Need info on a good build for 5 boxing

[cmeche]

Parts I can bring over from my old Pc....650W Corsair PS and WD7500AAKS.

Been about 5 years since building the majority of my current PC......AMD64 3200+, K8V, 1GB ram, 9700Pro.........but it can barely handle a 4-box setup atm. I am moving to a 5-box so i will need a new build, and I have not paid any attention to hardware for the last 2-3 years. My plans are to build something that will last me a good 3-4 years, but most importantly run 5 wow's. Looking for a max of $1500 to spend.

I am guessing a quad core with a good Vid Card and at least 4 GB of Ram. I really dont need maxed out fps, just be able to run the program without it taking forever to load. i usually get my info from Pcmech.com....but asking about running 5 wow's at a time might be too much for them to comprehend . So, I need a little help point me in the right direction.

Also, 64bit OS worth the upgrade from XP32? Vista or XP?



Thanks for the help.

[Zal]

http://www.gateway.com/programs/fxseries/index.php
FX series is the gaming built computer, I currently have the DX series though runs 4 wows fine, bet it could run 5 fine aswell.
your going to need atleast 4-6 gigs ram (i suggest 6)

[cmeche]

Well, I do enjoy building so I think I'm going to go that route.

CPU....i am thinking about building the system around this processor. It looks like an good price/performance cpu.

Can anyone recommend a Mobo ~$200, 4 GB of stable ram, and a vid card ~$300?

I do have a copy of XP32bit and 64. I have not messed with the 64bit version for years, would it be able to help performance if go with the 64 install? I read that really anything over 3Gb needs 64bit to be able to use the full amount of memory. is this correct?

[shtu]

http://www.gateway.com/programs/fxseries/index.php

Any idea if there is one of them over in the UK? Searched google but couldn't find anything

[Haruko]

CPU[/url]....i am thinking about building the system around this processor. It looks like an good price/performance cpu.

Can anyone recommend a Mobo ~$200, 4 GB of stable ram, and a vid card ~$300?

I do have a copy of XP32bit and 64. I have not messed with the 64bit version for years, would it be able to help performance if go with the 64 install? I read that really anything over 3Gb needs 64bit to be able to use the full amount of memory. is this correct?

I got ya....

ASUS P5E DL $220

G.Skill 4Gb (2 x 2GB) $75.00

ASUS ATi 4870 1GB $300 w/ rebate

By any means build it around that processor. I would wait til the 14th/15th when i7 drops, it may even save you a couple more bucks.

Good Luck

[Duane]

CPU[/url]....i am thinking about building the system around this processor. It looks like an good price/performance cpu.

Can anyone recommend a Mobo ~$200, 4 GB of stable ram, and a vid card ~$300?

I do have a copy of XP32bit and 64. I have not messed with the 64bit version for years, would it be able to help performance if go with the 64 install? I read that really anything over 3Gb needs 64bit to be able to use the full amount of memory. is this correct?

I got ya....

ASUS P5E DL $220

G.Skill 4Gb (2 x 2GB) $75.00

ASUS ATi 4870 1GB $300 w/ rebate

By any means build it around that processor. I would wait til the 14th/15th when i7 drops, it may even save you a couple more bucks.

Good Luck[/quote]

I've been really impressed with my 512MB HD4870 card. Quad core, 8gigs of ram and that video card have me with very little lag anywhere.

[Fizzler]

http://www.gateway.com/programs/fxseries/index.php[/url]
FX series is the gaming built computer, I currently have the DX series though runs 4 wows fine, bet it could run 5 fine aswell.
your going to need atleast 4-6 gigs ram (i suggest 6)

I have been building my own PC for gaming since the days when Monster Voodoo was the card to have.. .the original one. Before that it was always a pre-built computers.

I am now reverting and thinking about buying 2 of the Gateways. Bestbuy has the FX without the monitor on sale for like 899. I am going to get the DX multimedia version that comes with a quad processor and 8 gigs of RAM. The video card is bleh but at only 700 bucks I will pick up a new video card. You can get the 6 gig version of the DX for like 590... a steal if you ask me.

[Halo]

Back in the day, there was some discussion that anything more than 2GB results in slower performance in WinXP. Now, this was back in my FPS days where you would never need more than 2GB to load a map. But, what is the feeling here, that 4-6GB on a single CPU running 5 copies of WoW is a good way to go?