System Builder Marathon, June 2012: $1000 Enthusiast PC

[cleeve]

[citation][nom]meganano[/nom]wouldn't an I5-2500K ($170 at Microcenter) be a better performer than that over priced I5-2400? (Somehow I get the impression that Newegg has Tom trapped in a buy-only-from-us-or-you'll-regret-it clause.)[/citation]

Not really. we're well aware of Microcenter pricing... the problem is, Microcenter doesn't offer products online. So if you don't live near one, you're out of luck.

As a cross-country publication we need to cater to the majority of users. That means online pricing...

 

[Guest]

There is one gaming benchmark that SSD's score big on:

How long my raid team has to wait for me to reboot and/or relog when WoW crashes.

 

[Guest]

Let's maximized that performance and still spend about a grand!!

Motherboard Biostar AM3+ 990FX SATA 6Gbps USB 3.0 ATX AMD TA990FXE $119.99

CPU: AMD FX-8150 FX 8-Core Black Edition 3.6GHZ $199.99 (I know I don't need 8 core, but just being able to say I have it is cool as hell!)

CPU cooler includes Heatsink and Fan Free

RAM: 16GB DDR3, PNY Optima 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) PC3-10666 1333MHz DDR3 $39.99 QY.2 ($79.98)

Graphics HIS Radeon HD 7970 3 GB $439.99

Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 84.99

Power OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance $63.74

Optical Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive $16.99

case Orange ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, Model: TH7693-OR $9.99 directron

ALL AMAZON FREE SHIPPING, BUT CASE FROM DIRECTRON FREE SHIPPING.

$1015.66

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]devriesj70048[/nom]Let's maximized that performance and still spend about a grand!!Motherboard Biostar AM3+ 990FX SATA 6Gbps USB 3.0 ATX AMD TA990FXE $119.99 CPU: AMD FX-8150 FX 8-Core Black Edition 3.6GHZ $199.99 (I know I don't need 8 core, but just being able to say I have it is cool as hell!) CPU cooler includes Heatsink and Fan FreeRAM: 16GB DDR3, PNY Optima 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) PC3-10666 1333MHz DDR3 $39.99 QY.2 ($79.98) Graphics HIS Radeon HD 7970 3 GB $439.99 Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 84.99Power OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance $63.74Optical Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive $16.99case Orange ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, Model: TH7693-OR $9.99 directronALL AMAZON FREE SHIPPING, BUT CASE FROM DIRECTRON FREE SHIPPING.$1015.66[/citation]

Tom's can only use Newegg for the SBMs and that 8150 is a waste of money. The 8120 has the same binning, but is $30 cheaper. Also, be sure that you either disable one core per module or you find a way to let one core per module be prioritized over using both cores in each module. Setting affinities and changing the P states and such of the 8120 (there's a tool to do this, but I forget the name). If you don't, then the 8120 (or if you want it anyway for some odd reason, the 8150) can be a severe bottle-neck depending on the game and other workloads.

 

[Guest]

OK newegg only build:

CPU AMD FX-8150 Zambezi 3.6GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8150FRGUBOX $199.99 free shipping

OR
AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4170FRGUBOX $139.99 free shipping

CPU Cooler amd boxed heat sink/fan

Motherboard ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 AM3+ AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard $59.99 free shipping

RAM: 16GB DDR3 G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT $39.99 (QY.2 $79.98) free shipping

graphics HIS H797F3G2M Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card $439.99 Free shipping


hard drive Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $89.99 free shipping


power COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS600-PCARE3-US 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply $64.99 3.99 shipping

optical LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06 LightScribe Support - OEM $19.99 free shipping

case
DIYPC SW-9001 Black SPCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $19.99 $9.99 shipping

$968.9 8 core cpu 3.6ghz
$908.99 4 core cpu 4.2ghz

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]devriesj7004 8[/nom]OK newegg only build:CPU AMD FX-8150 Zambezi 3.6GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8150FRGUBOX $199.99 free shippingOR AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4170FRGUBOX $139.99 free shipping CPU Cooler amd boxed heat sink/fanMotherboard ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 AM3+ AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard $59.99 free shippingRAM: 16GB DDR3 G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT $39.99 (QY.2 $79.98) free shippinggraphics HIS H797F3G2M Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card $439.99 Free shippinghard drive Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $89.99 free shippingpower COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS600-PCARE3-US 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply $64.99 3.99 shippingoptical LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06 LightScribe Support - OEM $19.99 free shippingcase DIYPC SW-9001 Black SPCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $19.99 $9.99 shipping$968.9 8 core cpu 3.6ghz$908.99 4 core cpu 4.2ghz[/citation]

Do you dislike overclocking? The FX-4100 and the FX-4170 have the same binning, so the only difference is what the voltage and frequency are set to. The 4100 overclocks to the same performance points and at the same power consumption. The same is true of the FX-8120 versus the FX-8150. Overclocking means that each CPU of the same core count is equal, so you're spending more money on the 4170 and the 8150 for no good reason if overclocking is taken into consideration. I have no problem with including an AMD CPU in the build, but it requires a bit more finesse and work to do so as I've said. Wasting money on one a more expensive model with the same overclocking performance is a seemingly pointless way to throw out $30 on the build.

 

[Guest]

I think for "gaming only PC"!! I would go with the 4.2ghz quad. I do know about overclocking but with stock fan forget it. I don't not know about the 8120 and 8150 being the same. If I had a grand to spend, now knowing that I would get the 8120 and a good fan. Then overclock it. If I was spending a grand I would get the 8 core, 1tb drive or even a 2tb drive and 16gb of ram. I know its "overkill", but I would get it just because with a grand I can. I am not a Intel hater, but when AMD has an 8 core for the same price as the 4 core intel. I have to ask my self, Why not the 8 core? Also the ram, only 4GB come on, the 8gb kit is only $4 more.

I am using newegg only for the price.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]devries j70048[/nom]I think for "gaming only PC"!! I would go with the 4.2ghz quad. I do know about overclocking but with stock fan forget it. I don't not know about the 8120 and 8150 being the same. If I had a grand to spend, now knowing that I would get the 8120 and a good fan. Then overclock it. If I was spending a grand I would get the 8 core, 1tb drive or even a 2tb drive and 16gb of ram. I know its "overkill", but I would get it just because with a grand I can. I am not a Intel hater, but when AMD has an 8 core for the same price as the 4 core intel. I have to ask my self, Why not the 8 core? Also the ram, only 4GB come on, the 8gb kit is only $4 more. I am using newegg only for the price.[/citation]

Problem with 8 cores is that you're lucky if a game uses even half of them decently, let alone very effectively. Games tend to not even effectively utilize four cores and other than BF3 MP, no games that I'm aware of can even really benefit more than a few percent by going beyond four cores and even BF3 stops at six. This is why I'd disable one core per module for a gaming machine. It offers a significant boost in performance per Hz due to the module now not needing to share it's resources between two integer cores and it increase power efficiency even more than performance per Hz because not only does it increase performance per core by 20%-30% or so without increasing power consumption, but it also decrease power consumption significantly due to the lower core count and the extra cores not being mere wastes of power consumption because the games and such can't even use them anyway.

Also, the stock FX fan actually does an excellent job of cooling. You can easily take the 4100 and even the 8120 past 4GHz with it. It's not nearly the quietest CPU cooler, but it's still capable of doing some very good cooling. It's not like Intel's crap fans that can't handle much overclocking if any at all.

 

[quangluu96]

LMAO the gpu, could have snap it off, too tight.