Build-A-Rig Round 1: The $1500 PCs and Interviews from Corsair and Zotac
by Ian Cutress on July 8, 2015 5:15 PM EST- Posted in
- Build-A-Rig
- Corsair
- ZOTAC
- Interview
Zotac’s Hey Good Lookin’
Out of the two, Chinny from Zotac sent me her build first and she extensively used the section labelled ‘extras’ in the spreadsheet we sent over. It’s clear that there’s a slightly different tack taken in the Zotac build, going for a more overall component strategy that still offers room to maneuver for the future, if not more so than the Corsair build, and looking good while doing so.
| Zotac's Hey Good Lookin' | |||
| Component | Selection | Price as Chosen |
90-Day Average |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Core i5-4460 | $189.99 | $189.85 |
| Motherboard | GIGABYTE GA-Z79X-UD3H-BK | $139.99 | $138.17 |
| Graphics Cards (GPU) | Zotac GTX 970 AMP Extreme | $369.99 | $369.99 |
| Memory (DRAM) | Corsair Dominator Platinum 2x4GB DDR3-1866 C9 |
$99.99 | $104.27 |
| Storage (SSD/HDD) | Crucial BX100 500 GB SSD | $189.99 | $188.39 |
| Power Supply (PSU) | Rosewill Quark 750W Platinum | $139.99 | $135.31 |
| Chassis | NZXT S340 Black Steel ATX Mid-Tower |
$69.99 | $69.99 |
| CPU Cooling | Corsair Hydro Series H100i | $104.99 | $99.85 |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 Full Version | $119.99 | $119.99 |
| Extras | SilverStone Sleeved 6-pin to 6-pin x2 |
$14.98 | $14.98 |
| SilverStone Sleeved EPS12V 4+4-pin |
$7.99 | $7.99 | |
| SilverStone Sleeved 24-pin |
$12.99 | $12.99 | |
| Samsung USB 2.0 External DVD Drive |
$23.99 | $23.82 | |
| DEEPCOOL RGB LED Strip with Controller |
$16.99 | $16.99 | |
| Total | $1,501.85 | $1,492.58 | |
Processor – Intel Core i5-4460 ($190)
Both companies here have gone with Intel processors, with the i5-4460 here being part of the Haswell refresh line. As mentioned in the interview, Zotac focused on more gaming than overclocking, and by virtue of a non-overclocking CPU and the liquid cooling down below, we might be entertaining a nice quiet build here. The Core i5-4460 sits at a base 3.2 GHz, offering turbo up to 3.4 GHz.
Motherboard – GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ($140, total so far $330)
Despite extensive motherboard coverage at AnandTech, we have not yet had the time to cover GIGABYTE’s new black edition motherboards. The idea is simple – more stringent pre-release testing and design similar to server motherboards in order to sustain motherboard longevity with a black color scheme to boot. The UD3H part of the name means that it sits in the lower half of the Ultra Durable line, though the UD3H models are often some of GIGABYTE’s best sellers.
Graphics Cards – Zotac GeForce GTX 970 AMP Extreme Core Edition ($370, total so far $700)
The biggest difference between the builds is the graphics card, showing how each of the companies handles the challenge. In this instance, Zotac has chosen their high end GTX 970 card with a factory overclock 1228 MHz on the core and up to 1380 MHz turbo, while using 1664 CUDA Cores and 4GB of GDDR5 running at 7200 MHz. On paper it will come reasonably close to the GTX 980 Ti that Corsair chose due to the speed bumps, but Zotac’s choice runs at $280 cheaper allowing other components more flexibility.
Memory – Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB (2x4 GB) DDR3-1866 ($100, total so far $800)
The Dominator Platinum range is designed to be the most high profile kits in Corsair’s line up, especially when considering a sleek design. Zotac has chosen a DDR3-1866 C9 kit here, giving a good standard speed for almost everything. The choice of a 2x4 GB kit was a little surprising, as although it takes care of the dual channel nature of the platform, 8 GB might be quickly eroded by an enthusiast on day-to-day tasks (or a reviewer doing research and leaving 100 tabs open to play a game).
