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System Builder Marathon: TH's $2000 Hand-Picked Build

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December 27, 2010 4:00:04 AM

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

System Builder Marathon: TH's $2000 Hand-Picked Build : Read more

More about : system builder marathon 2000 hand picked build

December 27, 2010 4:15:30 AM

Can't Wait untill Bulldozer and Sandy Brodge Editions come out. I know it sounds cliche but...
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December 27, 2010 4:46:46 AM

This is probably the best way of spending 2000$ for a PC.
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December 27, 2010 6:03:50 AM

Performance / watt of this build is really impressive.
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Anonymous
December 27, 2010 7:25:07 AM

A price table for the new build would be nice too, so i can see how much would it cost when i remove the BD and Case.
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December 27, 2010 7:32:35 AM

Tamz_mscThis is probably the best way of spending 2000$ for a PC.

I don't think so, considering that cheaper and less power-hungry Sandy Bridge is coming.
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December 27, 2010 8:48:35 AM

gti88I don't think so, considering that cheaper and less power-hungry Sandy Bridge is coming.

You forgot weaker ;) 
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December 27, 2010 9:19:56 AM

Decent review but it seems that in nvidia setups, even the same CPUs can somehow overclock better. And the speed of RAM has negligible or no effect on overall system performance so no point tuning that component.
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December 27, 2010 10:13:29 AM

"Familiarity in overclocking and a third PCIe x16 graphics card slot that operates in x8 mode when occupied are two reasons why we chose the X58A-UD3R over the similarly-priced Asus Sabertooth X58."

Ok, fine. Wouldn't hurt to familiarize anew with a better board and that 3rd slot wasn't used anyways. Megahalems over Noctua? Seasonic over Corsair AX? :( 

Or was it last minute budget cuts to make it less than $2000?
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December 27, 2010 11:37:15 AM

scrumworksDecent review but it seems that in nvidia setups, even the same CPUs can somehow overclock better. And the speed of RAM has negligible or no effect on overall system performance so no point tuning that component.


What do you mean, this was the same model processor but not the same one. They got a new one for this build - so how does that show that the graphics have anything to do with the overclock? If anything it says exactly what is stated in the article, that the overclockability of the i7 950 varies between each sample quite a margin.

NVidia or for that matter AMD graphics have no effect on the CPU overclock.
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December 27, 2010 11:51:58 AM

How does a Core i5 @~4.3Ghz or a Phenom II X6 @~4Ghz stack up against the Core i7? Well, that's using the same other components, 'cept RAM and MoBo :p 

I'd like to know that.

Cheers!
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December 27, 2010 12:14:07 PM

I would like to see an E5620 $2000 build. I suggest cutting 2 SSD to get this beast under $2000. Should win the gaming and CPU tests with no problem.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

The ASUS Rampage III I understand works well with this server CPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Due to the low multiplier on the E5620 we will need some highly OCing RAM. Would like have used the 2000 patriot but it breaks the budget.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Three AMD 6950's and it would be great to have a small scaling test. I would like to see what benefit the third card adds. I choose this GPU because many reviews say its the best FPS for the dollar.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

ASUS black DVD burner.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

An Antec Three Hundred Illusion case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Antec CP-850 850W. The PSU has only 4 PCI-E but the Sapphire's come with a 6 PIN to 4 PIN Power Cable and
a 8-PIN to 4 PIN x2 Power Cable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

H&S Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Build total $2000



If you want to try for 4.8GHz change the CPU to an E5630, 2 X 6970's, and get the patriot 2000 RAM for a $2000 build.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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Anonymous
December 27, 2010 12:47:01 PM

@ Luay: "Ok, fine. Wouldn't hurt to familiarize anew with a better board and that 3rd slot wasn't used anyways. Megahalems over Noctua? Seasonic over Corsair AX? :( "

"better board"--clearly your opinion. That Gigabyte board is an excellent board.
Megahalems: They liked the cooling performance of it with the 4.35MHz i7-950 and saw no reason to change. And it is to laugh at your "Seasonic over Corsair AX"--guess who builds the Corsair AX?
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December 27, 2010 1:23:39 PM

nerrawgWhat do you mean, this was the same model processor but not the same one. They got a new one for this build - so how does that show that the graphics have anything to do with the overclock? If anything it says exactly what is stated in the article, that the overclockability of the i7 950 varies between each sample quite a margin.NVidia or for that matter AMD graphics have no effect on the CPU overclock.


