System Builder Marathon, Sept. '09: $1,250 Enthusiast Build

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Cleeve:
WoW has an easy graphic engine, but since it's an MMO you're going to be limited more by the server response and your internet connection than by the graphic subsystem in that game.
Click to expand...

Cleeve: I read this all the time, but I can tell you that during an encounter with 24 other people and watching my FPS plummet from 40+ to 2-4 the argument does not hold up. Especially when the only "fix" is to reduce my graphics settings.
 
[citation][nom]oneoldgeek[/nom]Especially when the only "fix" is to reduce my graphics settings.[/citation]

I find this surprising. A single 4870 isn't going to have any problem at all rendering 24 WoW characters. Which graphics settings, specifically? See if you can play with the individual settings and isolate the one that's causing the slowdown.

If it's something like draw distance, that's not really the graphics card responsible as much as the number of people on the server that are in your field of view... and that would once again be a server/connection issue, trying to get the data from more character locations and actions to your machine.
 
[citation][nom]El_Capitan[/nom]But a 1366 socket motherboard that supports that is going to cost ya.[/citation]

So would the CPU, but that's not the point. The point is, a lot of people are assuming that four 4850's scale poorly, but I think there's relatively little evidence to prove this either way.
 
It's an interesting case for WOW. A lot of people are experiencing it, old and new cards alike. Probably something WOW related, as other games do not have the same problem as WOW's experiencing.

[citation][nom]Cleeve[/nom]So would the CPU, but that's not the point. The point is, a lot of people are assuming that four 4850's scale poorly, but I think there's relatively little evidence to prove this either way.[/citation]

True. I'd like to see it in action, actually. :)
 
[citation][nom]ofirhadad[/nom]Here is my pc for 1250$:1.Processor - Intel Core2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W :$169.992.CPU Cooler - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm :$31.983.Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P45 :$189.994.Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB :$74.995.Memory - G.SKILL 4GB(2x 2GB)DDR2 1200 F2-9600CL6D-4GBRH:$89.996.Video Card - 2X SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850X2 2GB 512bit GDDR3 :$479.987.DVD Burner - LITE-ON iHAS124-04 :$28.998.Power Supply - HEC ZEPHYR 750DR-AT 750W :$84.999.Computer Case - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower :$99.99 Total cost :$1248[/citation]

total fail. no core 2 quad for that kind of money. at least AMD has an upgrade path, LGA775 is a dead end.
 
APRIL 2009 RESULTS were much better. You f'cked up for behaving like kids with that stupid quad-crossfire. admit it.
 
[citation][nom]El_Capitan[/nom]I built an i7 920 with 8GB RAM, a 128GB SSD, and a GTX 275 all overclocked for just $990. Add in another GTX 275 in Dual x16 SLI (motherboard supports it, and so does PSU), and that'll hit the $1210 mark. I bought a refurbished 22X DVD Burner for $10, bought and fixed a used and broken full tower for $15, and lapped an existing CPU heatsink and added a fan. Also added an existing secondary 1TB Caviar Black.[/citation]

you want a cracker?
 
i like this build actually. sure now you could build an 15 or i7 build for the same money but its actually a workable solution with an AMD processor. i'm thinking of junking my Q8200/P5Q-E system for something faster. probably gonna go with 15 since its $160 for the i5-750 @ Microcenter but if Newegg comes up with any good Phenom II/Mobo combos like they've had in the past I could be swayed. Saving $80 with a nice combo would be too good to pass up especially since the days of free memory are long gone.

Good review guys.
 
Rather than have used 4 x 4850s, why didn't you use 2 x 4850x2s? They would have cost you the same, if not $40 less (They've been at $220-240 for the last 30-60 days) and with the money you would save on that motherboard, you could have upgraded the CPU or anything else that you wanted to. That setup to me is just not economically worth it, nor is it realistic even for most enthusiasts. Even if you wanted that much GPU power, I can't see many people investing $480+ in those cards. I think most people would go with 2 4890s, take the $80 saved on the cards and the $70 saved on the mobo and put the $150 saved towards a better CPU and PSU.
 
