Review of CyberPower PC I bought. :(

TimothyS

n00b
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Mar 4, 2018
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Hey all,

I was wanting to join a computer forum after years of building my own low-cost computers for games. I have a reason to join in order to do this review now. So, hopefully I will have a good time here. I didn't see any part of the forum dedicated to hardware reviews, so I figured I would put this in the "General Gaming.

First off, this review for Cyberpower PC.

As I said before, I've always put together my own computer from components for years. Recently I had an upgrade itch, but found that all the video cards are unusually high priced and often out of stock. That led me to take a look at PC builders online and it turned out that when I added up the bare cost of the components vs a full build from one of these builders, it came out pretty close to the same price. I looked around at several pre-built computer companies and Cyberpower PC seemed to have a good website and everything seemed straightforward in my ordering. Here is a manifest breakdown of my order:

  • BLUETOOTH: None
  • CABLE: None
  • CAS: Corsair Crystal Series® 460X ATX Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ front & Side tempered glass [+52]
  • CASUPGRADE: None
  • CC: None
  • CD: None
  • CD2: None
  • COOLANT: None
  • CPU: Intel® Core™ Processor i7-8700K 3.70GHZ 12MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Coffee Lake)
  • CS_FAN: 3X 120mm Enermax Twister Pressure 120MM PWM Cooling Fans [+29] (500-1,200 RPM T.B. Silence Black Color with Red LED Twister Bearing 8-14 dBA)
  • ENGRAVING: None
  • EVGA_POWER: None
  • FA_HDD: None
  • FAN: Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED CPU Cooler w/ PWM fan - Efficient Cooling Performance [-10]
  • FLASHMEDIA: None
  • HD_M2SSD: None
  • HD_PCIE1X_SSD: None
  • HDD: 1TB WD Blue Series SATA-III 6 GB/s SSD - Seq R/W: Up to 545/525 MB/s, Rnd R/W up to 100/80k [+71] (Single Drive)
  • HDD2: None
  • HEADSET: None
  • IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
  • KEYBOARD: None [-5]
  • MEMORY: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/3000MHz Dual Channel Memory (ADATA XPG Z1)
  • MONITOR: None
  • MOPAD: None
  • MOTHERBOARD: ASRock Z370 Pro4 ATX w/ RGB, USB 3.1, 2 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 2 M.2 SATA/PCIe [Intel Optane Ready]
  • MOUSE: None [-3]
  • NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
  • OS: Windows 10 Home (64-bit Edition)
  • OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
  • POWERSUPPLY: 800 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
  • PRO_WIRING: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]
  • RUSH: Standard processing time: ship within 12 to 15 Business Days
  • SERVICE: 3 Years FREE Service Plan (INCLUDES LABOR AND LIFETIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT)
  • SLI_BRIDGE: None
  • SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
  • SPEAKERS: None
  • USBHD: None
  • USBX: None
  • VIDEO: EVGA GeForce® GTX 1080 SC2 iCX Gaming 8GB GDDR5X (Pascal)[VR Ready] [+26] (Single Card)
  • VIVE_HEADSET: None
  • WARRANTY: STANDARD WARRANTY: 1 Year Parts WARRANTY
  • WNC: None
  • WTV: None
Comments/Special Instructions:

Please make sure the 3 LED fans are installed at the front of the case. Please make sure the fans are connected to motherboard fan controller. I want to set fan speed curves.
1xCPU Fan(4pin)
3xChassis Fan(4pin)
That should be enough connections. You should be able to use a single 4-pin connector for all 3 front intake fans. That allows to connect the rear exhaust fan also.


Okay, next step.

Before ordering my new rig, I contacted the Cyberpower PC customer support via chat, to ask about how the PC fans would be installed in my computer. The conversation was quite 'odd' to say the least. I wrote to the rep that I was going to order 3 Enermax Red LED fans and I wanted to make sure the fans were mounted on the front intake slots. (This seemed like a no-brainer and how they should logically be installed, especially when it's assumed that the exhaust fan that comes with the case would logically end up getting connected to the rear of the case.)

