The following tables include the stock and overclocked settings for this quarter's budget build, followed by the gaming PC from earlier this year, which is used as a comparison point. At the very bottom you’ll find the programs and games used for benchmarking.
| Current Budget Gaming PC System Test Configuration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Settings |
| CPU | Intel Pentium G3258 (Haswell): 3.2 GHz, 3 MB shared L3 cache, Power-saving features enabled | 4.1 GHz (41*100), 1.240 V, EIST disabled |
| CPU Cooler | Intel boxed heat sink and fan | 100% duty cycle |
| Motherboard | MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150, Intel H81 Express, BIOS: v.1.7 (07-18-2014) | Unchanged |
| RAM | 8 GB Team Dark Series PC3-12800 kit 2 x 4 GB, DDR3-1333, CL 9-9-9-24 at 1.500 V | DDR3-1333, CL 7-7-7-21 at 1.545 V |
| Graphics | Sapphire Dual-X Radeon R9 270 2 GB GDDR5 945 MHz GPU, 1400 MHz (5600 MT/s) memory | 1050 MHz GPU @ 1.225 V, 1500 MHz (6000 MT/s) GDDR5 memory |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated eight-channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated GbE networking | Unchanged |
| Power | Antec VP 450 450 W | Unchanged |
| Optical | LG 24x SATA DVD burner, GH24NSB0B | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows 8 Professional x64 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | AMD Catalyst 14.4 | Unchanged |
| Platform Driver | Intel Inf. v. 9.4.0.1017 | Unchanged |
| Q2 2014 Budget Gaming PC System Test Configuration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Setting |
| CPU | AMD Athlon X4 750K (Trinity), 3.4 GHz (4 GHz max. Turbo Core), Socket FM2, No L3 Cache, Turbo Core enabled, Power-savings enabled | 4.2 GHz (42*100), 1.272 V (Load), Turbo Core disabled, Power-savings enabled, 2000 MHz CPU-NB frequency |
| CPU Cooler | AMD boxed heat sink and fan | Unchanged |
| Motherboard | ASRock FM2A75M Pro4+ AMD A75, BIOS: P1.30 (10-15-13) | Unchanged |
| RAM | 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) Team Dark Series DDR3-1600, CL 9-9-9-24 XMP at 1.5 V | DDR3-1866, CL 9-9-9-24 at 1.625 V |
| Graphics | MSI R7 265 2GD5 OC 2 GB, 955 MHz GPU, 1400 MHz (5600 MT/s) memory | 1050 MHz GPU, 1450 MHz (5800 MT/s) GDDR5 memory, Custom fan profile |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated eight-channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated GbE networking | Unchanged |
| Power | EVGA 100-W1-0430-KR 430 W | Unchanged |
| Optical | Asus 24x DVD burner DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows 8 Professional x64 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | AMD Catalyst 14.4 | Unchanged |
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Arma 3 | V. 1.26 Current PC, V.1.20 Q2 PC 30-Sec. Fraps "Infantry Showcase" Test Set 1: Standard Preset, No AA, Standard AF Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x FSAA, Ultra AF |
| Battlefield 4 | Version 1.0.0.1, DirectX 11, 100-sec. Fraps "Tashgar" Test Set 1: Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 4x AF, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4x MSAA, 16x AF, HBAO |
| Far Cry 3 | V. 1.05, DirectX 11, 50-sec. Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO AMD/ HBAO NVidia |
| Grid 2 | Version 1.0.85.8679, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.99, Video: Video from Canon EOS 7D (1920x1080, 25 frames) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds, Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
| iTunes | Version 11.0.4.4 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) |
| TotalCode Studio 2.5 | Version: 2.5.0.10677, MPEG2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-channel, 16-bit, 224 Kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
| Adobe Creative Suite | |
| Adobe After Effects CC | Version 12.0.0.404: Create Video, 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously |
| Adobe Photoshop CC | Version 14 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Adobe Acrobat XI | Version 11.0.0: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption |
| Productivity | |
| ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 | Version 15.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
| Blender | Version 2.68a, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1 |
| Visual Studio | Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted |
| Compression | |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.30 alpha, LZMA2, Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| WinRAR | Version 5.0, RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| WinZip | Version 18.0 Pro, Syntax "-a -ez -p -r" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark Professional | Version: 1.2.250.0, Fire Strike Standard and Extreme |
| PCMark 8 | Version: 1.0.0 x64 Full Test |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2014 | Version: 2014.02.20.10, Processor Arithmetic, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth Benchmarks |
Previous
Next
Summary
- Overclocking Haswell On The Cheap
- CPU And Cooler
- Motherboard And Memory
- Graphics Card And Hard Drive
- Case, Power Supply And Optical Drive
- Assembling Our Gaming Box
- The Trials (And Tribulations) Of Overclocking
- How We Tested Our Q3 2014 Budget Gaming PC Build
- Results: Synthetics
- Results: Audio And Video
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: Compression
- Results: Arma 3 And Battlefield 4
- Results: Far Cry 3 And Grid 2
- Power Consumption And Temperatures
- Performance Summary
- Did We Build a Better Machine?
