Prebuilt gaming desktops have had a bad stigma attached to them for a long time now. Not only for overcharging, but also for using old or otherwise underpowered components. Does CYBERPOWERPC's Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A4 fall into that same category? Or will it manage to stand out from the crowd by offering some really great value? 

This review is going to answer that exact question, and more. By the end, you should have a good idea whether or not the i5 7400 + RX 580 powered Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A4 is the right gaming desktop for you, or not. 

Have a question? Feel free to leave a comment! I read them all and reply to most of them! 

The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A4 is ultimately a solid build with a very reasonable price tag of $719 or thereabouts. For that price you're getting a 4GB RX 580, an Intel i5 7400, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage as well. Windows 10 comes pre-installed and this build will be ready to fire up and start gaming on as soon as it's plugged in and turned on!

• Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 5
• Fans: 3x 120mm (red LED)
• Motherboard: ASUS Prime B250M-A
• CPU: Intel i5 7400
• CPU Cooler: Stock Intel cooler
• GPU: MSI RX 580 Armor 4G
• RAM: ADATA 8GB 2400MHz (2x4GB)
• Storage: WD Blue 1TB HDD
• PSU: ATNG 500W 80+
• Connectivity: 5x USB 3.0 | 2x USB 2.0. 7.1 channel audio. Integrated ethernet + WiFi. 
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home
• Warranty: 1-year parts and labor warranty + lifetime tech support

The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A4 is ultimately a solid build with a very reasonable price tag coming in under $800. For that price you're getting a 4GB AMD RX 580 graphics card, an Intel i5 7400 processor, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage as well. Windows 10 comes installed and this build will be ready to fire up and start gaming on as soon as it's plugged in and turned on.  

Breaking this gaming desktop down to the core components can really give us a good idea if it's worth it, or not. It'll allow us to make an educated decision on the value of the build based on not only the current market prices of the parts, but also things like GPU shortages, RAM shortages, and the like. 

I'll be judging it based on a comparable custom-built desktop that you would assemble yourself. Basically, it'll be pit against my $700 and $800 custom builds in a test of price vs performance. I'll also be taking into account the current needs of a gaming PC and the current generations of components we have access to.   

Processor (CPU): The Gamer Xtreme GXIVR8020A4 is running a 4-core 4-thread Intel i5 7400. It has a base clock speed of 3.0GHz with a turbo frequency of 3.5GHz. The i5 7400 does not support overclocking, just in case that's a feature you were looking for. 

When it comes to gaming, the i5 7400 can hold its ground quite well. It'll stand up to all but the most processor-heavy games (flight sims, etc) and even there it'll still put up a pretty good fight. A quad-core processor is what you need for the vast majority of games (no, running a hexacore processor is not a requirement yet) and a quad-core processor is what the i5 7400 is!

However, since there is a newer, more powerful generation of processors available, the i5 7400 is now a little dated compared to it's successor the i5 8400. That being said, this build was released prior to the 8th generation of Intel CPUs releasing, so it's not completely unacceptable to see an older processor being used.

At the end of the day, an i5 7400 will still perform great and allow you to play practically anything in 1080p-1440p without an issue. 

Motherboard: Although the mobo pictured in the images for the GXIVR8020A4 show what seems to be an MSI B250m Bazooka motherboard, based on reading a lot of reviews it sounds like most people receive an ASUS Prime B250m-A instead. Both are good boards, but it's something to note so you're not disappointed that your build doesn't look identical. 

Regardless if you get the MSI B250m Bazooka or the ASUS Prime B250m-A, you can rest assured knowing both are solid boards that'll have no problems supporting what you want to do. Both boards come with 4 DIMM ports so you can add extra RAM, both come with extra SATA headers to expand storage and both come with at least 4 USB ports, an integrated ethernet controller and on-board audio. 

Graphics (GPU): I was kind of blown away to see that this build is using an RX 580 considering how damn impossible they've been to buy since they released in 2017. But, here it is, the fabled AMD RX 580. It's not that this card is incredibly powerful or anything like that, but it was released around the same time cryptocurrency mining really picked up and AMD cards are generally the best for that; hence its illusive nature. 

A 4GB RX 580 is going to completely chew through 1080p gaming and won't have any issues putting out a constant 60fps on ultra settings in all but the most graphically intensive/unoptimized games. It'll also work for 1440p if you really want to push it and don't mind turning the settings down to mid-high to maintain 60fps. 

In games that aren't graphically demanding, like CS:GO and things of that nature, an RX 580 will have no issues maintaining 144fps+ so you can take advantage of your 144Hz monitor.  

It's worth noting that if you're reading this during the 2018 GPU shortage, then the RX 580 is currently selling for around $500. That makes this build all that much more valuable. 

Memory (RAM):  8GB of RAM is all you really need for most games and 8GB of RAM is what you get with CYBERPOWERPC's Gamer Xtreme GXIVR8020A4. That being said, the 8GB you get is an extremely basic dual channel pair of 4GB sticks running at 2400MHz. They have no heat fins or anything of that nature, you're getting 2 PCB-colored sticks of RAM and that's it, just in case you were expecting something more. 

You get enough to do the job and that's it. Nothing fancy here, that's for sure; but it'll work just fine all the same and there's definitely nothing to worry about. The only thing to consider would be adding another 8GB of RAM sometime sooner than later. Games are using more RAM now than ever and 16GB is slowly but surely becoming a requirement.

