Postmortem: Success at What Cost?
I was a little worried about CPU idle temps, since installing the CPU cooler had been a somewhat uncertain process. As it turns out, idle temps were around 34C, so no worries.
So far, the system has met all the goals I set out for it. As noted earlier, it idles at under 70W, yet can generate a pretty substantial 3DMark Vantage score. I plan on following up in about a month with additional performance numbers, as well as data on real world gaming experience.
It’s also amazingly quiet. Even with the case side panel open, the system is whisper quiet after the initial boot noise. Even the noise of the Radeon HD 5850 is pretty low, until you fire up a demanding game.
Still, at over $2,100, it’s an expensive little system. What would a budget version of this rig look like? I’d like to suggest some possibilities for saving money:
- Use a 500GB, 7,200RPM SATA drive. $800 less.
- Build the system into a Antec Sonata III, which ships with a 500W PSU. That saves $148
- Use a DVD+/-RW drive instead of the Blu-ray combo drive; that’s another $70.
- Instead of a Radeon HD 5850, go with a 5770. You’ll still get pretty good performance, and knock another $130 off
The system wouldn’t be quite as fast nor as quiet, and certainly less portable. Its power utilization would be nearly the same – maybe lower at full throttle, since the 5770 is less power hungry than the 5850. That system would cost less than half – about $960. As usual, pushing for better performance means the cost can rise quite rapidly.
So far, I very much like this little system, but I’ll see how it fares in the next few weeks. Will I still think it’s the bee’s knees after hammering it with some real games? I’ll let you know.
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Nfarce - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
+1Yeah, no kidding. WTF *is* the point of this?
"Loyd builds a small form factor, high performance, low power gaming system. Is it worth the effort..."
Dunno, you tell me AT - there is nothing to see here currently.
stromgald30 - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
+1Seriously, this is just a summary of somebody's build. Isn't there a forum for this somewhere?
Articles on the front page should be evaluating something objectively like the case design or benchmarking some components. These articles lack a control/standard (i.e. it's hard to compare the built system / relevant component with a similar or dissimilar build with the same component).
This seems to do very little to help anybody building a SFF other than to make the obvious subjective comment that "it's cramped" and everything is a tight fit. The additional comments about the push pins and motherboard layout seem better suited for motherboard or HSF specific reviews.
tjaisv - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
Agreed.What was the point of this article again? lol
And if somebody had $2000 to spend on a new system i highly doubt they'd be using a core i5 in it anyway.
Griswold - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
For people, such as you, who either buy pre-built machines or ask for a shopping list on the forums, there is nothing (yet) to see there.Why not read the last sentecne of the article again?
Flunk - Friday, January 29, 2010 - link
My desktop is a small formfactor high performance system in a similar Silverstone case that I build over 2 years ago, I know several people with similar systems. They're not unusual enough for an article like this, certainly not "experimental".Penti - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
This should be posted as a blog post.therealnickdanger - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
"Why not read the last sentecne of the article again?"Why not just wait a couple weeks and give us a real review when it's over? AT has built a reputation for being thorough and objective - this preview provides neither. How about compiling benchmarks on the system he built compared to the $900 version he suggests building? As it stands, the article offers no compulsive evidence of any kind, ultimately serving no purpose as an Anandtech review... not even a preview, really.
jamesadames12 - Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - link
http://www.asdpoolsupply.com/pages.php?pageid=11">http://www.asdpoolsupply.com/pages.php?pageid=11mcbowler - Friday, April 2, 2010 - link
There is no reason for a large case anymore. I built a micro-atx PC, however, not quite as small as the silverstone. I put a 5870 and some cheaper AMD AthlonII X3 in it and the thing handles games like a champ. Would have loved to put the SSD in it but its not needed. Here is the case I used. I think a 5970 will fit too.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Can't wait to see AMD's vision of its Black Fusion PC come to life.
kondor999 - Monday, May 10, 2010 - link
I built a similar system, but much more powerful:- Same Case.
- Antec Quattro 1000w ($139 after rebate at Fry's).
- EVGA P55 Micro SLI mobo ($84 after rebate at Newegg).
- Core i5-750 OC to 4.0 Ghz using Corsair H50 water cooler (top 120mm fan used for radiator).
- 2 GTX 480's in SLI (yes, they fit and run cool enough - barely).
- Replaced bottom 120mm fan with a speed-adjustable MFDB one, and attached a Zalman Fan-mate to control speed.
- Used card slot at top of case for an exhaust fan (very helpful, given that heat rises and would otw accumulate at the top of the case).
- Intel G2 SSD 80gb boot drive.
- WD Velociraptor WD6000HLHX 600gb game drive.
If I get more ambitious, I may water-cool the 480's with Danger Den waterblocks and mount a 2-fan rad on the back using a Swiftech radbox-mounted DRIVE heat exchanger/pump/reservoir.
This gives me a complete state-of-the-art system that is actually luggable to LAN parties (or, in my case, to work when I feel like closing my office door and goofing off).
It also happens to blow the doors off the "experimental" system described in the article. Mainly because, in a gaming system, $1000 worth of videocards beats an $850 SSD any day. I spent the money where it really counts.
Yay ;-)