System Builder Marathon Bonus: Newegg Customer Choice PC

So, Is The Customer Always Right?

Most businesspeople who use the phrase “the customer is always right” are only referring to the way customers have to be treated. Sometimes, customers do buy the wrong parts for the wrong reason. In the case of Newegg's top-rated lists, however, we see example after example of enthusiasts buying hardware that we've recognized as award-winning over the past couple of years. For a site that doesn't hand out many awards, that really means something to us.

Going down the list, picking the first or second items, worked well when we chose our parts for this build. Conflicts really only involved appropriateness rather than compatibility. Because we started with a moderately-high-end processor and motherboard, we chose the second-listed memory, graphics, and SSD to better-suit a build that was turning out to be on the faster side.

Don, on the other hand, started with a graphics card and a purpose (gaming), then worked backwards. He cut costs wherever possible to stay within his budget, and even trimmed a little beyond budgetary mandates, saving $37 over his maximum allotment.

But that particular motherboard really hurt his build in a couple of areas. In fact, he could have purchased the full (non-SE) version of ASRock's P67 Pro3 for a mere $5 more, the better-featured Z68 Pro3 Gen3 for $10 more, or even the top-overclocking Biostar TZ68A+ for a mere $15 over his selected part. Then again, his main goal was to produce a gaming monster, and he definitely didn't know his build would be used as a baseline for comparing today's configuration.

Our target resolution for mid-priced gaming systems is 1920x1080, and the Customer Choice PC leads by a far smaller margin there. Had the $1300 PC employed a slightly better motherboard, it probably could have topped this chart.

But mainstream gaming wasn’t even Don's goal. He was really out for blood at the high end.

As we break into the high-end, Don earns his reward, going so far as to prove the worth of an almost-worthless motherboard, case, and optical drive.

When it comes to graphics, figuring out if the customer is always right depends on how you define the word right. Don's chosen graphics card presents lower average performance, but it dominates at 2560x1600. In this case, you'd have to choose your weapon based on available ammunition.

Personally, I don't think that the Intel board deserves its top billing on Newegg, even if it was a better choice than the ASRock platform Don chose. The fact that I go through more boards than anyone else at Tom's Hardware as our primary motherboard reviewer means that I have a solid grasp on the other options out there, and sometimes a professional review is more helpful in the selection of a winning product.

That one quibble aside, the assortment of Customer Choice components pulled from Newegg's ratings yielded a very solid finished system with none of the compromises that plagued Don's maligned build. Even though we had to pay more for it, in this case, we'd say that in this instance, the customer is mostly right.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
  • mikenygmail
    Nice, but would have been better with 2 x 6970 2 GB or 2 x 6950 2 GB unlocked to 6970.
    Reply
  • Pezcore27
    Is it sad I liked this build the best out of them all?
    Reply
  • a4mula
    Interesting, still not surprising given recent results in group dynamic studies. Groups will often make better choices than individuals, that's not to say a group can replace or perform on par with an expert individual, just better than the average.
    Reply
  • aznshinobi
    Just saying, Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 Z68 would save some and not bad rated. Could go for something like the OCZ ZT 750w which also is solidly rated, both saving money and offering similar if not better performance. For the GPUs, probably would've been better just to go with 2x7850 just to see how it does after all I haven't seen a whole bunch of those benchmarks.

    Understood that this is best on best rated components, just saying it would've been nice to see the ones I mentioned for a value build.
    Reply
  • mikenygmailNice, but would have been better with 2 x 6970 2 GB or 2 x 6950 2 GB unlocked to 6970.
    Yeah that was what I was thinking, if you have a 2560x1600 monitor then the 2 6950s wont see that performance hit at that res like the 560ti's do. And would outperform the 7970 as a result while still costing enough less to move up to that 2500k.

    When I can drop $1300 for a Dell U3011 or HP ZR30w I doubt I would be pairing it with a $1300 PC, so I wonder if its even necessary for a mid range build as how often are you really going to find that pairing. Though hopefully soon Apple is going to push the LCD makers kicking and screaming into the 4k and 8k display era!


    Reply
  • hmp_goose
    Wow: And here I was thinkin' "maybe the SBM should work like the monthly Best X articals, where it's not anchored to a price point".

    Drunk Min's t'ink alac, and all that.
    Reply
  • ammaross
    "...with none of the compromises that plagued Don't maligned build"

    Last page. Should be "Don's" but "Don't" works good enough :P

    Definitely would have loved to see a pair of 2GB cards duke it out though. The base system called for it (nearly). Take the price from the hide of the mobo.
    Reply
  • Darkerson
    Not a bad system at all. Im just waiting for people to start whining about 680s like in the other builds.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    mikenygmailNice, but would have been better with 2 x 6970 2 GB or 2 x 6950 2 GB unlocked to 6970.Better choices outside of "consumer choice" are irrelevant to a "consumer choice" selection.a4mulaInteresting, still not surprising given recent results in group dynamic studies. Groups will often make better choices than individuals, that's not to say a group can replace or perform on par with an expert individual, just better than the average.Yes, the motherboard could have been better AND cheaper if not for the fact that it was picked by the group rather than an expert individual, but the complete unit was still acceptable.aznshinobiJust saying, Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 Z68 would save some and not bad rated. Could go for something like the OCZ ZT 750w which also is solidly rated, both saving money and offering similar if not better performance. For the GPUs, probably would've been better just to go with 2x7850 just to see how it does after all I haven't seen a whole bunch of those benchmarks.Understood that this is best on best rated components, just saying it would've been nice to see the ones I mentioned for a value build.Right, part choices were limited to the top two rated parts, based on which of the top two customer rated parts most closely matched the rest of the system.DarkersonNot a bad system at all. Im just waiting for people to start whining about 680s like in the other builds.LOL, I'm waiting for a stream of "Why didn't YOU pick THIS" when Newegg Customers were the pickers and the "THIS" they're screaming about doesn't even have a customer rating :)
    Reply
  • Darkerson
    Im sure it will be inevitable. ;)


    Stupid TomsHardware, Y U NO PICK MY PARTS! :P

    Edit: Obvious sarcasm is obvious. Ah well, Ill take this as all the non article reading 680 noobs being offended. I dont care.
    Reply