Tech Jesus reviews the Walmart gaming PC, how do you think it went? (Hint: it's really bad)

[Blademaster91]

2 hours ago, poochyena said:

Thought we were talking about the dtw1. This is what I ended up coming up with. ~$300 cheaper to build your own. Its overpriced, but I don't think it is crazy outrageous. Not much worse than any other pre-built.
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/poochyena/saved/gYJZRB

Some of the parts the dtw1 uses are worse than pre-built pc's,I think it's crazy overpriced because OEM's like Dell or HP use an 80 plus rated PSU, and have cases with front USB 3.0 ports.

[Taf the Ghost]

5 hours ago, manikyath said:

but those are notably better parts than wal-fart is using.. if that was the exact parts list i!'m sure steve would have been a whole lot more positive.

My point was I don't think Steve was hard enough on the PCs, though he might be saving the real rant for when they get the real PC in.

4 hours ago, Blademaster91 said:

Some of the parts the dtw1 uses are worse than pre-built pc's,I think it's crazy overpriced because OEM's like Dell or HP use an 80 plus rated PSU, and have cases with front USB 3.0 ports.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-gaming-desktops/new-alienware-aurora/spd/alienware-aurora-r8-desktop/dpcwscr803h?selectionState=eyJGUHJpY2UiOjIxMjkuOTksIklVUHJpY2UiOjIxMjkuOTksIk9DIjoiZHBjd3NjcjgwM2giLCJRdHkiOjEsIlByU3QiOiIiLCJNb2RzIjpbeyJJZCI6MTEsIk9wdHMiOlt7IklkIjoiRzFPMjBaNCJ9XX0seyJJZCI6Njc2LCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6IkdFUENRM1cifV19LHsiSWQiOjYsIk9wdHMiOlt7IklkIjoiR1U0RlpUTSJ9XX0seyJJZCI6OCwiT3B0cyI6W3siSWQiOiJHQjBDR09OIn1dfV19

 

30 USD more than the DTW3: better CPU, Mobo, PSU, clocks on the memory, GPU (GTX 2080), storage (NVMe boot drive), and full customer service.

 

All the WalMart SI needed to do was spend about 15USD more (10 on the PSU and 5 on the Motherboard) and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Dell & HP design the internals to meet a spec and then spend the least amount of money on making them look good as possible. The "Overpowered" company didn't even pull that feat off.

[williamcll]

Remember that unknowing parents will buy this desktop for their kids.

[CarlBar]

10 hours ago, demonix00 said:

I just have to wonder how many of these "overpowered" PCs will be functioning in a year or so time considering that they used a no name PSU with dubious certifications which is more then likely to go nuclear taking several components with it.

 

Yeah cheaping out on the PSU is pretty much my cardinal sin when it comes to a computer. You do not cheap out on that because if it fails replacing it may well end up amounting to a whole new PC, because once the magic blue smoke comes out thats it, you ain't getting it back in again.

[asus killer]

I just didnt agreed with the drama about getting the wrong sku. Come on that shit happens and they are replacing it.

The rest it should be expected when you go buy something to a store like that, a pc or anything really except grossery. 

[NineEyeRon]

What a sad story, a chance to open up the wonderful world of PCs and PC gaming to a wider audience and it missed the mark by a very long way.

 

This really could have been a good news story for our hobby, sadly it wasn’t.

[manikyath]

13 hours ago, Taf the Ghost said:

My point was I don't think Steve was hard enough on the PCs, though he might be saving the real rant for when they get the real PC in.

you better belive jesus is saving up for a resurrection of the topic.

 

(insert many more biblic references here)

[Yoinkerman]

Aside from the PSU it looked fine.  I get that gamersnexus is the new hot channel or whatever but it sure seems like in a lot of his videos he's critical for the sake of being critical

[Sfekke]

I think this was to be expected.

I'm most worried about that power supply, bottom of the barrel motherboard and absolutely tiny CPU cooler.

[Brooksie359]

On 11/25/2018 at 10:15 AM, poochyena said:

Well... at least it doesn't look nearly as tacky as alienware PCs do.

