Your Top Picks: Tom's Hardware Forums' Q1 2013 BestConfigs

[hapkido]

[citation][nom]hapkido[/nom]Ok, HTPC with $700 max budget, go![/citation]

Ask and ye shall receive:

Intel HTPC - light gaming:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JtIB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JtIB/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JtIB/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($26.85 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($72.51 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $514.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-13 15:51 EDT-0400)

Full Gaming, add the following:
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $699.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

See how easy that was to make better machine than 3 of those listed?

1) It doesn't use Newegg and Amazon only as outlined in the rules.
2) Your "Full Gaming" model before rebates and shipping is $31.76 over the $700 budget outlined in the rules.
3) It doesn't have TV tuner card.
4) It doesn't have HTPC case.

Those are major flaws even if I overlook that facts your blu-ray drive isn't a blu-ray burner, you picked a smaller RAM size that isn't dual channel, and you used a lower-quality PSU.

HTPC != entry-level gaming PC that's connected to your TV. Not only did you not improve on my design, you made it worse for a higher price.

 

[Draven35]

I have to disagree with the workstation build....

Three FirePro V7900s in CrossFire make BurritoBob’s Build a serious professional graphics powerhouse.

Unless you are using iray. Or Premiere CS6. Or only have one (and not three) monitors... See, Max, Maya, and most other 3d apps can't use SLI/Crossfire....

 

[balister]

[citation][nom]hapkido[/nom]1) It doesn't use Newegg and Amazon only as outlined in the rules.2) Your "Full Gaming" model before rebates and shipping is $31.76 over the $700 budget outlined in the rules.3) It doesn't have TV tuner card.4) It doesn't have HTPC case.Those are major flaws even if I overlook that facts your blu-ray drive isn't a blu-ray burner, you picked a smaller RAM size that isn't dual channel, and you used a lower-quality PSU.HTPC != entry-level gaming PC that's connected to your TV. Not only did you not improve on my design, you made it worse for a higher price.[/citation]

The TVTuner you choose only works for unencrypted Channels, ie local channels, PBS, and a couple of other public channels. If you want to actually record channels off cable or FiOS, you have to use something that can read encrypted channels like Ceton's Infinitiv 4 which takes a cable card so you can decode channels. The fact that you listed the things you did to be against it shows that you really don't understand what an HTPC is all about. HTPC is about being able to watch videos, play some games, and other light work that is outputted to your television.

This is exactly what I meant when these builds were put together without forethought on what the machines were meant to do.

 

[hapkido]

[citation][nom]hapkido[/nom]1) It doesn't use Newegg and Amazon only as outlined in the rules.2) Your "Full Gaming" model before rebates and shipping is $31.76 over the $700 budget outlined in the rules.3) It doesn't have TV tuner card.4) It doesn't have HTPC case.Those are major flaws even if I overlook that facts your blu-ray drive isn't a blu-ray burner, you picked a smaller RAM size that isn't dual channel, and you used a lower-quality PSU.HTPC != entry-level gaming PC that's connected to your TV. Not only did you not improve on my design, you made it worse for a higher price.[/citation]

The TVTuner you choose only works for unencrypted Channels, ie local channels, PBS, and a couple of other public channels. If you want to actually record channels off cable or FiOS, you have to use something that can read encrypted channels like Ceton's Infinitiv 4 which takes a cable card so you can decode channels. The fact that you listed the things you did to be against it shows that you really don't understand what an HTPC is all about. HTPC is about being able to watch videos, play some games, and other light work that is outputted to your television.

This is exactly what I meant when these builds were put together without forethought on what the machines were meant to do.

Listen, Jerky. Any channel you can decode with an appropriate cable TV package and a digital TV, that turner I listed with be able to record. That's most channels with your cable TV package. Also, any channel you NEED a cable box to decrypt the signal, the tuner will still be able to record with a cable box up-stream. One cable box per house -- no DVRs needed. I worked for a few years at a cable TV company so I'm not green on this and you claiming TV tuner cards can only record broadcast TV is entirely false. Cable TV relies on provisioning their devices (usually through propitiatory equipment and MAC address) to authenticate them to their network. On most networks every channel under 125 won't need a cable box at all. For the networks that do, or the channels above 125, you may have to rent ONE cable box, but you still save the expense of renting multiple DVRs for your multiple TVs. That alone will save you $40/month or more with even two TVs. Also, a simple phone call takes care of almost all issues you have not receiving a signal on your device.