The response I got was puzzling....."We will connect the fans according to the way that our installer believes is safest for this build."

I asked again, more specifically, trying to find out what configuration will be used and got the same canned, almost bot-like answer.

I decided to ensure that the build would be handled properly by including some brief instructions in the "Comments/Special Instructions" section.

The build was not started for 2 weeks after my order. The shipping went well, no damage to the case and it seems like all was well so far. I was not contacted by their team who assembled my PC, so I can only assume there was no problem following my instructions on the build and no confusion about what was ordered.

I noticed that there was no Windows OS disc or USB drive......or even a Windows 10 reg key included in my order. I then noticed that they installed only 3 fans total, just 2 in front (leaving an empty slot at the top) and 1 fan in the rear. The factory case fan was missing from the build completely. No extra fan was in the box. This already violated my instructions that expressly commanded the 3 LED fans get mounted in the front intake slots. Also, to be missing the rear exhaust fan that comes with the case puts me in a situation where I now must go to Frys and purchase hardware to fix this that I shouldn't have to purchase. But that is not all I found. I found that the case fans that were installed were not LED fans, but rather standard Enermax fans.

I called Cyberpower PC and got their sales manager on the phone. I recognized his name from the sales chat interface that I had 3 weeks ago. I told him about the situation and he said "uh huh". I then waited a moment for him to say "we apologize for these mistakes and would be happy to fix this for you" but all I got was "uh huh" (in a rather sarcastic tone I might add). I asked if he thought this was a 'normal' build for my order. He said the same thing he said in the chat "our builders built it according to how they felt it was safest"...... I then pointed him at my Comments/Special Instructions. I asked about the fans not being LED fans and he transferred me to their technical support.

On to tech support. I told them about the issues with my build and they were as "I really don't care about our bad job" as the sales manager was. "Uh huh". Sounding like e'or from Winnie the Pooh, "yeah it looks like we substituted your red LED fans for some other fans because we ran out of stock". I then naturally asked, "why wasn't I contacted?" He had no answer. I then asked for him to ship me the LED fans and he said, "we don't have stock". I then said, ok, then credit me for the fans and I'll go buy my own. Then he said I would have to ship back the current fans first. I was like, "so, let me get this straight....not only do I have to go buy fans and re=wire your bad work, but I have to make a trip to the post office to send back the fans you put in in error?". That's exactly what they wanted. To basically make it such a hassle that I would hopefully throw up my hands and just eat the cost and handle it on my own.

Forward fast to today. I got back home from Fry's and open up the case and prepare to cut the zip ties off of their poorly bundled wiring job that made it so the case door was bulging on the wiring-side-panel, but then noticed the video card........EVGA ACX......what? ACX??? I specifically ordered the ICX!!! The ACX had a poorly designed cooling system that allowed parts of the video card to overheat under certain conditions like slight over-clocking.

I have to wait until Monday to contact Cyberpower PC yet again, but this time to ask them to ship me an ICX video card. I get a psychic impression that they are going to tell me "oh, we're out of stock, so we substituted the ACX without asking you". (Just like the case fans, right?)

I had to then go over every single component in my build to ensure that nothing else was "substituted" without my permission.

Right now I'm seriously disappointed in the wasted time. I took 2 days off from work so that when I got this new gaming rig, I would be able to game non-stop for a 4-day weekend, but instead I spent the half of the 4-day weekend trying to fix CyberPower's mistake. I don't want to use this computer or try to change anything on it since I don't know what nonsense this company is going to pull on me next. I might have to send this thing back after waiting 3 weeks for my computer.

I highly recommend that no one EVER, EVER order a computer from CyberPower PC. You are better off building it yourself, and chances are, if you order from them, you're going to end up opening up the case and having to put your hands on things anyway. It might as well be your own build you're putting your hands on instead of worrying about any warranties or other 'gotcha' gimmicks this company might pull. So far, the customer service managers of both the sales and tech support departments seem to be on the same scripts and they had their answers ready for me and they rolled off of their tongue's like they say these same things to callers on the phone everyday, hours a day. I know, just on gut instinct from the tone in their voices that they have had the same disagreements, same 'go arounds' on the phone with possibly hundreds of other people before me who found their builds to not meet the 'basic' expectation a customer would expect when adding the option from the website. IE, 3 color LED fans on the front intake slots that look like the picture on their build page. It's kind of common sense when your order says Red LED fans that they should be Red LED fans. It's kind of common sense when your order says EVGA ICX that the card should be that model and not an ACX.

