{"video_id":"DdzwSM3HAuA","title":"How BAD is a BestBuy Gaming PC?","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2020-05-05T14:53:45Z","duration_s":569,"segments":[{"start_s":0.4,"end_s":5.92,"text":"4 years ago, we went to the local Best","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":3.439,"end_s":10.08,"text":"Buy and bought whatever gaming PC the rep recommended in our price point. We","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.08,"end_s":14.719,"text":"were expecting disappointment, but ended up pleasantly surprised by how","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.759,"end_s":18.48,"text":"competitive their offering was. But it's a new decade, and there's been plenty of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":16.72,"end_s":21.76,"text":"time for them to bung things up since then. So, we decided to take another","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.16,"end_s":27.519,"text":"swing at it and see what your hard-earned dollars can get you from the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.519,"end_s":29.359,"text":"folks over at Best Buy. iixits mahi","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":27.519,"end_s":32.48,"text":"driver kit includes their quarterinch aluminum screwdriver handle with a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":30.8,"end_s":37.15,"text":"magnetic bit socket nurled grip and swivel top and 48 driver bits. Check it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":35.04,"end_s":45.2,"text":"out at the link below.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":45.2,"end_s":50.8,"text":"Now, to keep our test somewhat controlled and in the spirit of our last","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":48.879,"end_s":55.92,"text":"attempt, we needed to send someone with limited gaming PC knowledge and who","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":53.44,"end_s":60.96,"text":"wouldn't be immediately recognized. So, we enlisted special agent Janice to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":58.399,"end_s":65.84,"text":"crack the case. Buy the case. A PC case that is with a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":63.68,"end_s":70.08,"text":"with there's a PC. Anyways, you get the point. Her mission was simple. Buy a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":68.0,"end_s":75.439,"text":"system for her imaginary little brother with a budget of around $1,000. And in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":73.2,"end_s":79.759,"text":"case she runs into a very inexperienced Best Buy staffer, to make sure the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.439,"end_s":84.08,"text":"system has a graphics card at the very least. You might recall that last time","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":81.68,"end_s":88.88,"text":"around without Ivon's quick thinking, we would have been left with a gaming PC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":86.64,"end_s":92.72,"text":"that didn't have a graphics card, which isn't much use to anyone. Upon arrival","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.04,"end_s":96.799,"text":"to our local Best Buy's computer section, Special Agent Janice was pretty","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.04,"end_s":100.24,"text":"much immediately helped by a pretty knowledgeable staff member. He walked","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":98.56,"end_s":104.159,"text":"her through, in layman's terms, the performance benefits of having an SSD","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":102.159,"end_s":109.119,"text":"over a standard hard drive and mentioned that her little brother might actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.159,"end_s":113.119,"text":"prefer an i7 over an i5, but that it wouldn't necessarily make a huge","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.56,"end_s":118.159,"text":"difference just for gaming. The sales associate also made sure to clarify any","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":115.36,"end_s":123.6,"text":"gaming PC he would try to sell her had a GPU and was in stock. Very important.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.0,"end_s":127.68,"text":"Overall, the experience was actually really solid and a huge step up from","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":125.6,"end_s":132.0,"text":"last time where we actually had to go to three different stores just to buy the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":129.679,"end_s":137.92,"text":"system the first store recommended and reserved for us. GG, Best Buy. But your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.2,"end_s":143.2,"text":"mileage may vary. So, what did we end up with? I'll be honest, when I first saw","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.0,"end_s":145.52,"text":"the box, my first thought was, \"Oh no,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":143.2,"end_s":151.68,"text":"we ended up with an Optiplex.\" But after cracking it open, things started to look","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.44,"end_s":154.08,"text":"up. I present to you the Dell G55090","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":151.68,"end_s":159.28,"text":"gaming desktop, which we spent a cool $929","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":155.68,"end_s":161.2,"text":"on before tax. Might I say, she sure is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":159.28,"end_s":165.12,"text":"a be. Just like this shirt from ltdstore.com.