The fact of the matter is the system you parted out can watch zero cable TV channels, is OK at playing games, and looks like your computer is hooked to your TV. The system I parted out can watch most TV channels even without a cable box -- and can watch and record ALL channels in your cable TV packed with a SINGLE cable box --- is OK at playing games, and looks like part of your AV system.

And I did it for less.

If the goal is to pirate video, you can do it for much less than either or us proposed. I could build a stand-alone $200 system that downloads torrents and displays them on your TV. However, that was the problem presented.

 

[g-unit1111]

[citation][nom]balister[/nom]A smaller form factor is based on what you really need. I didn't say that all builds should be looking at M-ITX or Micro-ATX, but there are several builds (specificallythe office systems, the HTPC, and low end gaming builds) that would gain an advantage by going with smaller enclosures and smaller boards. As I posted above, you can see what is possible using smaller form factors with the AMD Office PC, Intel based HTPC (and the original created of the winning one doesn't realzie that the TVTuner card he included will only allow you to record unencrypted channels which is only local channels and a few others), and the NAS where you can buy two 2TB hard drives for the same price as one 3TB hard drive. I whiped up three systems in 30 minutes without much thought where as a number of the so called best choices show little to no thought on what the purpose of the system is (a $700 intel office PC? really?! $250 to $300 should have been all that was spent on the intel office PC).[/citation]

Depends on what you really want to do with the PC. Everyone here knows that for a basic word processing and browsing computer you do not need a lot of horsepower. Hell, you can get by with a single core AMD Phenom for that. But if you want to run something like multiple monitors or run a CAD / rendering or CS5 build then it's going to take a lot more horsepower than a Pentium G860.

 

[Jan286]

My high-end intel-based system wish http://secure.newegg.ca/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=10656849

 

[balister]

[citation][nom]g-unit1111[/nom]Depends on what you really want to do with the PC. Everyone here knows that for a basic word processing and browsing computer you do not need a lot of horsepower. Hell, you can get by with a single core AMD Phenom for that. But if you want to run something like multiple monitors or run a CAD / rendering or CS5 build then it's going to take a lot more horsepower than a Pentium G860.[/citation]

If you're going to be rendering, you're not going to be doing that on a office pc. The point was to build an office pc, not a workstation that does rendering. As such, the builds were way over the top.

Also, if you're going for multimon, the build I listed could do that for just $60 more with a SFF video card. Also, add another $10 and USB 3 is possible as with the upgraded version of the board I used.

Simply, for an office PC, you don't need to spend $500, I just built a better one for $300. If you plan to do rendering and the like, then you want a workstation, not a office pc. Trying to do both is going to create something that is overkill in one are (office/browsing) and create something that is underpowered in the other. You build for the designated use.

 

[balister]

[citation][nom]hapkido[/nom]1) It doesn't use Newegg and Amazon only as outlined in the rules.2) Your "Full Gaming" model before rebates and shipping is $31.76 over the $700 budget outlined in the rules.3) It doesn't have TV tuner card.4) It doesn't have HTPC case.Those are major flaws even if I overlook that facts your blu-ray drive isn't a blu-ray burner, you picked a smaller RAM size that isn't dual channel, and you used a lower-quality PSU.HTPC != entry-level gaming PC that's connected to your TV. Not only did you not improve on my design, you made it worse for a higher price.[/citation]

The TVTuner you choose only works for unencrypted Channels, ie local channels, PBS, and a couple of other public channels. If you want to actually record channels off cable or FiOS, you have to use something that can read encrypted channels like Ceton's Infinitiv 4 which takes a cable card so you can decode channels. The fact that you listed the things you did to be against it shows that you really don't understand what an HTPC is all about. HTPC is about being able to watch videos, play some games, and other light work that is outputted to your television.

This is exactly what I meant when these builds were put together without forethought on what the machines were meant to do.

Listen, Jerky. Any channel you can decode with an appropriate cable TV package and a digital TV, that turner I listed with be able to record. That's most channels with your cable TV package. Also, any channel you NEED a cable box to decrypt the signal, the tuner will still be able to record with a cable box up-stream. One cable box per house -- no DVRs needed. I worked for a few years at a cable TV company so I'm not green on this and you claiming TV tuner cards can only record broadcast TV is entirely false. Cable TV relies on provisioning their devices (usually through propitiatory equipment and MAC address) to authenticate them to their network. On most networks every channel under 125 won't need a cable box at all. For the networks that do, or the channels above 125, you may have to rent ONE cable box, but you still save the expense of renting multiple DVRs for your multiple TVs. That alone will save you $40/month or more with even two TVs. Also, a simple phone call takes care of almost all issues you have not receiving a signal on your device.

