$2000 Starforge Pre-Built Gaming PC Review: Horizon II Ultra Benchmarks

[@GamersNexus]

We cut a few small things / thoughts for time, but that's where the website comes in! We'll be converting this to an article within the next week or two and adding those extra pieces there. Will let you all know in HW News once it's up. Get the LIMITED 2023 Disappointment Shirt in Cotton: store.gamersnexus.net/products/disappointment-pc-2023-cotton Or in Heather Charcoal! store.gamersnexus.net/products/disappointment-pc-2023-heather These are IN STOCK & SHIPPING NOW and sell out very fast every year, so if you want one, order soon! Learn about the origins that pre-date Starforge in our Artesian Collapse video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmPbfpxtntN1aJo Pre-built reviews playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYumYoN7mpKVmq8

[@KazukiFuse99]

hello

[@vik.1903]

I MISSED THEEEEEEEESE!!!!!!!!!

[@vik.1903]

There's a flash frame at 00:25

[@GamersNexus]

@@vik.1903 haha, just keeping you on your toes!

[@Spenczar1]

Will it include a deep dive into the psychology of a group of people that worked this hard to make a phallus their logo?

[@bluein_]

Theory: people who coincidentally share the same name and surname as Steve will never, ever have a prebuilt order fail on them.

[@elcazador3349]

Thanks, Steve!

[@adreanmarantz2103]

Steve: "I think the takeaway from all this is-- use my name and/or 'GN' when ordering your pre-built"

[@ChrispyNut]

Maybe. To respond with more seriousness than I perceive the comment to intend.... This is going back 25 years, but I worked for a tiny system builder (in returns) and only 1 of the three staff in there rally gave much a crap at all about computers ... though that was the Ops manager, so it's possible with today's workflow, he'd notice it. However no one else in the company really knew computer stuff (and, as I was the repair guy, I know that for a fact with the kind of work I had to do on their machines / to help them).

[@Ikxi]

could also make a custom email maybe even domain for that

[@futuza]

Time to start ordering all my parts under the name "Burke, Steve".

[@TechTimeWithEric]

Hearing Steve say “that’s well done” is a lot like hearing Lock Picking Lawyer say “this is a lock I would use”.

[@LanceThumping]

Has LPL ever actually said that? I've looked in the past but it's not easy to find.

[@Gisar101]

@@LanceThumping yes, I've heard him saying that about a lock, but sadly I forgot which video that was

[@LanceThumping]

@@Gisar101 Damn. Would've been good to have in my back pocket next time I was in the market.

[@bengrogan9710]

​@LanceThumping if memory serves it was an abus brand lock of some type

[@ratlingzombie8705]

​@@LanceThumping he likes some ABUS locks

[@dricera]

All the streamer background aside, I'm really glad to see those artesian survivors find this avenue under Starforge to continue working on what they're passionate about. Not everyone gets a similar chance after a fallout like that

[@paulsd9255]

So basically it's Artesian but with significantly better PR, showing that they actually had good bones to begin with? Because this is pretty dang good stuff out of them.

[@GamersNexus]

@@paulsd9255 Well, with one key change: The CEO. The former Artesian CEO was not only bad for PR, but also for process. Time will tell how Starforge handles here, but certainly that is a large impact at a company-wide level where they now have more dedicated people for process control (which should maintain a better quality overall, in theory).

[@jorge69696]

What they are passionate about? Who the hell is passionate about building PCs all day long, every day?

[@HowieDune]

​@@jorge69696just because you aren't passionate about it doesn't mean no one can find joy in it

[@djmerlin2]

@@jorge69696 know lots of ppl that love doing this every day.

[@Varmint260]

Always make sure the standoffs are torqued to a higher value than the motherboard screws! I come across this issue a lot at work (Freightliner dealer). If there is a threaded component installed in another threaded component, the most accessible one should always be torqued to a lower value so it breaks loose first. Not a big deal in a headlamp standoff, but a huge pain in the rear if it's a fuel line fitting at the back of the engine compartment!

[@mezu-e]

Or even better, have defined torque specifications and use torque-limiting screwdrivers for everything. This coming from aerospace QA :^)

[@Varmint260]

@@mezu-e You're absolutely right, proper defined torque specs that are actually followed is the Way (tm). On the other hand... properly installing a motherboard in a case shouldn't be rocket appliances!

[@KenS1267]

@@Varmint260 I build PC's as a side gig. I can easily enough get such a screwdriver. If it would make shipping a PC reliably easier I'd do it. I have had to replace entire PC's over a standoff breaking lose in shipping.

[@RayneAngelus]

@@Vayate That... wouldn't actually help much. Because the act of screwing into them... would unscrew them...

[@thebigint-hw1on]

I always do it to a lower value as I am secretly paid to do so by a company we are in competition with

[@falxonPSN]

The streamer voice analysis and the sarcasm related to it is top tier. It honestly took me 30 seconds for my brain to catch up to what was happening in that segment

[@dillonvillon]

I walked away and came back to that… I was so lost haha

[@sipher3516]

I was waiting for Steve to mention the Retro Encabulator they had added to the testing setup lol. Missed opportunity imo, I hear those are the bast cabulators around.

[@raphaelscholz795]

I was reading something while this video was playing besides and i just heard..Sinatra and had to rewind back to understand what i just missed. xD

[@scottied2003]

"We wanted to show respect, as he appeared to be their leader." 🤣 😂😂

[@prome666]

assmongo

[@j4ck3t]

Tip for Starforge assembly line : You need an electric screwdriver that torques to 5nm. When it reaches the torque value, it stops. This means that the employee just needs to wait for the screwdriver to stop and can use another hand to place the next screw. Efficient AND extra guaranteed quality!

