System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013: The Articles
Here are links to each of the four 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 $600 Gaming PC
Day 2: The $800 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $1,000 Performance PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Day 5: The $1,600 Alternative PC
Introduction
I typically approach our highest-priced performance build as an attempt to squeeze value out of top-shelf parts by prioritizing performance. Versatility takes a somewhat-distant secondary position; really, I want to make the most expensive configuration feel like it's worth what I'm paying for the parts. After all, when you spend thousands of dollars on a do-everything PC, you expect it to actually do everything.
Generally, though, when we analyze performance-per-dollar for each System Builder Marathon machine on Day 4 (the story coming tomorrow), our top setup tends to suffer compared to more affordable builds, since I often use nicer parts that don't help performance.
As you know, though, this quarter's angle involves a tight price spread. I'm most affected by this, and my distinctly high-end $2,000 budget gets cut to $1,000, putting it in the mainstream category (or, at least the mid-priced market enthusiasts are used to). Gone are high-capacity SSD and hard disk combinations, as well as most CrossFire, SLI, or even Core i7 configurations. We even need to skip out on a quiet case, a huge CPU cooler, extra RAM, and a Blu-ray drive.

We have the easiest time pushing additional performance in games, so this quarter's more versatility-oriented creation looks uncomfortably similar to last year's mid-end machine (Ed.: Little did Thomas know when he ordered these parts, his system is really, really similar to what Don published yesterday).
| Q1 2013 $1000 PC Components | ||
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5-3570K: 3.4 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3.8 GHz Turbo Boost, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache | $230 |
| Graphics | PowerColor PCS+ AX7870 Myst Edition 2GBD5-2DHPPV3E | $240 |
| Motherboard | ASRock Z77 Extreme4: LGA 1155, Intel Z77 Express | $135 |
| Memory | Crucial Ballistix Tactical BLT2K4G3D1608ET3LX0: DDR3-1600 C8, 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) | $48 |
| System Drive | Mushkin MKNSSDCR240GB-DX: 240 GB, SATA 6Gb/s SSD | $180 |
| Storage Drive | Uses System Drive | - |
| Optical | Lite-On iHAS124: 24x DVD±R, 12x DVD±R DL | $17 |
| Case | Rosewill Redbone U3: USB 3.0, eSATA, 3 x 120mm | $45 |
| Power | Antec Neo Eco 520C 520 W, ATX12V v2.3, 80 PLUS-Certified | $55 |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 | $30 |
| Total Cost | $980 | |
On a per-gigabyte basis, hard drives are really cheap. But adding secondary storage would have cut deeply enough into our budget that we would have needed to drop from 240 to 120 GB of solid-state storage. I simply couldn’t find a 120 GB SSD I liked enough to make that compromise, and the lack of tiered storage makes this system even more gamely.
When in gaming territory, I do what gamers do: focus on graphics performance. Thankfully, AMD quietly started shipping its Tahiti LE-equipped Radeon HD 7870 not too long ago, and we reviewed it in Tahiti LE, Tested: PowerColor's HD7870 PCS+ Myst Edition. We had enough time before ordering our parts to check out its performance and decide it'd be appropriate here.
- Can $1,000 Buy A High-End PC?
- Graphics, CPU, And Motherboard
- DRAM, Storage, And Optical Drive
- Case, Power, And CPU Cooling
- Hardware Installation
- Overclocking
- Test Settings And Benchmarks
- Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Results: SiSoftware Sandra
- Results: Battlefield 3 And F1 2012
- Results: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim And StarCraft II
- Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: File Compression
- Power, Heat, And Efficiency
- Could We Have A Value Winner At $1,000?
Now instead of insults I can tell people "Don't be a stoogie". Thanks!
Otherwise, not much wriggle room here. Nice build!
Using the drive performance measurement to reflect program load times means loading all the programs on the SSD. And that explains why SSD capacity wasn't sacrificed to make more room in the budget for an HDD.
Looking from another perspective, these two builds, with two different builders, with $200 difference, just show(again) how much better price/performance wise are Intel CPU's and AMD GPU's.
I see your point, but I'd rather see slower game loads and better FPS , than faster game loads and lower FPS. And, the OS is accelerated in both cases anyway.
But hey, I'm on board with the 7870 Myst Edition CrossFire suggestion...I'll see if we can make it happen!
I think theres something to be said about the value at above $1000 though.. past this price range, people really start caring about having a nice case, nice cooler, etc that are more than just performance but aesthetics too.
Most likely they'd end up with a similar ugly case that no one would really want, possibly the same memory and hard disk, but the heart of the system would always be different.
Besides, people love rivalries. Sure, AMD processors blow in absolute performance, but they're cheap, and maybe the video card can save the day against the evil Intel/NVIDIA empires. It's a lot more interesting than testing two essentially identical machines, except for the hard disk.
Do it for different price ranges, and it might even be more competitive. $500, $750, and $1000 might not all have the same winner.
Pair a AMD CPU with a Nvidia GPU. So its expensive and may not perform as well.
(I will be extremely happy if this build performs well)