The fact of the matter is the system you parted out can watch zero cable TV channels, is OK at playing games, and looks like your computer is hooked to your TV. The system I parted out can watch most TV channels even without a cable box -- and can watch and record ALL channels in your cable TV packed with a SINGLE cable box --- is OK at playing games, and looks like part of your AV system.

And I did it for less.

If the goal is to pirate video, you can do it for much less than either or us proposed. I could build a stand-alone $200 system that downloads torrents and displays them on your TV. However, that was the problem presented.

Simply put, you're showing how little you know about your own build. The TVcard you listed has to end up having it's input go first through your set top box (the card does not decode). This means that if you want to record a show, you either aren't watching your cable programing at the time or you are recording what you are watching. Again, you need to learn some things about TV Tuners and what to use and when. As I listed, using the Ceton Infinitiv 4 means you can watch a channel and record three others, this is something your Hauppage card will not do.


Likewise, why do you need to burn Blu Rays on an HTPC? An HTPC is about outputting information and in that case, a Blu Ray reader is a far better choice than a writer (if you need to write, put the write on networked PC).

As to case, you're choice would stand out just as well. If you want a case that really looks like an A/V component, get something from NMedia. While Silverstone makes good cases, their HTPC cases are looking more and more like either boutique designs or more like regular computer cases. NMedia makes cases that actually look like a HTPC or have an unusual look that looks at home in a media center (like http://www.nmediapc.com/htpc8000.htm)

On top of this, limiting yourself to just two vendors means you're not going to get the best bang for your buck. Do so is actually stupid (I realize this isn't your rule, but the rule none the less is stupid).

As to pirating, you do realize that a number of providers out there allow you to stream their channels to your device right? If you get a provider that allows it, you can stream your channels directly to your PC over the internet. The problem then becomes, how much does your internet provider allow you in the way of bandwidth, ie, do they cap it after a certain amount.

 

[cobellig]

[citation][nom]nordlead[/nom]A good thing I don't use these "forum best configs" as guides. It looks like every single one of them was built by a power hungry gamer rather than an economical engineer that builds to meet specific requirements.The NAS chosen here has WAY to much space dedicated to the OS drive (driving up costs), and all the benefits of the SSD are lost (you won't be loading new programs off the SSD) except for the low power. But that can be achieved for much less cash with a CF or SD card (or even a USB stick, but I don't care for those since they can easily be unplugged). You also don't need 4GB of RAM in a NAS, nor do you need a fancy case with a window when it will be stuck in a closet. I could shave $150-200 off of that machine no problem and cut the electrical costs, all while serving files via NAS to multiple machines at the same time without missing a beat. Heck, my Atom D525 does all of that at a measly 30W (measured at the wall) along with online backups, and serves web pages at a decent clip for myself and my close friends. Since I'm sure the intent of the 3x 3TB hdds was for RAID 5, you could put that $ towards a 4th and do RAID 10. Or you could put it towards actual backup instead of redundancy.[/citation]

Indeed this is really a weird choice,NAS i think about storage and safety,not fancy...how about UPS?
For less expert users like me perhaps an SSD with Windows 7 is more practical that OS loaded on a USB pen.I guess this is more like " Simple Home NAS" rather than office professional NAS.
I run myself SSD Os,Atom and 2x2tb in software raid, couldnt be more happy and energy efficient, beside the good redundancy.Gabriel

 

[BreadWhistle]

Lol guys, I don't see why you are getting very hostile at attacking my choices for this NAS PC. When I made it, I wanted all-around performance. Fast boot with the SSD for one. I chose 64GB because that gives you more than enough room for Windows, and and about an extra 30GB for any other applications you may want. You guys make it seems like just because it is a NAS based system, that it doesnt have the right to be fast... Whut?

Another thing I put thought into this was the amount of RAM in the system. Again like I said, what I had in mind was a multi-purpose, office, gaming, and everything else computer. And I mean, if I got cheaper or less RAM, what am I saving? 10 dollars?

Anyways, I'm going to stop here to avoid flaming. So far most of the replies have been respectful and just constructive criticism :3 That's what I love about this forum

~BreadWhistle

 

[hapkido]

That dude tried to rip apart my media PC too. It depends on how you use your NAS. If it's just to store files, then yeah what you chose was overkill without enough storage, but I can get behind using it for other things, especially as a home user. Why not get a capable box and give it other tasks?

