I Bought a $300 Gaming PC on TaoBao

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

Have you ever wondered what Chinese consumers might be buying from their version of AliExpress? We didn't, at least not initially, but when we saw the specs and price of this Frankenstein gaming PC listed all over Taobao, our tune changed completely. What's going on inside this $300 14-core xeon beast of a computer? Who makes these parts? Why is it so cheap? And why is hwinfo64 telling us that this motherboard has specs that straight up shouldn't exist?

When we fantasy-built our own workstation equivalent to the Taobao gamer special, here's what we came up with:

Build 1:
- HP Z440 ($130) + $39 shipping within US
- Updated version of the PC we used for the latest $69 PC
- Add on E5-2690 V4 $22.22
- Add on 2070 Super for $150
- Includes 700W power supply
- Uses 2133 RAM, same as the Taobao
- Has Front USB 3 x4
- RAM and SSD were included in a few of the listings we found

Build 2:
- Dell Precision T5810 ($67) + $35 shipping within US
- Add on E5-2698 V3 $24.99
- Only does E5 V3 processors
- 2698V3 is only slightly slower than 2690V4 at CPU mark
- Includes 825W PSU
- Has Front USB 3 x1 USB 2 x3
- Uses 2133 RAM, same as the Taobao
- 16gb ram included in the model we found on ebay
- Add on a 240gb Kingston A400 for $25
- Add on an RTX 3070 OC for $200 + $15 shipping on ebay

FOLLOW US
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MUSIC CREDIT
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Intro: Laszlo - Supernova

Outro: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High

CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
2:06 Mystery Case
3:32 Accessories
5:15 Cable Management & PSU
6:28 They sent the wrong unit?
6:43 SSD
6:57 RAM
7:37 Motherboard (more on that later)
8:30 Firing it up and solving some mysteries
11:03 Green Internet Explorer & Ham
12:34 Gaming
13:32 A chipset only a motherboard could love
17:15 Should you get one?

[Monique-izlp]

I love how items from China packed in cheap cardboard always arrive pristine, but if you ship something to the next town over, it looks like it got ran over.

[HenriqueStz]

These motherboards are not only popular in Russia. Here in Brazil, the so-called "xeon kits" are the only way for Brazilians to have decent hardware, at an affordable price.

[moldo.cel.barbos]

i have a screwdriver exactly like the one they recived for over 15 years now. my mind is absolutely blown away to see that the exact model is still in use

[KalosLikesComputers]

This computer isn't just running "a cracked version of Windows 10 Enterprise", it's running Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC (it can be seen at around 10:00). It's a version of Windows without any Microsoft bloatware that isn't strictly necessary for the computer to run, and it's meant for servers. LTSC stands for Long Term Support Channel, and the support window is *10 years!* So this computer will get updates up to at least 2026, assuming that Windows 10 came out in 2016.

[alexandertsema]

I live in Russia, and recently my parents asked me to update their PC. It had GTS650 graphics card and other stuff from that era. Dad somehow got an 1070 (or 2070, I can't recall) from his friend, and asked me for a cheap way to update the rest of the PC. He plays World of Tanks a lot, an my mom uses the computer for work. I asked my friend and he told me about those "Xeon kits" that are really popular here, cheap, you can buy it almost in every city from hands or if you can wait a little, then buy it even cheaper on Aliexpress. So I found a guy who sells them, and in the same day my dad was playing his beloved tanks with more FPS than before. It was a year ago, and the new PC runs smoothly ever since :)

[zhikaichen]

To be fair, Taobao (China) is more like a combination of Ebay and Amazon. Wish is more like Pinduoduo in China.

[EanaHufwe]

In case you’re curious what the red sticker on the GPU is about,
It just says “Plug in the GPU power cable →“

[NeverlandSystemZor]

While the manufacturers surely HATE IT... I really LOVE the idea of "repurposing" old CPUs and making boards for them. ANY time we can create more use out of old hardware is VERY good for the environment AND low-cost options for people with low budgets or without other options.

[mikeloeven]

11:50 and people still wonder why the first thing I do when I set up a new computer for a family member is format the HDD and install a clean OS even if it comes preloaded

[erikkarjala]

HDMI to VGA adapter included is essentially a memorial piece. And it's so thoughtful. Certain games i absolutely have to play on older monitors (CRT) are vga not hdmi. so the inclusion of this adapter is really like getting a stocking stuffer present. Very thoughtful of them.

[RILDIGITAL]

Even though this "Frankenstein" of a computer might not be for everyone, it's heartening to see technology find a second life in unexpected ways.

[ckh.joseph]

That motherboard still has features like on board power buttons, post code display and vrm heatsinks, yet premium boards nowadays don't even have these features.

[raka]

That... that's not bad, that turned out to be even more interesting instead

Certainly better than those seller that just put 'i7' and 'GTX' for $600 while omitting the generation

[TuncayAyhan]

"Velly good" 4:40 caught me off guard

[Moesuito]

Well, here in Brazil, these Chinese X99 kits are extremely common. This movement started almost two years ago due to the inflated prices of hardware in Brazil, with high taxes. Importing these items from China comes with much lower taxes. While a kit with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 would cost around R$ 1, 650.00 (CPU + MOBO + RAM), a kit with Xeon costs around R$ 530.00—three times less than the price in a third-world country. The choice becomes very obvious.

[Arjay]

I was pleasantly surprised by this. As long as they are honest with what they are selling I really can't say anything bad about this, just the fact that they are reusing old parts to make functional machines and selling them at a decent price then more props to them.

[renankataoka]

This set is quite a thing in Brazil. The cheapest way to get into gaming was to import from Aliexpress a X79/X99 Xeon kit with motherboard and 16GB Ram from around $50 and then adding a graphics card used for mining, also from China (mostly RX580s or modified RX6600Ms).

Pretty reasonable way to build a $150 entry gaming PC. Performance is not the best, but price/performance ratio is unmatched.

[the_bopler]

My mom and I are Chinese living in the United States, and my mom ships things over from Taobao sometimes. She bought tons of Chinese snacks and things, and one time, i chose out parts for a keyboard! Every time it arrives in pristine condition, since my mom has friends who owns a warehouse that can ship things over. For the keyboard nerds out there, the kit was a CIY GAS67 keyboard kit, a KTT Kang White switches, and a macha keycap set to match the green on the keyboard kit. It cost less than $40 in total, plus shipping. It's a good deal for those who has the time and patience to research and wait for the shipping.

[Anthony-jwig]

I'm currently using a X99(C612) board with two Xeon E5-2696 v3 CPUs, 128GB of DDR3 RAM, RTX 2080Ti (modded memory chip to 22 GB for better llama model inferring) and an extra 4-port 1Gbps network card. Cost about 5000 Yuan, built with the help of my friend in China. Pretty cool 😎

[yunfanfan]

I laugh at people bashing Chinese products being low quality - if you're only paying 1/3 of the price of another product, sure the quality is compromised when compared! But if you pay 2/3 of the price, Chinese products are almost always on par or better in quality. It's the bashers being cheap, not the Chinese products' quality being cheap.