[@PhilfreezeCH]

@@MindBlowerWTFyour employees are gonna be way happier with a electric one though

[@j4ck3t]

@@MindBlowerWTF kinda like, are you going to screw in 300 screws everyday by hand? I can tell you from experience, that gets very tiresome real quick. Better to help your employees a bit and besides they are not expensive at all :)

[@notsam498]

Yep, the goal is to make compliance easier than non-compliance. Electric screw drivers take away any advantage to non-compliance. The wera still requires effort for proper use.

[@Skobeloff...]

Is there also an electric plastic film peeler they can use?

[@senseofpermanence]

I would actually love to know which screwdrivers can do this, tried to find some but no luck

[@smarouchoc7300]

Steve - "I don't wanna become tech support." Also Steve - spends time when he's on a shoot at Microcenter helping random people pick their systems. Be like Steve :)

[@GamersNexus]

hahaha, but that's something predictable! A pre-built needing tech support can happen at any moment! I love helping out at places like Micro Center. Really fun for us!

[@smarouchoc7300]

@@GamersNexus oh, I get it. Totally. It's why I'd rather build, or teach someone to build, a PC if I know them, rather than making a "recommendation". Either way I'm the first line of tech support, I'd rather know they have good stuff 🤣

[@00wheelie00]

​@@smarouchoc7300 so recognizable!

[@helphelphelphelp6145]

@@GamersNexus what a good dude , stay blessed Steve ❤

[@zedboiii]

which video?

[@Invhytas]

I think if I were an SI and GN gave me this review I'd be pretty happy about it. Few things to improve on the building side, but overall solid stuff.

[@nedyahyakcam]

Even got the better than Walmart award. Which is about 8x better than "better than dell'

[@bellowick]

@@nedyahyakcam being better than dell isn't much of an achievement though, is it? It's kinda like saying you can run up the stairs faster than a paraplegic 💀

[@WowCreativeUsername]

​@@nedyahyakcamBeing better than Dell is like saying "I remembered to breathe today" is an achievement.

[@Skobeloff...]

Yes, and no. As Steve mentioned, people buy pre-builts expecting them to be right, that is part of the excessive profit margin. The loose screws and the plastic film are bad, even though other things like the cable management looked good. That case looked like trash too, which is always a big issue with pre-builts, they are often built for profit margins and use very average parts. This pc should have been air cooled too, the liquid cooler is pointless bling. Definitely seen worse pre-builts on this channel though.

[@wayland7150]

@@bellowick These are standard ATX PCs so even if they shipped a box of parts it would be better than Dell. Decent pre-built are what we need.

[@Antisober14]

As a quality assurance professional myself, I'm always thoroughly impressed with the attention to detail, methods and data collection your team put into your videos. Thank you for your work!

[@dakineprotoss]

the sound room was totally overkill for their QA (imo), but I also was pretty impressed at the level of precision these guys do.

[@spladam3845]

"as he appears to be their ruler, and we want to show respect for their hierarchy". That gave me a chuckle, but smart move GN, it's important to respect their customs.

[@TheGamerUnknown]

I'm glad you're willing to do no-nonsense prebuilt reviews. I personally will never buy one, but for a LOT of people I can understand why a prebuilt is useful. EDIT: Especially with so much attention to detail and thoroughness - noticing things many others would miss.

[@GamersNexus]

I know a ton of people who will only ever buy a prebuilt, and that's completely valid for the non-enthusiast audience. We want to help them out too!

[@kulilin3104]

I've been getting overrun by friends/family that want me to "help them" build PCs lately. Which usually turns into me building it for them. I'm at the point where with my own life/family I can't find the time to assist them anymore. Seeing decent prebuilts, at good prices, is a godsend. GamersNexus doing awesome work.

[@NK_X_NK]

My last 4 computers between a “low tier and mid tier” ranking I guess, both Desktops and laptops since 2006 have all been prebuilt. Only took me 16+ years to finally do my research on how to build one and make sure everything is compatible. I never had a high end PC. My first one is gonna be my first built ever PC. Did 2 months of research before even buying my first part.

[@kalashnikov1343]

Pre-builts are the goto option for when someone wants to gift a PC to someone else.

[@kulilin3104]

@@versedi I have to completely disagree with you on that statement. They missed a few details, the thermal pad peel, tork on a few screws, and a minor scuff on the case. The positives outweigh those negatives. The cable management was absolutely top knotch. Their mark up isn't in the extreme stratosphere like Origin and Alienware. The PC was shipped with care so there was no internal damage to the system. What video where you watching?

[@zarathoestranl]

The front of the case is designed to absorb the crash energy of a frontal crash or when a pedestrian is hit. It is a feature, not a bug!

[@pillebrett]

This case have a better crimple zone than the cybertruck.

[@neruneri]

@@pillebrett Well yeah, just about anything has a better crumple zone than the cybertruck. Mainly because the Cybertruck doesn't have one at all.

[@hollowknight9158]

Since it's a streamer PC I imagine it absorbs the kicks or punches during the RAGE moments. This should be tested.

[@afelias]

It's a blowaway panel in case your PC is under attack by a Leclerc main battle tank

[@madProgenitorDeity]

The case is a Corsair 4000F-minus

[@DavidWB147]

The noise plots are very interesting. I wonder if there are more permanent arbitrary reference sounds that can be placed unobtrusively on the graphs so we can get some sense of what is happening. Something like the peak loudness of a desk fan at the same 1-metre distance, or even a comparison with a console like a PS5.

