iBuypower Revolt 3 i7BG Review: Compact Power Tower
Tom’s Hardware Verdict
With an excellent handle-equipped case and great performance at a reasonable price, iBuypower’s Revolt 3 is a great rig for gamers who want a compact PC they can lug around.
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The Revolt 3 Mini-ITX case first caught our eye when it was announced back in January. Since then, the company has launched the case under a new Hyte brand, our case reviewer gave it a near-perfect score, and it currently occupies a spot on our best pc cases list. Now iBuyPower is offering up the Revolt 3 as a prebuilt (model i7B3) under its own brand name, packed with a Core i7-11700KF CPU and an RTX 3080, priced at $2,599.
With one of the best new cases, a powerful CPU, and a graphics card that occupies the top spot on our best GPU page, what’s not to like? The primary concerns come from the system’s ITX form factor and compact case (the Revolt 3 stands 16.1 x 7 x 9.9 inches), meaning there isn’t a lot of room for internal upgrades — and as tested, there’s only 1TB of NVMe storage. Also, the motherboard’s ports face the bottom of the case, which makes plugging and unplugging peripherals more difficult (though not that bad on a system this small).
The Revolt 3 even has pop-out pegs on either for hanging your headset, and a built-in handle, both made of sturdy metal. If you’re after a semi-portable gaming rig and like clean looks more than a bunch of flashing RGBs, the Revolt 3 is well worth considering. Let’s find out if iBuypower’s collection of some of the best components earns this PC a spot on our Best Prebuilt PC list as well.
Specifications of the iBuypower Revolt 3
| Processor | Intel Core i7-11700KF | |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte Z590I Aorus Ultra | |
| Memory | 16GB T-Force DDR4-3200 | |
| Graphics | Aorus GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming OC 10G (10GB GDDR6X) | |
| Storage | Western Digital SN550 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD | |
| Networking | Intel Wireless AX200, Bluetooth 5.1 | |
| Front Ports | 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 2x USB 3.0, 3.5mm microphone/mic jack | |
| Rear Ports (Motherboard) | 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2x USB 2.0 Type-A, 3x analogue audio, 2.5Gb Ethernet, 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI | |
| Video Output (GPU) | 3x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI | |
| Power Supply | 700W SFX-L | |
| Case | Hyte Revolt 3 | |
| Cooling | 240mm all-in-one CPU liquid cooler with 2x 120mm fans | |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home | |
| Dimensions | 16. 1 x 7 x 9.9 inches (HWD) |
|
| Price as Configured | $2,599 |
If you’re sick of gaming rigs that look like bulky glass rectangles overloaded with RGB lights, you’ll likely find the Revolt 3 refreshing. The system comes in white or black, stands 16.1 inches high and occupies just 7 x 9.9 inches of desk space. There are some RGB lights on the system’s Aorus GPU and (oddly) the 16GB of RAM that was included in our configuration. But it’s not very visible, because the case is all steel panels and black mesh.
Note that the copper-colored front mesh in the images here only ships with a limited number of early orders, which will likely be sold through by the time you read this. But if you like the way it looks, it would be pretty simple to remove the rigid black metal piece and spray paint it any color of your choosing.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Revolt 3 case (which you can purchase separately under the Hyte Revolt 3 name for a starting price of $129) also has a few interesting added features.
An aluminum handle pops up out of the top, making it easier to tote the system wherever you want to take it. And each side has handy spring-loaded pop-out pegs for hanging your headset—or whatever else you might want to hang here.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Much like the Ssupd Meshlicious case we looked at early this year, the steel side and rear panels also pop off with ease, making the Revolt 3 fairly easy to work in or clean.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
If you remove a couple of screws on the left side, the 240mm CPU radiator swings out, giving you better access to the internals. Things are tight in here though, which we’ll cover a bit more in the next section.
Ports and Upgradeability of the iBuypower Revolt 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With two USB 3.0 ports and a USB-C port and a headphone/mic combo jack up front, the Revolt 3 is well equipped to let you conveniently plug a few things in. Of course, given that these ports are at the bottom of the case, the system will need to be on your desk for those ports to actually be convenient.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Things get a bit more unorthodox with access to the motherboard ports, though. The case rotates things 90 degrees from normal orientation, putting the rest of the system’s ports on the bottom. Yes, that means you’ll basically need to tip the system over to plug or unplug anything that doesn’t use the front ports. But thanks to the case’s compact nature and built-in handle, this isn’t quite as annoying as it might seem — though it’s definitely less convenient than reaching around the back of your PC. Also note that the bottom ports are recessed about 2.75 inches from the bottom of the case, so you shouldn’t have any clearance issues with most cables.
