Gaming PC for World of Warcraft- Please Help Me Pick

[favaromf12]

Hi,

Looking to buy a new PC within the $500 range that is capable of running WoW with absolutley NO troubles and has is capable of playing newer games as well.

Found these.

1) CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 5000

- 2.9GHz AMD Athlon II X2 245 Processor, AMD 760G Chipset Motherboard
-4GB DDR2-800 Dual Channel Memory
-500GB SATA II 3.0 Gb/s 7200rpm Hard Drive, 24X DVDRW Drive
-Nvidia Geforce 9500GT chipset 1GB PCI-Express Graphics
-420W

2) iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 540D3

-AMD Athlon II X2 250(3.0GHz) 64 bit Dual Core Processor
-4GB DDR3 1333
-500GB SATA II
-ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
-480W


Is there a better choice here?

Please help!

Here's the links
http://www.cheapgamingpc.net/review...-black-desktop-pc-windows-7-home-premium.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227241


Moved from PC Gaming

Anandtech PC Gaming Moderator
KeithTalent

 

[Onita]

Wrong forum. Why not build your own?

Both of those are not that fast, IMO.

 

[favaromf12]

I"ve heard this time and time again, why not build your own? To be honest, I'd have no idea where to start.

Not that fast? Would these run WoW at max settings?

 

[MisterDonut]

If you already have Win7, build your own. If you don't, get a pre-built. Doesn't look like either will be able to "play newer games" (e.g. BFBC2, Crysis 2, etc.). Not sure how it'll do on WoW, but it should be playable. Might lag during large raids. What parts do you already have? Monitor? Peripherals? What resolution? The more info, the better we can give advice. Welcome to AT, btw.

 

[mfenn]

Hi,

Looking to buy a new PC within the $500 range that is capable of running WoW with absolutley NO troubles and has is capable of playing newer games as well.

Found these.

1) CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 5000

- 2.9GHz AMD Athlon II X2 245 Processor, AMD 760G Chipset Motherboard
-4GB DDR2-800 Dual Channel Memory
-500GB SATA II 3.0 Gb/s 7200rpm Hard Drive, 24X DVDRW Drive
-Nvidia Geforce 9500GT chipset 1GB PCI-Express Graphics
-420W

2) iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 540D3

-AMD Athlon II X2 250(3.0GHz) 64 bit Dual Core Processor
-4GB DDR3 1333
-500GB SATA II
-ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
-480W


Is there a better choice here?

Please help!

Here's the links
http://www.cheapgamingpc.net/review...-black-desktop-pc-windows-7-home-premium.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227241


Moved from PC Gaming

Anandtech PC Gaming Moderator
KeithTalent

Of those, the one with the 9500GT is better, but not by much. As MisterDonut suggested, give us an idea of what you have (monitor, OS, etc.) and we can make suggestions for building your own. If you do a little reading about the building process, you'll find that it is really quite easy to put your own machine together.

Another option is to buy the cheapest Dell and throw something like a 5670 in there.

 

[favaromf12]

Thanks for all the input.

This is what I have now and it seems slow at times. My FPS with WoW is low at minimum video settings (10-20)

eMachines T5274
2.0GHz Intel Dual Core Pentium E2180
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
64MB (shared) Intel GMA 950 integrated chip
320GB 7,200rpm
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (32-bit)


I talked to a man at GeekSquad at Bestbuy and he said that in order to upgrade the video card on my system, I'd need to spend at least $250 due to the fact I'd need a new power supply. That's what I started looking for a cheaper desktop.

 

[MisterDonut]

Sorry, but I'm still a little confused. What resolution is your monitor? Doesn't look like you have an OS (I assume that was pre-installed), so I'd probably find a pre-built (and don't ask GeekSquad. No offense to those of you that are part of their team, but you guys overcharge like HELL). If you want to build your own, find a way to make room in your budget for an OS (right now, you're looking at only about $400 for a rig if you include Win7).

You're using an IGP, so of course your frames are going to be crap. Does your motherboard have a PCI-E slot? I'm gonna guess yes, so use your budget to pick up a 5770 and a new PSU if you want, or find a complete pre-built with a decent dedicated card.

 

[Russwinters]

System 1 has a slightely better GPU, but to be honest neither or those are good enough to run WOTLK at max settings well.


the processor and RAM arn't your problem in those systems, its the video card, save up another $100 and get one with a better GPU in it.

 

[favaromf12]

Can anyone recommend a pre-built system that will run WOTLK (and the upcoming expansion) at max settings?

 

[favaromf12]

Oh, and my monitor is 1400 x 900.

