System Builder Marathon, Q2 2013: $2500 Performance PC

[Crashman]

Can a bigger budget help this quarter's tiny PC beat my previous performance monster? Is it any more attractive than some of the mini-ITX-based platforms from the boutique builders? I'll answer that first question for you, and you answer the second.

System Builder Marathon, Q2 2013: $2500 Performance PC : Read more

 

[sherlockwing]

Interesting $2500 MITX build, granted most people(including me) would have built a $2500 rig around 780 SLI in a ATX case.

 

[burnley14]

This just might be my favorite SBM ever, and this particular build my favorite machine of all time. Even if the relative value is slightly lower, many people including myself are willing to pay a small premium for a smaller footprint. Well done!

 

[nvidiamd]

this is the best build on toms ever! no substandards and overkills. two thumbs up!

 

[slomo4sho]

Seems I was pretty close in my initial guess:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I DELUXE/WD Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($207.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($353.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 690 4GB Video Card ($999.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 660W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($148.54 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2597.99

 

[Madn3ss795]

Assembling part reminds me of LEGO...

 

[agnickolov]

I wish the build had a 512GB SSD, but I understand the builder's value sentiment. The fast HDD is pure waste, however. A 2TB HDD can be found for under $100.

 

[sarinaide]

Still struggling to get my mind on a high performance ITX system, to me its more a case of how much high end you can chuck into a psuedo M-ITX chassis which for all intents and purposes are not small form factor by any stretch of the imagination. Having owned a Prodigy they can hardly be said to be SFF when their total surface area is as much as a ATX chassis, it is like calling a HAF XB M-ITX.

The main point of the article is that diminishing returns are high at that price point, only a overclocked system (again not a fan of in the confineds of a ITX system) give it value.

 

[csf60]

I would take a 770 and water-cool that rig any day, but I suppose that's personal preference.

 

[sarinaide]

It is safe to say that the purpose of the machine is gaming, for that is there any particular reason to go with the i7 other than to say you maxed the platforms highest capable chip but in terms of true benefits there is little over an i5 yet over a $100 been dropped on it. The next question is why not a GTX Titan, most of a 690 's performance but on less power and heat which is quite punishing in a Prodigy's confinds.

 

[Crashman]

Still struggling to get my mind on a high performance ITX system, to me its more a case of how much high end you can chuck into a psuedo M-ITX chassis which for all intents and purposes are not small form factor by any stretch of the imagination. Having owned a Prodigy they can hardly be said to be SFF when their total surface area is as much as a ATX chassis, it is like calling a HAF XB M-ITX.

The main point of the article is that diminishing returns are high at that price point, only a overclocked system (again not a fan of in the confineds of a ITX system) give it value.

At the initialization's initiation, SFF meant "Shuttle Form Factor". The term has since been abused for everything from Micro ATX gaming cubes to book-sized PCs. Book-sized system builders would argue that Shuttle's fairly big traditional boxes aren't true SFF because they're too big, even though the term originally referred to these! If you remove the handles, this case is roughly the size of Shuttle's old 2-slot boxes (it's around 2 inches taller and 2 inches shorter in length)

It is safe to say that the purpose of the machine is gaming

Gaming only? Then when the Core i7?

is there any particular reason to go with the i7

Read pages 16 and 17

other than to say you maxed the platforms highest capable chip but in terms of true benefits there is little over an i5

Did you see the overclocking section? Three mediocre i5's in a row and i7 leads to O/C victory, in addition to the gains on pages 16 and 17.

The next question is why not a GTX Titan, most of a 690 's performance but on less power and heat which is quite punishing in a Prodigy's confinds.

Did you see a heat issue? I did not. Why would someone want to spend more money for less gaming performance? Or are you now saying that this is not a gaming PC?

 

[tomate2]

It is safe to say that the purpose of the machine is gaming, for that is there any particular reason to go with the i7 other than to say you maxed the platforms highest capable chip but in terms of true benefits there is little over an i5 yet over a $100 been dropped on it. The next question is why not a GTX Titan, most of a 690 's performance but on less power and heat which is quite punishing in a Prodigy's confinds.

For future reference: you should read an article before posting so that you don't make a fool of yourself.

 

[de5_Roy]

really enjoyed reading the article, reading the assembly part was fun. the build looks great imho.

i think this build wins in terms of performance per heat or temperature per volume(size of the pc). i know the metric sounds weird but that is a Lot of performance crammed into that small case. a titan would possibly improve temperature and still be a lot faster than 7870xt(comparing past q's enthusiast pc) even though it was unavailable during ordering the parts). for example, you can't squeeze an fx8350 (no mini itx mobo) in that case, and trinity only goes up to 2module/4threads.
edit: just realized how unfortunate gtx780's launch timing is... it coulda been a good candidate for the high end performance pc. may be next quarter....

 

[ehanger]

Nothing that couldn't be built a year ago.

 

[Onus]

It was interesting to see specific mods / add-ons called out in this build; I'm not sure I've seen that done before, but the results were certainly worthwhile.
I'd love to win this one. My own games (especially at 1920x1080) don't need a GTX690 so I might swap in a lesser card in order to use the drive cage, but this would be one sweet system to sit on my desk.
How loud were the fans?

 

[antemon]

why in the world did no one use the HAF XB or the A30?

 

[sarinaide]

why in the world did no one use the HAF XB or the A30?

I am assuming its because its for M-ITX only albeit that the HAF XB could take ITX and is as big as a Prodigy.

 

[ojas]

Very interesting build! At least predicted a Platinum PSU correctly 😛

I was expecting a Titan or a 780, though. CPU choice was pretty much a given.

And no one's hating your PSU choice, so far too 😀

It was harder to notice with the previous build’s lower frame rate, but both configurations hit a snag at 2560x1600 and the Ultra quality preset. That snag is memory, where 2 GB of graphics RAM simply isn’t enough. The new build's so-called 4 GB card only gives 2 GB to each GPU, and that proves to be a problem.

Um... no? There is no justification for this. 2560x1600 almost twice as demanding as 1920x1080, and you are just seeing the expected performance drop from the resolution increase. There is no evidence of VRAM limitation.

Yeah i was thinking the same thing...had it been due to VRAM i'd expect the FPS to be closer together for both builds.

 

[Amdlova]

i will do sli 670 on micro atx mobo... LOL 520W power supply will suport
mini cases (Y) epic win

 

[Fokissed]

It was harder to notice with the previous build’s lower frame rate, but both configurations hit a snag at 2560x1600 and the Ultra quality preset. That snag is memory, where 2 GB of graphics RAM simply isn’t enough. The new build's so-called 4 GB card only gives 2 GB to each GPU, and that proves to be a problem.

Um... no? There is no justification for this. 2560x1600 almost twice as demanding as 1920x1080, and you are just seeing the expected performance drop from the resolution increase. There is no evidence of VRAM limitation.

Crysis 2 uses 1800MB+(normally) of VRAM at 1920x1080 on my GTX 680 4GB. It peaks at 3GB usage at times. I have no doubt that modern games at high resolution are limited by 2GB of VRAM.

 

[frillybob101]

This is the one I want to win!

 

[jabliese]

Top mounted fan on page 8. Assembly Part 3 looks to be an exhaust fan in the picture, but in the text is mentioned as blowing down. Figure the text is correct, might want to note the discrepancy.

 

[sourodip]

Hope i'll build a better pc than this in near future

 

[badtaylorx]

lol....if i had a dollar for every time ive done that mod...

id have like 4 bucks.....

 

[jestersage]

Beautiful!