[@GamersNexus]

I like that idea. We'll try to figure something out that's common enough to be helpful.

[@privacyvalued4134]

@@GamersNexus LTT/LMG show an "ideal" target curve overlay for their speaker/headphone tests. For this, the best overlay would be a curve showing average human tolerances across the noise spectrum - that is, the upper limit of what the average person will tolerate/not generally take notice of. The ideal sound from a computer system is obviously no sound at all. Fanless systems have their place/use but we probably won't ever see them in a gaming computer system without some major fundamental shift in CPU/GPU design (e.g. moving away from silicon to diamond/organic chips).

[@AlexandruJalea]

​@@GamersNexus please do. Interesting though. Building control requirements are a min 45db airborne test between party wall partitions, with the UK average exceeding 54sb on average. The reason I'm saying this is because the missus can hear my Asus A15 laptop taking off when gaming, from 2 rooms across!!! I have a 8l pc that's only a few dB less than the laptop, but at full tilt it does not even pass through the first wall. Obviously frequency is important etc, but this is a sort of comparison that for me and some of my mates would make the cut.

[@pavels4923]

@@GamersNexus This may be confusing though - you are plotting dB and that is not linear scale, but people may easily miss that (where 3dB up is basically twice the power and 10dB up is perceived as 2x louder by humans)

[@sql64]

@@GamersNexus you could also throw in a short clip of the pc running or a note at a specific frequency for example at around 18:20

[@mursejoyy]

The dedication it takes to build that test chamber is next level. I love coming to this channel for the facts on system hardware. Thank you for continuing to be a truly excellent PC hardware outlet.

[@clairefey1934]

Only GN provides such top notch review methodology, like using a bilateral time cube to cancel out the cartesian coordinate system.

[@songerph]

Lmao. I was like what😅

[@jasonjavelin]

My buddy got an Artesian Build right before the collapse. It was built on stream which was a neat twist and for the money he paid at the time was a pretty decent build. It’s nice to see that Starforge has a pretty high bar set even with a few hiccups it’s miles better than some of the larger SIs we’ve seen. We joke on my buddy that even though only about 1 part of the Artesian build remains it’s how he got started lol. We’ve all built and upgraded since then largely thanks to your videos. Thanks for the awesome content!

[@penncovewatersewerdistrict8351]

I got an Artesian build before collapse as well. It was a nightmare, right off the bat the 3080ti was DOA. Many little, irritating problems since then.

[@FandangoJon]

I think Steve is familiar with having a few screws loose. Happens to the best of us. Seriously though these kinds of vids are so important for prebuilts. If they listen to this and improve their QA process... everyone wins. It shouldn't have to be GN's job... but such is the industry. Thanks, Steve!

[@adamjung5470]

I would buy Starforge. Especially amused by the comments recommending “attention to detail” followed by the most detailed acoustic test we’ve ever seen. Way to step up GN.

[@mj_snine]

I had that Deepcool case. That front panel falling off at the slightest attempt to move it irritated the hell out of me to the point I swapped to a different case. Side note on thermal pads, I bought a pair of EVGA GTX 980's to SLI in an old build ($50 each during the GPU Shortage of 2021) and tore them down to clean them up and on one of the cards, on one bank of memory, EVGA hadn't peeled the plastic off of the thermal pad during assembly.

[@adeptfelix]

HP has sent me so many SSD's with coolers that had the tape still on the thermal pads. This was for their workstation systems too, not even consumer stuff.

[@jubuttib]

4:31 I've seen that same feature on Corvette rear ends too! It's not the nicest thing, but for a decorative panel I don't care too much. Kinda rather it flex than dent or worse when I inevitably kick it. =)

[@volvo09]

Yeah, the corvettes with the flat rear end have the "press and flex" feature. I remember finding that when I waxed one at a dealership.

[@kyrosmike]

Clarkson made that feature famous, but the engineer said we made the car to be light not rigid there

[@jubuttib]

@@kyrosmike Yeah I know, it's just a fiberglass bodyshell in that specific area, nothing structural is being done by it. =)

[@jubuttib]

@@Navi_xoo Oh I was just talking about the flex, not the pattern, that sucks.

[@dwinterx]

That sound testing chamber is amazing!

[@ryboits75]

I bought one during Black Friday and they actually changed the front panel before the release of this video to include a perforation of their logo, so theres more space for airflow now, and its magnetic so you can remove it very easily with no cables attached to it

[@SOWICKEDIMWUZIE]

Did your purchase feel worth it?

[@ryboits75]

I've been having good results with it so far. The temps get a bit high unless you adjust the voltages a bit, I turned on Intels LiteLoad to bring them down to reasonable temps with stress tests. It gets what is advertised and I haven't had issues with it so far beyond that. After this vid I checked all my screws and I didn't have any, so it might just vary between builders@@SOWICKEDIMWUZIE

[@JustinKelley94]

Any problems so far?

[@ryboits75]

It runs as you'd expect it to run with parts that are only about a year old. Start up time is basically non-existent cause all the apps open immediately. Games run pretty well given the 4070, but you might need a larger monitor to compensate for it since the CPU bottlenecks a bit@@JustinKelley94

[@VoltUni]

Which one did you get and do you like it??

[@garguntoter]

Love the clowning on OTK and Asmon in particular, can't wait for his reaction vid. As always great stuff you guys go full tilt on stuff and always enjoy the vids, have a Happy New Year.

[@callmecaiti]

Always impressed by the depth and quality of your pre-build reviews. Have used them to help with steering friends and family in a good direction. Happy I'm a patron.

