CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA883 Desktop Gaming PC Review – Looks Nice, But Is Older Than You’d Think

CyberpowerPC have been offering prebuilt gaming PCs for years.  In this review of the entry-level Gamer Ultra GUA883 model, we’ll take a closer look at what you get, as well as what kind of performance you can expect.

Name: CyberpowerPC Gaming Ultra GUA883 Desktop Gaming PC
Date First Available: June 2018 (From Amazon)
Category: Gaming Computer
Price: 

 from Amazon

CyberpowerPC GUA883 Desktop Gaming PC Review

CyberpowerPC’s Gamer Ultra GUA883 is a budget gaming complete PC package that includes a mouse, keyboard and Windows 10 operating system.

This is clearly marketed at those looking for an entry-level gaming computer that also looks the part – and it certainly does, with its sleek clean front panel and tempered glass side panel lit with LED fans that allow you to see all the hardware inside.

CyberpowerPC GUA883 Review
5/10

PCBA's Rating

While the overall price is on point for an entry-level gaming computer, unfortunately, what you don’t get with the GUA883 is performance value for money. The hardware is old and underperforms compared to modern components. While it is still capable of gaming, this PC definitely looks a lot more beastly than it actually will perform.

 
⊕ Great looking case
⊕ Complete package includes keyboard, mouse and OS
⊕ Ready to play out-of-the-box
⊖ Old hardware which doesn’t perform that great
⊖ Possible low-quality PSU
⊖ May struggle to run newer games

The older hardware can handle most games to some capacity, but you may have to use lower screen resolutions and keep gameplay settings to low/medium in order to get decent framerates.

 

GFX

Radeon R7 240 2GB

CPU

AMD FX-6300 Six core

RAM

16GB DDR3

STORAGE

1TB HDD

  • Windows 10 Home
  • Wi-Fi Adapter inlcuded
  • Comes with keyboard & mouse
  • 1 year warranty
  • Free lifetime tech support
  • Tempered glass case side panel
  • Read more >>

    Introduction

    This GUA883 is the latest offering in CyberpowerPC’s entry-level machines, with the hardware being nearly identical to the GUA882 which we’ve previously reviewed. The main difference is that the GUA883 has more RAM, a different computer case and inbuilt wi-fi (while the GUA882 instead has an optical drive).

    The graphics card and processor used in these machines are older hardware that were released around 2012/2013, so it most likely won’t handle newer games that well.

    If you’re wanting to get the best performance per dollar spent, this is not the best option – for the same amount of money, a DIY build or alternatively a standard prebuilt computer which has newer hardware will probably out-perform the GUA883 (despite not looking the part or being marketed as a gaming PC).

    Contents (Click to View Contents)

    Pros

    • Great looking case with LED lit fans
    • Read-to-play package includes keyboard and mouse
    • Includes Windows 10 operating system
    • 1 year warranty and free lifetime technical support

    Cons

    • Old models of hardware
    • CPU and graphics card performance aren’t great
    • Poor performing graphics card
    • May have a low-quality PSU
    • CyberpowerPC seem to vary some hardware components, so you don’t know exactly what you’re getting
    • No optical drive

    Who Is It For?

    The GUA883 is marketed as a ‘gaming computer’ and it certainly looks the part too. However, the catch is that what you’re really buying is older hardware that just doesn’t perform that well compared to more recent hardware that is available.

    If you’re not too bothered by gaming performance and do happen to prefer the look of the GUA883, then it may be a fit for you. Just be aware that the hardware is not the best and it may struggle to play newer games.

    Who Isn’t It For?

    If you want a computer that can play the latest games and also has great gaming performance, then we’d honestly have to recommend looking at something other than the GUA883.

    There are plenty of options that will give you better performance for the money spent, but the only catch is that they may not look as good.

    Truth be told, some of the latest prebuilt ‘general purpose’ desktop computers which have newer hardware in them will give you better gaming performance than this CyberpowerPC build, so for those who value performance over looks, these are a better choice.

