iBUYPOWER Erebus GT: Custom Cooling for Less
by Dustin Sklavos on March 15, 2012 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- iBuyPower
- Systems
- Water Cooling
- boutique
- desktops
- Radeon HD 7000
- i7
Conclusion: Worthy of Enthusiast Attention
Before getting into the problems we had in testing, it bears stating that the iBUYPOWER Erebus GT is fundamentally an excellent product. Boutiques need to find ways to distinguish themselves both from competing boutiques and from larger vendors like Dell or HP, and iBUYPOWER has managed to do exactly that. Shallow though it may be, it's important to establish a brand and aesthetic with your hardware. The Erebus GT isn't just an excellent performer, it's a distinctive-looking piece of hardware to boot.
While the iBUYPOWER representative's response to our testing problems does play a bit like the usual PR, it's also the best and probably most honest we can get or expect. I don't have to tell any of you just how complex computers are at a fundamental level, and I've never owned a piece of hardware that didn't have at least one or two small idiosyncracies or the occasional glitch. It's hardly surprising to me that something didn't gel 100% by the time I was done testing it, but there wasn't anything here that struck me as a major quality control issue, and iBUYPOWER's representatives certainly seem game to help out the end user.
It's unfortunate that as a reviewer it's difficult to see what consumers are going to have to deal with; we typically get one system that we test and write about, and a sample size of one isn't particularly meaningful. We also generally expect our samples to get a bit of extra TLC from the vendor, so when we have any issues—even minor ones—you have to wonder about the "regular customers" experience. If we have a problem with any hardware, we can't even accurately gauge customer service (since our system order would clearly point to the review unit status). Ultimately, all we can say for certain is that our particular sample wasn't 100% stable, but there weren't any show stoppers and iBUYPOWER does have a 30-day money-back guarantee should things really get messy. Is that enough? For an enthusiast capable of doing some troubleshooting, yes, it probably is; for your mom or dad? I'd likely stick with a less extreme system—and it's not like most non-enthusiasts would really be looking at HD 7970 cards anyway.
Ultimately $2499 is still a pretty penny to pay for a gaming machine, but I think value is on iBUYPOWER's side here. To recap our earlier pricing summary, a quick jaunt to NewEgg puts the pricetag on the individual components at $1668, but that's before getting the waterblocks for the CPU and graphics card, the radiators, the coolant, the tubing, the seals, and the large steel custom enclosure that in my time reviewing cases I would expect to see go for somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 at least. It's also before the time and labor spent working on the system.
If you're looking for a custom gaming system or know someone who is, and they're willing to spend up for power and quality, the iBUYPOWER Erebus GT offers a reasonably strong value proposition and I would be willing to recommend it. You may need to disable the sleep mode (or be willing to do some back and forth with tech support), and I'd still like some option of taming the noise levels. I'm also not entirely convinced liquid cooling is something I need or want, but for those that are the Erebus GT can give you most of the perks of liquid cooling without the elbow grease. Then again, most of the liquid cooling crowd seems to think that's part of the fun.
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JarredWalton - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
You're still missing the point. All I'm saying is you get a good case (estimate of $150 for the case in the Erebus GT), you get about $500 worth of water cooling (minimum), and you left of Windows. Take your $1567, add $99 for Windows, add $150 for a comparable case, and price everything out at Newegg and you get $1850. Is it that hard? Now, take that price and add $500 in water cooling and you end up at $2350, giving them an additional profit of $150 plus their markup over wholesale.seanleeforever - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
you are an editor, and i am sure you have reviewed many, many system in the past.if you think that water cooling system used cost 500 dollar when ZALMAN RESERATOR can be had for 200, i have an island to sell.
by the way, i did throw in a water block just for GPU reference, and of course you missed it.
JarredWalton - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
A CPU water block isn't the same as what is included here. I linked the items in the article, but here's what you need:CPU water block
GPU water block (compatible with 7970)
3x140mm fans and radiator
1x120mm fan and radiator
Couplings
Tubing
Water pump
The Zalman Reserator gives you several of those items, but it doesn't have a 3x140mm radiator and it doesn't have a GPU water block. FYI, the GPU water block is about $135 just on its own. So, Zalman Reserator is around $240, plus $135 for the GPU cooling, and then there's still a question of whether it cools as well as the solution iBUYPOWER used. Honestly, I don't know if it's better or worse, but generally speaking more expensive water cooling equipment costs more because it's better.
What you're basically saying is if I were to discuss the pros and cons of a Honda Accord (or Toyota Camry), and then you come along and say, "If you think a mid size sedan costs $25000 when a Kia Forte can be had for $17000, I have an island to sell." Go do some real research into the topic and then show me a complete water cooling solution that will handle both the CPU and GPU and has a large radiator that costs $200.
Death666Angel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
"PSU achieve maximum efficiency at around 50% load." And that is fine if all you do is game. But if you do something else (which is likely), your idle wattage is (far) below 100W in most cases with SB and 7970 and the efficiency drops off sharply below 20%. And "headroom"? For what? Unless you plan on going SLI/CF or dual CPU, I wouldn't recommend more than a good 600W PSU for any single GPU/CPU system. Even highly overclocked 4.5GHz SB with a highly overclocked 7970 will not draw more than 500-550W which means the PSU needs to supply 450-500W for that.seanleeforever - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
that's a good point. but as a high end gaming machine that cost over 2.5k, i doubt use it for office work is the primary intention.bear in mind, it is 2.5k system. it ought to have head room for anything i want to throw at. it is like spending 250k dollar in a car, it better has 700 house power EVEN if it is more wasteful driving around downtown than 1.8L corolla.
Nfarce - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
Dude, you need to find yourself a girlfriend or something. What a whiny bitch. Sheesh.seanleeforever - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
b word already? that shows your education level. i don't care if you want to have the last word.Minion4Hire - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
seanlee, I think what you're trying to say is that you are not personally impressed/interested in custom watercooling and would rather save your money and deal with higher temps/noise. But that entirely misses the point entirely of a direct comparison. You are making sacrifices with your rig while the reviewed system does NOT. That's fine, but you present a piss-poor argument. One you should never have even attempted to make.Just... no.
seanleeforever - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
i am not impressed at all. and with 1000 dollar you can get much better water cooling solution and case.what did i sacrifice my rig with?
and your pissing comment doesn't even have an argument to make.
just .. no.
Seanleeisdumb - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
I created an account just to tell you that you are dumb Seanlee. We all know that we could squish more performance out at a lower price or could build a higher performing machine at the same price. This build is about quality and about high end features and the relatively reasonable price Ibuypower is asking. We all know that Toyota makes Lexus and we all know that when you buy a Lexus for 75k you aren't getting three times the car that a civic is.. that's not the point. The point is that this is a pro-assembled custom build with some nice bells and whistles.. when you compare it to what other builders are charging it's a steal.Also... single card is sooooo much better than SLI.. I run my own business doing custom builds and have stopped offering multi-card setups because of the headaches they cause my clients.