iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 512 Budget Gaming Desktop PC

Apr 27 2009 - iBUYPOWER has certainly put together a very affordable system for casual gaming, but the choice of components is somewhat limiting to those looking for a higher performance general purpose computer or for more intense gaming. The processor is certainly the most limiting component out of the entire system as it is an older AMD Athlon X2. The dedicated graphics card does make gaming possible, just with limited resolutions and detail. At least the larger 480W power supply allows for a higher end graphics card to be installed.

Apr 27 2009 - Rather than using a new generation low cost processor such as the Phenom or Core 2 in the Gamer Power 512, it uses a recently released AMD Athlon X2 7750 processors. This is essentially an older generation processor from AMD that they have bumped up the clock speed to a higher 2.7GHz. This certainly improves the performance of an aging chip line but it falls short of what is capable with similarly priced units from Intel and even AMD. At least the 4GB of PC2-6400 DDR2 memory don't hold it back at all.

Since the system is used for gaming, graphics are an important feature. Integrated graphics still are not really capable for PC gaming. The Gamer Power 512 comes with an NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT graphics card that helps improve the gaming potential of the system but only to a certain level. This is a fairly low end graphics card that will give the best performance at 1440x900 resolutions with moderate detail levels. At least iBUYPOWER included a sizable 480W power supply in the system that allows for a more powerful graphics card to be installed for those that would want more.

In terms of the storage, the Gamer Power 512 is fairly typical of what would be found in a budget system. The 500GB hard drive provides a decent amount of storage while the dual layer DVD burner an spin up to a faster 22x speed when burning single layer DVDs.

One area that might be a bit disappointing is the peripheral ports. The system only has six USB 2.0 ports which is fairly low for a desktop system these days. It also does not come with an eSATA port even though the case does feature one in the front I/O panel.

The net result of the Gamer Power 512 is that it is a decent low cost gaming system that has some upgrade potential but there are a few options that give a bit better value for the price.