This debate is easily enough resolved; pop the processor out of the original build and swap it into this build. See if it will overclock to the same degree in this configuration as it did the 1st. I'd like to know!
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December 27, 2010 1:45:29 PM

YukaHow does a Core i5 @~4.3Ghz or a Phenom II X6 @~4Ghz stack up against the Core i7? Well, that's using the same other components, 'cept RAM and MoBo I'd like to know that.Cheers!


Look at the june builds. The $2000PC there used a Phenom II X6 1055 and sorely disappointed.
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December 27, 2010 2:28:47 PM

I've never been a CF {Crossfire} fan, and this build is just another illustration of SLI vs CF. As far as Delta - they offer excellent CFM BUT are EXTREMELY loud @ 46.5 dBA / 3400 RPM - therefore they MUST be run on a fan controller. Anything above >30 dBA is loud and annoying.
CM R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 -> {76.8 CFM} 32 dBA / 2000 RPM
Delta AFC1212D-PWM -> {113.11 CFM} 46.5 dBA / 3400 RPM

Next, I also not a big fan of transverse mounted cases; thermal dynamically 'I get it' but the design pulls the more dusty ground air and the space is often cramped which defeats any advantages.

I absolutely loath the GA-X58A-UD3R MOBO, and instead would have opted for either EVGA or ASUS. Example ASUS P6X58D-E.
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December 27, 2010 2:34:31 PM

articleSoft blue lighting accents both the front and the top fan, appearing bright only in contrast to the case’s black finish.


The lighting of the case fans is white as stated on corsair's web site
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December 27, 2010 2:43:20 PM

gti88I don't think so, considering that cheaper and less power-hungry Sandy Bridge is coming.


sandy bridge is a mainstream processor. Intel made it clear that their flagship will remain to be the i7 900 series. This makes sense as AMD still couldn't beat intel in raw performance.
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December 27, 2010 3:11:51 PM

nice build, i actually agree with using a new processor and hsowing how it can overclock to. it shows real world performance and how you shouldn't bank on your parts being able to do much mroe beyond stock. overclocking is a bonus, i myself do it, but if i buy a part and it operates at stock speeds fine well... to be fair that is really what i paid for so while it may impact me buying that companies products down the road i can't rma or complain much
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December 27, 2010 3:17:52 PM

SB is a mainstream processor? Lol! Again, the i7 2600K will beat all the i7 900 CPUs except the $1000 6 core ones. So the i7 2600K will be faster than the i7 950 and below CPUs. Remember that it has 3.4 GHz quad core HT and the i7 950 only has 3.0 GHz stock clock. That in itself will make SB faster plus it should be around %10 faster clock per clock against nehalem.
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December 27, 2010 4:08:38 PM

Any reason why Tom's Hardware doesn't make a public wishlist on newegg.com with each build and link it off the story? It'd benefit your sponsor as well as your readers interested in duplicating your efforts.
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December 27, 2010 4:41:06 PM

jaquithAs far as Delta - they offer excellent CFM BUT are EXTREMELY loud @ 46.5 dBA / 3400 RPM - therefore they MUST be run on a fan controller. Anything above >30 dBA is loud and annoying. CM R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 -> {76.8 CFM} 32 dBA / 2000 RPM Delta AFC1212D-PWM -> {113.11 CFM} 46.5 dBA / 3400 RPMcitation]
A fan controller would lower its CFM potential and lifespan. Believe me, it's nice to have a highly overclocked box on cheap fans but after 1 year you'll find yourself begging for silence.
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December 27, 2010 4:53:54 PM

Tom's do you pay for the hardware? or does Newegg provide them for free??
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December 27, 2010 4:54:03 PM

Tom's do you pay for the hardware? or does Newegg provide them for free??
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December 27, 2010 4:59:21 PM

C'mon Tom's, ads on every page? Bit of overkill, don't you think?
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December 27, 2010 6:17:08 PM

case: haf 932
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December 27, 2010 6:37:56 PM

joelmartinezcase: haf 932
Looks like trash, panel fit is OK though.
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December 27, 2010 8:37:37 PM

Phew! Long gone are all the bad memories of that last build....
Seriously liking this build, would make an awesome work station.
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December 27, 2010 9:33:44 PM

thanks tom and chris, great follow up i did not expect but wished for. darn shame about the new cpu. curiosity leads me to wonder where both 950's were made in malaysia or puerto rico?
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December 28, 2010 12:35:00 AM

Glad to see Tom finally acknowledging weaker cards in CF or SLI over one big card.

