to practise and then.
We believe that once you've gone to SSD, y'all don't get back (at least, non happily), then we made it a priority to clasp in a smaller 120GB SSD on our under $700 build in addition to a 1TB hard bulldoze. While it may not be big plenty to firm your entire ensemble of games, videos, photos and files, information technology is plenty plenty to exist able to load your operating system (OS) and possibly a few key games onto. With this strategy you will notice much faster boot times, loading times and a general increase in performance when navigating around and using the OS.
Case
CyberpowerPC have used the Cooler Master Masterbox 5 for a case, and fitted it out with red LED lit instance fans that complete the gaming PC expect. Along with the huge articulate viewing window on this case, it presents a practiced aesthetic and actress case features such as cable management, support for boosted case fans and/or liquid cooling brand this a very versatile option. In addition, you get a DVD/RW optical drive and although it lacks an on-board wireless card, this package includes a USB wireless adapter for cablevision-free internet connectivity.
You can become a good look at the GXiVR8020A2 itself in the video beneath (skipped to the view of PC tower itself – y'all can rewind to earlier in the video if you desire to see the full unboxing):
Check out the user reviews on Amazon >>
Usage
The hardware the CyberpowerPC have put into the GXiVR8020A2 is all relatively new where it counts, with the big ticket components such equally the processor and graphics card having release dates of early on 2017 and mid-2016 respectively. This means that you can exist comfortable that yous're getting upward-to-date hardware that will exist relevant for years to come.
In terms of the functioning of this build, CyberpowerPC take made adept selections on the hardware which mean that this prebuilt gaming calculator volition be able to hands handle most anything you throw at information technology. It will play most if non all AAA gaming titles on the elevation settings and you lot'll probably take at least one – 2 years of this kind of experience before you might need to start lowering settings down to high and medium as newer games are released.
If you plan on using this PC for additionally demanding tasks such every bit rendering, video editing, signal processing and the similar, then you may want to kit information technology out with a bit of extra system RAM. For nigh gaming applications though, 8GB of RAM is within the recommended system parameters of well-nigh games so the stock configuration should suffice unless you are planning on using the GXiVR8020A2 in other enervating applications such as the ones mentioned previously.
Since it tin can handle even enervating games with ease, general usage on this PC will present no issues at all to the everyday user. Those who may be used to a solid land drive would likely discover the slower boot and load times due to the 1TB hard bulldoze though, simply if this bothers you, throwing a small solid state drive into the PC is an like shooting fish in a barrel fix (nosotros'll cover SSD upgrades below).
As a strictly everyday use computer, (depending on how picky you are) it may not be perfectly suited equally it's larger in size and the LED case lights (which cannot exist turned off every bit they will be lit whenever the fans are running) may become a bit abrasive. If you lot're only planning to use it for non-demanding programs, internet browsing and watching the occasional video and so a cheaper machine would probably be more suitable (and leave some cash in your wallet). Nevertheless for those who plan on using this computer as an everyday PC combined with casual or regular gaming, the Gamer Xtreme VR definitely fits the nib.
I affair to annotation is that those who plan on using older monitors with this PC may demand to purchase an adapter to be able to connect their monitor. The RX 480 has iii brandish port outputs and 1 HDMI port, and so depending on your monitor cable, y'all may need one of the adapter types below if you have a monitor which only has either a VGA or DVI plug.
Gaming Performance
The GXiVR8020A2 has so far shaped up on paper to exist a very capable gaming machine for virtually mid-range gamers, so allow's take a look at how exactly information technology performs in user-reported real-life tests.
Realistically speaking, due to the new RX 480 graphics card and i5-6402P processor at the moment this computer can handle nearly whatever gaming title you want at 1080p resolution on max or at to the lowest degree high settings and still accomplish 50FPS + depending on the game. So if y'all buy this reckoner you can experience gratuitous to crank upwards the settings to max and in most cases still experience a lag-free gameplay experience.
To give y'all some real-life examples, at that place are a few youtube clips showing in-game operation for an i5-7400 and AMD RX 480 hardware combination, with video links below. Credit goes to youtuber Michu for the below videos.