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.04,"end_s":170.0,"text":"Jokes aside, what really matters is what's inside in life and in PCs. In the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":167.92,"end_s":175.84,"text":"configuration we bought, the G5 features an Intel Core i5 9400 6core processor","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":173.28,"end_s":182.0,"text":"clocked at a cool 2.9 GHz with a turbo of 4.1. It's paired with a single stick","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":178.08,"end_s":184.0,"text":"of 8 GB 2666 MHz DDR4, meaning you're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.0,"end_s":188.72,"text":"running in single channel mode, but at least the proprietary AF H370 Dell","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":187.12,"end_s":192.56,"text":"motherboard in this system has four slots, so that's an easy enough upgrade","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":190.8,"end_s":197.44,"text":"if your budget allows. The rest of the board is pretty lackluster with no video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":195.2,"end_s":203.36,"text":"outputs despite our CPU being equipped with integrated graphics. On the back","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":199.44,"end_s":205.12,"text":"are four USB 3.1 and two USB 2.0 ports,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":203.36,"end_s":209.68,"text":"gigabit Ethernet, and your standard audio jacks. Up front is a pretty","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":207.28,"end_s":215.599,"text":"similar story. Back inside, we find a total of three PCIe slots, an integrated","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.48,"end_s":218.08,"text":"Aquantia AC Wi-Fi card, precisely enough","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":215.599,"end_s":223.28,"text":"SATA ports to fill this specific case, and a single M.2 slot. I also noticed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":220.799,"end_s":228.08,"text":"the board doesn't have a 24 pin ATX power connector. They instead opted for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":225.36,"end_s":232.959,"text":"a proprietary six pin connection with SATA power coming from a header on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":230.08,"end_s":237.2,"text":"board. So, good luck upgrading the power supply without also getting an entirely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":235.04,"end_s":241.2,"text":"new case and motherboard. Thanks for the unnecessary engineering, Dell. Now,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":239.28,"end_s":247.04,"text":"let's get back to that M.2 slot for a sec because in it is one of the cutest","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":243.92,"end_s":250.879,"text":"little NVMe drives I've ever seen. This","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":247.04,"end_s":254.4,"text":"little nugget is a DRAMless 512 GB","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":250.879,"end_s":257.04,"text":"Toshiba TLC NVMe SSD. Normally, we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":254.4,"end_s":261.44,"text":"recommend against DRAMless SSDs as both performance and write endurance or the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":259.28,"end_s":266.4,"text":"longevity of the drive can be a lot worse without a cache. You can check out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":263.759,"end_s":270.56,"text":"this tech wiki for more info on that. However, as Lionus mentioned in a recent","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":268.479,"end_s":275.52,"text":"video, this SSD makes use of a cool technique called host memory buffer, or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":272.96,"end_s":279.04,"text":"HMBB for short, allowing it to ask the computer's processor if some of the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":277.28,"end_s":283.6,"text":"regular system memory can be used as a cache instead, which for general","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":281.28,"end_s":288.08,"text":"consumer use does help mitigate these issues. As for the graphics card, our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":285.919,"end_s":293.68,"text":"configuration comes equipped with an OEM single fan NVIDIA GTX 1660. So, nothing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":291.36,"end_s":297.52,"text":"special there except you do at least get the new Turing Envank encoding chip on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.919,"end_s":301.28,"text":"this card. So, this rig should actually be pretty solid for streaming.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.04,"end_s":305.759,"text":"Bafflingly though, the case is limited to a single 80mm exhaust fan for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":303.759,"end_s":310.16,"text":"cooling. I mean, does a bigger punch out really cost that much more, guys? And","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":308.479,"end_s":315.36,"text":"unsurprisingly, it's fitted with a basement tier 360 W Dell power supply.