System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $1000 PC
Although we were afraid of the results, this time around we decided to try something new, forgoing the Core i5 in favor of a dual-core Core i3 CPU in our build. Can the higher clock rate compensate for the loss of two physical cores in our $1000 system?
Test Systems And Benchmarks
We compare our new build to the $1000 enthusiast system we put together for our last SBM in September 2010. The Intel Core i3-550/Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 SLI combo should have a higher capacity for playable high-resolution graphics than the preceding Core i5-750/GeForce GTX 470 config. But the previous system’s quad-core CPU is expected to outperform our dual-core model in threaded productivity and transcoding applications.
$1000 Enthusiast PC Test Settings | ||
---|---|---|
Row 0 - Cell 0 | Standard Speed | Overclocked |
Motherboard | ASUS Sabertooth 55i Chipset: Intel P55 | Unchanged |
Processor | Intel Core i3-5503.2 GHz, Dual Core, 4 MB L3 Cache | 4019 MHz at 1.35 V,167.5 MHz BCLK |
Memory | GeIL Black Dragon 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) SDRAM DDR3-1333 Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit, CAS 7-7-7-24-1T | DDR3-1004, CAS 7-7-7-24-1T |
Graphics | 2 x ECS NBGTX460 (SLI) 1 GB GDDR5-3700 Per CardGeForce GTX 460 GPU at 765/1530 MHz core/shaders | GDDR5-3800 825/1650 MHz core/shaders |
Hard Drives | Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s | Unchanged |
Optical | LG 22x DVD – GH22LS50 OEM22x DVD+R, 8x DVD+RW, 48x CD ROM | Unchanged |
Case | NZXT Gamma | Unchanged |
Power | Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Certified | Unchanged |
$1000 Enthusiast PC (From Previous SBM) Test Settings | ||
---|---|---|
Row 0 - Cell 0 | Standard Speed | Overclocked |
Motherboard | Asus P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156, Intel P55 chipset, BIOS 1003 | Unchanged |
Processor | Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz, Four Cores, 8 MB L3 Cache | 3.75 GHz, 178 MHz Reference Clock |
Memory | Crucial 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) SDRAM DDR3-1333 Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit, CAS 9-9-9-24-1T | DDR3-1070, CAS 8-8-8-22-1T |
Graphics | MSI GeForce GTX 470 1280 MB GDDR5-3348 Per Card 607/1215 MHz GPU/Shaders, 837 MHz Mem | GDDR5-4500 690/1380 MHz GPU/Shaders, 845 MHz Mem |
Hard Drives | Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s | Unchanged |
Optical | Lite-On iHAS12424x DVD+R, 8x DVD+RW, 48x CD ROM | Unchanged |
Case | Antec Three Hundred | Unchanged |
Power | Corsair CMPSU-650HX 650 W ATX12V, EPS12V , 80 PLUS Certified | Unchanged |
And here's a list of the benchmarks:
Benchmark Configuration | |
---|---|
3D Games | |
Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Very High Quality, No AA |
DiRT 2 | In-game benchmarkTest Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AATest Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS)Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AATest Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA |
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:Call of Pripyat | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat benchmark versionTest Set 1: High Preset, DX11 EFDL, No AATest Set 2: Ultra Preset, DX11 EFDL, 4x MSAA |
World in Conflict | Patch 1009, DirectX 10, timedemo Test 1: Very High Details, No AA / No AF Test 2: Very High Details 4x AA / 16x AF |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
iTunes | Version: 9.0.2.25 x64Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 minDefault format AAC |
Handbrake 0.9.4 | Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob filefrom "The Last Samurai" (1 GB) to .mp4 High Profile |
TMPGEnc 4.0 Express | Version: 4.7.3.292Import File: "Terminator 2" SE DVD (5 Minutes)Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
DivX 6.9.1 | Encoding mode: Insane QualityEnhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4Quarter-pixel search |
XviD 1.2.2 | Display encoding status = off |
MainConcept Reference 1.6.1 | MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2) Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s) Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
Productivity | |
Adobe Photoshop CS4 (64-bit) | Version: 11.0 x64, Filter 15.7MB TIF ImageRadial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 | Version: 11.0 x64, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 9.0 | Version: 9.0.663, Virus base: 270.14.1/2407Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
WinRAR 3.90 | Version x64 3.90, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
7-Zip | Version 4.65: Format=Zip, Compression=Ultra, Method=Deflate, Dictionary Size=32KB, Word Size=128, Threads=8Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
Synthetic Benchmarks | |
3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.01, GPU and CPU scores |
PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1.0 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks |
SiSoftware Sandra 2010 | Version 2010.1.16.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
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