System Builder Marathon, Q2 2014: A Balanced High-End Build

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How We Tested Our $1600 High-End PC

The following tables include the stock and overclocked settings for this quarter's enthusiast-class gaming build, followed by the configuration we put together earlier this year, which serves as our comparison point.

At the very bottom, you’ll find the programs and games used for benchmarking.

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Test Hardware Configurations
Row 0 - Cell 0 Q2 $1600 Performance PC Q1 $2400 Performance PC Q1 $1600 Enthusiast PC
Processor (Overclock) Intel Core i7-4770K: 3.5 to 3.90 GHz, Four Physical CoresO/C to 4.20 GHz, 1.29 V Intel Core i7-4770K: 3.5 to 3.90 GHz, Four Physical CoresO/C to 4.50 GHz, 1.25 V Intel Core i7-4770K: 3.5 to 3.90 GHz, Four Physical CoresO/C to 4.40 GHz, 1.20 V
Graphics (Overclock) Radeon R9 290X: 1050 MHz GPU, GDDR5-5400O/C to 1100 MHz, GDDR5-6200 2x GeForce GTX 780: 902 MHz GPU, GDDR5-6008O/C to 1059 MHz, GDDR5-6720 GeForce GTX 780: 928 MHz GPU, GDDR5-7000O/C to 1128 MHz, GDDR5-7300
Memory (Overclock) 8 GB G.Skill DDR3-1866 CAS 8-9-9-24, O/C to DDR3-2133 CL 9-10-10-27, 1.60 V 16 GB G.Skill DDR3-1866 CAS 9-10-9-28, O/C to DDR3-2133 CL 9-10-11-10, 1.585 V 8 GB Corsair DDR3-1866 CAS 9-10-9-27, No O/C
Motherboard (Overclock) Asus Z97-A: LGA 1150, Intel Z97 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK ASRock Z87 Extreme4: LGA 1150, Intel Z87 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK ASRock Z87 Pro3: LGA 1150, Intel Z87 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK
Case CM Storm Scout 2 Advanced NZXT Phantom 410 NZXT Phantom 410
CPU Cooler Thermaltake NiC L32 Thermaltake CLW0217 Water 2.0 Extreme Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Hard Drive Samsung MZ-7TE250BW 250 GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD SanDisk SDSSDHP-256G-G2 256 GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD Samsung MZ-7TE120BW 120 GB, SATA 6Gb/s SSD
Power Rosewill HIVE-750: 750 W Semi-Modular, 80 PLUS Bronze Corsair HX750: 750 W Semi-Modular, 80 PLUS Gold Corsair TX650: 650 W, 80 PLUS Bronze
Software
OS Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64 Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64 Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64
Graphics AMD Catalyst 14.4 Nvidia GeForce 335.23 Nvidia GeForce 334.89
Chipset Intel INF 9.4.0.1026 Intel INF 9.4.0.1026 Intel INF 9.4.0.1026

Hope for any level of competitive performance between today’s $1600 build and the $2400 machine it replaces is dashed by a CPU overclock that doesn’t even approach mediocrity. Even the previous $1600 machine outclasses it in that arena, though the new build at least has some memory overclocking to push it through a few benchmarks.

