CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8240A Review

Michael C. Smith 155 Gaming Desktops

7.8

$1,149.00

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CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8240A Review

$1,149.00

SEE IT

Fast gaming performance

Flashy case lighting

Plenty of storage, plus speedy SSD

CyberPowerPC’s ‘Gamer Xtreme’ gaming line is expanding in a big way this year with assorted gaming desktop for all prosumer niches. The all-out racked gaming PCs boast of newer components and features reminiscent of better performance, though, the designs remain unchanged. The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8240A, is one of those more peppy options, a flashy tower that falls somewhere between the desktop midrange and high-end in terms of cost and power.

With an overclockable Intel Core i7 processor, a top-tier Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti graphics card and 16GB of memory, the GXiVR8240A is definitely an excellent choice for high-end gaming. Plus, you’ll pay almost half what most of its top-of-the class competitors cost, but you are getting more computer than you’re paying for. As with all CyberPowerPC designs, the look may not be for everyone, but the system is cleanly assembled.

Design

The Gamer GXiVR8240A uses the same standard tower case as its siblings from this year (of course with a few tweaks), and I’m a big fan. It stands at 18.6 by 8.5 by 18.5 inches (HWD), all black brushed aluminum. The front panel is half-solid black cover, and the other half is a glass panel that reveals a trio of concentric LED circles.

The upper panel host a couple of quick-access ports recessed to the right-front side, and the rest of the panel is made of parallel lines, save for grilled vent that lets you view the interior components and lighting from the top. On the left side is a near-full window made of tampered glass, and gives you a perfect view of the interior components. Looking at the case you’ll realize that it isn’t a small-form-factor, but it happens to be on the smaller side for traditional towers.

For size comparison, the iBUYPOWER AM8520i Gaming Desktop PC stands 25 inches tall, 12.5 inches wide, and 21.38 inches deep, taking up much more space. CyberpowerPC, just like other boutique manufacturers, sometimes go overboard on the bling, but here the design is rather restrained, and I can say –elegant.

Connectivity

The system doesn’t have an optical drive, which is fine given that these days you occasionally need to play from DVDs, as most PC games can be downloaded from digital services like Steam and Origin. Plus, having one on the front would be a scratch on the case’s stylish austerity. As it is, there are easy-access ports on the top panel (towards the front): two USB 3.1, microphone and headphone, and a Reset button.

On the back, it’s a completely different story, it’s there you find the rear panel ports: two USB 2.0, four USB 3.1, one RJ-45 Network Ethernet, and Audio 7.1 channel. The graphics card is yet another part of the system with more ports comprising: one HDMI, and two DisplayPorts, which allow you to connect even to a 4K external monitor.

Storage and Inputs

This configuration is loaded with a 240GB solid-state drive (SSD), and an additional 1TB hard drive, which is a huge amount of room for games. It’s nice that the system gets a speedier SSD, and a bigger large scratch drive for storing files. In a pricey, roomy desktop, that’s a bit encouraging.

The iBUYPOWER AM1000X offers a bold storage option, with a 480GB SSD and a 3TB hard drive, and also the latest Intel Core i9-7900X processor with an 11GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card. Also Bundled into the package is a RGB 7 Colors gaming keyboard and mouse, alongside 802.11AC Wi-Fi for wireless connectivity.

CPU Performance

While this is by no means an inexpensive desktop, you can easily find more pricier rigs out there, so its satisfying that this unit soars in both productivity and gaming.The hexa-core Core i7-8700K CPU with 16GB RAM has been a favorite all year round, posting high score in productivity tests, and clearly demonstrating strong capability for general use. Plus, it also soars through more strenuous multimedia desktops, getting into the same league as, truly high-end desktops like the iBUYPOWER AM1000X, Acer Predator Orion 5000 and the HP OMEN 900-250.

On daily productivity, it gets a punch against the competition and can easily beat some pricier machines. Despite being in the cusp of high-end gaming systems on price, the Gamer GXiVR8240A is still a very capable media machine should you need it for work or a hobby. On this machine, mutlimedia projects should be a breeze, as well, should you need to work on video or photo editing between gaming sessions.

