System Builder Marathon, June 2011: Alternative $2000 PC

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By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Benchmark Results

Cooler Master’s HAF X adds an intake fan to the side with enough airflow to force air towards the front of the case, where the graphics card intake fans can be found. This dramatically improves graphics cooling, but not overclocking, since the cards never even approached their cooling limits.

GPU fan speed was manually set to 55% for all tests.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Lian-Li case provided slightly lower CPU temperatures, in spite of reduced overall airflow.

Observations from former case comparisons could provide an explanation. We’ve previously noticed that ducting an upright CPU cooler to the case’s exhaust fan increases airflow through the CPU cooler’s fins. Smaller cases occasionally simulate this duct by boxing the CPU cooler between the graphics card, case top panel, and side panel. That is to say, increased air velocity can be slightly more beneficial than reduced case temperature when it comes to CPU cooling.

The difference in system noise wasn’t large, but it was noticeable. A change of 3 dB is the equivalent of having twice as many fans in the system, but a change of 10 dB would be required for the noise to sound twice as loud.

While decibels are on a logarithmic scale, a direct-scale comparison of the new build’s cooling to noise ratio puts it ahead of the former build, completely due to its lower GPU temperatures.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
90 Comments Comment from the forums
  • amk09
    Yea the Haf X is beastly to say the least.
    Reply
  • ChiefTexas_82
    At least it doesn't look like a regular office PC. I thought the LL in the previous $2000 looked too 'professional' for a gaming PC.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    ChiefTexas_82At least it doesn't look like a regular office PC. I thought the LL in the previous $2000 looked too 'professional' for a gaming PC.That's because it wasn't a gaming PC. Were it a gaming PC it would have lacked the 1TB storage drive and BD-R, had a Core i5 rather than Core i7, had 4GB rather than 8GB RAM, and would have put the money saved towards even faster graphics.
    Reply
  • SpadeM
    ChiefTexas_82At least it doesn't look like a regular office PC. I thought the LL in the previous $2000 looked too 'professional' for a gaming PC.
    Well you can always bling a case up if you're so inclined but it's more difficult to un-bling one. All in all a very tame SBM this quarter, do hope u guys do something unnecessary cool next round :). BTW anything new and exciting coming up this week in the articles?
    Reply
  • cmcghee358
    After building a nice rig for the last 2 years or so, I really want my next rig to look really classy. It's the difference between a Honda Civic with Cold Cathode lighting, and an Audi with a massive V8 under the hood. I'm looking forward to moving on to the Audi.

    Also yes, for the love of God, will you people please understand that these aren't gaming PCs? That's why there are so many non-gaming related benchmarks. Please see beyond your own needs.

    The 1st thing I ask a potential customer is "What do you use it for?" If they say "Surfing the internet, and doing Office" I recommend an inexpensive build with Linux as an operating system. If they say gaming I recommend an appropriate build with Windows 7(Just because I hate all the tweaking Wine takes in order to work) But I hope that highlights that EVERYONE has different needs.
    Reply
  • yukijin
    CrashmanThat's because it wasn't a gaming PC. Were it a gaming PC it would have lacked the 1TB storage drive and BD-R, had a Core i5 rather than Core i7, had 4GB rather than 8GB RAM, and would have put the money saved towards even faster graphics.with the money saved from such changes, you can afford TWO GTX 580's!
    Reply
  • compton
    That's the great thing about cases: there's one out there for everyone and every purpose.

    The last case I bought was a Lian Li PC A05NB. It's definitely different, pretty much unique, and looks classy. I tossed a piano black Samsung BD drive with a mirrored tray facade and it's got the understated style that fits in everywhere. I say right on to any case that gets tossed in to an SBM. I bet no one complains about the enclosure when they win the rig.
    Reply
  • sparky2010
    these pc's are great.. but there's one thing missing.. if these are intended to be 'gaming' pc's, then the sound must be upgraded too.. it's not just about the graphics.. putting in a good sound card will increase the quality of the sound, and make games more enjoyable! it reall does make a difference.. so what i'd do in this case is change the 6970's to 6950's (since in crossfire, the difference won't be that great, at least at 1080p) and then get a good sound card, like an Asus Xonar or Sound Blaster X - Fi.. at least, that's what i already did and it's really great!! with a 7.1 sound system, games like Mass Effect become MUCH better... :D
    Reply
  • wrazor
    I was wondering if toms have a 570 GTX 2.5gb evga card review in the making. They are going for 400$ each, so replacing the 2600k here with 2500k would have covered that cost. I am very much interested(and i think many more do too)to see how these 2.5gb cards would fare in sli and stuff. 6970 killers? I think so.
    Reply
  • kovaxo
    That this one is perfect , although i don't like the motherboard , but its a great build still
    Reply