System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $500 PC

[Guest]

gidgiddonihah 12/17/2010 7:02 PM

What they need to do is compare this one to the 1000$ and the 2000$ build.

>> Try paying attention. SBM has 4 parts--and guess what the 4th part is?


pinkfloydminnesota 12/17/2010 7:23 PM
I don't understand why you don't include microcomputer's deals which have been going on for what, a year? You have to buy at store but ... so what? Why is the standard all world shipping?

>> The standard is "available to anyone, at least in the US"--using prices from ONE store, requiring an IN-STORE purchase, kind of makes it worthless. idiot.

 

[General_Terror]

Why not 7-Zip 9.20 ( Not beta ) instead of 7-Zip 4.65 ?

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]General_Terror[/nom]Why not 7-Zip 9.20 ( Not beta ) instead of 7-Zip 4.65 ?[/citation]To compare to the previous system, which used this version to compare to the previous system, which used...

I'll let everyone know that they should test the new version so that the data is available next time, but I can't guarantee that all the systems are still assembled.

 

[gwg666]

tom's...you have over 50 ads at one time on a page...why the fudge a pop up page...get real...your advertising what ever your reviewing...is that not enough...i guess your as hungry(greedy) as the vendors are...have a gr8 holiday...keep up the good work(not the ads)

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]gwg666[/nom]tom's...you have over 50 ads at one time on a page...why the fudge a pop up page...get real...your advertising what ever your reviewing...is that not enough...i guess your as hungry(greedy) as the vendors are...have a gr8 holiday...keep up the good work(not the ads)[/citation]Editorial and sales (ads) are separate entities, please keep that in mind during any analysis of content

 

[gwg666]

yeah rite

 

[Guest]

I tried using corsair value ram in a build once and it is not overclocking friendly. Bsod Aplenty when tryin to OC a 965BE c3. I would recommend finding a used case in town rather then buying one. This would allow you to get a better PSU (Like a coolmaster extreme 550w) and a 6850 instead.

 

[scrumworks]

[citation][nom]dragoon190[/nom]I haven't been keeping up with the system marathon much, but what's the reasoning for choosing nVidia card over AMD's? Just wondering since I'm thinking about upgrading my computer soon.[/citation]

Tom's policy going all the way back to year 2000.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]scrumworks[/nom]Tom's policy going all the way back to year 2000.[/citation]I wish we could permanently ban people for lying. For everyone else, proof that this guy's so-called observations are worthless:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-build-a-pc-overclock,2739.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-cpu-gpu,2655.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-gpu-overclock,2659.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/performance-pc-ssd,2568.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-core-i7,2582.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/value-gaming-pc,2578.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-new-pc,2497.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-own-pc,2503.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/system-Builder-Gaming-PC,2509.html

Geee, who would have thought that over the past year Tom's Hardware has used MORE ATI GRAPHICS IN ITS SBM SERIES THAN NVIDIA?

It's time to hang your head in shame and leave, [edit: mispellled name] scrumworks

 

[hardcore_gamer]

this one is the only build that impressed in this month's SBM

 

[numbercrunches]

I think you should devise a contest soley devoted to Crysis to see who can build the most inexpensive rig for a maxed-out smooth 1920x1080 experience.

 

[SpeedyVV]

Amazing what you were able to put together for $500!

 

[robisinho]

you're really gonna do this 2 and a half weeks before CES 2011 ??

 

[robisinho]

(taking a breath)

it's nice to see a $500 system that doesn't suck. I'm tempted to use this as a basis for a $1000 build in place of the $1000 sister build. I think that build, even this build is close to having the hard drive be a serious bottleneck. Upgrade the video to the 2 x ECS NBGTX460 from the bigger build, add a 128GB sf-1200 based ssd, and bump the ram up to 8GB and this puppy will still cost a goot bit less than $1000, and probably will beat the $1000 system in everything but renderfarms and massively parallel computation environments.

 

[lb45]

I know the motherboard isn't rated for SLI, any chance that x4 slot would work with a second Nvida card (say a 240?) as a PhysX setup?

 

[Guest]

Newegg did not have the case/power option available. I am thinking about going with the Roswell destroyer midtower and 700w power that they have on special for the bundle. Do you think I will have any problems fitting this mobo into that case. My 8800gt fried on my old rig and I am trying for a new set up on the cheap. Also, I see a ton of people slamming this graphics card. I am only using this cpu for WOW so do can you recommend this card or another one for me.
Thanks

 

[processthis]

Looks like a good build for a tight budget.

 

[Onus]

...This would allow you to get a better PSU (Like a coolmaster extreme 550w)...

ROFL...what an inefficient, overrated piece of crap THAT one is...
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-550-W-Power-Supply-Review/969/9

 

[Onus]

Updated my $500 offering due to availability; public wishlist is at https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=18986667

 

[pauldh]

[citation][nom]jtt283[/nom]Updated my $500 offering due to availability; public wishlist is at https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] D=18986667[/citation]
Looks good jtt! As a cheaper alternative to the 1GB SE, how about the Asus 768MB for $140 shipped ($120 after MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390

 

[Dougie Fresh]

CircuitCity.com has had a 2.8Ghz Athlon II x4 for $80 for the past several weeks. Bummer it looks like they are sold out now. It's worth keeping an eye out for if they come back in.

 

[Onus]

I can think of at least one reason why someone might want each variant of the GTX460; I'm not sure even Cleeve could make a definitive selection. And now there's the HD6850...
Anyway, this was a great build for tweaking to an individual's liking.
I'm anticipating a couple of builds for friends over the next month or two, and I don't anticipate the arrival of Sandy Bridge having making something similar to this any less valid.
...although I'm hoping for the reappearance of the 740BE for $88 (or even $68, like it was briefly).

 

[Guest]

Ad space is getting absurd. Half the page is already abnners ads and there's the text popup ads. Now every single time i go to the next page i get a fullscreen ad that i have to click skip.

 

[dalta centauri]

[citation][nom]Relto[/nom]Ad space is getting absurd. Half the page is already abnners ads and there's the text popup ads. Now every single time i go to the next page i get a fullscreen ad that i have to click skip.[/citation]
The biggest problem about that is how it pops up about 5-10 seconds after the page is up and I'm scrolling through it, just to get a blank page where I need to scroll back up. This happens about 3 consecutive times, but stops after that. It may not be a bother to some, but I would rather have those floating ads that stay on the middle of the screen as you scroll then to have a blank page.

About the build, it's impressive in many ways, sadly most 460 768mb models have already become cheaper, and you can find a number of 1gb models at the same price nowadays. For most people that's great news, but when you build something to find the same hardwares 10-20$ cheaper it feels like a loss. I bought a 5770, and even though it was more then respectable when the 460's came out because although it performed worse, the 5770 was 140-160$ when a 460 was around 220-250$, but now you can get a 5850 for around 200$ or a 460 at the same price of the 5770.

 

[Onus]

Firefox with AdBlock+ and NoScript means no advertising BS.