Its bad, but it doesn't seem like much of a rip-off to me. Like everyone else has pointed out, its only around $200 more than if you were to build it yourself.
Honestly though, its a regular 8700, so you don't need that much space for the fans to breathe anyways.

You have to compare apples to apples. If you compare it to other prebuilt from other brand you will see that there are much better options out there. 

[maartendc]

There are definitely better options out there!

 

Sadly, Joe Shmoe that walks into Walmart won't know the difference. They also won't think to check Youtube for reviews.

 

And at the end of the day for all intents and purposes, it will work. It is just not as good, and you are not getting the best value out of your money, compared to better pre-built or DIY builds. But it will work. It is easy to bash these systems from an enthusiast point of view, but Joe Shmoe won't care and will be none the wiser.

 

This goes for anything. I am sure that when I buy a used car, I am getting ripped off because I know nothing about cars. That is just the way life goes. If you are not an expert, you are getting ripped off sooner or later.

[CarlBar]

20 minutes ago, maartendc said:

There are definitely better options out there!

 

Sadly, Joe Shmoe that walks into Walmart won't know the difference. They also won't think to check Youtube for reviews.

 

And at the end of the day for all intents and purposes, it will work. It is just not as good, and you are not getting the best value out of your money, compared to better pre-built or DIY builds. But it will work. It is easy to bash these systems from an enthusiast point of view, but Joe Shmoe won't care and will be none the wiser.

 

This goes for anything. I am sure that when I buy a used car, I am getting ripped off because I know nothing about cars. That is just the way life goes. If you are not an expert, you are getting ripped off sooner or later.

 

Yes and no. He won't know the difference, but when the PSU blows down the line and potentially takes his data with it he's going to be pretty peeved and not forget it. Walmart is going to make short term sales, but if that PSU isn't a lot better than it looks it's going to give a lot of bad experiences to people preventing repeat customers.

[AHaskin14]

fantastic write up @Master Disaster

[mynameisjuan]

20 minutes ago, maartendc said:

It is just not as good

The 8700 and 1070 model will perform the same as any other prebuilt with the same hardware, I can almost guarantee it. 

 

22 minutes ago, maartendc said:

not getting the best value out of your money

Thats the problem. 

 

Overall its priced similarly to other pre-builts with the same specs, just shittier hardware. 

[maartendc]

1 minute ago, CarlBar said:

 

Yes and no. He won't know the difference, but when the PSU blows down the line and potentially takes his data with it he's going to be pretty peeved and not forget it. Walmart is going to make short term sales, but if that PSU isn't a lot better than it looks it's going to give a lot of bad experiences to people preventing repeat customers. 

This is true, however, I am sure Walmart will happily charge the same customer for the repairs in that case. Joe Shmoe will just chalk it up to "those damn computers always breaking" and won't realize he has been duped.

 

I do agree with you, it is a terrible business practice long term, and certainly could prevent people from buying Walmart computers in the future. But I don't know.. most consumers are used to the "planned obsolescence" and "disposable" mentality these days.. So they might not even care.

[maartendc]

1 minute ago, mynameisjuan said:

The 8700 and 1070 model will perform the same as any other prebuilt with the same hardware, I can almost guarantee it. 

 

Thats the problem. 

 

Overall its priced similarly to other pre-builts with the same specs, just shittier hardware. 

Well, tech Jesus has pointed out it is actually priced a good bit higher than similar pre-builts.

 

Yes, That is what I mean by "it will work": the hardware will perform roughly the same. But you are not getting good quality components in general, and the airflow sucks, etc. etc.

[dtaflorida]

5 hours ago, NIneEyeRon said:

What a sad story, a chance to open up the wonderful world of PCs and PC gaming to a wider audience and it missed the mark by a very long way.

 

This really could have been a good news story for our hobby, sadly it wasn’t.

 

Actually, it still will. That wider audience will just be plagued a bit earlier with problems and come rushing to the forums to find out what's wrong with their system. For ppl already here nothing of value with have been gained or lost... 