These things might not have been that big of a deal had they called me ahead of time and told me about, that way I could have cancelled the order and organized my weekend accordingly for a 'build' and not a game-playing marathon.
 
Yikes, sorry to hear it went so poorly. Thanks for the review!

I'm going to try to make the most of this. I will contact them and try to request they send me the ICX card and if not then I will ask for a refund of the difference between ACX and ICX versions (which probably won't be much). Again, I've pretty much had it with CyberPower PC. They are not trustworthy and trying to sneak substitutions into a build is shady behavior. Especially in the current video card market where everything is hard to get your hands on and expensive.
 
Cyberpower/IBuypower have always been crap. My cousins bought from them 13 years ago, got poorly put together computers. Things haven't changed since then. Both companies are literally related (their owners are close relatives) and are a bare step above from con artists.

I thought that this was well-known to virtually everyone who's been paying attention to PC builds for at least the last 10 years, and usually more. :(

Recommended boutique custom-built PC companies would be the following (in no particular order, and this is far from a complete list):

  • Falcon Northwest
  • Velocity Micro (my first custom-built was a Velocity Micro about 11 years ago)
  • Maingear
  • Origin PC
  • Puget Systems
  • Digital Storm
  • Xidax
  • XoticPC
Still seem to be ok, but can be spotty at times:
  • AVADirect
  • Alienware (I actually got my rig at Alienware a few months ago, due to lack of time for building a PC -- turned out ok, actually)
 
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every few years when it's time for me to upgrade my pc , I always check cyberpower website,
I think about ordering from them , and then back out because of stories like yours I've read over
the years.....

Good luck getting the build right , keep us updated ........
 
I've ordered four pcs from them last summer to strip video cards (and resell for profit) and all four were fine, and I got what I ordered.
my cousin ordered five from them for the same purposes and they were fine too.

Sure you may not get the fans that come with the case, but if you pay extra for LED fans I got those.

I suspect they just have a big pile of fans from all the machines they build and they probably just give you what's readily available. They've always matched per machine at least. For instance I got three Raidmax fans on a Thermaltake case. You know good and well Raidmax fans don't come with Thermaltake cases. But at the end of the day I saved WAYYYYYYYYYY more than the $30 bucks replacement fans would cost.

My biggest complaint was they didn't wire the fans correctly to the motherboard. It was sort of a careless connection job. CPU fan to chassis fan, etc. It works - it's just not ideal for fan speed control. As a hobbiest I just fixed those connections myself, but the 2 seconds extra it would take theme to wire it correctly would be worthwhile for their customer's happiness.

Also they don't send the extra PCI-E brackets with your case. Which is a minor complaint when you can buy 8 new PCI-E brackets on ebay for $5 shipped.

Other than that I was happy with the my purchases, got reasonably fast shipping, with excellent packing jobs, excellent customization options at the time of purchase, and frankly - more than fair pricing.

I currently recommend them to people, as their prices are unbeatable - what with street prices of basic components being so crazy because of crypto.

That management response you received does suck though -- maybe you should write them an e-mail and see if it gets to a different manager. One of my other friends bought one and it didn't include the PCI-E brackets and he called, and they just shipped them to him without fuss. So it might depend on the particular employee you get, and how much they care.
 
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Sorry to say, but this thread went about like I thought it would.

A few lucky people who haven't had issues, a few that found issues but at least had something workable... we are just missing the stories of the RMA/return hell and the box that was punted through a warzone before arriving and the computer in shambles, and this will be a complete CyberPowerPC thread.

I feel sorry for folks who put a lot of faith in that company, this thread is far and away not unique, and not just on these forums.

