System Builder Marathon, May 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).
- Day 1: The $2,500 Performance PC
- Day 2: The $1,300 Enthusiast PC
- Day 3: The $600 Gaming PC
- Day 4: Performance and Value Dissected
The SBM contest is live! Enter to win one of our three systems right here.
Introduction
Tom’s Hardware looks to your feedback in article planning. One of the most frequent of many System Builder Marathon (SBM) themes you’ve proposed in our comments section is that of the “gaming cube,” and that's why all three of this month's configurations attempt to maximize the performance potential available with portable enclosures.
Forget the term small form-factor cases (SFF) when thinking of Micro-ATX cubes, since “form factors” are dimensional standards that apply to internal components. SFF originated with the two-slot designs of Shuttle barebones PCs, so the insistence of some manufacturers on using the term to describe much larger and completely incompatible Micro-ATX parts only serves to confuse inexperienced builders.
With portability our first priority, we tried to stuff as many high-end parts as our budget would allow into the most portable Micro-ATX case we could find. Here’s what we came up with:
| $2,500 Portable PC Performance Parts Prices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | DFI LANParty Jr X58-T3H6 Micro-ATX | $220 |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-920 | $289 |
| Memory | Mushkin 998679 6.0 GB DDR3-1600 | $138 |
| Graphics | 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 295 in SLI | $1,058 |
| Hard Drives | 2 x Western Digital RE3 WD50002ABYS (RAID 0) | $180 |
| Optical | LG GGC-H20LK Blu-ray Disk/HD-DVD ROM | $100 |
| Case | Silverstone SG04B-H Micro-ATX Mini-Tower | $170 |
| Power | Corsair CMPSU-1000HX Modular 1,000 W | $240 |
| Intake Fans | 2 x Scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120 mm, 1,600 RPM, 63.7 CFM at 28.0 dBA | $28 |
| Exhaust Fan | Silverstone RL-FX121 Cross Flow Blower | $17 |
| Total Cost | $ 2,440 |
While we stick to the above price list as our recommended configuration, a serious shortage of GeForce GTX 295 boards forced us to buy the only model in stock at ordering time, resulting in some visually-different but functionally-identical replacement products. We’re fairly certain that the lucky winner of today’s build will be pleased with the overall result.
Ed.: Wait, what was that? The lucky winner? That's right folks. We're going to be giving away this system, plus the two machines to follow tomorrow and the day after. Once the SBM series has run its course this week, look for a contest page to go up on the front page of the site. You'll need to answer one question about each of our configurations and will then be entered into a drawing for one of this month's three SBM builds!
- Hot Tips For A Cool System–Or Vice Versa?
- Case And System Cooling
- Motherboard, Graphics, And Power
- CPU, Memory, And Drives
- Hardware Installation
- BIOS And Overclocking
- Test Settings
- Benchmark Results: Crysis, Far Cry 2
- Benchmark Results: Clear Sky And World In Conflict
- Benchmark Results: A/V Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Benchmark Results: Synthetic
- Power And Heat
- Conclusion
Case is nice but i mean with such a high end system seems like a waste so cluttered yet it all fits which makes it pretty cool esp if you put it right on top next to your monitor makes a nice look factor but it's not my style though.
Case: Antec Mini p180 - much more room, especially if you remove bottom hard drive cage, can take ANY graphics then, much better cooling, and allows for REAL cpu cooler.
Motherboard: Asus Rampage II Gene - I used the DFI model then got the ASUS, its nicer, much nicer. Unless you need a couple specific overclocking things in BIOS, id recommend Asus board hands down, AND it has 2 firewire, one header, and one rear.
For those that care (probably not many but why not), here is my system:
Antec Mini p180
Corsair TX750 PSU (wish I had the $$ for the 1000 watt model used here)
LG GGC-H20L Combo Blu Ray Drive (same used)
WD 640GB Caviar Blue - placed in top optical drive slot - working on VR 300GB
6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 (saving for the Dominator GT DDR3-2000)
Dominator AirFlow Fan (triple channel model)
Intel Core i7 920
Lapped TRUE
5x Scythe S-Flex G fans (2 on TRUE, 1 exhaust, 2 intake in place of hard drive cages)
Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II Northbridge Cooler
2x EVGA GTX275 SLI (the SC models, even though I purchased stock clocks
This system hauls some serious ass, well staying reasonably cooled - although I will say that the S-Flex G fans have a noticeable hum to them. This system has run for days at 4GHz (50% overclock) with no issues.I "only" game on a 24" screen so the 2x GTX275 suffice for me. Thought about 295's in SLI but did not want to worry about the heat those can make (and the much higher cost).
I'm actually really impressed with this machine for it's size. I've used that silverstone exaust fan in quite a few machines, and despite it's totally uninspiring performance, it can really be a life-saver.
Though if I won this machine, I'd totally throw it in a HAF, and ebay that case away.
The case looks very nice, but then Silverstone always does.
A bit surprised at the PSU selection given the cards, but impressed that it survived so well.
Couldn't a higher RPM low profile heatsink have been found? Scythe Shuriken for instance?
Another small gripe... wouldn't the 640GB Blacks be just a little faster then the 500GB RE3's? They might not get the full 5 yrs warranty, and the 24/7 validation seems more like a marketing term.
Overall nice setup.
I dont care if this things ugly, it will beat my pc anyday, I would love to win this bad boy.
Since the RAID controllers aren't very trusty, i think it's a risk to go to a LAN party or a competition with RAID0...
Another thing: instead of 2x disks 7200-rpm wasn't it better to install a WD Raptor 10k-rpm with better performance? I'm pretty sure this option would offer better stability instead of the RAID0 set...
Few points:
1.I agree that ASUS rampage gene is better than the DFI they used here. It came into mind once I read the opening paragraph, hoping it'll be the one used.
2. The fans of PSU and CPU cooler blow air in opposite directions and they're fairly close to each other. I think it helped increasing CPU temps bigtime.
3. I don't know if they fit or not, but there are decent low profile CPU coolers built for HTPC cases. I guess they'd perform better.
All in all, it's a nice build. Well done.
Answer: No... given the fact that all the TH competitions were for US only
Other then that, an unusual system builder marathon this month. Hope that tomorrow an even more weird system comes up at the $1300 price point
Two of the 295's is overkill but it still looks like a great build. I wouldn't mind winning it
I already tested a system close to this (Core i7 920 + 2x GTX 295), and when you put the CPU and GPU at max stress (Prime95 or OCCT + Furmark), the 1.000W psu does not hold the system (it will shut off).
Off course, when gaming (Crysis for instance), the system will run fine (since the game cannot put that much stress on the CPU + GPU).