System Builder Marathon, Sept. '09: $1,250 Enthusiast Build
Test System And Benchmarks
A couple notes here: we'll compare this system against the previous $1,300 SBM machine, which was based on a Core i7-920 with two GeForce GTX 260s in SLI.
Unfortunately, we didn't benchmark that system at 2560x1600 before sending it off to the lucky winner of that machine, which is where I anticipate the four Radeon HD 4850s would have shown the biggest advantage. While this is a pity, we'll be able to compare 2560x1600 game benchmarks against Thomas' $2,500 AMD system in the SBM conclusion article, so that will just have to suffice.
$1,250 AMD Enthusiast PC Test Settings | ||
---|---|---|
Standard Speed | Overclocked | |
Motherboard | MSI 790FX-GD70 ATX AMD 790FX, AM3 | Unchanged |
Processor | AMD Phenom II X4 945 @ 3 GHz, 200 MHz Reference Clock | 3.675 GHz at 1.46V 245 MHz Reference Clock |
Memory | Patriot PVS34G1333LLKN 4GB DDR3-1333 2 x 2GB, CAS 7-7-7-20 | DDR3-1306 |
Graphics | 4 x Gigabyte GV-R485OC-1GH Radeon HD 4850 in CrossFire 1GB GDDR3-1998 Per Card, 700 MHz GPU | Unchanged |
Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7,200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3.0 Gb/s | Unchanged |
Optical | Sony Optiarc AD-7240S-0B SATA 24X DVD±R | Unchanged |
Case | NZXT Tempest ATX Tower | Unchanged |
Power | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad S75CF750 W, ATX12V 2.2, 80-Plus Certified | Unchanged |
CPU Cooler | Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 | Unchanged |
$1,300 Portable Performance PC (from previous SBM) Test Settings | ||
---|---|---|
Standard Speed | Overclocked | |
Motherboard | DFI LANParty Jr X58-T3H6 microATX Intel X58/ICH10R, LGA 1366 | Unchanged |
Processor | Intel Core i7-920 2.66 GHz, 2.80 GHz Turbo, 133 MHz Bclk, 1.36 V (load) | 3.44 GHz at 1.296V (load), 172 MHz Bclk |
Memory | G.Skill 10666CL7T 6GB DDR3-1064 3 x 2GB, CAS 8-8-8-19, 1.56V | DDR3-1378 at 1.56V, CAS 8-8-8-19 |
Graphics | 2 x BFG GeForce GTX 260 in SLI 896MB GDDR3-1998 Per Card 590 MHz GPU, 1,296 MHz shader | 600 MHz GPU, 1,300 MHz shader, GDDR3-2060 |
Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7,200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3.0 Gb/s | Unchanged |
Optical | Lite-On iHAS422 SATA 22X DVD±R | Unchanged |
Case | SilverStone TJ08-B microATX Mini-Tower | Unchanged |
Power | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad S75QB750 W, ATX12V 2.2, 80-Plus Certified | Unchanged |
CPU Cooler | Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 | Unchanged |
Benchmark Configuration | |
---|---|
3D Games | |
Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Very High Quality, No AA |
Far Cry 2 | DirectX 10, in-game benchmark Test Set 1: Very High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra High Quality, 4x AA |
World In Conflict | Patch 1009, DirectX 10, timedemo Test 1: Very High Details, No AA/No AF Test 2: Very High Details 4x AA/16x AF |
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. | DirectX 10.1, in-game benchmark Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA |
Fallout 3 | Patch 1.0.0.17, Saved Game "Capital Wasteland" (60 sec) Test Set 1: Highest Details, No AA, No AF Test Set 2: Highest Details, 4x AA, 15x AF |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
iTunes 8 | Version: 8.1.0.52 (x64) Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min Default format AAC |
Lame MP3 | Version: 3.98 64bits (07-04-2008) Audio CD "Terminator II," 53 min. wave to MP3 |
TMPGEnc 4.6 | Version: 4.6.3.268 Import File: "Terminator 2" SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
DivX 6.8.5 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search |
Xvid 1.2.1 | Display encoding status = off |
Mainconcept Reference 1.6.1 | MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
Productivity | |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 | Version: 11.0, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
Photoshop CS4 (64-bit) | Version: 11.0 Extended, Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
Gisoft AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 | Version: 8.5.287, Virus database 2094, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
