I need more WOW power and multitasking, please help!

[utahraptor]

Hi there. I built my own computer some time ago and have been mainly using it for world of warcraft since the game came out. I have upgraded some of the parts a few times and its current specs include:

1 gig (256x4) corsair twinx low latency ram which is 2 sets of matched pairs. They are running in duel channel dynamic mode with performance acceleration tech enabled

A Pentium 4 2.6c with hyperthreading

A dfi lanparty motherboard 875 pro

An ati radeon 9800 pro video card

I am wanting to upgrade now because I am not getting 30 FPS in world of warcraft with the settings turned up how I like em and at the resolution I like. (1280x1024) Also, I like to alt tab a lot to look things up on the internet that relate to the game and the computer is very sluggish when I do this and internet explorer takes a long time to load.

I basically need more multitasking and better game performance.

The 4 pieces I want to upgrade to are as follows

Processor: AMD 64 bit x2 3800+

Memory:

TWINX2048-3200C2

XMS3200 2048MB 2-3-3-6 2x184 DIMM Black

Motherboard: http://us.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_product_spec_details_r_us.jsp?PRODUCT_ID=3872&CATEGORY_TYPE=LP&SITE=NA

Socket 939, AMD Athlon 64 X2/Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64/Sempron, 2000MT/s, SLI Technology, PCI Express, Dual-Channel DDR400, CMOS Reloaded, Karajan audio module (8-channel), S/PDIF, 8 SATA with RAID, 2 Gigabit LAN, 2 IEEE 1394 and 10 USB 2.0.

Video card: http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=689

Geforce 7800GT

Should these components make for a major upgrade and give me what I want, or should some of them be changed?

 

[magitek]

Looks good. Make sure, however, that you've got enough power for that video card. Depending on your other equipment, you'll probably want 400-450w.

Oh, and don't forget you'll have to reinstall your OS to run with the new mobo.

 

[utahraptor]

I just recently bought a new nice powersupply, but that leads to another question, will my windows xp be able to be reinstalled with the new hardware? I have a feeling the activation is going to cause me a hassle.

 

[baracuda73]

Worst comes to worse you have to phone microsoft for activation. usually isnt a problem. I had video card problem and blew about 4 and everytime i switched i had to reactivate. It wasnt a problem.

 

[lambo333]

I also play WOW a lot.....2 gig of mem will allow you to alt-tab out and jump into IE with no problems. With what your thinking of getting you can play WOW maxed on all settings and have great frame rates. Make sure to get 2 gig of mem though so you won't have to cash IE to the hard drive. Thats whats slowing you down now, and that will go away with 2 gig of mem.

 

[kittle]

you should be fine with WOW performance

I run WOW at 1152x864 with most things maxed out, on a 6800GT card from ASUS. 2gigs of ram & opteron 242.
Aside from the bits of lag when first entering the big cities -- it runs flawlessly 40-80fps.

In fact you may even be able to get away with just upgrading your video card if your worried about prices.

 

[purelithium]

I just recently bought a new nice powersupply, but that leads to another question, will my windows xp be able to be reinstalled with the new hardware? I have a feeling the activation is going to cause me a hassle.

They only hassle you for activation if there've been multiple activations on the same day on dramatically different hardware.

Shouldn't be an issue.

 

[luminaris]

Yeah don't worry about the activation unless you don't like talking to Bill Gates ... 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O LOL

 

[linux_0]

$answer="GNU/Linux";

# NO activation required

http://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora/core/4/x86_64/iso/FC4-x86_64-DVD.iso

http://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora/core/4/i386/iso/FC4-i386-DVD.iso

http://www.ubuntu.com/download

http://www.kernel.org/pub/dist/knoppix/knoppix-dvd/KNOPPIX_V4.0DVD-2005-08-16-EN.iso

 

[utahraptor]

Okay, I forgot to specify that I do not plan to overclock my system at all. I am just wondering what if any benefit I am going to get by using that special low latency ram and the nice lanparty motherboard. I only was going to get them because I have diff versions of those now.

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

You are right on the mark there:

Using Ultra low latency memory in WoW will not help you jack. Even in Quake you only gain a little (but at 300+ fps it makes enough difference to win comps and cash).

2 x 1024 MB (184 pin), 3-8-3-3 timings, PC3200 (DDR1-400), using Dual-Channel, will do you fine for WoW that's for sure. (The Corsair TWINX is overkill, and poorly invested dollars, moving that cash into video would be wiser, you' get +15%, instead of +2% performance at the same cost).

Tasking [Alt+Tab] out of Warcraft, depending on video driver, etc may make other 2D Windows applications have slow scrolling text. Firefox disables 'smooth scrolling' within its windows by default and may help in this respect. (Otherwise you'd see a difference, but perhaps not as large as you expect).

CPU is overkill for WoW, but yeah it'll help.

The 2 stock mainboards I recommend for upgrading: (and expect people who lack specific experience with the boards to post negative BS about them) are:

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/products_motherboard_2.cfm?pName=6150K8MA-8EKRS
http://www.asrock.com/product/939Dual-SATA2.htm

Considering the versatility they would gain you, have a look at them, available and pricing... plenty of other 'cost effective' mainboards out there aswell. Just (Google) check the reviews of each, check the awards they've recieved, etc

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

You are right on the mark there:

Using Ultra low latency memory in WoW will not help you jack. Even in Quake you only gain a little (but at 300+ fps it makes enough difference to win comps and cash).

2 x 1024 MB (184 pin), 3-8-3-3 timings, PC3200 (DDR1-400), using Dual-Channel, will do you fine for WoW that's for sure. (The Corsair TWINX is overkill, and poorly invested dollars, moving that cash into video would be wiser, you' get +15%, instead of +2% performance at the same cost).

Tasking [Alt+Tab] out of Warcraft, depending on video driver, etc may make other 2D Windows applications have slow scrolling text. Firefox disables 'smooth scrolling' within its windows by default and may help in this respect. (Otherwise you'd see a difference, but perhaps not as large as you expect).

CPU is overkill for WoW, but yeah it'll help.

The 2 stock mainboards I recommend for upgrading: (and expect people who lack specific experience with the boards to post negative BS about them) are:

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/products_motherboard_2.cfm?pName=6150K8MA-8EKRS
http://www.asrock.com/product/939Dual-SATA2.htm

Considering the versatility they would gain you, have a look at them, availability and pricing, etc ... Remember there are also plenty of other 'cost effective' (read: inexpensive, same chipsets) mainboards out there aswell. Just (Google) check the reviews of each, check the awards they've received, etc

The above two are under covered by the media, and very well priced and designed compared to far more expensive boards with poorer implementations (eg: ULI's AGP 8X + PCIe x16, w/o video card compatibility issues, w/o performance loss is a brilliant chipset design).

If you only look at 'high priced' boards, then that's all you'll become familiar with.