Technology moves fast, and this is especially true when it comes to gaming. Once upon a time, you used to be able to splurge on a new PC, and you’d be pretty certain that most of the games you wanted to play would run smoothly. Alas, this isn’t the case anymore. With the advent of virtual reality (VR) gaming, PCs are being pushed to their limits, and only the fastest and most powerful components will get the job done. You may have spotted a good deal on CyberPowerPC for a “VR-ready” setup, but is it worth buying a PC from these guys? Unfortunately, the answer is often no. We’re going to dive into exactly why you might want to avoid a CyberpowerPC VR gaming PC and what alternatives you may be happier with.
What Is a “VR” Gaming PC?
A VR-ready PC is pretty much state-of-the-art when it comes to gaming. These PCs have some of the most powerful components you can find, as VR gaming is very intensive on your system. Usually, the focus is on your CPU, GPU, and RAM, as these make the biggest difference to performance.
But the answer to “Is my PC VR-ready?” isn’t always simple. With any game, the required specs will differ, and what is classified as VR-ready can vary depending on the manufacturer. Generally, an Intel i5 or i7 processor is wise, or one of the latest from AMD’s Ryzen series. In addition, the GPU is crucial. One from NVIDIA’s RTX range is a smart choice, ideally 4000 and up, but users do report fair success with the 3000 series. Where RAM is concerned, you can probably afford to be more modest with your investment. While 32GB would be great, 16GB or even 8GB will be fine for most VR scenarios.
Reasons to Avoid a CyberPowerPC VR Gaming PC
Now, let’s get into why you might want to avoid a VR gaming PC from CyberPower. Some of the reasons may surprise you.
Compatibility Isn’t a Guarantee
The first reason is a big one. While it can seem like you’re getting some souped-up components at first glance, in reality, the story isn’t so simple. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to customize your build with parts that should be compatible but cause issues. For example, you may choose a type of RAM that should be compatible with your motherboard as per the description but isn’t approved by the manufacturer. In these cases, the usable RAM will be lower than expected, e.g., DDR5-5200 RAM showing up as DDR5-4800. This can lead to BIOS problems and computer crashes. You might be able to resolve this issue well enough by disabling XMP mode, but this isn’t a universal solution.
Replacing Parts Can Be a (Costly) Hassle
Leading on from the previous point, the components you prioritized may indeed be compatible, but this isn’t to say every part is up to standard. More often than not, if you haven’t explicitly indicated the desired specs of a particular component, CyberPower tends to skimp on them where possible. And if you do realize you need to replace some parts to get your PC up to standard, this isn’t as easy as it should be. These PCs are built without much wiggle room, and every part fits tightly into the overall system. Since most of their customers opt for their service because they don’t feel comfortable building their own PCs from scratch, upgrading the system is a lot to ask. One of the main selling points of CyberPower is its relative affordability, which sort of goes out the window once you’re in the business of making more purchases.
Poor Ventilation Can Cause Performance Issues
Keeping with the theme of performance problems, CyberPower isn’t known for implementing good airflow into their PCs. This can cause major headaches since ventilation is key to keeping your system cool and reaching those coveted clock speeds that you’ve paid a small fortune for. Oftentimes, they mount the coolers in less-than-ideal positions, i.e., on the front rather than the top. As you can expect, this can lead to the fans not doing their job properly, the PC overheating, and not reaching the speeds you want. If the fans are working correctly, there’s a good chance they’re not of the best quality.
Another issue to be aware of is that not all of their VR-ready models have fans included. While this may not be too problematic if you’ve accounted for it, the “default case fan” option on their website is decidedly ambiguous. Of course, many models do come with fans, and including a case with no fans under the umbrella of “default case fan” may be technically correct, but it’s easy to see how this could be misunderstood.
©nikkytok/Shutterstock.com
Ram Can Be Subpar
In the best-case scenario, you’ve purchased a PC from CyberPower, and every aspect is working as it should. However, they seem to have a habit of shipping PCs with single-channel RAM. Although the capacity listed may seem adequate, you can end up with a huge deficit in performance by not having dual-channel RAM. This is more apparent with Ryzen processors, which can experience up to a 20% decrease in performance. Although it can be detrimental, even with Intel. Unfortunately, it’d also be sensible to buy the same kind of RAM on a second stick. Unmatched RAM types can cause issues themselves. Which, of course, means more money spent.
