System Builder Marathon, March 2011: $2000 Performance PC

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[citation][nom]hmp_goose[/nom]Three thoughts😀oesn't it matter the video cards don't have a cold air port to draw from?What happened to "don't RAID SSDs"?And do you think you should include monitors in these builds? If "resolution" is the third choke-point, after CPU and GPU, in system balance . . .[/citation]A cold air port? Show me one that does? If you're talking about side fans, which don't port, this case has two front fans in a more-advantageous location.

I've never said "don't RAID SSDs". Those that have are arguing about problems that have long been solved by on-drive garbage collection and wear-leveling algorithms.

Yes, we should probably include a 2560x1600 display with each system, even the cheap one so that comparative tests can be standardized. Then again, system builders already have peripherals and, hopefully, an OS license from the system they're trying to replace.
 
It's been said many times in past SBM articles, but you could just add a little callout box at the beginning of each one pointing out that if an OS license is needed, it will add up to $100 to the final cost (a similar comment about peripherals could also be included). I would think that someone building a rig already has a resolution in mind, whether that of an existing monitor or of a planned new one.
 
Good build. I'd lose the SSD's and bluray drive and save ~$330. Next I'd use a PC P&C 750 for $75 and save another $55 on the powersupply. So it's possible to get this type of performance for ~$1600 which is really quite amazing.

SSD's are a complete waste IMO. And when have you been able to buy a game on a BR disk? Exactly. You will be swapping discs during installs with the rest of us. If you want to watch BR movies off a BR disk, point taken.
 
Hmmm ... let me think. If this is purely a performance machine then why the Sandybridge stuff? I can get a nice i7-950 for less. Nothing wrong with the older i7 stuff from a performance view. Next I would have spent a little more on the CPU cooler (say a noctua-14)so I could squeeze out all the performance I could get. Next that's not a bad mid line case. I would get a little nicer case with some better cooling options. For Psu's well everyone has their fav's. I happen to have a Silverstone 1Kw I got for a good price especially since you're going crossfire.

Just my 2 cents ....😀
 
ASUS P6T6 - $330
Intel Core i7-940 - $270

That'd be my combo of choice, because the P6T6 has true 3x16 SLI/Crossfire, and a total of 6 PCI-E slots. While higher clocks can be had with the 2600k, will the bandwidth available for a third card make a difference when it's conceivably added somewhere down the road?

6950's are below $250 on Newegg right now; where would another $100 be spent? Dropping the blu-ray for a standard DVD drive (-$90), swapping the A-Data ssd drives for a single 40gb Corsair (-$125), and adding it to the $25 left over would be enough for a third(!) 6950.
 
This is a good build, but personally I too would opt for a better case. Going with a 2500k would free up plenty of money for a minimal performance cut. Then I would go with a larger case to better fit a possible third graphics card. The revolution has a good setup for three cards given that it leaves a full sized pci express slot open, which is uncommon for many 3-way gpu capable motherboards.
 
I'm wondering what kind of temps people are getting on a 4.8ghz OC on air. I'm using a Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B with Arctic Silver 5 and my temps go as high as low 90C. I'm a bit concerned as when I applied my thermal paste in vertical line method some clear liquid shot out of the tube before the paste actually did.

Thinking of taking off the cooler, cleaning it off for better temps, any advise would be helpful thanks.
 
If I am remembering correctly, you can flash the secondary bios on the 6950 without voiding warranty (at least with XFX). Whatever the case, you can flash it back (especially since you have the dual bios switch) and RMA the card, no questions asked. These 6950s erally ought to have been shader unlocked and then OCed for real(not full 6970 BIOS). Previously you unlocked cores on AMD CPUs for these articles- that and overclocking technically void the CPU warranty as well. Come on- don't be soft!🙂
 
This system looks like a good choice for for 3-D Studio MAX, my main application.
Please tell me if you think of any upgrades for this purpose of mine.
I will incorporate one NVIDIA graphic card most likely eVGA GeForce GTX 580.
I know the 6 core X58 solution may deliver a little extra performance but cooling and power issues are very important, I'll use this system in Costa Rica where temps and power are major concerns.

Any responses are greatly appreciated.

Richard S.
 
