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
What Happens Now
We have the components for both of these systems in house, ready to build, test and review. This will take a couple of weeks, and we’ve chosen a good array of benchmarks to suit most needs while still retaining the focus of the purpose of this round of Build-A-Rig: a $1500 single monitor gaming machine. Given the responses from both Corsair and Zotac, it is clear that Corsair sees 4K gaming as the future and has designed for it, whereas the Zotac build might struggle at 4K but do great at 1080p/1440p which is ultimately where most gamers are at right now. With features like dynamic scaling resolution coming into the mix, perhaps the resolution of the panel is not the be-all and end-all of gaming.
Dustin Sklavos (Corsair) against Chinny Chuang (Zotac)
We will write up each PC for a full individual review, as well as a build log describing the experience of how the parts fit together. These reviews will be released over the next couple of weeks. Obviously the first one out of the gate gets the top results, but this is only because someone has to be the first tested (anyone remember Harry Enfield in Top Gear S01E01?). We have different editors working on each build as well, so each perspective should shed some light into how building the systems is easy, difficult, or fun to do.
How to Enter
For Build-A-Rig, we are posting the survey link on each piece so users can enter at any time. The final entry date is listed in the survey, and will most likely be a few days after we post our final round-up later in the month.
For the purposes of the giveaways, we should state that standard AnandTech rules apply. The full set of rules will be given in the survey link, but the overriding implementation is that the giveaways are limited to United States of America (US50), excluding Rhode Island, and winners must be 18 years or older.
With apologies to our many loyal readers outside the US, restricting the giveaways to the US is due to the fact that AnandTech (and more specifically our publisher, Purch) is a US registered company and competition law outside the US is very specific for each nation, with some requiring fees or legal implementations to be valid with various consequences if rules aren’t followed. It’s kind of difficult for the rules of 190+ countries/nations worldwide to all be followed, especially if certain ones demand fees for even offering a contest or tax on prizes. We recognize that other online magazines and companies do offer unrestricted worldwide competitions, but there are specific rules everyone should be following in order to stay on the side of the law. That’s the reality of it, and unfortunately we cannot change on this front, even with the help of Purch.
The survey link is:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2209797/AnandTech-Newegg-Build-A-Rig-Challenge-Sweepstakes-Q2-2015
Your Thoughts
Not everyone builds a system the same way in the same budget, and it’s all fine and well for us here at AnandTech to reel off a parts list but it seems to be great fun for everyone involved when the manufacturers of the components actually do it instead. Clearly there are disagreements to be had over which case to use, whether this SSD is better than that SSD and all sorts of things. In our initial Build-A-Rig introduction, one reader (gamer1000k) suggested a full build given the budget, focusing on mini-ITX:
User: gamer1000k
Name: Destroyer of Consoles
Case: Silverstone FTZ01B ITX $130
PSU: Silverstone SX600-G 600W $130
MB: ASRock Z97E-ITX $130
CPU: Intel Core-i5 4690K $240
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper 2x4GB DDR3-1866 $58
GPU: Zotac NVIDIA GTX 980ti AMP! $650
SSD: Crucial MX200 250GB $103
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 $60
OS: SteamOS or Windows 10 Preview $0
Total: $1501Rationale: Recently I've become fascinated with ITX gaming systems, and Silverstone makes some amazing cases that allow for a tremendous amount of power in a console form factor. This build takes into account not only traditional GPU bound games, but also provides a very fast CPU with a lot of overclocking headroom (courtesy Corsair H55 and 600W PSU) for some of the newer indie games (like Kerbal Space Program) that are actually CPU bound. The potent combination of an overclocked i5 and 980ti should allow for 4K gaming at reasonably high settings. This system is designed to be used in conjunction with a NAS/media server due to the low internal storage, but if the budget were flexible this case has room for another 2.5" and 3.5" drive.
This actually aligns quite well with Corsair’s build, with the CPU and GPU, although takes the mini-ITX route with less memory but some wiggle room due to the use of a ‘free’ operating system. I’d also be wary of the DRAM and storage, as these are difficult things to budget around without dropping capacity significantly.
So do you prefer having two extreme items and upgrading over time, or having a general all-around system every few years? Thoughts and comments on the builds from Corsair or Zotac are highly recommended. If you would take a different build completely (perhaps AMD, or dual GPU), we might loop a group of them into a pipeline post to see how they compare, so any explanation for choosing some parts over others (such as how gamer1000k has above) would be interesting to read.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
117 Comments
View All Comments
etamin - Wednesday, July 8, 2015 - link
sorry for the typos, I didn't proofread.Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, July 8, 2015 - link
The CS power supply is actually pretty beastly. My department keeps track of user feedback on major vendor sites, reporting when people have problems, and it's *extremely* rare to hear someone having an issue with a CS.The CPU cooler, I'll grant something else might've been a bit quieter. But - and this ties into the motherboard decision - the i5-4690K just isn't a hot, power-hungry chip. The only time heat becomes an issue on that processor is when you're pushing the voltage higher than is safe for the chip in the first place. By the same token, the motherboard has passive cooling on the power delivery, and most boards are grossly overspecced on that front anyhow. The FIVR in Haswell and the clean power from the CSM both heavily mitigate the need for boatloads of high end power delivery on the board. I'd trust it.
