Lenovo Erazer X700 Gaming PC Review: Is It As Fast As It Looks?

[dwatterworth]

Where the heck did they source the Samsung 830? Did they have a bunch sitting around in a warehouse?

 

[RedJaron]

I really don't mind the look of the case. Everyone tries to make something "new" or "cool" and there will always be disagreement among the consumers. Those drive slots on the front, are they hot-swap? Is there a backplane?

However the instant I saw CAS 11 1600 RAM, my expectations hit the floor. CAS 9 1600 seems to be the enthusiast/gaming norm right now. If Lenovo isn't even using that, what other small details did they miss? It's like the Wi-Fi antenna card taking up the SLI/XFire slot. Someone didn't pay attention to the small details.

I'm not disappointed in the 830 since it's still a heckouva SSD, but why only 128GB in a machine like this? Also a 8/7950 is a great card, plenty of power for 1080p, but why not a top-end card like a 7970/290 or 770/680 or even 780?

And normally I don't mind mATX either, but even without the antenna problem, you still don't have space between multiple cards for cooling ( blower style or not, I wouldn't like to do that. )

But then there's the VRM cooler, showing someone on the design team WAS paying attention

Most everything in here is a generation old ( are close enough, ) and that's fine for a workhorse machine or even upper gaming, but it does not deserve the price premium Lenovo wants. Again, I go back to the RAM CAS and the VRM cooler. This machine just feels disjointed, like it doesn't know what it wants to be. Parts show brilliance, but most feels like a disappointment.

 

[dgingeri]

The mATX board ruined this whole thing for me, just like the Dell/Alienware Aurora. Why the heck would someone get a 3930k without being able to utilize all the PCIe lanes? Micro ATX boards are a huge mistake with such a processor. The stupidity level of Lenovo with this move alone is so confusing. I was astounded when Dell put out that trash that is the Aurora. If they're going to use a mATX board with this chip, they should at least offer a PCIe x8 SATA 6Gb RAID controller on the board.

I have a 3930k, and I am currently using all 40 PCIe lanes, plus one from the southbridge: 2X GTX680s, 10Gbe, RAID controller, and a Soundblaster Z. That's the way a chip like this should be used.

 

[rolli59]

What do people expect from an pre-built, they have done well for what it is and in any case if you are a serious gamer would you not build yourself so you can pick the parts?

 

[Metalrenok]

So we have a 8950 (7950 renamed) and it's between the R9 270x and the R9 280x....hmmmm what a bunch of crap if you ask me. It should be called the R9 275x instead to fall within the "New" naming scheme (which is crap too, BTW).

8XXX went out before R9 series..

 

[burkhartmj]

What do people expect from an pre-built, they have done well for what it is and in any case if you are a serious gamer would you not build yourself so you can pick the parts?

I think the issue here is that this computer doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Some aspects play to a gamer's checklist, and some completely miss the point and angle themselves more for general high power computing. You look at the boutiques this will compete directly with, and even if it's more expensive it's at least properly focused in its hardware configuration.

I generally agree with you about building your own computer if you want solid, focused power for whatever you're going to be doing, but I also know people who'd rather just buy a system they know works. Most of them tend to be IT too, the rationale being they deal with fixing/rebuilding computers all day, they don't want to do it when they get home too. So there is a market for these kinds of boutique systems, and this just doesn't fit the bill.

 

[xiinc37]

If you look closely, you can see that the VRM MOSFETs on the mobo are D-PAKs. Not only are those not the best, but they are the absolute worst, if you spend more than $90 on a mobo you can do way better. That right there kills it, if you want to charge $2500 for something, don't use shit-tier components.

 

[lp231]

Gaming case from OEM = must make it look like Optimus Prime

 

[warezme]

Tacky molded plastic exterior and generic interior is typical big company design. It's to expensive for what you get. The author is right, to much emphasis on CPU and not enough on graphics but with a 650w PS, how much more graphics can you really add? Odds are it only has a single 16x PCIe or two 8x's on a generic OEM mobo. Another cheap big company feature.