[Techstorm970]

Sounds like the Walmart gaming PC is a @Master Disaster!

...

...

I'll see myself out...

[manikyath]

On 11/25/2018 at 1:45 PM, Taf the Ghost said:

I saw the video when posted, but I think Steve was still underselling how expensive these are for parts, build and general quality. WalMart isn't selling these at a heavy relative discount.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$314.89 @ B&H
CPU Cooler	Noctua - NH-U9S 46.44 CFM CPU Cooler	$59.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B360 HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$84.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$97.99 @ Newegg Business
Storage	ADATA - Ultimate SU800 256 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$45.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$58.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Windforce OC Video Card	$339.99 @ Newegg
Case	Corsair - SPEC-OMEGA RGB ATX Mid Tower Case	$124.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$29.99 @ Newegg
Operating System	Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit	$124.79 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1332.46
	Mail-in rebates	-$50.00
	Total	$1282.46
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-25 07:40 EST-0500

 

While the same general "spec" as the DTW1, this is an across the board better build. (I tossed in a bit of an over-the-top RGB case just for good measure.)  An SI will easily get significant discounts on the MB, RAM, Storage, GPU, PSU and Case, even before buying at Wholesale rather than Retail.

 

These WalMart computers make the "Best Buy Specials" look top-tier in comparison. It's amazing when someone makes HP look like they're a premium brand.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($314.89 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC - Freezer 12 CPU Cooler  ($19.40 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - H310M A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($45.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Patriot - Signature Line 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Team - L5 LITE 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($32.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($58.50 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Windforce OC Video Card  ($329.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: BitFenix - Neos ATX Mid Tower Case  ($46.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake - 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($98.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1072.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-26 14:58 EST-0500

 

decided to spec it out "according to same quality".. i'm sure i missed a part.. i cant imagine i managed to slice off another 200 bucks.. dat juicy profit margin tho.. that's in the same profit range of puget's most high-end lineups.. i bet walmart doesnt give you a detailed thermal report for that margin.

[ZacoAttaco]

 This seems like one of those initiatives that Walmart support for a few years and discontinue. I doubt you'd be able to buy a PC from then in say 3 or 4 years. Especially with publicity like this from GN and Bitwit.

[Master Disaster]

2 hours ago, AHaskin14 said:

fantastic write up @Master Disaster

Not mine, all credit to Steve from GN

[CarlBar]

2 hours ago, maartendc said:

This is true, however, I am sure Walmart will happily charge the same customer for the repairs in that case. Joe Shmoe will just chalk it up to "those damn computers always breaking" and won't realize he has been duped.

 

I do agree with you, it is a terrible business practice long term, and certainly could prevent people from buying Walmart computers in the future. But I don't know.. most consumers are used to the "planned obsolescence" and "disposable" mentality these days.. So they might not even care.

 

Thing is walmart probably can't repair a fried HDD and the lost data that goes with it. Thats gone and it ain't coming back. Thats going to sting no matter how nice Walmart is about things.

[maartendc]

7 minutes ago, CarlBar said:

 

Thing is walmart probably can't repair a fried HDD and the lost data that goes with it. Thats gone and it ain't coming back. Thats going to sting no matter how nice Walmart is about things. 

Yeah, but my point is Joe Shmoe doesn't even know what a power supply is, so he will just say "Those darn computers are always breaking". He doesn't know that components come in ranges of quality. He just knows more Gigabytes is more better.

[CarlBar]

10 minutes ago, maartendc said:

Yeah, but my point is Joe Shmoe doesn't even know what a power supply is, so he will just say "Those darn computers are always breaking". He doesn't know that components come in ranges of quality. He just knows more Gigabytes is more better.

 

Sure but he doesn't expect to just suddenly lose all his data without being able to get it back when his system dies. He may not understand why he lost the data, but he's going to be mad that he did and he's going to remember that it was walmarts computer that lost his stuff.

[GDRRiley]

not a surprise, a major store want to get in on the money and make as much as it can not hoping they don't get lots of warranty claims.