System Builder Marathon, Q2 2013: System Value Compared

Test Settings And Overclocked Configurations

Test Settings And Overclocked Configurations

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Test Hardware Configurations
Row 0 - Cell 0 $650 Gaming PC $1300 Enthusiast PC $2500 Performance PC
Processor (Overclock) Intel Core i3-3220, 3.3 GHz, Two Physical CoresNo O/C Intel Core i5-3570K, 3.4 GHz, Four Physical CoresO/C to 4.3 GHz, 1.3 V Intel Core i7-3770K, 3.5 GHz, Four Physical CoresO/C to 4.6 GHz, 1.3 V
Graphics (Overclock) PowerColor PCS+ AX7870 2 GB: 925-975 MHz GPU, GDDR5-6000O/C to 1100 MHz GPU Sparkle GeForce GTX 680 2 GB: 1006-1059 MHz GPU, GDDR5-6008O/C to 1153 MHz GDDR5-6408 Asus GTX690-4GD5: 915-1019 MHz GPU, GDDR5-6008O/C to 1200 MHz GDDR5-6400
Memory (Overclock) 4 GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600 CAS 8-8-8-24, No O/C 8 GB G.Skill DDR3-1866 CAS 11-11-11-28 1T, O/C at 1.5 V to DDR3-1866 CL 8-9-9-24 2T 16 GB Crucial DDR3-1600 CAS 8-8-8-24, O/C at 1.5 V to DDR3-2133 CL 9-9-9-24
Motherboard (Overclock) ASRock B75M-ITX: LGA 1155, Intel B75 Express MSI Z77IA-E53: LGA 1155, Intel Z77 Express Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe: LGA 1155, Intel Z77 Express
Optical None Lite-On iHAS124 24x DVD±R Asus BW-14D1XT: 14x BD-R
Case Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced Lian Li PC-Q08B BitFenix Prodigy w/Mesh Front
CPU Cooler Intel Boxed Heat Sink And Fan Antec Kuhler H2O 620 NZXT Kraken X40
Hard Drive Western Digital WD5000AAKX: 500 GB, SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive Adata XPG ASX900S3-64GM-C: 64 GB, SATA 6Gb/s SSD Mushkin Chronos Deluxe DX 240 GB, SATA 6Gb/s SSD
Power Corsair CX500: 500 W, ATX12V v2.3, 80 PLUS Bronze Corsair CX750M: 750 W Modular, ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Bronze Seasonic SS-660XP2: 660 W Modular, ATX12V v2.3, 80 PLUS Platinum
Software
OS Microsoft Windows 8 Professional x64
Graphics AMD Catalyst 13.4 Nvidia GeForce 314.22 Nvidia GeForce 314.22
Chipset Intel 7-series Inf v. 9.3.1025 Intel INF 9.3.0.1026 Intel INF 9.3.0.1026

Rather than manually overclock his memory, Don decided to run it at SPD defaults for baseline measurements and XMP defaults for overclocked tests. I managed to push my DDR3-1600 to DDR3-2133 by adding one cycle to its timings, while Paul’s non-overclockable platform remains locked into its defaults.

Don’s Core i5 system appears to have hit a barrier at 4.3 GHz, which is slightly lower than the 4.4 GHz I’ve grown to expect from Intel's lower-binned quad-core chips. Conversely, my Core i7 offered a better-than-expected 4.6 GHz at the same voltage setting.

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GPU overclocking will likely make a far more consistent performance difference in all three systems, but only in games and perhaps the occasional OpenCL-boosted application.

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Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Battlefield 3 Campaign Mode, "Going Hunting" 90-Second Fraps Test Set 1: Medium Quality Defaults (No AA, 4x AF) Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Defaults (4x AA, 16x AF)
F1 2012 Steam Version, In-Game Test Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Update 1.5.26, Celedon Aethirborn Level 6, 25-Second Fraps Test Set 1: DX11, High Details No AA, 8x AF, FXAA enabled Test Set 2: DX11, Ultra Details, 8x AA, 16x AF, FXAA enabled
Far Cry 3 V. 1.04, 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
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe After Effects CS6 Version 11.0.0.378 x64: Create Video which includes three Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly
Adobe Photoshop CS6 Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Adobe Premeire Pro CS6 Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality
Audio/Video Encoding
iTunes Version 10.4.1.10 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)
HandBrake CLI Version: 0.98: Video from Canon Eos 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile)
TotalCode Studio 2.5 Version: 2.5.0.10677: MPEG-2 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
Productivity
ABBYY FineReader Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
Adobe Acrobat X Version 10.0.0.396: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption
Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080
Blender Version: 2.64a, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1
Visual Studio 2010 Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted
File Compression
WinZip Version 17.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r"
WinRAR Version 4.2: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3"
7-Zip Version 9.28: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5"
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark 11 Version: 1.0.3, Benchmark Only
PCMark 7 Version: 1.0.4 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks
SiSoftware Sandra 2013 Version Version 2013.01.19.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Cryptography, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
  • swordrage
    Finally some builds that cost nearly the same in my country India. Thanks..
    Reply
  • manitoublack
    Great to see M-ITX in a SBM. The days of needing a full sized ATX are mostly over for 90% of people. M-ATO or M-ITX is the way forward.
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    The extra $1200 from the $1300 doesn't add much value in this form factor.
    Reply
  • DarkSable
    Sigh. This is why I really, really dislike the system builder marathons; they do nothing but perpetuate the fallacies that already are far too common.

    Someone looking at just this article, which isn't that unlikely, would be lead to believe that an i7 is something that an "ultimate" gaming computer has, that an expensive motherboard helps, and that a $2500 PC is going to be far better than a $1500 one.
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    11041161 said:
    Sigh. This is why I really, really dislike the system builder marathons; they do nothing but perpetuate the fallacies that already are far too common.

    Someone looking at just this article, which isn't that unlikely, would be lead to believe that an i7 is something that an "ultimate" gaming computer has, that an expensive motherboard helps, and that a $2500 PC is going to be far better than a $1500 one.

    They really should include performance per dollar figures in this writeup.
    Reply
  • DarkSable
    11041186 said:
    They really should include performance per dollar figures in this writeup.

    For the parts, or for the computers themselves? Either would be nice, actually.

    One thing that would go a long way is stressing how wonky their testing is - most people reading this as advice for building a computer are going to be building a gaming computer purely, rendering 70% of the test bench pointless.
    Reply
  • slicedtoad
    I still don't like the bf3 benchmarks. They in no way represent the online experience and really, people that play bf3 spend at least 95% of their time on mp. I realize it's nearly impossible to generate a fair benchmark for online play but the current benchmarks are very misleading.

    And I'm not griping at tom's, all review sites seem to do this. There should be some way to create a better benchmark. Maybe host a custom server and load it up with scripted "players" or something.
    Reply
  • allanitomwesh
    Cheaper is better basically :) Where's that $400 rig?
    Reply
  • Achoo22
    11041210 said:
    most people reading this as advice for building a computer are going to be building a gaming computer purely, rendering 70% of the test bench pointless.

    I feel like they've modified the benchmarking suite to favor AMD as much as possible.
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    11041382 said:
    I feel like they've modified the benchmarking suite to favor AMD as much as possible.

    And when was the last time an AMD CPU made it into a SBM? Modifying benchmarks to favor a product that is never showcased is a moot point.
    Reply