    What You Get

    Hardware

    Let’s take a look at the hardware that makes up the GUA883.

    Hardware Summary
    GFX R7 240 2GB
    CPU AMD FX-6300
    RAM 16GB DDR3
    Storage 1TB Hard Drive
    MBU AMD 760G Chipset
    PSU Unspecified

    Processor (CPU)

    CyberpowerPC have used an AMD FX 6300 processor in this computer. It’s a six-core 3.5GHz processor with overclocking ability up to 4.82GHz. While that all sounds quite impressive on paper, it’s worth noting that this CPU was first released in 2012 – making it over 5 years old at the time of writing.

    While this processor is not ‘bad’ or a poor performer, the issue is more that it’s not great compared to other options that are available currently.

    This also means that it may struggle to meet the demands of newer games and more demanding software that is more common these days. It will need to be upgraded sooner in order to keep up with newer software releases.

    Graphics Card (GFX)

    In the GUA883 you get an AMD Radeon R7 240 graphics card with 2GB of integrated memory. Similar to the CPU, this card is an example of older hardware. The release date for the R7 240 was around September 2013, and it was an entry-level graphics card at that time.

    While you can still buy these cards currently, we just can’t bring ourselves to recommend it, as you can get much better newer options.

    With this card you’ll probably only be able to play games on low and medium settings at best, and on a maximum resolution of 720p in order to get decent framerates.

    It is unlikely that it will be able to handle newer game titles or higher resolutions like 1080p – if you tried this, you could expect the frame rates will drop right down as the limits of the card are reached.

    The video below shows the R7 240 playing some modern gaming titles, so you can get an idea of what to expect:

    Surprisingly, the R7 240 actually can’t match the performance from the integrated graphics component on some newer CPUs. This is just one example where newer hardware trumps old, but it can be all too easy to assume that just because it has a dedicated graphics card that the GUA883 has an edge over prebuilt PCs that don’t have a dedicated graphics card.  Especially when it comes to newer prebuilt offerings, this would be an incorrect assumption.

    The annoying thing is that you can easily get a much newer and better performing card (like the GT 1030 which was released in 2017) for only a little more in price, but when it comes to pre-built computers, it’s unfortunate that you don’t get to pick your own parts.

    Motherboard (MBU)

    Its common for prebuilt computers not to specify what kind of motherboard you’ll be getting and that is true for the GUA883 as well.

    For this computer, a specific brand/manufacturer for the motherboard is not given, which means you won’t know the finer details of what you’re getting. Realistically, for most beginners who are just after an entry-level gaming computer, this probably won’t matter.

    Motherboard selection only really becomes important for more advanced enthusiasts who might be wanting to upgrade internal components or dabble into things like overclocking in the future and that’s not really the kind of person that the GUA883 is aimed at.

    Memory (RAM)

    The GUA883 comes with 16GB of DDR3 memory; which is an ample amount to handle pretty much any game out at the moment, so you shouldn’t have to worry about bottlenecks due to RAM (the older graphics card in this computer will be the limiting factor in this computer’s gaming ability).

    The specific RAM brand and model is not listed as CyberpowerPC are known to vary brands of parts depending on availability at the time that the computer is built.

    One thing that is worth noting is that because of the older processor used in this computer, the RAM type is DDR3 (current newer computer builds typically use the next generation of RAM which is DDR4 – it has up to twice the transfer speed and uses slightly less power).

    DDR3 and DDR4 types of memory are not interchangeable; the motherboard and CPU that is used in the GUA883 are only compatible with DDR3 RAM which means you won’t be able to upgrade to DDR4 RAM in the future without making some massive hardware changes.  Again, this shouldn’t bother most beginners, but it pays to be aware that you are getting older hardware.

