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System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PC

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Benchmark Results: Metro 2033 And F1 2010

At high details, the CrossFire-based solution has a clear advantage. But with Very High details applied (in addition to 4x anti-aliasing), the dual Radeon HD 6850 setup struggles to achieve parity with the Radeon HD 6950, and the single card leaps far ahead at 2560x1600.

In this case, we can see 2 GB of graphics memory clearly mattering, although the single card is unable to deliver smooth frame rates at the higher resolution anyway.

At High detail settings, F1 2010 prefers the previous build and its single Radeon HD 6950. At Ultra High quality with 8x anti-aliasing applied, the CrossFire configuration wins the race.

69 Comments Comment from the forums
  • seller417 22 June 2011 11:06
    650W is enough power for this rig?
    Reply
  • kelby0320 22 June 2011 11:10
    Radeon HD 9950 I want one
    Reply
  • whysobluepandabear 22 June 2011 11:22
    What? 6850 x 2 = $340? Um, I could get TWO 6870's for $350~ EASY. Sure, they have mail in rebates, but who cares.


    Two 6870's would stomp the 6850's, and you would literally spend the same, if not a measly $10 more.
    Reply
  • quixilver1 22 June 2011 11:23
    Why change the cooler from the $200 pc. It is only $5 more and still within the budget.
    Reply
  • whysobluepandabear 22 June 2011 11:24
    seller417650W is enough power for this rig?Well, looking into my tarot cards and crystal ball, I see It peaks at 400W at full load. So yeah, I think 650W may be a bit of an overkill.
    Reply
  • quixilver1 22 June 2011 11:28
    quixilver1Why change the cooler from the $200 pc. It is only $5 more and still within the budget.Should read $2000 pc.
    Reply
  • Tamz_msc 22 June 2011 11:37
    Overall, its a good build.
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe 22 June 2011 12:00
    whysobluepandabearWell, looking into my tarot cards and crystal ball, I see It peaks at 400W at full load. So yeah, I think 650W may be a bit of an overkill.Why would it be overkill? Its the kind of headroom you should have so your not straining the psu. Sure you could get away with less, but for a few dollars more than a 500w unit you can get a 650w. Its perfectly balanced and leaves room for upgrade. Its good to see what 2 6850's can do but i think if I were building this PC i would chose a faster single card and upgrade to dual cards later.
    Reply
  • akorzan 22 June 2011 12:07
    seller417650W is enough power for this rig?Yes. There is a misconception that rigs need over-sized power supplies. I have a Core i7 875k and a Radeon HD5850 running on a 400 Watt power-supply. Is it pushing it? Yes, if I clock it to 4.2 GHz and run Furmark and Prime95 none stop...
    No if I run Furmark and Prime95 at 3.33 GHz, and definitely no for any realistic workloads.
    Why did I get a 400 watt power-supply? Because it is darn silent and was recommended on Silent PC Review for "budget" power-supplies. (Bare in mind that "normal" are gold SeaSonics)
    Reply
  • whysobluepandabear 22 June 2011 12:26
    iam2thecroweWhy would it be overkill? Its the kind of headroom you should have so your not straining the psu. Sure you could get away with less, but for a few dollars more than a 500w unit you can get a 650w. Its perfectly balanced and leaves room for upgrade. Its good to see what 2 6850's can do but i think if I were building this PC i would chose a faster single card and upgrade to dual cards later.
    Because he was asking if 650W was enough, when all he had to do was look at the chart and clearly see the 399W max system (CPU+GPU) load.


    So essentially, for that system, the 650W is more than enough, and ...effectively an "Overkill".
    Reply