[@GamersNexus]

That's awesome that they're useful for recommendations! That's why we make them. Thank you for watching!

[@Halokrogg]

I love you guys prebuilt reviews. Great job.

[@pangurbanthecat4043]

Give workers checklists specific to the components. This case, these components, etc, then you get these checklists. Workers will then check off each piece until they're done. This ensures that nothing is forgotten and that things are done correctly. A large bonus would also be torque-setting capable tools - This would help ensure that things are tightened correctly.

[@johnbienaszii7729]

due if they need a torque wrench for this there's as problem

[@alesksander]

@@johnbienaszii7729 read comments above about that TOPIC for explanation. Screwing 300+ screw in day gets tedious quite quickly...

[@Skobeloff...]

People check off checklists these days without checking them, and managers rarely care.

[@mezu-e]

Checklists are just tools to point blame with. They won't improve a bad process.

[@mytech6779]

​@@mezu-e They are good for maintaining a consistant baseline, putting the process in writing avoids misunderstandings and managers who have expectation drift with the goal of making the department numbers look better at the expence of the overall company(Field repairs, returns, liability, reputation).

[@DeckDogs4Life]

I am glad to hear they are doing pretty well. Hope they take this to heart and really become a great SI.

[@jackalclone1]

Would have liked to have seen a test of their customer service as well, similar to past NZXT reviews etc. For example, the peel left on the m.2 cover was a prime opportunity to contact support with (fictitious) symptoms of overheating SSD, and seeing if they were equipped to deal with that

[@Skobeloff...]

Good point, customer service would be a significant reason to pay the excess for a pre-built.

[@Vashtiian]

I agree but just in case you do want to see that Linus has a recent video with starforge customer service

[@Skobeloff...]

@@Vashtiian Funny how a video about a company owned by dodgy youtubers like Assmold attracted all of these dimwit Linus fans here.

[@MichaSennin]

those are not authentic. they are on the line with a big channel on youtube. they will act differently to a random Bozo buying their prebuilds. Its not a good indicator for their actual customer support, please keep that in mind. @@Vashtiian

[@xpyr]

@@MichaSennin They don't know it's LTT calling them.

[@DJIronChef]

Great video so far. I hope they improve just a bit. Everything seems great overall minus that tape. If I could afford it, I'd get one, but other stuff is priority, and no real reason to upgrade my current rig. Also, that booth is clean af soon as that door opened i heard the audio shift like oooooooo! The voice analysis was hilarious

[@GamersNexus]

The tape is good. RGB connectors come apart.

[@DJIronChef]

@GamersNexus sorry I was meaning the bit that was on the SSD

[@ffwast]

Putting the same parts together yourself would make it a lot more affordable (with no weiner logo)

[@ColonelCoffee]

Haven't watched the video yet but the fact alone that there is no negativity in the video title says a lot

[@Ikxi]

The bar is low yea, it just gotta work and at low prices it doesn't have to look pretty But also, I wish your sanity good luck with all the stupid customers you'll eventually have, the more you sell, the higher the chances will get best to think about hiring someone who will talk to them, there are some crazy people out there ​@@cardrivingdude (also like, you can't say you never did a mistake in your first couple PCs, also when a company makes them, they have to make a certain amount in a certain time, so some things will be less carefully done and the more PCs you make, the higher the chances for mistakes did you test every single PC for lose screws or missed peels, that'd be impressive)

[@cacheman]

15:16 If anything, leaving the plastic on is a feature. Now the pad will be in better shape if the user upgrades to a faster drive. It's like leaving the plastic on the couch.

[@ventilate4267]

It was most likely a slip of the mind, but this is a good point too

[@danieljones9937]

I was thinking the same. Although leaving some screws loose (and tightening one far too much) is more difficult to explain. But Steve saying 'this was good enough for me to actually give it to someone else' has to be a win.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

I've worked in the PC building business for many years and built well over a thousand PC's. The machine ranged from POS terminals to massive servers and even a supercomputer with more than 400 CPU's, so I've seen just about any PC you can think of. We used to import rack server cases from a Taiwanese company and had some interesting experiences. We used to joke about one of their workers saying he was the brother of Bolo Yeung as he seamed able to wrestle those screws something awesome. The were not cross threaded or anything, just screwed in so hard we sometimes had trouble removing them. Something I started doing early was a shake test. That meant I took the completed machine that was said to be ready for delivery, raised it on straight arms turned upside down and I shock it as hard as I physically could. Any sound of anything banging around or a screw clanking or anything else and the machine was taken apart again. It was also function tested one last time to see that everything worked after the shake. This found some potentially nasty problems and forced the build quality to be pretty darned good or something would pop loose. This was extremely hard to do with something like a 40 drive storage server.... A screw scrambling inside a finished computer is depressingly common, and it can cause really expensive and totally unnecessary damage. Everything has to stay where they are installed, nothing can move during transport or reaonably normal use. So make sure those screws are staying where they are supposed to be, and do make sure that heavy graphics card is solidly mounted with hardware to keep it from bending or swaying even if the transport hits some really bad potholes.

[@maxmike181]

Leave it to MSI to make the "REMOVE" font worked into the design on that thermal pab. Not excusing Starforge but if that was just a big red warming it likely wouldn't have been missed.

[@rhyagelle]

If the extent of the issues are a few loose screws and a forgotten peel, that's actually really, really good. I mean, not the issues, but it being the only thing.

[@Ikxi]

better than dell

[@Skobeloff...]

Both potentially major issues though

[@alrecks619]

What a way to open 2024 with a decent prebuilt.

