System Builder Marathon, March 2012: $2600 Performance PC

[Darkerson]

[citation][nom]iamtheking123[/nom]Well they should have said "we wouldn't build a PC right now" rather than shoe-horning together old parts. Because, really, no one is building a new PC right now with IB coming out and 680 supply issues still being resolved.[/citation] They went with what was available almost 2 months ago. So, no, they didnt build a new PC "right now"...
Also, supply issues being resolved and is resolved are two different things. If you cant find the stupid card in stock to purchase, its not really much of an option, is it?

 

[silverblue]

And in a few months, Haswell would be out, along with the follow-up to Kepler. You can't wait forever.

People aren't building new PCs right now? Really? You may not be, but I bet somebody out there spies a cheap SB quad as the basis for a very effective system.

This is a workstation build, hence the hexacore CPU and the 7970 which, let's face it, offers the best of both worlds with good performance in games and compute, thus meaning you can use it for either instead of spending even more on a compute card which may not necessarily perform better but wouldn't play games too well.

 

[Darkerson]

And in a few months, Haswell would be out, along with the follow-up to Kepler. You can't wait forever.

People aren't building new PCs right now? Really? You may not be, but I bet somebody out there spies a cheap SB quad as the basis for a very effective system

I know I did just that and I coudnt be happier. Im especially glad I passed on building a new system last year right after they came out , you know, considering that whole pesky defective chipset ordeal and then Intel waiting to launch the Z68 until they made a lot of people choose between H67 and P67. Jumping on the latest and greatest isnt always the best choice. Or at least, some of us are willing to let others work out all the kinks before we take the plunge. ;P

 

[silverblue]

[citation][nom]iamtheking123[/nom]It isn't really a "workstation" unless it's Quadro or Firepro. If you need more than 8 gb of ram then chances are you're doing something that would benefit from real workstation gfx cards.[/citation]
Understood, however workstation cards are extraordinarily expensive.

 

[Guest]

Funny how everyone who is against LGA 2011 gets thumbs down.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]sublime2k[/nom]Funny how everyone who is against LGA 2011 gets thumbs down.[/citation]Yes, it appears that the MAJORITY wanted it, so I guess it was the correct choice.

 

[Maximus_Delta]

I agree the 7970 better option for anyone who does do some compute, folding etc... people need to get a grip on the GTX 680 hype / frenzy, lots of ppl seem to be swept up in a whirlwind of Nvidia marketing hype for a gimmicky card only (remember Kepler was supposed to be mind blowing) 10-15% faster in gaming if that.

 

[Pedrovsky]

Well after yesterday's disapointment this one is at least refreashing. I'd like to point out that at this price point you guys need to stop bitching about gtx 680 first because of its availability by the time this was written and more important because it virtually stands for no chance in produtivy against the 7970. Again it's about balancing a build that in this price range will never be a "exclusively for gaming machine". You must defenetly go for premium stuff, best processor, best motherboard, best cooling... regardless of the 30/50 dollar you pay for premium stuff...spending money on the looks is very advisable in this budget.

Personally i'd change a couple of things because although it isn't necessary i'd defently would like to see 2x7970 there.

For that i'd change the case (which is cool but very expensive).
I'd buy a agility 3 128gb ssd instead of that because i dont the point of going more than 120gb on ssd.
And i'd go for a diferent power supply. But thats just me...

Very good build overall, i really love that awesome looking beat of a cpu cooler...

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]sam_fisher[/nom]As Crashman said, this isn't a gaming orientated machine. It was said in the introduction that "Games account for 30% of our evaluation", which is why they put the SB-E processor in it. Putting more money into a better CPU would yield higher overall performance than putting in another 7970 would.[/citation]Clicking the "Read the comments in the Forums" link brings up the forum thread where edits and deletions can be made: I've deleted my response to the "mono" guy because it occurred to me that he's probably here to cause disruptions on behalf of a competing site.

 

[jestersage]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]Clicking the "Read the comments in the Forums" link brings up the forum thread where edits and deletions can be made: I've deleted my response to the "mono" guy because it occurred to me that he's probably here to cause disruptions on behalf of a competing site.[/citation]

He was just trollin'... good build, Thomas!

I, too, would like to see twin 7970s (or 7950s if budget does not permit) next round. I think twin 680s would be trumped on the productivity suites although they'd have the gaming wins, OCed or not.

 

[Pedrovsky]

Corrections:

Produtivity
Beast
I don't see...

 

[Pedrovsky]

productivity LOL

 

[trumpeter1994]

They say the motherboard supports 3way graphics, so anybody know what that 4th PCIe lane is for?

 

[youssef 2010]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]First and formost, this isn't a gaming machine yet you refer to "Best Gaming CPUs for the Money". Second, even if someone wanted to call this a gaming machine they'd be left with the realization that 70% of the benchmarks are not games.Third, the decision to use a six-core SB-E was heavily influenced by the complaints of your fellow readers in the last high-end build, which lacked it. I could have easily picked either CrossFire (to boost around 30% of the benchmarks) or SB-E (for a bigger boost in fewer benchmarks) based on reader requests.So you're officially nominated to rebut any favorable reader comments concerning the use of an SB-E.[/citation]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I didn't mean to sound rude so don't be offended by my words. I was merely providing my opinion, just like any of the readers who requested SB-E last quarter. Please understand that I mostly use my system for gaming so, I tend to focus more on gaming performance. Also, I've been reading the SBM articles for about 3 years and the highest priced PC always had a complex graphics setup that allowed it to excel in games more than anything else. Again, I apologize if my words sounded rude, that was totally unintended.

