Test System Configuration And Benchmarks
| Current $400 Mini-ITX PC System Test Configuration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Settings |
| CPU | Intel Pentium G860 (Sandy Bridge), 3 GHz, LGA 1155, 3 MB Shared L3 Cache, Power-saving features enabled | Unchanged |
| CPU Cooler | Intel Boxed Heat Sink And Fan | Unchanged |
| Motherboard | Foxconn H61S, Intel H61, BIOS C31F1P02 (07/18/12) | Unchanged |
| RAM | 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) Crucial DDR3-1600 Kit at DDR3-1333, CL 9-9-9-24 1T, 1.5 V | DDR3-1333, CL 7-7-7-24 1T at 1.5 V |
| Graphics | Sapphire 100357LP, Radeon HD 7750 1 GB GDDR5, 800 MHz GPU, 1125 MHz (4500 MT/s) Memory | 925 MHz GPU, 1225 MHz (4900 MT/s) GDDR5 Memory |
| Hard Drive | Samsung Spinpoint M8 ST320LM001 320 GB Hard Drive, 5400 RPM, 8 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated Six-Channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking | Unchanged |
| Power | Antec FP-150-8 Flex Power Supply | Unchanged |
| Optical | none | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows 8 Professional x64 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | AMD Catalyst 13.4 | Unchanged |
| Platform Driver | Intel 7-series Inf v. 9.3.1025 | Unchanged |
| Q2 2013 $650 Mini-ITX Gaming PC System Test Configuration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Settings |
| CPU | Intel Core i3-3220 (Ivy Bridge), 3.3 GHz, LGA 1155, 3 MB Shared L3, Power-saving features enabled | Unchanged |
| CPU Cooler | Intel Boxed Heat Sink and Fan | Unchanged |
| Motherboard | ASRock B75M-ITX Intel B75, BIOS P1.60 UFI (11-19-2012) | Unchanged |
| RAM | 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) Crucial DDR3-1600 Kit CL 8-8-8-24 2N at 1.5 V | DDR3-1600, CL 8-8-8-24 1N at 1.5 V |
| Graphics | PowerColor PCS+ AX7870 Myst Edition 2 GB GDDR5 925 MHz (975 Boost) GPU, 1500 MHz (6000 MT/s) Memory | 1100 MHz GPU 1500 MHz (6000 MT/s) GDDR5 Memory |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500 GB, 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated Eight-Channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking | Unchanged |
| Power | Corsair Builder Series CX500 500 W ATX12V v2.3 | Unchanged |
| Optical | none | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows 8 Professional x64 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | AMD Catalyst 13.4 | Unchanged |
| Platform Driver | Intel 7-series Inf v. 9.3.1025 | Unchanged |
| Q4 2012 $500 PC System Test Configuration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Settings |
| CPU | Intel Pentium G850 (Sandy Bridge), 2.9 GHz, LGA 1155, 3 MB Shared L3, Power-saving features enabled | Unchanged |
| CPU Cooler | Intel Boxed Heat Sink and Fan | Unchanged |
| Motherboard | ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP Intel H77, BIOS P1.40 (09-21-2012) | Unchanged |
| RAM | 8 GB G.Skill DDR3-1333 Kit CL 9-9-9-24 1T at 1.585 V | DDR3-1333, CL 7-8-7-22 1T at 1.6 V |
| Graphics | PowerColor AX7850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 860 MHz GPU, 1200 MHz (4800 MT/s) Memory | 1200 MHz GPU @ 1.205 V, 1310 MHz (5240 MT/s) GDDR5 Memory |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital WD3200AAKX 320 GB Hard Drive 320 GB, 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated Eight-Channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking | Unchanged |
| Power | Antec VP-450 450 W | Unchanged |
| Optical | LG 24x DVD Burner SATA Model GH24NS90-OEM | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows 8 Professional x64 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | AMD Catalyst 12.10 | Unchanged |
| Platform Driver | Intel 7-series Inf v. 9.3.1025 | Unchanged |
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Battlefield 3 | Version 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 |
| Elders Scroll V: Skyrim | Version 1.8.151.0.7, 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 3 | V. 1.04, DirectX 11, 50-Second Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC., SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO |
| F1 2012 | Version 1.2, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x AA |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 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) |
| iTunes | Version 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
| Lame MP3 | Version 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 2.5 | Version: 2.5.0.10677, MPEG2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio:MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
| Abobe Creative Suite | |