Honestly, if I were the OP, I would send back the entire computer - not bother with piecemeal parts at this point. Make them refund the entire thing. Your going to eat shipping on the return, but you didn't get what you ordered at all.
 
Sorry to say, but this thread went about like I thought it would.

A few lucky people who haven't had issues, a few that found issues but at least had something workable... we are just missing the stories of the RMA/return hell and the box that was punted through a warzone before arriving and the computer in shambles, and this will be a complete CyberPowerPC thread.

I feel sorry for folks who put a lot of faith in that company, this thread is far and away not unique, and not just on these forums.

Honestly, if I were the OP, I would send back the entire computer - not bother with piecemeal parts at this point. Make them refund the entire thing. Your going to eat shipping on the return, but you didn't get what you ordered at all.

I'm seriously on the edge of sending this back. It's been a waste of a month of my time and I was really trying to make this work out, but I just got through with a chat with them and asked them to send me the ICX card and I would ship back the ACX card. They claim they no longer have the ICX card in stock. I have no doubt that was the case when they built my computer and thought they could sneak in an ACX version and I wouldn't notice. If I hadn't been technically inclined they would have successfully cheated some novice computer user out of their money. I'm considering reporting them to Consumer Affairs and the BBB. People have rights and this company obviously didn't care about my situation when I first called and tried sell-and-switch products/parts. That might be against the law, I don't know for sure if this falls into fraud territory because it's for small amounts of money, but it's still shady and wrong to do this to customers.
 
I would send it back immediately and make them pay for the return shipping. If not go through your CC company for them not sending you want you ordered. You can also kick up a stink on social media.
The most likely case is that once you ask for a full refund they will become more accommodating.
 
Send that shit back ASAP. If they fight you on it, do what Silk186 is saying. Crappy experience for sure.
 
~1.5 stars at Consumer Affairs.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/cyberpower_pc.html

They have an A+ rating at BBB, with 70% customer approval.

https://www.bbb.org/losangelessilic.../cyberpowerpc-in-city-of-industry-ca-13080817

I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions from those two bits of data.

BBB doesn't mean shit. Companies can pay to get bad reviews removed.

More telling, is that despite their A+ approval on BBB, there are 95 positive reviews, and 41 negative reviews ...
 
I believe that people tend to review or post more negative than positive experiences. Having said that, there are too many similarities to dispute the fact that Cyberpower is indeed a site to watch out for. How can a place have close to a 1/3 of its reviews be negative and still be A+ ? (in case RedFalcon is reading this, that is a rhetorical question).
 
The last machine I ordered from them was a few months ago. I ordered standard rx570s, and they were substituted with msi variants. I didn't order any additional fans, but got 3x rgb led front fans. I didn't pay extra for pro wiring, but all cables were neat and tidy.



Sounds like we had opposite experiences.
 
So apparently it all depends on what mood their builders are in the day your PC is built.. WTF?
 
I've never purchased a Cyberpower PC, however, I did purchase a Cyberpower laptop and it's still going strong after 5 years. I guess the laptops are good because they use the MSI chassis and those are good laptops. Of course YMMV.
 
So apparently it all depends on what mood their builders are in the day your PC is built.. WTF?

That, or they just don't have any QC at all, and aren't actually reading the orders. Maybe mnewxcv got TimothyS's build...
 
[I highly recommend that no one EVER, EVER order a computer from CyberPower PC...both the sales and tech support departments seem to be on the same scripts]
[/QUOTE]

I had similar experiences as OP. What you NEED TO KNOW B4 Purchasing: CyberPower is set up for selling a great product … NOT REPAIRING IT!


HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE SHIPPING TIMES!!! In case you feel like this doesn’t matter because you got 3 day shipping included - look at next paragraph “REPAIRS...”



