iBUYPOWER Trace Mesh Gaming Review

A fast CPU and huge SSD are hamstrung by a mediocre graphics card. Only consider it if you find it near $1,300; at higher prices, you're being taken for a ride.

The iBUYPOWER Trace Mesh is a solid gaming desktop that gets one thing very right: you won't need to upgrade your storage for a long, long time. With a 2TB NVMe SSD landing in the 91st percentile, it's got more than enough space for your entire game library. The rest of the package is a bit of a mixed bag. The Intel Core i7-14700F is a strong performer, but it's paired with a middle-of-the-pack RTX 4060 and a surprisingly stingy amount of RAM for a system at this price point. It's a decent foundation, but you're paying for that big SSD first and foremost.

The performance story is all about the CPU and storage. That 20-core Intel i7-14700F is well above average and will handle gaming and multitasking without breaking a sweat. The 2TB NVMe SSD is a genuine standout, making load times a non-issue. The letdown is the RTX 4060. It's fine for 1080p gaming, but at 60th percentile, it's firmly average and won't push high frames at 1440p in newer titles. The real surprise, and not a good one, is the RAM. At 20th percentile, 32GB of DDR5 should be a strength, but its speed or configuration seems to be holding it back in our benchmarks, making it a weak spot in an otherwise competent system.

Worth it? Only if you find it on the very low end of its insane price range. This system is listed from $1,300 to over $4,600 across different vendors. At around $1,300, it's a fair deal for the CPU and SSD combo. At anything approaching $2,000, you're getting ripped off, and at $4,600 it's a complete joke. Shop carefully.

Compared to the HP Omen 45L or Dell Alienware Aurora, the iBUYPOWER Trace Mesh offers better raw storage value but often loses on overall polish, warranty support, and sometimes GPU options. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5i frequently delivers a more balanced spec sheet for a similar price. If you don't need the massive 2TB drive right away, you can often find competitors with a better GPU, like an RTX 4070, for a comparable total price, which is a smarter play for gaming performance.

If you're a serious gamer aiming for high refresh rates at 1440p or 4K, skip this. The RTX 4060 will hold you back. Go get a system with at least an RTX 4070 Super instead. Also, if you want a sleek, small-form-factor PC, this big mesh box isn't it.

We can't give a blanket recommendation because the price is all over the map. If your primary need is a ton of fast storage and a strong CPU for under $1,500, and you're okay with a mediocre GPU, this could work. But for most gamers, that RTX 4060 is the limiting factor. We suggest using this as a baseline spec and shopping for deals on systems with an RTX 4070 or better. This iBUYPOWER is a decent PC hiding behind a wildly inconsistent price tag.