| Adobe After Effects CS6 | Version 11.0.0.378 x64: Create Video, Three Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously |
| Adobe Photoshop CS6 | Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Adobe Premier Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-Ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Adobe Acrobat X Pro | Version 10.0.0.396: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encyption |
| Productivity | |
| ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 | Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
| Blender | Version 2.64a, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1 |
| Visual Studio | Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted |
| Compression | |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.28, LZMA2, Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| WinRAR | Version 4.2, RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| WinZip | Version 17.0 Pro, Syntax "-a -ez -p -r" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark 11 | Version: 1.0.3, Performance Suite |
| PCMark 7 | Version: 1.0.4, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2013 | Version: 2013.01.19.11, Processor Arithmetic, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth Benchmarks |
Previous
Next
Summary
- An Inexpensive Console-Sized Gaming PC
- CPU And Cooler
- Motherboard And Memory
- Graphics Card And Hard Drive
- Case, Power Supply, And Optical Drive
- Assembling Our Little Budget Box
- How Small Is It, Really?
- Limited Overclocking
- Test System And Benchmarks
- Results: Synthetics
- Results: Audio And Video
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: Compression
- Results: Battlefield 3 And The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Benchmark Results: F1 2012 And Far Cry 3
- Consumption And Temperatures
- Performance Summary
- Can Less Equal More?
Ask a Category Expert
I do like how most of those games were "playable" on high settings at 1080p with that tiny rig... very cool.
Great job
Also, I can't believe you had a SG05 and didn't build with it,it has an awesome power supply. Again,if you weren't getting a disk drive the V3+ was the smaller, higher quality case than CM 120 ( though they're finished on newegg)
The obsession with ginormous cards in tiny places made your cases not tiny.Clearly,a more sensible build,like with a 670,would fit in a much smaller footprint.
The lack of the FT03 Mini is a fail. It's a Mac killing case,and should've been the go to case for the $2500 build, because at that price,my case better look it.
Otherwise I like that you were at least up to the challenge, and I applaud this last build.
Also, I can't believe you had a SG05 and didn't build with it,it has an awesome power supply. Again,if you weren't getting a disk drive the V3+ was the smaller, higher quality case than CM 120 ( though they're finished on newegg)
The obsession with ginormous cards in tiny places made your cases not tiny.Clearly,a more sensible build,like with a 670,would fit in a much smaller footprint.
The lack of the FT03 Mini is a fail. It's a Mac killing case,and should've been the go to case for the $2500 build, because at that price,my case better look it.
Otherwise I like that you were at least up to the challenge, and I applaud this last build.
You could say that nobody should even bother spending $2500 on an ITX-based system, or that a system with ITX limitations should never be expected to provide top performance. At least those opinions would make more sense than the stuff you said above.
CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Foxconn H61S Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N180UB 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill RS-MI-01 BK Mini ITX Tower Case w/250W Power Supply ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $371.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-27 03:06 EDT-0400)
Some improvements I would like to suggest , Maybe I am crazy , but felt I should do this.
Once the Kaveri APU's start rolling out, I wonder if you guys would end up choosing them over Intel CPU's + discrete GPU's for SFF builds like this or for any other budget configuration for that matter.
BTW, was the Athlon X4 750K/760K not chosen due to its power req. and heat or was it just not available at the time?
You could say that nobody should even bother spending $2500 on an ITX-based system, or that a system with ITX limitations should never be expected to provide top performance. At least those opinions would make more sense than the stuff you said above.