Here, you’ll find the ports for the Gigabyte Z590I Aorus Ultra motherboard, including three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports and two USB 2.0 ports. There’s also a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port, but this is occupied by a cable that routes the port to the front of the case.
Ignore the HDMI and DisplayPort on the motherboard, because the Core i7-11700KF CPU lacks a functioning GPU to make any use of them.
Instead, you’ll plug your monitor(s) into the ports on the Aorus RTX 3080, where you’ll find three DisplayPort 1.4a connectors and two HDMI 2.1 ports.
Overall, port selection is OK, although it is annoying that iBuypower sacrificed the sole motherboard USB-C port for the front connector, rather than connecting it to an internal header. The motherboard here has a USB 3.2 Gen 1 header just waiting to bring additional connectivity.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
As for internal upgrade options, one of the primary negatives of the Revolt 3 in the configuration we tested is that it ships with just 1TB of storage (in the form of a WD SN550 SSD). Any gamer playing modern AAA titles is going to fill that up pretty fast. But the motherboard has an unoccupied M.2 slot for adding another SSD. And the case has mounting points for two more 2.5-inch drives on the right side of the case, as well as a 3.5-inch hard drive up top next to the 700W SFX power supply.
That said, given how space-limited the interior of the case is, you’d need black-belt level cable routing skills (and plenty of patience) to install three extra drives in this thing.
As shipped, part of the 3.5-inch bay is already occupied by cable slack from the power supply. My advice if you want more storage is to install a couple extra drives here somewhere, then consider external storage options.
Gaming Performance of the iBuypower Revolt 3
With its Intel Core i7-11700KF CPU and Aorus RTX 3080 graphics, paired with 16GB of T-Force-branded RAM, the Revolt 3 packs some of our favorite current components. Even the 1TB Western Digital SN550 M.2 SSD is one of our best SSD picks (if admittedly in the value category).
To see how iBuypower’s compact rig stacks up against the competition, we compared its performance with Corsair’s similarly sized One a200 (with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and a liquid-cooled RTX 3080), as well as the larger MSI Aegis RS 11th (Core i7-11700K, RTX 3080) in our benchmark tests.
The MSI system is priced $100 less than the Revolt 3 and includes a 2TB hard drive as well as a 1TB (Adata) SSD, while the Corsair a200 also includes a 2TB hard drive, along with twice the RAM, and a liquid-cooled GPU as well as CPU.
Corsair’s system, though, was a whopping $3,700 as tested. And a Corsair One system as similarly configured to our Revolt 3 as we could get still costs about $800 more than iBuypower’s compact PC.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (highest settings), the Revolt 3 edged out the competition at 1080p, and tied the Corsair at 4K.
In Grand Theft Auto V (very high settings), iBuypower’s rig came in first at both resolutions but was only a single frame ahead of the Corsair at 4K.
On the Far Cry New Dawn benchmark, the Revolt 3 was even further ahead of the competition, nearly hitting triple-digit frame rates, even at 4K.
In Red Dead Redemption 2 (medium settings), the iBuypower system looked its worst, trailing both competitors at both resolutions. But it was certainly no slouch, edging above 100 fps at 1080p and running at 46 fps at 4K.
Last up in Borderlands 3 (badass settings), the Revolt 3 was back on top, edging out both other systems at 1080p and 4K. As we’d expect given that all three systems share the same GPU and similar (or at least similarly speedy) CPUs, game performance was close across our testing. But considering the Corsair rig costs much more and sports both a liquid-cooled CPU and GPU and the MSI system is much larger, leaving more room for airflow and fans, the Revolt 3’s showing here is quite impressive.
We also subjected the Revolt 3 to our Metro Exodus stress test gauntlet, in which we run the benchmark at the Extreme preset 15 times to simulate roughly half an hour of gaming. The compact tower ran the game at an average of 104.8 fps, and was quite consistent. The system started out the test at 104.7 fps on the first run, and actually went up slightly, peaking at 104.81 on run 6, before settling in at or near 104.8 for the rest of the 15 test runs.
During the Metro Exodus runs, the CPU ran at an average clock speed of 4.
43 GHz and an average temperature of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit). The GPU’s average clock speed was 1,770 MHz, with an average temperature of 66.1 degrees Celsius (151 degrees Fahrenheit).
