System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $2000 Performance PC
Tags:
- System Builder
- Performance
- Configuration
- Product
Last response: in Reviews comments
Crashman
June 21, 2011 4:00:06 AM
The launch of Intel's Z68 Express platform affects our build in a way we aren't benchmarking. But can we still put together a better configuration than last quarter's stunner? Will we achieve even better high-end value? The answer is a resounding yes.
System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $2000 Performance PC : Read more
System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $2000 Performance PC : Read more
More about : system builder marathon june 2011 2000 performance
regenon
June 21, 2011 4:42:41 AM
Tamz_msc
June 21, 2011 4:52:50 AM
Related resources
- Looking at System Builder Marathon (or any other PC) for New Build - Forum
- Help! System Builder Marathon, Q2 2014: Our Budget Gaming PC - Forum
- System Builder Marathon: Price/Performance - Forum
- System Builder Marathon: Price/Performance - Forum
- System Builder Marathon, August 2012: $1000 Enthusiast PC - Forum
buzznut
June 21, 2011 4:59:57 AM
Anonymous
June 21, 2011 5:09:48 AM
Yes, I am pleased to see a classy looking Lian Li case being used and not one of those gargoyle-inspired transformer-looking abominations that appeal only to google-eyed children and pimply-faced teenagers. That an adult might actually purchase that sort of monstrosity damped my hope for the future of the supposedly mature population of this world!
Score
6
amk09
June 21, 2011 5:30:53 AM
hmp_goose
June 21, 2011 5:35:38 AM
compton
June 21, 2011 5:38:50 AM
I too like the upgrade to a Lian Li. I didn't have a problem with the SBM method of fitting into a tightly constrained budget - but it's still good to see an attractive system as well as impressive performance. If someone is building a $2000 system, they can pony up a couple extra bucks for a better case. The System Builder Marathon is one of the best things going.
Score
1
dragonsqrrl
June 21, 2011 5:41:55 AM
Again, another great high-end build (very similar to previous build), and my only real complaint (albeit a small one) from the last $2000 system was also addressed, the case.
Are you guys satisfied with your decision to go with a higher-end case? Have you noticed any tangible benefits? For example, lower system temps, better build quality, better cable management, more interior room to work, additional features, etc...?
Are you guys satisfied with your decision to go with a higher-end case? Have you noticed any tangible benefits? For example, lower system temps, better build quality, better cable management, more interior room to work, additional features, etc...?
Score
6
JohnnyLucky
June 21, 2011 5:51:41 AM
whysobluepandabear
June 21, 2011 6:04:57 AM
Todd SauveYes, I am pleased to see a classy looking Lian Li case being used and not one of those gargoyle-inspired transformer-looking abominations that appeal only to google-eyed children and pimply-faced teenagers. That an adult might actually purchase that sort of monstrosity damped my hope for the future of the supposedly mature population of this world!
You give vivid details describing children and teenagers, but might I add something for the adults? Something like: "That a wrinkly, weaker and deteriorating adult might actually purchase". Something along those lines - we must make those adults look like old fuddy-duddies, whom are at the brink of a midlife crisis any moment now!
Score
-5
Travis Beane
June 21, 2011 6:06:21 AM
fstrthnu
June 21, 2011 6:28:06 AM
R6ex
June 21, 2011 6:41:51 AM
prisoner37
June 21, 2011 6:59:30 AM
hmp_gooseSo it's now considered "safe" to RAID 0 SSDs? I thought Tom's once had a big "here be dragons" label for that practice …
there was a recent article about this, where they discussed that in raid0 drive performance scales as you add drives, so by taking 2 drives with a 250mb/s write rate, you get nearly 500 mb/s. so not only is it safe, it adds performance
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-iops,2848.... is the article
Score
1
tacoslave
June 21, 2011 6:59:48 AM
fyasko
June 21, 2011 7:37:13 AM
miltduds
June 21, 2011 8:26:35 AM
jeroly
June 21, 2011 9:04:37 AM
So 3 months of progress gets us a slower machine with slower optical read speeds and a crappier cpu heatsink/fan?
