System Builder Marathon, December 2009: The Articles
Here are links to each of the four articles in this month’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 check out this Google form, and be sure to read the complete rules before entering!
Day 1: The $2,500 Performance PC
Day 2: The $1,300 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $700 Gaming PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Folks expecting something extraordinary, like the AMD beast with four Radeon HD 4850s that was in our previous $1,250 system, might be disappointed at first. Our new $1,300 Intel system is fairly mainstream in comparison. But don't let that fool you because this machine packs a heck of a punch, which we'll see in the benchmarks.
First, let's look at the components:
| $1,300 Enthusiast System Components | ||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | Gigabyte P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Chipset: Intel P55 Express | $170 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz 4 Cores, 8.0MB L3 Cache | $200 |
| Memory | 2 x A-Data 2.0GB DDR3-1333 Dual-Channel Kit 2 x 2.0GB (4.0GB Total), CAS 8-8-8-24 | $92 |
| Graphics | 2 x Radeon HD 5850 (CrossFireX) 1.0GB GDDR5-4000 Per Card Radeon HD 5870 GPU at 725 MHz | $620 |
| Hard Drives | WD Caviar Black 640GB 640GB, 7,200 RPM, 32MB Cache SATA 3.0 Gb/s | $75 |
| Optical | Samsung SH-S2232C 22x DVD+R, 8x DVD+RW, 16x DVD ROM, 48x CD ROM | $27 |
| Case | NZXT M59 | $60 |
| Power | Corsair CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V, EPS12V , 80-Plus Certified | $110 |
| Total Current Cost | $1,354 | |
Although the previous AMD build featured four graphics cards instead of two, and we didn't have the budget for an aftermarket CPU cooler, we've still broken through our $1,300 target limit by $54--or $24 with $30 worth of mail-in rebates. This is not something we're proud of, but something we'll have to live with given the current climate of gradually-rising prices.
- System Builder Marathon: $1,300 Enthusiast System
- CPU, Motherboard, And Case
- Video Cards And Power Supply
- Memory, Hard Drive, And Optical Drive
- Assembly And Overclocking
- Test System And Benchmarks
- Synthetic Benchmarks
- Application Benchmarks: Media Encoding
- Application Benchmarks: 2D And 3D Graphics
- Application Benchmarks: Productivity
- Game Benchmarks: First-Person Shooters
- Game Benchmarks: Real-Time Strategy And Flight Sim
- Game Benchmarks: Role-Playing Game
- Power And Temperature Benchmarks
- Conclusion

Not all cpus are the same, this one compared to the $2500 build definatly shows it. Takes a bit of luck sometimes or bad luck.
Pair that up with OCZ 1333 platinum 7-7-7-24 memory, that can easily be overclocked to 1600 7-7-7-24 and you'll have a powerful system with 36 PCI-e lanes and loads of CPU overclocking room thanks to asrock's great motherboard.
Since you are willing to experiment with different setups, and since we see the problem with the Phenom in the application suite, why not try something more exotic like pairing a nvidia based card with the crossfire cards to act like a PPU / video transcoding accelerator (TMPEng supports CUDA at least to act as a filter). I don't know if this makes sense in a marathon build, but I'd like to see something like this benchmarked.
With an aftermarket cooler this build will be flawless.
Power Draw,Performance all were nice.
The case looks nice too.
Just think how boring these would be if every quarter we did a Core i7-920-based machine at $2,500, a Core i5-750 machine at $1,500, and a Phenom II-based box at $700! =)
Otherwise, great build.
Actually availability was still a guess when these were ordered. They were ordered a week before the 5970 launched, and it was guessed that the 5970 wouldn't be available for several weeks after launch based on availability of 5870's.
What I'd love to see is a comparison of "every possible" 58xx/59xx configuration
The only thing I didn't like is the cable management. I'm a cable management freak and to see Tom's just shove the cables in there like that disappoints me.
ARGGGH!!! Chris! Don't put those thoughts in my head!!
This was cool to see what that Intel CPU could do. I am kinda jealous now...kinda. Of course, I got a PII 550BE to go 3.7GHz@1.375 on air for $99. So, I can't be too sad...except...C3 stepping came out 3 weeks later. lol
Another great read and something to consider down the line in building my next rig. I actually am seeing value for the buck now in a line of Intel CPUs. I just wish that i7-920 had been $50 cheaper. I might have gone with them.
Thanks for another good article, guys.