VR-Ready May Not Be That Ready
Gone are the days when marketing was 100% honest, unfortunately. Although many of CyberPower’s models are listed as ready for VR, you can find a good number of them with graphics cards well below what would be recommended for VR gaming. Many come with a GTX 1060 card, for example, which just isn’t optimal for VR games in any way. Of course, if you’ve researched your desired specs in depth, this may not be a huge problem. But it’s hardly a point in CyberPower’s favor either.
Unreliable Customer Service
Once you’ve come up against a brick wall, you probably won’t receive much useful assistance from CyberPower. Most consumers don’t consider their customer service particularly great. While you can get hold of someone, and they sometimes will provide a good solution, a lot of the time they’re quite inflexible with their advice. Other times, the solutions they offer are just downright unhelpful. If you do manage to get through to customer support, this is likely after a good few emails (or a long wait on hold).
Alternatives to a CyberPowerPC VR Gaming PC
All hope is not lost. Here are some alternatives to a CyberPower VR gaming PC that we recommend.
iBuyPower Pro Y60
- Incredible i9-13900KF processor
- RTX 4070 card can handle anything
- 32GB DDR5 RAM
- 16-color RGB lighting case
iBuyPower’s offering is a little more expensive than CyberPower’s gaming PC, but the specs are almost flawless. An incredible i9 processor and beefy RTX 4070 GPU are the MVPs here. You can customize this build further, but honestly, it’s hard to find a fault with this system. Proper ventilation and eye-catching LEDs make this a perfect package.
HP Victus 15L
HP has enjoyed a positive reputation in the PC world for a long time, and with good reason. The Victus gaming PC comes with 16GB of RAM, a powerful i7-12700F processor, and an RTX 3060 card. In an ideal world, an RTX 4000 series card would, of course, be better. But this PC is more than suitable for running VR games on moderate settings. You may want to invest in an AIO cooler to improve ventilation, but overall, this is a solid PC.
Lenovo IdeaCentre 5
- Comes with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7 processor with up to 4.90Hz boost
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 helps you get started with AA and AAA games
- Windows 11 Home edition is standard and ready to go out of the box
- Includes Wi-Fi 6 technology for enhanced speed including faster downloads and more reliable online gaming sessions
The main difference between the HP and the Lenovo is the extra RAM. Practically speaking, the 12700 processor is identical to the 12700F in terms of performance. Added to that, the price point is much lower. Upgrading the proprietary parts will be difficult or almost impossible, however. But if you’re not interested in building your own PC, this is a great choice for the cost.
Why You May Still Want a CyberPower PC
We can’t say we recommend it, but going with CyberPower may still be the choice you make. If you do happen to find the specs you crave and the price point is justified, you could be happy with your decision. Just be sure to give some consideration to ventilation and triple-check the compatibility of the components. And don’t expect miracles from customer support.
Best VR Gaming PC Alternatives
| 1. iBuyPower Pro Y60 |
| 2. HP Victus 15L |
| 3. Lenovo IdeaCentre 5 |
- $1,199.99Buy on Amazon
- Incredible i9-13900KF processor
- RTX 4070 card can handle anything
- 32GB DDR5 RAM
- 16-color RGB lighting case
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
11/29/2023 08:40 am GMT - $1,499.00Buy on Amazon
- i7-12700F processor
- 16GB RAM
- RTX 3060 card
- 512GB SSD memory
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
11/29/2023 08:31 am GMT - $1,199.99Buy on Amazon
- Comes with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7 processor with up to 4.90Hz boost
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 helps you get started with AA and AAA games
- Windows 11 Home edition is standard and ready to go out of the box
- Includes Wi-Fi 6 technology for enhanced speed including faster downloads and more reliable online gaming sessions
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
11/29/2023 08:36 am GMT
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Om.Nom.Nom/Shutterstock.com.
