System Builder Marathon, August 2012: $1000 Enthusiast PC

Features
By Don Woligroski
published

Benchmark Results: DiRT 3 And StarCraft II

DiRT 3

DiRT3 certainly benefits from a faster processor, but not to the extent that Skyrim does. Once again, at lower resolutions, this quarter's overclocked configuration simply dominates. Pushed to 2560x1600 and the highest detail settings, though, the results are much closer together. As before, the frame rates are smooth enough for excellent playability across the board.

StarCraft II

StarCraft II is known for its CPU dependence, and the new build has little trouble securing wins at each resolution. The thing is, even using Ultra quality settings and a 2560x1600 resolution, the slowest configuration exceeds 100 FPS on average. So, any conclusion about performance is largely academic.

Don Woligroski
123 Comments Comment from the forums
  • alchemy69
    Bring on the usual motley crew of those who could have done it so much better.
    Reply
  • lighter17
    What's going on with the processor price. The i5-3570k is $230 not $300. Then there's no mention of the CPU cooler in the price list.

    And you're pairing an Ivy Bridge CPU with a P67 motherboard to save a few dollars?

    Does anybody proofread these articles?
    Reply
  • lunyone
    ^^^ Just noticed and was starting to type that same mistake too :)
    +1 for the p67 and not a maybe a B75 based mobo like:

    or

    Z77 based mobo for ~$95 shipped??


    Just a though on the mobo situation....

    Reply
  • lunyone
    ^^^ Links didn't work, trying again below:

    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    i love how much difference a few months had on the performance.

    Just want to mention : i dont see the use of including an optical drive in 2012. i cant remember the last time i used an optical drive. And with digital sales outselling physical discs, i dont see why it is included.
    Its not about saving $15. Its about buying a part that you will be using less than a couple of times in an year.probably lesser.
    Reply
  • cangelini
    lighter17What's going on with the processor price. The i5-3570k is $230 not $300. Then there's no mention of the CPU cooler in the price list. And you're pairing an Ivy Bridge CPU with a P67 motherboard to save a few dollars?Does anybody proofread these articles?Good catch. Not sure what was up with Don's pricing, but his CPU was way off, and he forgot to include the cooler in his price list. I've updated it, and it's only $7 bucks off his original quote, so we're still in good shape. Appreciate the sharp eye, guys!
    Chris
    Reply
  • wildkitten
    mayankleoboy1i love how much difference a few months had on the performance.Just want to mention : i dont see the use of including an optical drive in 2012. i cant remember the last time i used an optical drive. And with digital sales outselling physical discs, i dont see why it is included. Its not about saving $15. Its about buying a part that you will be using less than a couple of times in an year.probably lesser.I think there is still a place for optical drives. I just finished a new tower build myself, an i5 3570k myself with the same video card on an Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe. I put in a Blur Ray burner that was only $90. With almost all new phones doing 1080p video, I can burn discs for friends and family of personal videos. People also still have CD players in cars and honestly, on a price per GB bases, it's still the best form of backup.
    Reply
  • 60 gb SSD? why bother?
    Reply
  • blackball3242
    The asrock professional series is shown whereas the actual motherboard being used is the performance series.

    I almost thought the motherboard had 3 pcie slots for only $100- that would have been a steal!
    Reply
  • nathcarter
    Any particular reason for P67 over Z77? Is it purely cost-based, or are there significant performance benefits?
    Reply