System Builder Marathon, March 2011: $500 Gaming PC

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Status
Not open for further replies.
LuckyDucky7

LuckyDucky7

Distinguished
May 5, 2010
303
0
18,780
"I’ll certainly entertain the possibility of Intel’s newly-available Core i3-2100 for the next SBM."

Have fun overclocking that rig!

I'd choose my O/C'd i3-530 @ 3.75 GHz (stock, air-cooled) over any of the new Sandy Bridge offerings any day.
The 2100 just cannot compete with that- it's marginally better than a first-gen i3, and it cannot be pushed harder.

*Hopes Bulldozer will be ready by that time*
 
lunyone

lunyone

Splendid
Feb 22, 2006
6,517
0
26,960
Pretty good build for the $. I would've gone with the Athlon x4 or x3 to keep things under budget, but that is just me. There are plenty of GPU options in the ~$170 price range. I think you might've got one of "those" GPU's that you read about. This is why "expecting" OC'ing abilities with whatever part you buy, shouldn't be taken for granted. Buy what you can afford and if you get a good OC on your parts, feel blessed:)
 
one-shot

one-shot

Distinguished
Jan 13, 2006
1,369
0
19,310
Would someone please explain the point of comparing the old SBM to the new one if there isn't a list of the parts from the SBM done in the past? These have always been annoying when the reader is forced to look back to December for a detailed list of parts. This has been practiced for years here. It makes no sense comparing to something the reader has no idea as to the parts being used in the past. Seriously....

Edit: Why Did I get a Minus one the second after my post was submitted?
 
M

Marcus52

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2008
619
0
19,010
Very nice build for the price. However, I simply can't help but think for another hundred or so dollars a Sandy Bridge build would be worth saving up another couple of months for by the person who had a very tight budget. It's what I'd recommend to a friend, unless he/she had an immediate need that couldn't wait.

;)
 
cangelini

cangelini

Contributing Editor
Editor
Jul 4, 2008
1,878
9
19,795
[citation][nom]one-shot[/nom]Would someone please explain the point of comparing the old SBM to the new one if there isn't a list of the parts from the SBM done in the past? These have always been annoying when the reader is forced to look back to December for a detailed list of parts. This has been practiced for years here. It makes no sense comparing to something the reader has no idea as to the parts being used in the past. Seriously....Edit: Why Did I get a Minus one the second after my post was submitted?[/citation]

There is a list, but it requires reading the story through page eight, at least =)
 
M

mraltoid19

Distinguished
Dec 8, 2007
17
0
18,510
Nice system! I don't know if a SB cpu will be much better. Bear in mind that the SB would have to be the i3 due to price. And as a Dual-Core with no ability to overclock what-so-ever, it may have a heck of a time going up against a true quad-core. On this config, I would have dropped down from the X4 925 to the X4 640. Then used the saved $25 towards a 6870 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Description=Radeon+6870&Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&sourceid=mozilla-search) Cheapest at Newegg is $190 (not to mention a $20 rebate, that brings it down to $170).
 
M

Marcus52

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2008
619
0
19,010
[citation][nom]one-shot[/nom]Would someone please explain the point of comparing the old SBM to the new one if there isn't a list of the parts from the SBM done in the past? These have always been annoying when the reader is forced to look back to December for a detailed list of parts. This has been practiced for years here. It makes no sense comparing to something the reader has no idea as to the parts being used in the past. Seriously....Edit: Why Did I get a Minus one the second after my post was submitted?[/citation]

I hope Tomshardware editors never stoop to writing reviews geared to people that won't make the effort to look up past articles.








