System Builder Marathon: $625 Gaming PC

Features
By Paul Henningsen
published

Benchmark Results: Audio/Video Encoding

Overclocking the $625 system provided a huge reduction in the time needed for iTunes to encode our 53 minute wave file to AAC. At 4.3 GHz, the time was further reduced to just 47 seconds. With iTunes being optimized for dual-core platforms, this is a perfect test for our E5200 to stretch its legs.

Overclocked results are truly impressive for audio encoding. In Lame we see another large reduction in time spent encoding the same file to MP3.

DivX performance with this machine was far better than with last month’s $500 PC, although it still was nowhere near the performance of a quad-core CPU. Both the DivX and Xvid encoders complete the job much quicker on the overclocked system than at stock speeds.

Mainconcept is another application with which our dual-core CPU will get blown away by a much lower-clocked quad-core processor, even with the impressive time reduction that overclocking offers.

Paul Henningsen
88 Comments Comment from the forums
  • slomo4sho
    Very nice write up. I like the new price point :)
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    I forgot to mention that I still would like to see power consumption charts and possibly a AMD based build at this price point.
    Reply
  • nerrawg
    Impressive results! Who says a system price has to adhere to budget figures of 500, 1500 and 4500 dollars, you guys really showed how much added value can be had when the right OC parts are purchased and assembled into a nice package. Well done!
    Reply
  • cloudbase
    Hiya. Can you guys give a bit more detail about the 'further upgrades' you were inferring in the text of this article? So: Which P45 crossfire motherboard would have been nice; which RAM was out of stock; what would have been the benefiot of the more expensive CPU?

    Im looking to spend a similar amount, but as I already have the case, PSU etc it makes sense to explore those options.

    Presumably a 4870 would be better again?
    Reply
  • radguy
    Thats a pretty awesome build thanks for the article. Although I am sorry but I have to ask. Do we have our real 4ghz dual core for $84 now?
    Reply
  • jaragon13
    Sorry? What's with the comment box? I can't see what I'm typing.
    Anyways,my GTX 260 suffers on Crysis,so it's nothing new.
    Reply
  • Pei-chen
    Great choice, let the AMD fan boys whiny; I would have picked the same setup if I am to build a cheap gaming PC.
    Reply
  • matt2k
    Nice build for the money, though i personally would have sprung for a crossfire ready motherboard, the MSI P45 Neo2-FR for example.
    The only problem i have with this though is the operating system. surely that should be quite a major factor when creating a whole new system? and it would be nice to have the different vista's compared for gamers. i.e. is ultimate worth the bump in price for the extra's or is xp professional still the best option.
    just my thoughts.
    Reply
  • zodiacfml
    Nicest article, not only you did not stick to any budget but also the parts chosen could not have been any better. This is a build i'm planning except i could have chosen a less performing 9800GT since its only in Crysis where a 4850 has a usable advantage over it.
    I am an AMD user for years but this pentium dual core overclocks so far over an athlon x2.
    Reply
  • wh3resmycar
    someone from the forums was asking me months back where i can find a 4ghz e5200.. i guess this is it.
    Reply