1. Assassinator's Creed
https://world wide web.youtube.com/scout?v=DSK4UDhRomA
2. Witcher III
3. For Honour
Virtual Reality
All this talk of gaming brings us to another aspect of gaming that has yet to take off fully – virtual reality gaming. If you haven't come across virtual reality however, think full immersive gaming feel via a headset and tracked hand held controllers – pretty cool stuff!
The heady thing about the GXiVR8020A2 is that it's existence marketed as a VR-ready system, and then if y'all actually wanted to you lot could go yourself a VR headset and y'all'd be good to become! It has the ability to play most VR games in some capacity.
Hither'due south a nice introduction to how the HTC Vive (one of the available VR controllers on the market today) works in Steam:
While virtual reality may not be large however, it'southward certainly going to be something that grows in the future. Some of the VR games demonstrated on youtube are pretty cool, and the immersive experience from VR is something nosotros'd definitely be keen on trying some time shortly!
Virtual Reality Headsets
At the moment there are only two chief VR headsets on the marketplace: the Occulus Rift and the HTC Vive, both of which can be used with the GXiVR8020A2 PC.
Occulus Rift is one of the main offerings, and comes with handheld tracked controllers if you opt for the kit:
The HTC Vive comes in a complete set including headset, tracked controllers and speakers. Like the Occulus Rift, it is currently a bit pricey, but if y'all're keen to be on board with the latest technology, check information technology out below!
Upgrading the GXiVR8020A
CyberpowerPC have put together a actually awesome gaming computer for the $700 cost range, but the best part about this PC is that you're non limited. It's fully upgradeable, and the first-class choice of both case and motherboard will allow gamers to experiment with a range of upgrades either immediately or further downwardly the line.
When upgrading a PC it's important to start off with a good 'base', which typically means a good motherboard and processor. That's definitely the example for the GXiVR8020A2, so if you are thinking of purchasing this figurer you'll be starting off well. The PC itself is good enough stock not to need whatever immediate upgrades, but if you've got a little bit of cash to spare, nosotros would recommend the post-obit pop upgrades:
- Solid state drive upgrade (a 'must' for us as we dear the speeds afforded past SSDs)
- RAM upgrade (only necessary if you feel the 8GB RAM is holding you back)
- Power supply upgrade (optional)
This video shows how to upgrade the RAM in the GXiVR8020A2 and too put in a solid state drive.
SSD Upgrade
Putting an boosted solid state drive (SSD) into this computer is one of the first upgrades we'd personally exist doing. If you're all the same only using traditional hard drives, you'll be absolutely blown away past the loading times and boot speeds that you lot will get when using a SSD over a mechanical hard bulldoze.
Since the GXiVR8020A2 already comes with a sizeable 1TB hard drive, we'd recommend keeping this equally a secondary drive, simply putting in at to the lowest degree a 120GB SSD (or larger if you adopt and tin can stretch your budget) will be nigh beneficial. The all-time way to optimize such a configuration is to have your operating organisation (Bone) installed on the SSD and run the hard drive as an additional storage bulldoze.
Even with 120GB you can likely fit one or 2 of your most used games onto the SSD itself as well equally your OS; this volition give you much faster loading times when reading from the disk in-game.
Options for upgrading to a SSD include the cheaper Kingston HyperX Fury 120GB SSD or if you are after an even college-quality bulldoze, then cheque out the Samsung 850 EVO range.
Other Future Upgrades
For those thinking of upgrading this PC further, we've compiled a full list of specifications at the end of this commodity which will exist a expert reference point.
Future upgrades (in the next 2+ years) that users might want to consider may exist:
- Graphics card upgrade (though the RX 480 volition definitely stand you lot in practiced stead for at to the lowest degree a couple of years)
- Overclocking upgrade (not really necessary at this point in time as the Core i5-7400 processor is very new and benchmarks quite well)
While most of these upgrades are non actually necessary in the current gaming environment, some people similar to forward program and proceed their options open up. That being said, the limitations yous may run up against with this PC when it comes to upgrading include:
- Merely a unmarried PCIe-x16 slot, so you can't run dual graphics cards
- Maximum 600W power supply (stock)
Ability Supply Upgrade
Finally, a little more than info about upgrading the power supply in the GXiVR8020A2. Realistically, there are really only two reasons that would trigger a power supply upgrade, either:
- Your existing ability supply is not capable of supporting your hardware (e.g. you lot accept a 300W power supply only your hardware configuration might recommend a minimum of a 500W power supply).
