Test Settings
| $1,300 Portable Performance PC Test Settings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Standard Speed | Overclocked |
| Motherboard | DFI LANParty Jr X58-T3H6 Micro-ATX | Unchanged |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-920 2.66 GHz, | 3.44 GHz at 1.296 V (load), 172 MHz Bclk |
| Memory | G.Skill 10666CL7T 6.0 GB DDR3-1064 | DDR3-1378 at 1.56 V, |
| Graphics | 2x BFG GeForce GTX 260 in SLI | 600 MHz GPU, 1,300 MHz shader, GDDR3-2060 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB | Unchanged |
| Optical | LITE-ON iHAS422 SATA | Unchanged |
| Case | SilverStone TJ08-B Micro-ATX Mini-Tower | Unchanged |
| Power | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad S75QB | Unchanged |
| CPU Cooler | Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 | Unchanged |
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
3D Games | |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool |
| Far Cry 2 | DirectX 10, in-game benchmark |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky | Average of 4 segments "A-Tested Object" |
| World In Conflict | Patch 1009, DirectX 10, timedemo |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes 8 | Version: 8.1.0.52 (x64) |
| Lame MP3 | Version: 3.98 64bits (07-04-2008) |
| TMPGEnc 4.6 | Version: 4.6.3.268 |
| DivX 6.8.5 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality |
| Xvid 1.2.1 | Display encoding status = off |
| Mainconcept Reference 1.6.1 | MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
Productivity | |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 | Version: 11.0, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
| Gisoft AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 | Version: 8.5.287, Virus database 2094, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
| WinRAR 3.80 | Version 3.80, WinZip Command line Version 3.0, Compression = Best, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| WinZip 12 | Version 12.0, Compression = Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (139 MB) |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.02, GPU and CPU scores |
| PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.00, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646 |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2009 SP3 | Version 2009.4.15.92, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Multimedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
Latest Build Your Own News
Latest Build Your Own reviews
- 23/12 – System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: System Value Compared
- 21/12 – System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $600 Gaming PC
- 20/12 – System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $1200 Enthusiast PC
- 19/12 – System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $2400 Performance PC
- 14/12 – Power Supply 101: A Reference Of Specifications
I wonder why this system builder marathon was limited to Micro-ATX cases. Is there a general trend towards these things or what? I'm looking to build a whole new system soon and I can't see any reason to go Micro-ATX.
I don’t think it’s a trend, think of it as more of a challenge. Some people don’t want to have a giant full/mid tower sitting next to them.
Right, I don't mind that at all, so I'll stick to a normal case when assembling my next system. Thanks!
Nice challenge but what's the point when the system dies a couple of months down the line due to shorten life span of all components as a result of high temps. Then you spend another $1300?
I can't remember if it was this or one of the other SBM articles this month, but they mentioned something about these PCs being LAN boxes - if so heat is going to be even more of an issue (much higher ambient temps, cases right next to each other) so this system would be pretty unviable.
I know that my PC runs as much as 10 degress hotter in that environment - if it's in the low 90s on the CPU and at the limit of GPU stability already, another ten degrees will see it constantly throttling, making errors or shutting down.
Assuming that we were building a full ATX system, what would have been the motherboard of choice for this PC?
Can I also remind everyone that these articles are irrelevent on this side of the Atlantic? Intel and nVidia prices in particular are far, FAR lower in the US - such a system would be over 30% more over here! SLI GTX260 for £200 my arse!