When the price of a gaming desktop slides below that of most notebooks, you start to wonder if it has some rough edges hidden somewhere or its entirely worth it. The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer GXiVR8020A has subtle hallmarks including a 2016 new model Intel Core i5-6402P processor, decent 8GB DDR4 system memory, and the newest AMD Radeon RX 480 discrete graphics card with 4GB (Polaris) memory.
On this rig, all components are new nothing old school! Plus, it is marketed as VR ready for the HTC VIVE and Occulus Rift.If you’re not into boutique-built gaming rigs, the Cyberpower Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A suffices as a recommendable choice for gaming and can as well be used as a desktop PC for media creation among other tasks. For its future-looking technology and stronger overall performance, it’s our newest recommendation for value gaming desktops.
Design
The Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A Gamer is built into a fairly large tower desktop body that’s painted with a black panel, with RED LED lighting on the front, sides, top and back panels. The case is large, measuring 21.57 by 9.25 by 20.16 inches (HWD), so you’ll need a lot of space for it on top of or underneath your desk. It is bigger than the CybertronPC Titanium that measures 19.7 by 8.3 by 19.4 inches (HWD. The case looks rather commonplace, like a case you’d find online for a few bucks, but it has Cyberpower on the front panel.
The case allows you to add more SATA or USB devices, and there are two open DDR4 DIMM slots in case you need to expand the system memory. This is quite impressive as you can add more memory as the motherboard supports 64GB of DDR4 memory (16GB x 4), so you can easily upgrade the memory down the road. If you need to add a snappier SSD down the road the Cooler Master MasterBox 5 PC case has front and rear mounting points that support such expansion. It comes with a 600W power supply, in fact, typical for the price range which works well with the standard ATX power supply used.
Performance
As mentioned, the CYBERPOWERPC Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A is equipped with the new sixth-generation Intel Core i5-6402P, a 2.8GHz quad-core processor (Turbo up 3.4GHz), 8GB DDR4 system memory, 1TB HDD (7200RPM) and AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB Video Card. This combination is potent enough for Full HD gaming in ultra-settings. For instance, this unit will clock +60FPS on Battlefield at ultra HD settings. The same is expected for most modern game titles including GTA 5. Unlike most pre-built gaming desktops, this unit will not stutter when you up the resolution, the FPS will still remain playable. You’ll be shocked at well this budget friendly PC will perform, with respectable temperatures, noise levels and awesome looks.
Apart from gaming, the system muscles-up well on other demanding tasks. If you’re into ripping movies or creating digital content, you’ll get a handsome transcode speed of 40.0 FPS and above. Not bad for a PC of its price, as you need to remember that this is a quad-core processor without hyper-threading. Apparently, this is one of the best you can get currently for the price. It comes with Windows 10 Home 64-bit pre-installed.
Not that you’ll need a lot of upgrades right away, since the system comes with 8GB of memory, a 500GB a 1TB, 7,200rpm SATA hard drive for data storage. That’s enough system memory for any current AAA game, as well as enough storage space for thousands of hours of entertainment, including games and video downloads. The AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB graphics card inside supports DirectX 12 and is VR ready, so this system should last a number of years without needing major updates. Bundled in the package is a wired-mouse and keyboard but you’ll have to buy a monitor separately.
Other Features
The top panel has a pair of USB 3.0 ports, a headset jack, and a place to plug in your microphone. On the back, you’ll find a wealth of connection options, including four USB 2.0 ports, a PS/2 mouse/keyboard port, four USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and surround-sound audio ports. Video outputs are three: HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort, meaning that up to three monitors can be connected at the same time. The system lacks Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity on-board, but it comes with a USB Wi-Fi adapter.
The front, top, back and side panels are perforated for airflow and they also allow for the RED LEDs to shout ‘gamer’, with a tray-loaded Blu-ray writer and space for an additional drive near the top of the system. An easily removable panel covers the extra drive bay, which is more convenient than other towers that require you to disassemble the case to install the drive. The power button and a few ports are set on the tapering top-section of the front panel for easy access even when it’s under the desk.
On the system cables are properly routed and secured in place. Beautiful! Removing the side panels reveals the MSI B150M Bazooka Motherboard, although we were quick to notice that it only has one PCIe x1 slot available, in case you need to add-in any expansion cards. Without a full-sized PCIe x1, it means you won’t be able to throw in-there an additional video card for a multi-GPU Crossfire experience.
The Bottom Line
As a bang-for-the-buck buy, the Gamer GXiVR8020A deserves the honors. It meets the performance demands for budget gaming desktops, and it affords to check all the boxers of what you’d need from such a system. If you pair it with a great 144Hz gaming monitor with a 1ms (GTG) response time like the ASUS VG248QE 24-inch Full HD (1080P) panel, you end up with an amazing desktop PC for much less. The AMD Radeon RX 480 also has the video outputs you need to run VR setup as the DisplayPort can be routed to your monitor and the HDMI port gets connected to the VR headset.
Even with the nice design, you’re still going to have some geeky friends tell you that they’d put together a similar system for themselves for a lot less money —never mind that, the individual components will cost more, and it would take a couple weeks before they can pin it this neat, tested and qualified for use. We didn’t like the fact that it doesn’t have Bluetooth and there is no PCI-e x16 slot for future expansion, but those are not deal breakers for an otherwise superb gaming rig. That said, the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXIVR8020A4 remains our Editors Choice for budget mainstream gaming systems that can do VR.
Recommended Configuration
CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC, Intel Core i5-9400F 2.9GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6GB, 8GB DDR4, 240GB SSD, 1TB HDD, WiFi Ready & Win 10 Home (GXiVR8060A8, Black)
3 used from $899.90
The Review
CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A
The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A is a great mainstream gaming rig that can do VR without breaking the bank. It has subtle hallmarks including a 2016 new model Intel Core i5-6402P processor, decent 8GB DDR4 system memory, and the newest AMD Radeon RX 480 discrete graphics card with 4GB (Polaris) memory.
PROS
- A powerful set of components
- Solid performance
- Quite inexpensive for the feature set
CONS
- Lacks Bluetooth
Review Breakdown
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EDITORS RATING