[citation][nom]esquire468[/nom]Rather than have used 4 x 4850s, why didn't you use 2 x 4850x2s? They would have cost you the same, if not $40 less (They've been at $220-240 for the last 30-60 days) and with the money you would save on that motherboard, you could have upgraded the CPU or anything else that you wanted to. That setup to me is just not economically worth it, nor is it realistic even for most enthusiasts. Even if you wanted that much GPU power, I can't see many people investing $480+ in those cards. I think most people would go with 2 4890s, take the $80 saved on the cards and the $70 saved on the mobo and put the $150 saved towards a better CPU and PSU.[/citation]

Screw that build. Buy an i7 975 and the EVGA 760 Classified and wait for your next paycheck to buy everything else while surviving on potatoes and peanut butter.
 
Absolutely awesome 😀. I think it's kinda funny that you guys built this just because you could. Anyway it's obvious that the system is mostly CPU bound. For the CPU cooler, an arctic freezer pro to exhaust heat out the back of the case would probably have been better for the overclock, or not. While replacing the top fan with a model with a higher CFM rating and perhaps adding a second fan to the dark night would help, that's just nitpicking 😀.
 
What they really need to do is pull out the 4850 one at a time and see the difference in benchmarks. How does having 2 or 3 4850's compare to the quad setup they used? If only 5-10% increase, why not skip the extra cards and go for a faster CPU or better GPU's?

It's cool to see a quad crossfire setup, but I suspect that that's all it's good for; looks. Put in two 4890's with coolers that vent heat outside the case and you can up the overclock on the CPU and GPU's.

Good article, just not what I would choose to get the most bang for the buck outta of a $1300 AMD rig.
 
[citation][nom]El_Capitan[/nom]Screw that build. Buy an i7 975 and the EVGA 760 Classified and wait for your next paycheck to buy everything else while surviving on potatoes and peanut butter.[/citation]
my thoughts exactly. except about the peanut butter and potatoes. i'm not stretching that far.
 


I like it. Worked out better than I expected, actually.

If I could go back in time I'd do it again, too.

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one... 😛
 
Great experiment. It did show that this configuration is a flop for the price. Much more is possible going with different hardware. Darnit, I have to give applaud to Intel... Common AMD, you can do better!
 


They were notably more expensive when I spec'd it out, if memory serves. Prices change pretty quick. Plus, discrete cards will perform more stably in my experience, and these came factory overclocked to an impressive speed. the last 4850 X2 I tested had trouble at stock speed.
 
It still interesting that the same money spent on AMD side delivered better result in the gaming department... but seriously, Quad 4850...

I can't wait to see each system compared. I really doubt Quad 4850 can really deliver that much more than Dual 4850.

The question is... can a lower Quad solution beat a higher Dual solution?

Really refreshing and interesting...
 
[citation][nom]jcwbnimble[/nom]What they really need to do is pull out the 4850 one at a time and see the difference in benchmarks. How does having 2 or 3 4850's compare to the quad setup they used? If only 5-10% increase, why not skip the extra cards and go for a faster CPU or better GPU's?It's cool to see a quad crossfire setup, but I suspect that that's all it's good for; looks. Put in two 4890's with coolers that vent heat outside the case and you can up the overclock on the CPU and GPU's.Good article, just not what I would choose to get the most bang for the buck outta of a $1300 AMD rig.[/citation]

But you need to admit it is especially for this reason that it's interesting.
 
As someone who is about to drop around $1250 on a new rig, let me say this... there is NO WAY IN HELL I would opt for a quad GPU setup. The thought has not even crossed my mind and I think whoever came up with this list has a few screws loose. My god... I can't imagine the hassle in getting something like that to work right... and on a regular basis. Every new game release would be an adventure because you'd never know how well your setup scales with the new title. NO THANKS.
 
1 AMD 965
1 AMD 5870

Cost less and blow this out of the water.
You ignored previous post by saying cross-fire 5850 would have been more expensive.

Get real.
 


Yeah, clicking the 'enable CrossFire' checkbox was a real feat.

After that epic stuggle, it seemed to work well at every game I threw at it... 😀
 
At the time this was written you could have gone with 3 HD4870s and actually saved money and upgraded the CPU or you could have squeezed in 3 HD4890s if you'd wanted to, since this build was $175 over your initially proposed budget (no $110 OS +$65 over budget)
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=31&post=269768&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

Instead you indulged yourself with 4- 4850s that put out more heat and less performance for the money spent.
 
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