Old Member, New name, Need a new system.

[Shodokan]

I lost my old e-mail address but i use to be known here as "ilikemages" I use this name on other message boards and prefer it .

Anyway... I plan on making two teams one for PVE and one for purely PVP/Fun/Farming

I'm in need of a new computer as my laptop cannot handle 5 copies of the game at a decent speed. I don't mind having the occasional follow problem in cities but i need it to run smoothly otherwise. I don't need the game to look AMAZING as for the most part i just enjoy the way the game is, but getting the most performance for my buck is a good thing.

I am not looking to upgrade for cataclysm so it would need to be a PC that will last me at least 4 years, and my laptop can then be used purely for word processing and such for school or work when necessary.

My budget is approximately 800$

Components i already own:
G15
24" Asus HD monitor
17" LCD monitor

Considering i will need to buy new accounts and such i am limiting this project to 1000$, unless i wish to sell some other things such as custom made joysticks for street fighter, custom built arcade cabinet etc. But i use all of those on a regular basis.

So basically what i want:
Computer that can in almost all situations run EXTREMELY smoothly, but does not require huge graphical overhaul. I also need recommendations for a good mouse that will make this experience more enjoyable.

Thanks for your time and your help

-Colin


If this belongs in hardware then please move it there.

[Ualaa]

I would look at an i5 or i7 processor, so an x55 or x58 motherboard.
6 GB of ram, will be enough for 5 accounts, and you can upgrade later if you want.
Not sure what to recommend for a video card, aside from two video plug ins.
A low end SSD, purely for the gaming folder is recommended.

I'm using a Logitech G5 gaming mouse.
Scroll wheel, two thumb buttons, three adjustable sensitivity options.
Can insert or remove weights to change its feel.
It might not be the fanciest mouse, but I've had no complaints with it for years.

[Shodokan]

I would look at an i5 or i7 processor, so an x55 or x58 motherboard.
6 GB of ram, will be enough for 5 accounts, and you can upgrade later if you want.
Not sure what to recommend for a video card, aside from two video plug ins.
A low end SSD, purely for the gaming folder is recommended.

I'm using a Logitech G5 gaming mouse.
Scroll wheel, two thumb buttons, three adjustable sensitivity options.
Can insert or remove weights to change its feel.
It might not be the fanciest mouse, but I've had no complaints with it for years.

How much would something like this cost? Considering i don't own windows 7, or even 64 bit XP.

[Drommon]

You said you needed the pc to run for 4 years. I would save up more money to get a machine that meets your goals. The machine that Ualaa mentioned may cost you $1200+. Try pricing the items you need at www.newegg.com to find out the total cost to you. Only you know what you need. We can only make some generalizations. Ualaa made you a decent build, go to newegg and start pricing items.

Don't forget the OS. It needs to be a 64 bit OS to use more than 3.5gb of ram.

Drommon

[Shodokan]

What about this?

Ok, here's what I came up with:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 Ghz

Graphics Card: Radeon HD 5770 1GB

Power Supply: Corsair 850w

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB

RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932

CD/DVD: LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner

CPU Cooling: Scythe Mugen 2

This comes up to about $750, I'm not that good with AMD as I am with Intel CPU's, so I couldn't find a motherboard that's affordable so that will cost about $100-150 more.

If you want a Core i7 with a DX11 graphics card and a decent motherboard, you're going to end up paying more than $900.

Or this

You didn't say your budget, but I would recommend something like this:

Parts I picked out quickly:

CPU: Intel Core i7 920

Motherboard: EVGA 3-Way SLI & Crossfire

Graphics Card: XFX
Radeon HD 5870 1GB

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB

CD/DVD Burner: LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner

RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932

Power Supply: Corsair 850w

CPU Cooling: Scythe Mugen 2


Total: Around $1500 (parts can be changed to save money, I just chose the best ones)

This computer will basically destroy any game PC game out now, and even run Crysis with smooth framerates. If you want to save more money, I would suggest going with an AMD Phenom x4 and with a HD 5770 or HD 5850, you will save a lot and it will still be an awesome computer.

I could get one pre-built or something as well.


