System Builder Marathon, December 2012: 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 $500 Gaming PC
Day 2: The $1,000 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $2,000 Performance PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Introduction
The goal of our highest-priced build has always been to perform exceptionally across our entire benchmark suite. We break the results down into a final score, which is weighted 30% game, 60% application, and 10% storage performance. That balance gives us a number of different ways to spend our money, from dual-socket workstation platforms to triple-GPU gaming rigs.
When we try to optimize for processor performance, the biggest issue we encounter is a lack of scaling in many apps. A great number of the video transcoding and office productivity applications we run are designed specifically for professionals. But the speed-up we see in most of them rarely justifies the cost of more complex CPUs.

We could easily build a machine able to tackle every workload with exceptional proficiency by sinking lots of money into graphics and host processing, but real-world buyers must juggle available funds and performance goals. Today's $2,000 machine is our latest attempt at a real-world build.
Here's the thing, though. There's really no such thing as "too slow" when it comes to converting a movie file or running a document through an optical character recognition application. But it's very apparent when your favorite game isn't playable. Last quarter, we put much of our $2,000 ceiling into a heavy-hitting CPU. This time around, we're aiming to make the most of that 30% gaming score with a more capable graphics configuration.
| Q4 2012 $2,000 PC Components | ||
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3770K (Ivy Bridge): 3.5 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3.9 GHz Maximum Turbo Boost, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache | $320 |
| Graphics | 2 x MSI R7970-2PMD3GD5/OC: Radeon HD 7970 3 GB, In CrossFire | $780 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H: LGA 1155, Intel Z77 Express | $150 |
| Memory | G.Skill F3-1600C8D-8GAB: DDR3-1600 C8, 4 GB x 2 (8 GB) | $50 |
| System Drive | Mushkin MKNSSDCR240GB-DX: 240 GB, SATA 6Gb/s SSD | $175 |
| Storage Drive | Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS: 1.5 TB, 7200 RPM Hard Drive | $80 |
| Optical | Asus BW-12B1ST: 12x BD-R, 16x DVD±R, 2x BD-RE | $80 |
| Case | Cooler Master Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 | $85 |
| Power | Corsair HX750: ATX12V V2.3 80 PLUS Gold | $145 |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo RR-212E-20PK-R2 | $35 |
| Total Cost | $1,900 | |
There's a good chance that you looked at the image above and thought, "This quarter's high-end build isn't just graphics-heavy, it also looks like a gaming PC." We still insist that this is simply a high-end, general-purpose PC with a special emphasis on gaming. The fact that Cooler Master's case is oozing red is simply a matter of cost-cutting on a build that ran $1,985 on the day we placed our order, using an affordable chassis to meet our quality demands. The fact that all of these parts sell for $1,900 today means our value comparison should look even more attractive...if we made smart decisions.
- From CPU To GPU: Shifting The Balance
- Graphics, CPU, And Motherboard
- Memory And Storage
- Case, Cooling, And Power
- Building Our $2,000 PC
- Overclocking
- Benchmark And System Configurations
- Benchmark Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Benchmark Results: SiSoftware Sandra
- Benchmark Results: Battlefield 3 And DiRT 3
- Benchmark Results: Skyrim And StarCraft II
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Power, Heat, And Efficiency
- Does This Quarter's Build Beat Our Previous Effort?
They really had nothing to redeem themselves about. They went with something a little different, just to try it out. Id rather they go off the beaten path so we can get a better idea of how these builds would turn out without having to buy and build them ourselves.
Also, if they didnt try something different, they would almost always be cookie-cutter builds until the next big thing came out. No thanks!
At any rate, this is a really nice build. Have to say, though, I would be happy to win any of these.
Core i5 3570k - savings of $120
2x - MSI N670 PE 2GD5/OC - $800 (gtx 670 OC'd to 1019 core clock)
Rosewill FORTRESS-750 - $140 (80 plus platinum + 7 year limited warranty)
LIAN LI PC-7B plus II - $100 (gamer cases look tacky, less is more)
This was a balanced performance build, not a purely gaming build. The i5 would have hurt that significantly.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096
-Good Job
Core i5 3570k - savings of $120
2x - MSI N670 PE 2GD5/OC - $800 (gtx 670 OC'd to 1019 core clock)
Rosewill FORTRESS-750 - $140 (80 plus platinum + 7 year limited warranty)
LIAN LI PC-7B plus II - $100 (gamer cases look tacky, less is more)
They really had nothing to redeem themselves about. They went with something a little different, just to try it out. Id rather they go off the beaten path so we can get a better idea of how these builds would turn out without having to buy and build them ourselves.
Also, if they didnt try something different, they would almost always be cookie-cutter builds until the next big thing came out. No thanks!
At any rate, this is a really nice build. Have to say, though, I would be happy to win any of these.
The CPU was hardly a bottle-neck at all according to Tom's gaming benchmarks. Sure, power consumption was high, but that cold easily be alleviated by disabling one core per module (which shouldn't hurt performance in any of Tom's gaming benchmarks anyway). Why was the rig awful?
Core i5 3570k - savings of $120
2x - MSI N670 PE 2GD5/OC - $800 (gtx 670 OC'd to 1019 core clock)
Rosewill FORTRESS-750 - $140 (80 plus platinum + 7 year limited warranty)
LIAN LI PC-7B plus II - $100 (gamer cases look tacky, less is more)
This was a balanced performance build, not a purely gaming build. The i5 would have hurt that significantly.
I agree with blazorthon and Thomas, that with $2000 to spend and it's primary usage isn't gaming, a 3770K is the better choice (depends on usage). 3930K is just too expensive while an i5 is the best if you're not doing anything too CPU intensive.
Nice choice for power supply as well. I like that you didn't go overboard on the psu. I only question the cooler and case. While the Hyper 212 is a great cooler for the money, overclocking is limited because it couldn't withstand the heat that IB output especially after 1.3V, some even lower (but I guess most of us here know this already). I guess it's probably best if you spend just a little bit more for a better cpu cooler (I know it's closer to $2000 already but spend a little more, maybe $2030 isn't so bad).
As for the case, well that's actually a matter of taste. If I were to spend $2k on a new build, I probably would go for at least a $120 case (but again, it's a matter of taste). But I can't argue that the CM storm enforcer is one of the best case at it's price point. If it were me, I'd go for Corsair 400R
So overall, good build. Good job! I really like it. Not much compromise at all
I am using a 28gB ramdisk now leaving 4gB for OS, most programs and a few games installed to it, it is FAST
128GB of RAM would cost an incredible amount of money, undoubtedly more than this build's $2000 budget, if it had to fit in eight modules, the most that are supported by X79 *consumer* motherboards. You'd need 16GB modules and those are incredibly expensive with very high price per GB. Even an 8x8GB kit for 64GB would already be very expensive at several hundred dollars...
Seriously, add Planetside 2 next time. Play the same map, with the three systems together, the same firefight. That game stresses EVERYTHING. Maybe not the GPU though, at least not that much (being DX9). But it's great to test RAM and CPU overclocks/general performance.
Add to the fact that PS2 players with AMD CPUs have been complaining a lot. I have a Core 2 Quad and it's killing my rig.
Being DX9 doesn't necessarily mean that a game can't stress the GPU
True. The Witcher 2 is DX9, yet that is one of the most demanding game so far
True. Convenient generalization lol.