[@RabidDogma]

Glad to see that it rated (relatively) well. I watch a decent number of streams from one of the OTK people and it seems like they're not trying to overtly scam people so at the very least (and that's bare bones) that's good.

[@giftig694]

decent?

[@regularperson9801]

@@giftig694 i hope they mean the review not the PC :)

[@Rspsand07]

@@RabidDogma The value is God awful. They have a 2500$ 4070 ti, 13600 KF PC on their site. You could build a 7900 XTX, 7800xD PC for significantly less.

[@John-Wolfe]

It is a decent build for a pre-built pc. No oem parts, decent cpu/gpu combo and the markup could be worse. At least it's no dell pc. After the review I would feel comfortable recommending this to friends that don't want to build pcs and I can't build one for them.

[@tehpanda64]

I for one prefer a longer fan ramp, if it is too agressive it becomes a lot more noticeable because of how suddenly the sound occurs, even if the volume is actually low because of high quality fans or whatever. The slower the ramp the less you notice the volume increase. It is like boiling a frog slowly (not that i've ever done that, it is just a thing people say).

[@MindBlowerWTF]

Pretty sure everyone who had a GPU that would go constantly between 30% to 80% fan speed would agree with You. *shakes hand at MSI 2080*

[@mytech6779]

I've occationally had an inverted effect when setting the fan:temp slope to low. It can induce an occilation with a period of a few seconds. With the slope too low the heat rises much faster than the fan is ramping, so it quickly hits a yellow zone temp that has a much steeper slope so the fan suddenly races to catch up. But the overall heat output is not high enough to require that sustained fan speed and the temp drops too fast which resulting in a sudden crash in fan speed and the whole process starts over.

[@Dropsey818]

i bet you dont like sand pusy

[@ImDumbSry]

I literally just bought a Core series horizon II elite on a really good sale. As someone who has 0 interest to build my own PC, I'm excited to receive this one. I'll have my screwdriver handy.

[@cosmicxchaos]

I had ordered through Cyberpower before years back. So I took a shot and ordered a rig from them again recently. Went for an i9-14900/4070/32gb DDR5 7200MHz. Was pretty close to the price of the one reviewed. So far I'm really happy with it.

[@Crashed131963]

Not bad.

[@crylune]

Nice. Just got my 14900K recently, loving this beast of a chip, especially when under an EK Nucleus CR360 AIO.

[@wille84fin]

Not bad. Maybe they were trying to avoid borking the screws (loose screws), but with a proper driver (and head) it shouldn't be a issue. On the other hand, that one screw (maybe issue with the case part itself) was what it was. Overall i think the quality is getting up there with the better prebuilt companies. Asmongold seems very open to take notes/constructive feedback at least, and the build quality seems to be getting better and better. Can't speak for the others because i only watch Asmon's content now and then. Not sure about the price though, always built my own PC's.

[@arthurmoore9488]

The answer is cheap torque limiting screwdrivers and using the clutch on any half decent electric screwdriver. Of course, at that point you need a metrology person/department to calibrate everything, but it can prevent the problem from ever occurring again. Yes, "cheap" is approx $50 for an calibrated no-name screwdriver, but one RMA from a screw causing issues is going to cost more than that in shipping alone.

[@Alvin853]

I'm thinking electric screwdrivers that don't have a lot of torque and no hand-tightening afterwards. I was looking into cheap electric screwdrivers because I work on PCs quite often and this was the one "negative" point that almost all of them shared in reviews and what kept me away from buying one, if you need to hand-tighten and -loosen every single screw before and after using the electric screwdriver, the usefulness quickly goes out the window.

[@io1238]

🥰🥰That chamber has been so useful and crucial for gn, the amount of value it provides is almost unlimited, very good purchase, you can hear the pride in steve voice when he mentions it in almost every video

[@GamersNexus]

It's been crazy useful for the upcoming cooler reviews!

[@io1238]

and those future fan tests😜@@GamersNexus

[@tegneren]

Also a place he can go to scream out all his frustrations over bad pre-builts without scaring his employees 😅

[@Speedy.V]

​@@GamersNexus Do you intend to rent it out when not in use so that you can get some more return on your investment?

[@scottwatrous]

@@Speedy.V That was my thought. Like, there's no way doing even useful review work for GN that they are getting a 1/4 million dollars in extra revenue from having that equipment vs if they had a more rudimentary space. They must have a way to bring in people who need quiet room environments when they aren't using it.

[@MenkoDany]

The streamer frequency analysis had me rolling on the floor

[@macelius]

Nice, still gonna upgrade/build my next five-to-ten year box in to my old evolving case myself, but good to see Phoenix and Starforge going strong and getting their honest constructive crits from GN. Man, that thermal tape peel not removed gotta be burnin someobody's bacon lol.

[@eric7591]

The steamer voice segment was absolutely hilarious. Well done.

[@TheXythic]

Great review, I am glad you checked thoroughly. Nice catch on the ssd peel. I hope for more pre-built video in 2024!

[@PDXCustomPCS]

Small note.The MSI software installer is a setting in the MSI bios. I've seen it on many MSI boards.

[@GamersNexus]

Yeah, we're aware. It can be toggled off by the SI.

[@ElderWillows]

Bro thinks GamersNexus doesn't know about board brand Bios.

[@razorworks111]

Great review. I appreciate the reviews on the pre-built units, even though custom build projects are more exciting. Thanks Steve

[@adieognira9709]

The part of the analyzing streamer frequency spectrum blew me off. lol thanks Steve and Team!

[@ericthedesigner]

As a builder, if you are going to ship computers, gotta use lock washers on every screw. 2 dollars in washers will save you thousands.