 

[MisterDonut]

In that case, I'm 100% sure you can find a really cheap pre-built with at least a 4850 in it. I'm in class, so I can't look right now, but when I get home, I'll try and post some links.

 

[favaromf12]

Thank you! And if it helps, all I plan on using this PC for is WoW and it's upcoming expansions (hopefully at max settings and a high FPS), Diablo 3, and most of the old Blizzard games. I'm not sure I'll be doing much else on it.

 

[MisterDonut]

Alright I did some looking around on mostly the Egg and TD, and it looks like you'd have to expand your budget a little =/. There is a complete by iBuyPOWER that has the 5670 and an Athlon II X4 (620/630, I forgot), but that's around $620. Do you have a current rig with parts? You might be able to build your own.

 

[favaromf12]

This afternoon I called my friend who's huge into computers and PC gaming. He said he'd help me put together a rig. What do you think of this?

EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9

Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor

ASUS P7H55-M PRO LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Plus a DVD burner and Windows 7...for a grand total of us over 800 including a case.

What do you think?

 

[Fayd]

This afternoon I called my friend who's huge into computers and PC gaming. He said he'd help me put together a rig. What do you think of this?

EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9

Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor

ASUS P7H55-M PRO LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Plus a DVD burner and Windows 7...for a grand total of us over 800 including a case.

What do you think?

way overpriced.

 

[favaromf12]

That was all off of newegg.com. What do you recommend?

 

[Insomniator]

The $750 build here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/value-gaming-pc,2578.html is a good start. Better and cheaper than the one you just listed. The article is 2 months old so some changes are probably needed but you get the idea...

 

[mfenn]

Dump the i3, H55, and GTX 260. Get something like a x4 630 or x3 435 with an M4A77TD and a 5770. That'll be as fast and cheaper. I also wouldn't touch a Seagate with a 10' pole when you can get a Samsung F3 500GB for about the same price or an F3 1TB for about $20 more.

EDIT: It's good that you are looking and building your own though. Building is still more cost-effective for gaming rigs.

 

[MisterDonut]

^ that.

There are a lot of guides around. Check AT's homepage and do a bit of looking for system buyer guides.

 

[joygame]

some great infro,it is very useful for me .

 

[Axon]

Hi Favar,

As everyone has said, there are a lot of guides out there. However, in the interest of saving every possible dollar, this is what I'd build right now for someone in your situation:

AMD x3 435/Biostar AM3 board combo ($115) http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.390988

4 GB GSkill DDR3 ($108): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-180-_-Product

1 TB Samsung Spinpoint HDD ($70 with savings code): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

Rosewill Case ($30 free shipping w/code): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147023

Thermaltake 430w PSU (10% off w/promo code): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153023

XFX 5770 (awesome card, but you could get a better price in the used market) $150: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150462

Total: $542 after all the codes...would run WoW perfectly at your resolution. You'd have to reuse a DVD burner. Otherwise this would do just fine. If you have a modern, viable power supply, you can shave off another $40 by not buying a new one. If you increase your budget to $700 we can really pimp it out

 

[Reincus]

And if you need some time to save up the money for the purchase and still want better frame rates, then simply drop $40-50 on a HD 4650. That will get you decent frame rates at medium settings in raids. This assumes you have a PCI-E slot in your current system. You probably have a 420W power supply, maybe a 380W. In any case, you won't need a new one for a 4650.

 

[mfenn]

Hi Favar,

As everyone has said, there are a lot of guides out there. However, in the interest of saving every possible dollar, this is what I'd build right now for someone in your situation:

AMD x3 435/Biostar AM3 board combo ($115) http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.390988

4 GB GSkill DDR3 ($108): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-180-_-Product

1 TB Samsung Spinpoint HDD ($70 with savings code): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

Rosewill Case ($30 free shipping w/code): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147023

Thermaltake 430w PSU (10% off w/promo code): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153023

XFX 5770 (awesome card, but you could get a better price in the used market) $150: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150462

Total: $542 after all the codes...would run WoW perfectly at your resolution. You'd have to reuse a DVD burner. Otherwise this would do just fine. If you have a modern, viable power supply, you can shave off another $40 by not buying a new one. If you increase your budget to $700 we can really pimp it out

I would probably swap the TT PSU out for a Corsair 400CX, but this is a very good build!

 

[MisterDonut]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2075159

Thought I'd link that. It's worth a look. Regor + 5770, full build including OS for $435. Not bad.

 

[MagickMan]

I would probably swap the TT PSU out for a Corsair 400CX, but this is a very good build!

This is my thinking too, looks good though.