Edit

This computer looks good, and has a 3 year warranty should any parts go amuck for 1300 shipped

CURRENT CONFIGURATION                
     PARTS : CPU : Intel i7 CPU                
     Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) 8000K                
     PARTS : Cooling Fans : Intel i7 CPU Fans                
     Intel Socket 1366 CPU fan                
     PARTS : Motherboards : Intel i7 Motherboards                
     ASUS P6T SE X58, DDR3, Cross Fire, GB LAN, iEEE                
     PARTS : Memory : DDR3 Triple Channel memory                
     12GB (6x2GB) PC3 8500 DDR3 1066 Triple Channel                
     PARTS : Video & TV Cards : PCI-Express Video cards                
     GeForce 9500GT 1GB PCI EXpress 16X  dual head, tv out                
     PARTS : Video & TV Cards : TV Tuner & Capture cards                
     NONE SELECTED                
     PARTS : Hard Drives                
     160.0GB Hitachi 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 8m Cahce                
     PARTS : Cooling Fans : Hard Drive Fans                
     Hard Drive Cooling Fan Aluminum Internal                
     PARTS : Hard Drives                
     160.0GB Hitachi 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 8m Cahce                
     PARTS : Cooling Fans : Hard Drive Fans                
     Hard Drive Cooling Fan Aluminum Internal                
     PARTS : CD/DVD/R/RW Drives : DVD Recorders                
     Lite On 20x DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW                
     PARTS : CD/DVD/R/RW Drives : DVD Recorders                
     NONE SELECTED                
     PARTS : Media Card Readers                
     NONE SELECTED                
     PARTS : Sound Cards                
     AC 97 3D Full Duplex sound card (onboard)                
     PARTS : Modems                
     NONE SELECTED                
     PARTS : Networking : Network Cards                
     Ethernet network adapter (onboard)                
     PARTS : Controller Cards                
     NONE SELECTED                
     PARTS : Cases / Power Supplies : Cases                
     Cooler Master Elite 310 black, Side Window, front USB                
     PARTS : Cooling Fans : Case Fans                
     Dual Case Fans 120 mm Extra Quiet DC fan (two fans)                
     PARTS : Cooling Fans : Power Supply                
     Okia 550W ATX Power Supply w/ 6pin PCI-E                
     PARTS : Keyboards                
     Black Windows Keyboard, 104 key, PS/2                
     PARTS : Mice                
     2-Button Wheel Mouse, PS/2 Black                
     PARTS : Speakers                
     Black Multimedia amplified stereo speakers                
     SOFTWARE : Operating Systems                
     Microsoft Windows 7 Pro 64bit DVD                
     SOFTWARE : Office Software                
     NONE SELECTED                
     PARTS : Monitors                
     NONE SELECTED

[Ualaa]

In the first post:

You have a powerful video card, probably overkill as far as wow goes. If you play other games as well, it might be more worthwhile. On a budget, I'd go with a much weaker card, since it will cost far less and still play wow smoothly. You don't need DX11 for wow.

An AMD processor will cost less then an equivalent Intel processor. If you live outside of the tropics, there probably isn't a huge difference between the two. AMD runs hotter and will overheat sooner, but that's not much of a concern for those of us in Canada/US/Europe or who have air conditioning.


In the second post:

The video card again is in the $550(CDN $) range.
An Nvidia GTX 275 will run for around $250 (CDN $) and play wow just as smoothly.
You could probably go with a video option far below the rest of your system and not have it as the "bottleneck" for your wow performance.

I prefer the Intel processor to the AMD processors. But that is a preference thing. Intel will cost more for the same performance. Or will be less powerful for the same price. At least that was true, the last two times I have bought systems.




I suppose you don't really need an 850 watt power supply for either system, a 650 watt power supply will work fine (especially if you're not planning on using SLI/Crossfire in the future); not sure on the price difference between the two.

6GB of ram is the minimum you'd want for 5-boxing, and as long as you don't have a lot of other applications open, it will run 5x wow just fine.

The 1TB hard drive is a decent choice. In Canada they run for $100-110; you could get a 500GB drive (half the size) for $60 or so. Not a lot of savings; I'd stick with the 1TB drive myself.

You could probably go with a cheap case, nothing fancy. As long as you have enough fans for cooling, a cheap and functional case is probably the way to go on a budget.

[Shodokan]

In the first post:

You have a powerful video card, probably overkill as far as wow goes. If you play other games as well, it might be more worthwhile. On a budget, I'd go with a much weaker card, since it will cost far less and still play wow smoothly. You don't need DX11 for wow.

An AMD processor will cost less then an equivalent Intel processor. If you live outside of the tropics, there probably isn't a huge difference between the two. AMD runs hotter and will overheat sooner, but that's not much of a concern for those of us in Canada/US/Europe or who have air conditioning.


In the second post:

The video card again is in the $550(CDN $) range.
An Nvidia GTX 275 will run for around $250 (CDN $) and play wow just as smoothly.
You could probably go with a video option far below the rest of your system and not have it as the "bottleneck" for your wow performance.

I prefer the Intel processor to the AMD processors. But that is a preference thing. Intel will cost more for the same performance. Or will be less powerful for the same price. At least that was true, the last two times I have bought systems.




I suppose you don't really need an 850 watt power supply for either system, a 650 watt power supply will work fine (especially if you're not planning on using SLI/Crossfire in the future); not sure on the price difference between the two.

