System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PC

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System Builder Marathon: $1000 Enthusiast System

System Builder Marathon, September 2011: The Articles

Here are links to each of the four articles in this month’s System Builder Marathon (we’ll update them as each story is published). And remember, these systems are all being given away at the end of the marathon.

To enter the giveaway, please fill out this Google form, and be sure to read the complete rules before entering!

Day 1: The $2000 Performance PC
Day 2: The $1000 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $500 Gaming PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected

Introduction

There wasn't a lot of incentive for us to look beyond the great performance and overclocking value of Intel's Core i5-2500K in our previous $1000 enthusiast build. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have any tricks up our sleeve this time around.

Of course, system performance is defined by a lot more than just a CPU, and we're thinking that it's about time our mid-priced system came with a solid-state drive. Although the cost of an SSD is too high to lean on it as an exclusive storage solution in this price range, we certainly have the budget to squeeze a boot drive into the build.

Moreover, variety is the spice of life. So, we're swapping out two Radeon HD 6850 cards in CrossFire used in our last build for a pair of GeForce GTX 460 models in SLI. We see what, if any, changes the graphics cards make in our power and performance metrics. 

Here’s the list of components in the current $1000 Enthusiast system:

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$1000 Enthusiast System Components
MotherboardEVGA P67 Micro SLI LGA 1155, Intel P67 chipset$149
ProcessorIntel Core i5-2500K3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo), Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache$220
CPU CoolerCooler Master Hyper TX3$20
MemoryMushkin Enhanced Redline 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) 240-Pin DDR3-1600 Kit Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit$50
Graphics2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1 GB  1 GB GDDR5$340
Hard DriveOCZ Vertex Series 30 GB SATA II SSD 30 GB, SATA 3Gb/s$65
Hard DriveWestern Digital Caviar Black 750 GB 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s$59
OpticalSony Optiarc DVD Burner24x DVD Burner$19
CaseRaidmax Atlas-295WB$40
PowerCorsair CX600 V2 600 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS-Certified$70
Row 10 - Cell 0 Total Cost$1032
Don Woligroski
83 Comments Comment from the forums
  • aznshinobi
    Mobo is overpriced, and so is ram. The cost of the 460's you could equally get 2x6870s. PSU kinda sucks, for $1000 you can at least save else where (IE RAM+MB) and still get the Antec HCG750, while also getting 2x6870. Just personal opinion.
    Reply
  • scubba85
    Why would you go with the 750gb WD, when the samsung spinpoint f3 1tb is the same price?
    Reply
  • Zero_
    Why all the overpriced components? This is bad...

    Off the top of my head,

    1. There are a number of decent Z68 motherboards for around $130.
    2. Hyper 212+ costs $30
    3. A Corsair 2x4GB 1600MHz CL9 kit costs $50
    4. There are plenty of good 1TB drives for $55
    5. Antec Earthwatts 650W costs around $60

    And don't give me any crap about price increases over the past month. All of these have remained the same for the past 2 months.
    Reply
  • Kridian
    Where exactly on this site do they announce the winners of these contests?
    Reply
  • slicedtoad
    I'd prefer either a larger ssd or none, 30GB would be annoying.
    At the $1000 mark i'd opt for 8GB of ram, no ssd and a better hdd. And not a microATX.

    Also why isn't micro stuttering mentioned? If i remember correctly, these cards have issues with it.

    Guess that was mostly negative stuff, i liked reading it anyway though, keep em coming.
    Reply
  • decembermouse
    I like this system a lot better than yesterday's. A more balanced build. Kudos! It's always interesting to see similar setups and how they compare, for instance in this case the 6850s versus the 460s. Glad you are switching it up. I'd say you were right on the CPU front to stick with the 2500K. Nice work overclocking those GTX 460s and the CPU. And I'd say this is an appropriate chose of computer case for this kind of setup. I had my reservations about using Antec's cheapest "gaming" enclosure for the $2000 build, but this is spot on.

    Nice PSU as well. I do wonder though why you didn't go with the CX600V2, as it's 80+ Certified and sells for the same price as the CX600 (actually, a $10 MIR right now so $59.99).

    Also, and this isn't a critique but purely personal preference, I would probably forego the SSD for myself and stick with a cheap HDD like a WD Green. Loading times aren't that important to me; I'm willing to wait a few more seconds if it means I can put the $ I saved towards a better mobo, HSF, or better non-reference GPU cards. Call me crazy but I'm willing to wait a bit longer, as well as not having to worry about my OS drive wearing out, in order to get very slightly better performance/temps. I realize that drive performance is an important metric for most people though so I'm glad you are incorporating that into these modern builds. Can't wait to see the $500 one :)
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    interestingly still going for dual mid-range cards despite the whole microstuttering article you guys wrote up recommending against dual mid range cards. Better motherboard than the high end build, at least its not Gigabyte. A 30GB SSD is completely pointless, i was unaware they even made them that small. But i suppose its something different to you usual, there are so many possibilities with a mid range build. Will be more interesting to see what you can fit into the lower end build.
    Reply
  • _Pez_
    I wouldn't had chosen a pair of gtx 460 because those are not quite power efficient as pair of gtx 560 non TI would be, I would had picked up to two HDD over a SSD. Overall I like this dynamic "System Builder Marathon" that uses TH, It helps you to take better decisions.
    Reply
  • spookie
    I would get a different: motherboard (not a mAtx), hdd (samsung spinpoint 1tb), case (I don't like the look of this case) and maby a different cooler (212+)
    other than that, its a realy nice build
    Reply
  • _Pez_
    _Pez_I wouldn't had chosen a pair of gtx 460 because those are not quite power efficient as pair of gtx 560 non TI would be, I would had picked up to two HDD over a SSD. Overall I like this dynamic "System Builder Marathon" that uses TH, It helps you to take better decisions.I want to delete this comment, I made some mistakes with grammar. If I had chosen, I wouldn't have gotten a pair of ... so embarrassing..
    Reply