Productivity Performance of the iBuypower Revolt 3
The Core i7-11700KF didn’t earn a spot on our best gaming CPUs list, but that’s primarily due to its price when purchased on its own. With eight cores and 16 threads and a top stock clock speed of 5 GHz, the 11700KF is an excellent performer. And with that chip paired with 16GB of T-Force RAM running at 3200 MHz, the Revolt 3 is also an excellent productivity tower. That said, the Corsair One a200’s 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X is very tough competition in highly threaded tests.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
On Geekbench 5, an overall performance benchmark, the Revolt 3 pulled ahead of the competition on the single-core side, but lagged behind the Corsair and its 12-core CPU on the multi-core test by close to 20%.
We saw similar results in our Handbrake video transcoding test, where Corsair One a200 crunched our 4K video to 1080p in an impressive 4 minutes and 44 seconds, while the other two systems took 5 minutes and 19 seconds to complete the same task.
Our 25GB file transfer test is where perhaps the Revolt 3 had its worst showing. The system’s WD Blue SN550 SSD is a good drive, but on the budget side of the NVMe spectrum. Its tested speed of 784 MBps was good enough to easily beat the MSI machine’s 635 MBps. But the Corsair rig has a much faster drive that delivered a speed of over 1,270 MBps. Still, for most common tasks, including games, this speed difference isn’t going to be noticeable.
Software and Warranty for the iBuypower Revolt 3
The Revolt 3 ships free of any bloatware (or at least any that doesn’t come pre-packaged with the OS). Aside from the Windows 10 (and likely soon Windows 11) OS, you get the Aorus software for controlling the motherboard settings and features, plus Realtek’s audio software.
As for warranty coverage, the Revolt 3 comes with a standard one-year warranty if you buy from Amazon or Newegg. But if you buy directly from iBuypower, the system ships with a longer three-year warranty, though that only covers labor. Parts coverage from iBuypower is still one year from purchase.
Configuration Options for the iBuypower Revolt 3
You can configure the Revolt 3 on iBuypower’s site in any number of ways, starting off at around $2,199 with a Core i5 CPU and an RTX 3070 Ti. Our Revolt 3 i7BG review configuration can be bought as a prebuilt system direct from iBuypower (sold out when we wrote this), or from Newegg or Amazon for $2,599. Or if you really like spending money, a $4,199 version (i9BG) is also available that ships with an RTX 3090, a Core i9-11900KF, and oddly the same 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. The lesser i7GB model is obviously a far better value if you can find it in stock.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Revolt 3 from iBuypower is a refreshingly different, powerful compact tower PC.
It foregoes the usual glass panels and RGB everything for a compact case with a small footprint, good cooling (thanks to mesh panels everywhere) and impressive gaming and productivity performance. It also costs a whole lot less than the similarly sized Corsair One a200 — though that system is more visually refined, slightly smaller, and sports liquid cooling for both the graphics card and CPU for quieter operation. But the Revolt 3 is far from noisy itself.
Just know that the Revolt 3’s motherboard ports stick out of the bottom of the case, making plugging things in a bit more challenging—or at least different. And the only USB-C port that’s available here is the one at the front of the case.
With an understated, innovative case with a pop-out handle and headset hangars, top-notch performance and a reasonable price, there’s a whole lot to like with the Revolt 3. We’re happy to recommend it for those looking for a powerful compact rig that’s less ‘glass and glow’ and more ‘go.
‘
After a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent the last 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends.
Best prebuilt gaming PC September 2022
Whether you are buying the best prebuilt gaming computer or building one from scratch, there are several key areas to consider first to ensure you make a solid investment and don’t end up disappointed. The last thing we want is for you to buy a prebuilt gaming PC only to find it can run your favorite game in your chosen resolution and settings.
To make sure you leave well informed and ready to buy your new gaming PC, have a read through this section, where we explain a few things about prebuilt PCs and how they compare with a self-built alternative. We also look into what we consider makes a gaming PC “the best”, while also sharing our favored prebuilt PC manufacturers.