Storage: Seeing a 1TB HDD in a build of this level is pretty standard. I wasn't surprised to see a 1TB HDD in this build, but I was surprised that it was a WB Blue HDD opposed to some cheap off-brand model. That's to say, you're getting an awesome HDD with this build that you won't have to worry about failing anytime soon. 

As the motherboard does have more SATA data headers, you could easily add another HDD or even an SSD if you wanted to. 

Power supply (PSU): Ahh, the power supply. The bane of almost every prebuilt desktop. More often than not, you'll get a low-quality off-brand like ATNG or if you're really unlucky a no-name brand. 

Thankfully, you're getting the former with this build - a 500W 80+ supply from ATNG. It's an off-brand that very few people will know about outside of hardcore tech enthusiasts, but it's a power supply none-the-less and it will supply power. 

If you didn't expect to see a low-quality power supply here, you haven't looked at enough prebuilt desktops in this price range! 

Case: The Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 5 is a great ATX case with only minor airflow limitations due to the acrylic front panel. It'll support up to a 360mm radiator in the front (not that you would EVER need one for this system), has great cable management, and has enough room to support anything you might want to do. The front i/o panel has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 3.5mm microphone jack and 2 USB 3.0 ports.

It was actually kind of surprising to see CYBERPOWERPC using a case like this, but I guess it shouldn't be too surprising considering they also used it for the previous model of this build. 

Connectivity, OS, Etc: Everything here is pretty standard as far as what you want to see. Depending on the motherboard you get, you're getting 5x USB 3.0 ports and 2x USB 2.0 ports which give you plenty to use for whatever you might need; including VR. It's also coming with support for 7.1 audio as well as integrated WiFi and Ethernet. 

The OS being used is Windows 10 Home (if you didn't already guess that) and it's pretty much the standard now with the old versions being depreciated at a steady rate.

A build like the Gamer Xtreme GXIVR8020A4 that's packing 8GB of RAM, an i5 7400 processor, and a 4GB RX 580 graphics card will have zero problems completely dominating very high-ultra settings 1080p gaming. It'll also work for some light-duty 1440p if you really wanted to push it and don't mind lowering some settings.

Either way, 60fps won't be an issue to maintain in all but the most graphically demanding or unoptimized games; assuming you have your settings correctly setup for the resolution you're playing in. 

Games like CS:GO, DOTA2, LoL, and other games that aren't very graphically demanding will run flawlessly at 144fps+ without an issue. 

As you can see, a build running basically the same specs has no issue chewing through 1080p gaming on very high-ultra settings while maintaining at least 60fps.

That being said, the build in the benchmark is running 16GB of RAM underclocked to 2400MHz. The additional 8GB of RAM will allow for high frames per second, but not a huge amount. The biggest difference might be about 10fps in the most extreme cases, but it really depends on the individual game. If you were watching the "RAM" part of the stats, you'll see that there was only 1-2 games that ever used more than 6GB of RAM, everything else used around 5GB which leaves you 3GB for system tasks etc. 8GB is enough, but upgrading to 16GB of RAM would allow you to get better performance.

If you were to try and assemble this build yourself, I think you'll come to find that you would end up spending MORE than if you bought the prebuilt. Confusing, right? Just a year ago it would have been the polar opposite and buying a prebuilt desktop at this level would have not been worth your investment. 

Just like we broke it down to the component-level to assess each part individually, we're going to do the same thing here for the prices of items. Then, we'll add it up and see what the actual value of this build would be. I'll be using the MSRP for some items, and the actual market value (lowest price right now) for others.

As prices regularly fluctuate, what's listed below may or may not be accurate depending on when you're reading this. Not all components in a prebuilt desktop can be bought at the consumer level, in those instances the price has been estimated. 

• Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 5: $70
• Motherboard:  ASUS Prime B250M-A: $75
• CPU: Intel i5 7400: $180
• GPU: MSI RX 580 Armor 4G MSRP: $199
• RAM: ADATA 8GB 2400MHz (2x8GB): $90
• HDD: WD Blue 1TB HDD: $50
• PSU: ATNG 500W 80+: $40*
• Mouse + keyboard: Fairly basic: $40*
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home: $120
• Baseline cost: $864

* estimated

As you can see, including the cost of Windows 10 this build comes in at roughly $860-$870 to build yourself. Without Windows 10, it's still $740 and actually a better value than my $700 custom build, regardless of the older processor and low-grade RAM + power supply. And I'm not even taking into consideration the fact that my custom build would have to be assembled once all the parts arrive. 

Don't get me wrong, building your own gaming computer is a great experience and it's something everyone should do at least once. But, sometimes it's hard to justify doing so when the price of a prebuilt desktop is so damn competitive.

It's a tough argument to make in defense of DIY building a desktop when presented with such a strong opposition. 

If you're on a budget of somewhere around $750, the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A4. is without a doubt the desktop you want to look at first.

At the end of the day, the Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A4 and its i5 7400, 4GB RX 480, and 8GB of RAM is a great setup for 1080p gaming and even 1440p if you wanted to push it. 60fps won't be an issue on very high-ultra settings in all but the most graphically demanding or unoptimized games.

Regardless, I hope this review has helped you formulate some kind of opinion regarding CYBERPOWERPC's Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A4. If you have any questions, leave them in the comment section and I'll reply as soon as I can!