iBuyPower Revolt System Review: Closing the Boutique and Opening the Store
by Dustin Sklavos on February 16, 2013 12:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Mini ITX
- iBuyPower
- Mini-Tower
Application and Futuremark Performance
It's funny, the actual performance of the iBuyPower Revolt is almost incidental. As you'll see it's a powerful system with a small electrical footprint, but what it's really doing is driving down accessible gaming performance at a reasonable price tag. I almost wish we'd had the $649 or $899 versions in house to get a better perspective.
What I do need to mention is that while the Revolt itself performed well, Windows 8's compatibility with benchmarks can still be a little bit hinky. Probing forums reveals that DiRT 3, for example, can be a total crapshoot. PCMark Vantage also doesn't run, and PCMark 7 will actually cancel itself on some Windows 8 systems, something Futuremark is still looking into.
The GTX 670 is performing as expected, but when you get to our CPU-limited 3DMark06 test, the lack of an overclocked CPU does hurt the Revolt's performance. It's worth noting, however, that this can be remedied by the end user both personally or by simply requesting the Revolt ship overclocked from the factory.
Without an overclock, the Revolt only performs "as expected." It's still a powerful machine, but invariably gets dwarfed by all the expensive boutique desktops that have "OC" next to the name of the CPU.
Synthetics aren't everything, though. Let's check in and see how the Revolt fares at what it's meant to handle: gaming.
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rRansom - Saturday, February 16, 2013 - link
Say what?danjw - Saturday, February 16, 2013 - link
I just went did a configure on their website. If I go with Windows 7, they insist on installing Microsoft Office on it. I say no to spamware! Just plain old no! I thought they were a boutique, there is no place for spamware from a boutique!damianrobertjones - Saturday, February 16, 2013 - link
Is your post a joke? MS Office isn't spamware and if you don't like it then un-install it?Netscorer - Sunday, February 17, 2013 - link
At least they allow you to configure this PC with no OS. If you have a Windows license that can be recycled from previous built (like most self-respecting people would have in drones), you can have your wish of spam-free install and save some money too.bah12 - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Really most self-respecting people have a full retail copy of Windows? I find it odd that very many people would shell out $199 for the full retail copy.Technically speaking Microsoft only has 1 version that you can install on your own "naked" box. That is the full retail. OEM is not legal for personal use, though everyone does it (as do I).
freedom4556 - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Hogwash, OEM is perfectly OK for personal use, you simply give up Windows support from Microsoft. You're taking on the role of OEM yourself when you build your own machine, which makes you resposible for your own support. Just how Dell supports Windows on Dell machines, you support Windows on machines you build from scratch if you use the OEM version. Full retail gets you direct phone/chat/email support from Microsoft, which is why the added cost.kyuu - Saturday, February 16, 2013 - link
I like the case design and the fact that a boutique is actually approaching being price-competitive with building your own rig.I'm not going to buy one when they don't give the option of anything but Intel for CPU (not that I'd use anything but Intel for a desktop CPU at the moment, admittedly) and, more importantly, don't offer any AMD graphics solutions whatsoever.
da_cm - Saturday, February 16, 2013 - link
I guess the reason for Intel only CPUs is the custom motherboard. They would have had to design an other version for AMD CPUs to fit.That said, personally, I would love to see a configuration with an FX-6300 and a 7850/7870 with a reasonable price tag as it's better CPU-GPU balance than a 3570k and a GTX660 or 650.
tim851 - Saturday, February 16, 2013 - link
So you want them to offer an AMD CPU although you wouldn't buy one... yeah, they'll really want you as their customer. What other options you would't consider should they offer?karasaj - Sunday, February 17, 2013 - link
I'd rather have something like an i3-3220 (or the updated version with slightly better clock?) instead of an FX-6300. Similar price (if not less expensive), but enormously higher single threaded performance = better for most and competitive for all games.http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/699?vs=677&...
Note: There is an i3-3240 with an extra 100mhz on the clock compared to the 3220. So that would be a tiny performance boost to what you see here. The 3220 slots in 10-20$ less than an FX-6300, but the 3240 is 10$ more. BUT the 6300 also consumes more than twice as much power, which would almost definitely make up that 10$ in a year.