System Builder Marathon Q4 2013: System Value Compared

[Crashman]

For the top end build, have you ever thought about going into the Xeon (dual proc) setups? It seems to me that at this price, chances are that system is more of a workstation with good gaming capabilities, rather than just a true game system...

grab a decent supermicro dual proc mobo, a couple of Xeon E5-2360, 8-16 gigs of memory, small SSD boot, chassis, PSU, and then the rest to your graphics. I wish I had more time to actually throw full build specs down...

While you would need to tone down the Graphics to give cash for the Mobo and CPUs, I think in productivity tests (especially threaded ones), this thing would SMOKE the others.

But given the test suite, it's usually easier to boost overall scores by putting the money into graphics than it is by putting the money into a doubly-expensive motherboard and quadruply-expensive CPU set. It would really be cool to have both in an ultra-expensive PC though!

 

[agnickolov]

For the Visual Studio test, an SSD plays an important role for the $2400 lead as well. The reason is all those intermediate object files that have to be written to the disk during compilation, as well as the huge debug symbols files at the end.

 

[benm2485]

Are these three systems really being given away!? That is awesome - I've been looking around for affordable parts for months and still haven't settled on anything. Maybe I will win!

 

[SessouXFX]

This what I don't understand here. All of these builds are going to be given away to somebody lucky, and yet, we have people here complaining about the builds, as if the parts will be permanently on that board, once they're put into their cases.

If you don't like the build as it were, if you manage to win one of these, why not change it to what you want and forget about arguing what you would have done differently?

Right now, I'm sitting here with a Corsair 800D I just won on Ebay for a mere $35 bucks. Brand freaking new, still in it's retail box, undamaged. There's not a single one of these systems that wouldn't find itself with a happy home inside that case (This $2400 build, I'd do back flips to get a water cooling set up for it, and that "old" 800D simply begs for one!). And consider what went into these builds, you have the chance to win it free of charge.

Don't sweat the details!

 

[Onus]

Ok, I've entered. So, what would I do with them?$800 Gaming PC: Although I might be tempted to part it out, more likely I would give it, pretty much as-is, to a family member long in need of an upgrade.$1600 Enthusiast PC: Tough call. I'd probably sell one of the GTX770s because I only play on one 1920x1080 display. I'd probably move the drives and Seasonic PSU from Phoenix into this build, but I'd want to get a different case.$2400 Performance PC: Similar. I'd remove one graphics card, add the RAID1 from Phoenix, and turn this into my primary machine.

 

[jaredprice]

Where will the results of the sweepstakes be posted?

 

[jaredprice]

Were the results of this giveaway ever posted anywhere?