Desktop Deals Master Thread

[DaasTora]

-HP doesn't sell an Envy desktop with an i9 that I have seen. I wonder if CUK accounted for this in the power supply? Or the cooling? I hope the processor doesn't throttle.
-There's SSDs and SSDs. CUK does not reveal what you are getting - not the brand, not the speed. It may be a random Chinese brand with SATA performance. It may not. But they don't say.
-Same comment goes for the RAM, which I note is DDR4, already a warning sign. (The HP I mention above has DDR5 like any high-end desktop should.)

[mevinyavin]

With a name like Computer Upgrade King, what do you expect?

[Hirshthg]

Here's my two cents (agurot):
Cost of a 13th gen i9 direct from HP (includes a mid-range graphic card which the above lacks, 16GB RAM and TB SSD): $1200. (Might be similar specs cheaper somewhere else - I'm not in the desktop market so much.) Cost of 4TB SSD: $200. Cost of 64GB of RAM: $90, maybe.
HOWEVER, a number of points should give you pause:
-HP doesn't sell an Envy desktop with an i9 that I have seen. I wonder if CUK accounted for this in the power supply? Or the cooling? I hope the processor doesn't throttle.
-There's SSDs and SSDs. CUK does not reveal what you are getting - not the brand, not the speed. It may be a random Chinese brand with SATA performance. It may not. But they don't say.
-Same comment goes for the RAM, which I note is DDR4, already a warning sign. (The HP I mention above has DDR5 like any high-end desktop should.)

One last thing: what do you need an i9 for, anyway? If you tell me what you are doing with the computer, maybe I can advise you as to what specs you need.

Hope this is helpful. Have a great day!

Part of our work is downloading, uploading and viewing (not editing) large video files. I am also looking for efficiency, fast updates and little downtime for installation. Ok with a bit of overkill.

What am I missing with the DDR4?

As for the reviews, overall they seem ok to me.

[Chuchum Ainer]

100 of the 1 star reviews are "This item was fulfilled by Amazon, and we take responsibility for this fulfillment experience."

Mostly shipping issues. I am not in a rush.

Are the specs decent for the price?

Those reviews are clearly issues with the seller, just the seller shifted the blame to amazon, to help skew their ratings. It's a common trick.
For example:
"Well got the card in today and sadly the fan is broken on it packaging was horrible was not in original box no pading to protect card only non conductive sleeve so sad will never buy again" Thats the packaging the seller put on it, not the amazon shipping box.

"the 3080 was not new as described very frustrated and disappointed everything in your listing said new idk what else to say that's a lot of money for me to see the disappointment as i open the box"

"This listing is considered "new" by amazon under the filter. I received the GPU with scratches on the back plate and a bent cooler fin. This is not new and it came in a cardboard box. I am sending this back and buying one directly from Amazon on the same listing hoping that they live up to expectations."

"They are running a scam. This order was cancelled, but sent anyway. Received a used looking laptop--not new! I had to pay to return the laptop using the label Amazon issued me to only have it sent back to me. Amazon will not issue me a refund for this unauthorized transaction. They stole my $866.70. This is a SCAM, SCAM, SCAM!!!!!"

These were all crossed out with the message "This item was fulfilled by Amazon, and we take responsibility for this fulfillment experience."

[Chuchum Ainer]

As for the reviews, overall they seem ok to me.

"68% positive in the last 12 months (753 ratings)"
That's not ok

[DaasTora]

Those reviews are clearly issues with the seller, just the seller shifted the blame to amazon, to help skew their ratings. It's a common trick.
For example:
"Well got the card in today and sadly the fan is broken on it packaging was horrible was not in original box no pading to protect card only non conductive sleeve so sad will never buy again" Thats the packaging the seller put on it, not the amazon shipping box.

"the 3080 was not new as described very frustrated and disappointed everything in your listing said new idk what else to say that's a lot of money for me to see the disappointment as i open the box"

"This listing is considered "new" by amazon under the filter. I received the GPU with scratches on the back plate and a bent cooler fin. This is not new and it came in a cardboard box. I am sending this back and buying one directly from Amazon on the same listing hoping that they live up to expectations."

"They are running a scam. This order was cancelled, but sent anyway. Received a used looking laptop--not new! I had to pay to return the laptop using the label Amazon issued me to only have it sent back to me. Amazon will not issue me a refund for this unauthorized transaction. They stole my $866.70. This is a SCAM, SCAM, SCAM!!!!!"

These were all crossed out with the message "This item was fulfilled by Amazon, and we take responsibility for this fulfillment experience."

"68% positive in the last 12 months (753 ratings)"
That's not ok

+1

[mevinyavin]

Part of our work is downloading, uploading and viewing (not editing) large video files. I am also looking for efficiency, fast updates and little downtime for installation. Ok with a bit of overkill.

What am I missing with the DDR4?

As for the reviews, overall they seem ok to me.

I agree with what has been said about the seller by @Chuchum Ainer and @DaasTora (insert whatever corny joke you like here). I remember what it was like before resellers plagued places like Amazon, Newegg and Walmart with scams and inaccurate listings. It is sellers like CUK (which was one of the first, agav) that are why I filter out any other sellers except Amazon, particularly for marking upgraded computers as new.
(At the time, I advocated for a new filter setting called "Upgraded" but no one listened to me, not the companies themselves and not the computer magazines I wrote to. In any case, without anyone enforcing accuracy with the filters, having a different filter setting would be useless. )
DDR4 is one example (and the only explicit one) of using a lower spec than is possible to use. I was not saying that DDR4 is not good enough - I was pointing out that most 13th gen i9 systems come with DDR5, but this seller chose to use the cheaper DDR4 (because this computer likely didn't come with an i9 originally). To be explicitly clear: I do not trust this seller to upgrade this computer with parts that are worth the price they are asking. On the contrary: I suspect them of using subpar parts. And this suspicion is based on my experience and not merely on my cynical nature (though I am quite cynical).

On to your usage:
What you describe requires a fast internet connection and maybe a bit more RAM (=16GB). A fast SSD (which this computer might not have) will help if the videos are 4K. An SSD that is large enough to store whatever videos you need at any given time (average 4K video takes up 25GB an hour, so you do the math). A fairly modern i3 (12th gen+) or Ryzen equivalent (5000 series +), not more, not even for future proofing, though I understand if you want to get i5-level (that qualifies as a lot of overkill IMHO). But the internet connection is probably the most important and has nothing to do with the computer's specs (barring the advantage of a hardwired connection and not over wifi).