System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $2000 PC

[Crashman]

With all of your feedback from last quarter's System Builder Marathon under our belts, this time around, we attempt to fit a no-sacrifice, luxury and performance build into our moderately-high $2000 budget. Will this new build succeed on all fronts?

System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $2000 PC : Read more

 

[amk09]

The link to enter the giveaway doesn't work!

I would love to be first to enter

 

[micr0be]

i think im gona get a revo 2 drive ssd to upgrade my current build.... all thanks to santa !!

 

[Tamz_msc]

Its good to know that choosing the wrong memory can affect performance in such a way.

 

[fstrthnu]

I'm pretty surprised we didn't see Geforce GTX 570s in this build, I guess they got released too late to make it here.

 

[fstrthnu]

>> First time in recent memory
"Cough Cough" Lame Pun

 

[jerreece]

Wow that Mushkin memory really jacked up this benchmark.

 

[kkiddu]

Most perfect build ever ? Just read the configs yet, and I think that's a possibility.

Now don't skin me if the config proves to be a flop in the coming pages. Just read the first page and couldn't resist a comment.

 

[hemburger]

Why not replace the two ssd's with a single intel 120gb... same price and now on 35nm

 

[kkiddu]

I think this one can be trimmed to a very good $1500 build as well. Change the CPU to i5 760, remove one of the cards, one of the SSDs, and you'll need lower capacity PSU for that, let's slash $30-$50 there, you get a very good PC for $1500.

 

[kkiddu]

And oh, cheapen the case as well. There's no free lunch. You gotta sacrifice some silence to gains some frame rates.

 

[duk3]

Get rid of MW2 in benchmarks for Battlefield Bad Company 2 and add in Starcraft 2 in my opinion. Nice computer, that's too bad about the memory.

 

[gti88]

Having $2000, I would take i5 760 + 2 x gtx580

 

[barmaley]

I agree with the people above who mentioned i5 760 and GTX 570. I was thinking the same thing when I saw the config. IMO, $2000 would give you far better performance in games, especially with high resolution and quality:

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 - $125
Intel i5 760 - $205
Scythe Mugen 2 - 47
Cooler Master HAF 932 - $140
GTX 570 2x SLI $700
Samsung F3 1TB - $70
Crucial 128GB C300 - $275
CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 - $125
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W - $170
Lite-On iHBS112 Blu-ray Drive: 12x BD-R, 16x DVD±R - $120
Total: $1977

All prices without rebates included. The $23 left over can be used to pay for the shipping where applicable. Also, an SSD can be replaced for a cheaper one to save a little money, if that's your thing.

 

[styrkes]

But isn't this worse than the previous $2000 PC?

 

[Tamz_msc]

@barmaley
Everything is fine except the motherboard and here's why:
http://www.hardware-revolution.com/p55-motherboards-crossfire-sli-performance-problem/

 

[nyrychvantel]

why is single intel 120GB better than 2x 64GB RAID 0? I thought the later twice the speed than a single SSD?

 

[gti88]

$2000 config with TWO gtx 580:
ASUS Maximus III Formula LGA 1156 - $179
Core i5-760 - $205
Noctua NH-U12P - $75
Kingston DDR3 4gb - $56
ENERMAX REVOLUTION85+ 920W - $200
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 2Tb - $100
COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced Black Steel - $80
GTX580 x2 (SLI) - $1100

Total price: $2005

 

[barmaley]

This build with 2 GTX 580 is nice. The only thing is that a lot people would have a problem paying $2000 and not getting blue ray and SSD. Not that it affects gaming in a big way as much as a good graphics card does, but it still counts.

 

[nevertell]

[citation][nom]gti88[/nom]$2000 config with TWO gtx 580:ASUS Maximus III Formula LGA 1156 - $179Core i5-760 - $205Noctua NH-U12P - $75Kingston DDR3 4gb - $56ENERMAX REVOLUTION85+ 920W - $200SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 2Tb - $100COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced Black Steel - $80GTX580 x2 (SLI) - $1100Total price: $2005[/citation]
Good for gaming and nothing else.

 

[SpadeM]

Probably one of the most balanced (and i mean that in a good way) build i've seen in a while. (though i do miss the exotic 4x4850 from Don a while back, and i do hope u bring that back some day) [citation][nom]Tamz_msc[/nom]Its good to know that choosing the wrong memory can affect performance in such a way.[/citation]
And yes +1 for that and for Thomas, i'm looking forward to a follow-up article on that specific issue.

 

[edwinjr]

Why there is no 3D Mark 11 benchmark?
The basic is free, isn't it

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]fstrthnu[/nom]I'm pretty surprised we didn't see Geforce GTX 570s in this build, I guess they got released too late to make it here.[/citation]Actually, even the Radeon 6850 and 6870 was released too late for this one...it was ordered in October. We've got to do something about the time table![citation][nom]hemburger[/nom]Why not replace the two ssd's with a single intel 120gb... same price and now on 35nm[/citation]Two against one, these Sandforce based drives are far faster in "RAID 0" even if the R in RAID is misused[citation][nom]kkiddu[/nom]I think this one can be trimmed to a very good $1500 build as well. Change the CPU to i5 760, remove one of the cards, one of the SSDs, and you'll need lower capacity PSU for that, let's slash $30-$50 there, you get a very good PC for $1500.[/citation]Drive performance will be part of the benchmark going forward and represents "Program Launch Time". All of the programs wouldn't have fit on half the capacity.[citation][nom]Tamz_msc[/nom]@barmaleyEverything is fine except the motherboard and here's why:http://www.hardware-revolution.com [...] e-problem/[/citation]One of Tom's Hardware's articles even mentions why the P55-UD3R is a superior gaming platform compared to the P55A-UD3R. Kill two birds with one stone on the X58![citation][nom]gti88[/nom]$2000 config with TWO gtx 580:ASUS Maximus III Formula LGA 1156 - $179Core i5-760 - $205Noctua NH-U12P - $75Kingston DDR3 4gb - $56ENERMAX REVOLUTION85+ 920W - $200SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 2Tb - $100COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced Black Steel - $80GTX580 x2 (SLI) - $1100Total price: $2005[/citation]That looks like a great gaming configuration, sans ODD but then again I guess you could get all your games through STEAM...how would you load Windows?[citation][nom]edwinjr[/nom]Why there is no 3D Mark 11 benchmark?The basic is free, isn't it[/citation]Sorry that this "new" article is five weeks old...

 

[jestersage]

Beautiful! I love this build. Too bad I don't live in the US.

 

[cangelini]

[citation][nom]amk09[/nom]The link to enter the giveaway doesn't work! I would love to be first to enter[/citation]

Sorry about that--the contest page isn't quite ready. It'll be going live in the morning and the story will be updated with the link (and the next several days of SBM pieces will include it, too). Thanks!!