Gaming Rig for WoW

Stephen Cotton

Honorable
Jul 24, 2013
19
0
10,510
I'm interested, not so much in creating the Rig itself, but for specific components. I'm going to be starting a new build in 2014 and I'm watching deals and parts. I'm pretty much sold on the new Intel chip: 1150 Hawell i7 4770k, so that leaves me with the z87 Mobo.. I know this processor is fast, throug benchmarks and comparisons I've read. But I don't want to bottleneck the power through a sub/mid GPU. I am an AMD guy, thoroughly satisfied with 2 RadeonsI've used in the past, so I'm looking at the hd 7950s, but There are so many cards from different companies, I'm kind of lost on which one to get. I'm not looking to get the 6gb $900 cards.. But I don't want a "budget" card that, despite the power of the cpu, I'm still running around in-game at max settings - yet below 60fps. I'm aware of bandwidth issues that can affect fps - so I'm ok with populated in-game areas where fps will fluctuate.. but I even want to minimalize that as much as I can as well. For those that understand MMO's in general - if I am in a raid/dungeon environment where there is a lot going on in the game, where bandwidth of is not the issue - I want it to be 40-60fps during those moments. So I know I will have to purchase a reasonably expensive card. I want to know what to look for in specs and such. More than Likely I will also be running off of a SSD.. but I may opt for a typical 7200 rpm setup. I don't plan to OC. And I will have at the very least 8g ddr3 ram (gskill on newegg is always the best priced memory).. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.. but the focus is the GPU. A range of details would be appreciated. Thanks, Community!
 
Solution
Highly recommended you get yourself up above a 7770 to a 7850 at minimum.

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Stephen Cotton

Honorable
Jul 24, 2013
19
0
10,510
I get that it's a low end budget-type of game.. But I currently have an HD 7770 GDDR5 operating on an i5 I purchased 4 years ago. Max settings and just running around in game.. I am 20-30 fps.. god forbid I attempt a dungeon though. I have to leave the settings around "good" - dungeon fps runs 40fps and when the action starts (25 player situations and spells and activity going crazy) I'm at 15-19fps. So in my current setup, I think the i5 is just dated.. I could prbably get away with updating my cpu/mobo and use the same card to get bettr results... I'm not too terribly concerned o the budget.. prolly around the $1000-$1500 arena.

My plan for the 4770k is so that don't have to rebuild for a while. More of an investment. I also play SC2. And will likely transition completely to CPU gaming.
 

slomo4sho

Distinguished


You wont see much of a performance increase with the 4770K upgrade. Just go pickup a second 7770 and run crossfire or a GTX 760 > HD 7870.


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Stephen Cotton

Honorable
Jul 24, 2013
19
0
10,510
 

slomo4sho

Distinguished


Start with a GPU upgrade then proceed from there.