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iBuyPower's new Revolt gaming PC ships in February starting at $499.Boutique system builder iBuyPower introduced its new Revolt PC at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which at a glance looks like the lovechild of an Xbox 360 console and small form factor (SFF) gaming PC. That's not too far off from what it really is. Sporting a "radically new overall design," the Revolt is shaped like a console but is all PC on the inside, from its Intel Core processor foundation to its optional factory overclock.
It was designed from the ground up to be a system that you'd "want to show off," iBuyPower says. At the same time, iBuyPower didn't want to compromise on performance, giving buyers the option of loading the thing up with some serious firepower.
Alternately, you can spec out a relatively tame PC starting at just $499. There are three baseline configurations to choose from, and they look like this:
iBuyPower Revolt R320 ($499)
iBuyPower Revolt R550 ($649)
iBuyPower Revolt R570 ($899)
All three systems can be customized with higher end hardware to accommodate your budget and power needs. You can, for example, swap the processor for up to an Intel Core i7 3770K CPU, add liquid cooling, jam 16GB of RAM inside, run up to a single GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, and more. For a fee, iBuyPower will even overclock the system by up to 10 percent (+$19) or up to 20 percent (+$49).
One of the few weak spots we could identify was the power supply, which comes in 250W, 350W, and 500W options. That doesn't seem very high, though iBuyPower says they're "server class" PSUs "made with advanced materials."
It seems these types of SFF gaming PCs are beginning to trend. The Revolt reminds us of Dell's Alienware X51 PC, though that system starts at $699 and it isn't quite as well spec'd as the R550 model Revolt. Regardless, these console-sized sized systems are great for blending into a home theater environment, where you can fire up Valve's Big Picture mode for Steam.
The Revolt will ship in February, though you can place your pre-order now.
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Comments are closed on this article
gothliciouz
January 09, 2013 at 9:49pm
yeah wth can the $500 one even play games at decent frame rates?..this is only for the looks!
Cheeseiron
January 09, 2013 at 8:30pm
I think the fact that it probably has limited upgradability would be a major price drop factor. That's my guess...
unclesam88
January 10, 2013 at 1:29pm
limited? The article says you can throw in a i7 and gtx 680. Seems like its very upgradable
chriszele
January 10, 2013 at 1:43pm
Your point is valid about the i7 and GTX 680, but in such a small form factor adding both of those high end components probably would overheat in such a tiny chasis. The mini-box PC seems also like you can't upgrade it with PCI express cards like a sound card or Thunderbolt card.
unclesam88
January 10, 2013 at 3:21pm
If they offer liquid cooling and overclocking, I am sure they actually tried it and have considered proper cooling. As for extra PCI-E rails, I think you are right about that one.
Sir Hobbes3
January 09, 2013 at 4:38pm
so how does the 500 dollar model actually preform? It'll be nice to find out eh?
Arlips
January 09, 2013 at 8:51pm
It has an entry level i3 and Intel onboard graphics. It's no better than your average Walmart special or Dell barebones.
In fact $499 seems a bit high for the bare minimum performance you're getting. Seems like they're selling this more for its looks and size of a console rather than being a competitively priced gaming PC. I've built better gaming PCs for less (and that's with a graphics card).
Looks like the usual mediocrity from iBuypower.
unclesam88
January 10, 2013 at 1:27pm
Actually sir if you price it out on newegg with identical specs, you cant beat ibuypowers price. Just dont forget the cost of OS and estimate the case to be at the very least $50 (should be more). Keep in mind this system is already built for you and there is a cost for that.
Arlips
January 10, 2013 at 4:59pm
You're forgetting about the barebones PCs that Egg offers. If you price everything separately it comes out to about the same (and ymmv but I trust my building skill much more than iBuypower and the horror stories I've heard about their customer service, so I'd still build it myself for the same price); with barebones PCs you reduce the cost by quite a bit by buying the mobo+case+PSU together.
You can get a good barebones and a decent lower end CPU for less than $200 and after that you're just left with RAM, HDD and GPU which can be as low as another $120 and still net you better gaming performance than this rig with integrated video. So we're up to $320 tops before OS which still won't bring the price above $420 even if you include the cost of the OS, which can be much lower if you don't get it from Egg and find a deal (Egg is notorious for sticking to MSRP with OSes).
There will of course be shipping, but the same goes for iBuypower.
