Desktops

CyberPower Gamer Xtreme 5000: Built for Speed, and Wallet-Friendly

At a Glance

CyberPower Gamer Xtreme 5000
CyberPower's Gamer Xtreme 5000 delivers strong performance at a sub-$1500 price point.

CyberPower Gamer Xtreme 5000 performance desktop

CyberPower's latest gaming desktops are out--and they're impressively configured for systems at a sub-$1500 price point. For instance, the CyberPower Gamer Xtreme 5000, equipped with Intel's second-generation Core processors, manages to hold its own on our performance desktops chart, despite being less than half the price of most of its competition.

Our review model ($1450 as of January 24, 2011) sports a 3.4GHz Intel Core i7-2600K "Sandy Bridge" processor overclocked to 4.4GHz, as well as 4GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 graphics card. It also has a self-contained cooling system with four fans, a Blu-ray combo drive, and three USB 3.0 ports. The desktop doesn't have any bundled peripherals, but it does come with an accessory bag and a t-shirt...for what that's worth.

The Gamer Xtreme 5000 is nicely packed into a black metal case that features honeycomb mesh on the top, front, and sides, along with a funky triangular design. A small window on the left side of the desktop (where CyberPower has slapped its logo) allows you to see the blue-lit interior in action.

If you turn the case around, you'll see that the Gamer Xtreme 5000 carries all of the usual ports: a PS/2 mouse-keyboard combo port, eight USB ports, two USB 3.0 ports, two eSATA ports, digital optical audio and S/PDIF output ports, dual gigabit ethernet ports, and a FireWire port. You'll also find analog surround-sound audio jacks, along with the microphone and headphone jacks. The graphics card provides a pair of DVI ports, plus an HDMI port. On the front of the case are another pair of USB ports as well as one USB 3.0 port, an eSATA port, a multiformat card reader, and microphone and headphone jacks.

Opening up the Gamer Xtreme 5000's case is a treat: The interior is cleanly organized, with all of the cables neatly bundled in black mesh. Two slots are available for upgrading the RAM, and you get PCI Express slots (one x1, two x16) and two PCI slots for expansion. The chassis has room for five additional 3.5-inch bays and two additional 5.25-inch bays.

In WorldBench 6 tests, the Gamer Xtreme 5000 received a score of 175. That might seem a bit low, considering the presence of the Intel second-generation Core processor and its respectable overclock; the Micro Express MicroFlex 26B ($1700), in comparison, netted a score of 202 with a similarly overclocked processor. The key differences between the two systems: Micro Express opted for a speedy Western Digital Velociraptor drive and four times as much RAM (16GB). CyberPower's entry also sits behind the Origin Genesis Midtower (2011), which earned a score of 186. Unlike the $2000 Genesis Midtower, though, the Gamer Xtreme 5000 includes a Blu-ray combo drive.

As for games, the aptly named Gamer Xtreme 5000 delivers nicely on graphics. In our Unreal Tournament 3 tests, the system managed frame rates of 138 frames per second on high quality at a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels. This machine isn't top-of-the-line--it has only one Nvidia GPU, not three of them--but its performance will serve you well for quite some time.

Despite not being the cream of the crop, the CyberPower Gamer Xtreme 5000 delivers excellent performance for a fraction of the price of top-notch models. And upgrading will be a breeze with the machine's neatly organized, uncluttered interior.