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Cheap WoW Computer

A

Andrew_Carr

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Feb 26, 2005
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So my brother's comp just died (6600gt died on a really old comp) and the other computer I had built (w/ sapphire x1800 gto2) lost the motherboard or something.

He has a current iMac for photo work and school work, so he just needs a computer for light gaming (WoW and maybe some newer games at lower resolutions/settings). I would also like it to be relatively low power(to avoid a psu upgrade) and would like to keep the heat/noise down.



Budget: Not really a big deal but I'd like to keep it as low as possible(~$300) without sacrificing too much.

Location: US

Parts needed: CPU, Motherboard, RAM

Parts on hand: old athlon 64 cpu and mobo, old athlon 64 dual core cpu, 512mb ddr, 2gb ddr2, x1800 gto, couple hard drives with windows already installed from both dead computers, two cases, a couple monitors, a dvd burner, a few psus, probably some other stuff I'm forgetting

Overclocking: not likely, don't care about it

Monitor size: about 19"

When will it be purchased: this week

Features: sli/xfire not needed. HDMI/display port would be nice.

OS: not sure. He should be able to buy one with a student discount on his own, although windows is already installed on the hard drives.


---------------------------

What I'm looking at:

Something like this

Phenom II x2 555: $92
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...46&cm_re=phenom_ii_555-_-19-103-846-_-Product

Cheap am3 motherboard: $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186189

4GB of ddr3: 35-40$
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearc...3U13330902G-2SW Standard 4GB kit (2GB x 2) du

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231307

Video Card - maybe a 5770: 99$ after mir
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131330&cm_re=5770-_-14-131-330-_-Product

PSU: I can't remember what the psu was in my old computer I gave him, but I believe it was a 400W+ antec. I also have a 330W Seasonic S12 that I won't need after this week or so(bought a new psu, should arrive soon) I could mail him.

Total: ~$275

What do you guys think? The motherboard seems like a compromise, so maybe I'll upgrade that.

If there's a killer deal on a 460 or a 6850 maybe I'd consider those too. Right now I see 5770's for 99% after MIR. 768mb 460's for 109$ after MIR, a 6850 for 150$ after MIR a 6790 for 150$, and 1gb 460's for about 150$ after MIR. That's kinda the gpu price range I'm looking at.
 
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That should work just fine. I'd almost suggest going ahead and getting a GTX 460 or 6850 though. (I believe 1GB 460's can be had for $129 now). The 5770 is a good little card but it's not nearly as fast as these cards. Value wise it's probably worth the 30 dollar jump.
 
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. The 460 looks like a big jump. I'll search around for deals on it and a 6850. At $50 extra it doesn't seem worth it to me, for $30 it wouldn't be too bad. Then again I've also seen 5770's go for $80 so I guess it's just a matter of which goes on sale first.

I wish he'd told me this earlier. I just bought a 2nd 5770 for myself. Instead I could've sent him my old card and bought like a 6950 for myself :p
 
Please find out what PSU your bro has. That Seasonic is a little too anemic for even a HD 5770 let alone a GTX 460 or HD 6850 with that CPU.

Also avoid any motherboard using a Nvidia chipset as they tend to be slower, less stable, and are no longer being supported by Nvidia. So find one using an AMD chipset.
 
Just looked at my newegg history. The old comp has a

500W X-clio goodpower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189005

Alternatives I've thought about:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256061
500W Silverstone - $70 after shipping

Corsair CX430 or CX600 - $35 after MIR for CX430, 64$ for cx600 after mir

Seasonic S12 430B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074
78$ after shipping


I've been running a 5770 w/ the rig in my sig & the 330W S12 for about a year now. It has some stability problems though in one game, so yeah, prolly not a good idea to pass that on to him. I think it's just because of the openbox 5770 I bought, but I can't be sure.

Good point about the nvidia chipset. I was skimming through and thought it was a 740g.

How does this look?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157204
Supports DDR2 as well so I wouldn't have to buy new ram.
 
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Here's the old system that I think the motherboard died on (judging by the error codes from when I visited awhile back)

1 x COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
1 x BIOSTAR TF560 A2+ AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 560 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
1 x XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W 500W ATX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
1 x AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane 2.5GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor ADO4800DDBOX
1 x G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
1 x NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
1 x LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S OEM BK - OEM

Also just saw that the i3 deal at Microcenter is back on

i3 2100 + mobo for $120, vs about $135 for the amd combo
http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/0414BUNDLEpromo.html
 
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Andrew_Carr said:
Just looked at my newegg history. The old comp has a

500W X-clio goodpower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189005
Click to expand...
Yeah probably not a good idea to reuse it considering its quality and age.