    Storage

    You get a large 1TB 7200rpm hard disk drive in the GUA883, which equates to plenty of storage space for games, videos and other files.  7200rpm is a pretty standard specification for hard drive speeds and there’s no issue with this from our point of view – the faster the RPM, the faster the drive will run and operate.

    The exact brand and model of the hard drive is not specified, but you’re assured of a 1TB, 7200 rpm drive though.

    Power Supply (PSU)

    CyberpowerPC don’t specify the brand or size of power supply that comes in the GUA883 but other users have reported between 400 – 500W capacity and it’s nearly certain that the brand may vary (depending on parts availability).

    It’s important to be aware that many pre-built computers can come with low-quality power supplies that can be unreliable. If left unchecked, a low quality PSU can potentially cause damage or shorten the life of other hardware components in your computer (especially if the power supply unit happens to fail catastrophically).

    We always recommend checking out the brand of power supply that comes with your computer and doing your own research to determine if you think it’s worth replacing or not.  If you are wanting to purchase a replacement unit, we like to recommend EVGA power supplies as these usually come with several years of warranty and are reputable.

    You might also want to look at getting some surge protection for your computer to protect against other power issues.

    Other Inclusions

    WIFI and Connectivity
    ‘Built-in’ 802.11AC Wi-Fi is provided, most likely through a wifi adapter inside the case.

    Gigabit Ethernet (LAN) wired connection.

    Operating System 
    Windows 10 Home 64-bit comes pre-installed.

    Case

    The most appealing part on this PC in our opinion is the case – CyberpowerPC’s own ONYXIA mid-tower gaming chassis. It has a tempered glass front and side panel, giving it a sleek finish and a great viewing panel to see the hardware inside the GUA883.

    USB ports are conveniently accessible from the top front of the case, however, it’s worth noting that there is no included optical CD/DVD drive with the GUA883. It also doesn’t look like the front panel comes off or opens easily, so it may be a little difficult to install one.

    • Height: 18.7 in (475 mm)
    • Width: 8.2 in (208 mm)
    • Depth: 18.5 in (470 mm)

    Peripherals/Accessories
    At the time of writing this review, the GUA883 package comes complete with a CyberpowerPCbranded gaming keyboard and mouse which have special features including 7 color LED lighting.

    Support/Warranties
    CyberpowerPC offer a 1 year warranty on parts and labor, and this computer also comes with free lifetime technical support.

    Performance

    Let’s take a look at the performance and benchmarks of the CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA883.

    Usage

    The Gamer Ultra GUA883 by CyberpowerPC is marketed as, and looks very much like, a gaming computer – but it uses older hardware. Realistically, the R7 240 graphics card is quite crappy by current standards.

    Despite the not-so-powerful graphics card, it’s still an entry-level prebuilt gaming computer which can handle some games, but users should be aware that more demanding titles will have to be enjoyed at lower resolutions and low or medium gameplay settings in order to get decent framerates.

    If you plan on using this computer for more demanding games and/or newer game titles, then you might find your gameplay limited by the older processor and graphics card in the GUA883, so major upgrades might be necessary at this point.

    Where it excels:
    • Playing older and less demanding game titles (circa 2013 or prior)
    • Everyday computing tasks such as web browsing, watching videos, and running office applications
    • Good amount of storage
    • Looks great
    It’s also capable of:
    • Playing some recently released game titles on 780p or lower resolution (low to medium settings)
    • May be able to play games in full HD resolution with low game quality settings
    • Streaming games
    May struggle with:
    • Running demanding programs (e.g. photoshop, CAD programs etc.)
    • Heavy gaming/tasking – heat management within the case may become an issue
    • High-resolution gaming (e.g. 1080p/Full HD, 4K) on medium or high settings – it’s unlikely the graphics card will be able to handle this

    <Click here to view CyberpowerPC GUA883 Reviews on Amazon>

    What Games Can It Play?

