System Builder Marathon, Q2 2013: The Articles
Here are links to each of the four articles in this quarter’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 SurveyGizmo form, and be sure to read the complete rules before entering!
Day 1: The $650 Mini-ITX Gaming PC
Day 2: The $1300 Mini-ITX Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $2500 Mini-Performance PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Day 5: The $400 "True Spirit of Mini-ITX" PC
Introduction
We've been hammering away at these System Builder Marathon machines for a while now. We have a pretty good idea how most combinations of hardware are going to perform. And now that Intel's Haswell architecture is available, we're pretty confident that the status quo won't be changing in a meaningful way anytime soon.
So, instead of picking another set of arbitrary budget points and piling in the same old tired parts, as you already know, we picked a new theme: mini-ITX-based boxes. Fitting components into a smaller form factor requires components made for the job, and that necessitates a bigger budget. As a result, we upped the price tag for this PC to $1300.
Naturally, performance records aren't going to be broken. Because we're dealing with pricier parts, it's probable that the full-sized machine I built last quarter is going to be faster. But if this quarter's configuration at least proves comparable, while also offering increased portability, I'll be calling my contribution satisfactory.

Now that you know what we're going for, let's have a look at the components I picked for this round.
| $800 Enthusiast System Components | ||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | MSI Z77IA-E53, LGA 1155, Intel Z77 Express | $150 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-3570K: 3.4 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3.8 GHz Maximum Turbo Boost, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache | $220 |
| Heat Sink | Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid Cooling System | $58 |
| Memory | G.Skill RipjawsX Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1866 Model F3-14900CL8D-8GBXM | $78 |
| Graphics | Sparkle GeForce GTX 680 2 GB 256-bit GDDR5 | $420 |
| System Drive | Adata XPG SX900 ASX900S3-64GM-C 2.5" 64 GB SATA 6Gb/s (SSD) | $80 |
| Storage Drive | Western Digital Black WD1002FAEX 1 TB, 7200 RPM, 64 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/s | $95 |
| Optical | Lite-On iHAS124-04: DVD Burner | $18 |
| Case | Lian Li PC-Q08B Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case | $100 |
| Power | Corsair CX750M 750 W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Bronze Modular PSU | $95 |
| Total Cost | $1314 | |
When we placed our orders a while back, I was just slightly over budget. Since then, however, a couple of the sales I was counting on expired, and now my list of hardware costs closer to $1350 on Newegg.
- Mini-ITX For The Enthusiast: Smaller Size, Bigger Budget
- CPU, Motherboard, And Cooler
- Video Card, Power Supply, And Case
- Memory, Hard Drives, And Optical Drive
- System Assembly And Overclocking
- Test System And Benchmarks
- Results: Synthetics
- Results: Media Encoding
- Results: Rendering And Productivity
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Compression Tools
- Results: Battlefield 3 And The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Results: F1 2012 And Far Cry 3
- Power And Temperature
- Smaller System, More Money, And Greater Performance

Additionally, Samsung 840 120gb only costs 20$ more than the Adata XPG SX900 64.
Additionally, Samsung 840 120gb only costs 20$ more than the Adata XPG SX900 64.
Did you know that a 250gb Samsung 840 has been holding at ~$180 for months and that a 750w PSU in a mITX system makes you look unintelligent? Or that 2133 ram costs the same as 1866?
I think it's time you guys start building machines you would actually own and not ones that tops the charts but are horridly flawed.
And yeah, title on page 3 refers to a non-existent Sapphire 680.
just a thought, while we're on themes, maybe a pure number cruncher/work-horse for the next SBM? could be fun for the "all work and no play" folks out there
* DDR3-1866. Save $20 and get -1600.
* WD Black as a storage drive. I'd consider it overpriced as a boot drive. Save $35.
* Geven the 770 and 680 are basically the same card (in fact the 770 may be slightly better), save $30 and get the 770.
* More than $1 per GB on an SSD. For $10 more you can get a 120GB 840.
* 750W PSU. You're trolling me. That could run two of them.
