System Builder Marathon, Q1 2014: The $2400 People’s Choice PC
Test Hardware And Benchmark Settings
Packing key reader-recommended hardware changes, my current $2400 build goes up against last quarter's effort, which wasn't very well-received. That system couldn’t hold this machine’s 4.5 GHz under the duress of Prime95 running all-out using AVX optimizations, so it was instead configured with a variable 4.4 (six-core) to 4.6 GHz (two-core) frequency range.
Test Hardware Configurations | ||
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Row 0 - Cell 0 | Current $2400 PC | Previous $2400 PC |
Processor (Overclock) | Intel Core i7-4770K: 3.5 - 3.9 GHz, Four Physical Cores, O/C to 4.5 GHz, 1.25 V | Intel Core i7-4930K: 3.4 - 3.9 GHz, Six Physical Cores, O/C to 4.4 -4.6 GHz, +140 mV |
Graphics (Overclock) | 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 780: 902 MHz GPU, GDDR5-6008, O/C to 1059 MHz, GDDR5-6720 | 2 x Asus Radeon R9 290: 947 MHz GPU, GDDR5-5000, O/C to 1100 MHz, GDDR5-5600 |
Memory (Overclock) | 16 GB G.Skill DDR3-1866 CAS 9-10-9-28, O/C to DDR3-2133 CL 9-10-11-10, 1.585 V | 16 GB G.Skill DDR3-1866 CAS 9-10-9-28, O/C to DDR3-2133 CL 9-10-11-10, 1.585 V |
Motherboard (Overclock) | ASRock Z87 Extreme4: LGA 1150, Intel Z87 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK | ASRock X79 Extreme4: LGA 2011, Intel X79 Express, Stock 100 MHz BCLK |
Optical | Lite-On iHAS124: 24x DVD±R | Pioneer BDR-208DBK: 15x BD-R |
Case | NZXT Phantom 410 | Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl |
CPU Cooler | Thermaltake CLW0217 Water 2.0 Extreme | Thermaltake CLW0217 Water 2.0 Extreme |
Hard Drive | SanDisk SDSSDHP-256G-G2 256 GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD | SanDisk SDSSDHP-256G-G2 256 GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD |
Power | Corsair HX750: 750 W Semi-Modular, 80 PLUS Gold | Seasonic SS-850AM: 850 W Semi-Modular, 80 PLUS Bronze |
Software | ||
OS | Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64 | |
Graphics | Nvidia GeForce 335.23 | AMD Catalyst 13.12 |
Chipset | Intel INF 9.4.0.1026 | Intel INF 9.3.0.1026 |
The biggest problem with last quarter's configuration wasn't my hardware choices, though. Rather, both of its graphics cards were slammed by a 50% price spike between the time they were ordered and when our System Builder Marathon went live.
Today's machine has a small issue of its own. Enabling XMP at otherwise-stock settings caused it to crash during Sandra's bandwidth-intensive Cryptography tests. Adding 20 mV core offset in firmware fixed that issue.
Benchmark Configuration | |
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3D Games | |
Battlefield 4 | Version 1.0.0.1, DirectX 11, 100-sec. Fraps "Tashgar" Test Set 1: Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 4X AF, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4X MSAA, 16X AF, HBAO |
Grid 2 | Version 1.0.85.8679, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA |
Arma 3 | Version 1.08.113494, 30-Sec. Fraps "Infantry Showcase" Test Set 1: Standard Preset, No AA, Standard AF Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x FSAA, Ultra AF |
Far Cry 3 | V. 1.04, DirectX 11, 50-sec. Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO |
Adobe Creative Suite | |
Adobe After Effects CC | Version 12.0.0.404: Create Video which includes 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously |
Adobe Photoshop CC | Version 14.0 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
Adobe Premeire Pro CC | Version 7.0.0 (342), 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
iTunes | Version 11.0.4.4 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) |
HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.99: Video from Canon Eos 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
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, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
Productivity | |
ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
Adobe Acrobat 11 | Version 11.0.0.379: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 | Version 15.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
Blender | Version: 2.68A, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1 |
Visual Studio 2010 | Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted |
File Compression | |
WinZip | Version 18.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
WinRAR | Version 5.0: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
7-Zip | Version 9.30 alpha (64-bit): THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
3DMark 11 | Version: 1.0.5.0, Benchmark Only |
3DMark Professional | Version: 1.2.250.0 (64-bit), Fire Strike Benchmark |
PCMark 8 | Version: 1.0.0 x64, Full Test |
SiSoftware Sandra | Version 2014.02.20.10, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Multimedia / Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth Benchmarks |
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Darkerson Interesting move, showing the nicest build 1st instead of last. Cant wait to see all the builds compared and see what you all come up with as the budget goes down.Reply -
captain_jonno Looks good. Surprised only went with a 750w PSU though. Considering 2x 780 ti's and overlockingReply -
Crashman
Yessir, two 780s and a bit of experience in part picking lead me to expect around 700W of required system power. And, it came out just a little less than 700W.12951919 said:Looks good. Surprised only went with a 750w PSU though. Considering 2x 780 ti's and overlocking
Power supplies of greater capacity and similar reliability at this price tend to be lower-efficiency units. And we like efficiency too.