[@TheBazzterd]

Seeing this, i'm glad that i build my own pc for the first time last month :D Specially with all the deals around black friday i can now say i have done well :)

[@MischieviousJirachi]

How easy it was it? Did it take long? I havent built mine yet

[@sirmonkey1985]

@@MischieviousJirachi if you know how to build lego's, it's pretty much the same thing. just don't drop or stab your motherboard with a screw driver and you'll be fine. that being said Jay and Linus have build guides on their channels so definitely reference them if your worried about it.

[@TheBazzterd]

@@MischieviousJirachi Watch a couple of utube guides on how to build one step by step. Also watch for example Greg Salazars 'fixing a viewers broken pc'' helped a lot, specially for trouble shooting that i had to do. Turned out my new PSU was faulty and didnt do nothing. Thnx to series like that i could find the problem and solve it with my old psu from my prebuild lenovo. (the only thing i actually upgraded in that build a long with a gpu and my only build experience) Best tip, take ur time and be confident.

[@MischieviousJirachi]

@@sirmonkey1985 @thebazzterd thank yall

[@Skobeloff...]

@@MischieviousJirachi Look for build guides from decent youtubers (not trash like Linus and Jayz2braincells). Building pc's is not difficult, but it can be stressful your first time, watching build guides will also show you the best order to assemble parts, which will help you to avoid having to remove and reinstall. Just researching the parts for a build is a great way to learn about pc's. How long it takes depends on you, best to take your time on your first build. It is also handy to have a working pc nearby so you can easily look up anything you have doubts about.

[@eden1738]

I can't wait to see asmon's reaction to that unpeeled thermal pad. They were sooooo close to getting through the inspection with no big mistakes

[@iNoodles93]

Uh, it's assmongol my friend.

[@viktorianxd]

Yeah asmongool will not be too happy

[@arc00ta]

@@viktorianxd They had to do that on purpose but its so funny

[@Stratos1988]

I can imgine, a 40 minute video incoming that starts with "and I tought Linus was overzealous"

[@cipherbenchmarks]

rookie mistake tbh

[@Mr.CellophaneHart]

Thank you so much for continuing to uphold and model to other's that it is possible to run a profitable, HIGH quality business while also having ethic's and behaving in a moral fashion. Hat's off to you all for your dedication to truth and common sense.

[@TheCoasterSerpent]

The only issue I see besides those pointed out already, is that I wouldn't put an AIO in a system with an I5 CPU. There is no reason too other than saying it has liquid cooling.

[@khronno552]

My company recently bought 5 MSI Infinite desktop pre-builts with 4090's and 13900kf's. The first wouldn't boot no matter what I tried. The second had completely shattered glass upon arrival. The third boots into Windows 30% of the time and won't restart unless I force shutdown with the power button and turn it back on. The fourth was completely missing the CPU power cables (weren't even installed). Only the fifth one worked and we ended up returning 3 of them. You should check them out for a fun time :)

[@shawnjohn5756]

Hi Steve,question after watching the full video I wanted to ask why there weren't any performance charts included,the usual suite of productivity+gaming benchmarks that you perform? This is a genuine question because I found the rest of the video absolutely amazing as always with the prebuilt series but found the lack of fps in games made me feel a little empty inside? (P.S:Love your videos,thank you for being so awesome to the entire GN crew 🙏)

[@GamersNexus]

The performance would mirror what our performance reviews present for each component individually, so we don't publish them. We do test to make sure it hits expectations though. We'd have to make cuts elsewhere in the reviews to accommodate those.

[@CraigLabute]

I think the idea here is there's nothing to report unless it's far outside the expected performance of the components. I don't really want the video to tell me the 13600k in a prebuilt performs like a 13600k. This is usually a more meaningful comparison on laptops where often the "same" components are run at a variety of TDPs and power/thermal management profiles.

[@Ariane-Bouchard]

Thanks for the review! One thing I wish you'd included would've been a more developed performance/price section. I feel like some sort of cost per frame graph where you'd compare a DIY system to various prebuilts. I feel like that, juxtaposed to a statement on quality, would be a great way to wrap things up and help people make decisions.

[@Ikxi]

building yourself is always cheaper even more so when you try to get some deals on used hardware when on a tighter budget you can get some pretty awesome hardware which enough patience and knowledge on where to look

[@Ariane-Bouchard]

@@Ikxi of course it's always cheaper. The idea is to have a visual representation of how much cheaper it is. That could help someone who's on the fence take a decision. "Hmm, quality is good and it's only 5% more expensive. Worth it" vs "Quality is only okay and I could save 30% by doing it myself. I think I'll watch a guide and give it a try"

[@Teksers]

The PP rocket company is back with almost great build quality.

[@Teksers]

@unholydonuts oversight or not. They'll forever be know as the pp rocket company.

[@secretchiley]

@@Teksers Hey, it worked out. The brand recognition they've gotten from that logo is insane.

[@heroicanon]

19:27 "As*-Mongol" I lost it . 🤣

[@pjstartv6798]

Love the bottle of Snake Oil during your Merch adverts. Nice touch. Approved!

[@dzonialucard]

Thanks for the review Steve! Great as always Also, i LOVE the asmonbald pokes

[@TomatePasFraiche]

I was cracking up during the whole vocal power segment, well done 😂

[@MistyKathrine]

3:22 That's such a good meme.

