18Oct My CyberpowerPC Experience Part 2
Oh, joy is upon us, dear readers! I FINALLY received my PC from CyberpowerPC. Read Part 1 HERE
I received the PC on the revised date that Cyberpower had promised (10/15/08). I arrived home to find a single HUGE white box, which looked quite beat-up. In case anyone was unsure of the contents of the box, the big “PERSONAL COMPUTER” stamped on the side was sure to clear up any confusion!
Beat-up big white box
Not to be deterred, I opened the box. I was shocked to see a 900 Watt Power Supply Box inside, since I ordered a 1000 watt power supply. Happily, I found that they had simply re-used an old 900 Watt power supply box to pack all of the component manuals and CD’s. Here are the contents, after removing the foam packing material from the top of the box:
What came in the box
Continuing to unpack the box, I found my rig underneath, in the original case box:
CPU packed in original Cosmos S case box
Along with the case, all of the other promised items came in the power supply case box (including the “freebies”):
Extras in the box, including power supply wiring
Then came the moment of truth: the unpacking. I thought the high-quality bag the case was stuffed in was quite well thought-out. It really protected the case from scratches, etc. As you can see in the picture, the cat decided to come over and “help”:
Computer In A Bag
Now, with the “help” of the cat, we are half in the bag. (Sorry, I could not resist!):
Half in the bag
After carefully unpacking the case, everything looked to be in fine order. The case was well-protected and I LOVE the handles on the Cosmos S. They make it very easy to move the case around:
The case, completely unwrapped
A side view of the case
Now, the next moment of truth: Let’s look at the innards and see about the “professional” wiring and the quality of the parts build. First, I spent time puzzling what the heck was this for:
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
It turns out the “LCD Poster” is attached to the Asus Striker II Extreme. It displays POST messages and then a custom banner or the time of day (while the computer is running). (Quite lame actually: time displays only a 24 hour clock, and the “custom banner” is 8 characters, w/ no spaces or special characters allowed!)
Finally, the big case opening!
Cable management and the innards
Actually, I was quite impressed: The professional wiring was, well, professional. All of the parts were shiny and seemed to be brand-spanking new. The overall effect was quite pleasing. I’d had a great deal of concern related to purchasing this system from CyberpowerPC. This view helped dispel some of those concerns.
Thus ends part 1 of my review. Check back later in the week for the second (and probably final part). I will tell you, things may have looked good, but looks can be (and generally are) DECEIVING!