 

[Onus]

I loved this build; absolutely loved it. If money were no object, it is the sort of system I'd build for myself. It is excessive for my current needs without being a power-sucking waste; no 1KW monstrosity just to play games or surf the web. The added capacity and high-end features make it wonderfully future-resistant as well. The case says "quality," not "toy." This is a professional's PC, that can also pwn n00bs on off hours.
If I win this one, my biggest problem will be to not get too much drool on it (especially during the build).

Very well done!

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]jtt283[/nom]I loved this build; absolutely loved it. If money were no object, it is the sort of system I'd build for myself. It is excessive for my current needs without being a power-sucking waste; no 1KW monstrosity just to play games or surf the web. The added capacity and high-end features make it wonderfully future-resistant as well. The case says "quality," not "toy." This is a professional's PC, that can also pwn n00bs on off hours.If I win this one, my biggest problem will be to not get too much drool on it (especially during the build).Very well done![/citation]Ah, finally someone who completely understands the mindset.

 

[cknobman]

Best build of the series!!!!! I would love to have this machine

 

[halls]

Beautiful build, and I really like the case choice. Can you include the decibel chart in the article? How noisy was it compared to your last machine?

 

[Pezcore27]

I loved this build; absolutely loved it. If money were no object, it is the sort of system I'd build for myself. It is excessive for my current needs without being a power-sucking waste; no 1KW monstrosity just to play games or surf the web. The added capacity and high-end features make it wonderfully future-resistant as well. The case says "quality," not "toy." This is a professional's PC, that can also pwn n00bs on off hours.
If I win this one, my biggest problem will be to not get too much drool on it (especially during the build).

Very well done!

Couldn't agree more!

 

[BattleshipLorenzen]

Just wanted to say I also appreciate the build and the willingness to test out different configurations. I remember there was a lot of complaining about trying out an FX processor in the previous SBM, but it's that type of experimentation that makes SBM informative. It's a little sad that the 7970 was a weak OCer. The Zalman cooler is way sharper than Noctua, which seems to have some (well-earned) cult following.

A question about the benchmarks: Which would be most informative for performance in a monstrous Excel spreadsheet (I've heard Excel handles threads relatively well, though I don't know how many)? What about data analysis that does not use more than 4 threads (e.g., monte carlo simulations, other iterative statistical procedures)?

And if anyone happens to have a clue about how threaded LibreOffice Calc (the less-dysfunctional OpenOffice), that would be great .

 

[godfather666]

I wonder if Skyrim's results were included in the overall score? I don't think they should be, given the patch.

Nice build. Personally, I would have kept the 2600k, and cut back in a few other places (RAM) to get another 7970 in crossfire... I would wager that the gains from an extra 7970 would outweigh the losses of giving away two processing cores.

Still the 6-core monster is nice, and I do understand that this isn't just a gaming PC...

 

[zooted]

I really like this build. It is probably the most well balanced jack-of-all trades build I have seen on sbm in a long time.

 

[Max1s]

Why did they have to use an ugly case? If it costs that much you dont want a plain black case, you want a window and some LED fans!

 

[jaquith]

Nice Article! Thanks Thomas

Wrong OC'ing
Wrong installation of the Intel RST Enterprise drivers

I'm fine with all of the components except the HSF, but I 'get' the budget limitations. So it 'is' what it is. There are plenty of benchmarks and applications that do indeed benefit from the 6-core SB-E CPUs, so yep I like the i7-3930K.

This OC is ALL bad, don't do this OC! No wonder you don't like vCore's >1.38v and neither would I if I did (had to) that OC. Never, exceed 120% or (Medium/High or Optimized)! If you need to then raise the vCore +0.01v~+0.02v. If you want to disagree with me then simply know we agree to disagree. I don't publish my OC's other than end results (my SQL testing rig) -> http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2261309 all with much lower LLC, Optimized, nothing >120%, all Enabled power savings, etc and rock solid.

Intel RST Enterprise to properly work the driver must be installed (F6) during the install process of Windows, otherwise the MBR will become corrupt. An easy test is to change the SATA -> RAID and the resulting boot BSOD will make it apparent you did it wrong. Doing it correctly AND using the latest Intel drivers from Intel's site significantly improves performance. Thereby all benches having anything to do with SSD performance are indeed hampered. The fix (re-install the OS)-> http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/303873-30-wont-resume-sleep-booted-raid#t2068879

Don't use:

 

[morgoth780]

if i were spending $2600 on a rig, i would definitely have gotten 7970 cfx or 680 sli
a single 7970 is underpowered in a $2600 rig imho
but then again, i don't do any video editing or anything that will benefit from hyperthreading, all i'm interested is gaming