Today's chart shows the stock and overclocked settings for each system, but it doesn’t show the baseline memory differences between our $800 and $1,000 PCs. Both systems use RAM that’s rated at DDR3-1600, but defaults to DDR3-1333, relying on Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) to reach its full ratings. Since XMP is an overclocking technology, Don chose DDR3-1333 as his baseline. Since XMP is a default overclock, I used that as my baseline. Don then “overclocked” his 1.35 V RAM to its 1.50 V secondary XMP profile, while I shot straight for 1.60 V and far-higher data rates. History will dictate whether 1.60 V is too much for this 1.35 V kit over the long term.
The $600 PC starts off with 1.5 V RAM, so Paul's 1.6 V overclock settings is comparatively less aggressive. His higher bandwidth is ready to give the $800 machine a run for its money in a few of our applications, even though the machine is limited to half the capacity.
| Test Hardware Configurations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| $600 Gaming PC | $800 Enthusiast PC | $1000 Peformance PC | |
| Processor (Overclock) | Intel Core i5-3350P 3.10 GHz, Four Physical Cores O/C to 3.70 GHz | Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40 GHz, Four Physical Cores O/C to 4.40 GHz, +0.085 V | Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40 GHz, Four Physical Cores O/C to 4.40 GHz, 1.28 V |
| Graphics (Overclock) | HIS H785F1G2M: 860 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4800 O/C to 1,220 MHz GDDR5-4800 | PowerColor 2GBD5-2DHPPV3E: 975 MHz GPU, GDDR5-6000 O/C to 1,150 MHz GDDR5-6200 | PowerColor 2GBD5-2DHPPV3E: 975 MHz GPU, GDDR5-6000 O/C to 1,200 MHz GDDR5-6400 |
| Memory (Overclock) | 4 GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 CAS 9-9-9-24, O/C at 1.60 V to DDR3-1866 CL 9-9-9-24 | 8 GB Crucial DDR3-1600 CAS 8-8-8-24 1T, O/C at 1.50 V to 800 MHz CL 8-8-8-24 2T | 8 GB Crucial DDR3-1600 CAS 8-8-8-24, O/C at 1.60 V to DDR3-2133 CL 9-9-9-24 |
| Motherboard (Overclock) | ASRock Z75 Pro3: LGA 1155, Intel Z75 Express Stock 100 MHz BCLK | ASRock Z77 Pro3: LGA 1155, Intel Z77 Express Stock 100 MHz BCLK | ASRock Z77 Extreme4: LGA 1155, Intel Z77 Express Stock 100 MHz BCLK |
| Optical | Samsung SH-224BB/RSBS 24x DVD±R | Samsung SH-224BB 24x DVD±R | Lite-On iHAS124 24x DVD±R |
| Case | Xigmatek Asgard II B/B | Xigmatek Asgard II B/B | Rosewill Redbone U3 |
| CPU Cooler | Intel Boxed Heat Sink and Fan | Rosewill RCX-ZAIO-92 | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus |
| Storage | Seagate Barracuda 500 GB, 7,200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s HDD | Seagate Barracuda 500 GB, 7,200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s HDD | Mushkin Chronos Deluxe DX 240 GB, SATA 6Gb/s SSD |
| Power | Antec Neo Eco 400C: 400 W, ATX12V v2.3, 80 PLUS | Antec Neo Eco 520C: ATX12V v2.3, 80 PLUS | Antec Neo Eco 520C: ATX12V v2.3, 80 PLUS |
| Software | |||
| OS | Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64 | ||
| Graphics | AMD Catalyst 13.1 | AMD Catalyst 13.2 Beta 5 | AMD Catalyst 13.1 |
| Chipset | Intel INF 9.3.0.1025 | Intel INF 9.3.0.1025 | Intel INF 9.3.0.1026 |
| Benchmarks: 3D Games | |
|---|---|
| Battlefield 3 | Campaign Mode, "Going Hunting" 90-Second Fraps Test Set 1: Medium Quality Defaults (No AA, 4x AF) Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Defaults (4x AA, 16x AF) |
| F1 2012 | Version 1.2, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Update 1.5.26, Celedon Aethirborn Level 6, 25-Second Fraps Test Set 1: DX11, High Details No AA, 8x AF, FXAA enabled Test Set 2: DX11, Ultra Details, 8x AA, 16x AF, FXAA enabled |
| Far Cry 3 | V. 1.04, DirectX 11, 50-Second Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC., SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO |
| Benchmarks: Adobe Creative Suite | |
| Adobe After Effects CS6 | Version 11.0.0.378 x64: Create Video which includes 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly |
| Adobe Photoshop CS6 | Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Adobe Premeire Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Benchmarks: Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes | Version 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
| Lame MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.98: Video from Canon Eos 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, 2-Kanal, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
| TotalCode Studio 2.5 | Version: 2.5.0.10677: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
| Benchmarks: Productivity | |
| ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
| Adobe Acrobat X | Version 10.0.0.396: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 | Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
| Blender | Version: 2.64a, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1 |
| Visual Studio 2010 | Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted |
| Benchmarks: File Compression | |
| WinZip | Version 17.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
| WinRAR | Version 4.2: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.28: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
| Synthetic Benchmarks | |
| 3DMark 11 | Version: 1.0.1.0, Benchmark Only |
| PCMark 7 | Version: 1.0.4 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2011 | Version Version 2013.01.19.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Cryptography, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
- In Search Of The Best Possible Value
- Hardware, Software, And Overclock Settings
- Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Results: SiSoftware Sandra
- Results: Battlefield 3
- Results: F1 2012
- Results: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Results: Far Cry 3
- Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: File Compression
- Power Consumption And Efficiency
- Where's The Value Sweet Spot?
The only real difference between the $800 and $1000 PC is that the $1000 has an SSD. They both have the same CPU, RAM, and GPU. Gaming should be about the same on both.
The only real difference between the $800 and $1000 PC is that the $1000 has an SSD. They both have the same CPU, RAM, and GPU. Gaming should be about the same on both.
Why would all the machines have same percent emphasis on games and productivity apps ? Why would a $600 gaming PC be evaluated similarly to a $800 enthusiast PC ? The percentwise distribution of each metric should be based on what usage the build was meant for.
Something like : games, apps, storage.
$600 build : 85%, 15% . (cheapest, best gaming. Very few apps. Doesnt need fast storage. )
$800 build : 55%, 35%, 10% (slightly better games over apps. Great apps. fast storage for OS + apps OR games)
$1000 build. : 42.5%, 42.5%, 15% (equally good games and apps. fast storage should be plenty for OS+apps+games)
1) FPS in games
2)time taken in apps
for each build?
so that we may draw our own conclusions from the data? I am not entirely satisfied with the conclusions you have drawn.
Congratulations Paul your sbm was right on target.
I think that there is no point of comparison between the last two setups.... I would have picked an amd setup just to change things...
yeah i think the PSU is one always worth updating as it is the heart of any system.
so maybe a psu/cpu/mobo/ram/cooling/graphic +what ever extras you can afford on said budget.
You're saying that these builds should have been coordinated, rather than competitive, and that a builder should have "took one for the team" by using inferior hardware? This was a competition, that's the point.