Storage – Crucial BX100 500GB SSD ($190, total so far $990)
One obvious element where Zotac’s build has a one-up is in the SSD. A 500GB model should be plenty for a gaming user to install an OS, software, and at least four or five large triple-A titles. Kristian reviewed the BX100 here, and the final words for that review stated that the BX100 is a good performer for all workloads and the overall value is ‘simply outstanding’.
Power Supply – Rosewill Quark 750W Modular, 80PLUS Platinum ($140, total so far $1130)
Another on-paper boost for Zotac over Corsair’s build is the power supply, with the 750W Quark having both a higher power rating and migrating 80PLUS from Gold to Platinum, indicating higher efficiency. There are more facets to a power supply than simply power rating and efficiency, although given Zotac’s room to breathe a bit in this build, having a beefier power supply should allow for additional upgrades later on in the build’s life.
Chassis – NZXT S340 Black Steel ATX Mid-Tower ($70, total so far $1200)
Here’s a question for you – should a PC just be a thing under the desk, used and not seen, or should it be bling with lights and features? The NZXT S340 is arguably in the middle of both of these binary extremes as the frontage is sleek and offers few indications to what lies within, but the windowed side panel shows off the insides, warts and all. Actually not all, as the power supply is hidden by the base, assisting with how some power cables end up strewn across the platform.
CPU Cooling – Corsair Hydro Series H100i ($105, total so far $1305)
Another boost to Zotac is the cooling, with the H100i being a double 120mm radiator design for additional cooling capabilities. This might seem a little odd to be paired with a non-overclocking processor, though it follows Zotac’s mandate of a clean design while still allowing the potential for the system to be quiet. The audible nature of this system then comes down to how the graphics card performs under load.
Operating System – Windows 8.1 Full Version ($120, total so far $1425)
Rather than go OEM, Zotac has chosen the full version of Windows 8.1, giving both 32-bit and 64-bit versions on a full license. This means full support from Microsoft in the event of an issue, as well as an upgrade to Windows 10 when it is released.
Extras – ($77, total so far $1502)
2x SilverStone PP07-IDE6B Sleeved 6-pin to 6-pin Cable ($7.50 ea)
SilverStone PP07-EPS8B Sleeved EPS12V 4+4-pin Cable ($8)
SilverStone PP07-MBB Sleeved Motherboard 24-pin Cable ($13)
Samsung USB 2.0 External DVD Write SE-208GB/RSBD ($24)
DEEPCOOL RGB LED Strip with Remote Controller ($17)
The sleeved cables Zotac has chosen are direct replacements for the cables for the power supply. These are individually sleeved cables rather than a single bulk cable, giving a look that many enthusiasts seem to enjoy. This goes in hand with the RGB LED strip included, allowing the final owner of the build to select the base internal color of the system against the black of the motherboard/graphics card and silver of the DRAM.
The external DVD drive here adds an interesting dynamic, as Zotac put the reason for including it ‘in order to install an operating system’, which is a fair point. Operating systems are not distributed on USB stick (yet) so an optical drive is required, although we did not state it was in our build requirements. Zotac is thinking ahead, plus the drive can be used with a laptop or other devices around the home.