 

[pacioli]

I just saw that I won best AMD-Based Home Office PC. That's pretty cool!

 

[pacioli]

[citation][nom]Nintendo Maniac 64[/nom]Why would you use the 5800k over the 65w 5700 for a mere office machine? Not to mention the mobo chosen for it has no VRM heatsinks and therefore cannot reliably overclock anyway, making the aftermarket cooler pointless in the first place.[/citation]

The budget was $500 and the PC came out to $440 before I added the cooler. Part of the requirements said it must have cooling... so since I've used the TX3 and found it to effective and quiet I threw it in as to not get disqualified on a technicality... apparently that was a good call!

 

[jacklynembrey]

lot of awesome information and mostly of them i read first time like Optional components like coolers, discrete graphics, SSDs, and optical drives are also included in a number of setups, and as the part of Banner printing VA it is very important to read that kind of latest updates.

 

[keldi]

So, I bought all the stuff for the Budget AMD build. Unfortunately, the listed graphics card is too long to fit in the listed case! It needs about an extra 1/4 inch to fit, and runs into the hard drive trays.

Someone may want to revise the build given that it's physically impossible to assemble as is, and it's *really* hard to tell that from photos on the web.

 

[flong777]

I agree with you about the PSU - I have had very good luck with Corsairs and I think Seasonic makes at least part of their line. The new 1200i and 860i both look like winners.

Concerning the RAM, in the reviews that I have read, moving from 1600 RAM to 2133 produces a 2%-3% increase in speed. Granted the reviews may not reflect this particular system but the cost difference is very small. I bought 1600 RAM for my Sandy Bridge build but I wish I had gotten 2133. RAM has dropped in price so much that it just does make sense to use the faster RAM.

I am less familiar with the effect of RAM on Ivy Bridge and so I could be very wrong. But people keep overclocking RAM and everytime, the OC RAM on a machine improves its performance. I would guess this is also true for Ivy Bridge.

Congratulations on your win.

For a small increase in cost you could have gone to 2133 RAM (8GB) and seen a 2%-3% improvement in performance. The small additional cost would be worth it.

I also don't understand using a bronze rated PSU for a "high-end" system when gold and even platinum PSUs can be found so very cheap. I used the Corsair HX 850 for my build and because my computer draws about 40% - 50% of the PSU's capacity I am running at approximately 92% efficiency. Plus, my PSU fan rarely turns on and it is silent in my case. More importantly, because of the high stability of the PSU, I have peace of mind that my expensive components protected. Mg Corsair HX 850 cost $140.00 which is very reasonable.

The case is beautiful, I have not read a review of it yet. But NZXT makes good cases.

Great choices with the 840 Pro and the Barracuda. I have the Barracuda and it is a great HDD.

Congratulations again.

Faster RAM won't necessarily affect the performance of your CPU and GPU one way or the other.

The Platinum PSUs that can be had for less than $100 are generally made by a lot of brands that produce a lot of junk (like Coolmax and Sentey). They are not to be trusted. Energy efficient doesn't always mean that the power supplies are made with quality components. It's better to buy a PSU that is from a good OEM like Super Flower or Seasonic, getting one of those will be better than having your PSU blow up in your face.

 

[Marcopolo123]

Mehh no fractal define xl

 

[dietrich1]

this is such a middle school competition. of course a 690 and a 3770k will rule. it's like asking your students, "build me the fastest car with the best parts!" ooook.

not to knock you, tom. i know you're an awesome dude. but these competitions better include some harder guidelines like "you can't use any computer parts that are on newegg." omg unless this is just a huge pyramid scheme to increase newegg salespafpjaiji they're coming for me tell my wife i love herrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[palladin9479]

[citation][nom]cobellig[/nom]Indeed this is really a weird choice,NAS i think about storage and safety,not fancy...how about UPS?For less expert users like me perhaps an SSD with Windows 7 is more practical that OS loaded on a USB pen.I guess this is more like " Simple Home NAS" rather than office professional NAS.I run myself SSD Os,Atom and 2x2tb in software raid, couldnt be more happy and energy efficient, beside the good redundancy.Gabriel[/citation]

It really depends on the actual needs of the user. Going with a glorified desktop PC allows for cheaper components. Overall it's not bad if you had most of those parts laying around anyway and were just needing to throw something together.

