System Builder Marathon, June 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 $2000 Performance PC
Day 2: The $1000 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $500 Gaming PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Day 5: Tom's Hand-Picked SuperCombo
Introduction
While last year’s systems often focused on the expandability of high-end platforms, those platforms (largely based on Intel's X58 Express chipset) no longer support the fastest CPUs for our applications. Even enthusiasts must live with the reality that most programs can use no more than four CPU cores, and the fastest four-core processors have used decidedly mainstream chipsets since January. Those are the parts on which our most recent $2000 builds have centered.
Intel’s compelling upgrade for its mainstream processor interface turned the market on its head by adding ultra-fast video transcoding that could not be matched even by today’s fastest discrete GPUs, let alone an ultra-expensive six-core CPU. We've already seen what Quick Sync can do. With that said, none of the tests in our System Builder Marathon suite are optimized to exploit it; perhaps that's something we'll change going into next quarter's comparison. The real question is: should we even bother to upgrade?
Of course, the answer is yes. We've shown via extensive testing that Intel's Z68 Express platform loses nothing by way of overclocking or performance compared to the P67-based boards previously included in this series. These motherboards do cost a little more, which means today’s system takes a small hit in the value calculations, especially given that our transcoding-oriented benchmarks are processor-bound, and not able to enjoy the speed-up enabled through Quick Sync. Still, we had to follow our hearts on this one and think of what we’d build if these were our own machines. At the end of the day, Z68's additional functionality is really worthwhile.

Oh yes, and we ditched the often-favored Antec Three Hundred Illusion for something with a little more flash and twice the cost. With the same CPU, GPUs, and SSDs carried over from our most recent $2000 build, we're leaning hard on our partner's Newegg's recent price drops to retain the high-end value score of our former build.
| $2000 PC Components | ||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASRock Z68 Extreme4: LGA 1155, Intel Z68 Express | $190 |
| Graphics | 2x MSI R6970-2PM2D2GD5: Radeon HD 6970 2 GB, CrossFire | $680 |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-2600K: 3.4 GHz-3.8 GHz, 8 MB Cache | $315 |
| Memory | G.Skill F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM: DDR3-1600 C8, 4 GB x2 (8 GB) | $90 |
| System Drive | 2x A-Data S599 64 GB, SATA 3Gb/s SSD | $240 |
| Storage Drive | Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1 TB, 7200 RPM HDD | $55 |
| Optical | LG WH10LS30 BD-RE: 10x BD-R, 16x DVD±R | $70 |
| Case | Lian-Li PC-9F | $140 |
| Power | Seasonic SS-850HT: 850W, ATX12V v2.31, 80-Plus Silver | $125 |
| Heat Sink | Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 | $30 |
| Total Cost | $1935 | |
Yet, value can’t completely be quantified by our scoring system. For example, how would a real-world user feel about having only 128 GB of storage? We added a 1 TB drive for that, along with a BD-RE for backups. This month’s disc burner is also cheaper than that of our previous build, which helps to offset the cost of that gorgeous case. Many of our readers have, after all, voiced concern that one of the things they value is the look on their friends’ faces when they show off their latest creation!
- A True Enthusiast Build?
- Motherboard And Case
- CPU Cooler And Optical Drive
- CPU And Graphics
- System Storage And Memory
- Secondary Storage And Power
- Hardware Installation
- Overclocking
- Test Settings
- Benchmark Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Benchmark Results: SiSoftware Sandra 2011
- Benchmark Results: Crysis And F1 2010
- Benchmark Results: Just Cause 2 And Metro 2033
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Power, Heat, And Efficiency
- Value Conclusion
WHERE!?!?!?
A pair of Radeon HD 6950s beats a pair of GeForce GTX 570s at our 2560x1600 target resolution, and the HD 6970 is even faster.
Are you guys satisfied with your decision to go with a higher-end case? Have you noticed any tangible benefits? For example, lower system temps, better build quality, better cable management, more interior room to work, additional features, etc...?
You give vivid details describing children and teenagers, but might I add something for the adults? Something like: "That a wrinkly, weaker and deteriorating adult might actually purchase". Something along those lines - we must make those adults look like old fuddy-duddies, whom are at the brink of a midlife crisis any moment now!
Damn you evolving technology.
I'm tired of this Radeon Crossfire set-up for the past half year.
Don't forget to check out the 8-cores Bulldozer as well.
there was a recent article about this, where they discussed that in raid0 drive performance scales as you add drives, so by taking 2 drives with a 250mb/s write rate, you get nearly 500 mb/s. so not only is it safe, it adds performance
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-iops,2848.html is the article
WHERE!?!?!?
Choosing an inferior hs/f in order to save a couple of bucks is not the kind of choice we're looking to see in a $2000 'top-of-the-line' rig, btw
Moreover, perhaps the hs/f choice is why you couldn't overclock this one as much as the last one.
Seasonic SS-850HT: 125$
XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283: 30$
2x A-Data S599 SSD: 120$ x2 (240$)
Lian-Li PC-9F :106$
LG WH10LS30: 89$
2x MSI R6970: 320$ x2 (640$)
8 GB G.Skill DDR3-1600: 74$
Intel Core i7-2600K: 314$
ASRock Z68 Extreme4: 189$