 
D

dco

Distinguished
Jan 26, 2010
97
0
18,640
I hope Tomshardware editors never stoop to writing reviews geared to people that won't make the effort to look up past articles.
Click to expand...

yeah because who would want to live in a world that's convenient......
 
one-shot

one-shot

Distinguished
Jan 13, 2006
1,369
0
19,310
[citation][nom]cangelini[/nom]There is a list, but it requires reading the story through page eight, at least =)[/citation]

Sorry, can't read with my foot in my mouth. :)
 
M

Marcus52

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2008
619
0
19,010
[citation][nom]mraltoid19[/nom]Nice system! I don't know if a SB cpu will be much better. Bear in mind that the SB would have to be the i3 due to price. And as a Dual-Core with no ability to overclock what-so-ever, it may have a heck of a time going up against a true quad-core. On this config, I would have dropped down from the X4 925 to the X4 640. Then used the saved $25 towards a 6870 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] la-search) Cheapest at Newegg is $190 (not to mention a $20 rebate, that brings it down to $170).[/citation]

I was thinking it would be more in my first post, but a quad-core SB can be had for $60 more, a mainboard can be had for $5 more, so now that I've actually looked it up, you can get into an i5 Sandy Bridge with a decent Asrock mainboard for a total of another $65. Overclocking on the stock cooler? My guess is results would be similar.

That would be a 13% increase in price, and I'd be willing to bet the overall performance difference would be more than that.

The better you know your software needs, the better you can tailor your system. I think a lot of gamers would shift as you would for the better graphics card, but that would actually hurt some games that need the stronger CPU. World of Warcraft is an example - while Cataclysm brought changes that make the video card much more important, the CPU is still a major player and when player populations get high the most critical element. It's something I think FPS multiplayer gamers might think about as well.

;)
 
cangelini

cangelini

Contributing Editor
Editor
Jul 4, 2008
1,878
9
19,795
[citation][nom]one-shot[/nom]I have lots of respect for the editors at Toms, don't get me wrong. I'm sure many other readers would also prefer a list of the previous SMB, as well. Searching through an article for components to compare the two is very inconvenient.Please take this into consideration on the next SBM.-Thanks![/citation]

Thanks one-shot, but I'm not sure how else I can help you here. The complete list of comparison hardware is right there on the page called Test System Configuration And Benchmarks. You have this quarter's hardware and last quarter's hardware in successive tables. I'm not sure how much more convenient we can make it. If you have any suggestions, please suggest away!
Best,
Chris
 
iam2thecrowe

iam2thecrowe

Glorious
Jul 4, 2010
10,590
21
44,965
[citation][nom]lunyone[/nom]I would've taken the savings on the CPU and bought better RAM or maybe even a different case, but that is just nit picking a bit[/citation]
are you kidding? better ram would do nothing. why would you do that and lose out on the cpu? I think this is a good build
 
M

Marcus52

Distinguished
Jun 11, 2008
619
0
19,010
[citation][nom]one-shot[/nom]The reader shouldn't be forced to search the entire article for components. Would mixing the components of the current SBM make sense? No, of course not. It's usually listed on the first or second page. It would be Much easier to accompany that list with the previous SBM that's it's being compared to.To reiterate, the reader should not be inconvenienced when the editors don't even take the time to put up the previous SMB, or perhaps the editors aren't aware of this issue.[/citation]

In the Western civilization that most of us who read Tomshardware live in, we have been conditioned to think it is reasonable to expect everything be at our fingertips right now. This isn't a "kids these days" problem; it's a conditioning brought on by a lot of factors which I won't try to discuss here, it effects everyone, including me. Even my Dad, who was on the phone the other day waiting for customer assistance at 9 at night on a Sunday for 5 minutes and griping about how long it was taking. 5 minutes. Seriously? He's 77, he knows better, but he's been bitten as hard as everyone else by the "instant gratification" bug.

The fact is, the information is all on this site and can all be attained by anyone in a matter of minutes. It is far from unreasonable to expect a reader to simply look some things up for themselves. In fact, if you haven't read the past articles I really recommend you actually go back and read them, because you will learn more by doing so than by skimming through them or just looking at the hardware.

I get it; I really do. I skim the articles on occasion, too. However, I have never regretted spending the time it takes to read one, and I've never regretted going back and looking up more about what was being discussed. It's time well worth spending.

I come to Tomshardware because I'm looking to learn something. If you come for the same reason, I suggest you will serve yourself better by slowing down a bit and taking a deeper look. I'll tell you the truth, most people that regularly skim sites like Tomshardware are so full of misconceptions that they have wasted their time - you will be a much better informed person if you take the time to do as I suggest. Set aside your preconceived notions as best you can and pay attention to the information presented without being in a hurry.

;)

 
Status
Not open for further replies.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom