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System Builder Marathon, Q4 2012: System Value ComparedDec 6, 2012 - in Reviews
This quarter is full of surprises, from a value-oriented $500 build that includes a Radeon HD 7850 to a $1,000 machine based on AMD's FX-8350 and a $2,000 box armed with a pair of Radeon HD 7970s. We mix it up by adding new benchmarks. It's anyone's game!
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System Builder Marathon, Q4 2012: $1,000 Enthusiast PCDec 4, 2012 - in Reviews
Tired of seeing Intel CPUs dominate our System Builder Marathon? Finally, we have a processor from AMD able to go up against the fastest Core i5. We give its new FX-8350 a chance to distinguish itself in our final System Builder Marathon of 2012.
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System Builder Marathon, August 2012: Alternative $2000 Gaming PCAug 23, 2012 - in Reviews
Starved by the limits of our System Builder Marathon benchmark suite, Thomas decides to explore what happens when he really uncorks the graphics system. A helping of 5760x1080 across three monitors is being added to the complete four-course test set.
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System Builder Marathon, August 2012: System Value ComparedAug 22, 2012 - in Reviews
Paul, Don, and Thomas each took a stab at building the best value-oriented performance machine within their budget limits (some more successfully than others). Which of these machines will stand out for delivering the most bang for your enthusiast buck?
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System Builder Marathon, August 2012: $1000 Enthusiast PCAug 20, 2012 - in Reviews
This quarter, we construct our most powerful $1000 enthusiast build ever, complete with a Core i5-3570K, GeForce GTX 670, and solid-state storage. Can it beat the value of Paul's $500 machine or come close to the performance of Thomas' $2000 system?
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System Builder Marathon, August 2012: $500 Gaming PCAug 19, 2012 - in Reviews
Paul went all-out last quarter, cramming massive graphics performance into his $500 gaming PC. This time around, he pulls back a little bit on his GPU in order to use a better-balanced processor. Can he maintain playable frame rates in our gaming suite?
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System Builder Marathon, June 2012: System Value ComparedJun 7, 2012 - in Reviews
Frugality returned in this quarter's System Builder Marathon, tipping the balance towards less-elaborate gaming rigs. Does cutting deep into the budgets end up hurting our lower-cost build too much for it to compete, or is its value enhanced instead?
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System Builder Marathon, June 2012: $500 Gaming PCJun 6, 2012 - in Reviews
After stripping $150 from his already frugal budget, Paul is forced to make a tough gamble in order to hit his build goals. Will the decision to spend big on graphics bite him in the rear when he has to cut back on everything else, or is the choice sound?
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System Builder Marathon, June 2012: $1000 Enthusiast PCJun 5, 2012 - in Reviews
With a $250-smaller budget this quarter, Don re-creates the previous build as faithfully as possible just to see how much of a difference two memory channels make. With no room left for an SSD or extra RAM, we think you'll be surprised by the results.
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System Builder Marathon, March 2012: System Value ComparedMar 28, 2012 - in Reviews
Three different builders took two different approaches this quarter. Paul and Don struck out in search of more graphics performance, while Thomas gave up some GPU horsepower in favor of a stronger CPU. Whose strategy paid off? It's time to compare!
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System Builder Marathon, March 2012: $650 Gaming PCMar 25, 2012 - in Reviews
This quarter, we're starting our System Builder Marathon with a little experiment. Paul wanted to build a gaming PC for $650 that'd target smooth performance at 1920x1080. He had to make a couple of sacrifices in the process, but the result is compelling!
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System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: System Value ComparedDec 22, 2011 - in Reviews
A 20% budget boost for this quarter’s machines gave every builder room to fix former foibles, yet only the cheapest system showed big performance gains. What effect will those big and small changes have on price-per-performance proficiency?
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System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $1200 Enthusiast PCDec 19, 2011 - in Reviews
We mix things up with a $1200 budget, a brutally powerful Radeon HD 6950 CrossFire combo, and AMD's new FX processor in the final mid-range System Builder Marathon PC of 2011. The results are predictable in some ways, but surprising in others.
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System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2011: System Value ComparedSep 25, 2011 - in Reviews
Big changes to a few components radically alter the performance profile of every machine in this quarter's competition. We’ve already seen how these changes affect the value of each machine, but how will they compare to each other?
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System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2011: $2000 Performance PCSep 19, 2011 - in Reviews
Falling memory prices make it easier to spend our $2000 budget on the fastest available components. How much faster is a pair of GeForce GTX 580s than two Radeon HD 6970 cards? Noticeably. But is the value any more compelling? You're about to find out.
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System Builder Marathon, June 2011: Value ComparedJun 23, 2011 - in Reviews
With so little happening in the hardware world since the beginning of this year, our second-quarter System Builder Marathon sees only minor hardware changes. But each builder unquestionably comes closer to dialing in ideal setups at each price point.
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System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PCJun 21, 2011 - in Reviews
This quarter, we're keeping the Core i5-2500K processor from our previous build, but we're adding a pair of Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFire. How will those two boards stand up against the modified Radeon HD 6950 we used last time? The answer is within!
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System Builder Marathon, March 2011: Value ComparedMar 28, 2011 - in Reviews
Day 4 of our System Builder Marathon compares performance achieved to money spent. With outright speed the top priority, can either of our high-end systems beat the low-cost build when it comes to value? Or will the middle machine strike the best balance?
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System Builder Marathon, March 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PCMar 23, 2011 - in Reviews
We give Sandy Bridge yet another shot in our second System Builder Marathon configuration of the month, leaning on Intel's Core i5-2500K. How well does it fare against the Lynnfield-based Core i5-700-series processor it’s replacing?
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System Builder Marathon: TH's $2000 Hand-Picked BuildDec 26, 2010 - in Reviews
The first $2000 build in this quarter's SBM series provided astonishing performance overall, but a few disappointments forced us to consider alternative parts. Today, we see how much improvement we can make when we hand-pick the configuration, TH-style
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Build It: Half-Height Gaming PCs For The Living RoomDec 21, 2010 - in Reviews
PowerColor’s half-height Radeon HD 5750 launched a quest to build a tiny gaming PC. But things didn't work out the way we planned. We ended up building two half-height machines capable of cranking out playable frame rates, and put them both to the test.
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System Builder Marathon, December 2010: Value, ComparedDec 19, 2010 - in Reviews
New benchmarks, new test methods, and new hardware mark exciting updates to this month’s System Builder Marathon. Today, we cover the most exciting part of all: the value competition. Remember, we're giving all three systems away, so enter to win them!
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System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $2000 PCDec 12, 2010 - in Reviews
With all of your feedback from last quarter's System Builder Marathon under our belts, this time around, we attempt to fit a no-sacrifice, luxury and performance build into our moderately-high $2000 budget. Will this new build succeed on all fronts?
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System Builder Marathon: TH's $2000 Hand-Picked BuildSep 30, 2010 - in Reviews
Each quarter, our System Builder Marathons include parts picked by three Tom's Hardware editors aided by comments from our readers. This quarter, we're adding an Editor's Choice PC with parts hand-picked by Thomas to go up against the top SBM config.
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System Builder Marathon, June 2010: System Value ComparedJun 18, 2010 - in Reviews
Smaller budgets were the rule for this quarter’s System Builder Marathon, but better performance was the exception. How will this affect our multi-budget value comparison? Check out the performance results, and don't forget to register to win these boxes!
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System Builder Marathon, June 2010: $2,000 Performance PCJun 15, 2010 - in Reviews
Tom’s Hardware takes a more frugal approach this month, with a high-end PC that fits within the budget of most folks who call themselves power users. Will recent advances in hardware allow this $2,000 build to beat our $3,000 system from March?
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System Builder Marathon, March 2010: System Value ComparedMar 19, 2010 - in Reviews
Budget enhancements to this month’s SBM finally reflect last year’s price increases, allowing the return of liquid cooling at the high-end and Core i7 for the mid-priced systems. With big improvements to its bigger brothers, can the low-cost PC still win?
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System Builder Marathon, March 2010: $750 Gaming PCMar 18, 2010 - in Reviews
The last machine in this quarter's System Builder Marathon, Paul's $750 Gaming PC certainly isn't least. A triple-core Athlon II X3 didn't necessarily overclock well, but a fourth-core unlock gives this system a huge efficiency advantage in our suite.
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System Builder Marathon, March 2010: $3,000 Extreme PCMar 16, 2010 - in Reviews
We loosened the leash on our budgets a little this month in order to pack all of your most requested features into a system that's accessible to more than just affluent enthusiasts. Will this build be complete enough to avoid previously noted regrets?
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System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2009: System Value ComparedDec 25, 2009 - in Reviews
Our mid-priced and high-end systems are ready to challenge the notion of value supremacy for low-cost parts. Will Intel’s latest architecture provide enough performance to break the $700 machine’s value winning monopoly? How do ATI's new GPUs factor in?