System Builder Marathon: $625 Gaming PC

Test System And Benchmarks

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$625 Gaming PC System Test Configuration
Component Base Settings Overclock Setting
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 2.667 GHz, FSB-1066, 3 MB Cache 3.8 GHz (9.5x 400 MHz), FSB-1600 1.488 V Core
CPU Cooler Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 100% Fan
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L Intel P45, BIOS F10 (11/10/2008) Unchanged
RAM 4.0 GB Patriot Viper PC2 6400 2x 2048 MB, DDR2-800, CL 4-4-4-12 2T at 2.10 V Unchanged
Graphics Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512 MB 625 MHz GPU, 1,986 MHz Memory Data Rate 740 MHz GPU, 2,390 MHz Memory 100% Fan
Hard Drives Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500 GB, 72,000 RPM, 32 MB Cache Unchanged
Sound Integrated 8-Channel HD Audio Unchanged
Network Integrated Gigabit Networking Unchanged
Power Antec NeoPower 430 W Unchanged
Optical LITE-ON 20X DVD±R SATA Model iHAS120-04 Unchanged
Row 11 - Cell 0 Software and Drivers Row 11 - Cell 2
Operating System Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit, SP1 Unchanged
Graphics Driver AMD Catalyst 8.12 Unchanged
Onboard Device Drivers Intel 9.1.0.1007 Unchanged

The benchmarks are as follows:

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3D Game Benchmarks and Settings
Crysis Version: 1.2.1 Video Quality: Very High Details Demo: CPU-Benchmark + Tom's Hardware Tool
Supreme Commander Forged Alliance Version: 1.5.3599 Video Quality: Highest Settings Demo: WallaceTX_006_006 Benchmark: Fraps 2.9.4 - Build 7037
Unreal Tournament 3 Version: 1.2 Sound and DirectX10 Texture Details: 5 Level Details: 5 Demo: vCTF-Reflection_bot Time: 12/60
World in Conflict Version: 1.0.0.9 Video Quality: Very High details Demo: Game-Benchmark
Audio Benchmarks and Settings
iTunes Version: 7.7.0.43 Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min Default format AAC
Lame MP3 Version: 3.98 Beta 3 (05-22-2007) Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min wave to MP3<br> 160 Kb/s
Video Benchmarks and Settings
TMPEG 4.5 Version: 4.5.1.254 Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9
DivX 6.8.3 Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multi-threading Enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search
XviD 1.1.3 Display encoding status = off
Mainconcept Reference 1.5.1 Reference H.264 Plugin Pro 1.5.1 MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264) MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2) Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kbps) Mode: PAL (25 FPS) Profile: Tom's Hardware Settings for Qct-Core
Application Benchmarks and Settings
Autodesk 3D Studio Max 9 Version: 9.0 Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV)
Adobe Photoshop CS 3 Version: 10.0x20070321 Filtering from a 69 MB TIF-Photo<br> Benchmark: Tomshardware-Benchmark V1.0.0.4 Filters: Crosshatch, Glass, Sumi-e, Accented Edges,  Angled Strokes, Sprayed Strokes
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 8 Version: 8.0.1 Virus base: 270.4.5/1533 Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files
Winrar 3.80 Version 3.70 BETA 8 WinZIP Commandline Version 2.3 Compression = Best Dictionary = 4,096 KB Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
Winzip 11 Version 11.2 Compression = Best Benchmark: THG-Workload (139 MB)
Sythetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark Vantage Version: 1.02 GPU and CPU scores
PCMark Vantage Version: 1.00 System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646
SiSoftware Sandra XII SP2 Version 2008.5.14.24 CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
  • spirto
    once again no amd setup? i thought you said you were going to give us amd users a smb
    Reply
  • DFGum
    Sure they could give a 625 dollar AMD setup, but it just wouldnt be as good at this time so why bother?
    Its always about value at the price points.
    Reply
  • JeanLuc
    What’s the point in an AMD setup when the Intel option gives you better value for money?
    Reply
  • Claimintru
    Negative'd you Spirto for being a mindless fanboy.
    Reply
  • V3NOM
    lol... my e5200 crapped out at 3.7ghz 1.4vcore... someone i know got his e7300 to 4.0ghz at some ridiculous vcore though lol... it really depends on teh chip. some get good VID's, some get bad. some overclock good, some overclock crap, its the natura of binning. naturally e8400's would be binned more than the 5 and 7 series, and the e8500/8600 would be better still.
    Reply
  • when r u guys gonna write about the nvidia ion platform?!?!?!?!
    Reply
  • zodiacfml
    i wouldn't risk buying an e7300 over an e5200. i have built amd systems, now i'm regretting why i didn't bought pentium dual core which are practically core2duo's with less cache.

    regarding nvidia ion, i think intel is thinking deeply of whether they allow nvidia to Atom since netbooks still sell without it.
    Reply
  • Veesofnaught
    I actually just got done purchasing parts for a new pc that ended up being around that same price. This is my first time building a PC so I'm not sure if I could have done better, but I think it's worth mentioning if anyone is interested in going for a Quad Core instead of the Dual Core.

    Intel Quad Core Q6600
    Asus P5QL Pro Motherboard
    NVidia 9800 GTX
    GSkill 4 Gb Ram
    580 Watt PSU
    Rosewill Mid-Tower
    160 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
    SATA CD/DVD Burner
    Reply
  • Master Exon
    I guess I will share my for-Christmas build with TH.

    $82 2.5GHz E5200 45nm C2D
    $0 (no CPU cooler)
    $54 ASUS P5KPL-CM
    $34 A-DATA 2x2GB (4GB) DDR2 800
    $200 GeForce 260
    $55 WD 320GB WD3200AAKS
    $0 integrated sound
    $0 integrated network
    $12 Spray painted an old beige case black.
    $67 500W SeaSonic
    $22 LG DVD burner
    $10 card reader

    $526 Total

    I don't see why they didn't shave off $40 for the cheaper CPU
    Reply
  • weinheimer
    That is a nicely configured system at fair pricing
    Reply