Andrew_Carr said:
Alternatives I've thought about:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256061
500W Silverstone - $70 after shipping

Corsair CX430 or CX600 - $35 after MIR for CX430, 64$ for cx600 after mir

Seasonic S12 430B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074
78$ after shipping
Click to expand...
I'd go with this PSU:
$50 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU

Andrew_Carr said:
Good point about the nvidia chipset. I was skimming through and thought it was a 740g.

How does this look?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157204
Supports DDR2 as well so I wouldn't have to buy new ram.
Click to expand...
It's a Nvidia chipset as well.

Andrew_Carr said:
Also just saw that the i3 deal at Microcenter is back on

i3 2100 + mobo for $120, vs about $135 for the amd combo
http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/0414BUNDLEpromo.html
Click to expand...

Are you near a Microcenter? If so, go for the i3 2100 combo
 
What are the specs on the iMac? Bootcamp isn't an option?

Otherwise what Danny proposed is your best bet. The i3-2100 is actually a pretty decent gaming chip, and you can't beat that price. You can get 2 GB of DDR3 for about $20, 4 GB for $40.

So, rough build:

$120 - i3-2100 + motherboard from Microcenter
$40 - 4 GB of DDR3
$50 - PSU (Antec Neo 400W that Danny recommended)
$125 (before $25 MIR) - XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB
Total: $310 after MIRs ($335 before)

Upgrades (if you can strech the budget more)
$150 - Sapphire 5850
$60 - Antec Neo 520 W
Total with upgrades: $370

The 5850 will run current games at up to 1080p fairly well with some eye candy.
 
tonytnnt said:
What are the specs on the iMac? Bootcamp isn't an option?
Click to expand...

I was wondering this as well. Boot Camp is an awesome feature. Completely free and let's you run Windows and all it's programs at native speeds. Depending on how old that iMac is, it could probably handle WoW no problem.
 
I'm seeing if he'll be willing to run bootcamp. He has the newer imac with the 3.06ghz i3, 4gb of ram, and an ati 4670. He says rendering hd video is taking forever. I don't really have a good solution for that except to spend a lot on a faster intel build.

I think I'm going to go with a new motherboard and psu for the old computer to get it working again, and an 8gb ram upgrade for the imac to help with editing. In 1 year or so then he could probably go for a higher-end intel/BD build. But right now it seems like it'd cost quite a bit to get a large improvement in video encoding/rendering.

[Edit:] Not willing to run bootcamp. I'll just go ahead with upgrade plans for the old comp.
 
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I built a computer for my girlfriend for WoW using a microcenter deal (now expired)

Athlon II x2 250 $58
Biostar AM3 Mobo $.01 (you can still get it for this price with a ~$100 phenom II)
4 GB Patriot DDR3 ($60 - $30 MIR)
I then picked up a 9600gt used for $30 on a forum

It runs WoW fine on Good settings at 1360x768

My personal PC has a 5770 and that runs WoW at 1080p on High settings fairly well. Cataclysm seems to have increased the system requirements considerably, I used to be able to run everything fine on Ultra
 
Andrew_Carr said:
I'm seeing if he'll be willing to run bootcamp. He has the newer imac with the 3.06ghz i3, 4gb of ram, and an ati 4670. He says rendering hd video is taking forever. I don't really have a good solution for that except to spend a lot on a faster intel build.

I think I'm going to go with a new motherboard and psu for the old computer to get it working again, and an 8gb ram upgrade for the imac to help with editing. In 1 year or so then he could probably go for a higher-end intel/BD build. But right now it seems like it'd cost quite a bit to get a large improvement in video encoding/rendering.

[Edit:] Not willing to run bootcamp. I'll just go ahead with upgrade plans for the old comp.
Click to expand...

Has he considered using the Mac client for WoW? It's not as good as the Windows client but still serviceable. Also, speaking from experience, Bootcamp is pretty awesome. The system I put together above will be a fair bit faster, but also more expensive. His rendering and encoding times are slow because his iMac has a dual core mobile chip. If rendering and encoding are important to him, I would seriously consider getting a quad core Intel chip (a Core i5-2400 for example.) However, that will blow your budget.
 
Yeah, he won't want it on OS X so it doesn't interfere with work and he doesn't want to mess with bootcamp. Maybe I'll explain it to him more but he doesn't want anything to fuck up his work computer.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to hold off for now and get help him get a 2500k build or something later this year when prices drop.
 
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