Th_Redman :
Why are almost every pre-built desktop computer containing such a crap power supply? Wouldn't it be more practical and attractive to the consumer to include a Tier 1 PSU?
Because the average consumer buying a pre-built system doesn't care about the power supply. If one company is putting a $100 PSU in their system, then their competitors will use a $30 PSU, and either put the money saved toward components that make their system perform better, or simply sell their PC for less, while making the same profit.
And for the most part, these lower-end PSUs will work just fine. In the example of this system, a 65 watt TDP processor and 120 watt graphics card are not going to be pushing this PSU to its limits, and I would be surprised if the power draw ever reached much more than half its stated capacity.
As for the rest of the system though, it seems a bit overpriced for what you get. Initially, I read the specs and thought it might actually be pretty decent for $800. Then I read the part about it being $1200 as configured. : | For $1200, a gaming desktop should arguably have 16GB of RAM and an SSD in place of that Optane cache, or a better graphics card than a 1060. The i7 also seems like a bit of a waste when paired with a mid-range card like that, and something like an i5-8400 or Ryzen 2600 would have allowed them to improve other components that would have more of an impact on gaming performance. Self-building a system, you could do a lot more for $1200, such as something along these lines...
PCPartPicker part list /
Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($160.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC - Freezer 33 eSports ONE (Black/White) CPU Cooler ($31.81 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($139.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB DUKE OC Video Card ($474.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake - Core G21 Tempered Glass Edition ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.77 @ B&H)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1208.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-11 23:25 EDT-0400
So, for someone willing to shop around online and spend a day putting a system together themselves, for roughly the same price after rebates, nearly everything is significantly improved, aside from perhaps the processor. The Ryzen 2600 is on sale for about half the price of an i7-8700 though, has the same number of cores and threads, and can be overclocked, albeit not quite to the 8700's performance level. With the limited cooling in that reviewed system, that 8700 might have trouble maintaining its maximum boost clocks though, and ultimately either of these CPUs should handle games quite well. There's also a tower cooler to keep the overclocked processor running quietly, and a B450 motherboard that should allow for some overclocking. Then, there's 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, which is double the amount in the reviewed system, and more than 8GB will likely be necessary for smoothly running some games within the next couple years. For storage, the hard drive capacity has been doubled to 2TB, and a 500 GB SSD should allow for a more responsive system and faster loading of games installed to it. Then, perhaps most noteworthy in terms of performance gains, there's a GTX 1080 with a triple-fan cooler, which should be able to push far higher frame rates than a 1060, especially at resolutions above 1080p. At the moment, the case is quite cheap after rebate, and even has tempered glass and a reasonably nice looking interior, though any inexpensive case would likely be at least as good as the one in the review here. The power supply is also notably better, with a higher capacity and 80+ Gold efficiency.
The reviewed system is decidedly "mid-range" as configured, while it's possible to get gaming performance that would be considered "high-end" for about the same amount of money when building a system yourself.
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