Overall Build
| Zotac's Hey Good Lookin' | |||
| Component | Selection | Price as Chosen |
90-Day Average |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Core i5-4460 | $189.99 | $189.85 |
| Motherboard | GIGABYTE GA-Z79X-UD3H-BK | $139.99 | $138.17 |
| Graphics Cards (GPU) | Zotac GTX 970 AMP Extreme | $369.99 | $369.99 |
| Memory (DRAM) | Corsair Dominator Platinum 2x4GB DDR3-1866 C9 |
$99.99 | $104.27 |
| Storage (SSD/HDD) | Crucial BX100 500 GB SSD | $189.99 | $188.39 |
| Power Supply (PSU) | Rosewill Quark 750W Platinum | $139.99 | $135.31 |
| Chassis | NZXT S340 Black Steel ATX Mid-Tower |
$69.99 | $69.99 |
| CPU Cooling | Corsair Hydro Series H100i | $104.99 | $99.85 |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 Full Version | $119.99 | $119.99 |
| Extras | SilverStone Sleeved 6-pin to 6-pin x2 |
$14.98 | $14.98 |
| SilverStone Sleeved EPS12V 4+4-pin |
$7.99 | $7.99 | |
| SilverStone Sleeved 24-pin |
$12.99 | $12.99 | |
| Samsung USB 2.0 External DVD Drive |
$23.99 | $23.82 | |
| DEEPCOOL RGB LED Strip with Controller |
$16.99 | $16.99 | |
| Total | $1,501.85 | $1,492.58 | |
When we do a direct comparison to Corsair’s build, the clear indicators of the CPU and GPU are hard to ignore. On paper, the Corsair build should come ahead in performance fairly easily depending on the resolution. But in order to do that, Corsair has had to skimp on certain areas to fit everything in. Most noticeably is perhaps the look, to which end Zotac has produced a system which should mesh together, but also in other day-to-day areas such as storage. Implementing a 500GB SSD allows the winner of the Zotac system room to breathe for software selections, whereas the Corsair winner might have to chop and change titles depending on what they play. This brings up the interesting idea of upgrades, as storage is perhaps a thing first on the Corsair list – in terms of the Zotac build, I might put memory up there as a primary choice as personally 8 GB is barely enough for my ultrabook, let alone a gaming PC.
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Silesius - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
Loved the article. IMO while performance wise Dustin's build is great, I think the days where computers are an ugly beast should be over. So I'm more aligned with Chinny's philosophy of building, even if it could use some improvement.Since the Fury launch I been wondering how small can you go with that kind of performance on Mini-ITX. Is a build like this possible?
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qsvkrH
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qsvkrH/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro 99.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI Z97I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($127.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($104.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Crucial BX100 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($179.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 Fury X 4GB Video Card ($676.93 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($87.47 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1537.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-09 18:27 EDT-0400
I know that the Thermaltake Core V1 can accomodate Fury's water pump mounting it on the front instead of the 200mm fan. This would make a sweet looking machine and silent as well.
BrokenCrayons - Friday, July 10, 2015 - link
I've been interested in ITX form factors since VIA had acquired Cyrix and the IDT Winchip teams to sell their low-power C3 processors on Epia motherboards. They were sort of leading the charge for "adequate performing" low heat/noise/power computing in the first half of the last decade. Since the Atom came around, I used a Zotac motherboard with the ION chipset and an Atom 330. It was a fun little bite-sized system that I loved for how well it worked as a carryable system for LAN parties. While I think the Fury X isn't quite there yet because it requires you find space someplace for the watercooler which ultimate makes the card about the same total size as any other modern, high-end GPU, I'm excited to see what HBM can do to help more practical, cost-effective GPUs that are smaller, half-height cards cooled with a small HSF or can run with just a passive heatsink.Ryan Smith - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
I have removed some inappropriate and overall completely sad posts from the article. This is not Tinder; if you wish to continue being able to post comments, please behave like an adult.Southrncomfortjm - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
I like mine: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ys7qMptheMillen - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
BAM! 1496 after rebate (1554 before rebates) covers the essentials, but i believe with an i7 after dx12 becomes more prevelant, the extra threads may be more useful in a gaming capacity. 8gb of well reviewed ddr3 1600, 250gb 850 evo also well reviewed, but better yet, a non-reference 980 ti (and one of the best out right now)! the only downside is that you will have to use windows 10 tech insider for the forseable future (or until find a sale to move to retail license) but since m$ is being ms and letting you beta test past RTM there isn't a huge issue, as ive been testing mine on a rig only a little beefier than the one here with no issues well BEFORE RTM... and here you go! http://pcpartpicker.com/p/g6sfZL (oh did i forget to mention the sexy new design r5 is in there :-p along with an h100i to keep you i7 nice and cool while oc'd ;))ruthan - Friday, July 10, 2015 - link
Hmm, only 2 competitors in the race, this is boring, its like soccer league with 2 teams.About rigs im very disappointed - i would not recommend such build to my friends, Dustin build - is strongly crippled by only 240 GB disk=> whole machine for real user is joke, sorry but gaming computer in 2015 with 240 GB storage- you could have installed up to 5 games - great experience.