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Its rated to serve up to 30 Amps but can do far more. Tests on this little gem shows it can output 22amps on each rail and maxes out around 38~39 Amps on both. Im paraphrasing a popular power supply testing site. Max wattage is about 553ish which is a good deal more than rated. This power supply can't be certified due to it lacks a circuit required but exceeds 80 percent efficiency.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-overclocking-performance,3849-5.html
When toms reviewed this CPU it was shown to have poor latency
For a 500$ build i would probably do a 6300+265 build. 600$ i would probably jump the build up to a I5+265 or 8320+270X.
Pentium G3258 - $69.97
NZXT Kraken X31 - $73.98
Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO - $203.99
G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 - $184.99
Crucial M550 1TB 2.5" SSD - $447.98
Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX - $349.99
NZXT Phantom 530 (White) - $121.98
EVGA 650W ATX12V - $64.99 (not sure about its power good signal value?)
Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer - $16.99
Asus VG248QE Monitor - $264.99
D-Link DWA-171 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 2.0 - $29.27
Logitech MK550 w/Laser Mouse - $49.99
Corsair Vengeance 2100 - $79.99
Logitech Z506 155W 5.1ch - $69.99
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (32/64-bit) - $170.99
Total: $2200
What you guys think? Usage? Racing Games at homes, audio/video encoding etc. I don't need K CPUs because I'm not in a hurry in this case.
Power source: 100% green aka Solar energy.
i use i3-4130 btw.
Its rated to serve up to 30 Amps but can do far more. Tests on this little gem shows it can output 22amps on each rail and maxes out around 38~39 Amps on both. This power supply can't be certified due to it lacks a circuit required but exceeds 80 percent efficiency.
To be more specific, the VP450 lacks PFC circuitry and as you said, this is required for 80+ certification. If the VP450 had it, it might manage 80+ Bronze.
I bought one last month to replace an old PSU (Antec SmartPower SL350) that got damaged by a power surge. At a glance, it looks like a nice little unit... and it is tier-2b too, which means close to as-good-as-it-gets.
you could possibly get mobo for half of your estimated price and put this money towards better CPU(that's necessary for video/audio encoding).
Also Crucial M550 1TB 2.5" SSD - $447.98 is overkill, you'll be better off with 256GB SSD & 3 TB regular HDD = more capacity and your saved money could be spent on better PSU(Seasonic, Corsair, whatever).
You may want to put Antec at the first place in that list. Look them up as they are oldest and second to none in power supply companys. Seasonic was once their main manufacturer and many of their units are designed off Antecs leading power supply designs. Look up on newegg for example the highest rated power supply and you will see the Antec earthwatt 380. At the 650 Watt they again are the highest rated with Seasonic in about a second place. Their 750 hcg is about a tight with Corsairs much higher priced HX 750i.
Trust me that PSU is the best part of that build. While it doesn't have a second PCI-e power plug you could use a molex to PCI-e connecter and run a R9 285. Again this power supply is highly under rated in both watts and Amps output.
This is what Corsair is doing now, with their CX (and I believe GS) lines; CWT builds them with Samxon capacitors that can't take heat. If you're interested, you can read more about these over on the badcaps.org forum.
P.S. I have a Phenom II x4 in one of CPUs and have built with more AMD CPUs then intel but that doesn't mean I spew this AMD "future proof" jargon line