System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2011: $2000 Performance PC

[nevertell]

For a high end PC, I'd rather use 2 560ti's or some other cheaper graphics option and get faster hard drives. Whilst an SSD ir great, if you want to launch apps, I'd never use a "green" drive, they're rather slow. Something from the Caviar Black or some other high end drives would be a lot better, and you'd feel the difference when using it everyday.

 

[CaedenV]

almost as if they took my dream build and built it for me... hope I win the drawing, it would save me an upgrade next year

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]nevertell[/nom]For a high end PC, I'd rather use 2 560ti's or some other cheaper graphics option and get faster hard drives. Whilst an SSD ir great, if you want to launch apps, I'd never use a "green" drive, they're rather slow. Something from the Caviar Black or some other high end drives would be a lot better, and you'd feel the difference when using it everyday.[/citation]No apps were on the "Green" drive, it's only there for storing crap---er, output files.

 

[alandjackson]

I see this as a $1000 PC plus $1000 of graphics cards.

Unless you exclusively game with your machine, if I had a budget anywhere between $1000 and $2000 I'd take the $1000 of components in this thing and then spend the rest on graphics (maybe downgrade to a core i5 if you must).

It's amazing that you can get all of those high end parts for that much now. This machine with even a 6850/6870 (instead of the sli 580s) would be an awesome all around machine that you could play games on and upgrade a few months down the road if you need more fps.

 

[lozz08]

Non-overclockable graphics cards, low performance/$ graphics setup, ugly barely overclockable motherboard with stability problems, great job tom's, great job. Keep it up.

 

[mayankleoboy1]

so what is a great p67/z68 boards that isnt lacking in VRM capacity? going to build a system soon.

 

[lozz08]

Asrock extreme4 gen3, I have that one and it hits 5ghz on a 2500k easily.

 

[Novuake]

Asrock extreme4 gen3, I have that one and it hits 5ghz on a 2500k easily.

I wouldn't say "easily", but yes, a very good board.

 

[JamesSneed]

I somewhat liked this build but It did make me think about your normal $1,500 PC. For the $1,500 PC I think it would be interesting to just pull out a GTX 580 and swap the motherboard for one that will OC a tad better say an ASRock Z68 Extreme4 gen3.

EDIT: Had not seen the mention of the Asrock extreme4 gen3 by loxx08 when I posted but I do agree that might be a good value choice.

 

[upgrade_1977]

Or.... You can buy some gtx 480's for $300 - $350, which are still available at some reputable stores and save yourself 3 bills for other components. With some decent cooling and a lil overclocking you get the same performance..

Just putting out another option.

 

[pacioli]

This rig needs about $30 more spent on the mobo and just $20 more in GPUs for the SC versions. I hate it when things get so tight in these builds that obvious upgrades that have small cost would make significant differences in performance. They could have made up the $50 total difference in a pinch with a smaller SSD.

 

[iceveiled]

Seems like the $2000 builds make for some strange part choices. I'm looking forward to the $1000 build - single GPU and 2500k and I bet it will hardly be outpaced by the $2000 in 1920 x 1080 benchmarks - that's the resolution I play at so I don't really care about resolutions above that.

Anyway I love these marathons, they're fun and thought provoking.

 

[pxl9190]

just spend $50 more on an Asus P8Z68 Deluxe and it would be all different...

 

[pxl9190]

just spend $50 more on an Asus P8Z68 Deluxe and it would be all different...

 

[pxl9190]

just spend $50 more on an Asus P8Z68 Deluxe and it would be all different...

 

[pacioli]

[citation][nom]mayankleoboy1[/nom]so what is a great p67/z68 boards that isnt lacking in VRM capacity? going to build a system soon.[/citation]

Check out the Asus and AsRock boards in the $150 to $200 range...

 

[king_maliken]

Disappointed, you guys went the wrong direction with the GPUs, instead of getting the 2 580GTXs you should of really went 3x 6970s. Those would of given you better performance and at that stage it's multi displays that really matter and that's where AMD seems to shine as of late (and that AMD has eyefinity). In any case 3 6970's comfortably outperform 2 580's and depending on the game will even outperform 3-way 580 SLI.

*To be honest enthusiast should really be more than 2k$, since enthusiast is suppose to be no compromise and I see plenty of them.

 

[Onus]

I have no doubt that this machine is going to badly lose the value comparison.
It isn't that I necessarily believe that different parts "should have" been chosen (besides, it is not useful to say what someone "should have" chosen; only useful to figure out why he made the choices he did). As far as that goes, I wonder why an i5-2500K wasn't used (freeing money for a better mobo, cooler, or RAM; or OC-friendly GPUs).
This article rather confirmed some suspicions I've had for a while. Spending this amount of money on a PC only makes sense if it is a purpose-built machine with specific requirements (even if that requirement is minimum FPS in a game); otherwise, from a value perspective, only someone with more money than sense builds a machine like this.