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":313.199,"end_s":319.36,"text":"So, as for performance, it actually seems like it should be okay. We've got","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.28,"end_s":323.68,"text":"six decently clocked Intel cores, a modern NVIDIA GPU, and a pretty solid","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":321.44,"end_s":327.919,"text":"SSD. I would have liked to see 16 gigs of dual channel RAM in 2020, and this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.24,"end_s":333.199,"text":"tier of power supply wouldn't be acceptable in a custom rig. But this is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":330.96,"end_s":339.199,"text":"a Dell pre-built, and you get what you pay for, or do you? To find out, we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":337.12,"end_s":344.24,"text":"fired up Amazon to see if we could build the same thing for less money. Specking","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":342.16,"end_s":348.88,"text":"everything as close as we could while still including Windows 10 Home Edition,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.4,"end_s":352.479,"text":"a crappy keyboard and mouse, AC Wi-Fi, and the labor to have someone like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":350.56,"end_s":356.4,"text":"MicroEnter build it for you. Wow. It turns out you would end up spending","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":353.68,"end_s":360.32,"text":"nearly $100 more than Best Buy's price for the G5. Now, you do end up with some","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":358.72,"end_s":364.88,"text":"creature comforts, like easier upgradability thanks to non-proprietary","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":362.4,"end_s":369.759,"text":"parts, a better power supply, and more SATA connections, but it's still pretty","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":367.28,"end_s":373.919,"text":"dang hard to be competitive with OEMs on pre-built systems due to the cost","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":371.84,"end_s":377.84,"text":"benefit they have thanks to bulk part ordering, as well as the vastly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":376.08,"end_s":382.319,"text":"discounted Windows pricing Microsoft offers them. But we don't have to play","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":379.44,"end_s":387.039,"text":"by their rules, do we? Just like a Mac is often a good deal if you compare it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":384.639,"end_s":392.639,"text":"to exactly the same hardware, but a bad deal if you get a bit more creative. We","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":389.52,"end_s":395.44,"text":"think we can beat this DIY style kung","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":392.639,"end_s":398.639,"text":"fu. Let's assume you're an avid LT viewer. You can build a machine for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":397.12,"end_s":402.4,"text":"yourself, and you don't need to add another crappy keyboard and mouse to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":400.4,"end_s":407.84,"text":"pile. Now that we have the flexibility to choose whatever parts we want, a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":404.8,"end_s":410.16,"text":"Ryzen 3600 is a lot better value with a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":407.84,"end_s":414.4,"text":"lower price tag and performance that should be slightly better in virtually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.0,"end_s":420.479,"text":"every workload thanks to its six extra threads, better IPC, and higher boost","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":417.28,"end_s":422.24,"text":"clock. It pairs nicely to an ASRock B450","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":420.479,"end_s":427.599,"text":"motherboard. And with the money you save building it yourself, 16 gigs of 3200","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":425.039,"end_s":432.4,"text":"MHz DDR4 fits wonderfully into the budget along with an 80 plus bronze 450","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":430.4,"end_s":437.84,"text":"W power supply. Then for the cream cheese icing on top, we can spend just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":434.8,"end_s":440.72,"text":"$80 more than you would on the GTX 1660","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":437.84,"end_s":447.28,"text":"and jump up to a full fat 2060 KO from AVGA, which should give us vastly better","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":443.68,"end_s":449.599,"text":"performance. But does it?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":447.28,"end_s":453.68,"text":"Yes, of course it does. Computers aren't magic, and assuming no egregious","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":451.84,"end_s":459.28,"text":"configuration errors, they behave more or less as the sum of their parts. So,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":456.08,"end_s":461.199,"text":"at 1080p medium settings using DirectX12","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":459.28,"end_s":466.4,"text":"in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, frame rates get a big old bump, nearly 34%","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":464.16,"end_s":472.16,"text":"higher than our Best Buy special. Both GTA 5 and CS:GO show even more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":468.88,"end_s":474.319,"text":"impressive gains with 43 and 44% higher","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":472.16,"end_s":478.479,"text":"frame rates, respectively. Rendering in Blender, while not as huge of an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":476.24,"end_s":483.68,"text":"improvement, was still very noticeable with the BMW Blender test finishing 25%","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":481.36,"end_s":489.68,"text":"faster. And in the seven-zip compression benchmark, the 3600 absolutely wipes the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":486.639,"end_s":492.08,"text":"floor with the more expensive i5 9400","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":489.68,"end_s":497.12,"text":"from our pre-built thanks to the six extra threads. So, conclusion time. If","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":494.879,"end_s":502.319,"text":"you're in the market for a pre-built, honestly, Best Buy has proven again to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":500.08,"end_s":505.36,"text":"not