Also including 128GB of SSD is awesome, way to go, now the only thing missing is a sound card and it would reflect my build.
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December 28, 2010 12:36:05 AM

A good read crashman ... thanks.
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December 28, 2010 12:36:55 AM

My only other matter would be exchanging the MOBO for an MSI and using a SIlverstone Raven 2 instead of the Corsair Graphite... way more awesome, silent and effective case.
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December 28, 2010 12:48:48 AM

That was interesting. I like the [further] reinforcement of the idea that overclocking is not a certainty.
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December 28, 2010 4:18:11 AM

I liked this build much better than the last one.
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December 28, 2010 4:38:07 AM

Crashman said:
Looks like trash, panel fit is OK though.

Judging by the looks, the HAF 932 is unique, you can either love it or hate it.But its is one of the best full-tower cases for its price. The corsair 600T is good, but overpriced.
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December 28, 2010 4:40:23 AM

Pixel13@ And it is to laugh at your "Seasonic over Corsair AX"--guess who builds the Corsair AX?

Without guessing, and according to Corsair, Corsair builds the AX series from the ground up, not Seasonic. Even if it was, Corsair makes better cables.
Asus Sabertooth X58 is specifically a 2xGPU gaming/overclocking mobo that beats the UD3R, or any X58 board, in these specific tasks. IMO, If you're not using a 3rd PCI-E slot and reducing lanes as this build, you can't do better.
Noctua was the heatsink recommended by Tom's in the gift guide.
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December 28, 2010 7:13:32 AM

joelmartinezcase: haf 932

I like that case very good cooling,lots of airflow and very spacious especially for big graphics cards.
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December 28, 2010 8:24:01 AM

I like to thank tomshardware for all of these. Very good comparison, very useful.
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December 28, 2010 11:24:15 PM

elbertI would like to see an E5620 $2000 build.

Wat? a $385 processor that is less powerful than the one used in this build AND it likely doesn't overclock well? Or do you just think it will overclock better because while reducing the frequency, they also reduced the TDP to match?
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December 29, 2010 6:10:30 AM

Newegg has made this entire build into an $1800 combo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

I don't really like some of the items here. It's just not what I want out of 2K. I would rather sacrifice a little performance for a higher quality case, a modular PSU with a 7 year warranty (the selected Seasonic has a 3-year), and a bit more quiet.
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December 29, 2010 2:20:50 PM

Enzo MatrixWat? a $385 processor that is less powerful than the one used in this build AND it likely doesn't overclock well? Or do you just think it will overclock better because while reducing the frequency, they also reduced the TDP to match?

Less powerful at stock but OC is limited my the motherboard in this case. The E5620 being a 32nm CPU can run stock 4.3GHz stable if the motherboard allows. The i7's shouldn't be run more than 3.73GHz for long term use. The E65x0 can run 4GHz+ stable long term use. Clock for clock the E56x0 beat the i7's due to memory bandwidths. These 2 CPU's beat the 6 core i7's in gaming so yes these 2 CPU's will have no problem beating the i7's.

Here it owns the i7 930 at 4GHz. This review show what the E5620 can do but the E5630 is the real beast at OCing.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/xeon-e5620-overcloc...
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January 21, 2011 1:48:33 AM

DadiggleWindows 7 Premium Edition - 119.99usd So its actually a 2119.99usd pcOr did they use a pirated copy?
Nope, Ubuntu recommended here :) 
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Anonymous
February 1, 2011 1:29:50 PM

When will the 1k$ config be published? :) 
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Anonymous
February 2, 2011 5:28:33 AM

yes, i know of december. i'm very interested in the next one, i'm quite sure you can make a good mid configuration with the new sandy procs, maybe the best until now. the i3 config doesnt look quite good in tests
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February 7, 2011 11:30:51 PM

With those prolimatech, does all memory slot can be filled with those memory? Please enhance the photo for memory clearance!
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February 8, 2011 12:39:23 AM

realbabiluWith those prolimatech, does all memory slot can be filled with those memory? Please enhance the photo for memory clearance!
Yes, the first memory module slides under the fan.
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!