Incidentally, if this general-purpose (i.e. not strictly gaming!) PC might be used for bitcoin mining, only AMD GPUs should be used. Before downvoting me, that wasn't a fanboy remark, but a fact. You'll spend more for power than you'll recover from mining with ANY nVidia GPU(s).

 

[AppleBlowsDonkeyBalls]

Here's to hoping that the $500 system has that Radeon HD 6870 and a Phenom II X4 or a Core i3. They can be easily fit into the budget.

Why would you get the motherboard here over the AsRock P67 Extreme4, for example? They're the same price, and given that a relatively large SSD is used there's no need for IRST. I doubt someone with dual-GTX 580s would use the IGP, either, and only a few people use QuickSync. I'd think most enthusiasts would rather get an additional PCIe 2.0 X4 slot and a lot more back panel ports, as well as much better VRMs. I can't say I like the choice of case given the cost of the build, nor the Hard Drive: the Samsung EcoGreen F4 2TB is faster, more reliable and very quiet yet costs the same.

 

[decembermouse]

I see a lot of thumbs-downs being given to most commenters who are suggesting that something isn't right with this build. I myself made a comment suggesting that maybe you shouldn't put two GTX 580's into an Antec 300, as well as a couple other things, and got 14 thumbs-downs (and that's only so far, lol). I was a little harsh in my wording, I admit, and I am sorry for that. I was feeling pretty sick last night, coughing up a storm and unable to get to sleep. I do still feel though that, ok, maybe you didn't know beforehand that the motherboard wouldn't be great for overclocking, that's an honest mistake and this mobo was worth a shot.

anonymous x, I know the Antec Three Hundred is not a bad case. I've used it in builds before, and Antec makes quality hardware. For an overclocked 2600k and two GTX 580's though... are you really telling me that it wouldn't have occurred to you that maybe a larger case would be a good idea? Yes, the Three Hundred can technically fit an SLI setup, otherwise of course they would have had to order another case, and wouldn't be using the Three Hundred. anonymous x, when you put effort into overclocking a GTX 580, a single card can pull up to ~380-400W under load. Even if the setup permitted overclocking these cards, the PSU would not have been able to handle the load. Also, yes, regardless of which case you use, it's good to keep enough space between GPUs if you are building an SLI setup

But why...? Why would you put two of the fastest graphics cards on the market (and one of the fastest CPUs too) into Antec's *smallest* gaming case? Does this not raise a tiny red flag in anyone else's mind, am I the only one? I get 14 thumbs-downs for talking about it, which makes me less eager to draw attention to these things how can we improve our knowledge and methods of PC building if we can't question our past decisions?

Crashman, you seem to be seeing things in black and white and that's partially my fault. It can be a good thing sometimes, but try to read my comment as things I've learned and how they clash with what was done here, rather than as an attack or insult directed at the article. You don't need to defend it, as I didn't mean my comment as an attack I would appreciate more dialogue than just telling me I'm wrong though. The balance of the build here for instance. I'm more concerned with the GPU and case situation than the mobo, and for the price yeah maybe it wasn't worth upgrading that. But to say that it's the only problem with the build is a bit of a generalization. You say that "everything else you commented on was wrong." which is of course a bit disputatious of you, and in doing this you of course earn thumbs-ups for defending the article against me, the perceived troll/attacker/ignorant assailant. I get that, I did sound a bit like one, but did not mean my comment to sound that way. I just find it frustrating when things are imbalanced to the point of instability, in the quest for ultimate framerates. There are just some things I'm not comfortable compromising on, even if I have to get a smaller HDD or something to achieve a healthy overall build. When I see one like this that will literally crash if you raise the core clock on a GPU by the slightest amount, it makes me sigh and make this face http://bit.ly/ptrt7m

 

[iamtheking123]

from a value perspective, only someone with more money than sense builds a machine like this.

Or someone who doesn't want to have to build a new machine every time a new generation game comes out. The $500 builds are pretty much already out of date before you're even done putting them together.

 

[clonazepam]

While you are waiting to declare a winner, drop in the asus maximus iv extreme-z and see what clocks you get!

 

[mt2e]

Different MB and different GPU = GG

 

[kriswone]

I guess i don't understand this statement:

"Remember those tests where both systems were too slow at 2560x1600 to play smoothly, but the new build was the choppier of the two? Even though the performance delta was meaningless at frame rates that low, these results add high-end gaming to the new build’s list of value deficits. This editor again accepts the new build’s performance win as the consolation prize in lieu of poor value."

I read this as saying:

Both builds did bad.
The new build was worse.
The score was bad, so new build gets a negative.
Editor likes it although valueless.

Can someone explain this?

 

[nevertell]

But you wouldn't be able to store your boatload of apps and games on a 120 gb ssd, would you ?

I wouldn't, as I would have the ssd split in half for dualbooting and I have games.

Otherwise, a great build.