System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $2000 Performance PC

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regenon

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I gess u wanted to say:
A pair of Radeon HD 6950s beats a pair of GeForce GTX 570s at our 2560x1600 target resolution, and the HD 6970 is even faster.
 
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Yes, I am pleased to see a classy looking Lian Li case being used and not one of those gargoyle-inspired transformer-looking abominations that appeal only to google-eyed children and pimply-faced teenagers. That an adult might actually purchase that sort of monstrosity damped my hope for the future of the supposedly mature population of this world!
 

hmp_goose

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So it's now considered "safe" to RAID 0 SSDs? I thought Tom's once had a big "here be dragons" label for that practice …
 

compton

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I too like the upgrade to a Lian Li. I didn't have a problem with the SBM method of fitting into a tightly constrained budget - but it's still good to see an attractive system as well as impressive performance. If someone is building a $2000 system, they can pony up a couple extra bucks for a better case. The System Builder Marathon is one of the best things going.
 

dragonsqrrl

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Again, another great high-end build (very similar to previous build), and my only real complaint (albeit a small one) from the last $2000 system was also addressed, the case.

Are you guys satisfied with your decision to go with a higher-end case? Have you noticed any tangible benefits? For example, lower system temps, better build quality, better cable management, more interior room to work, additional features, etc...?
 

whysobluepandabear

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[citation][nom]Todd Sauve[/nom]Yes, I am pleased to see a classy looking Lian Li case being used and not one of those gargoyle-inspired transformer-looking abominations that appeal only to google-eyed children and pimply-faced teenagers. That an adult might actually purchase that sort of monstrosity damped my hope for the future of the supposedly mature population of this world![/citation]


You give vivid details describing children and teenagers, but might I add something for the adults? Something like: "That a wrinkly, weaker and deteriorating adult might actually purchase". Something along those lines - we must make those adults look like old fuddy-duddies, whom are at the brink of a midlife crisis any moment now!
 

fstrthnu

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Anybody else think it's about time for Intel to release the Sandy Bridge Extreme-edition processors? We could really use hexa-core sandy bridge by now
 

R6ex

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Time to change to a GTX 580 SLI or Asus Mars 2 set-up for the next SBM.

I'm tired of this Radeon Crossfire set-up for the past half year.

Don't forget to check out the 8-cores Bulldozer as well.
 

prisoner37

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[citation][nom]hmp_goose[/nom]So it's now considered "safe" to RAID 0 SSDs? I thought Tom's once had a big "here be dragons" label for that practice …[/citation]

there was a recent article about this, where they discussed that in raid0 drive performance scales as you add drives, so by taking 2 drives with a 250mb/s write rate, you get nearly 500 mb/s. so not only is it safe, it adds performance

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-raid-iops,2848.html is the article
 

miltduds

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Its nice to see appearance being taking into consideration again when spending 2000 dollars on a rig. It does feel like something is missing though when the CPU doeskin have six cores or a "X" in it's name.
 

jeroly

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So 3 months of progress gets us a slower machine with slower optical read speeds and a crappier cpu heatsink/fan?

Choosing an inferior hs/f in order to save a couple of bucks is not the kind of choice we're looking to see in a $2000 'top-of-the-line' rig, btw

Moreover, perhaps the hs/f choice is why you couldn't overclock this one as much as the last one.

 

Crashman

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[citation][nom]dragonsqrrl[/nom]Have you noticed any tangible benefits? For example, lower system temps, better build quality, better cable management, more interior room to work, additional features, etc...?[/citation]Nope. In fact the Three Hundred Illusion has slightly better airflow at the intake due to its longitudinal hard drive cages. But the transverse hard drive cage is easier to use, and the system still had more than enough airflow for the parts selected.
 

srgess

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2000$ wtf ! I came to 1807$. Perso i would change case, videocard,ssd,cpu cooler. I guess you added extra 100-200$ for screen, OS.

Seasonic SS-850HT: 125$
XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283: 30$
2x A-Data S599 SSD: 120$ x2 (240$)
Lian-Li PC-9F :106$
LG WH10LS30: 89$
2x MSI R6970: 320$ x2 (640$)
8 GB G.Skill DDR3-1600: 74$
Intel Core i7-2600K: 314$
ASRock Z68 Extreme4: 189$
 

loutech4free

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[citation][nom]amk09[/nom]I would do anything to get a rig like this, sucks growing up in a poor family[/citation]
you can work part time or full time...
 
I'm sorry but crossfire anything with all the microstuttering does not beat SLI anything with none. Nvidia SLI, even a few fps slower, beats ATI crossfires's poorer quality and consistently bad drivers any day in my book.

I guess it has to do with what you're willing to accept for your value.
 

rfatcheric

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ubercake, might want to use actual facts instead of misinformation from like 5 years ago bud... Wake up. Nvidia isn't the only video card in town anymore champ.
 
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