System Builder Marathon, August 2012: $1000 Enthusiast PC
Table of contents
- 1. Don's $1000 Machine Is Here To Play
- 2. CPU, Motherboard, And Cooler
- 3. Video Card, Power Supply, And Case
- 4. Memory, Hard Drives, And Optical Drive
- 5. System Assembly And Overclocking
- 6. Test System And Benchmarks
- 7. Benchmark Results: Synthetics
- 8. Benchmark Results: Media Encoding
- 9. Benchmark Results: Productivity
- 10. Benchmark Results: Battlefield 3 And The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- 11. Benchmark Results: DiRT 3 And StarCraft II
- 12. Power And Temperature Benchmarks
- 13. Core i5-3570K And GeForce GTX 670 Are Potent
System Builder Marathon, August 2012: 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.
To enter the giveaway, please fill out this SurveyGizmo form, and be sure to read the complete rules before entering!
Day 1: The $500 Gaming PC
Day 2: The $1000 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $2000 Performance PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Day 5: The Surprise $2000 Alternative Build
Introduction
Now that the Core i5-2400 experiment we conducted last quarter is over, we're anxious to get another processor with an unlocked multiplier back under the hood. Specifically, we want to give Intel’s Ivy Bridge architecture a shot in the mid-range $1000 bracket. On top of that, graphics card prices are pretty reasonable in the high-end space, thanks to the $400 GeForce GTX 670.
With so many low-price, high-performance combinations of CPUs and GPUs at our disposal, there's a high probability that this quarter's $1000 dollar configuration is going to smoke my last effort. Just take a look at the parts that I picked:
| $1000 Enthusiast System Components | ||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Performance LGA 1155, Intel P67 Express PCH | $100 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz Max Turbo Boost), Quad-Core, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache | $230 |
| Heat Sink | Xigmatek Loki SD963 92 mm CPU Cooler | $25 |
| Memory | Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit | $55 |
| Graphics | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 GV-N670OC-2GD 2 GB GDDR5 | $400 |
| SSD | OCZ Agility 3 60 GB 60 GB, SATA 6Gb/s | $60 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate Barracuda 750 GB 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/s | $60 |
| Optical | Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE 22x OEM DVD Burner | $17 |
| Case | Rosewill Redbone | $40 |
| Power | Corsair CX600 V2 600 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS-Certified | $70 |
| Total Cost | $1057 | |
Yes, we exceed our budget by $57. Thank the SSD and 8 GB memory kit for that. However, your feedback has made it clear that these items aren't optional in the $1000 price bracket. We’re happy to oblige, even if it takes us a little over our limit.
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- Take That, iMac?: Build Your Own All-In-One PC
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- Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: PC Performance, Benchmarked
Bring on the usual motley crew of those who could have done it so much better.
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?
^^^ 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....
^^^ Links didn't work, trying again below:
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.
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?
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
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.
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.
60 gb SSD? why bother?
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!
Any particular reason for P67 over Z77? Is it purely cost-based, or are there significant performance benefits?
Looks promising except for the UEFI issue. What motherboard would you recommend for someone who doesn't happen to have a spare Sandy Bridge processor around to update the UEFI?
I thought the ivy bridge wasn't that good in overclocking as sandy bridge, cause of the whole intel hd graphics being bigger and all the overheating?
In my opinion, you should stick to the budget, Tom's. Part of the fun (and the reality of the situation for most people) are the tradeoffs you have to deal with when assembling your PC. And no, it wasn't the extra memory or the SSD that pushed you over budget since you say those are compulsory components. It was the 670 that you wanted so much. If you can't fit it under $1,000, then just don't get the 670, get something worse or get a cheaper CPU with the 670. I understand going over budget by a few bucks, but $57, that's a pretty significant lapse in budgeting, in my mind.
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.
Because it's needed. Need it to install Windows and certain software. Sometimes you can't avoid using the optical drive.
In my opinion, you should stick to the budget, Tom's. Part of the fun (and the reality of the situation for most people) are the tradeoffs you have to deal with when assembling your PC. And no, it wasn't the extra memory or the SSD that pushed you over budget since you say those are compulsory components. It was the 670 that you wanted so much. If you can't fit it under $1,000, then just don't get the 670, get something worse or get a cheaper CPU with the 670. I understand going over budget by a few bucks, but $57, that's a pretty significant lapse in budgeting, in my mind.
But the SSD and RAM don't have much effect on the benchmarks preformed in the marathon. Those optional components are dead weight when it comes to the comparisons.
But the SSD and RAM don't have much effect on the benchmarks preformed in the marathon. Those optional components are dead weight when it comes to the comparisons.
exactly. i get a few thumbs down from people that think a 60 gb SSD is worth it.
well what does it do?
boots windows faster thats it; a complete waste of $60 in terms of performance.
if its an advantage to install an SSD a minimum would be 120 gbs so at least all applications and games can be installed.
any PC built today needs an SSD. depending on your budget, choose the capacity. A PC cant be fast without removing the biggest bottleneck.
Again a build that is over limit and greedy, I regard $1000 as the basic enthusiast build and this doesn't reflect it adequately;
1] Fixation on 'k' chips is insane, the fact that I can run BF3 on a stock Thuban at well over 70 FPS with maxed presets is enough to suggest that $50 for the overclocking is actually not really needed.
2] Ivy bridge on a P67 setup, just to get a pretty board on a dead chipset, not only are you crimping the IB features you can settle on a Z77 UD5H from Gigabyte a far superior board.
3] GTX 670, a HD7850 can max out a game at HD res around 1080P why spend more?
I don't know how someone could put such components in a crappy case like this !