[@younousyoutoube]

holy shit how did I live until now before discovering this channel, this is next level stuff and very high attention to detail, this channel and digital foundy are all I need now lmao

[@minime1988]

Unless you have a shit ton of money, if you're buying a pre-built you can probably buy the same exact pieces and have someone build it locally for much cheaper that's what I ended up doing during my first PC build when I was broke af. When I got more into gaming I built my 4090 set up wayyy cheaper then any company would sell pre built.

[@Mr.Genesis]

Been waiting for a Starforge review.

[@NeoDaOne]

these Prebuilds are truly informative. I have been on the fence if I should just get a prebuild or not, though would only get one if i could upgrade it later. Keep up the great work as always.

[@steakburger101]

Watch the secret shopper series for Linus tech tips. They did the same but will all the major pc built companies.

[@Skobeloff...]

*Don't "watch the secret shopper series for Linus tech tips." They are trashier than even the youtubers who own Starforge.

[@Darkshadow7827]

Excellent video. I've had to have a friend help me build my PC twice now. It's a bit of a pain in the ass for someone who doesn't do it often or is overly cautious like myself. None-the-less, I would have liked to have Steve also review the logo. I'm curious as to whether he thinks the logo is phallic shaped and if it is, if it detracts from the overall build.

[@Melchirobin]

19:27 I loved how you leaned into the meme and loved watching the reaction stream.

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

I love how Steve is always dead serious but still manages to put some pure savagery passive/aggressive puns in each and every one of his videos. 😂 I love this channel ! 🥰 « *Thanks, Steve !* »

[@obhwg]

These videos are extremely important for those who are looking to get into PCs. Thanks for making these!

[@Frenchtoastedfruitloops]

Very clean cable management is about the only reason I’d ever get a prebuilt. So good to see they understand that😂

[@Syst3m04]

So I’ve built 3, and might build my 4th, but strongly considering prebuilt. The main reason is the price isn’t that much difference with GPU’s so expensive right now. I went to new egg and part for part built a starforge pc and it was more to build it than just buy it.

[@hartsickdisciple]

The build seems okay. $2000 seems a little high for what you get. I think $1600-1700 would be more appealing.

[@andersjjensen]

Charging more than $100 bucks for putting a serial production computer together is steep. In my area there are several brick and mortar stores that charge $50 for putting any build above $1000 together, and their component prices are usually only 5-7% above the cheapest online retailer. They don't charge anything for upgrading/changing their store-brand computers. I get that the first time they did this build there was some "RnD" in getting the procedure right, but anyone who's done it a couple of times before can put this PC together almost as fast as they can clone the disk image on to the drive (slight exaggeration, I know). $1600 is absolutely tops, and then all the screws are torqued electrically and the heat shield sticker is removed.

[@jaggsta]

similar systems $1400 on newegg with i7 13700F/4070

[@shrededpudding5921]

17:17 anechoic silenced hvac ducts is so cool. i love the weird design solutions our industry makes necessary

[@Carlos-cu4ms]

I have the same DeepCool case but with the front panel without holes. That version of the case is super solid and sturdy.

[@devonmoreau]

A GN prebuilt review is like an audit by the IRS, this must be terrifying for the company to hear GN reviewed them lol!

[@andersjjensen]

"People pay you $500 over the component price to.. just not screw up things that are essentially like Lego. And yet here we are having to commend you for only fscking up a couple of screws and forgetting to remove a thermally important sticker. We're not angry. We're just very very disappointed with the industry at large. There are other endeavours where charging 25% of the bill, for service, and getting ANYTHING wrong at all... will land you IN JAIL!"

[@Izzy-Haze]

Built my first PC last year, I watched so many GamersNexus reviews I ended up having a dream that Steve helped me put it all together which to be fair, he kinda did 😂, can't wait to see Asmongold's react video. Keep it up and thank you for doing what you do!!

[@jessiethedude]

Gotta start hanging around microcenter in case he drops by and can help you choose parts

[@RXC13]

Asmongold just reacted to it this afternoon.

[@Bayofthe91st]

well, it's his first video with 1M views in 2024

[@TommyPanigale]

Great content as always. I have zero interest in purchasing a pre-built for myself but watched this anyway. You're unexpected nonsensical rants always crack me up and catch me off guard. Love this channel

[@DanielSmith_19]

"Riveting." "No... it's tape." Perfect.

[@airvine3793]

Love this review format, look forward to seeing many more comparisons.

[@JETWTF]

22:52 The fan speed settings are what they should be from a pre-built. They are selling to customers that could be in Arizona to Maine, if the system was setup for Maine or other cooler environments then it will overheat in places like Arizona and overheating is more important than noise control.

[@GamersNexus]

That isn't how it works. Higher ambient means higher overall temperature, so it will just keep following the curve. It is relative. The TARGET temperature is the CPU or GPU temperature, not ambient. If ambient is +5C, you hit your target 5C sooner and the fan climbs. This happens regardless of your AC or where you live and at the same point in all environments. That means in ALL environments, there is room to adjust down on RPM.

[@reset1101]

As always, another very informative and thorough review from tech Jesus. I wonder why no SI, as far as I know, uses Arctic Liquid Freezer II AIOs on their systems. They even have versions with RGB fans now! I know the thickness of the radiator might be an issue for some cases, but there are plenty of them where they fit.

[@Under_the_Iceberg]

For an SI, choices on any given component are largely limited to what sort of contract you can negotiate. Besides simple cost and functionality, an SI needs to consider things like failure rates, manufacturer support in the cases of failure, lead times, and guarantees on a certain number of units.

[@TinMan445]

Well aside from one builder whose dad never taught him to use a screw driver, it seems like Starforge is really cementing themselves as a pre-built leader in the industry. I think they would have caught the tape on the thermal plate in testing if it actually effected performance.

