New Computer Question

[Smithnweson]

Hello,

I am in search of the most bang for my buck on a new computer. Attempts in the past of trying to achieve a good computer have fallen short. Now let me set the perameters.


1. I don't want to buy parts, just a desktop pre-built

2. $750 not including Shipping and Handling is the max that I am willing to go at this time.

3. The ability to smoothly 5 box on medium settings in any major city.

4. I live in the USA (NJ to be exact)

5. I've heard terrible things about liquid cooling, perhaps my ignorance but I prefer not to deal with any set up that includes that.

I appreciate all the help I can get since I am not very knowledgeable on PC inner workings. I just want to enjoyably play wow.


TY ALL ahead of time and I hope you guys can point me in the right direction. If links are not allowed in the forums, then just PM me. Again I appreciate the help!

- Rob

Madoran - PVE - Horde - Unified - Dr. Insano

[Apps]

Your parameters are ok, until number 3. I built a solo machine able to host 5 clients at one time. one client (main window) is running full graphics, while the other 4 (which are hardly every switched to.. , are running minimal.

Game play is exciting, fun, no problems... except when I enter major cities. I can run 2 clients in a city, with minimal stresses. But the graphics load on 5 clients is 100% unplayable for me.

Now, my pc isnt the top of the line Alienware knockoffs or self made imitations, but point is, its decent enough to level toons.


Im curious, how many clients are you looking to run at one time? and further, WHY in Gods name would you WANT to be in a major city with all of them at the same time? There are soooo many ignorant people in those cities, you will be reported for haxing in under 3 mins.

[Smithnweson]

I have 8 accounts, however I plan to only use 5, never to go higher. I've dealt with people who claim hax, i /ignore and await the gm ticket response. I've never had an issue.

Again I don't want to build a computer, I want to attain a prebuilt machine.

any help in that direction would be great.

[Apps]

I suspect you will be hard pressed to get anyting over an i3 on a less than $800 budget. Perhaps you hit the standard spots like www.newegg.com , www.tigerdirect.com , www.intrex.com

5 accounts in major city, on a <$800 computer... might be tough. Perhaps if you listed your current specs, people here can help tell you what items to purchase, and how to set up stuff... sort of get the best bang for your bucks.

[MiRai]

Have you looked at any sites or stores to compare prices to see what you can get for a max of $750? If you go with a nice
processor you get a shitty video card and vice versa. You could try to find an AMD system that fits your budget but I would
never recommend that at this point in time. Intel has been reigning for 3+ years now and they've been keeping the prices
high because they can. When AMD gets it together and makes Intel sweat then we'll hopefully see more affordable rigs,
but until that time expect to pay more.

Your best bet may be getting a machine from IBuyPower or hoping for a crazy deal from another online retailer. There are
rarely ever, if ever, crazy deals on PCs that actually have any real power in them, though. I've always been a fan of saving
up more money to get a computer you really want instead of just shooting for something low end and hoping it'll do what
you need.

[Smithnweson]

My current computer I can 3 Box in any major city but its rough at best.

I use a stock HP Pavilion dv7 laptop. It has overheating issues that I have tamed for the most part with a giant fan, however I just want to get a new system.

I was really hoping for some suggestions on systems rather than naysaying the possibility of it being possible. Again I don't know hardware so trying to build or pick my own system is a major problem.

[Apps]

I was really hoping for some suggestions on systems rather than naysaying the possibility of it being possible. Again I don't know hardware so trying to build or pick my own system is a major problem.

I dont get the impression we are "naysaying" just for the sake of being frugal or combative. I surely didnt intend as much.

Ill simply answer your inital question, rather than try to help.

"No."

[MiRai]

My current computer I can 3 Box in any major city but its rough at best.

I use a stock HP Pavilion dv7 laptop. It has overheating issues that I have tamed for the most part with a giant fan, however I just want to get a new system.

I was really hoping for some suggestions on systems rather than naysaying the possibility of it being possible. Again I don't know hardware so trying to build or pick my own system is a major problem.

Naysaying? I'm sorry that you can't get a very nice machine for $750. Just because new technology comes out does not mean
that the old stuff automatically gets cut 50% in price to alleviate the stock. Maybe by telling you that $750 is too low of a budget
for medium settings on all your clients is helping you. Also, do you currently have a monitor attached to that laptop? If not, that's
almost a quarter of your budget right there.

If you're currently using an old laptop then almost any desktop that you buy is going to be better than what you currently use.
Most people have (or should have) a macro that changes video settings on the fly so that the slaves have lower settings than
the main which relieves stress on the system overall.

I'm obviously the wrong person to be answering these questions because I like a system that can do more than the bare
minimum. You'll have to wait a day or two to see if other people chime in with their setups which might better fit your budget.

EDIT:
Just thought of this. I know you don't want to build your own system but Tom's Hardware does a cheapo gaming system build
almost every month. You can use it as a reference on what it costs to buy a pre-built system.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...6850,2903.html

[Smithnweson]

I apologise, I was not trying to be heavy on the attitude. I guess for me $750 is a lot, and I expected medium settings to not be that difficult to achieve if my crappy laptop can handle 3 on medium settings, barely. This is where my ignorance in the technology and the specifics of the parts shines. And the reason why I searched for help by people who would know.

I look online and all the systems are $1500+ and I just don't have that kind of money and with my laptop having heating issues, I do believe time is a factor.

I don't know what to do, I enjoy boxing, I love the ability to play the game how I want, when I want. :/

Again I apologise.

[Khatovar]

Personally, I've never had a prebuilt system, I've been building my own boxes for years.

As Fenril said, there's no reason for slaves to be on the same settings as the master. My current system is beefy and I still don't run slaves on much higher than the lowest options. Something as simple as capping the slaves at 15 FPS vs 20 FPS can be a pretty noticable impact on performance. You simply don't need all the bells and whistles on windows you can barely see anyway.

Also, there's always the option of using a desktop and a laptop, with the laptop handling half the accounts if you don't have the money to spend on a beefy multiboxing system. Personally, I'd rather save up and buy a good system that I wouldn't have to turn around an upgrade the crap out of in a year, but it's a better option than trying to let the magic smoke out of your laptop.