REPAIRS TAKE UP TO 6 WEEKS! Can you be without your pc for up to 6 weeks because you WILL be if your purchase from CP and need repair. If you happen to need PC repair months after buying your computer, like me, ... I already need a new mother board and it has been less than 6 months since I purchased. (I had to RETURN my pc TWICE because they damaged my case during repair. Thank God I took photos of my entire pc and sent them to myself via email before sending them the pc and so they were dated because THEY ASKED FOR THEM! They agreed to repair it AFTER getting the dated photos, but that was another SIX weeks shipping. I talked to supervisors but hey wouldn’t upgrade ANY of my shipping even though it was their fault!!! Yes it took me A TOTAL OF 12 WEEKS)



FULL RETURN SHIPPING $120.00 from where I live! That is UPS Ground for nearly 50lbs box included!!! Dimensions: 27”x25”x13.” (You will pay it all, as they pay nothing toward a returned product.)


NO EXTENDED WARRANTIES!!! (So basically, they don't believe in their product or stand by it for very long.) Yeah, that 1 year limited warranty isn’t an extended warranty and CP told me they don’t even offer extended warranties.


BUY THE PREMIUM 1 YR WARRANTY WITH 1 YR SHIPPING OPTION. Make sure it has the 1 yr shipping choice for $10 more well worth it if you have to return like me. Be aware, however, that this shipping takes up to 6 weeks.


KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL SHIPPING BOX at least until your 1 yr warranty is up. Otherwise you are going to need to purchase the box with padding $$$ if you need to return the pc to CP plus $120 if you have to pay shipping. Gets frustrating, doesn’t it?


CP TECH SUPPORT IS A NIGHTMARE. In all fairness they are actually very nice while trying to fix problems with the pc. Well … until you challenge them, like about the six-week shipping time. Then they become extremely unkind. They won’t let you talk to previous reps that promised you things. I was told that rep would call me back in an hour, I waited over 2.5 and had to call back. Every time I called; I was told the rep was on another call. Then I was told he emailed me – which is the only way he seemed to want to communicate from that point on. I asked to talk to him again and they told me that he would get back to me in 48 hours. (you can’t make this stuff up!!!) They do everything to try to get you off the phone as quickly as possible, try to transfer the problem to a different department - another way to schluff you off, and eventually they transferred me back to the main phone menu after telling me the rep that I requested was finally available and they were transferring me to him. I am currently still on hold waiting listening to the beginning phone menu



I have loved my CyberPower pc up till now. The Motherboard IS defective – won’t connect to the internet, after not even 6 months and that doesn’t even bother me – I get it that stuff happens. . It is the total disregard for the customer after you need repair. They seriously lack basic customer service skills at this point. I realize from the reviews that I am in the minority having a defective product. Most people don’t have problems with their pc’s but if you do have a defective something, it really sucks. This company is set up for selling a great product … not repairing it. That part about them sucks. They told me to ship it to them but it was going to take up to 6 weeks, BOTH TIMES, without batting an eye, like I should be ok with this. I was very much NOT but what could I do, I complained and THEY DIDN’T CARE … IT IS THEIR POLICY … and going up the ranks wont’ help.
 
I purchased a new computer on February 28th 2020.
Today 6/8/20 I went to add additional memory and when I took off the 4 screws that hold on the side and went to take of the glass side it disintegrated.
I called Cyberpowerpc and explained what happened and they refused to replace the glass side piece.
If you buy from this company make sure you buy a warranty from wherever you bought it to cover yourself because they won't stand bu their products.
 

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I purchased a new computer on February 28th 2020.
Today 6/8/20 I went to add additional memory and when I took off the 4 screws that hold on the side and went to take of the glass side it disintegrated.
I called Cyberpowerpc and explained what happened and they refused to replace the glass side piece.
If you buy from this company make sure you buy a warranty from wherever you bought it to cover yourself because they won't stand bu their products.
Glass doesn’t disintegrate without help. What really happened?
 
Glass doesn’t disintegrate without help. What really happened?
When I got a cyberpowerpc computer, I had to open the case when I received it to remove the packing foam things. If this guy did that as well and the glass didn't break then, well, something happened between then and now that isn't cyberpowerpc's fault. My guess is overtightening the screws, then removing 3 completely with one fully tight rather than loosening them all first. Just speculation.
 
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