GPU Performance

The GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is no slouch, averaging over 91 frames per second (fps) on the Heaven and Valley gaming tests set to Ultra quality settings and 1080p resolution. Surprising, dialing the resolution to 4K reduces the scores to around 26 fps and 34 fps respectively, on these synthetic benchmarks. That’s almost exactly in line with the iBuyPower Slate 9210, an Intel Core i7-8700K-based system that also includes a GTX 1070 Ti.

For some real-world gaming, the GXiVR8240A tells similar stories on modern titles including Rise of the Tomb Raider and Far Cry 5. At maximum detail settings at 1080p, the Gamer GXiVR8240A averages 120fps on Rise of the Tomb Raider and 103fps on Far Cry 5, a bit lower than the benchmark tests, but impressively above 60fps. However, on the same settings at 4K, the system averages 41fps and 35fps. That’s notably better than the benchmark tests, which is the best news you can get for your gaming experience, and over 30fps regardless.

Of course, not many people are truly aiming to play AAA games at max detail and 4K. So, as demonstrated by the 1080p scores, you’re in very good shape playing at any lower resolution.

The fact that it sticks so close to gaming rigs high up in the category like the Origin Chronos, make it a more desirable system given the price differences. The system doesn’t come bundled with a monitor, you’ll have to grab one like the ASUS ROG Swift PG348Q that will let you view content and play games at even 4K resolutions.

Behold the new RTX 20-Series GPUs (RTX 2080, RTX 2080 Ti)

That said, CyberPowerPC just released the Gamer GXiVR8080A3 outfitted with the newer Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 graphics and a snappy Intel core i7-8700 CPU. From the onset, the next-generation GeForce RTX 20-series graphics cards (starting with GeForce RTX 2080 and GeForce RTX 2080 Ti) look like the most significant generational upgrade to the gaming cards. The RTX 2080 system included in this system uses new Nvidia Turing architecture that boasts more cores than existing GTX GPUs.

Spec by spec, the RTX 2080 boasts 2,944 CUDA cores, 8GB GDDR6 memory and 1710MHz boost clock, which is far better than the GTX 1080’s 3,584 CUDA cores and a 1,600MHz boost clock. As a result, the new graphics card gets a jump of 20-40 fps in frame rates, and at 4K the RTX 2080 here can easily hit as high as 60 fps, which is damn impressive.

Some real-world game scores, the RTX 2080 manages to achieve 42 fps on Shadow of the Tomb raider at 4K at the highest setting, while Destiny 2 yielded 73 fps, once again at 4K and Ultra settings, with HDR turned on. This is pretty impressive for a single card GPU, and for the price it can’t get any better. Plus, short of the Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti, you won’t find another more capable graphics card than what you have on this system.

The Bottom Line

The CyberPowerPC GXiVR8240A is an efficient, ready-to-go gaming PC with a distinct (yet common) style. Whether you personally like the aesthetic is a question for another day, but at least it has some personality and the trio of rings on the front panel and a transparent side make it stand out. The design, love it or leave it, is just a part of development that houses a unique array of components that are of more interest.

Of interest is that, the GXiVR8240A offers decent performance and racks up well against expensive gaming PCs in both productivity and Full HD gaming, thanks to its Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti graphics cards and a capable hexa-core Core i7-8700K CPU. With this combination, you don’t have any reason for DIY endeavors, since this high-end system has it all for much less than the competition.

That said, with a few hundred dollars more, you can get the future-proof Gamer GXiVR8080A3, a gaming powerhouse and a productivity beast with the latest components including Nvidia’s RTX 2080 Founders Edition graphics card. Except for the Nvidia GTX 2080 Ti GPU, the graphics card installed in this system is second to none, and the same muscle extends to gaming performance. It is our newest Editors’ Choice value high-end gaming desktop PCs.

OUR PICK