actually be a terrible choice. You may still be able to find a slightly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":503.919,"end_s":509.599,"text":"better deal from one of the system integrators out there who don't have the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":507.12,"end_s":513.36,"text":"same retail overhead as Best Buy. But before you do, make sure you check out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":511.52,"end_s":517.519,"text":"our Secret Shopper series if you want to see an in-depth investigation on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":515.36,"end_s":521.44,"text":"entire purchasing experience of a bunch of major SI. Oh, and get subscribed so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":519.919,"end_s":528.08,"text":"you don't miss out on future videos like the very different unlimited budget","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":523.68,"end_s":529.279,"text":"gaming PC. Sounds pretty cool, huh?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":528.08,"end_s":534.56,"text":"This video is brought to you by drop.com. The Massdrop and Sennheiser PC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":532.08,"end_s":538.48,"text":"37X gaming headset features angled drivers and an openback design with the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":536.88,"end_s":544.08,"text":"drivers coming from the same family as the HD 598 and HD 600 series headphones.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":542.16,"end_s":547.279,"text":"They offer better stereo imaging and location accuracy. They come with a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":545.92,"end_s":551.519,"text":"noise cancelling microphone. They've sold over 40,000 of these babies and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":549.68,"end_s":555.2,"text":"40,000 people can't be wrong. They can, but not about this actually. And new","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":553.44,"end_s":559.04,"text":"users who sign up on the website will get $20 off their purchase if it's over","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":557.12,"end_s":562.64,"text":"50 bucks. So go check them out at the link below. It's drop.com. Used to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":560.8,"end_s":569.76,"text":"massdrop now it's drop.com. Don't worry about it. Minor difference. Well, that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":565.279,"end_s":569.76,"text":"was fun. See you later, I guess.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"4 years ago, we went to the local Best Buy and bought whatever gaming PC the rep recommended in our price point. We were expecting disappointment, but ended up pleasantly surprised by how competitive their offering was. But it's a new decade, and there's been plenty of time for them to bung things up since then. So, we decided to take another swing at it and see what your hard-earned dollars can get you from the folks over at Best Buy. iixits mahi driver kit includes their quarterinch aluminum screwdriver handle with a magnetic bit socket nurled grip and swivel top and 48 driver bits. Check it out at the link below. Now, to keep our test somewhat controlled and in the spirit of our last attempt, we needed to send someone with limited gaming PC knowledge and who wouldn't be immediately recognized. So, we enlisted special agent Janice to crack the case. Buy the case. A PC case that is with a with there's a PC. Anyways, you get the point. Her mission was simple. Buy a system for her imaginary little brother with a budget of around $1,000. And in case she runs into a very inexperienced Best Buy staffer, to make sure the system has a graphics card at the very least. You might recall that last time around without Ivon's quick thinking, we would have been left with a gaming PC that didn't have a graphics card, which isn't much use to anyone. Upon arrival to our local Best Buy's computer section, Special Agent Janice was pretty much immediately helped by a pretty knowledgeable staff member. He walked her through, in layman's terms, the performance benefits of having an SSD over a standard hard drive and mentioned that her little brother might actually prefer an i7 over an i5, but that it wouldn't necessarily make a huge difference just for gaming. The sales associate also made sure to clarify any gaming PC he would try to sell her had a GPU and was in stock. Very important. Overall, the experience was actually really solid and a huge step up from last time where we actually had to go to three different stores just to buy the system the first store recommended and reserved for us. GG, Best Buy. But your mileage may vary. So, what did we end up with? I'll be honest, when I first saw the box, my first thought was, \"Oh no, we ended up with an Optiplex.\" But after cracking it open, things started to look up. I present to you the Dell G55090 gaming desktop, which we spent a cool $929 on before tax. Might I say, she sure is a be. Just like this shirt from ltdstore.com. Jokes aside, what really matters is what's inside in life and in PCs. In the configuration we bought, the G5 features an Intel Core i5 9400 6core processor clocked at a cool 2.9 GHz with a turbo of 4.1. It's paired with a single stick of 8 GB 2666 MHz DDR4, meaning you're running in single channel mode, but at least the proprietary AF H370 Dell motherboard in this system has four slots, so that's an easy enough upgrade if your budget allows. The rest of the board is pretty lackluster with no video outputs despite our CPU being equipped with integrated graphics. On the back are four USB 3.1 and two USB 2.