System Builder Marathon, Q3 2013: The Articles
Here are links to each of the five articles in this quarter’s System Builder Marathon (we’ll update them as each story is published). And remember, these systems are all being given away at the end of the marathon.
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Day 1: The $650 Gaming PC
Day 2: The $1300 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $2550 Performance PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Day 5: The $350 Bonus Entry-Level PC
Introduction
If you follow our System Builder Marathon series closely, then you know that the ultimate goal is securing the best all-around performance and value given limited budgets, out of the box and after our best tweaking efforts. Of course, lacking the funds to do all things well, I tend to vary the specific goals for each gaming PC I build. We want to improve, after all, and we can't do that unless we also experiment. Switching things up lets me cover more hardware and learn from the impact each change makes on performance.
Sometimes my goals involve a machine that better competes across a broad range of workloads, matching the previous quarter's performance at lower cost. Other times I gun for the best purely-gaming machine at my price point. Assuming I get somewhere between $500 and $650 for hardware, the Tom's Hardware audience expects my machine to game well, while my colleagues ultimately judge it based on how well it competes in overall value.

When I specifically target 1920x1080 gaming, I often assemble a configuration that sports big graphics and a dual-core processor. Quite frankly, it usually falls flat in our productivity and content creation workloads. And when I’ve attempted to win the overall competition by sourcing a more potent processor, the graphics budget takes a hit, taking our high-resolution gaming potential with it. Ultimately I want an inexpensive processor able to excel in work and play. That's a pretty tall order. Among the contenders, AMD’s FX-6300 appears to pack the most promise. Ever since it dropped to $120, I've been itching to incorporate it into one of my gaming boxes.
We already know from AMD's Piledriver and K10 CPU Architectures Face Off and Is This Even Fair? Budget Ivy Bridge Takes On Core 2 Duo And Quad that Vishera in its three-module, six-core form is quite a force in threaded applications. Outfitted with an enthusiast-friendly unlocked CPU multiplier, it also has the potential to scale way ahead of similarly-priced (but frequency-locked) Core i3 in many games, too. All this suggests to me that the FX-6300 is the crème de la crème of affordable SBM processors.
Officially, I was given the same $650 hardware budget as last quarter. But freed of that round's mini-ITX theme restrictions, I could re-build something comparable for far less money. Thirty bucks could be shed on the B75-based motherboard alone. So, I wasn’t looking to stack today's AMD-based system with performance parts. Instead, I sought to spend less than $200 on the processor, cooler, and motherboard, just as I would do if I was building a machine using Core i3. The savings would address compromises I made last time around (namely, securing 8 GB of RAM and adding back an internal DVD burner).
I have another ace up my sleeve, though. The $250 graphics allotment from last quarter now gives me the freedom to step up from a Tahiti LE-based Radeon HD 7870 to the newer GeForce GTX 760. Even the Radeon HD 7950 Boost is selling for less than $250 these days!
| Component | Model | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD FX-6300 | $120 |
| CPU Cooler | AMD boxed heatsink/fan | 0 |
| Motherboard | MSI 970A-G43 ATX | $70 |
| RAM | Kingston HyperX XMP Blu Red Series KHX16C9B1RK2/8X 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 | $57 |
| Graphics | EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2 GB 02G-P4-2760-KR | $250 |
| Hard Drive | WD Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB | $57 |
| Case | NZXT Tempest 210 CA-TP210-01 | $40 |
| Power | Antec VP-450 450 W ATX12V v2.3 | $40 |
| Optical | Samsung 24x DVD Burner SATA Model SH-224DB/RSBS | $16 |
| Total Price | $650 |
Keeping a six-core FX processor and the surrounding motherboard components cool was a primary concern for me. I couldn’t afford a decent aftermarket cooler without cheating on my budget. Instead, I wanted to tackle the entrance fee by testing AMD's bundled cooler. To help bring temperatures down, I chose a roomy and heavily-ventilated enclosure with two exhaust fans, plus a blower-style graphics cooler that removes GPU heat from the rear I/O bracket. A 12 V power adapter bundled with the card meant we could lean on Antec’s value-oriented VP-450 power supply, and a few remaining dollars let us spring for a WD 1 TB disk drive, landing us exactly on our budget ceiling back when the parts were ordered.
- A Lofty Goal: Achieving Perfect SBM Balance
- CPU And Cooler
- Motherboard And Memory
- Graphics Card And Hard Drive
- Case, Power Supply, And Optical Drive
- Assembling Our Budget-Oriented Box
- Overclocking
- Test System Configuration And Benchmarks
- Results: Synthetics
- Results: Audio And Video
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: Compression
- Results: Battlefield 3 And The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Results: F1 2012 And Far Cry 3
- Power Consumption And Temperatures
- Gaming Performance Summary
- Bring On The Competition! Is This The Ultimate SBM Gaming PC?