 

[jessterman21]

Pop a GTX 780Ti in there, take out the crazy angles and lights on the case, and sell for the same price. Then we'll talk.

 

[stewthedude]

I spent right around $1200 on my PC and it absolutely crushes this PC. Of course I have 8 gigs of Ram and I don't have a SSD, but seeing as this PC is for gaming those benchmarks are a little underwhelming for a price tag that high. You mine as well buy a brand new gaming laptop and get similar performance/price. Desktops are supposed to be cheaper. That's the point. That CPU was definitely overkill when that money could have been used on a better GPU.

 

[dwatterworth]

This thing was clearly designed by an accountant. $1000 previous gen processor on a junk MB that has next to no room for expansion? Why even make it an ATX case? Drop to a 4 core proc and this thing could fit in an ITX box.
I'll never understand the 'gaming case' aesthetic. It looks like it only appeals to 12 year olds or racerboys, neither of which are known to have 2,000+ to drop on an ambiguous use machine.

 

[Guest]

Thought it was called the Eraser. Maybe because im trying to erase that horrible case image from my mind.

 

[g-unit1111]

Sorry Lenovo, you need to bring the price down. This system could have been built for a grand.

Seriously. Well maybe not with a 3930K which doesn't benefit gaming, but with a 4670K, GTX 760, and a Samsung 840 Pro, you could get by for around the $1K mark. I'm sure the high price is because of the 3930K. I mean don't get me wrong, I love my Lenovo Y500, but would I buy a desktop with such a ridiculous markup and weak GPU? No freakin' way!!!

 

[timaahhh]

Why do these companies insist on using tacky cases?

But you can take the bezel off mount it to your car and use it as a snow plow in the winter

 

[soldier44]

I stopped reading when I saw an AMD graphics card in it and last years i7 model.

 

[chumly]

How about you guys take out that GPU and test it separately so we know what we're dealing with?

 

[Crashman]

Tacky molded plastic exterior and generic interior is typical big company design. It's to expensive for what you get. The author is right, to much emphasis on CPU and not enough on graphics but with a 650w PS, how much more graphics can you really add? Odds are it only has a single 16x PCIe or two 8x's on a generic OEM mobo. Another cheap big company feature.

Did you read the article? Did you know that it would cost more to make x16 go to x8/x8 than it would cost just to wire it as x16/x16 from the outset? If you're not going to look at the system's details, at least please please please try to figure out what makes sense from a cost standpoint before assuming anything.

How about you guys take out that GPU and test it separately so we know what we're dealing with?

We did. Article states the 8950 is completely unchanged from the 7950. Since the site has covered the 7950 extensively, it's covered the 8950 extensively.

 

[doomtomb]

Lol 1 year warranty and they want $2300 for this thing? The computer is hardly worth $1400.

 

[captinchikin]

I scrolled down this thing saying to myself, "Hm, if this is less than $2000, there might be hope for big name companies and gaming rigs.". This came close though.

 

[fritolay77]

I played with this rig at fry's electronics... OMG. Just by clicking on some things i could feel how much faster it was than mine

 

[Rioux]

Could just build that for HALF the cost...

 

[ronch79]

That case is the ugliest case I've ever seen in my entire life.

 

[kulmnar]

I build this for $1830 Canadian:
CPU: 4770K 3.5 GHZ quad core (just as good as 3930K for gaming)
Heatsink: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (overclock as much as you desire)
MB: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (full ATX board with massive overclocking potential)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Video: MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (better than 8950 lol)
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case (not a gimmicky case but a good one)
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80+ Bronze (more wattage than 625W and a good PSU)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)

Total price $1830.40 Canadian without taking into account any rebates.
You can have a system integrator (like NCIX) build this for your for an additional $50 and you get a 1 year warranty with it.

So, even if you want something pre-built, you can:
A) get a better system with a better video card
B) still get a 1 year warranty from the integrator
C) Do A and B for less $$$ (even if you are in Canada)

 

[Gilchrist]

FYI, Lenovo is owned by the communist government of the People's Republic of China, that's why the US government doesn't purchase them.