7 reasons you should buy a prebuilt gaming PC – Quick glance
- You don’t have to worry about compatibility between components, systems are spec’d, tested, and guaranteed to work from prebuilt PC manufacturers
- Current stock issues plaguing the market make it harder than ever before to get some crucial components
- If you haven’t got the time to learn the building process, a prebuilt PC takes the stresses away, arriving ready to go straight out of the box
- If you face any hardware issues, you have the option to send them back to the manufacturer to fix
- Prebuilt gaming PCs come with warranties, protecting your investment for at least a year
- Some of the best gaming PCs will often come with additional items, such as a keyboard and mouse, however, these are often entry-level peripherals that you will need to upgrade at some point
- Prebuilt PCs almost always come with Windows pre-installed
What is the best prebuilt gaming PC?
As mentioned earlier, what is considered the best prebuilt gaming PC really depends on you, your gaming needs, and the budget you set aside.
We could, in theory, just recommend five prebuilt PCs with the absolute best components but in reality, most of us don’t have $2000+ lying around.
To make sure we recommend something for everyone, we are going to be including the best prebuilt gaming PCs for a number of budgets. Sure, some of these computers may come with compromises but they will offer the best performance for their particular price category, meaning you’ll only have to worry about what game you play first.
Prebuilt gaming PC prices
Prebuilt PC prices are on the rise, however, with the current issues builders face, there has never been a better time to pick up a ready-made gaming PC. As it stands, you are likely to pay around $1,650 for an RTX 3060 Ti prebuilt PC. This will net you a great gaming experience but sadly some value has been lost due to the incredible demand for graphics cards.
At the other end of the scale, Nvidia flagship RTX 3090 prebuilt are unbelievably expensive. These prebuilts obviously come with the best CPU, a great motherboard, high-capacity RAM, and loads of storage but they are out of most gamers’ price range.
Beyond that are some of the most expensive gaming PCs in the world but you would need an impressive bank balance for those.
There is a price point for everyone but it is much harder now to get yourself a solid 1080p gaming PC for less than $1,000. It isn’t impossible though and there is always entry-level hardware for those with the tightest purse strings. Saving money and buying a cheap gaming PC isn’t always the smartest investment though, with high-end prebuilt computers requiring less upkeep/ upgrades than their older-gen counterparts.
Ready to ship prebuilt PC prices:
| RTX GPU | iBUYPOWER | CyberPowerPC | Origin PC | Skytech |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 3060 / RTX 3060 Ti | $1,599 (3060 Ti) | $1,665 (3060) | $2,321 (3060) | $1,369.99 (3060) |
| RTX 3070 | $1,949 | $2,079 | $2,704 | $1,899. 99 |
| RTX 3080 | $2,399 | $2,519 | $3,648 | $2,439.99 |
| RTX 3090 | $3,799 | $3,865 | $4,115.99 |
Prebuilt gaming PC vs custom
It is no secret, here at WePC we always recommend you build your own gaming PC but we understand that not everyone has the time. Building your own gaming PC is great because you can control everything that goes into it and, more importantly, it tends to offer much better value.
You may think you’ve seen a bargain but the reality is that prebuilt computers often come with a markup (around $100-$300 depending on the build price) to cover the physical building and software of the machine. Just to put it into perspective, the markup of a prebuilt is essentially the same price as an entire component.
Performance
While the performance between different budgets will obviously vary, these are the best prebuilt gaming PCs, so naturally, they will offer a fantastic gaming experience for the price.
When building your own PC though, you could potentially include a better CPU or GPU with the savings you will most likely make, giving you greater performance for your cash and future-proofing your system for longer.
Convenience
The main selling point behind a prebuilt gaming PC is it saves you the hassle. We understand that not everyone knows how to build a computer and may not even have the time to learn this new skill, so the convenience of a prebuilt makes a lot of sense. Of course, there are many more benefits to buying a prebuilt gaming PC from manufacturers, obviously, it takes the stresses away from finding all the compatible components, while also preventing damage to said components when the time comes to build it.
With one of these gaming PCs, you are going to be able to send it back to the manufacturer if anything goes wrong. Furthermore, if you feel you need an upgrade, suppliers will often do this for you or at least insist you send it to them for an upgrade.
Manufacturers will also dish out a warranty, usually covering parts and labor for around a year but some companies offer impressive warranties and you can always spend extra on insurance, giving you a lengthy/ lifetime warranty.
These computers are from the biggest manufacturers around the world and aren’t just packaged nicely for you either, they normally stress test the system to ensure the components are working before shipping and that it performs as it should. You will also receive your system with software, usually with Windows and drivers pre-installed, so you can simply plug it in and start downloading games.
We have tried and tested a few prebuilt computers from various manufacturers here at WePC, why not check out our in-depth reviews before purchasing a system.
