System Builder Marathon: Performance & Value

[Dementor]

Very nice comparison...

Though, I thought to buy a new computer next summer, but I decided to buy it on holiday 2009/2010... In meanwhile new Windows with DX11 will be out as new DX11 GPUs too, new Corei7 CPUs, cheaper DDR3 memory, etc.

Am I right ?

 

[randomizer]

[citation][nom]jtgt32a[/nom]I'm sorry I just have to jump in here and say this. I'm getting rather turned off about every video card review I see there's always some smartass comment like
"The $1,250 machine could play at a lowly 1280x1024 resolution"

Guess what not everyone has a gaming LCD at my house I have 2 options 1024x768 on an old LCD that I don't care enough to upgrade or my 720p TV.[/citation]
If you don't want to upgrade that monitor you shouldn't be getting an expensive rig. All the eye candy in the world can't help you if the display is terrible.

 

[randomizer]

The devs need to work on fixing the bugs with "new" people who's comments are light grey. They're hard to read, and you can't quote them without manually adding in names and the citation.

 

[JonnyDough]

We need a comparison of last month's benchmarks as well please. You should not just have charts comparing all 3 price points, but the month to month systems as well. It is interesting to see the price drop/performance rise over a several month or year span.

 

[lightfoot__]

I actually agreed with the 625$ build this time. I also think the tri-sli was a joke for what you paid. Could a 4870x2 x 2 domiante it for the same price? Or, even a 4870 x 3 comparioson. Also, get toa 64 bit OS so we can see where the future (and even now) is. I would say do a 500, 1000, and $1500 build list since that is where more people spend their money.

 

[bobbyd]

lol who wrote this article? i mean whats their forum handle? is there an easy way to tell? I loved the comment in the article at the end

" Still, we’re sure that there are a few gamers who will appreciate the added performance of its 3-way SLI configuration, a system that beat two HD 4870 X2 graphics cards in most games at resolutions up to 1920x1200 pixels."

I take it this was said because of the uproar about the $2,500 rig. lol if so, it's genius.

More importantly, I really enjoy these system building marathon rigs. They may not be the best machine for everyone but they certainly allow the ideas to flow. One can also learn what to expect from certain games on certain settings for a certain price break. I like that. I often ask myself "if i build this $625 machine can i play crysis? but on what settings? what about the 1250?, etc"

Lastly, keep up the smart ass comments Crashman. They make me laugh. teehee!

-Bob-

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]lightfoot__[/nom]I actually agreed with the 625$ build this time. I also think the tri-sli was a joke for what you paid. Could a 4870x2 x 2 domiante it for the same price? Or, even a 4870 x 3 comparioson. Also, get toa 64 bit OS so we can see where the future (and even now) is. I would say do a 500, 1000, and $1500 build list since that is where more people spend their money.[/citation]

The $2500 PC beat the $4500 PC at most resolutions...in games that have zero preference for the new Core i7...when the $4500 PC was overclocked much higher. Three GTX 260 Core 216's ($2500 PC) therefore beat two 4870 X2's ($4500 PC)

 

[mbbs20]

Still, we’re sure that there are a few gamers who will appreciate the added performance of its 3-way SLI configuration, a system that beat two HD 4870 X2 graphics cards in most games at resolutions up to 1920x1200 pixels.

whats so misleading about this quote is that he processor used in the two setups made the world of difference...just look at the charts for the x2 on this page

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclock,2116-8.html

...every game at increasing resolution has a mere 1-4 fps change between them which clearly shows the cpu is a severe bottleneck in those machines not allowing the graphics card to breathe fully...how can u conclude then that the tri sli system is so much faster than the crossfired one when the two machines are running off-standard

 

[Roland00]

Hey just giving everybody a heads up. I work at Fry's Electronics in Webster, and this isn't my department but right now Fry's has on sale from Friday the 2nd to Tuesday the 6th

The I7 920 processor for 229.99

This is the same processor that is 294.99 at newegg and many places have 300+. Now this item is first come first serve with no rainchecks, and almost everything else from ram to case isn't on sell so just grab the processor.

Now some stores (but not all) have certain X58 chipset motherboards on sale. For example my store has has th Asus p6t deluxe for 299 but since newegg has it for the same price I recommend getting whatever you want.

 

[Portall]

First of all - thanks for articles. You did a huge job.
As for me - I really miss 25*16 res tests. As already mentioned by one of your readers - 25*16 is the only one really highest graph mode. And without it, the tests are not complete.
And please forget about those funny reasons, you've wrote in articles about x64, and add more ram to test machines.
Thanks

 

[Portall]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom] Three GTX 260 Core 216's ($2500 PC) therefore beat two 4870 X2's ($4500 PC)[/citation]
not in 25*16

 

[skora]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]Great question. The answer is unfortunate: There was a miscommunication between the $625 system editor and all the other editors.[/citation]

Whats the chance of a follow up article where they take both systems and swap CPUs? That would be the truest test to see which can perform better. Give the E5200 the better 4850 and then maybe the E7300 will OC better if there was a MB issue.