WinRAR 3.80 | Version 3.80, WinZip Command line Version 3.0, Compression = Best, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
WinZip 12 | Version 12.0, Compression = Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (139 MB) |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.02, GPU and CPU scores |
PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.00, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646 |
SiSoftware Sandra 2009 SP3 | Version 2009.4.15.92, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Multimedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
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gkay09 I would have preferred the i7 860 paired with 2x HD 4890s or 2x GTX 275s or even a single HD 5870 for this budget...Reply -
frozenlead gkay09I would have preferred the i7 860 paired with 2x HD 4890s or 2x GTX 275s or even a single HD 5870 for this budget...Reply
I agree. I mean, props for quadfire, but it's not really the best choice for the best performance. -
HibyPrime Even though it turned out to only be faster at high resolution gaming, I have to commend you guys for skipping the obvious here.Reply
An i5 750 build probably would have turned out better numbers on the whole, I would probably call this a last hurrah (and the $2500 too, im sure that'll be a quad) for quad CF/SLi based systems being used to run a single 30" monitor.. I'm sure we'll start to see the high end gamers moving over to eyefinity and whatever equivalent nVidia comes up with. -
gkay09 But as this is an all-AMD build, the X4 955 would have been a better choice...And did you people come across any driver issues when dealing with Quad-crossfire ?That setup looks like asking for trouble...Reply -
IzzyCraft 4 x Gigabyte GV-R485OC-1GH Radeon HD 4850 in CrossFireReply
Interesting but frankly not a huge fan of multi gpu set ups to being with let alone a quad fire set up i mean at least with nvidia you have decent scaling, but who am i to complain for that price and it seems to run high rez just fine.
But that is a *** load of load power draw, noise(not too much nice zalman heat sinks on those cards) and heat coming out of that thing.
bit surprised when i saw the load Wattage you got i thought the older 1300 rig was a i7 with 2x260's in sli which should come out to be less power draw under load even with a modded 4870 cards
Little risky build but on the bright side you could run 8 monitors lol
Conventional would have landed this price in the i5/i7 build with 2x4890's or a bit more powerful cards really depends on which cpu you settle with. Ofc ionno how long ago you order this. Would have came out a bit more rounded but not as great for higher resolutions and AA AF settings.
This build is more of a high resolution gaming specialist. Personally i've never built a system with just gaming in mind i've always been a man that favors a more rounded system where you spend at least 3/4th of what you put into your gpu into your cpu
Thomas Soderstrom's $2,500 AMD build tomorrow
bah $2,500 and no i7 not like the budget couldn't fit very expensive gpu card and cpu in there. Oh well it wont loose out too much in games even with mutli gpu set ups...best have a sound card in there it be very refreshing for tom's builds to sport one. Interesting what monstrosity he has made to share with us. -
jj463rd I agree with gkay09 on spending the extra $20 and going with the Phenom II X4 955 BE instead even if it pushes the budget a little over.At this price level I would probably choose a Core i7 build though.I really liked the $650 SBM budget AMD build that was a great choice.Reply -
Proximon Heh well, not all SBMs have to be perfect. I'm liking the whole experimental phase the SBMs are going through. More educational than just seeing a build I would have done myself.Reply -
IzzyCraft jj463rdI agree with gkay09 on spending the extra $20 and going with the Phenom II X4 955 BE instead even if it pushes the budget a little over.At this price level I would probably choose a Core i7 build though.I really liked the $650 SBM budget AMD build that was a great choice.Well it was by demand to make AMD builds and this is what happens they timed it just right to be right after i5 release just to mess with us. AMD builds shouldn't hurt in games but in apps depending it can be murder or breaking even.Reply