System Builder Marathon, Sept. 2011: $1000 Enthusiast PC
Table of contents
- 1. System Builder Marathon: $1000 Enthusiast System
- 2. CPU, Motherboard, And Cooler
- 3. Video Cards, Power Supply, And Case
- 4. Memory, Hard Drives, And Optical Drive
- 5. Assembly And Overclocking
- 6. Test System And Benchmarks
- 7. Benchmark Results: Synthetics
- 8. Benchmark Results: Media Encoding Applications
- 9. Benchmark Results: 2D And 3D Graphics Apps
- 10. Benchmark Results: Productivity
- 11. Benchmark Results: Crysis And Just Cause 2
- 12. Benchmark Results: Metro 2033 And F1 2010
- 13. Power And Temperature Benchmarks
- 14. More Powerful Storage At The Same Budget
System Builder Marathon, September 2011: The Articles
Here are links to each of the four articles in this month’s System Builder Marathon (we’ll update them as each story is published). And remember, these systems are all being given away at the end of the marathon.
To enter the giveaway, please fill out this Google form, and be sure to read the complete rules before entering!
Day 1: The $2000 Performance PC
Day 2: The $1000 Enthusiast PC
Day 3: The $500 Gaming PC
Day 4: Performance And Value, Dissected
Introduction
There wasn't a lot of incentive for us to look beyond the great performance and overclocking value of Intel's Core i5-2500K in our previous $1000 enthusiast build. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have any tricks up our sleeve this time around.
Of course, system performance is defined by a lot more than just a CPU, and we're thinking that it's about time our mid-priced system came with a solid-state drive. Although the cost of an SSD is too high to lean on it as an exclusive storage solution in this price range, we certainly have the budget to squeeze a boot drive into the build.
Moreover, variety is the spice of life. So, we're swapping out two Radeon HD 6850 cards in CrossFire used in our last build for a pair of GeForce GTX 460 models in SLI. We see what, if any, changes the graphics cards make in our power and performance metrics.
Here’s the list of components in the current $1000 Enthusiast system:
| $1000 Enthusiast System Components | ||
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | EVGA P67 Micro SLI LGA 1155, Intel P67 chipset | $149 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo), Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache | $220 |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper TX3 | $20 |
| Memory | Mushkin Enhanced Redline 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) 240-Pin DDR3-1600 Kit Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit | $50 |
| Graphics | 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1 GB 1 GB GDDR5 | $340 |
| Hard Drive | OCZ Vertex Series 30 GB SATA II SSD 30 GB, SATA 3Gb/s | $65 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s | $59 |
| Optical | Sony Optiarc DVD Burner 24x DVD Burner | $19 |
| Case | Raidmax Atlas-295WB | $40 |
| Power | Corsair CX600 V2 600 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS-Certified | $70 |
| Total Cost | $1032 | |
Latest Buyers Guides News
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- 30/03 – System Builder Marathon Bonus: Newegg Customer Choice PC
- 29/03 – System Builder Marathon, March 2012: System Value Compared
- 28/03 – System Builder Marathon, March 2012: $2600 Performance PC
- 27/03 – System Builder Marathon, March 2012: $1250 Enthusiast PC
- 26/03 – System Builder Marathon, March 2012: $650 Gaming PC
I don't appear to have any page forward backward indicators after the 2nd page.
change the last number in the url to the page number ie 3 for the next page
I did, not really the point though is it? Oh and the Submit button doesn't work in ie9 unless i'm using compatability mode, this has been noted in formums before, emailed before, ie9's been out for 6 months, and whilst its not that popular 4.2% of total according to some figures, its bigger than opera and safari... And if I switch to compat mode with copy and paste of text I lose my comments. Some submit buttons don't work at all - Toms IT pro I'm looking at you, an email to the authors garners no response, very pro on both counts. This is going downhills fast, if there's a refresh coming up then put a notice up saying so and apologising for the poor standards, but there was one a few months ago, along with a drop in content. I've been following toms for over a decade, will it get another decade out of me, it could, but only if thy make the pages work and keep the content, both published and user generated, relevant.
Sorry tranzz, you only said change a 2 to a 3.
I am using IE9 and agree with ^
Don, these comments are not aimed at you, I remember when you were a user, remember us poor mortals down here... if you are relying on this for your paycheck be careful.
Still getting used to the (ever changing) number game with follow the component industry so bare with me here
By the look of the Total Wattage Usage chart the SLI'd rig only seemed to be maxing out at 486W. Does this mean that a 600W PSU is more than adequate for a SLI set up? What about for example a GTX570 SLI rig? I've heard the GF100 chips are a lot more efficient.
How does windows work on a 30gb SSD? It onely barely squeezes onto a 60gb drive....
and again, posting an article based in dollars on a UK website! how daft!! it's no use to us!
they had gotten better at that for a while.