It's not piracy when you can download from Microsoft and use it without any extra means. At most you are violating their terms of service, which is not illegal.
Yes, but it's $14. It's also a glorified form of piracy. A famous eletronics e-waste innovator tried getting cute with this in court, too. Didn't work out well for him-- headed to prison:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-of-pcs/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4e4ea022d651
There's always a possibility with these keys that Microsoft with rescind their validation status. You're at the mercy of Microsoft if you don't understand how to re-hack a broken validation. Objectively, the overwhelming majority of consumers prefer products that are legal and stable to this sort of unreliable grey market. This has been the Android TV Kodi Piracy Boxes' Achilles heel.
They may not care, I would argue they should as the majority of those that get into PC gaming look to continue or up grade, however that is up to them to decide.
Yes. This is the purpose of pointing out that self-building often isn't the superior solution.
It's why I tend to favor the AIOs that are built on the ATX format. It's also why when you substitute a $55 2-RAM slot motherboard against a $90 4-RAM slot motherboard, then say,
"They are not unlike, simply not the exact same parts," before subsequently waxing about a lack of expansion in the AIO build, well, it irritates me. Sure, two RAM slots is more than enough, but if 2x4GB is already occupying those slots, you have a value-upgrade problem. Expansion seems to be something you care about until it isn't convenient for you to care about it.
You could buy the case and PSU and just sit on them. However most people don't want to do that. In the end I would say those 4 you listed are pretty good reasons to spend an extra $150 dollars. There is a reason most people looking to build a PC wait until they have a larger budget then $400. It's the same reason most people are looking for cases with windows and simple better aesthetics, like PSUs without ketchup and mustard cables.
No, but they
could, and you clearly overlooked this. That's the point. They could wait 4 years and spend that $150 on a far superior Case+PSU for their new build. You tried arguing these future advantages as a foundation for a new build towards value, so of course I pointed out that argument is nonsense.
You can't match this value. You can't throw in stolen software or nerfed components to match it (ex. omitting Windows; omitting WiFi/ODD; nerfing motherboards, etc). You always squirm around philosophically with value in your builds, so I was forced to play cheap tricks in return to establish an undeniable truth, and you're
still trying to bargain around it.
For neophyte PC gamers the websites that serve the niche of building your blueprint really are a great entry point. They invite you to learn and understand components, but handle assembly for you. Furthermore, where CyberPowerPC and iBuyPower really shine as retailers is all the deals on accessories they're constantly running. They throw in the gaming mouse, mechanical keyboard, circumaural headset, and WiFi all combined for ~$20. You can even score a chair for $100. For guys who are brand new to PC gaming that is highly attractive.
It's true that gamers have discovered the AIO market, and along with the GPU inflation, it has driven the cost of those bestselling Amazon gamer towers up. That specific CPPC unit's previous Intel i5-7400 iteration has risen from $719 to $779. It's still a worthwhile avenue of consideration even for guys who want to upgrade, but it's most appealing for one-off buyers who want to plug and play:
($630) HP Pavilion Power 580-023w Gaming Tower PC: Intel Core i5-7400 3.0GHz, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB, WiFi, Windows 10 (Certified Refurbished)