    The GUA883 should be able to handle entry level games as well as more demanding titles. However, you might need to limit your playing resolution to HD (high definition) only instead of Full HD, and also use low gameplay settings.  With this strategy, you should be able to play game titles such as:

    Assasin’s Creed Syndicate, Arma 3, Black Desert Online, Battlefield 1,   Battlefield 4, Beam.ng drive, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3, Counter-Strike: GO, CIV V, Crysis, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, Darwin Project, Deadpool,  Destiny 2, Dota 2,  Dead or Alive 5, Dying Light, Far Cry 4, Dead Rising 3, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided,  Diablo, Dragon Ball Fighter Z, Dying Light, Fallout 4, Far Cry Primal, Final Fantasy XIV, For Honor, Fortnite,  Fortnite Battle Royale, Forza Horizon 3, FIFA 18 Ultimate Team, Forza Motorsport 6, Gears of War 4, GTA V, H1Z1, Homefront: The Revolution, Killing Floor 2,League of Legends,  Mirror’s Edge Catalyst,  Mad Max, Mass Effect: Andromeda,  Metal Gear Solid V, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat X, Naruto Shippuden, NBA 2K17, Need For Speed, Need for Speed Payback, Outlast, Outlast 2, Paladins Titanfall 2,  Rainbow Six Seige, Resident Evil Revelations 2,  Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Rust, Rocket league,  Skyrim, Starcraft, Star Wars Battlefront II,  Spintires,  Street Fighter V, Skyrim: Elder Scrolls V,  The Crew: Wild Run, The Evil Within 2, The Sims 4, Trials of the Blood Dragon, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Unravel, Unreal Tournament, World Of Warcraft, and more.

    A good way to get an idea on how this computer might handle games is to check on youtube to see if there are any gameplay videos from people who are using the same CPU and graphics card. This can give a rough idea of what to expect.

    Here are a few examples from people using the FX-6300 processor and R7 240 graphics card:

    GTA V in HD Resolution

    Fortnite Online Gameplay

    Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 in HD

    Resident Evil 7: Biohazard in HD

    Upgradeability

    The GUA883 is an entry-level computer and we’d hazard a guess that it wasn’t really designed with upgrades in mind. However, all computers have the ability to be upgraded, so let’s take a look at the possibility of some potential upgrades for the GUA883, in case users might want to do some in the future.

    Recommended Upgrades (Short Term/Immediate)

    There’s nothing immediate that we’d recommend upgrading on this computer other than the power supply, which could likely be a cheaper brand. We’ve heard many stories about cheaper power supplies faulting, so if you don’t want to take any risks, it could be worth changing it for a better one.

    • Power Supply Replacement/Upgrade
      Replacing the original power supply is usually a simple task which is covered in our guide for replacing a PSU. EVGA is a brand of PSU that we’d recommend, and if you plan on adding in any extra hardware components in the future you might want to put in a slightly larger PSU size as well.

    Future Upgrade Pathways

    When upgrading a computer, it’s worth thinking about the cost versus performance gained, and make sure that it makes sense putting money into your project.

    With the GUA883, the limiting hardware is probably the graphics card, followed by the CPU processor. To upgrade a graphics card is easy, but any more modern card that you put in may then be bottlenecked by the older processor that is in the GUA883.

    To upgrade the processor in the GUA883, you’d probably want to look at upgrading the older motherboard and RAM as well – and this quickly can add up in cost to the point where the upgrade expenditure doesn’t make sense. This is why we’d recommend starting with a prebuilt computer that comes with more recent hardware from the beginning.

    • Upgrade graphics card
      The limiting factor on the GUA883 seems to be its graphics card, so if you want to boost performance, try opting for a more recent budget video card that offers great performance, like the GT 1030.

     

    • CPU upgrade
      The older FX-6300 processor will become the limiting factor if you upgrade the R7 240 graphics card to a more powerful card. At this point, you may want to upgrade the CPU – however because of the slot compatibility, a CPU upgrade will likely require you to upgrade the motherboard as well (and in turn, the RAM, as the existing DDR3 RAM may not be compatible with newer DDR4 RAM types required by newer CPUs and motherboards).

