Cheap motherboard and CPU for friend's build for WoW

M1ke10191 · Dec 27, 2014

I'm upgrading a few hardware components in my own pc so I'll be giving most of my old stuff to my buddy who currently is gaming on a laptop and getting about 10 fps in wow. I'm not upgrading my mobo or CPU just yet, though, so he would have to get those on his own. He says he'd mainly be playing WoW so he doesn't need anything crazy but I'd like a little headroom in there with any recommendation I give him. What would you guys recommend for a CPU and motherboard in a lower price range to handle WoW at high-ish settings at ideally 60 fps?

His overall budget is probably $500. He would need, in addition to the mobo and CPU:

An OS
PSU
HDD
Opitcal Drive

I'd be giving him my old GPU, RAM, and case.

Karadjgne · Dec 27, 2014

OS = $100, 1Tb WD/Seagate = $50, OD = $20, so right off the rip, that $500 budget just became $330 or so. The psu is entirely dependent on the gpu supplied, so that info is a must have, reliable psus running $50-$100 on average so I'll say $75. That leaves a budget of @$250 for mobo and cpu.

Here its important to know exactly what ram is being used, its yours, and obviously a little dated, probably DDR3, but could possibly be DDR2 and that will determine what mobo, and what corresponding cpu can be used.

WoW is an mmorpg, high cpu usage type game and will honestly run better on an intel based system, but do need full info before that can be determined.

M1ke10191 · Dec 27, 2014

It's 8 GB of DDR3 RAM from Samsung that came with the original computer. I bought the computer 5 or 6 years ago from TigerDirect. It's a Gateway FX6831. The video card he'd be using is my old AMD Radeon HD 5850. Now I have recently been having some issues with shutdown and boot speeds which I'm thinking may be the RAMs fault since I'm on an SSD but overall the computer is running fine.

The case I'd be giving him is this one linked here: http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Black-Gaming-Computer-CHALLENGER/dp/B003YVJJ5Y/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419712074&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=rosewill+challenfer

I just talked to him on the phone and his budget is $600 max ($500 with an OS) but he'd like to keep it about a hundred dollars less if possible.

MuchResearch · Dec 27, 2014

M1ke10191 :

sora · Dec 27, 2014

M1ke10191 :

It's 8 GB of DDR3 RAM from Samsung that came with the original computer. I bought the computer 5 or 6 years ago from TigerDirect. It's a Gateway FX6831. The video card he'd be using is my old AMD Radeon HD 5850. Now I have recently been having some issues with shutdown and boot speeds which I'm thinking may be the RAMs fault since I'm on an SSD but overall the computer is running fine.

The case I'd be giving him is this one linked here: http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Black-Gaming-Computer-CHALLENGER/dp/B003YVJJ5Y/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419712074&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=rosewill+challenfer

I just talked to him on the phone and his budget is $600 max ($500 with an OS) but he'd like to keep it about a hundred dollars less if possible.

The AMD 5850 would definitely work for WoW so he doesn't need too much stuff at all.

MuchResearch · Dec 27, 2014

I just found out even tho WoW is extremely CPU dependent its still only using a max of 3 cores from what I've read, so ignore my CPU suggestion and get the cheaper i5 4690k. Theres no need for hyperthreading if it wont be utilized.

Karadjgne · Dec 27, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($212.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $417.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-27 22:30 EST-0500

Pick an OS, 64 bit, 8.1 or 7,either is fine @$90

unknownofprob · Dec 27, 2014

^I'm agreeing with the above build defiantly. WoW is CPU/Ram dependent to note.

WoW you want an intel CPU for sure, poorly threaded game requires a CPU that does well in a game like this. AMD CPU's only perform excellently in well-threaded games, if used in a build like this comes poor performance. The power supply is an excellent choice along with the motherboard (No BIOS flash required, all shipped currently with pre-flashed). However I would consider an Xeon, it is essentially a locked i7 without hyperthreading for a price tag around that of an i5. If believed to perform worse due to it being a server CPU or having different instructions, you've fallen for marketing.

Karadjgne · Dec 27, 2014

While a Xeon is definitely a possibility, the 1230v3 is limited to 3.3GHz for $244 or the 1241v3 @$266 at 3.5GHz, same as a stock 4690k. Considering that i5's in the power range of a 4690k are more than capable of running anything currently designed from rendering to games to office, I believe that given the speed bonus capable with OC, it would be much more beneficial to single threaded applications such as WoW over the multiple core choice of a hyperthreaded cpu such as a Xeon. The ideal gaming cpu would be a i7-4790k which has the benefits of the Xeons plus the power of an OC cpu.

MuchResearch · Dec 28, 2014

WoW wont take advantage of more cores so xeon isn't really worth it, and I don't think the performance gain of an i7 will be worth $100 more than an i5 4690k.

unknownofprob · Dec 29, 2014

Karadjgne :

Hyperthreading doesn't make a difference at all in WoW. It may be locked and also at a slower clock speed, but in terms of it's heavy-thread capability it's at a match to the i7, and above the i5. For the price/long-term run of the CPU, the Xeon is the way to go. To the user above, the i5 and 1230v3 Xeon have the exact same amount of cores. The performance gain should be for the lifetime of the CPU and not just WoW he listed currently. He will be playing more games then this, and more CPU demanding ones later on also.

MuchResearch · Dec 29, 2014

Same physical cores, but it has hyperthreading, that's what I meant by more cores that wouldn't be necessary for what he wants to do. The clock speed of the Xeon is slower than an I5 4690k so it would be worse in non-multithreaded applications. It won't match an I7 due to its slower clock also. The Xeon would be out performed by both the I7 4790k and I5 4690k in anything working under 4 threads and that's without over clocking

Karadjgne · Dec 30, 2014

All good points. Exactly why I said the i7 would be ideal. Has the same capability as the Xeon as far as multi-core strength, has the i5's single thread strength and the ability to OC for even greater gains.
Most games are still primarily single threaded, using 1-3 cores, very few reach all 4 cores and even less using anything close to 8. Currently.

But thats the ideal cpu, power for today, possibility for tomorrow. Value-wise, the i5-4690k is king, however, and at @$100 USD cheaper for almost the same performance and abilities for the broadest range of programs, it becomes the clear winner for the average gamer.

M1ke10191 · Dec 31, 2014

Thanks guys. I actually ended up selling him my existing build and bought a new motherboard and CPU on top of the upgrade I already had planned. I went with an ASUS Z97-A with an i5 4690k.

Search

Cheap motherboard and CPU for friend's build for WoW

M1ke10191

Reputable

MuchResearch

Karadjgne

Titan

M1ke10191

Reputable

MuchResearch

Reputable

sora

Splendid

MuchResearch

Reputable

Karadjgne

Titan

unknownofprob

Illustrious

Karadjgne

Titan

MuchResearch

Reputable

unknownofprob

Illustrious

MuchResearch

Reputable

Karadjgne

Titan

M1ke10191

Reputable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page