And yeah, title on page 3 refers to a non-existent Sapphire 680.
GTX 770 wasn't an option when Don placed his order--says so right on the same page three where you found the Sapphire typo ;-)
Don will have to defend his other component choices (against you guys *and* Paul/Thomas).
To the both of you: I'm a little rough on Don for not pushing his RAM even though it doesn't make much performance difference, but only because he's a competitor. And his power supply might be over-rated, but he's probably just trying to dodge the complaints of other readers who demand excessive capacity. All in all he's only wasted what, 10% of his budget? I'm sure most of you would find some other way to waste 10% of your budgets.
BTW, if you hate his power supply for being ridiculously over-capacity and somewhat middle-quality, you're going to have a love/hate relationship with mine
I am sure this is what he was implying...
The PSU from the $650 build was more than enough for this build as well. The hardware choices made in this build are rather poor and wasteful.
Yes you would not have comparisons for your 2600$ beast. Last quarter's 1000$ machine could be a comparison token to the 1300 and 2600.
I am sure this is what he was implying...
The PSU from the $650 build was more than enough for this build as well. The hardware choices made in this build are rather poor and wasteful.
Don's over-capacious choice would have been similar over-capacious in a full-sized build, if he'd used the same CPU, GPU, DRAM and drives.
Still way overkill though.
I would have probably given up overclocking and gone with a lower wattage CPU...i was sort of expecting someone to do that.
That brings me to a suggestion, could next quarter's SBM have "low power" as a theme? Like, lowest power, temps and noise, but highest performance. Maybe restrict that to mATX or mini-ITX as well.
Or have an SBM that tries to beat console performance for a similar price (this could be Q4 2013 or Q1 2014). Thomas would have to match them in power, noise and thermals while posting 60 fps at 1080p maxed out, Paul and Don could battle at $400 and $500 respectively.
GIGABYTE GA-Z77N-WIFI = 120$
CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 = 66$
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) ddr 1600 = 68$
MSI Gaming N770 TF 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 770 = 400$
Intel 335 Series Jay Crest SSDSC2CT180A4K5 2.5" 180GB SATA = 175$
Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM = 70$
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS = 19$
BitFenix Prodigy Red = 80$
SILVERSTONE ST60F-P 600W = 85$
total = 1303$
GIGABYTE GA-Z77N-WIFI = 120$
CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 = 66$
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) ddr 1600 = 68$
MSI Gaming N770 TF 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 770 = 400$
Intel 335 Series Jay Crest SSDSC2CT180A4K5 2.5" 180GB SATA = 175$
Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM = 70$
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS = 19$
BitFenix Prodigy Red = 80$
SILVERSTONE ST60F-P 600W = 85$
total = 1303$
shoulda added the cost of the time machine needed to deliver the gtx770 back in april.
an evga gtx 670 on the other hand....
edit:
imo, it goes for all the people using current prices and parts. please calculate the cost of a time travelling device into the final tally.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($117.97 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($163.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Lian-Li PC-Q08B Mini ITX Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1248.58 <-- $1301.17 = Everything from Newegg (including shipping)
Notes:
-Just for fun, I chose low latency DDR3 1600 memory despite the diminishing returns on an Intel platfrom.
-Slightly cheaper motherboard
-HD7970 - Cheaper, more OC headroom, better performance than the GTX 680, higher power consumption
-250GB Samsung 840 SSD, its not MLC but its big enough to not matter for a gaming computer
-No need for a WDBlack for storage.... Cheaper 1TB WD Blue
-Kept the same case
-Right sized, modular, quality 80plus Gold Seasonsic PSU
-Corsair H60 (new version) - better warranty, better performance
With the wiggle room I have on the case, RAM, and jumping down to a 120/128GB SSD, this build will work within the parameters of last months prices.
Yes, this SBM predates the GTX 770. However, the HD7970 made more sense than a GTX 680.
I'm in the market for a micro atx or mini-itx build, and while I love this SBM format, the choices here are just poor. I think one of the non-builder writers needs to start reducing scores for bad choices, or something to clean up these builds.