     

    • Optical Drive Installation
      This build doesn’t come with an optical drive installation, but since the front panel of the case doesn’t seem like it will support a disc drive, your best bet is going with an external portable USB optical drive like this one if you feel the need to read optical discs.

    Other Upgrade Considerations

    As mentioned previously, the cost to upgrade the GUA883 to more recent hardware quickly gets out of hand to the point where it doesn’t make sense to spend so much money on it (you may as well just buy an entirely new computer). This is why we’d recommend starting with a prebuilt computer that comes with more recent hardware to begin with.

    Pricing/Value

    Overall, the Gamer Ultra GUA883 from CyberpowerPC represents good value for money. To build a computer with these specifications yourself would probably cost about the same as the selling price of this PC (and that’s not including the labor to assemble it all, and 1 year warranty).

    The issue we have with this computer is that you can get much more performance for the same price – by not using older hardware, you can get way better gaming performance for the same spend.

    While what you get for the price is not really a rip-off, it just doesn’t make sense to us to use 5+ year old hardware models in a new computer, even if it is an entry-level model.

    Alternative Products

    The budget entry-level prebuilt gaming computer market doesn’t have much to offer in the $500 budget range currently that aren’t similar to the GUA883 (in that they use older hardware). Because of this, it’s difficult to make suggestions for better alternatives that are just as easy as the GUA883.

    If you do like the GUA883, then it might be worth also checking out the GUA882 – which has nearly identical hardware (but half the RAM with only 8GB, no in-built wi-fi, however it has an optical drive).

    If you want to get better performance for the money, we’d recommend checking out the HP Pavilion Desktop Computer – while it might not look like anything special from the outside, the much faster processor and integrated graphics on this  PC outperform both the FX-6300 and the R7 240 by a fair amount, and we’d hazard a guess that the out of the box gaming performance would be similar if not better than the GUA883 (especially with some extra RAM put into it).

     

    GUA883’s hardware performance benchmarks versus this similarly priced HP Pavilion tower. Source: CP Benchmark and Video Card Benchmarks

     

    Summary/Overall Impressions

    CyberpowerPC’s GUA883 Gamer Ultra computer offers a handsome looking gaming computer at a fair price, but the hidden cost that isn’t as obvious is the aged and not-so-great performing hardware inside the shiny-looking case. It can handle games, but there are better performance-value-for-money options out there which aren’t marketed as gaming computers that may perform better simply because they have newer hardware.

    If you are after a gaming computer that can handle playing most games on low to medium settings but looks the part more so than it performs, then, by all means go for the GUA883, but if you’re wanting the best gaming performance for your money, then maybe look elsewhere.

    <Click here to view the CyberpowerPC GUA883 on Amazon>

    Reference: Other Specifications

    Show details
    Full name: CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA883

    Model number: GUA883

    Main Specifications: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz, 16GB DDR3, AMD R7 240 2GB, 1TB HDD, 802.11 AC WiFi Adapter, Gaming Keyboard/Mouse & Win 10 Home

    Audio: Audio: 7.1 Channel

    Connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 WiFi

    Other: 7 color gaming mouse and keyboard

    Dimensions: Height: 18.7 in (475 mm), Width: 8.2 in (208 mm), Depth: 18.5 in (470 mm)

    Weight: 31.6 lbs (14.3 kg) (packaged unit)

    2 Comments

    1. NEED TO KNOW B4 Purchasing: CyberPower is set up for selling a great product … NOT REPAIRING IT!

      I bought my pc Black Friday 2018; this is what I learned:

      HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE SHIPPING TIMES!!! In case you feel like this doesn’t matter because you got 3 day shipping included – look at next paragraph “REPAIRS…”

