System Builder Marathon, September 2011: 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). 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 $2000 Performance PC
Day 2: The $1000 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $500 Gaming PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Introduction
There wasn't a lot of incentive for us to look beyond the great performance and overclocking value of Intel's Core i5-2500K in our previous $1000 enthusiast build. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have any tricks up our sleeve this time around.
Of course, system performance is defined by a lot more than just a CPU, and we're thinking that it's about time our mid-priced system came with a solid-state drive. Although the cost of an SSD is too high to lean on it as an exclusive storage solution in this price range, we certainly have the budget to squeeze a boot drive into the build.
Moreover, variety is the spice of life. So, we're swapping out two Radeon HD 6850 cards in CrossFire used in our last build for a pair of GeForce GTX 460 models in SLI. We see what, if any, changes the graphics cards make in our power and performance metrics.

Here’s the list of components in the current $1000 Enthusiast system:
| $1000 Enthusiast System Components | ||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | EVGA P67 Micro SLI LGA 1155, Intel P67 chipset | $149 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo), Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache | $220 |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper TX3 | $20 |
| Memory | Mushkin Enhanced Redline 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) 240-Pin DDR3-1600 Kit Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit | $50 |
| Graphics | 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1 GB 1 GB GDDR5 | $340 |
| Hard Drive | OCZ Vertex Series 30 GB SATA II SSD 30 GB, SATA 3Gb/s | $65 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s | $59 |
| Optical | Sony Optiarc DVD Burner 24x DVD Burner | $19 |
| Case | Raidmax Atlas-295WB | $40 |
| Power | Corsair CX600 V2 600 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS-Certified | $70 |
| Total Cost | $1032 | |
- System Builder Marathon: $1000 Enthusiast System
- CPU, Motherboard, And Cooler
- Video Cards, Power Supply, And Case
- Memory, Hard Drives, And Optical Drive
- Assembly And Overclocking
- Test System And Benchmarks
- Benchmark Results: Synthetics
- Benchmark Results: Media Encoding Applications
- Benchmark Results: 2D And 3D Graphics Apps
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Benchmark Results: Crysis And Just Cause 2
- Benchmark Results: Metro 2033 And F1 2010
- Power And Temperature Benchmarks
- More Powerful Storage At The Same Budget
Off the top of my head,
1. There are a number of decent Z68 motherboards for around $130.
2. Hyper 212+ costs $30
3. A Corsair 2x4GB 1600MHz CL9 kit costs $50
4. There are plenty of good 1TB drives for $55
5. Antec Earthwatts 650W costs around $60
And don't give me any crap about price increases over the past month. All of these have remained the same for the past 2 months.
At the $1000 mark i'd opt for 8GB of ram, no ssd and a better hdd. And not a microATX.
Also why isn't micro stuttering mentioned? If i remember correctly, these cards have issues with it.
Guess that was mostly negative stuff, i liked reading it anyway though, keep em coming.
Off the top of my head,
1. There are a number of decent Z68 motherboards for around $130.
2. Hyper 212+ costs $30
3. A Corsair 2x4GB 1600MHz CL9 kit costs $50
4. There are plenty of good 1TB drives for $55
5. Antec Earthwatts 650W costs around $60
And don't give me any crap about price increases over the past month. All of these have remained the same for the past 2 months.
At the $1000 mark i'd opt for 8GB of ram, no ssd and a better hdd. And not a microATX.
Also why isn't micro stuttering mentioned? If i remember correctly, these cards have issues with it.
Guess that was mostly negative stuff, i liked reading it anyway though, keep em coming.
Nice PSU as well. I do wonder though why you didn't go with the CX600V2, as it's 80+ Certified and sells for the same price as the CX600 (actually, a $10 MIR right now so $59.99).
Also, and this isn't a critique but purely personal preference, I would probably forego the SSD for myself and stick with a cheap HDD like a WD Green. Loading times aren't that important to me; I'm willing to wait a few more seconds if it means I can put the $ I saved towards a better mobo, HSF, or better non-reference GPU cards. Call me crazy but I'm willing to wait a bit longer, as well as not having to worry about my OS drive wearing out, in order to get very slightly better performance/temps. I realize that drive performance is an important metric for most people though so I'm glad you are incorporating that into these modern builds. Can't wait to see the $500 one
other than that, its a realy nice build
I want to delete this comment, I made some mistakes with grammar. If I had chosen, I wouldn't have gotten a pair of ... so embarrassing..
YOU ARE FIRED!
In the news section. Every single quarter.
Don claims he's not affected by micro-stuttering. Indeed, everyone's sensitivity to this seems to be different.
That is specifically not to imply that I could build a $1K system offering better performance, just that this one didn't offer any of the revelations often seen in SBM builds.
Also my Win7 64 bit Home Premium fits on my Intel X-25V 40 GB SSD, with Office and Chrome/Firefox with 8 GB to spare. So it's really not too bad.
Maybe the Corsair GS600 would be a better choice?
Why not go with a Z68 and get the advantage of QuickSync? The cost is virtually the same if you go with your own Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 recommendation for $150, especially if you ditch the SSD which seems too small to be worthwhile ({Danny Vermin voice} I did a 30GB partition once. Once!)
What are the thoughts on getting a 6970 2GB instead of twin 460's? Wouldn't the performance be comparable in the near term and provide more upside down the road (by crossfiring later)?
Good to see you try different approaches to the builds! cant complain as it helps show what different hardware performs like without having to spend your own money!
I would use this build, with the change of dropping the SSD, using a 1TB HDD and spending the savings on a full atx Mobo (Which can be had for the same price as your mATX board) 8GB Ram and 2 6870 with better PSU ( The Corsair is a good PSU but not for Xfire as you mention)