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iBuyPower Turns 10, Giving Away a System to Celebrate

Paul Lilly — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:30:37 -0600

To kick off it's tenth anniversary, boutique system build iBuyPower has launched its second-gen Chimera 2 gaming system. Like the original, the follow-up act sizzles on stage with a fiery exterior, but with a "completely redesigned signature Chimera Inferno II Chassis."

The color scheme now wraps around the entire chassis, with the chimera flame design covering 4 exterior surfaces (front, right, left, and top panels). Underneath it all sits either a Phenom II X3/X4 or Core i5/i7 foundation, depending on which base configuration you start out with. The Core i5 base comes standard with a Core i5 750 processor, Asus P7P55D LE motherboard, 4GB of DDR3-1333 memory, an ATI HD 5750 videocard, 750GB hard drive, 700W PSU, 22X DVD burner, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Surprising affordable, pricing starts at $1,100 (or $999 if building around AMD).

Don't feel like buying one? To celebrate its 10th birthday, iBuyPower said it's giving away a Chimera 2 system with a Killer Xeno Pro Gaming card.

"We are excited to be celebrating our tenth anniversary and wanted to thank all our customers that helped make it happen with a giveaway and hot new system," said Darren Su, VP of iBuyPower. "The Chimera 2 gaming systems are fully loaded and feature a new aggressive design sure to impress."

To enter, ~~follow iBuyPower on Twitter and/or Facebook~~ became a Fan of iBuyPower on Facebook or follow them on Twitter, and then fill out the contest entry form here. Good luck!

Image Credit: iBuyPower

iBuypower M865TU

Katherine Stevenson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:15:39 -0600

A 15-inch gaming notebook that holds its own in bigger company

From the looks of it, you probably wouldn’t figure iBuypower’s M865TU for a gaming notebook. Its aesthetic is much more subdued than typical representatives of that class. The chassis is covered in a subtly textured black plastic, with tasteful silver trim around the edges and the touch pad. Unlike other gaming notebooks, backlighting is limited to the power button and an unobtrusive iBuypower logo on the notebook’s lid. Furthermore, the 15-inch M865TU is smaller than many gaming rigs and has a more streamlined formfactor.

But despite its smaller stature and no-nonsense appearance, the M865TU’s got game. That’s courtesy of the Nvidia GTX 260M GPU under its hood. Based on a reworked G92 chip, which uses a smaller, faster process (55nm vs. 65nm) and features slightly higher clocks, the GTX 260M proves more capable than previous-generation G92 mobile parts. For example, the M865TU performed almost 30 percent better in Far Cry 2 and Call of Duty 4 than the 9800M GTX-equipped Qosmio X305 we reviewed in June, with scores of 31.3fps and 58.3fps, respectively, at the notebook’s 1680x1050 native res and the highest quality settings. (This month, we jettisoned the games we have previously used for notebooks reviews in favor of FC2 and CoD4, which are far more indicative of a GPU’s prowess—expect to see these titles integrated into our benchmark chart going forward.)

If not for the tell-tale glossy screen, you might mistake the staid M865TU for a business notebook.

In the applications department, the M865TU is also competent. The rig’s 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo Mobile helped it handily whoop our zero-point notebook in the benchmarks by 30-60 percent. Granted, the story changes when you compare the M865TU to quad-core machines. The Core 2 Quad Mobile part in the Qosmio X305, while clocked at just 2GHz, beat the M865TU by 13-18 percent in the benchmarks that scale with cores (Premiere, Photoshop, MainConcept), although lost to the M865TU in Photoshop by four percent. Naturally, the Core i7 AVADirect D900F (reviewed in September) was even more punishing, winning the multicore-optimized apps by upwards of 60 percent and even Photoshop by 38 percent. Of course, the D900F is a mammoth desktop-replacement rig that costs twice as much as the M865TU—it should dominate.

What we like about the M865TU is that it provides decent application performance, a marked improvement in single-card notebook gaming, and a more portable size and weight—it’s lighter by two or more pounds than other gaming notebooks we’ve tested recently. Sadly, its battery life isn’t much better than the pack’s, lasting just one hour and 40 minutes when playing a movie in power-saving mode. Oh, and the speakers suck.

iBuyPower Offers Overclocking Service on New Paladin E-Series Lynnfield-based PCs

Paul Lilly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:43:34 -0500

iBuyPower on Wednesday announced its new Paladin E-series Gaming PC built around Intel's "Lynnfield" processors and new P55 chipset. Three rigs in all -- Paladin E720, E780, and E870 -- come equipped with one of Intel's new socket 1156-based Core i7 800 series or Core i5 processors, but what iBuyPower really hopes will give it an edge over the competition is an optional "Power Drive" overclocking service.

iBuyPower will overclock your processor up to 10 percent for free (Power Drive Level 1), up to 20 percent for $49 (Level 2), and up to 30 percent for a dollar shy of a C-note (Level 3). Depending on which level you choose, you'll also need to configure compatible components iBuyPower says are certified for a particular OC (Gigabyte's GA-P55-UD6 is certified for a level 3 OC, whereas the GA-P55-UD3R is certified for level 1, for example).

The Paladin E-series is available now starting out at $649.

