Question Which Prebuilt?

[Wedod2]

I want to buy a prebuilt PC (please don't say I should build my own) and have narrowed down to the below options based on the following (soft) requirements:

a. RTX 4070+ (have heard good things and for futureproofing), b. i5-13400F-eque CPU (have heard good things for gaming), c. DDR5 (for speed but mostly futureproofing), d. 1-3TB of storage (SSD prefered, but hard to find otherwise), e. 750W+ (for safety and futureproofing), z. budget of ~$1500 max

I have narrowed it down to the following builds:

1. Yeyian Tanto ($1160)
2. ABS Stratos Aqua ($1200)
4. Lenovo Legion Tower 5 ($1400)
5. Craigslist Custom ($1500) - [leaning away from this because craigslist, distance, and price, but like the option]

Price is a big factor but so is build quality, cable management, shipping safety, etc. Would appreciate feedback on my 'requirements' and my build picks (which is best? any others I should consider?). Thanks!

EDIT: changed the ABS Stratos Aqua model (14400 -> 13400 saving $150)

EDIT 2: CLOSED

 

[Eximo]

Get the Lenovo, but drop it down to 512GB and then buy your own additional 1TB SSD rather then get a hard drive. They are literally charging $150 for a $40 hard drive, when you can get a 2TB SSD for that.

Wait, just noticed when you do that you get an RTX3060...never mind. As is, still reasonably priced.

It puts the ABS build in a better position, but I don't care much for the locked 14th gen CPU and simplistic motherboard and stock cooler. Good amount of DDR5 at speed though.

For $50 you can get the 4070 Super, which is about the street price of that upgrade. But they put the whole thing in a Micro ATX case vs the ATX case in your choice.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

For me it's a toss up between the one on Craigslist and the lenovo. The lenovo has a platform that will have a couple of more generations of CPU's released for it though.

 

[Wedod2]

Get the Lenovo, but drop it down to 512GB and then buy your own additional 1TB SSD rather then get a hard drive. They are literally charging $150 for a $40 hard drive, when you can get a 2TB SSD for that.

Wait, just noticed when you do that you get an RTX3060...never mind. As is, still reasonably priced.

It puts the ABS build in a better position, but I don't care much for the locked 14th gen CPU and simplistic motherboard and stock cooler. Good amount of DDR5 at speed though.

For $50 you can get the 4070 Super, which is about the street price of that upgrade. But they put the whole thing in a Micro ATX case vs the ATX case in your choice.

I never got into overclocking, so the locked CPU is not much of a concern. What build would you recommend based on your reservations with the simple MBO and cooler?

I would be willing to pay $50 for the Super upgrade, and I am not married to the ATX case, but should I be concerned with airflow in the smaller form?

 

[USAFRet]

With systems like that, you have to seriously look into the warranty status.

With many components, the warranty is NOT transferable to a second owner. GPUs in particular.

 

[Eximo]

Kind of why I lean towards Lenovo here is the warranty aspect. It isn't terrible, and they used standard components so you aren't stuck with anything. They also actually have very reasonably priced high end builds from time to time.

ABS is basically Newegg's house builder. They are big enough they can absorb some warranty costs, but the margins they operate in are quite small.

I did shop around a little, nothing jumping out as better than what you have found. When I pick out motherboards I generally avoid the lowest tier models if it all possible. I like to see heatsinks on VRMs and I like to see at least one step up from the bottom audio. WiFi and higher speed networking sometimes.

If I were building an Intel right now, there are Z690 boards that are quite cheap. And 12th gen CPUs on sale quite often (I got tempted into one). 14400F is interesting since officially hasn't been released in the US I don't think, but is basically an i5-13400F with a new label.

12600K and 12600KF or Ryzen 7600 is where I would start these days for cost conscious build. Above that, I would look at the 7800X3D only.