Choosing an inferior hs/f in order to save a couple of bucks is not the kind of choice we're looking to see in a $2000 'top-of-the-line' rig, btw
Moreover, perhaps the hs/f choice is why you couldn't overclock this one as much as the last one.
Choosing an inferior hs/f in order to save a couple of bucks is not the kind of choice we're looking to see in a $2000 'top-of-the-line' rig, btw
Moreover, perhaps the hs/f choice is why you couldn't overclock this one as much as the last one.
Score
4
Crashman
June 21, 2011 9:55:59 AM
dragonsqrrlHave you noticed any tangible benefits? For example, lower system temps, better build quality, better cable management, more interior room to work, additional features, etc...?
Nope. In fact the Three Hundred Illusion has slightly better airflow at the intake due to its longitudinal hard drive cages. But the transverse hard drive cage is easier to use, and the system still had more than enough airflow for the parts selected.Score
1
srgess
June 21, 2011 10:16:09 AM
2000$ wtf ! I came to 1807$. Perso i would change case, videocard,ssd,cpu cooler. I guess you added extra 100-200$ for screen, OS.
Seasonic SS-850HT: 125$
XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283: 30$
2x A-Data S599 SSD: 120$ x2 (240$)
Lian-Li PC-9F :106$
LG WH10LS30: 89$
2x MSI R6970: 320$ x2 (640$)
8 GB G.Skill DDR3-1600: 74$
Intel Core i7-2600K: 314$
ASRock Z68 Extreme4: 189$
Seasonic SS-850HT: 125$
XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283: 30$
2x A-Data S599 SSD: 120$ x2 (240$)
Lian-Li PC-9F :106$
LG WH10LS30: 89$
2x MSI R6970: 320$ x2 (640$)
8 GB G.Skill DDR3-1600: 74$
Intel Core i7-2600K: 314$
ASRock Z68 Extreme4: 189$
Score
0
loutech4free
June 21, 2011 10:43:46 AM
Score
-7
alchemy69
June 21, 2011 11:54:40 AM
rfatcheric
June 21, 2011 12:05:55 PM
Crashman
June 21, 2011 12:22:50 PM
alchemy69"temporary rebates" You mean that you have to pay them back sometime?!
In a way that's possible: It's easy to lose rebates when the deadline is short, and it usually is.But anyway, the big problem with rebates is that they don't live as long as the article. A month from now this system will most likely be within 5% of its current price, but those rebates won't be there.
Score
3
Anonymous
June 21, 2011 12:23:38 PM
Nice all-round build, but from a purely gaming PoV it would be great to compare this with a system that makes a few sacrifices to get paired gtx580's. You'd have to save over 200$ so maybe lose one of the SSD's, go back to the old case (don't hate me!) and possibly even sacrifice blu-ray just to see if those frame rates can be any higher.
Score
4
robwright
June 21, 2011 12:47:01 PM
Interesting case. I went with the Antec 900 V2 for my build couple months back, and looking back it's probably the only piece of the puzzle I'd do differently. I love the fans, especially the top 200mm fan, and it runs extremely cool and quiet, but the interior isn't as nice as I'd hoped. The Lian-Li case looks bit more more well designed, easier to manage.
Score
0
chastonsdad
June 21, 2011 1:51:28 PM
I would put in the OCZ-VERTEX3 MI SSD instead as it offers the best performance out of all the SSD's. Nice system all the same.
http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/high_end_drives.html
http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/high_end_drives.html
Score
0
EnderYeah
June 21, 2011 1:51:59 PM
robwright
June 21, 2011 2:17:40 PM
ubercakeI'm sorry but crossfire anything with all the microstuttering does not beat SLI anything with none. Nvidia SLI, even a few fps slower, beats ATI crossfires's poorer quality and consistently bad drivers any day in my book.I guess it has to do with what you're willing to accept for your value.
