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System Builder Marathon Q3 2014: Budget Gaming PC

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Results: Audio And Video

Armed with a 3.2 GHz dual-core Pentium processor, our newest PC starts off at a raw compute resource disadvantage. Last quarter, Turbo Core bolstered Trinity’s operating frequency up to 3.7 GHz, reaching as high as 4.0 GHz in single-threaded tasks. But overclocking just about evens the playing field, since we came up only 100 MHz shy of matching last quarter’s efforts.

The Pentium’s greater per-clock performance makes quick work of AMD’s pricier Athlon in single-threaded iTunes and LAME MP3 audio encoding workloads.

Juggling only two threads at a time, the little Pentium’s weakness is threading-optimized tasks. Even still, had we lucked out with a more willing chip, this overclocked PC might have been able to catch last quarter’s machine in HandBrake and TotalCode Studio.

55 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Memnarchon 23 September 2014 20:12
    Wow! Pentium G3258 becoming a monster for that price, once it goes over 4Ghz...
    Reply
  • g-unit1111 23 September 2014 20:24
    I would personally love to get a Pentium G3258 for my HTPC, it's only like $50 at Micro Center and the motherboard is $70 at Newegg. Hmm... decisions, decisions. :lol:
    Reply
  • ScienceGuy3 23 September 2014 20:51
    What about the Frame Times? Isn't this processor notorious for bad frame times in heavily threaded games like BF4?
    Reply
  • elbert 23 September 2014 20:57
    serves up to 30 A across its +12 V rails.
    Its rated to serve up to 30 Amps but can do far more. Tests on this little gem shows it can output 22amps on each rail and maxes out around 38~39 Amps on both. Im paraphrasing a popular power supply testing site. Max wattage is about 553ish which is a good deal more than rated. This power supply can't be certified due to it lacks a circuit required but exceeds 80 percent efficiency.
    Reply
  • de5_Roy 23 September 2014 20:57
    a lot of things went right for this build: amd introduced the full pitcairn/curacao gpu based r9 270 under 150w, needing single 6 pin pcie power connector, cryptocurrency craze was over and gfx card prices came down, hdd prices came down to sane levels, cpu-overhead-reducing gfx card drivers came out, intel released an unlocked dual core cpu and allowed o.c. bioses....
    Reply
  • jdwii 23 September 2014 21:06
    I'm just not sure for one they didn't show latency times. I'm pretty sure this build will suck for future gaming to such as GTA5.
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-overclocking-performance,3849-5.html
    When toms reviewed this CPU it was shown to have poor latency
    For a 500$ build i would probably do a 6300+265 build. 600$ i would probably jump the build up to a I5+265 or 8320+270X.
    Reply
  • Onus 23 September 2014 21:47
    No stuttering? Very interesting; looks like more testing might be needed, but perhaps settings can also be adjusted.
    Reply
  • akula2 23 September 2014 22:13
    Since this CPU is super performer on various fronts (single core), so why not this config?

    Pentium G3258 - $69.97
    NZXT Kraken X31 - $73.98
    Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO - $203.99
    G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 - $184.99
    Crucial M550 1TB 2.5" SSD - $447.98
    Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX - $349.99


    NZXT Phantom 530 (White) - $121.98
    EVGA 650W ATX12V - $64.99 (not sure about its power good signal value?)
    Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer - $16.99

    Asus VG248QE Monitor - $264.99

    D-Link DWA-171 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 2.0 - $29.27
    Logitech MK550 w/Laser Mouse - $49.99
    Corsair Vengeance 2100 - $79.99
    Logitech Z506 155W 5.1ch - $69.99

    Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (32/64-bit) - $170.99

    Total: $2200

    What you guys think? Usage? Racing Games at homes, audio/video encoding etc. I don't need K CPUs because I'm not in a hurry in this case.

    Power source: 100% green aka Solar energy.
    Reply
  • Janemba 23 September 2014 22:46
    Will 400 watt enough for R7 265 ?? tell me ??
    i use i3-4130 btw.
    Reply
  • alchemy69 23 September 2014 22:52
    Very similar to the system I just put together for myself except that I felt a 260X was more than enough power for the GPU and put the savings towards a small SSD for the boot drive.
    Reply