First timer Low cost Gaming PC (wow) idiocy check :P

[Jiivita]

Ok this if the first time looking to build my own system

My main motive here is to build a system that can handle World of Warcraft Raiding. im curantly playing on a Notebook and 5fps just isn't cuting it in 25man raids. While i realize that what i have put togather is most likely over kill when it comes to WOW, i figured if im going to go the the trouble i might as well get something that can paly some of the newer games.

This is what i have put togather so far... what im looking for is any insight to what i may be overlooking as far as compatabilty between the diff components/features, overall effectiveness, and see i im over/under spending in key areas, and Thank You

I have not picked out a monitor yet

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: With in 2-3 months
BUDGET RANGE:$500-800... Price so far: $760
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, surfing the internet, music

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: been using Buy.com, but no real preff

PARTS PREFERENCES:
OS: MS XP Pro x64 Edition w/ SP 2c
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=206161634

Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Computer Case
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=207906549

PSU: CORSAIR 550w VX Series 12v ATX 80 Plus Certified Power Supply
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=205852646

Motherboard: MSI P45 Neo-F Desktop Board - Intel - Socket T
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=208172328

CPU: Pentium Dual-core E2200 2.20GHz Processor
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=206530375

GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 256-bit 750MHz PCI-E 2.0
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=210607054

RAM: Kingston 4GB Kit (2x2GB) PC2-5300 667Mhz DDR2
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=206684925

HHD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 160GB - SATA, 3 Gb/s, 8 MB Cache, 7200RPM - Internal Hard Drive - OEM/Bare
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=206684925

DVD/CD: http://www.buy.com/listing/sellerlistings.asp?sku=209872779

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION:

 

[Godhatesusall]

if you're gonna purchase a system in 2-3 months,post again in 2-3 months cuz i dont think any1 here can predict whats gonna happen in between

 

[Highrider]

I suggest that you get a lil cheaper vid card, maybe a 8800gts or like amd/ati card, and get a better cpu to compliment the vid card. Does no good to have a monster video card if you dont have a cpu that is able to keep up. its better to have a balanced machine. also you can find 2x2gb sticks of 1066DDR2 ram for $50 to $60. I've built quite a few rigs and I always want to get the best value and performance for my money. Hope this gives ya something to ponder. Hope the best!!

 

[curryj02]

I notice you want to run XP x64. You know about the compatibility issues it can have? It's not particularly stable. Considering wow or standard pc tasks don't require more than 3gig of RAM, why not just stick with 32bit XP? Or, you could wait until Windows 7 comes out in October. Personally, I would even save the cash of buying XP and install Windows 7 RC1 for free. I'm running it on all my systems and it's easily as stable as XP x64.

Also, you GFX card is pretty pricey for the level of CPU you have chosen. Personally I would go a 4770 or a 4850 and use the extra cash to get a AMD Phenom II 720 and 780g board. It'll set you back about $210 in a combo from newegg, but will give you much better performance into the future.

 

[WR2]

For WOW - you'd want MORE CPU and less CPU.
Example: C2D E7400 2.8Ghz CPU $125 and Sapphire HD 4770 $110

 

[WR2]

With that E7400 and HD 4770 combo you can use the Corsair 450VX and have plenty of power.
HD 4770 power requirement (look under system requirement)

 

[Helloworld_98]

I think he should be looking at amd's direction since WoW supports the third core.

 

[WR2]

WoW also supports 4th cores as well.
But all the really "heavy lifting" is done in a single thread. One of the last WoW benchmarks I saw had the 2.8Ghz E7400 out in front of the 2.66Ghz C2Q 8400.

 

[Jiivita]

wow Thank you all for the info and input! I know alot can happen in just a few months, but i wanted to start resherching now so when the time does come, i'll have a better idea of what i need/want. I'll deff look in to everything suggested so far. As i said before this is my first time building a system, so i was looking for a sort of "spell checker" to see what i was over looking when picking out parts.

Thats good to know about the CPU vs GPU, and how they curantly unbalanced... so am I correct in drawing from WR2 posts that wow is affected more by the CPU than GPU when it comes to fps? what i curantly playing on does find till i raid in 25mans, and then the fps goes to crap. I was blaming most of it on my GPU since, being a notebook, it has shard memory. So i was mistakenly putting more emphasice on the GPU.

oringinaly i was looking at AMD, cuz well, im not a big fan of Intle, but after reading the guide to picking out parts on this form it sounded like i would be better off w/ Intle. The wirter did however admite to not being overly fumilar w/ AMD so im excited to look at AMDs again ^.^

anyway i've got to run for now... i'll take some time to review my setup and get back to you all.

Again thank you all for you time and input

 

[daship]

For wow you want a quad core and a 3850 or better GPU. I played it on a Q6600 @ 3.2 with a 3450 and it got a contant 50FPS AVG @ 1680x1050 res with settings on high.

On my i7 @ 3.6 with 4870 i get 90-100 FPS avg.