[@jootpepet]

Dont forget the other builder whose dad never taught him to peel off the sticker from the hardware

[@opoeto88]

thanks, I built my own pc last week and viola, totally forgot about setting EXPO in BIOS for my RAM until I saw asmon seeing your review.

[@rebelshadowrm]

I always love the depth and detail you give you to your reviews. I've always been curious about some of the OG SI companies like FalconNW, I've never seen anyone give a detailed review, it always just seems like an unboxing. Keep up the great work, your attention to detail is well appreciated.

[@williamwolcott329]

The whole episode was great, but the subtle humor and the sound breakdown was amazing. I had to google several of those acoustic/sound terms just to understand what you were saying haha

[@RudeGerbil]

While I don't buy pre-builds myself, I do find these types of videos to be highly informative and entertaining!

[@Crashed131963]

Fun-Fact )- 95% of PC gamers do not know how to build a PC themselves .

[@Sou-no7xt]

@@Crashed131963 I do, and it can be a f'ing hassle, especially when you get faulty components. The RMA can be so nerve-breaking in some countries. I am done, and moved on to pre builds. My next buy will be a prebuild like the first one I had.

[@Crashed131963]

@@Sou-no7xt I was thinking about people who game on PC put do not know how to build a PC. I never thought about people that know how to build a PC but no longer want the bother . FightinCowboy is my favorite KZbinr for hard core gaming and even he does not put his own PCs together .

[@afelias]

The funny thing is, I swapped to a new motherboard (and RAM... and CPU... and boot drive) and I saw that the Starforge build here has a similar one (an MSI Intel z690/790 PRO of some sort) and I used some of the things I saw here to make sure I've got this guy down better. I remembered the tape thanks to this review! That and the Contact Frame (both Thermalright and Thermal Grizzly) reviews helped me put this thing together.

[@TristanDickey]

was planning on buying this for my wife. glad to see it met expectations. my standards by definition are a bit lower. just want it to play games and play games well.. with some occasional web browsing and longevity of life.

[@mimireich]

That case was the same case I use in my PC right now (White Version). Great way to start 2024 with Prebuild and hopefully NEW DISAPPOINTMENT 2024 BUILD !!!!!

[@BudgieandAviaryBirds]

why hope for crap stuff?

[@mimireich]

@@BudgieandAviaryBirds the Disappointment Build 2023 was the blast. So it will be new dawn for opening new trends and new techs that cause disappointment later mid 2024 or Q4 2024.

[@Atilolzz]

Great Review! I always love Steves professional and informative reviews with once again overpriced, cheap looking and faulty prebuild PCs!

[@theflamingeagle572]

You're a joke, someone said they built one part for part and it still costed more to build a Starforge than get a Starforge pre-build. Even Gamers Nexus said at the most they are only upping the price by around $300.

[@jonogrimmer6013]

How anyone at starforge didn’t realise the logo closely resembles a cock rocket is beyond me!

[@Eins3467]

It's a running gag in Asmon's community too 😂

[@ChezMclegend]

One of the many reasons I bought one.

[@boodrow24m]

I recently bought this one. YEYIAN Yari II Gaming PC AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD RX 7900 XTX Computer Desktop, 1TB NVMe SSD, 32GB DDR5 5200MHz RAM, Liquid Cooled 6 ARGB, Win 11 Home, USB-C 3.2, WiFi 6, 850W Gold PSU, Win 11 Home I found it to be very well built. The fan curves were pretty low, but an overall great experience. This was an Amazon buy and haven't seen many reviews of this brand. I've run the whole build through PC Part Picker and it's pretty much dead on for price.

[@crylune]

> 5200 MT/s memory ew. And what's the PSU? Hopefully no firestarter.

[@boodrow24m]

@@crylune actually has an 850w Corsair PSU

[@boodrow24m]

@@crylune and yeah, the ram is getting upgraded, but it works fine for now.

[@nebraskarooster9244]

Love your videos - you are the gold standard for PC and component technical reviews.

[@LVNeptune]

Would that be asmonGOLD standard?

[@MicCard]

Great work as always GN! any update on the Long Win machine? are we going to see any fan testing in 2024?

[@furl_w]

Would be funny to confirm if any companies have every prebuilt shipped to NC getting extra quality control.

[@sirmonkey1985]

your expectations are too high for these companies.. unless it's something that's a major issue and requires changes in house they just pull a newegg with fake promises for a few weeks until people forget about it with no actual follow-through.

[@casperryborg4869]

He literally said that they used a middle man in the process, maybe watch the freaking video?

[@andersjjensen]

Using electric screwdrivers with a torque clutch is a must. I do it for my own builds because I, too, can be a scatterbrain. But $400-500 for assembly is STEEP! They probably already make 5% on the components compared to retail prices, and many small brick-an-mortar stores in my area charge a flat-rate in the $50 range (exchange rate and VAT compensated) for a full build if it's over X amount of money.... where X is typically a good deal lower than $1000.

[@christophervanzetta]

That probably includes the “free shipping” which isn’t cheap though on top of labor and set up costs. If someone is doing it for too cheap, I’d question the validity of getting new parts

[@manoftherainshorts9075]

$50 for a build with cable management that good? Seems hardly possible. Also they have custom logo on AIO which isn't free.

[@kBitre]

Just wanted to point out at 30:30 the cooler is an AIO or CLC water cooler not a DIY water cooler

[@TheOmaJohn]

Dude your deadpan humor is just over the top on this one.

[@andrewvirtue5048]

Being so industry notorius you can't even have products shipped to the state without being sus.