I'm looking into this system at Costco that seems pretty good:

 

http://www.costco.com/CyberpowerPC-GVi2200CST-Desktop---Intel-Core-i7---8GB-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-1070-Graphics---Windows-10-Professional.product.100296685.html

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

Cheers, Pete

 

Looks good.  Only think I would be checking is what the motherboard and cpu cooler are.

Thanks I will definitely check on that. Great thing about Costco is they have 90 day free returns on all items so you get plenty of time to make sure you got what you want.

 

Cheers, Pete

And the PSU:

 

Additional Information: 

• Power Supply: 800W Liquid Cooled

That's new to me!

You are in Chicago metro. You have a Micro Center store in that area. A year ago I built a killer system with Micro Center for about $100 more than you are looking at per Costco.  Top quality MB and memory, up to date video card at the time, SSDs, name brand liquid cooling, top notch case with lots of ventilation and dust filtering, etc.  My system specs are in my signature.  I was going to build it myself until they offered to build it for me for $125 and guarantee it for a year.  At least check it out for comparison!

And the PSU:

 

Additional Information: 

• Power Supply: 800W Liquid Cooled

That's new to me!

 

 

 

Liquid cooled PSU's date back to around 2000, Koolance I recall it was.

 

The only liquid cooled PSU I know of now is the Deepcool PSU, shown at CES this year. It was a prototype, don't think it's available yet. In addition, it was a standalone unit, so needed to be plugged into an existing custom loop.

 

Liquid cooled PSU's are of course a nonsense, a useless concept. The only thing achieved is to provide something a bit over the top and different. 

 

As I'm sure you're well aware, PSU's these days are very efficient and barely get warm, so to then whack some kind of water block in there, adjacent to mains voltages, to cool something with water than doesn't at all need water is stupidity.

 

If I were the OP and the PSU is really water cooled, I would reject it. Ask the supplier to fit a more sensible PSU perhaps. It's a calculated risk to water cool a CPU or GPU, the last thing we want is a water cooled PSU.

 

The most likely scenario here though, and one I'd bet money on, is that it's a bonkers typographical mistake, and it's not water cooled at all.  :smile:

 

 

EDIT:

 

Found this forum post...

 

Low quality components, and no, not a liquid cooled PSU at all.

 

So, I got the system.  Overall, it works good for what is it, but a bit expensive.  Packing was superb and everything worked out of the box.  Below is what is included, some a bit disappointing. 

 

 

Costco.com CVi2200CST

CPU: Intel i7-6700 CPU @ 4.00GHz

CPU Cooling: Asetek 510LC or 550LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler

Motherboard: MSI Bazooka B150M

RAM: GEIL (2) 8 GB GN48BG2400C16S [Poor Quality - NOT SUPPORTED BY MB]

GPU: EVGA GeForce 8 GB GTX 1070

Hard Drives: 256GB SanDisk Z4000s SSD + 2TB Toshiba DT01ACA200 [Poor Quality]

Optical: DVD-RW?

PSU: High Power HPL-800BR-F14S 800W [Poor Quality]

Case: Cooler Master MasterBox 5 Mid-Tower Gaming Case

OS: Windows 10 PRO

Keyboard: CyberpowerPC Multimedia Gaming Keyboard

Mouse: CyberpowerPC Standard 4000 DPI with Weight System Optical Gaming Mouse

 

 

 

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/forum/costo-system-spec-quetions_topic48712.html

In light of Martin's findings, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole

A 10 foot one.  :smile:

Thanks to all for your input! I guess I will take a pass until I am ready to build.

 

Cheers, Pete

One more thing, and thanks again for the input to all of you! All computers (and electronics) you buy at Costco have a standard extended warranty for two years (not bad at all). But also, you get an extra two years when using Costco's Visa card which I use for pretty much everything. I called them to con firm, so this computer would be covered by a 4 year warranty. Considering that, I would be less worried about the computer falling apart and then if performance is excellent, may still be worth a shot?  I do plan on calling Cyberpower to ask some of the questions you all have raised, and being a CPA this time of year building my own would be out of the question for the forseeable future since I have no time (plus two kids playing travel hockey that drains all of the rest of my time!). Thanks again!

 

Cheers, Pete

All computers (and electronics) you buy at Costco have a standard extended warranty for two years (not bad at all). But also, you get an extra two years when using Costco's Visa card which I use for pretty much everything. I called them to con firm, so this computer would be covered by a 4 year warranty.

 

Consider that at the brand name component level most of the components have warranties of considerable length that equal or exceed that above.  For instance the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 motherboard in my system has a 3 year warranty with a year added to that because of the Visa card I used in the purchase.  The Corsair H100i CPU liquid cooler in my system has a 5 year warranty. My Corsair Power Supply has a 10 year warranty.  The MSI GTX 970 video card has 3 years parts/2 years labor, plus one year on parts and plus 2 years (double) that warranty, again because of the Visa card I used. My SSD's have 5 year warranties. And so on and so on.  And I also got a build guarantee from MicroCenter.  They have a department dedicated to self builders and can recommend components based on your preferences, including OEM warranty.

 

So why buy what someone else decides on when you can control what you have in your system?  And where you live you have a build option that removes any risk in you trying to build it yourself.

All good points Frank, and thanks again for your input! I actually work in Oak Brook so the MicroCenter is only a few minutes down the road and worth a stop in to see what they can do. For years i have been telling myself I would build a computer, but with my lack of patience I feel confident that i would fry something along the way. Better to let someone else like MicroCenter do the work!

 

Cheers, Pete

Pete,

You still get to be the most active part - that of selecting your components.  Think about what you most restrictive issue is. For me for example it was the number and type of USB ports available at the back of the motherboard. With my previous system and Windows 7 I had trouble with reliable USB signal to my devices, even with powered external USB hubs. I wanted a system where I could plug them direct to USB on the motherboard.  Turns out the new system and overcoming Windows Advanced Power Management issues (Windows 7 though 10) eliminated those issues anyway, but I point it out just as an example of how to think things through, whether with an off the shelf system or with a self-configured one.

So I stopped into MicroCenter during lunch, which of course opened up a whole bunch of new questions, but this one most specifically: I have three Dell XPS computers (one 8500 and two 8700) i have purchased since 2012. All still run fine, and all have the I7 4700 CPU. I assume also they all have 460Watt PSU. What I am wondering now is if it may make sense to have those computers upgraded (I suppose I would need to upgrade the PSU if I want a high end graphics card). My thoughts are that perhaps it is possible that for $1,500 I can have three high end FSX / gaming machines (for my spoiled kids). Do you think this makes sense, and do you think this is a better route than buying brand new systems? I did ask the folks at MicroCenter and they said the XPS machines are pretty upgradable, so a bell went off in my head.

 

Cheers, Pete

Pete,

Not sure. Suggest building a spreadsheet and play what-if a few times. Not sure what all you would want to upgrade.  Video card? Then the PSU's are a must.  I'd guess upgrade to a GTX 1070 for each and power supply units would consume that $1,500 budget.  Then you still have aging hard disks and motherboards and processors with lots of hours.