      REPAIRS TAKE UP TO 6 WEEKS! Can you be without your pc for up to 6 weeks because you WILL be if your purchase from CP and need repair. If you happen to need PC repair months after buying your computer, like me, … I already need a new mother board and it has been less than 6 months since I purchased. (I had to RETURN my pc TWICE because they damaged my case during repair. Thank God I took photos of my entire pc and sent them to myself via email before sending them the pc and so they were dated because THEY ASKED FOR THEM! They agreed to repair it AFTER getting the dated photos, but that was another SIX weeks shipping. I talked to supervisors but hey wouldn’t upgrade ANY of my shipping even though it was their fault!!! Yes it took me A TOTAL OF 12 WEEKS)

      FULL RETURN SHIPPING $120.00 from where I live! That is UPS Ground for nearly 50lbs box included!!! Dimensions: 27”x25”x13.” (You will pay it all, as they pay nothing toward a returned product.)

      NO EXTENDED WARRANTIES!!! (So basically, they don’t believe in their product or stand by it for very long.) Yeah, that 1 year limited warranty isn’t an extended warranty and CP told me they don’t even offer extended warranties.

      BUY THE PREMIUM 1 YR WARRANTY WITH 1 YR SHIPPING OPTION. Make sure it has the 1 yr shipping choice for $10 more well worth it if you have to return like me. Be aware, however, that this shipping takes up to 6 weeks.

      KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL SHIPPING BOX at least until your 1 yr warranty is up. Otherwise you are going to need to purchase the box with padding $$$ if you need to return the pc to CP plus $120 if you have to pay shipping. Gets frustrating, doesn’t it?

      CP TECH SUPPORT IS A NIGHTMARE. In all fairness they are actually very nice while trying to fix problems with the pc. Well … until you challenge them, like about the six-week shipping time. Then they become extremely unkind. They won’t let you talk to previous reps that promised you things. I was told that rep would call me back in an hour, I waited over 2.5 and had to call back. Every time I called; I was told the rep was on another call. Then I was told he emailed me – which is the only way he seemed to want to communicate from that point on. I asked to talk to him again and they told me that he would get back to me in 48 hours. (you can’t make this stuff up!!!) They do everything to try to get you off the phone as quickly as possible, try to transfer the problem to a different department – another way to schluff you off, and eventually they transferred me back to the main phone menu after telling me the rep that I requested was finally available and they were transferring me to him. I am currently still on hold waiting listening to the beginning phone menu

      I have loved my CyberPower pc up till now. The Motherboard IS defective – won’t connect to the internet, after not even 6 months and that doesn’t even bother me – I get it that stuff happens. . It is the total disregard for the customer after you need repair. They seriously lack basic customer service skills at this point. I realize from the reviews that I am in the minority having a defective product. Most people don’t have problems with their pc’s but if you do have a defective something, it really sucks. This company is set up for selling a great product … not repairing it. That part about them sucks. They told me to ship it to them but it was going to take up to 6 weeks, BOTH TIMES, without batting an eye, like I should be ok with this. I was very much NOT but what could I do, I complained and THEY DIDN’T CARE … IT IS THEIR POLICY … and going up the ranks wont’ help.

      • Wow Mark, sorry to hear about your bad experiences here, but thanks for sharing for the benefit of the rest of us. This doesn’t surprise me to be honest – after all CyberpowerPC are just another company trying to make money and they’ll have their own processes etc. in place. Really unfortunate that there are no options for the minority of people who do have to deal with defective product and repairs though – as you mentioned, it is worth weighing up the possibility of this when you purchase. In all fairness, I wonder though if other companies also have a long lead time for repairs and shipping… though that doesn’t make it any less inconvenient for the end user. There doesn’t seem to be much consideration to those who don’t have PC backup options (another computer to use while the main box is away for repair), which could be understandably be incredibly inconvenient for anyone who needs to use their PC regularly for work/study.

        Again, sorry that you had to go through this but we really appreciate the super helpful tips like keeping the original shipping box and premium warranty option.

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