System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PC

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[citation][nom]akorzan[/nom]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)[/citation]


Ouch.. I worry about that, yes it may run it.. but if your maxing out your wattage and the power supply blows.. say goodbye to your MOBO and maybe some other components. Maybe it won't happen, but I've been building PCs for over a decade and have seen it happen mulitple times. Good luck.
 
Very excited to see this, it's basicaly the same rig as I'm building, altough I went for 8gb and a AsRock P67 E4 and a V6 cooler.

Btw, the Cooler Master V6 cooler barely fits the NZXT Lexa S, it puts a little pressure on the side window. And it has to be installed upside down because of the MB heatsink.
 
On the Test System and Benchmarks page you have the memory timings for the current build listed as 7-7-7-20 1T. Is this correct and it is overclocked or were you running at the stock timings?
 
I like that they tried something different from the last build (unlike the $2000 build, which left me disappointed to see the exact same build.) What I always look forward to is the $500 build, to see how suited of a gaming machine you can get for the lowest possible amount. I personally would never spend more that $1000 on a gaming computer as the higher you go the more diminishing the returns.
 
[citation][nom]mpberg[/nom]On the Test System and Benchmarks page you have the memory timings for the current build listed as 7-7-7-20 1T. Is this correct and it is overclocked or were you running at the stock timings?[/citation]

Stock timings. Fixed!
 
The cooler thing is bugging me.
The comparison of the 120mm $50 Cool Master Hyper 212 to a 92mm $25 Xigmatek. And the 120mm (30% larger) H-212 was cooler... Let's hope so. Should be comparing the Cool Master 90mm H-520 with the Loki.
 
You talk about the fact that the case has some nice features, but you don't go into much detail. Since this is one of the things that differs significantly from the last build, and is also more challenging for DIYers to learn about, could you post some pics of these features?
 
I was a little surprised about a few things. Overall the setup is pretty good but like many others have mentioned I would have changed the hard drive to the Samsung Spinpoint 1TB. Also, the cpu fan puzzles me as well. Actually, what really puzzles me is when did the Hyper 212+ become $50 on Newegg?! It has been $30 and cheaper on Amazon forever and I thought it used to be $30 on Newegg too. Heck they used to have it for $22 for awhile on Amazon (what I bought it for). I would try to squeeze a little out of the system parts as far as price and get 2 6870s for $370.
 
Question:

I noticed in the photo that the cpu cooler was mounted horizontally blowing exhaust upwards instead of vertically, blowing exhaust out the back.

Is there any difference in the cooling potential of either orientation?

I've been wondering this for a while and searching on the internet has only found me equal number of articles on both sides of the fence. Maybe it's time for TomsHardware to do an article about cpu cooler mounting and orientation in the case - backed with the usual science of course.

Thanks
 
this is what I meant from my comment on the 2k build... at least this one tries something different which gives the whole article a lot more value as we, the readers, learned something out of it

now I'm waiting for the budget build, which is usually very creative
 
You people need to stop derping on me and assuming that I'm somehow trying to say 650 being an overkill is a bad thing. I never said it was bad, nor suggested getting a lower rated one. Just said I think being 250 watts over the max load made it a safe bet. Stop acting like I said "naw bro, 650 is too much, get a 450" because I most definitely didnt, nor suggested it.
 
Could you run a few eyefinity tests to compare the rigs? Running a single high resolution monitor is all fine and dandy, but alot of people would rather purchase 3x 22" 1080p monitors instead and enjoy surround gaming, and increased productivity when not playing a game.
 
The case seems decent, like the cable management and it appears you can access the CPU back plate from the right side panel. I think its ugly, but I would be cutting in a full window anyway!
 
Ugh.. US citizens get the best prices all over. New egg, amazon, etc etc.. countries like Singapore, hardware prices are marked up because of shipping costs.. etc. E.g. in Singapore i dont think we have Spinforce. Biggest is still WD, Seagate, Hitachi, Samsung
 
Great build. For the same price, I'd prefer to exchange one of the GPUs for a z68/SSD Boot setup, for non-gamers. That'd still leave the upgrade path for a 2nd GPU at a later date.

That said, not sure what z68/SSD boot drive to pair with this setup.
 
Its a decent build, but I would have went for one of the 8gb 1600 ram kits that new egg has for under $70 after rebate.
 
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