System Builder Marathon, Q4 2013: $1600 Enthusiast PC

Deals
By Don Woligroski
published

Test System And Benchmarks

The following tables include the stock and overclocked settings for this quarter's $1600 machine, along with our previous $1300 enthusiast-oriented build. Under that, you'll find the benchmark settings for reference.

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Q4 2013 $1600 Enthusiast PC Test Settings
Row 0 - Cell 0 Default ConfigurationOverclocked
MotherboardAsus Z87-Plus, LGA 1150, Intel Z87 ExpressUnchanged
ProcessorIntel Core i5-4670K: 3.4 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3.8 GHz Turbo Boost, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache4.30 GHz @ 1.285 V
Memory8 GB Patriot Viper 3 (2 x 4 GB), DDR3-1600, CAS 9-9-9-24-1T1866 MT/s 9-10-9-27-2T @ 1.5 V
Graphics2 x MSI Gaming N770 GeForce GTX 770, 2 GB 256-bit GDDR5 1085/1137 MHz Base/GPU Boost, GDDR5-70121150/1202 MHz Base/GPU Boost, GDDR5-7460
System DriveSamsung 840 Pro MZ-7PD128PW 128 GB SATA 6Gb/s SSDUnchanged
Storage DriveSeagate Barracuda 2 TB, 7200 RPM, 64 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/sUnchanged
OpticalLite-On iHAS124-04: DVD BurnerUnchanged
CaseNZXT Gamma Black ATX Mid-Tower Computer CaseUnchanged
PowerCorsair TX750 V2 750 W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Bronze-Certified PSUUnchanged
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Q3 2013 $1300 Enthusiast PC Test Settings
Row 0 - Cell 0 Default ConfigurationOverclocked
MotherboardGigabyte Z87X-OC, LGA 1150, Intel Z87Unchanged
ProcessorIntel Core i5-4670K: 3.4 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3.8 GHz Turbo Boost, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache4.30 GHz @ 1.25 V
MemoryCorsair Vengeance 8 GB Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R, (2 x 4 GB), DDR3-1600, CAS 9-9-9-24-1T1800 MT/s 9-11-11-28 1T @ 1.535 V
GraphicsGigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2 GB 256-bit GDDR5 1037/1089 MHz Base/GPU Boost, GDDR5-60081187/1239 MHz Base/GPU Boost, GDDR5-7500
System DriveSamsung 840 MZ-7TD120BW 2.5" 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s (SSD)Unchanged
Storage DriveWD Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB, 7200 RPM, 64 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/sUnchanged
OpticalSamsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD BurnerUnchanged
CaseAntec GX 700 ATX Mid Tower Computer CaseUnchanged
PowerCorsair 650TX 650 W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Bronze Modular PSUUnchanged

And here are the benchmark details:

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Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Battlefield 3Version 1.0.0.0, DirectX 11, 90-Second Fraps "Going Hunting" Test Set 1: Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 4X AF, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4X MSAA, 16X AF, HBAO
The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimVersion 1.6.89.06, Version 1.5.26.05 (June), 25-Second Fraps Test Set 1: High Preset, No AA, 8x AF, FXAA Enabled Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x AA, 16x AF, FXAA Enabled
Far Cry 3Version 1.04, 50-Second Fraps "Ananaki Village"Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA, Standard Alpha, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset,  4X MSAA, Enhanced Alpha, HDAO
F1 2012Version 1.2, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA
Audio/Video Encoding
HandBrake CLIVersion: 0.98, 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)
iTunesVersion 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format
LAME MP3Version 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 2.5Version: 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, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Productivity
ABBYY FineReaderVersion 10.0.102.82: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
Adobe Photoshop CS6Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Autodesk 3ds Max 2012Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080
7-ZipVersion 9.28, LZMA2, Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012
WinRARVersion 4.2, RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012
WinZipVersion 17.0 Pro, Best Method, ZIPX Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark 11Version: 1.0.1, Entry, Performance, Extreme Suite
PCMark 7Version: 1.0.4, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks
SiSoftware Sandra 2013Version: 2013 SP5c-1872, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
Don Woligroski
61 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Crashman
    I just wanted to let you guys know before the $2400 PC pops up, that this renewed focus on gaming is a Don and Paul effort. With $2400 on the line, it's easy to improve the entire machine and try to make a clean sweep of every benchmark :)
    Reply
  • Onus
    This was a good build, if only for the single data point that was the power usage. At stock, you could get away with a good 650W PSU, but overclocked it's probably not a good idea. There weren't really any surprises anywhere else. The one pic was dark; how was cable management in that case? I used one a while back and reviewed it, and I though that was probably its weakest point.
    Reply
  • Onus
    If you would like comments and assistance on a personal build, please start your own thread in the New Builds forum. This thread is for discussions about the System Builder Marathon machines. Thanks.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    I have to say I'm really surprised for the crappy scaling of the GTX770s. Was it a CPU bound issue or maybe a PCIe bottleneck? Driver issue? Profile issue? haha

    I'm really surprised to say the least.

    Cheers!
    Reply
  • blubbey
    !!!IMPORTANT!!!!

    Before commenting about benches, read:

    "Keep this parting thought in mind: we're fully aware that the SBM test suite is showing its age, and we have new benchmark results with more modern games. You're going to see this surface in our Day 4 analysis from Thomas."

    Last page, last paragraph.

    Nice build, hilariously good performance in BF3, In the more modern games, will there be any GPU memory bottlenecks with triple monitor setups? We shall see!
    Reply
  • lp231
    It seems these sbm have no strict budget limit. Every time these sbm articles, the budget gets higher and higher. A $1,000 enthusiast pc would be more of a real world build, since that is the maximum amount, most people spend these days on their new build.
    What will the budget be for next times enthusiast pc?
    Now it is at $1,600. So next time it will be $2,500 cause getting them 2x GTX 880 in sli is consider as a budget enthusiast pc?!
    Reply
  • Steve Pound
    Who plays Skyrim on PC and not have a membership at Nexus so the most basic improvements can be made? Leading to: why has this site used the game for 2 years and not done that? Maybe FO4 will be more promising.
    Reply
  • jtenorj
    If go go with an optical drive in this price range, it should be a dvd burner. It's not that much more expensive, media prices are coming down(better cost per GB and speed than dvd in some cases) and lets you play blu tay movies without using bandwitdh to download or stream hd video. My 2 cents.
    Reply
  • jtenorj
    Edit: I meant blu ray burner. Also, I don't care for that case(personal preference).
    Reply
  • mjmjpfaff
    @Yuka
    It depends on which resolution you look at. I advise you to go back and look at the higher resolutions where the 770's in SLI can actually show a huge difference over one 770. It almost doubles in FPS over last quarter's build if you look at some 5760x1080 res. graphs.
    Reply