Image Credit: iBuyPower

iBuyPower Supercharges Front Panel USB Ports with USB Internal Expansion Controller

Paul Lilly — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:41:03 -0500

Whenever we receive a press release from iBuyPower, we expect it to detail the boutique system builder's latest gaming PC, but that isn't the case today. Instead, IBuyPower today announces its proprietary USB Internal Expansion System, otherwise known as an IES Controller.

So what exactly does it do? According to iBuyPower, the IES Controller "enhances control and boosts power to front panel USB ports and add-ons like card readers." It does this by connecting your front panel ports directly to your system's power supply, making it possible to deliver more juice to power hungry peripherals.

In addition to supercharging your front panel ports, the IES Controller also adds an internal USB port that iBuyPower says can be used for storage expansion with a flash drive or for adding a USB wireless router. Or hook up a Bluetooth module to the IES to free up a front panel USB port and sync up with your mouse, keyboard, printer, or other Bluetooth device.

For the time being, the IES is only available with the purchase of a new iBuyPower PC as a $14 add-on, or $24 with Bluetooth capabilities. No word on whether or not the OEM plans to sell the item as a standalone part.

Image Credit: iBuyPower

iBuyPower's Battalion Gaming Notebook Perfect for Clumsy Gamers

Paul Lilly — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:15:47 -0500

We don't know if this will become a trend, but accident-prone gamers have little to fear with iBuyPower's new Battalion 101 CZ-10 gaming laptop. The release kicks off the company's new accidental damage protection plan, which comes standard on the Battalion and has gamers' backs in the event of spills or drops.

"We felt it was time to refresh our mainstream gaming notebook line," said Darren Su, VP of iBuyPower. "We are excited by the features and exceptional coverage we are able to offer with the CZ-10 Premium at a very competitive price."

Less exciting is the 15.6-inch Battalion's mishmash of both high and lower end components. Starting from the top and working our way down, the 101 CZ-10 comes equipped with Intel's Core 2 Duo Mobile T9550 processor (2.266GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1066MHz frontside bus), 4GB of DDR3-1066 RAM, AMD's ATI Radeon HD 4650 graphics, 8X DVD burner, and a 500GB hard drive spinning at 5400RPM.

Other features include four USB 2.0 slots, HDMI, 3-in-1 media card reader, finger print scanner, and 6-cell battery.

The Battalion is available now starting at $1,235.

Image Credit: iBuyPower

IBuyPower's New Chimera Gaming System Looks Hot, Won't Burn Your Wallet

Paul Lilly — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:46:23 -0500

Glossy case paint jobs can sometimes cost more than the components they're holding, but on IBuyPower's new Chimera series, the fiery exterior comes standard. In this case, standard starts at under $1K and includes a customized NZXT Guardian 921 enclosure. An "exclusive glossy flame exterior" and unique side panel window make this unlike any Guardian 921 you've ever seen before. Three 120mm cooling fans keep the interior from getting as hot as the exterior looks, which you can tabs on with an optional front-panel thermal readout display.

IBuyPower offers the Chimera in both AM3 and Core i7 trim. Pricing for the latter starts at $1300 and includes an Intel Core i7 920 processor, MSI X58-Pro motherboard, 6GB of DDR3-1333 memory, Nvidia GTX 275 videocard, 750GB hard drive, 22X DVD burner, 700W power supply, and Vista Home Premium 64-bit.

For $300 less, the AMD configuration comes equipped with a Phenom II X4 910 processor, Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UDP5 motherboard, 4GB of DDR3-1333 memory, ATI Radeon HD 4870 videocard, 500GB hard drive, and same DVD burner, PSU, and OS as above.

The Chimera is available now and you can knock another 5 percent off with coupon code 'IBUYPOWER' during checkout. Free games and other current promotions can be found here.

Image Credit: IBuyPower

iBuypower Offering "LAN Warrior" Gaming-PC-With-A-Strap

Andy Salisbury — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:21:12 -0500

So you’re a fan of multiplayer gaming, but you haven’t tried a LAN party yet. What’s holding you back? If it’s the (admittedly) huge hassle of packing up your entire computer, iBuypower has got you covered with their latest PC.

The LAN Warrior, which is a mega tower with a nylon strap attached, comes with your choice of an Intel Core i7 processor, a 1000W power supply, an Asus Rampage II Gene X58 motherboard, up to 24GB of RAM, and either dual Nvidia or ATI graphics cards.

The machine starts at only $1000, and is available now.

Image Credit: iBuypower

iBuyPower's New Desktop Packs a Lot of Power for Under $750

Andy Salisbury — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:18:07 -0500

iBuyPower! Tiger Direct! With their powers combined, they are budget computing!

Well, in all seriousness, iBuyPower and Tiger Direct have teamed up to bring you the Gamer Power 906. The 906, which packs an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Processor, 4GB DDR2 RAM, an Nvidia 9600GT 1GB graphics card, 500GB HDD and a 600-watt PSU will play games well, and sell for just $710.

You can pick one of your very own up at CompUSA or Tiger Direct, and it’ll even come with pretty neon lights. Honest!

Image Credit: iBuyPower/ Tiger Direct