 

[coopchennick]

skora, I like that idea!

But what I would do is swap the processors with the corresponding build of the last month, i.e. budget swap with budget, mid range with mid range, and high end with high end. Hopefully the THW team will have the month old builds and I would like to see something like this if compatibility allows.

 

[KyleSTL]

GTA IV at 1920*1200 with highest setting requires a card with 1.5GB memory buffer. No gaming card in existence has that much memory so it is necessary to wait for GTX 200 refresh or the next gen card from ATI & Nvidia.

Wrong
Powercolor HD 4850 2GB

 

[randomizer]

There's actually a 2GB 9600GT believe it or not. It's GDDR2 but hey, talk about epeen with a low-end card.

 

[SIMJEDI]

POSTED BY:jgtg32a
I'm sorry I just have to jump in here and say this. I'm getting rather turned off about every video card review I see there's always some smartass comment like
"The $1,250 machine could play at a lowly 1280x1024 resolution"

Guess what not everyone has a gaming LCD at my house I have 2 options 1024x768 on an old LCD that I don't care enough to upgrade or my 720p TV.

I just bought a new card and I damn near bough at 4870x2 because I though that's what I needed. And then I saw the trend of lawling about anything < 1080p and so I took a chance with the 4850 1gb and it works wonderfully.

So for the love of PC gaming please perform test at what you've considered the lawl resolutions

I agree. When will reviews start to reflect the growing trend of people hooking up their computers to HDTV's? Max resolutions for them is 1920x1080p, with alot still being owned at 1280x720p or 1920x1080i.

Myself, I have my computer hooked up to my projector that has a 1280x720p resolution. Now before anyone laughs at that rez, just take in your mind that it's a 100" screen! Sorry, but I'll take a bigger screen over your tiny one with a higher rez ANY DAY!!!

I'm about to build a new computer so the lowly 1080p rez has great significance now as I will be upgrading my next PJ purchase that has it.

I would recommend to anyone looking at a new monitor purchase take a look at a projector to consider. NOTHING beats gaming on such a huge screen!! You will never look at tiny whimpy monitors ever again!!!

So please start testing under those resolutions!!!!

 

[kelfen]

putting dual as max for the amount of cards your using because frankly their isn't alot of pple who will go the triple and quad burger routue. possibly putting the money into something else SDD, or w/e will increase performance overall

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Good review. Nice to see prices adjusted to reasonable levels instead ing having a too cheap to be useful system, and a too expensive to be worth it system, and a 'normal highend system' in the middle like a few months ago.

 

[cablechewer]

Is there any way to make the legend of each graph a little bigger? I don't know if it is the colours chosen or the relatively small size of the colour boxes in the legend, but I am finding it more difficult to read than in other articles. Anyone else have trouble distinguishing between the tiny dark green, dark blue and brown boxes in the legend of the graphs in the conclusion or should I book an appointment with an optometrist?

 

[sojrner]

to all whining about resolutions and number of cards:

the top-end cards are almost too much for you if all you need is a 1280x1024 or below. (or anything similar, like 1440x900, 720p etc) The one earlier that posted he had great results from a 4850 instead of a 4870x2 simply proves this point. The monthly "best of" articles qualify things by saying something similar. You don't need sli/crossfire period on 19" monitors. Most enthusiasts know this.

The point of reviewing such high-end setups is to show how they do so you know what you can do on such lofty resolutions. If you are buying a dual, tripple or quad card setup then you are NOT connecting it to a bargin 17" monitor. (or even a basic 720p TV) If you are, then you need your head examined IMO. w/ that kind of scratch thrown into your box, you have enough to buy a better monitor.

simple maths man

game on.

 

[bounty]

These challenges seem like they're getting to easy for the builders... I think it's time to raise the bar and see what they can do with 400$

:>

It could be a special "recession" edition. Or we can start forcing them to add a monitor/speakers/keyboard/mouse into the equation. Now lets see what it really costs to game at 2500x1600.

-Bounty (of 1680x1050 fame)

 

[bounty]

ohh, and lets see some shipping costs thrown in there

 

[bounty]

almost forgot, add Operating system cost.

 

[sojrner]

I like the "recession edition" idea... however that comes about it does sound like a good idea. lol.

 

[thomasxstewart]

Sandra & Vantage reveal how close Vantage is to Sandra or Sandra to Vantage. both revolve around total memroy bandwidth, as maximum number.

SignedHYSICIAN THOMAS STEWART von DRASHEK M.D.