System Buyer’s Guide: $1700 Performance Midrange
by Mike Jones and Jarred Walton on May 12, 2010 4:52 AM ESTAMD Performance Midrange System
AMD recently launched their new six-core Thuban processors, the Phenom II X6 1055T and 1090T. With the same power requirements as previous Phenom II X4 processors, plus Turbo Core for boosting performance in situations where some of the cores are idle, the Thuban processors are generally better than the previous X4 series. In fact, our power tests show that despite having two additional cores, the new CPUs actually draw slightly less power than quad-core Phenom II thanks to process refinements. In something of a shocking break with tradition, our AMD Performance Midrange system actually ends up costing as much as the Intel setup, mainly because of the motherboard and CPU choices. We could certainly build a quad-core AMD system and save a lot of money, but the features offered by the newer CPU and motherboard are compelling.
At $205, the six-core Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban is a great bargain in its own right. While the 1055T is superior to the i5-750 in multithreaded applications, the i5 holds an advantage in gaming, so the decision as to which platform to adopt may boil down to your intended use. The 1055T also utilizes a turbo mode (AMD Turbo Core), and its 2.8GHz clock speed can increase to 3.3GHz on lightly threaded workloads (when half the cores are idle). Additionally, the 1055T is a fine overclocker out of the box, with sizeable increases in clock speed being attainable with the retail cooler. All in all, AMD’s 1055T deserves a serious look for those shopping around at the performance midrange level, especially for those users who do a great deal of video encoding.
Alternately, if you’re looking to save a few bucks, you might want to (re)consider the 965BE, an outstanding processor for $185. Though it gives up a couple of cores to the 1055T, it performs slightly better in gaming, and its unlocked multiplier will appeal to those who are looking for maximum flexibility in overclocking their AMD machine.
Like the Gigabyte board chosen for the Intel system, the ASUS M4A89GTD Pro offers a lot in the way of features and capabilities without breaking the bank. This board includes Realtek’s 8111E LAN (PCIe), six SATA 6.0 Gbps ports (as well as an eSATA 3.0 GB/s port), two USB 3.0 ports, 12 USB 2.0 ports, and Realtek’s ALC 892S – 7.1 Channel Audio – with DTS Surround Sensation Package. The board also features support for CrossFireX (not to mention an integrated ATI Radeon HD 4290 GPU, just in case). All in all, the M4A89 GTD Pro is worth a long look in the performance midrange segment.
We debated a bit about moving to an 890FX board, but the fact is the added $25 to $50 doesn't get you much beyond better overclocking support. If you're dead set on some serious overclocking, we'd recommend moving to the ASUS M4A89TD PRO, but for the vast majority of users it's not necessary. As another potentially interesting option, instead of our above recommended system, Newegg currently has a massive combo package that includes just about everything you need. You get the same 1055T CPU, Rifle cooler, a more expensive case, a 1.5TB HDD, value RAM, and a Cooler Master 700W 80Plus PSU. You lose the 5850 and drop to an ASUS overclocked 5830, and you also lose the Blu-ray reader and get a standard DVD-RW, but the total price of $1054 (with $40 in main-in rebates) is a pretty good chunk of change if you don't mind the slower GPU.
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GullLars - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
Logical fail; strawman argument.
The motherboard on either setup has 6 SATA ports, not 1. You are not limited to using 1 storage device.
Also, most users that watch BluRay films has either a PS3/xbox360 or a BluRay player. Choosing a BD player over an SSD for this build makes me want to go /wallbash
I would also like to correct you on another point. Windows 7 64Bit proffesional edition with all updates and security essentials + MS office + Open office + Firefox + Burning program and most other _core apps_ will take up roughly 16GB once pagefile and hibernation is deactivated (or pagefile reduced to a few hundred MBs). Adding the full CS4 suite, a music editing program, 3DS max, and a couple of other apps will still leave you around the 30GB mark.
It's not much trouble at all to set up W7 to have OS + Apps on a SSD, and have a 1TB(+) HDD for all media, games, and others. Configuring "libraries" takes 1 minute and is easy to do. I've made libraries on a partition _NOT C:_ for: Pictures, Music, Videos, Documents, and Downloads on all computers i've set up. Running Ccleaner once a week keeps you from building up temp files on C, and restricting system restore to using 1-2GB will keep it from inflating over time.
whatthehey - Thursday, May 13, 2010 - link
Nice try, but people aren't that stupid. Straw man argument:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
Accusing Jarred of using straw man: EPIC fail! Accusing your opponent of using a straw man in order to pretend he didn't say anything useful on the other hand happens to be a form of the straw man argument, so congratulations!
Now, where did he misrepresent someone's position in order to knock it down and thereby make his position stronger? All I can see is that he said Anand loves SSDs. He gave examples of other things where he may not agree like Macs. He points out that SSDs cost a lot of money. Where is the attempt to refute something without actually refuting it?
Elsewhere, Jarred admits that the Blu-ray is unnecessary, and the article text now reflects this. So get off the damn high horse and quit bitching and moaning about what amounts to a difference of opinion. Sheesh!
GullLars - Thursday, May 13, 2010 - link
The strawman part was representing SSD as a replacement for a HDD and arguing that it's too low capacity and too expensive.The case you want to use an SSD in the majority of cases in is an addition to a HDD. Then capacity demands are way low, and the price pr GB can easily be justified because of the system acceleration effect.
AssBall - Thursday, May 13, 2010 - link
What part of his explanation of wanting to keep all of his files in the same place did you not understand? Go make your own damned buyer's guide if you are having so much trouble accepting or understanding this one.GullLars - Thursday, May 13, 2010 - link
I understand he wants that, but it's not an argument against an SSD as a system drive. You could simply move all documents to the harddisk, and have them in one place there.I'm not looking for a flamewar here, but i don't like it when people misrepresent the uses of SSDs.
The number one reason to use an SSD is system and application acceleration, not storage. The reasonable capacity range for that starts around 32GB, at wich point you will fit the entire OS and quite a bit more. Not being able to put everything you might want on it, and therefore ruling it out, denies you the benefits the stuff that would fit would get.
Jediron - Tuesday, May 18, 2010 - link
While he explains his preference, it's still his own personal preference. A good reviewer should look beyond that. SSD's are becoming more and more populair and i understand why. More populair then Blueray drives, but, aldo he admits it is not a dealmaker; the Blueray player is chosen in the configuration. WHY?The WD Black 1TB i can understand, WD Black series come with a 5 year warranty. That's a good argument to pay a little extra.
futrtrubl - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
You can pretty easily have it set up so the \users folder is located on another drive with it behaving exactly is it currently does. It`s how my computer is set up in fact.spigzone - Sunday, May 23, 2010 - link
" For $100 I can get a 1TB hard drive"make that a 1.5TB hard drive for $99.
or 2TB for $119.
jleach1 - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
You guys are dumb. There is more than one way a system can be mid-range. This PC is midrange performance-wise...not money-wise. Don't be stupid. Use your brain. And if you make less than a thousand dollars a year....move.Phate-13 - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - link
Excuse me?!This system has quite top-notch performance.
I'll quote myself: "You can play (almost) any game at its maximum with that config, how can you call that midrange?" A system of 900 is low-range to you then? That makes no sense at all.