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, and your standard audio jacks. Up front is a pretty similar story. Back inside, we find a total of three PCIe slots, an integrated Aquantia AC Wi-Fi card, precisely enough SATA ports to fill this specific case, and a single M.2 slot. I also noticed the board doesn't have a 24 pin ATX power connector. They instead opted for a proprietary six pin connection with SATA power coming from a header on the board. So, good luck upgrading the power supply without also getting an entirely new case and motherboard. Thanks for the unnecessary engineering, Dell. Now, let's get back to that M.2 slot for a sec because in it is one of the cutest little NVMe drives I've ever seen. This little nugget is a DRAMless 512 GB Toshiba TLC NVMe SSD. Normally, we recommend against DRAMless SSDs as both performance and write endurance or the longevity of the drive can be a lot worse without a cache. You can check out this tech wiki for more info on that. However, as Lionus mentioned in a recent video, this SSD makes use of a cool technique called host memory buffer, or HMBB for short, allowing it to ask the computer's processor if some of the regular system memory can be used as a cache instead, which for general consumer use does help mitigate these issues. As for the graphics card, our configuration comes equipped with an OEM single fan NVIDIA GTX 1660. So, nothing special there except you do at least get the new Turing Envank encoding chip on this card. So, this rig should actually be pretty solid for streaming. Bafflingly though, the case is limited to a single 80mm exhaust fan for cooling. I mean, does a bigger punch out really cost that much more, guys? And unsurprisingly, it's fitted with a basement tier 360 W Dell power supply. So, as for performance, it actually seems like it should be okay. We've got six decently clocked Intel cores, a modern NVIDIA GPU, and a pretty solid SSD. I would have liked to see 16 gigs of dual channel RAM in 2020, and this tier of power supply wouldn't be acceptable in a custom rig. But this is a Dell pre-built, and you get what you pay for, or do you? To find out, we fired up Amazon to see if we could build the same thing for less money. Specking everything as close as we could while still including Windows 10 Home Edition, a crappy keyboard and mouse, AC Wi-Fi, and the labor to have someone like MicroEnter build it for you. Wow. It turns out you would end up spending nearly $100 more than Best Buy's price for the G5. Now, you do end up with some creature comforts, like easier upgradability thanks to non-proprietary parts, a better power supply, and more SATA connections, but it's still pretty dang hard to be competitive with OEMs on pre-built systems due to the cost benefit they have thanks to bulk part ordering, as well as the vastly discounted Windows pricing Microsoft offers them. But we don't have to play by their rules, do we? Just like a Mac is often a good deal if you compare it to exactly the same hardware, but a bad deal if you get a bit more creative. We think we can beat this DIY style kung fu. Let's assume you're an avid LT viewer. You can build a machine for yourself, and you don't need to add another crappy keyboard and mouse to the pile. Now that we have the flexibility to choose whatever parts we want, a Ryzen 3600 is a lot better value with a lower price tag and performance that should be slightly better in virtually every workload thanks to its six extra threads, better IPC, and higher boost clock. It pairs nicely to an ASRock B450 motherboard. And with the money you save building it yourself, 16 gigs of 3200 MHz DDR4 fits wonderfully into the budget along with an 80 plus bronze 450 W power supply. Then for the cream cheese icing on top, we can spend just $80 more than you would on the GTX 1660 and jump up to a full fat 2060 KO from AVGA, which should give us vastly better performance. But does it? Yes, of course it does. Computers aren't magic, and assuming no egregious configuration errors, they behave more or less as the sum of their parts. So, at 1080p medium settings using DirectX12 in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, frame rates get a big old bump, nearly 34% higher than our Best Buy special. Both GTA 5 and CS:GO show even more impressive gains with 43 and 44% higher frame rates, respectively. Rendering in Blender, while not as huge of an improvement, was still very noticeable with the BMW Blender test finishing 25% faster. And in the seven-zip compression benchmark, the 3600 absolutely wipes the floor with the more expensive i5 9400 from our pre-built thanks to the six extra threads. So, conclusion time. If you're in the market for a pre-built, honestly, Best Buy has proven again to not actually be a terrible choice. You may still be able to find a slightly better deal from one of the system integrators out there who don't have the same retail overhead as Best Buy. But before you do, make sure you check out our Secret Shopper series if you want to see an in-depth investigation on the entire purchasing experience of a bunch of major SI. Oh, and get subscribed so you don't miss out on future videos like the very different unlimited budget gaming PC. Sounds pretty cool, huh? This video is brought to you by drop.com. The Massdrop and Sennheiser PC 37X gaming headset features angled drivers and an openback design with the drivers coming from the same family as the HD 598 and HD 600 series headphones. They offer better stereo imaging and location accuracy. They come with a noise cancelling microphone. They've sold over 40,000 of these babies and 40,000 people can't be wrong. They can, but not about this actually. And new users who sign up on the website will get $20 off their purchase if it's over 50 bucks. So go check them out at the link below. It's drop.com. Used to be massdrop now it's drop.com. Don't worry about it. Minor difference. Well, that was fun. See you later, I guess."}