- Your existing ability supply is of questionable quality (e.thou. lower quality manufacturer, lower specifications. Your power supply is responsible for powering all of your hardware, and it is less normally known that a poor quality power supply tin potentially damage or shorten the lifespan of parts).
In the example of this prebuilt past CyberpowerPC, youmay want to consider a ability supply upgrade due to reason number 2.
While we accept non got whatsoever concrete evidence, give-and-take on the street is that CyberpowerPC have sometimes skimped on their power supply quality in the past (let's face it, you can't offering an awesome PC like this one at such an affordable toll indicate without having to save some dollars on some components).
We practice know that CyberpowerPC do tend to vary the make and model of some components, including the power supply, to suit parts availability. This means that while you will e'er get a 600W power supply, the manufacturer might vary.
Depending on how take chances-agin you lot might be, nosotros would recommend at the minimum researching the particular brand/model of power supply that yous receive with your Gamer Xtreme prebuilt PC. Check online to see if anyone has had any issues with the unit before. If your research uncovers some fishy-looking data, and then it might be time to consider swapping out the PSU for a safer or more reliable unit.
As usual, we recommend an EVGA power supply, the 600B model below is a reliable, quality supply which comes with a 3 year warranty and is lxxx+ certified for peace of heed.
CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A2 Specifications
Information technology should be noted that CyberpowerPC have been known to change upwardly the exact brands or model of hardware components to suit availability (particularly on components such every bit the power supply, RAM, motherboard, storage drives and optical drives). The following specification are based on the GXiVR8020A2 offering at the time of writing.
Model Number:
GXiVR8020A2
Operating System:
Windows 10 Domicile
CPU:
Intel Core i5-7400 Quad Core iii.0GHz (iii.5GHz boost). Full specs here.
Graphics:
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 480
Outputs supported: Up to half-dozen displays (with the utilize of a hub). Supports Virtual Reality (with compatible headsets).
Output ports: 3 x Display Port i.3/one.four HDR; i ten HDMI ii.0b
Clock speed: 1266 MHz Base of operations / 1120 MHz Heave
Maximum digital resolution: 4096 ten 2160 supported over DisplayPort or HDMI
Dimensions: Height – ane.54″, Length – x″, Width – 5″
Full graphics card specifications can be plant hither and here.
Motherboard:
MSI Bazooka B250M chipset, but CyberpowerPC are liable to change the motherboard used. CyberpowerPC's support squad has previously reported that "The brand may vary depending on availability" on previous builds, and so while at the moment that means they are using the MSI Bazooka, it could potentially be a different spec motherboard in the future. Just one to picket out for. For the purposes of this write upward, we'll presume you're getting the MSI Bazooka motherboard if you make up one's mind to purchase this PC.
The GXiVR8020A2 is advertised with the following connectivity options:
six x USB iii.0 | 2 x USB ii.0 | 1x RJ-45 Network Ethernet 10/100/1000 | Audio: 7.one Channel | Keyboard and Mouse
The specs below are for the MSI Bazooka B250M motherboard, nonetheless as stated above, this could potentially vary due to stock and availability. If it is important to you as to which particular motherboard is used in your new PC, we recommend confirming this with the seller earlier you put in an order over Amazon.
