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AT A GLANCE
EDITORS RATING
EXCELLENT
The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8040A2 brings into the midrange gaming category a couple of features that are so…so hard to pass by including a Kaby Lake processor and a discrete AMD RX 480 graphics card. PROS: A powerful set of components. Solid performance. Quite inexpensive for the feature set. CONS: Lacks Bluetooth. The case might not fit in tiny spaces.
Last year, we reviewed Cyberpower’s Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A with a powerful set of components and solid overall gaming performance. The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer GXiVR8040A2 is a refinement of that build, now boasting modern, insanely-fast components including an AMD RX 480 graphics card and an Intel Lake processor.
Sure, there must be better values out there, especially for folks who prefer Nvidia over AMD: Our Editors’ Choice the Asus G11CD-DB73 offers the best of both worlds with a Kaby Lake processor and GeForce 1080 graphics card, giving it an edge in performance. Still, the Xtreme GXiVR8040A2 is stylishly designed and packed with premium components, it might be worth considering if you need to save a few bucks that can perhaps go into upgrades.
Design and Features
The Xtreme GXiVR8040A2 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 21.6 by 9.2 by 20.2 inches (HWD) and weighs 32 pounds, 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 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 two 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.
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 Xtreme GXiVR8040A2 is equipped with the new seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7700K, a 4.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB DDR4 system memory and AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB Video Card. This is the same graphics card in its younger sibling, although the processor has upgraded from the Skylake in the previous model. On a feature-by-feature basis, the system is capable of playing even the most demanding of games 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 128GB NVMe M.2 SSD+ 2TB, 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.
Conclusion
As a bang-for-the-buck buy, the Gamer GXiVR8040A2 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 ASUS G11CD-DB73-GTX1080 is a ready-made powerhouse that will keep you playing on high settings for years to come, making it a desktop that gamers hunting for a bargain should put near the top of their list.
Editors' Choice
CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme VR Liquid Cool Gaming PC, Intel Core i9-14900KF 3.2GHz, GeForce RTX 4080 Super 16GB, 64GB DDR5, 4TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, WiFi Ready & Windows 11 Home (GXiVR8620A4)
