System Builder Marathon, March 2011: The Articles
Here are links to each of the five 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 fill out this Google form, and be sure to read the complete rules before entering!
Day 1: The $2,000 Performance PC
Day 2: The $1,000 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $500 Gaming PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Day 5: Tom's Hand-Picked SuperCombo
Introduction
Few times has Intel’s old “Leap Ahead” slogan been more appropriate than with its Sandy Bridge launch, its new processor offering moderate performance gains simultaneous to huge power reduction. Yet, CPU competitor AMD hasn’t been lying motionless, its old “Leap Beyond” campaign similarly suited to new graphics cards that, thanks to superior multi-GPU scaling, speed past Nvidia’s competing parts while consuming far less power and selling for a far lower price. With all these advancements only a few easy mouse clicks away, all we needed was a real-world complete build to compare today’s advanced parts to the pathetic antiques of last year.

Here’s what our $2000 budget was able to purchase, using Newegg’s prices.
| $2000 Performance PC Component Prices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | Asus P8P67 WS Revolution: LGA 1155, Intel P67 Express | $ 270 |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-2600K: 3.4 GHz-3.8 GHz, 8 MB Cache | $330 |
| Memory | G.Skill F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM: DDR3-1600 C8, 2 x 4 GB (8 GB) | $130 |
| Graphics | 2 x XFX HD-695A-CNFC: Radeon HD 6950 2 GB, CrossFire | $600 |
| System Drive | 2 x A-Data S599 64 GB, SATA 3Gb/s SSD | $230 |
| Storage Drive | Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1 TB, 7200 RPM HDD | $70 |
| Optical | Lite-On iHBS212 BD-RE: 12x BD-R, 16x DVD±R, 48x CD-R | $110 |
| Case | Antec Three Hundred Illusion | $65 |
| Power | Seasonic SS-850HT: 850W, ATX12V v2.31, 80-Plus Silver | $130 |
| CPU Cooler | Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B (SCMG-2100) | $40 |
| Total Cost | $1975 | |
Extra value in the power supply and CPU cooler allowed us to go overkill on these items without breaking the bank.
- Two Steps Forward
- CPU And CPU Cooler
- Motherboard And Graphics
- System Storage And Memory
- Secondary And Optical Storage
- Case And Power
- Assembly And GPU Overclocking
- CPU Overclocking
- Test Settings
- Benchmark Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Benchmark Results: Sandra 2011
- Benchmark Results: Crysis And F1 2010
- Benchmark Results: Just Cause 2 And S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Power, Heat, And Efficiency
- Conclusion
Sure is a good time to be building a new PC.
Especially this one
i am not saying OC and AMD thing.. same hardware..
I built a system exactly like that, except with an 2500K, P8P67 Pro, single 6950 2GB, single SSD, DVD rather than BD, H50 and a cheaper PSU. Tears through Metro 2033 maxed at 1920x1200 like butter. When prices on 6950s fall some more I'll add a card and see if they can handle Eyefinity.
Props on the build, dawgs. Daddy likes!
Breath is bated for the bevy of builds to come!
not again.....
how would a system like this perform if watercooled. i presume it will kill most of the gpu heat problems and the cpu should stay bout the same
Crossfired 6970s give the same performance, OC about as well, cost the same $700, and you can be in the same room as them without ear plugs. My old Pentium D's fan was annoying, the 6990 is apparently even worse.
Now, water cooled 6990s (yes, plural), now you're talking, but then we're into $3,000+ territory, and 5 DisplayPort monitors with good vertical viewing angles on top of that (read: 5x 24" IPS, $2500, minimum).
These are 1GB 6950s. Without a BIOS for a 1GB 6970, you can't flash those, and AMD has not released a 1GB 6970. We also never know when/if they'll start fusing off extra shaders now that specs are finalized.
I like the build, though I think you overspent on the Blu-ray drive and could have used the savings on a better case.
Hell, I would even pay any import tax and shipping costs :S
Excellent build, definitely worth it over the previous $2,000 system. I can't help but wonder how well those 6950s will perform once AMD's drivers really make use of the VLIW4 architecture, so there's another potential bonus. Now if only this was available in the UK...
I did my own comparison for the UK, using various matches thrown up by Google. Unfortunately, I can't find the Illusion variant of the Three Hundred, plus the SeaSonic PSU seems a bit too expensive/difficult to find. I opted for an Antec 850W PSU at £104 ($166, assuming conversion £1 = $1.60). The cooler was £40 at the cheapest ($64). My prices came to £1,490 approx. including all shipping. That'd come out at about $2,400, so it's not a massive hike over US prices.
Just wait until tomorrow ;-) Don isn't quite as shy about flashing his bits!