System Builder Marathon, Q4 2013: $1600 Enthusiast PC

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Test System And Benchmarks

The following tables include the stock and overclocked settings for this quarter's $1600 machine, along with our previous $1300 enthusiast-oriented build. Under that, you'll find the benchmark settings for reference.

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Q4 2013 $1600 Enthusiast PC Test Settings
Row 0 - Cell 0	Default Configuration	Overclocked
Motherboard	Asus Z87-Plus, LGA 1150, Intel Z87 Express	Unchanged
Processor	Intel Core i5-4670K: 3.4 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3.8 GHz Turbo Boost, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache	4.30 GHz @ 1.285 V
Memory	8 GB Patriot Viper 3 (2 x 4 GB), DDR3-1600, CAS 9-9-9-24-1T	1866 MT/s 9-10-9-27-2T @ 1.5 V
Graphics	2 x MSI Gaming N770 GeForce GTX 770, 2 GB 256-bit GDDR5 1085/1137 MHz Base/GPU Boost, GDDR5-7012	1150/1202 MHz Base/GPU Boost, GDDR5-7460
System Drive	Samsung 840 Pro MZ-7PD128PW 128 GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD	Unchanged
Storage Drive	Seagate Barracuda 2 TB, 7200 RPM, 64 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/s	Unchanged
Optical	Lite-On iHAS124-04: DVD Burner	Unchanged
Case	NZXT Gamma Black ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case	Unchanged
Power	Corsair TX750 V2 750 W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Bronze-Certified PSU	Unchanged

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Q3 2013 $1300 Enthusiast PC Test Settings
Row 0 - Cell 0	Default Configuration	Overclocked
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z87X-OC, LGA 1150, Intel Z87	Unchanged
Processor	Intel Core i5-4670K: 3.4 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3.8 GHz Turbo Boost, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache	4.30 GHz @ 1.25 V
Memory	Corsair Vengeance 8 GB Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R, (2 x 4 GB), DDR3-1600, CAS 9-9-9-24-1T	1800 MT/s 9-11-11-28 1T @ 1.535 V
Graphics	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2 GB 256-bit GDDR5 1037/1089 MHz Base/GPU Boost, GDDR5-6008	1187/1239 MHz Base/GPU Boost, GDDR5-7500
System Drive	Samsung 840 MZ-7TD120BW 2.5" 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s (SSD)	Unchanged
Storage Drive	WD Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB, 7200 RPM, 64 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/s	Unchanged
Optical	Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD Burner	Unchanged
Case	Antec GX 700 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case	Unchanged
Power	Corsair 650TX 650 W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Bronze Modular PSU	Unchanged

And here are the benchmark details:

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Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Battlefield 3	Version 1.0.0.0, DirectX 11, 90-Second Fraps "Going Hunting" Test Set 1: Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 4X AF, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4X MSAA, 16X AF, HBAO
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	Version 1.6.89.06, Version 1.5.26.05 (June), 25-Second Fraps Test Set 1: High Preset, No AA, 8x AF, FXAA Enabled Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x AA, 16x AF, FXAA Enabled
Far Cry 3	Version 1.04, 50-Second Fraps "Ananaki Village"Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA, Standard Alpha, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4X MSAA, Enhanced Alpha, HDAO
F1 2012	Version 1.2, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA
Audio/Video Encoding
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.98, Video: Video from Canon EOS 7D (1920x1080, 25 frames) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds, Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile)
iTunes	Version 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
TotalCode Studio 2.5	Version: 2.5.0.10677, MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Productivity
ABBYY FineReader	Version 10.0.102.82: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
Adobe Photoshop CS6	Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Autodesk 3ds Max 2012	Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080
7-Zip	Version 9.28, LZMA2, Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012
WinRAR	Version 4.2, RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012
WinZip	Version 17.0 Pro, Best Method, ZIPX Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark 11	Version: 1.0.1, Entry, Performance, Extreme Suite
PCMark 7	Version: 1.0.4, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks
SiSoftware Sandra 2013	Version: 2013 SP5c-1872, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark

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61 Comments Comment from the forums

Crashman

I just wanted to let you guys know before the $2400 PC pops up, that this renewed focus on gaming is a Don and Paul effort. With $2400 on the line, it's easy to improve the entire machine and try to make a clean sweep of every benchmark :)
Reply
Onus

This was a good build, if only for the single data point that was the power usage. At stock, you could get away with a good 650W PSU, but overclocked it's probably not a good idea. There weren't really any surprises anywhere else. The one pic was dark; how was cable management in that case? I used one a while back and reviewed it, and I though that was probably its weakest point.

Reply
Onus

If you would like comments and assistance on a personal build, please start your own thread in the New Builds forum. This thread is for discussions about the System Builder Marathon machines. Thanks.
Reply
-Fran-

I have to say I'm really surprised for the crappy scaling of the GTX770s. Was it a CPU bound issue or maybe a PCIe bottleneck? Driver issue? Profile issue? haha

I'm really surprised to say the least.

Cheers!
Reply
blubbey

!!!IMPORTANT!!!!

Before commenting about benches, read:

"Keep this parting thought in mind: we're fully aware that the SBM test suite is showing its age, and we have new benchmark results with more modern games. You're going to see this surface in our Day 4 analysis from Thomas."

Last page, last paragraph.

Nice build, hilariously good performance in BF3, In the more modern games, will there be any GPU memory bottlenecks with triple monitor setups? We shall see!
Reply
lp231

It seems these sbm have no strict budget limit. Every time these sbm articles, the budget gets higher and higher. A $1,000 enthusiast pc would be more of a real world build, since that is the maximum amount, most people spend these days on their new build.
What will the budget be for next times enthusiast pc?
Now it is at $1,600. So next time it will be $2,500 cause getting them 2x GTX 880 in sli is consider as a budget enthusiast pc?!
Reply
Steve Pound

Who plays Skyrim on PC and not have a membership at Nexus so the most basic improvements can be made? Leading to: why has this site used the game for 2 years and not done that? Maybe FO4 will be more promising.
Reply
jtenorj

If go go with an optical drive in this price range, it should be a dvd burner. It's not that much more expensive, media prices are coming down(better cost per GB and speed than dvd in some cases) and lets you play blu tay movies without using bandwitdh to download or stream hd video. My 2 cents.
Reply
jtenorj

Edit: I meant blu ray burner. Also, I don't care for that case(personal preference).
Reply
mjmjpfaff

@Yuka
It depends on which resolution you look at. I advise you to go back and look at the higher resolutions where the 770's in SLI can actually show a huge difference over one 770. It almost doubles in FPS over last quarter's build if you look at some 5760x1080 res. graphs.
Reply