Budget Build for MMOs

[ryes5187]

The main purpose of this PC build is as follows: a budget conscious PC, under $700, for MMOs. I’m looking for a PC that can perform well visually in WoW. It would be nice to build something with a little bit of upgrade room for more demanding MMOs, but not absolutely necessary. Outside of that it would be used as a generic, everyday PC – no video editing or anything.

I’m looking at an Amd3 spec’d system primarily because I want to build now, not in a few weeks / months, and I feel like support will be there for future upgrades in a few years, as opposed to building an Intel core duo system since the I5 is coming out in a few months. I don’t really have an interest in Crossfire/ SLI, as I’d prefer to just upgrade to one newer, faster card. I've thought about running Windows 7 RC to save on OS costs for a bit.

Parts from Newegg – Personal Build

Cooler Master RC-690 –79.99
Corsair 750TX 750W PSU &
Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P – 179.98
AMD Phenom II x 3 720 BE – 119.00
Gskill 4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz – 74.99
XFX Radeon 4850 512MB – 89.99
WD Caviar Blue 320GB – 49.99
Sony Optiaric 24x DVD Burner w/ Lightscribe – 31.99

Total 625.93

Comments?

 

[hunter315]

What resolution is the monitor you are going to be playing on? For power requirements, they increase steadily throughout a generation of graphics card, then the next ones come out giving more performance at the same power levels due to better technology so a 650 watt PSU should work well.

 

[Proximon]

You can do better I think...

X3 720BE and 790GX AM3 board
This is a crossfire board and will accept a second video card. The PSU listed later will also support the second 4850. So, lots of upgrade room here. DDR3 will be around for a long time, although you are paying a bit more up front for it. The deal on the board makes up for the cost of DDR3.
G.Skill DDR3
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Antec 300 Illusion and EA650PSU
More fans in this case for the hotter parts.
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XFX 4850
Quite a deal right now. Nice warranty.
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WD 640 GB
Faster bigger HD
DVD drive
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CPU cooler
No extra thermal paste needed. Will probably block first two RAM slots on board, but this will not impair performance.

 

[batuchka]

1. Yank the front panel of that mATX case and install a front 120mm fan
2. Modular PSU to promote better cable management = better airflow in case
3. Go for best single GPU solution since u mentioned no intrest in CF/SLI?
4. $540.11 with ship less MIR

Hoped i helped!

 

[dirtmountain]

Since you mentioned WOW specifically take a look at these benchmarks. From my experience these are very high settings most likely on a high density server in Dalaran or another graphically intense area.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/mainstream-cards-mmorpg_14.html#sect0

WOW is one of the games where Nvidia has a distinct edge in performance.

 

[Proximon]

A recent article too. Nice find DM.

Too bad they didn't test the 4870 1GB, but I think you would be happy with that or the GTX 260.

 

[ryes5187]

DM that is an interesting article, but I'm not sure how big their edge really is. I'm somewhat conflicted as it seems that the tester used 512MB for the ATI cards and around 1gb for the higher end Nvidia cards, although I'm not sure if this really affects the performance that drastically at lower resolutions, but it does make me wonder.

I found another WoW benchmark review which has some different results, which make the performance increase a little less clear. See for yourself.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,689378/WoW-Wrath-of-the-Lich-King-Benchmarks-with-Ati-and-Nvidia-graphics-cards/Practice/

Also, I'd like to run at 1650 x 1080, but I'd be happy with settings nearly maxed at 1024 x 768.

 

[dirtmountain]

Nice find ! Thank you very much ryes5187. Not as extreme a difference, but still there. I'm not a Nvidia fan by any means. For price/performance the HD4870 1 GB looks like the best option, but the GTS250 1GB does pretty well. Look at the massive hit that Ultra shadows delivers also.