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Crashman
It's not calculated power, it's measured power for the entire system (at the power plug). No addition or subtraction was used.12952008 said:I dont get the "W" usage?680+237 = 917w. Not 802w as meation above?
1.) Start the system, wait for all processes to load, take a measurement (Active, but idle)
2.) Load the CPU using eight thread of AVX-optimized Prime95, take a reading (CPU Load).
3.) Load GPUs with 3DMark 11 Test 1 in loop, take max reading as it heats up (GPU Load).
4.) Load both applications (CPU+GPU Load).
The "math problem" is that any program used to fully load the GPU also partly loads the CPU. So when test 4 is Prime95+3DMark, Prime95 can only use whatever CPU resources are left with 3DMark running.
So the most accurate system power reading is with "CPU+GPU Load" applied. The system measurement for "CPU Load" still includes the power of an idle GPU. And the system power measurement for "GPU Load" still includes the amount of CPU energy it takes to run the GPU's test application.
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YellowBee 12952046 said:
It's not a calculation, it's a reading for the entire system (at the power plug). Load the CPU using eight thread of AVX-optimized Prime95, take reading one. Load GPUs with 3DMark 11 Test 1 in loop, take max reading as it heats up.12952008 said:I dont get the "W" usage?680+237 = 917w. Not 802w as meation above?
The "math problem" is that any program used to fully load the GPU also partly loads the CPU. So when test 3 is Prime95+3DMark, Prime95 can only use whatever CPU resources are left with 3DMark running.
So the most accurate system power reading is with "CPU+GPU Load" applied. The system measurement for "CPU Load" still includes the reading of an idle GPU. And the system power measurement for "GPU Load" still includes the amount of CPU power it takes to run the GPU.
Very much appreciated and satisfying answer.
Thanks Crashman :) -
bemused_fred
Any chance of including these calculations in all future articles, so that we know exactly how the power graph is calculated? Ta.
It's not calculated power, it's measured power for the entire system (at the power plug). No addition or subtraction was used.1.) Start the system, wait for all processes to load, take a measurement (Active, but idle)2.) Load the CPU using eight thread of AVX-optimized Prime95, take a reading (CPU Load).3.) Load GPUs with 3DMark 11 Test 1 in loop, take max reading as it heats up (GPU Load).4.) Load both applications (CPU+GPU Load).The "math problem" is that any program used to fully load the GPU also partly loads the CPU. So when test 4 is Prime95+3DMark, Prime95 can only use whatever CPU resources are left with 3DMark running.So the most accurate system power reading is with "CPU+GPU Load" applied. The system measurement for "CPU Load" still includes the power of an idle GPU. And the system power measurement for "GPU Load" still includes the amount of CPU energy it takes to run the GPU's test application.12952008 said:I dont get the "W" usage?680+237 = 917w. Not 802w as meation above? -
Crashman
Which calculations?12952271 said:
Any chance of including these calculations in all future articles, so that we know exactly how the power graph is calculated? Ta.12952046 said:It's not calculated power, it's measured power for the entire system
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jabuscus wow. such performance. many ram. they should've put in 16gb of ram for real high-end specs. ;)Reply -
Versutia As I'm into quiet enclosures, I'd go along this route:Reply
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3fuGw
Wondering how much of a difference would non-reference cards make. Obviously, CPU cooler and RAM could be different, BR drive optional, storage drive as well.