B. Zocher
- Comment
I was extremely happy with this purchase. I will start off with the pros. - The listing shows the computer coming with an i5-3470. But mine actually came with an i5-3570. Its the same generation and build architecture, but its base clock and turbo clock are both 200MHz (0.2GHz) higher; so this processor is better than what it was supposed to come with. - The computer did not require ANY cleaning inside. It had been thoroughly cleaned inside so there was no dust or dirty spots. I did replace the thermal paste on the CPU, as it was likely pretty old, but I would not expect the seller to have done that themselves. - I didnt need it, but it came with a mouse and keyboard. The Mini Tower (MT) case is far better than the Small Form Factor (SFF) case versions for a few reasons. (1). Air flow is much better. Although the SFF dont have bad airflow, it isnt as good as the MT cases. (2). Full size PCIe slots allow for full size cards to be installed (SFF require half height cards) (3). More HDD/SSD spots and connections. MT has 2x3.5" and 2x5.25" bays to go with the 4xSATA connectors (4). The MT use a full size, standard, ATX power supply instead of the proprietary power supply units in the SFF. That means you can spend like $30-$40 and get a nice power supply unit and go with an even better GPU like a GTX 1060 6GB. There was really only one con for this machine (or at least the one I got), and that was the RAM setup. I got the listed 8GB, but it came installed at 4x2GB. That means if I ever want to upgrade, it will cost more because I will have to replace everything instead of just adding a few sticks. That being said, I dont really think Ill be upgrading, so the RAM isnt a huge deal. I paired my machine with a Zotac GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini and this thing can game! I can play GTA V on HIGH settings @ 1080p while still getting over 60 fps. Thats without any overclocking with MSI Afterburner. Keep in mind this is about the best graphics card you can use in this computer without upgrading the PSU because there are no PCIe power connectors. The GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini just uses the power from the PCIe slot and does not require any extra power. Total price of the entire rig was about $360. That is an EXCELLENT price for modern 1080p gaming at 60 fps. If I was to spend any more money, it would be on a new PSU, but just for reliability sake. I have included pictures of some of the components inside the case, along with a Cinebench test of the CPU and GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini. Here are the specs of the specific machine I received. It seems like they are not all the same, so I cant guarantee you will receive the same: CPU: i5-3570 (4 core, 4 thread, 3.4 base clock, 3.8 turbo clock) RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 @ 1600MHz (maximum speed supported by CPU) HDD: 1TB Seagate BarraCuda 7200RPM PSU: Dell 275W OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (with sticker code on case if you want to install on new SSD) I added the GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini and the 250GB Samsung 840 Evo SSD.