[citation][nom]timby[/nom]Hmmm ... let me think. If this is purely a performance machine then why the Sandybridge stuff? I can get a nice i7-950 for less.[/citation] And you'd get less performance, clock-per-clock, plus far lower clocks [citation][nom]timby[/nom]Next I would have spent a little more on the CPU cooler (say a noctua-14)so I could squeeze out all the performance I could get.[/citation]But if you'd actually looked at the CPU temperatures you'd wonder "why did I spend this extra money on a CPU cooler when I could have put it on an i7-2600K" [citation][nom]timby[/nom]Next that's not a bad mid line case. I would get a little nicer case with some better cooling options.[/citation] Name one and I'll shoot it down, I did that for two days before picking this one. [citation][nom]timby[/nom]For Psu's well everyone has their fav's. I happen to have a Silverstone 1Kw I got for a good price especially since you're going crossfire.Just my 2 cents ....[/citation]Yes, but if you looked at the power charts you'd again wonder why you spent the extra money.[citation][nom]Thorkle[/nom]This is a good build, but personally I too would opt for a better case. Going with a 2500k would free up plenty of money for a minimal performance cut. Then I would go with a larger case to better fit a possible third graphics card. The revolution has a good setup for three cards given that it leaves a full sized pci express slot open, which is uncommon for many 3-way gpu capable motherboards.[/citation]The motherboard actually supports four graphics cards, and the case has room for three.

 
@ silverblue:"I did my own comparison for the UK, using various matches thrown up by Google. Unfortunately, I can't find the Illusion variant of the Three Hundred,"

The Illusion is the same as the base 300 but with two more fans included. Take a 300, add the two fans--good ones--and you're probably within 5-10 % of the Illusion's price.
 
Would be good to see an AMD based build in here also, I know that it mightn't be quite as fast as the the intel i7 cores but as it is the only competition it still would be nice to see what the competition can give you.
 
What would make the contest even greater is if it allowed outside of the US just that if someone outside of the US won they'd have to pay whatever the shipping cost is. I wouldnt mind. just a suggestion
 
[citation][nom]StuMan[/nom]Would be good to see an AMD based build in here also, I know that it mightn't be quite as fast as the the intel i7 cores but as it is the only competition it still would be nice to see what the competition can give you.[/citation]You will see an AMD-based build.
 
Well, they did that, unfortunately the 6x wasn't the desired solution. Perhaps with the 970 at least. Also, the platform would be CPU limited until super-high resolutions and detail levels... :/
 
[citation][nom]timby[/nom]Hmmm ... let me think. If this is purely a performance machine then why the Sandybridge stuff? I can get a nice i7-950 for less. Nothing wrong with the older i7 stuff from a performance view. Next I would have spent a little more on the CPU cooler (say a noctua-14)so I could squeeze out all the performance I could get. Next that's not a bad mid line case. I would get a little nicer case with some better cooling options. For Psu's well everyone has their fav's. I happen to have a Silverstone 1Kw I got for a good price especially since you're going crossfire.Just my 2 cents ....[/citation]
Why Sandy bridge? SB beat the old system by 20%. This is the fastest $2000 SBM rig ever!
The Noctua is quieter but does not cool much better.
 
The motherboard actually supports four graphics cards, and the case has room for three.
Click to expand...
I understand this on both aspects. I am an nvidia kind of guy and this motherboard only supports three way sli, which is why I wasn't really considering 4 way crossfire. Plus four graphics cards is a little over the top.
I know this case can fit the graphics cards, but I would still like the extra room is what I was thinking. I have used both the antec 900, which is very similar to the antec 300 illusion, and the antec 1200 . I have to say the antec 1200 was much better to work with. The antec 1200 cools much better and would easily be afforded if you went with the 2500k. This was my line of thinking. Going for performance to buck ratio your build makes more sense, but from my point of view, I would rather have sacrifice HT for the convenience and cooling performance of a better bigger case.
 
[citation][nom]sparky2010[/nom]since the 6990 is out, wouldn't getting that one card be a legitimate choice too? isn't it also at around $600?[/citation]
It's true that performance is similar, but both temperatures and noise levels are significantly higher on the HD6990. And no, it's not around $600. The MSRP is $700, and you'd be hard pressed to actually find one for that price. Currently the cheapest price on NewEgg is $710, while the majority are closer to $730.

So unless you're really tight on space, in which case you probably shouldn't get an HD6990 anyway, 2x HD6950's is the obvious superior choice.
 
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