"AMD's Radeon HD 7950 now sells for even less. But at the time we picked our parts, the GeForce GTX 760 was more affordable."
Honestly, read the article before commenting!
Based on http://www.overclock.net/a/about-vrms-mosfets-motherboard-safety-with-high-tdp-processors and https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgN1D79Joo7tdE9xMUFlMEVWeFhuckJEVF9aMmtpUFE&gid=0 I would have gone with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138372 instead; it has a heatsink on its VRMs, and it currently offers free shipping and is $2 less (it's been that way for a while now; I've had my eye on it for recommendations). I'm concerned that the cheap MSI will pop in the middle of a long gaming session. Did you by chance point an IR thermometer at its VRMs during your testing?
Otherwise, it's nice to see the FX-6300 get a workout in which it performs in the same ballpark as its competition, maybe a little less "raw," but with higher bang/buck.
the 8 core 8320 is getting pretty cheap. the problem is in order to unleash that type of power you're probably going to NEED to go with a hefty cpu cooler and hefty overclocking board. so for the future i suggest you keep with the fx 6300 unless the prices on the 8320 come down a little more.
"AMD's Radeon HD 7950 now sells for even less. But at the time we picked our parts, the GeForce GTX 760 was more affordable."
Honestly, read the article before commenting!
"AMD's Radeon HD 7950 now sells for even less. But at the time we picked our parts, the GeForce GTX 760 was more affordable."
Honestly, read the article before commenting!
Wooooosaaaaa....
debunked one of my personal myths on overclocking possibility and limits. i thought the cpu would be more oc'able with an aftermarket cooler at this price point. it clearly shows that you gotta compromise gfx budget and perf to afford better mobo and 3rd party cooling.
i hope amd drops prices more since they're very silent about am3+ platforms upgradability. that'll make the fxes even more viable for budget builds pricewise.
i am sure some people will start comparing current prices to old ones despite the article stating reasons in the very first page.
edit: just remembered that there was an fx8350 based $1k sbm pc... making this one the second one..i think..
I also would have gone with a slightly higher wattage Seasonic or Super Flower designed PSU like the XFX ProSeries 550w that currently sells for only around $10-20 more and as others mentioned a motherboard with actual VRM cooling.
Unless they're treating "performance PC" as "Workstation with graphics," methinks that there's a bit of a 'subtle' push for the more expensive Haswell, and probably 4k displays.
As bemused_fred pointed out, the text mentions the GTX 760 was cheaper than a HD 7950 at the time we picked our parts. There was no money to save there unless stepping way down.
Moving forward, fingers crossed I’m banking on cheap 7950 allowing more platform options next time. Should we stay at $650, we could likely net a more-overclocked FX 6300, or a rather stock FX-8320. And I agree, to do either right, they deserve better cooling, or at least a mobo upgrade anyway. So we’d have to wait and see what’s available when Q4 discussions surface. State what you’d like to see though, especially on day 4, as budgets aren’t set until later.
I ‘m always concerned, but wasn’t alarmed about the VRMs actually, as I knew going in this would be a mild OC of a 95W part at stock voltage. Numerous IR readings at worst hit 65C under loads, with room temps between 76-80F. Not great, but acceptable IMO. But I did put thought into this, with the case selection and a VGA blower (lowering internal temps for free). The budget I wanted to attack this time really didn’t allow more money into the Mobo or CPU cooling. A rig like this deserves 8GB RAM, etc. and I wanted a direct comparison to Core i3, budget-wise, for now.
DarkSable, same budgets as last round. That was a quick and easy decision. My concern has been $650 isn’t really budget these days, which is why I volunteered another cheap build this time also. Yes, it will be compared to the $400 Mini-ITX, though it’s a very different build.
Don't you think it would be a good idea to dump Skyrim out of the testing suite? This is a game coded for old architectures that will hinder the performance of this processor. But this won't be the standard from now on...
Probably including Crysis 3 , BF4 or Metro LL would be better. Besides , Skyrim ,or FY2012 are not that demanding nowadays
350$ PC is a terrible idea... when you build this? double the budget or be disappointed. It may be fun for many of us to squeez out most performance you can on this much of money but c'mon... It would not be my advice to anyone to build gamming pc with this money.
What are the exact specs ?
If gta V will be equal quality port to GTA IV I'm afraid you are better off getting it on console.