Ubercake, that may have been true in the past, but i think it's a different story now. Sure, I had issue with ATI drivers years ago like a lot of folks, and I saw similar performance benefits with SLI over Crossfire. But I honestly think the tables have turned a bit, or at the very least evened out. I have dual 6950s in my new system and Crossfire works like a charm, and the drivers...well, let's just say my fears have been put to rest so far. On the other hand, my previous system with SLI has been plagued with driver issues to the point where I've had to remove and reinstall them on a somewhat regular basis.
Score
0
pewtersbyte
June 21, 2011 2:25:32 PM
I like the Lian Li case here. I certainly feel that there are too many of the 'toy' cases sold that I can't believe appeal to anyone. I purchased a Cooler Master HAF X, which was primarily purchased for its size and price. I also felt that if I was sinking a couple grand into the hardware, it would be nice to look at it once an a while through the side window.
Score
3
rfatchericubercake, might want to use actual facts instead of misinformation from like 5 years ago bud... Wake up. Nvidia isn't the only video card in town anymore champ.
I traded away my crossfire setup after the 11.3 drivers earlier this year. I couldn't stand the fact that after BFBC2 had been out a year, they still couldn't get it right.
5 years ago, when ATI was ATI, I never had driver problems on my Radeon cards.
A few months ago, my solution to the consistent driver issues was to stop accepting them altogether. Glad I did.
Score
1
wolfram23
June 21, 2011 2:44:28 PM
robwrightUbercake, that may have been true in the past, but i think it's a different story now. Sure, I had issue with ATI drivers years ago like a lot of folks, and I saw similar performance benefits with SLI over Crossfire. But I honestly think the tables have turned a bit, or at the very least evened out. I have dual 6950s in my new system and Crossfire works like a charm, and the drivers...well, let's just say my fears have been put to rest so far. On the other hand, my previous system with SLI has been plagued with driver issues to the point where I've had to remove and reinstall them on a somewhat regular basis.
For the sole purpose of competition in the marketplace, I wish I could say I had your same experience with crossfire. Let me ask you though... Does the screen flicker when you play crysis 2? BFBC2 inside a tank? MOH close to a wall?
At any rate, I've had zero issues with my SLI setup and two driver updates since.. It's going to take a lot of convincing for me to consider anything AMD again.
Score
1
Yuka
June 21, 2011 3:19:17 PM
Score
0
Hothr
June 21, 2011 3:32:20 PM
grody
June 21, 2011 3:51:09 PM
robwright
June 21, 2011 3:51:47 PM
ubercakeFor the sole purpose of competition in the marketplace, I wish I could say I had your same experience with crossfire. Let me ask you though... Does the screen flicker when you play crysis 2? BFBC2 inside a tank? MOH close to a wall?At any rate, I've had zero issues with my SLI setup and two driver updates since.. It's going to take a lot of convincing for me to consider anything AMD again.
Ironically, BFBC2 runs perfectly for me on my Crossfire system, whereas I had flickering on my SLI system with the game (as well as Black Ops, others). Haven't played Crysis 2 yet, actually. Maybe the flickering isn't related to the Crossfire/SLI setup and is being cause by something else? I should confess that my SLI system runs Vista, so that could be the culprit.
In any event, i take you at your word that your experience with Nvidia has been vastly superior to your ATI experience. I know a lot of people that would say the same, however, I think AMD has really been on a roll the last two years with the 5000 and 6000 series. When I setup Crossfire and installed the drivers, it couldn't have been easier, which, as I stated before, I couldn't have said 4 or 5 years ago.
Score
0
Titanius
June 21, 2011 4:21:03 PM
billiardicus
June 21, 2011 4:34:18 PM
Okay...so what we've learned here is the difference between the catalyst 11.2 and 11.5 drivers...kinda. This is the worst SBM I've ever read. Why build the exact same system twice???? What are you guys thinking? If you're going to do that, make it the EXACT same system, so we can actually learn something about the driver updates.
If you're going to do this, why compare just two cases? I'd like to see test results for this system in at least 5 different cases. You guys could even do a matrix of different cases in different colors.
If you're going to do this, why compare just two cases? I'd like to see test results for this system in at least 5 different cases. You guys could even do a matrix of different cases in different colors.