That said, I've also internally tested our liquid coolers against competing high end air coolers, and the H80i GT's cooling perf basically starts where air coolers stop. And if I can cool a Titan X with an H55 (and I can, and I have), the comparatively inexpensive H60 is the right choice for the CPU cooler.
Also, I do agree with Chinny and Buu's tack towards aesthetics, which I deprecated in favor of raw performance. I'm happy that the two systems aren't really directly comparable, that they both take different routes to get to the same destination.
etamin - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
You're right that the 4670k is a "relatively not hot/power-hungry chip." But the question then becomes, how much OC can you get out of it on that particular board. I'm guessing we'll see with the upcoming review, but I'm more concerned about long term power quality and stability supplied by that board. Unfortunately, the OC longevity can't be proven by anyone, and that's why I would be hesitant to be the guinea pig.I must admit I have not used any AIOs since the original H80/H70 since the Noctua NH-D14 prices have been very attractive for a while now. Another reason I am averse to AIOs is the radiator is they are difficult to clean when clogged with dust (again, attention to case filters and long term maintenance), and they dont free up as easily when blown out with air.
The CS power supplies do have many positive user reviews. But please please keep in mind that Corsair is among the most, if not THE most, hyped component/peripheral brands out there. I'm sure you're aware of this. This is made possible by Corsair covering more component/peripheral markets than anyone else, expanding when a successful product gains a foothold in each segment. Many first time builders choose Corsair because of forum advice given out by other inexperienced builders who have tried nothing but Corsair, and the snowball effect continues.
No offense to Corsair as I do like some of their products as mentioned earlier, but I would think that much of the positive feedback is made by fanboys. The CS PSUs as a series is rated rather average across the PSU review sites I trust, and to me, the 3 year warranty is confirmation of that. For a 980 Ti, I think a step up is justified.
etamin - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
Sorry Dustin I don't mean to come off as abrasive toward you or your company. You are certainly more knowledgeable than I ever will be when it comes to computers (my work has nothing to do with computers although I have often thought about case and peripheral design for the fun of it).I wanted to add that I really did enjoy the article, I think it's a breath of fresh air for AT in a long while. The interviews made the builds a lot more interesting and relevant to those of us without an immediate need for a new system. It reminds me of the days when I read MaximumPC (the physical magazine) before I even knew the difference between memory and storage hehe
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
You didn't come off as abrasive and your perceptions are valid.I'd like to think we've earned the fans we have, but I'm keen to point out that people are a bit more likely to leave a negative review than a positive one, especially when it comes to PSUs, which aren't especially sexy products. We sell an absolute mountain of power supplies, more than coolers or cases, but the cases and coolers will often get more reviews because there's more to discuss. A PSU, by and large works or doesn't. So I do see what you're saying.
The 3-year warranty is a totally fair complaint.
I appreciate the respectful engagement. I continually worry about coming off like a PRobot and mentioned that as much to Ian, but the honest truth is the guys designing this stuff are eating their own dog food. I see how the sausage is made and by and large it's pretty good sausage.
BuuLy - Wednesday, July 8, 2015 - link
Hi Dustin! Chinny! and all the commenters. This article is pretty active and that's really awesome because we had some fun putting it together. Both builds are great and I'd take and use any of them any day. Even better that even some of you are even taking the challenge to configuring your own build.DPUser - Wednesday, July 8, 2015 - link
Love the sprit and camaraderie exhibited here… thanks Dustin and Chinny!TheHolyLancer - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
I actually built something similar for my friend.http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jGCgjX
Namely, he does not OC that much, so the basic one where we can play with bclk or leaving it stock is fine.
Then picked an evga 980 ti ACX 2.0 superclock, again not so much OCer, but with just the basic cooling from acx 2.0 it is rock solid and can hit 1500 core if he is lucky.
Cheapest memory, case, mobo that had some features and mixed storage of SSD + hdd.
Then I made sure to pick a nice 80+ plat 650W psu to power this relatively hungry setup.
chlamchowder - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
I like Dustin's build, except for only having a 240 GB SSD. Game installs take ridiculous amounts of space. Zotac's 500 GB drive is a lot better in that respect. It'd be painful, but I'd drop down from the i5-4960k + H60 to an i5-4460 + stock cooler and give up overclocking for a bigger SSD.I also question the value of using DDR3-1866 vs DDR3-1600 in both builds.
zodiacfml - Thursday, July 9, 2015 - link
Nice addition to Anandtech. While this is the first episode, I would like to suggest things.Since there would be too many options and intentions, it seems better if we could specify the requirements so that contestants will have some direction. To iterate, when we build something for a user, we ask for the usage and desires together with the budget.
Will it be for gaming, workstation, or both? HTPC? Servers? Virtual Machines? Huge storage? Which applications and games?
Additionally, I believe that resolution and refresh rates should be set, RAM and storage size. In gaming, specify which games and image quality settings are compulsory for the build. It is up to the contestant to research and test the build for these games depending on their priorities.