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Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Arma 3 V. 1.20 Current PC, V.1.08 Q1 PC 30-sec. Fraps "Infantry Showcase" Test Set 1: Standard Preset, No AA, Standard AF Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x FSAA, Ultra AF
Battlefield 4 Version 1.0.0.1, DirectX 11, 100-sec. Fraps "Tashgar" Test Set 1: Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 4x AF, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4x MSAA, 16x AF, HBAO
Far Cry 3 V. 1.05, DirectX 11, 50-sec. Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO AMD/ HBAO NVidia
Grid 2 Version 1.0.85.8679, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA
Audio/Video Encoding
HandBrake CLI Version: 0.99, Video: Video from Canon EOS 7D (1920x1080, 25 frames) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds, Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile)
iTunes Version 11.0.4.4 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format
LAME MP3 Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
TotalCode Studio 2.5 Version: 2.5.0.10677, MPEG2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-channel, 16-bit, 224 Kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe After Effects CC Version 12.0.0.404: Create Video, 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously
Adobe Photoshop CC Version 14 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality
Adobe Acrobat XI Version 11.0.0: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encyption
Productivity
ABBYY FineReader Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 Version 15.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080
Blender Version 2.68a, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1
Visual Studio Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted
Compression
7-Zip Version 9.30 alpha, LZMA2, Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB)
WinRAR Version 5.0, RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB)
WinZip Version 18.0 Pro, Syntax "-a -ez -p -r" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB)
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark Professional Version: 1.2.250.0, Fire Strike Standard and Extreme
PCMark 8 Version: 1.0.0 x64 Full Test
SiSoftware Sandra 2014 Version: 2014.02.20.10, Processor Arithmetic, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth Benchmarks
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
60 Comments Comment from the forums
  • mrmike_49
    Only 8GB RAM for a high end PC? Just plain too much money spent on graphics card. Also, too much money spent on "yuppie" power supply/case
    Reply
  • wabba
    kidding me, hdd and windows 8, pls, read up on hardware toms hardware.....and software.
    Reply
  • de5_Roy
    thermaltake nic L32 doesn't seem well suited for the cpu for stock operations. at stock settings, the cpu's load temp is 57c over ambient according to the temp. chart. the q1 $1600 pc has a hyper 212 evo and it ran the stock i7 4770k under 40c over ambient. from the looks, the tt nic cooler seemed a better performer than the hyper 212 evo.
    was multicore enhancement enabled for both the q1 $1600(asrock z87 pro3) and this quarter's high end pc(asus z97-a)? did it affect the heat output? asus keeps m.c.e. enabled by default. i can't see any other factors atm.

    all 3 builds look very well-performing this quarter. looking forward to the perf-value analysis.
    Reply
  • Taintedskittles
    Reading the reviews on newegg about that PowerColor 290x you chose was hilarious. So whoever win's this thing can look forward to many many rma's in the future. Apparently its plagued with artifacts, bad fans, bios issues, & performance degradation. I would have chosen another brand at the very least.
    Reply
  • pauldh
    To be fair though, look at the dates of those negative Newegg reviews. All but one of the complaints appeared after this system was ordered mid-May. Prior available feedback WAS almost all positive. And a manufacturer rep jumped in to resolve that one.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    13586826 said:
    Only 8GB RAM for a high end PC? Just plain too much money spent on graphics card. Also, too much money spent on "yuppie" power supply/case
    A yuppie power supply...OK...

    13587011 said:
    kidding me, hdd and windows 8, pls, read up on hardware toms hardware.....and software.
    The last time I checked the "Samsung 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW" wasn't an HDD, and nobody wanted us to run OS/2 on a modern gaming system. Please read the charts, wabba

    Reply
  • crisan_tiberiu
    Make this "competition" global please... :( You have "Tom's Hardware" in every major region in the world... :) Also FedEx and DHL ships everywehere in the world :) make all readers happy :) Our traffic is good for your site, but we never get something special :((
    Reply
  • rush21hit
    If I had a specs like this, I don't want it to be encased. I'd stick it to my wall even if it means I had to figure out how to do it.
    Reply
  • SessouXFX
    If aesthetics doesn't play a role, this is a pretty damn good build...
    Reply
  • Realist9
    I think the author hit his mark for the intent of the build/article based on the budget limit and provides a good starting point for us. However, if I was actually building and buying for myself, I would make some changes to add headroom and compatibility.

    I would go with 16 GB of memory for $85 more, since that’s only $85/$1600=5% more cost. I’d also go ahead and get the Asus 780 for $520. (Side note: I disagree that most would go AMD in a 780 vs 290x, but I know better than to open that can of worms). SLI was mentioned but not used, and I also would not get SLI unless I KNEW it worked with the game I was most interested in. The posts on various forums about SLI causing problems in most games, along with SLI “issues” dating back to 3dFX Voodoo2 cards, keeps me away from SLI.

    I also would stay away from “generally stable, but usually not stable in the games I want to play most” (not quoting the author here) overclocking of the system/video card. It’s nice to see it in the charts, but I read about way too many problems in games caused by overclocking for me to rely on it to get my ‘value’.

    Lastly, I think the pendulum has swung too far towards “value” for the high end build. I suggest tweaking that a little for future high end builds (eg..780Ti, 16 GB memory, 500GB SSD, but continue to stay away from $1000 CPU, $1200 SLI, etc).
    Reply