- Falcon Northwest Talon PC review
- Comino OTTO Master PC review
- Comino Grando RM-S review
- iBUYPOWER Element 9260 PC review
- iBUYPOWER RDY SLIIRG201 PC review
- Overclockers radiance Bullet PC review
Best of the best gaming desktop 2022 | Gaming PC, RGB, Nvidia Ampere, RTX 3000
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MSI Ready-Made Gaming PCs are a gamer’s dream. They feature unique features and amazing performance. MSI offers gaming PCs for every taste: compact, large, RGB, premium models and more. With the transition to Windows 11, we are taking MSI gaming PCs to the next level, bringing advanced features such as DirectStorage and Auto HDR to our devices.
The MSI Aegis RS 11th is a top-of-the-line pre-built gaming desktop.
Best Mainstream Gaming PC
…you’ll notice is that it runs games absolutely beautifully…
Best gaming PC design
MSI’s MEG Aegis Ti5 pushes 4K frame rates with ease…
Best for an Extra-Bold Design
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…you can comfortably go for 4K HDR gaming or target high speeds…
Best Console-Style Prebuilt PC for Your Living Room
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NVIDIA
® RTX GEFORCE 30-SERIES
The RTX 30 GPU has twice the processing power of the RTX 2080 while maintaining the advantage of low power consumption. The NVIDIA® Ampere architecture integrates RT cores, Tensor cores, and other multiprocessors to enable dynamic processing of lighting, portraits, and materials, providing gamers and content creators with the most realistic gaming graphics and work environment.
SILENT STORM COOLING SYSTEM
The processor, graphics card and power supply are placed in separate compartments with optimal airflow, which avoids overheating, as well as ensuring stability, quiet operation and ideal performance under heavy loads. With this cooling system, MSI’s gaming desktop is ready to run smoothly in any environment.
MYSTIC LIGHT
MSI’s Mystic Light application allows you to change the colors and effects of the RGB lighting of the system unit to your liking, as well as easily synchronize them with other devices.
EASY ACCESS TO COMPONENTS
MSI’s gaming PC is designed to make upgrades such as more storage or a faster graphics card effortless. Feel free to install the most modern components that meet your needs.
DIRECTSTORAGE AND AUTO HDR
New features available in Windows 11 will revolutionize gaming. Game reality will become brighter and more authentic, and loading times will be reduced. With Auto HDR, even familiar games will give a completely new experience thanks to the amazing quality of colors and lighting. And DirectStorage will bring game loading speed to a whole new level. See for yourself!
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Kellogs Unicorn breakfast cereal — «⭐? Bright, unusual, delicious! The best ready-made breakfast with a good composition and an unusual taste! »
Hello! I really love ready-made breakfasts, but the usual and familiar balls and rings from childhood are already tired.
Therefore, every time I see some new, unusual dry breakfast in stores, I immediately want to try it! When I saw this bright, pink, instantly attracting attention packaging on the shelves of stores, I could not resist! What was especially pleasing was the rings with different fruit flavors. I rarely see fruit breakfasts, so I decided to buy them right away and try them.
So here we have « Kelloggs Unicorn Fruit Flavored Rainbow Popsicles».
Kelloggs Unicorn Fruit Flavored Rainbow Rings
The packaging deserves special attention. For a child, this is generally a godsend, even I could not resist Bright, iridescent, very beautiful! On the reverse side is a small game «maze». You can get stuck while eating rings. And also information that each package contains stickers with a unicorn, and you can collect the entire collection!
Kelloggs Unicorn Fruit Flavored Rainbow Pops
Kelloggs Unicorn
Ingredients: very good.
I didn’t find anything wrong with it.
The rings themselves: three colors: yellow, pink and purple.
Their taste is really fruity, sweet, but moderate.
- Yellow tastes like regular Cosmostars flakes;
- Pink richer fruit flavor;
- Purple is my favorite! They have a bright fruity, berry flavor.
They also look very nice.
Kelloggs Unicorn Fruit Flavored Rainbow Rings
Consistency: Crispy, pleasant. A huge plus of these rings is that no matter how long they lie in milk, they do not get soaked, as is usually the case with breakfast cereals. I mean an adequate amount of time ? The rings were in my milk for 30 minutes, and even 1 hour, and remained crispy and pleasant! Therefore, at the moment, this dry breakfast is my favorite.
Sticker is glued to the transparent bag that contains the rings in the box.