Other build is very boring without any interesting idea with lots gimmicks included and as icing is there noisy Zotac G970..
Half of readers would do better job.
BrokenCrayons - Friday, July 10, 2015 - link
There should be more competition later in other budget brackets in the same format if I understand how things are supposed to be setup, but comparing more than two computers from two different companies might get pretty complicated to keep track of from a reader perspective and tougher to present in a single article. Besides, this isn't supposed to be an out-for-blood competition. It's more just for fun and a great way to stage a hardware giveaway so try not to take it too seriously.Besides that, I really like how both Corsair and Zotac are able to reach out to their customers through this competition. Lots of us aren't surprised to see Dustin interacting in the comments section given his history with Anandtech in the past, but it's great to know other companies like Zotac are willing to interact with and listen to potential buyers on a personal level that goes beyond just marketing material, RMA support, and the stuff written on the outside of a product box.
Sushisamurai - Friday, July 10, 2015 - link
Nice! Zotac's build is actually pretty close to a new budget system I was thinking of building. I differ only in power supply, SSD/HDD, GPU (AMD).chittychitty - Friday, July 10, 2015 - link
I vote for Dustin's build.coconutboy - Friday, July 10, 2015 - link
Was really looking forward to these series of contests, and not just for the giveaway either. Ya'll didn't disappoint. The interview segment is great and really humanizes what would otherwise be a more sterile affair; keep this up! major kudos to Anandtech, Zotac and Corsair. I'm honestly really excited about these competitions, woo hoo!As far as crowning a champ, a lot of people posting in these comments are taking a very narrow view of what constitutes a "winner". I really appreciate that Dustin and Chinny/Buu took different approaches and both had portions of their builds that I would incorporate, and other parts that I would never touch. Specifically:
- I treat my computer chassis much like monitors, so I keep them for ~7-10 years and they sit ON my desk. This also means I am extremely concerned with noise and will not tolerate 50dB, much less the annoying whine & whoosh of blower reference gpus. With that in mind, no way would I ever buy the low-end cases recommended here. If Chinny or Dustin went that route, they'd get crucified in the comments by people favoring a different case so of course they went cheap. However, I'll bet a lot of us Anandtech readers spend over $100 on our cases. It might cost more the first time out, but it saves dollars the next time around when we don't need to upgrade our cheap-o POS. Similarly, I liked Chinny's cabling upgrades to keep things nice 'n' neat because that's something I'd do with my build (even though I'm not too fond of windows which, combined, probably causes conflict with some folk's sensibilities). Her choice of mobo & 750w PSU is major overkill tho, and wastes ~$70-90 that coulda gone elsewhere.
- I wouldn't consider building a 4k system for another 2-3 years because, for my tastes, it's currently too expensive versus the enjoyment I'd get out of spending that money on an overseas vacation or one of the upcoming VR headsets. This is the same reason I never built a 3-monitor or 3d gaming setup. Early adopters pay top $$ and often get burned. But that's just my opinon, and with 4k becoming more and more affordable, it's great to see Dustin tapping into the new Triplehead/Eyefinity/3d Surround.
- I really like gamer100k's build as a different approach, but it's horribly deficient for my noise-sensitive tastes. I LOVE the case, but a gtx 980ti in that thing is gonna be a jet engine. The tiny ssd and 8GB of RAM are also deal-breakers.
Without digging through newegg, if it was my rig, I wouldn't need a case or PSU so I'd save right there. I'd also settle for nothing less than:
- 16GB RAM
- gtx 970 (great for now, saves money for a huge upgrade when something new hits in 2016-17)
- 500GB ssd
- 2TB hdd (local storage trumps NAS/media server, which I'd still have anyhow)
- closed-loop cpu cooler