System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2010: $1000 Enthusiast PC

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CPU, Motherboard, And Cooler

CPU: Intel Core i5-750

The Intel Core i5-750 has been a strong contender ever since its release, and that situation is no different today. The 700-series processors are unique among Intel’s Core i5 offerings, as they feature four physical processing cores.

In comparison, the 600-series models feature only two physical CPU cores. While Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology allows the Core i5-600 CPUs to operate on four threads at a time, it doesn’t do it as efficiently as true quad-core processors like the Core i5-750 and Core i5-760.

Read Customer Reviews of Intel's Core i5-750

Note that when we specified the parts for this build, the Core i5-760 was not yet available for purchase, so we are settling on the older model for our System Builder Marathon.

Motherboard: Asus P7P55D-E LX

Read Customer Reviews of Asus' P7P55D-E LX

The Asus P7P55D-E Premium was an excellent performer in our Extreme P55: Four LGA 1156 Motherboards Over $250 article, and the P7P55D-E LX is very closely related to the Premium version.

The biggest difference is the lack of dual PCI Express (PCIe) graphics card slots, but the low $125 price for the LX model more than compensates for this when building a system intended for use with a single graphics card.

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3

Read Customer Reviews of Cooler Master's Hyper TX3

The Hyper TX3’s price has risen to the $30 range (compared to $20 when we began our build), and while we’re happy with its performance, we might consider other options in the same price range for future SBMs.

Don Woligroski
73 Comments Comment from the forums
  • sassan_88
    ha ha Intel+nvidia beats amd based system!!!just like always
    and everyone is going to shoot me after this comment!!
    Reply
  • Wonder why the i5 vs the 1055t? I mean, the 1055t is pretty close to the i7 in multithreaded apps, and enthusiasts tend to run multithreaded programs.
    Reply
  • cleeve
    E_manWonder why the i5 vs the 1055t?
    This isn't really an i5 vs. 1055T article, there aren't even any 1055T performance numbers here. It's focused on the current $1000 PC vs the previous $1000 PC.

    Having said that, performance between all the builds will be compared in the upcoming conclusion article, and the ~$200 price of both the i5-750 and 1055T more than justifies a comparison. I'm certainly interested in seeing how they stack up against one another.

    E_man I mean, the 1055t is pretty close to the i7 in multithreaded apps, and enthusiasts tend to run multithreaded programs.
    Enthusiasts run a lot of stuff, heavily threaded and sometimes only using a processor. Enthusiasts play games, too, and those rarely take advantage of more than two or three cores...
    Reply
  • iamtheking123
    I think the question you guys are missing is: do you really need to spend $1000? As it stands you could build the June $1000 PC today for about $850 or so. And I have no doubt that a system like that would have no problem gaming a few years into the future. In terms of sheer performance, this build is better, but the June build is far more bang for the buck.
    Reply
  • SpadeM
    Quick question: what's the setting for the gpu acceleration in adobe photoshop?
    Reply
  • Tamz_msc
    Prices have dropped these days.You can add GTX 460 768 MB SLI if you look for combos and MIRs.A great build nonetheless.Why didn't you get the Antec three hundred Illusion?It comes with the front fans pre-installed for 10 bucks more.
    Reply
  • dauthus
    I was hoping to see a pair of of gtx 460's in SLI, but I suppose that would have put the build slightly over budget. While I generally prefer single graphic solutions, the gf100 architecture makes me sad.
    Reply
  • elel
    dauthusI was hoping to see a pair of of gtx 460's in SLI, but I suppose that would have put the build slightly over budget. While I generally prefer single graphic solutions, the gf100 architecture makes me sad.I'm guessing that these cards weren't out at the time.
    Reply
  • Its really impressive on how intel i5 can perform and power up that gtx 470, makin it better choise than 2 ati at same money!

    Intel really makes difference , that´s why it been always a little more pricey i guess...
    Reply
  • willgart
    good point... what is the today price of the june 1000$ system? could you include the June 2000$ system in the comparison too?
    so will have a june 850$(?) vs august 1000$ vs june 1700$(?) comparison.
    Reply