CPU: LGA 1151 Socket
Chipset: Intel® B250 Chipset
Class Factor: Micro ATX – 9.3 in. x 9.0 in. (23.v cm 10 22.8 cm)
Retentivity: 4 x DIMM slots, max. 64GB DDR4 2400/2133 MHz (Note DDR4 maximum module speed tin can depend on if your processor is 6th or 7th generation)
Expansion Slots: 1 x PCIe x16 (Gen 3); 2 x PCIe x1 (Gen 3)
Output Support: 1 x HDMI, ane ten DVI (from onboard graphics, though these ports become automatically disabled due to the RX 480 graphics bill of fare)
Audio: Realtek® ALC887 Codec, 7.ane-Channel High Definition Sound
Gigabit LAN: Realtek RTL8111H Gigabit LAN controller
SATA/Storage: half-dozen x SATA 6Gb/s ports; i x M.2 slot (key M) [Note, the SATA1 port becomes unavailable when using the Thousand.ii slot]
USB: 6 x USB 3.ane Gen1 (SuperSpeed USB) ports (3 Blazon-A and 1 Type-C ports on the dorsum panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB connector); six ten USB 2.0 (Loftier-speed USB) ports (ii ports on the back panel, four ports available through the internal USB connectors)
Internal I/O connectors:
- ane ten 24-pin ATX master power connector
- 1 x 8-pivot ATX 12V ability connector
- vi x SATA 6Gb/south connectors
- 2 x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB ii.0 ports)
- 1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 connector (supports additional two USB 3.1 Gen1 ports)
- 1 x 4-pin CPU fan connector
- 2 x iv-pivot system fan connectors
- 1 10 Front console audio connector
- ii x Forepart console connectors
- i ten TPM module connector
- 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector
- 1 10 Serial port connector
- 1 x Parallel port connector
- 1 x RGB LED connector
- 1 x TBT connector
- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
Details above were taken from here.
Back I/O ports:
one 10 PS/ii keyboard port
1 x PS/2 mouse port
1 x HDMI port
1 x DVI-D port
i x LAN (RJ45) port
two 10 USB ii.0 Type-A ports
3 ten USB iii.1 Gen1 Type-A ports
1 ten USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C port
3 x audio jacks
Example Front I/O Ports:
The example used for the GXiVR8020A2 is a Cooler Master Masterbox five, which supports upwardly to four 120mm case fans or alternatively even a 280mm front radiator if you are willing to go for a liquid cooling choice.
Front ports are conveniently mounted at a loftier position on the front end of the instance, for like shooting fish in a barrel use when the tower is located below desks.
2 10 USB 3.0
ane x Audio in (microphone)
1 ten Audio out (headphone)
Memory:
Internal retentiveness: 2 x 4 GB DDR4 2133MHz (According to the CyberpowerPC support team, "The model of RAM will vary due to what we have in stock during the systems assembly")
Maximum internal memory: 64 GB
Storage:
Full storage chapters: i TB, Storage media: HDD, Difficult drive interface: SATA. 7200rpm
Power Supply:
600 Watt power supply (We have not seen any data on a specific power supply model used, just as with RAM and motherboards, would suspect that CyberpowerPC are likely to vary the model based on availability of parts.)
Wireless:
USB Wireless Adapter
Optical Bulldoze:
LG 24X DVD±RW Dual-Layer Drive
Dimensions/Weight:
9.25 (West) x 21.57 (H) x twenty.sixteen (D) inches
32 pounds
Summary
The Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A2 prebuilt past CyberpowerPC is a very well put together gaming estimator that can nearly run any game on the market today with very decent functioning. We were already impressed when we reviewed it's predecessor (the GXiVR8020A) and now that this offering has been updated with hardware running the latest Intel Kaby Lake architecture, it's pretty much unstoppable. Hardware performance is potent, mainly due to the latest AMD RX 480 graphics card and Kaby Lake core i5 processor.
Sure, there are some flaws nosotros could be picky virtually, like the lack of a solid state drive and potentially lower quality power supply, but at the end of the day this prebuilt is hands down one of the all-time value-for-coin prebuilts nosotros've seen on the market. You would not exist able to gather this yourself for the same price, and honestly, why would yous when you lot tin accept it all done for you with an operating organisation installed too?
Whether yous're after a gaming estimator that is ready-to-go out of the box, or something y'all can upgrade in the time to come, the GXiVR8020A2 is an first-class base mid-range computer to beginning with for any serious gamer.
Click here to bank check out the GXiVR8020A2 on Amazon
Source: https://www.pcbuildadvisor.com/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-vr-gxivr8020a2-desktop-gaming-pc/
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