Sub $450 "box only" build for a WoW-addicted friend

jctazzy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 22, 2008
Messages
150
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
- Gaming, WoW mainly

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
- about $400

3) Where do you live?
- US, NC

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
- CPU, Mobo, RAM, PSU, Case, HD, Optical


5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
- reusing existing 22' 1680x1050 LCD, keyboard and mouse

6) Will you be overclocking?
- No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
- 22" 1680x1050

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
- this weekend

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
- firewire would be nice, not required

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
- Yes, Vista Home Premium





Looking to either trim price where possible or up performance while keeping the same budget. He wants to build something that will play WoW expansions for a while to come at 1680x1050. Poor guy is trying to run it now with a Dell Dimension 3000 equipped with Intel "Extreme" graphics chip.

Thoughts on these selections? The BFG GS-550 is overkill but for $50 I had to select it.

Thanks!


AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz Socket AM2+ $60

GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 $70

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) $48

BFG Tech GS-550 550W $50 ($20 off!)

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 $45

HIS Hightech H465FS512P Radeon HD 4650 $51

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB $70

SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD $24


Total $418
 
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Not bad man. pretty good choices. However, I will adjust some items for bang for the buck!

CASE/PSU - Antec 300 + Antec Earthwatts 380watt both for $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.193753

CPU/RAM - AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma + OCZ 4gb 1066mhz both for $98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.194356

MOBO- GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 for $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376

VIDEO - Sapphire Radeon HD4830 512MB for $90 w/free shipping $10 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB for $75 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

OPTICAL - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW for $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151176

Total: $432
 
WoW on 1650 x 1080 is relatively stress-free. You don't really 'need' the bang. I run 1920 x 1080 on a 4670 no problems.
 
Direfox - if I thought he would ever OC then I'd be all over the E5200. As it is he's never even opened a case up before and has absolutely no interest in overclocking. I know that can change but I figured I'd go with it for now. However I will try to get him to move towards the 4830 as it's not much more and smokes the 4650.


HardwareGuru - nice combo finds. $10 off and faster RAM to boot. The GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 is $70 at least at that link so the total would be ~$442.

I have no practical experience with the Earthwatts series. Most of the vendor recommendations I've seen for HD 4830s call for a 450w PSU. Granted this is to cover themselves against all the craptacular ones out there... Is the Earthwatts 380 on par with a junk 450?
 
elleana - ok, good to know. I'll re-run some numbers with a 4670 in the mix as well. I started with the 4650 to be cheap... the 4670 is about $20 more and the 4830 is about $20 more than the 4670 (hard to believe with the right discount that only $40 separates the 4650 and 4830!)
 
Yup, the Antec Earthwatts is a good PSU made from Seasonic. Don't be fooled by the 380 watt label. It has 27 Amps on the +12v. Crappy 400-450watt psu put out less amperage on the +12v. Whoops! My mistake on the Mobo pricing. It's true that WOW does not need a 4830 video card to run it. But, I sure utilized your $450 budget though. Hehe. Plus, it's good to have a more powerful video card just in case you want to play other games. You have that option.
 
Go for the 4770! For a few dollars more you can get an HD4850! Hehe. You may end up with an HD 4890 1gig when this thread is done. LoL
 
Recapping:

CASE/PSU - Antec 300 + Antec Earthwatts 380watt $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.193753

CPU/RAM - AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma + OCZ 4gb 1066mhz $98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.194356

MOBO- GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376

GPU - SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822

HD - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Optical - SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151176

$437 before tax/shipping


That's a sweet WoW box with overhead to play more demanding games.
 
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That is dope man hehe. A balanced build right there. That Antec 300 + Antec 380watt Earthwatts is a really cheap combo deal. I must say it's a good time to build a budget build because of all these combo deals going on.
 
$452.14 after shipping... dang, I'll have to buy him a couple 99 cent burgers to make up the difference. :D
 
would this be a good build for a family computer as well? basic use + occasional gaming by the kids? I know nothing of current AMD cpus
 
would this be a good build for a family computer as well? basic use + occasional gaming by the kids? I know nothing of current AMD cpus

Yep, its a good build for both. Keep in mind the combo discounts are always changing and you will need a copy of Vista (or another operating system) like the original poster has, along with keyboard/mouse/monitor.

For someone not into overclocking this would be a better build IMO. :D
 
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