iBUYPOWER Erebus GT Gaming System Review
Intro, Specs, and Features
So you’re in the market for a smoking fast system, and you have your heart set on a custom build. You can easily drop upwards of three (or four or five) grand on a completely tricked-out enthusiast-class rig that will leave your gamer friends standing in puddles of drool. If you’re on a stricter budget, you can also opt for something in the mainstream range that’s still pretty nice, yet costs closer to $1000-$1500; or, you can look for a sweet spot between the two, where shaking a little more out of the piggy bank gets you a system with all the performance you could ask for in a package that’s still guaranteed to elicit wolf whistles from your friends.
iBUYPOWER has a system for you it thinks hit the sweet spot for a high-end gaming PC, and it’s called the Erebus GT.
With the Erebus GT, iBUYPOWER set out to make a slightly smaller and less expensive line of systems to complement its Erebus custom gaming series, which is now renamed the Erebus XL series. There are actually three Erebus GTs in the new line, with configurations based on the AMD FX platform starting as low as $899, but the one iBUYPOWER sent us to test is an Intel Sandy Bridge-based version that costs $2499 (as configured).
Yes, that’s a lot of moola, but as you’ll see, you get a lot of bang for those bucks.
Monitor not included; not pictured: keyboard and mouse
iBUYPOWER started off with a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 motherboard and a liquid-cooled Intel Core i7-2700K, and then they overclocked the bejesus out of the CPU, jacking it all the way up to 4.6GHz. The overclock comes courtesy of iBUYPOWER’s PowerDrive Overclocking Service, which consists of the company’s own pros juicing up your system before it ships--a service that is already included in the sticker price. The best part is that because iBUYPOWER is the one doing the overclocking, it’s covered by your 3 years labor/1 year parts warranty.
Instead of going with a multi-card graphics setup, which would have inflated the price of the system and added clutter to the interior of the case, iBUYPOWER kept it simple and went with a lone top-of-the-line Radeon HD 7970, liquid-cooled for your pleasure.
The drive configuration is a good example of where a little extra cost pays off, as iBUYPOWER opted for a 120GB ADATA S510 SSD boot drive paired with a spacious 1TB Hitachi HDD that offers solid 7200RPM performance on its own. They cut no corners with the memory either, equipping the Erebus GT with 16GB (4x4GB) of Corsair DDR3-1600 RAM.
Other components include an LG Super Multi Blue Lightscribe BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter (12x), front panel card reader, integrated 7.1 surround sound, and an 850W Thermaltake TR2 RX power supply.
Lest you start thinking that this is a rig you can just build yourself for less, let’s have a look at the custom case and liquid cooling setup.
iBUYPOWER has a system for you it thinks hit the sweet spot for a high-end gaming PC, and it’s called the Erebus GT.
With the Erebus GT, iBUYPOWER set out to make a slightly smaller and less expensive line of systems to complement its Erebus custom gaming series, which is now renamed the Erebus XL series. There are actually three Erebus GTs in the new line, with configurations based on the AMD FX platform starting as low as $899, but the one iBUYPOWER sent us to test is an Intel Sandy Bridge-based version that costs $2499 (as configured).
Yes, that’s a lot of moola, but as you’ll see, you get a lot of bang for those bucks.
Monitor not included; not pictured: keyboard and mouse
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Model
CPU Memory Graphics Motherboard Storage Optical
Operating System Internet Front Panel Ports Rear Panel Ports Sound Power Supply Weight Keyboard / Mouse Dimensions Warranty Price |
Erebus GT Intel Core i7-2700K (Sandy Bridge) with water cooling 16GB DDR3-1600 (4x4GB) Corsair Vengeance HIS Radeon HD 7970 Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 ADATA SSD S510 120GB (6Gbps) Hitachi 1TB HDS721010DLE630 (7200RPM) LG Super Multi Blue Lightscribe BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter (12x) Windows 7 Home Premium x64 10/100/1000 Ethernet 2 x USB 2.0; 2 x USB 3.0; Memory card reader; headphone and mic 4 x USB 2.0; 2 x USB 3.0; 1 x FireWire; 1 x eSATA 3Gbps; GbE LAN DisplayPort, HDMI, optical S/PDIF, DVI-D, D-sub, PS/2; 6 x audio Integrated 7.1 surround sound 850W Thermaltake TR2 RX 65 lbs iBUYPOWER keyboard and mouse 22.5 x 24 x 9 inches (WxHxD) 3 years labor, 1 year parts $2,499 MSRP (as configured) |
Instead of going with a multi-card graphics setup, which would have inflated the price of the system and added clutter to the interior of the case, iBUYPOWER kept it simple and went with a lone top-of-the-line Radeon HD 7970, liquid-cooled for your pleasure.
;)
;)
;)
The drive configuration is a good example of where a little extra cost pays off, as iBUYPOWER opted for a 120GB ADATA S510 SSD boot drive paired with a spacious 1TB Hitachi HDD that offers solid 7200RPM performance on its own. They cut no corners with the memory either, equipping the Erebus GT with 16GB (4x4GB) of Corsair DDR3-1600 RAM.
Other components include an LG Super Multi Blue Lightscribe BD-ROM/DVD Rewriter (12x), front panel card reader, integrated 7.1 surround sound, and an 850W Thermaltake TR2 RX power supply.
Lest you start thinking that this is a rig you can just build yourself for less, let’s have a look at the custom case and liquid cooling setup.
