iBUYPOWER Element Pro PB-EPBI9N58-01 Black 2025

The iBUYPOWER Element Pro packs a killer combo of an RTX 5080 and a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9, making it a 4K gaming and content creation beast. The 2TB SSD and 360mm AIO are great inclusions, but the 5200 MHz RAM is a bit conservative and iBUYPOWER's reliability track record is a concern. Prices are all over the map, from $2800 to $3903, so shop around aggressively. It's a fantastic high-end prebuilt for multitaskers, but pure gamers can find similar GPU power for less.

Let's talk real numbers. The RTX 5080 in this machine is a beast, and it puts the Element Pro in a class above most prebuilts we've seen. In our database, it's one of the best GPUs on the market right now, meaning you can expect smooth 4K gaming with ray tracing turned on in demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077. The 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM is a big deal, giving you plenty of headroom for high-resolution textures and future games that will inevitably be even more memory-hungry. You're not just buying for today's games, you're buying for the next few years of AAA releases.

The CPU is equally impressive for workstation tasks. That 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 is a multi-threading monster, making short work of video renders, 3D modeling, and code compilation. It's a standout in our rankings, and you'll feel that in real-world use. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM running at 5200 MHz is solid, though it's worth noting it's in the 79th percentile, which is strong but not quite as bleeding-edge as the rest of the build. You might eventually want to swap in a faster kit, but for the vast majority of users, this is more than enough to keep the CPU fed. The 2TB NVMe drive is also a highlight, landing in the 91st percentile for storage, so you're getting a top-tier drive that's both capacious and quick.

Stacked up against the competition, the Element Pro carves out a nice spot for itself. The Lenovo Legion 34IAS10 is a formidable rival, often offering better build quality and a more understated design that won't look out of place in an office. You'll typically pay a premium for that Legion polish, though. The HP Omen GT22 is another strong contender, and HP has been killing it with their cooling solutions lately, but they sometimes skimp on the power supply or use proprietary parts that make future upgrades a headache. The iBUYPOWER uses all standard off-the-shelf components, which is a huge plus for tinkerers.

Then you've got the ASUS ROG GM700TZ and the MSI EdgeXpert, both of which tend to lean harder into gamer aesthetics with even more RGB and aggressive case designs. They're great machines, but the iBUYPOWER's spec combo here, particularly that Core Ultra 9, often gives it an edge in raw CPU horsepower for the money. The Dell Tower Plus is the odd one out, usually aimed more at the mainstream, and it just can't keep up with this level of GPU performance. If you want a prebuilt that prioritizes raw frame rates and core counts over brand prestige, the Element Pro makes a very compelling argument.

Pricing on this specific configuration is a bit of a mystery since no single price is listed, but we're seeing a wild spread across vendors, from $2800 all the way up to $3903. That's a difference of over $1100, which is enough to buy a really nice monitor. If you're hunting for this PC, you absolutely need to shop around. The lower end of that range is actually a pretty solid deal for an RTX 5080 and a Core Ultra 9, especially when you factor in the cost of a Windows license and the included peripherals. At nearly four grand, though, you're entering territory where you could build a similar system yourself with hand-picked, higher-quality components and still have cash left over. Newegg seems to be the place to check first for the best deal, but don't sleep on other retailers. A little price hunting could save you a small fortune.

The iBUYPOWER Element Pro is the kind of prebuilt that makes you question whether you even need to build your own PC anymore. You're getting an Intel Core Ultra 9 285 and an RTX 5080, which is basically the new hotness from both camps, stuffed into a flashy Element 9 Pro case with a 360mm liquid cooler keeping things chill. It's aimed squarely at gamers who want to crank settings to ultra at 4K, but also at streamers and video editors who can actually use all 24 of those cores. The spec sheet reads like a wishlist, and for the most part, iBUYPOWER delivers the goods right out of the box.

What makes this particular rig interesting is the balance. It's not just a GPU in a box with a cheapo CPU thrown in as an afterthought. The Core Ultra 9 sits in the 93rd percentile in our database, which is genuinely top-tier for a prebuilt. Pair that with 32GB of DDR5 and a speedy 2TB NVMe drive, and you've got a machine that boots fast, loads games in a blink, and handles a dozen Chrome tabs without breaking a sweat. The RTX 5080 with 16GB of GDDR7 is the star of the show, landing in the 88th percentile for GPU performance, meaning it'll chew through anything you throw at it for years to come.

But here's the thing about prebuilts from a company like iBUYPOWER: you're rolling the dice a bit on the finer details. Our data shows reliability scores sitting in a disappointing 28th percentile. That doesn't mean this specific PC will fail, but it does mean you should give it a thorough once-over when it arrives. Check the cable management, make sure the RAM is seated properly, and run some stress tests. The core components are fantastic, but the assembly quality can sometimes feel like a Friday afternoon job. If you're comfortable with a screwdriver, you'll be fine. If you want a completely hands-off experience, that's something to keep in mind.

You should probably skip this if you're a set-it-and-forget-it type who never wants to open their PC case. Our data shows iBUYPOWER's reliability scores are in a pretty rough spot, and while many units are perfectly fine, you're more likely to encounter a loose cable or a poorly seated component than you would with a brand like Lenovo or HP. If the thought of reseating RAM or checking power connections gives you anxiety, look at the Lenovo Legion 34IAS10 instead. It might cost a bit more for similar specs, but the build quality and warranty support are generally a step above.

Also, if you're a competitive esports gamer chasing the absolute highest frame rates at 1080p, this machine is the wrong tool for the job. The RTX 5080 is a 4K card, and at lower resolutions, you'll often be CPU-bottlenecked. A system built around a Ryzen 7 7800X3D or 9800X3D would serve you much better, delivering significantly higher frame rates in games like Valorant, CS2, and Overwatch 2. This PC is a high-resolution, high-detail workhorse, not a low-res, high-fps specialist.

If you're a gamer who also dabbles in streaming or content creation, this is a near-perfect all-in-one solution. The RTX 5080 will push high frame rates at 4K, and the NVENC encoder on the GPU combined with those extra CPU cores means you can stream your gameplay without tanking performance. It's a powerhouse that arrives ready to work and play, and you don't have to spend a weekend building it. Just plug it in, update your drivers, and you're off to the races. For this crowd, it's an easy recommendation, especially if you can snag it at the lower end of that price range.

For pure gamers who don't stream or edit video, the Core Ultra 9 is honestly overkill. You're paying for cores you'll rarely fully utilize. You'd be better served by a system with a slightly less monstrous CPU, like a Core i7 or a Ryzen 7, and putting the savings toward an even better monitor or a bigger SSD. The GPU is the real hero for gaming, and you can get that same RTX 5080 in a cheaper box. This machine is a multitasking sledgehammer, and if you're only using it to crack a single gaming nut, you're leaving a lot of its potential on the table.