[SOLVED] Is Computer Upgrade King Reliable? Other Prebuilt Options?

[ShafeDogg]

I'm currently looking to buy a prebuilt gaming desktop. I was wondering if Computer Upgrade King (https://cukusa.com/) is a good choice. They have a build that looks great (https://cukusa.com/cuk-sentinel-ii-rtx-2080-custom-extreme-gaming-desktop-pc-275r-white.html) and I love that it has so much cooling (plus LEDs). I'm looking mostly for a place that offers a good price for enthusiast builds, but I want to make sure the builds are quality as well. For what I want, places like Origin PC seem too expensive, and places like iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC seem too cheap. I'd love to hear more opinions about Computer Upgrade King, and any opinions for other companies and why you chose them. I know this question probably gets asked a thousand times, so I apologize for that, but I do appreciate any advice. Thank you! I'm currently looking for a build close to the following specs, but of course that can always change:

CPU: i9-9900K or Threadripper 1950X / 2950X
RAM: 32GB DDR4
Video: RTX 2070-2080
Motherboard: Any quality board that supports above
PSU: 80+ Gold or Higher
Cooling: Air or Liquid, as long as quality

Feel free to share your recommended builds as well!

 

[13thmonkey]

the 120mm cooler in the link will not be sufficient for a 9900k, it'll keep it safe, but that's all. That makes me question them.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

Have never even heard of that company.

 

[Karadjgne]

Very good price overall, but there's a lot of info missing.

600w psu? With your luck, it's an Evga 600B or Corsair CX600 builder etc, totally inappropriate and inadequate for a $2k build.

120mm aio. Really? That's identical performance to a CM hyper212 evo on a 9900k/threadripper. Good enough for windows usage just don't ever try to maximize core usage or expect that 100w cpu to go well above the 140w limits of the cooler. 9900k/threadripper Demands! Good 240mm/280mm minimums.

MSI Pro mobo is kinda low on the list of good mobo's, there are better.

32Gb of ram is really unnecessary in a gaming pc, you'd be hard pressed to get sli 2080ti @4k to see over 12Gb of ram usage.

As with most prebuilts, it's a lot of bling with fancy sounding stuff, and nothing to back up its ability.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake - Floe Riing RGB 360 TT Premium Edition 42.34 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($174.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($235.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($67.85 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB GAMING OC WHITE Video Card ($769.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian-Li - PC-O11 Dynamic (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($114.94 @ Walmart)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2251.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-10 17:12 EST-0500
Should be looking more like this for $2300...

 

[mdd1963]

It's hard to believe that anyone would offer a 1950X and refer to it as a gaming desktop...

Am R5 2600X/R7 2700X or 9700K with an RTX2060 is plenty unless you have aspirations of 4k gaming at 100 Hz...

(It's easy to spend $1000-$1500 more and jump from 120 fps to 130 fps, however....; or in the case of the 2950X, decrease in gaming to 110 fps at only a few hundred extra dollars)

 

[ShafeDogg]

Very good price overall, but there's a lot of info missing.

600w psu? With your luck, it's an Evga 600B or Corsair CX600 builder etc, totally inappropriate and inadequate for a $2k build.

120mm aio. Really? That's identical performance to a CM hyper212 evo on a 9900k/threadripper. Good enough for windows usage just don't ever try to maximize core usage or expect that 100w cpu to go well above the 140w limits of the cooler. 9900k/threadripper Demands! Good 240mm/280mm minimums.

MSI Pro mobo is kinda low on the list of good mobo's, there are better.

32Gb of ram is really unnecessary in a gaming pc, you'd be hard pressed to get sli 2080ti @4k to see over 12Gb of ram usage.

As with most prebuilts, it's a lot of bling with fancy sounding stuff, and nothing to back up its ability.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake - Floe Riing RGB 360 TT Premium Edition 42.34 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($174.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($235.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($67.85 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB GAMING OC WHITE Video Card ($769.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian-Li - PC-O11 Dynamic (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($114.94 @ Walmart)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2251.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-10 17:12 EST-0500
Should be looking more like this for $2300...

I'm just scared of building my own...I've thought about it, but I think I'd rather just buy a prebuilt. Is there really no good company in a price range of $2000-$3000 where I can get what I'm looking for and not overpay too much? I was looking at benchmarks and researching prices at this link (PassMark High End CPU Benchmarks) and the Threadripper 1950X was very high on the list, so that's why it was one of the options I listed. The TR 2950X and the i9-9900K were also reasonably priced and high on the list, so that's why I listed those as well. Should I not use this website? It seems like I keep researching and making progress, only to come back to the drawing board. I realize that to get the most value, I'd probably have to build my own. But I'm truly not sure I'm ready for that yet. I've done a lot of research, but it seems I'm arriving to the wrong conclusions. What can I do to find a good prebuilt PC that I will be sure will use good parts, and be in my price range? I really like EVGA power supplies. They've always stood out to me. And I like Samsung SSDs, and currently WD HDDs because they offer 256mb cache in their 4TB Black drives. I'm looking for at least 1TB for the SSD and 4TB for the HDD. The reason I want 32GB ram is mostly because I want an enthusiast grade computer. But I've also ran out of ram with my current computer at 16GB, as I run and do a lot of things at once, not just games. I love LEDs and RGB, like the RAM you linked. Corsair seems to make great stuff. What about their new prebuilt for $2400 (CORSAIR VENGEANCE 5180 Gaming PC)? The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't have 32GB of ram...but if it supports it I could always increase that later. Please feel free to correct me in all areas and let me know what you think. Thank you very much!

 

[ShafeDogg]

It's hard to believe that anyone would offer a 1950X and refer to it as a gaming desktop...

Am R5 2600X/R7 2700X or 9700K with an RTX2060 is plenty unless you have aspirations of 4k gaming at 100 Hz...

(It's easy to spend $1000-$1500 more and jump from 120 fps to 130 fps, however....; or in the case of the 2950X, decrease in gaming to 110 fps at only a few hundred extra dollars)

I was going by the list here (PassMark High End CPU Benchmarks), where it was very high on the list. If I'm wrong, please let me know so I can learn. I'd rather build the best PC I can for the money, after all. I think I'm currently aiming for 1080P at 144Hz, as it currently seems to be the sweet spot for the money, but I still want an enthusiast PC capable of more, both for the looks and so it will be more future-proof. Thank you so much!

 

[rodguinea]

I bought a Zephyrus GM501G ($ 1500) from them through Amazon but the product they send me was defective (the keyboard bend outwards, the screen was missing 3 screws and the fans made a strange noise). But even so, I was willing to repair it without warranty in an ASUS Support center (I am from Peru, so the warranty is not applicable here). But the official support center and told me that the product had already been repaired/modify (apparently they sold me a used product!). I find it difficult to believe that this was an accident.