NAS requirements swing around depending on what the users need is. The primary HDD isn't holding any data and is just used to boot the OS, the OS is rarely ever restarted so any performance penalty is a non-issue. Use a low cost slow drive for whatever OS your using (Windows NT / Linux / Solaris). Quantity of RAM (not speed) is important if your planning on using ZFS, and if your purpose building a storage device then ZFS should now be a requirement. ZFS is a very memory cache hungry storage solution but yields amazing speed.

Low cost CPU's have progressed to the point that you don't need purpose build ones that support real time data encryption / decryption so you can use a cheap A4. Honestly anything higher then an A4 is horribly wasted.

Case is probably the hardest part, storage cases are expensive due to their specific requirements and you need to determine if you want the RAID array to be exportable to other systems or tied to your storage server.

 

[palladin9479]

For what I've using at the home.

ASRock E350M1/USB3 AMD E-350 APU (needed 64-bit support)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157247&Tpk=E350M1%2fUSB3&IsVirtualParent=1

8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-1333 memory

M350 Universal Mini-ITX PC enclosure
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Mini-ITX-enclosure-PicoPSU-compatible/dp/B003DXI288/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1369882961&sr=1-1&keywords=M350

80W Pico-PSU for the M350.

160GB 7200RPM HDD (had laying around the house, can substitute any common HDD here)

Still using my mediasonic 4-bay ProRAID encluser. Have since upgraded the disks form 4x1TB to 4x2TB. The enclosure has been verified by the manufacturer to support 4TB drives for those who want to use them and RAID 0/1/3/5/10. The A50M use's CBS port multiplier support so it won't work with newer enclosures but anything with a A55/75/85 chipset will support FBS (FIS) port multipler so can be used with the cheaper ProBox non-RAID enclosures.

The HDD enclosure is two to three times the size of the M350 which IMHO is one of if not the greatest Mini-ITX case's ever created. It's small and modular, it even has VESA bracket mounts so it can be mounted behind a LCD monitor and has a purpose build hidden USB connection in the front for flash drive boot, wifi adapter or bluetooth adapter. Friend of mine put a usb wifi and usb wireless keyboard adapter into this and turned it into his wifes "computer". All she see's is a monitor and wireless keyboard / mouse.

 

[palladin9479]

Edit to my above post.

I'm running Windows 2008 R2 on this system for AD / DNS / DHCP and file services. People who don't need these (and don't have easy access to legal licensing) can easily run FreeNAS / OpenNAS. I reboot this system maybe once a week after I run windows update / patchs.

 

[Doorbells]

hi

 

[CAD Monkey]

This workstation build is a JOKE! A nice, pretty-looking, gamercentric joke. It's obvious to me that the guy who window-shopped for this rig didn't have a f***ing clue about professional workstation graphics demands and technologies. He and his yes-men/yes-women on this forum are quite obviously GAMERS or some other manifestations of the phantasmagorical virtual gaming culture, with little real-world understanding of what graphics workstations are really for: yes, workstations are also used to *create* video games (unfortunately), but NO they are not used to *play* video games. And what we have here is pretty well useless for both applications.

First of all, and incidentally most comical of all, is the use of three FirePro V7900s! Buddy who put this joke together obviously has nothing to do with 3D graphics work and/or didn't really research this build at all. The maximum number of GPU cards that can be tethered together is TWO....yes, you got it, up to four Radeon units for CrossfireX, but only TWO FirePros for CrossfirePro:

"ATI™ CrossFire™ Pro leverages ATI CrossFireX™ technology to scale
professional OpenGL applications in a windowed mode by combining the
computational power of two discreet ATI FirePro™ workstation graphics cards
to drive a single display. Note that unlike ATI CrossFireX, ATI CrossFire Pro does
not allow more than two discreet cards to be combined."
http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/ATI_CrossFire_Pro_UG.pdf

Furthermore, although its possible to use "gamer/overclocker" ram modules and Core-ix CPUs in workstations, professionals will almost hands down opt for ECC ram and server processors to ensure that their models or data sets run smoothly without hiccups or crucial data loss. ECC ram is one of the key elements that separate professional GPU cards from the consumer cards, and for a REASON.

This build is not a "high-end workstation", it's a sad waste of money that gamers couldn't even benefit from.....sorry, I take that back, they would benefit by having their high-frame-rate, mind-corrupting, over-the-counter digital heroine lose its appeal on account of the poor gaming experience delivered by three graphics cards that can't even scale properly, let alone compete with the consumer Radeon cards for video game graphics.

A giant LMFAO to this one!