System Builder Marathon: Performance And Value Compared

Results: F1 2012

We’ve seen several instances in the past where F1 2012 was bottlenecked by system RAM. Naturally, a quad-channel controller should fix that. The $2550 PC still appears capped, though, and the easiest variables to blame are its moderate baseline CPU frequency and poor overclock.

My analysis makes even more sense when we look at the $1330 PC. Its better CPU overclock is roughly proportional to its higher FPS.

The $650 PC is the real winner in F1 2012, but not because it beats anything else in FPS. Instead, we can see clear value leadership in a build that pulls double the required minimum FPS at the benchmark’s highest quality settings and the system’s highest test resolution.