Score
-1
cburke82
June 21, 2011 4:38:19 PM
cburke82
June 21, 2011 4:43:07 PM
ubercake said:
For the sole purpose of competition in the marketplace, I wish I could say I had your same experience with crossfire. Let me ask you though... Does the screen flicker when you play crysis 2? BFBC2 inside a tank? MOH close to a wall?At any rate, I've had zero issues with my SLI setup and two driver updates since.. It's going to take a lot of convincing for me to consider anything AMD again.
My question to you is this. When you last used another card other than your Nvidias were the cards ATI or AMD? I only ask because it seems that ever sense AMD took over they have been much more focused on getting things right and not having all the issues I hear about from older ATI cards. I have hade a 6870 and a 6950 and wile I have never run a crossfire setup I have not had any issues, if I were to read the forums I would think I would have had manny issues just by going team red.
Score
0
brucek2
June 21, 2011 4:52:58 PM
Is there any information on how the 2x 64GB SSDs in RAID 0 stack up (performance and otherwise) against a single 120GB unit? I'd be concerned that some RAID 0 setups will not properly support TRIM; that each of the smaller-sized SSDs would offer less performance than a bigger sized sibbling due to having less NAND die; and that the two drive configuration for the system drive adds unnecessary risk to the most sensitive part of the storage system.
A poster above referenced a March article that showed nice performance scaling in RAID setups, but the differences here are that: 1) that article relied on dedicated RAID controller hardware which is not present in a system build like today's; 2) I do not believe it was using the arrays as system drives; and 3) it did not specifically test 2 smaller drives against 1 larger drive. (See, for example, other tests around the net of the current crop of 240GB drives vs their 120GB counterparts -- the performance differences are significant.)
A poster above referenced a March article that showed nice performance scaling in RAID setups, but the differences here are that: 1) that article relied on dedicated RAID controller hardware which is not present in a system build like today's; 2) I do not believe it was using the arrays as system drives; and 3) it did not specifically test 2 smaller drives against 1 larger drive. (See, for example, other tests around the net of the current crop of 240GB drives vs their 120GB counterparts -- the performance differences are significant.)
Score
3
Crashman
June 21, 2011 5:09:06 PM
cburke82So again a $2000 build and when they benchmake the rig they turn off AA when ever possible? Who the heck spends $2000 on a PC and then turns off AA when they game? Very confusing i see turning off the AA for the lower setting bench but the maxed one should have AA no question.
For Crysis? Historic reasons that are more particular to the $1000 PC builder. Benchmark selection is a democratic process. Score
0
cburke82
June 21, 2011 5:15:03 PM
Crashman said:
For Crysis? Historic reasons that are more particular to the $1000 PC builder. Benchmark selection is a democratic process.So a democratic comity came to the conclusion that someone with crossfired 6970's would not use any form of AA wile playing crysis? I have one 6950 and use 4x so im sure any person who would spend that kind of money on a gaming rig would use at least some AA. Maybe I have missed an article as to why that is done I guess thats my bad I just dont see why there would be no AA on a $2000 build.
Score
-2
Anonymous
June 21, 2011 5:29:19 PM
Too bad they didn't use a Coolermaster HAF-922 case, it's hands down better layout more professional than the Lian-Li. Or even the HAF-912 as you can remove the extra drive bays so you have a straight shot of air from the front case fan directly to the GPU's. Price is better too, approx $90 for the HAF-922 and $50 for the HAF-912.
Score
-2
triculious
June 21, 2011 5:32:43 PM
Personally I didn't like this particular Marathon build... it's about the same than the last one and it proves my point by having almost the same results as the last one.
I often read this articles looking for the experimental risks taken but this one did nothing to shine. Nothing teached, nothing learned.
Here's hoping the 1k build does something more interesting... the budget one is always interesting, though =P
I often read this articles looking for the experimental risks taken but this one did nothing to shine. Nothing teached, nothing learned.
Here's hoping the 1k build does something more interesting... the budget one is always interesting, though =P
Score
4
rockitman
June 21, 2011 5:59:33 PM
Related resources
!