I bought an iBuyPower PC that I'm still using, so I can't say there's anything bad about iBuyPower. However, I did individual research on each of the parts I was considering purchasing to ensure I wasn't getting some cheap cop-out brand that wasn't going to be built well.
I've since replaced the RAM, Power Supply, and graphics card. Have had no issues with the motherboard (i7-4770k) or processor (can't remember the GHz off the top of my head), though they're finally starting to get long in the tooth.
Take from that what you will. So long as you're not going Alienware, I wouldn't say your getting ripped for the brand alone. Falcon Northwest is great, as Ridelynn mentioned.
The "problem" - note the quotes - with AMD Graphics cards for gamers is that they are much better than NVidia in bit currency data mining. As a result data mining operations go AMD rather than NVidia .... which has forced the price up.
Consequently an AMD card of equivalent ability to an NVidia card is - nearly always - more expensive than an NVidia card. Typically quite a lot more expensive as well.
Nearly always. "Less powerful" AMD cards - Radeon RX580 say - are not powerful enough for data miners so their price hasn't been forced up by demand. And when AMD compete with NVidia on an "equal" price footing - well sometimes NVidia is better, sometimes AMD is better.
So at the cheaper end some version of an NVidia 1050 is probably "best"; the 580 generally outperforms an NVidia 1060. And above that its pretty much NVidia for gamers due to data mining. (Note - especially when checking reviews - not all 1050s, 580s, 1060s etc. are equal. Board makers tweak things. Be sure to look for differences and maybe compare their offerings with the NVidia and AMD "reference" designs - which will be on their websites.)
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I've since replaced the RAM, Power Supply, and graphics card. Have had no issues with the motherboard (i7-4770k) or processor (can't remember the GHz off the top of my head), though they're finally starting to get long in the tooth.
Take from that what you will. So long as you're not going Alienware, I wouldn't say your getting ripped for the brand alone. Falcon Northwest is great, as Ridelynn mentioned.
The "problem" - note the quotes - with AMD Graphics cards for gamers is that they are much better than NVidia in bit currency data mining. As a result data mining operations go AMD rather than NVidia .... which has forced the price up.
Consequently an AMD card of equivalent ability to an NVidia card is - nearly always - more expensive than an NVidia card. Typically quite a lot more expensive as well.
Nearly always. "Less powerful" AMD cards - Radeon RX580 say - are not powerful enough for data miners so their price hasn't been forced up by demand. And when AMD compete with NVidia on an "equal" price footing - well sometimes NVidia is better, sometimes AMD is better.
So at the cheaper end some version of an NVidia 1050 is probably "best"; the 580 generally outperforms an NVidia 1060. And above that its pretty much NVidia for gamers due to data mining. (Note - especially when checking reviews - not all 1050s, 580s, 1060s etc. are equal. Board makers tweak things. Be sure to look for differences and maybe compare their offerings with the NVidia and AMD "reference" designs - which will be on their websites.)