6GB of ram is the minimum you'd want for 5-boxing, and as long as you don't have a lot of other applications open, it will run 5x wow just fine.

The 1TB hard drive is a decent choice. In Canada they run for $100-110; you could get a 500GB drive (half the size) for $60 or so. Not a lot of savings; I'd stick with the 1TB drive myself.

You could probably go with a cheap case, nothing fancy. As long as you have enough fans for cooling, a cheap and functional case is probably the way to go on a budget.

Thanks for the writeup.

Do you think that it would be "smarter" to go with a company to build it and such? Since i have little "hardware" experience. Plus the idea of warranties are nice.

[Shodokan]

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CURRENT CONFIGURATION
PARTS : CPU : Intel i5 / i7 CPU LGA 1156
Intel Core i7 860 2.8GHz (Quad Core) 8000K
PARTS : Cooling Fans : Intel i5 / i7 CPU Fans
Coolermaster GeminII S, 5 Copper Heat Pipes, Extra Quiet CPU fan
PARTS : Motherboards : Intel i5 / i7 Motherboards
Intel DP55WB P55 DDR3, GB LAN, iEEE
PARTS : Memory : DDR3 Dual Channel memory
8GB (4x2GB) PC8500 DDR3 1066 Dual Channel
PARTS : Video & TV Cards : PCI-Express Video cards
GeForce GTX 275 896GB PCI EXpress 16X dual head, tv out
PARTS : Video & TV Cards : TV Tuner & Capture cards
NONE SELECTED
PARTS : Hard Drives
500.0GB Hitachi 7200RPM SATA2, UDMA 300 8m cache
PARTS : Cooling Fans : Hard Drive Fans
Hard Drive Cooling Fan Aluminum Internal
PARTS : Hard Drives
160.0GB Hitachi 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 8m Cahce
PARTS : Cooling Fans : Hard Drive Fans
Hard Drive Cooling Fan Aluminum Internal
PARTS : CD/DVD/R/RW Drives : DVD Recorders
Lite On 20x DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW
PARTS : CD/DVD/R/RW Drives : DVD Recorders
NONE SELECTED
PARTS : Media Card Readers
NONE SELECTED
PARTS : Sound Cards
AC 97 3D Full Duplex sound card (onboard)
PARTS : Modems
NONE SELECTED
PARTS : Networking : Network Cards
Ethernet network adapter (onboard)
PARTS : Controller Cards
NONE SELECTED
PARTS : Cases / Power Supplies : Cases
Apevia X-Dreamer 3 Black & Green front USB, eSATA, LCD temp. display
PARTS : Cooling Fans : Case Fans
Dual Case Fans 120 mm Extra Quiet DC fan (two fans)
PARTS : Cooling Fans : Power Supply
Okia 650W EXTRA QUIET ATX Power Supply
PARTS : Keyboards
Black Windows Keyboard, 104 key, PS/2
PARTS : Mice
2-Button Wheel Mouse, PS/2 Black
PARTS : Speakers
Black Multimedia amplified stereo speakers
SOFTWARE : Operating Systems
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit DVD
SOFTWARE : Office Software
NONE SELECTED
PARTS : Monitors
NONE SELECTED

Is what i'm looking at now. Should have NO problems with cooling. Upgraded the CPU fan, case has a fan built in, and 2 more would be added inside. Each HD would also have it's own fan.

Cost is 1420 shipped.


I built one similar that is 100$ cheaper and has pretty much same stats.

[Ualaa]

If you are really uncomfortable with assembling it yourself.
Or if you want a warranty.
Getting someone else to assemble it is an option.

There are available resources online, for assembling a system.
It is not that hard to do, although I believe making instant soup is a bit easier.
(Quoting someone, who said assembling computer parts is easier then the soup).

Going with a store, and they'll charge you $50 to $200 for the assembly.
The warranty will cost extra too, set at a rate where the store comes out ahead.

On a budget, I'd either build it myself.
Or find a friend who is comfortable building a system and supply pizza and beer.

[Shodokan]

If you are really uncomfortable with assembling it yourself.
Or if you want a warranty.
Getting someone else to assemble it is an option.

There are available resources online, for assembling a system.
It is not that hard to do, although I believe making instant soup is a bit easier.
(Quoting someone, who said assembling computer parts is easier then the soup).

Going with a store, and they'll charge you $50 to $200 for the assembly.
The warranty will cost extra too, set at a rate where the store comes out ahead.

On a budget, I'd either build it myself.
Or find a friend who is comfortable building a system and supply pizza and beer.

HA. Alrighty then.


I tried pricing a similar one out. Not including OS similar parts would cost me 1100$ (200$ cheaper) and that doesn't include shipping either. Considering i'd have to buy the OS thats another 100+$ so for an extra 100$ i get a 3 year limited warranty and an OS.