I will say,since my point was lost in the rant
Nobody should be building an ITX rig for $2500 that's bigger than the Silverstone SG10.
A system with mini ITX should crunch top numbers and remain small.The two cheapest rigs prove that.
I hope I make sense now.
AMD A10-5800K APU: http://goo.gl/XaFFP
MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Motherboard: http://goo.gl/DXM3W
8GB Samsung DDR3 1600Mhz RAM: http://goo.gl/gVqCL - Another great option: http://goo.gl/Jbtye
500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue Hard Drive: http://goo.gl/bM1Ww
NZXT Source 210 Case: http://goo.gl/2wlae
430W Corsair CX430 Power Supply: http://goo.gl/QzWZo
These parts make up the $350 build however since this is a custom PC feel free to customize it with some of these options!
OS - Windows 8 System Builder: http://goo.gl/OTZAL
OS - Windows 7 System Builder: http://goo.gl/7hc9M
Optical Drive - Lite-On DVD Burner: http://goo.gl/DCVBn
Wi-Fi Adapter - Asus PCE-N15: http://goo.gl/JQ7Mt
RAM Upgrade - 8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 2133Mhz: http://goo.gl/bTOiK
Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon 7770: http://goo.gl/FrSHW
SSD - 120GB Samsung 840: http://goo.gl/ykuCA
HDD Upgrade - 1TB WD Caviar Blue: http://goo.gl/MZTnq
You could say that nobody should even bother spending $2500 on an ITX-based system, or that a system with ITX limitations should never be expected to provide top performance. At least those opinions would make more sense than the stuff you said above.
I will say,since my point was lost in the rant
Nobody should be building an ITX rig for $2500 that's bigger than the Silverstone SG10.
A system with mini ITX should crunch top numbers and remain small.The two cheapest rigs prove that.
I hope I make sense now.
What you're really saying is that all the people who loved the $2500 PC were wrong. It's OK to believe that, but the reality is that your opinion on their market doesn't count any more than my opinion on feminine hygiene products. Both of us are ill-equipped to speak with authority on those respective issues.
AMD A10-5800K APU: http://goo.gl/XaFFP
MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Motherboard: http://goo.gl/DXM3W
8GB Samsung DDR3 1600Mhz RAM: http://goo.gl/gVqCL - Another great option: http://goo.gl/Jbtye
500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue Hard Drive: http://goo.gl/bM1Ww
NZXT Source 210 Case: http://goo.gl/2wlae
430W Corsair CX430 Power Supply: http://goo.gl/QzWZo
These parts make up the $350 build however since this is a custom PC feel free to customize it with some of these options!
OS - Windows 8 System Builder: http://goo.gl/OTZAL
OS - Windows 7 System Builder: http://goo.gl/7hc9M
Optical Drive - Lite-On DVD Burner: http://goo.gl/DCVBn
Wi-Fi Adapter - Asus PCE-N15: http://goo.gl/JQ7Mt
RAM Upgrade - 8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 2133Mhz: http://goo.gl/bTOiK
Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon 7770: http://goo.gl/FrSHW
SSD - 120GB Samsung 840: http://goo.gl/ykuCA
HDD Upgrade - 1TB WD Caviar Blue: http://goo.gl/MZTnq
Your case is much much bigger.
No. They chose intel for the cpu, not for it's integrated gpu. They used the fastest half height, single slot gpu available to them along with it. Swapping out the intel cpu for the A10-5800K would have been a step down in gaming performance. Don't make stupid accusations.
-a core i5 3350P or whatever haswell version is available by then
-the AFOX 7850 is available in my country :-P
-a 120 or 240Gb SSD
-more ram
-a slim optical drive
Well i have a Core 2 Quad and a GTX560, manages fine at 1024x768, but a lot of times i'm intensely CPU bottlenecked. Arma 3's killing my CPU like no other game. Ok, maybe the FreeSpace 2 Open engine, but then that's single threaded.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6670/dragging-core2duo-into-2013-time-for-an-upgrade