Need Advice on Budget WoW Gaming PC

Also as a side note to the reply below it has been several years since I have actually bought seperate components and built a PC which is why I am seeking help here on the forums. Last time I did this was back in the P2 450mhz days. Since then I was also given a PC or came into one that was better then the one I had and was suitable for my requirements.

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Before the end of 2009

BUDGET RANGE: Between 600-800 After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Watching movies, gaming, surfing the Internet

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers, 22" widescreen monitor

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com (Unless anyone can recommend another great site to order parts

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: Would like to use an Intel processor, preferably quad core and 64-bit. (Unless AMD fan boys can assure me no compatibility issues. Also 32-bit is acceptable as an option). Also would like to run an NVIDIA based video card.

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: I do not recall the specific resolution that my monitor will support, but I know I would at least like to be able to achieve 1600x1200 if possible.

ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS: I am also considering using this particular NIC (http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/killer-nic-m1-comparison/);

Also is the NVIDIA® PhysX technology worth it???

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This system is being build for several reasons. The first and foremost is to play games like World of Warcraft (all expansions), Starcraft II, and Diablo III; however the catch is that I want to be able to play those games smoothly with all the settings (graphics, sound, physics) turned up to their max. I also plan to use this PC to run dynamips if possible thus the reason I was looking for multiple cores. Other then that I am sure I will be doing the typical surfing the Internet, downloading of files/content, etc. If you have any more questions...please let me know.
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I suggest you get the AMD athlon II X4 cheapest edition + a HD4770 or possibly a HD5750. Get 4 gb of RAM, also get the cheapest mobo you can find. Plug in a nice HDD (500 gb or so). Get a decent antec case with psu (430 earthswatt). You should be somewhere below your limit.

yeah OK dont forget to put in a HDD. Dont get Biostar though. Get asrock, asus, foxxcon, msi, gigabyte. (mobo)

So how much will this cost you?

Yes I was leary of Biostar as well. Had not decided on a HDD option yet. Was still debating on what to run HDD wise. I take it that Asus and Gigabyte are still top tier mobo manufacturers? I am trying to remember if I have had good experience with MSI or not.

Thus far the rig is price at just over $500.00 through newegg.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811166030 - 54.99
Sunbeam Silent Storm Mid-Tower Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139004 - 59.99
Corsair 550w SLI/Crossfire ready Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128358 - 114.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115056 - 119.99
Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 3MB L2 Cache

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231122 - 72.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106289 - 28.99
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW SATA CD/DVD Burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319 - 74.99
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835106085 - 28.99
Thermaltake CL-P0370 92mm Enter CPU Cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102848 - 174.99
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100269VXLE Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card


GRAND TOTAL (with rebates) = $730.91 the remaining $70.00 could be used for shipping

I don't care what anyone says, this will handle World of Warcraft and many other games for a couple years. Granted that LGA 775 is a dead socket, but you can still throw in a Core 2 Quad in the future and Crossfire if need be.

Thank you everyone for the replies. I also would like to thank you for providing links to a CD/DVD drive as I had not given that any thoughts at all. In terms of a multi GPU option I stated that as a maybe because its a would be nice and cool feature, but a) not even sure if I would take full advantage of it b) its not a core requirement such as some of the features I requested.

In terms of an OS I did state that I would like the possiblity of using Ubuntu Linux if there is the proper driver support out there in the market. I currently have a legal copy of Windows XP and could/would consider reusing it as again 32-bit would probably support my daily computer activities. I am not sure if there is a real necessity for a 64-bit processor nor am I even aware of all the 64-bit supported applications on the market. I do plan to steer clear of Windows Vista if at all possible, however Windows 7 does intrigue me, but not sure if its worth all the fuse. Was going to wait until it was out for a few months first.

Okay, lets try it this way then, leaving all your options open, this will be a Nvidia/SLI setup with a PSU that can handle it. If you don't want those options, other parts can be placed in instead and lower the cost like a single x16 mobo and 500w+ PSU. Then upgrade something somewhere else easy enough, or just save the money.

As far as the OS goes, since you have XP, use that until you decide if you want to do Win7. I'm considering that outside the scope of this budget, so you'll have to find to money later, or as above, cut back on some parts to make room for it.

All CPUs ar 64bit now. Its just the software that's not taking advantage of it.

$200 i5 750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115215

$300 amir P55 gigabyte SLI/CF board and gigabyte GTX 260 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.269898
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128400
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125291

$75 amir Ram as above: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146868

$55 500gb spinpoint F3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152181

$31 DVD Burner Sata http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151187

$135 amir Antec 300 case and Antec 750w truepower PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.265978
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129066
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371025

$11 Shipping

Total amir $807

The only other thing I'd like to add would be this HSF: $30 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065

This gives you the Linux option, SLI option, and makes budget (close.) ATI can be used for linux, but not as well as nvidia from what I've read. If you don't want the super GPU options, then the ud3r mobo can be plugged in to save $30 and a lower cost PSU, like the corsair 550w (saves $15) or an OCZ 500w+ (saves $35+)

woops posted a build thinking it said 5770 while it said 4770, nvm.