iBUYPOWER Erebus GT: Custom Cooling for Less
by Dustin Sklavos on March 15, 2012 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- iBuyPower
- Systems
- Water Cooling
- boutique
- desktops
- Radeon HD 7000
- i7
Gaming Performance
We've already established the AMD Radeon HD 7970 at the heart of the Erebus GT is the fastest single-GPU graphics card currently available, though iBUYPOWER didn't opt to exploit the liquid cooling loop to coax more performance out of it. Given these figures, that performance may not be entirely needed until you start running games in surround resolutions.
Note that a couple results are missing from Civilization V and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim due to separate issues. As mentioned in our review of the HP Phoenix, Civilization V (or more accurately, the Acer HN274H) has a bug wherein the maximum resolution of the monitor isn't correctly detected by the benchmark, so we don't have results from AVADirect's system in that game. Likewise, AVADirect's Skyrim benchmark was run before Patch 1.4 and the high resolution texture pack, so those results have been omitted.
With that out of the way, iBUYPOWER's system demonstrates a healthy lead on the competing systems. HP is unfortunately not planning to make the 7970 available in the Phoenix, opting for a more lateral move to the Radeon HD 7950 from the GeForce GTX 580 in our review unit. The result is that while the HP Phoenix can be had for less than the Erebus GT, it's also never going to approach iBUYPOWER's system in terms of raw gaming performance. We've also gone ahead and run our surround gaming tests (for the first time on our new suite) with the Erebus GT:
Because the AMD Radeon HD 7970 supports running three displays off of a single card, we're able to include surround gaming testing results that really stress the system. It's not surprising that Battlefield 3 turns in an unplayable result; the game is incredibly stressful on its own before asking a single GPU to handle it at a 6.9 megapixel resolution with 4xMSAA. Civilization V also continues to be quirky by refusing to benchmark in surround mode, but the game is actually playable at the 5760x1200 resolution with no problems.
We'll have to wait for additional systems to see where a single 7970 (and the iBUYPOWER system) stack up relative to other offerings, but considering the punishing requirements of our gaming suite it's safe to say that the only way you'll get a better triple-head gaming system is by using multiple GPUs (or waiting to see what NVIDIA's Kepler brings to the table).
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JarredWalton - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
You're still missing the point. All I'm saying is you get a good case (estimate of $150 for the case in the Erebus GT), you get about $500 worth of water cooling (minimum), and you left of Windows. Take your $1567, add $99 for Windows, add $150 for a comparable case, and price everything out at Newegg and you get $1850. Is it that hard? Now, take that price and add $500 in water cooling and you end up at $2350, giving them an additional profit of $150 plus their markup over wholesale.seanleeforever - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
you are an editor, and i am sure you have reviewed many, many system in the past.if you think that water cooling system used cost 500 dollar when ZALMAN RESERATOR can be had for 200, i have an island to sell.
by the way, i did throw in a water block just for GPU reference, and of course you missed it.
JarredWalton - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
A CPU water block isn't the same as what is included here. I linked the items in the article, but here's what you need:CPU water block
GPU water block (compatible with 7970)
3x140mm fans and radiator
1x120mm fan and radiator
Couplings
Tubing
Water pump
The Zalman Reserator gives you several of those items, but it doesn't have a 3x140mm radiator and it doesn't have a GPU water block. FYI, the GPU water block is about $135 just on its own. So, Zalman Reserator is around $240, plus $135 for the GPU cooling, and then there's still a question of whether it cools as well as the solution iBUYPOWER used. Honestly, I don't know if it's better or worse, but generally speaking more expensive water cooling equipment costs more because it's better.
What you're basically saying is if I were to discuss the pros and cons of a Honda Accord (or Toyota Camry), and then you come along and say, "If you think a mid size sedan costs $25000 when a Kia Forte can be had for $17000, I have an island to sell." Go do some real research into the topic and then show me a complete water cooling solution that will handle both the CPU and GPU and has a large radiator that costs $200.
Death666Angel - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
"PSU achieve maximum efficiency at around 50% load." And that is fine if all you do is game. But if you do something else (which is likely), your idle wattage is (far) below 100W in most cases with SB and 7970 and the efficiency drops off sharply below 20%. And "headroom"? For what? Unless you plan on going SLI/CF or dual CPU, I wouldn't recommend more than a good 600W PSU for any single GPU/CPU system. Even highly overclocked 4.5GHz SB with a highly overclocked 7970 will not draw more than 500-550W which means the PSU needs to supply 450-500W for that.seanleeforever - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
that's a good point. but as a high end gaming machine that cost over 2.5k, i doubt use it for office work is the primary intention.bear in mind, it is 2.5k system. it ought to have head room for anything i want to throw at. it is like spending 250k dollar in a car, it better has 700 house power EVEN if it is more wasteful driving around downtown than 1.8L corolla.
Nfarce - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
Dude, you need to find yourself a girlfriend or something. What a whiny bitch. Sheesh.seanleeforever - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
b word already? that shows your education level. i don't care if you want to have the last word.Minion4Hire - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
seanlee, I think what you're trying to say is that you are not personally impressed/interested in custom watercooling and would rather save your money and deal with higher temps/noise. But that entirely misses the point entirely of a direct comparison. You are making sacrifices with your rig while the reviewed system does NOT. That's fine, but you present a piss-poor argument. One you should never have even attempted to make.Just... no.
seanleeforever - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
i am not impressed at all. and with 1000 dollar you can get much better water cooling solution and case.what did i sacrifice my rig with?
and your pissing comment doesn't even have an argument to make.
just .. no.
Seanleeisdumb - Friday, March 16, 2012 - link
I created an account just to tell you that you are dumb Seanlee. We all know that we could squish more performance out at a lower price or could build a higher performing machine at the same price. This build is about quality and about high end features and the relatively reasonable price Ibuypower is asking. We all know that Toyota makes Lexus and we all know that when you buy a Lexus for 75k you aren't getting three times the car that a civic is.. that's not the point. The point is that this is a pro-assembled custom build with some nice bells and whistles.. when you compare it to what other builders are charging it's a steal.Also... single card is sooooo much better than SLI.. I run my own business doing custom builds and have stopped offering multi-card setups because of the headaches they cause my clients.