WoW budget computer build please

[nano56]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: after christmas most likely (maybe a few days before though)
BUDGET RANGE: 600-700 dollars total, however, this includes the price of Windows 7 Premium OS, which i understand to be 109 USD. So the computer itself needs to be a max of like 600 including all prices after rebates (shipping and tax included)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: literally only world of warcraft. I sometimes will use it for itunes as well and casual internet surfing but im really only building this computer to play WoW with me and my roomate

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: I have a monitor and a mouse and keyboard, and speakers so none of that is needed.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: preferably all newegg
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: I prefer Non microATX builds but if it is worth it and better bang for buck i dont really mind using a microATX, other than that, whatever will let me play wow at medium settings with as much fps as possible for my budget

OVERCLOCKING: not familiar with it really so i dont want to break anything, but if u recommend it to save money, im a fast learner

MONITOR RESOLUTION: not sure, and i don't know how to figure it out but my monitor is 17" LCD so yeah.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Literally just want to play world of warcraft at medium settings with highest possible FPS with my stated budget, i however wouldn't mind only spending 500 total (600 with windows 7) if at all possible. I'd also like to mention that this computer needs to be able to last me through all of the rest of WOTLK and be able to handle cataclysm when it comes out thanks for the help and sorry for the excessive writing

 

[MothMusic]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: after christmas most likely (maybe a few days before though)
BUDGET RANGE: 600-700 dollars total, however, this includes the price of Windows 7 Premium OS, which i understand to be 109 USD. So the computer itself needs to be a max of like 600 including all prices after rebates (shipping and tax included)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: literally only world of warcraft. I sometimes will use it for itunes as well and casual internet surfing but im really only building this computer to play WoW with me and my roomate

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: I have a monitor and a mouse and keyboard, and speakers so none of that is needed.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: preferably all newegg
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: I prefer Non microATX builds but if it is worth it and better bang for buck i dont really mind using a microATX, other than that, whatever will let me play wow at medium settings with as much fps as possible for my budget

OVERCLOCKING: not familiar with it really so i dont want to break anything, but if u recommend it to save money, im a fast learner

MONITOR RESOLUTION: not sure, and i don't know how to figure it out but my monitor is 17" LCD so yeah.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Literally just want to play world of warcraft at medium settings with highest possible FPS with my stated budget, i however wouldn't mind only spending 500 total (600 with windows 7) if at all possible. I'd also like to mention that this computer needs to be able to last me through all of the rest of WOTLK and be able to handle cataclysm when it comes out thanks for the help and sorry for the excessive writing

WoW is based on older tech, is kinda cpu dependent, and is optimized for dual cores. So the 550 with its high clock speed and L3 cache will squeeze out more fps than other cpus. The 4670 can play modern games at high settings at 1400 res, so it will probably be overkill for your current res.

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680
$99 -Free shipping

ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176
$60

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231275
$92 -Free Shipping

MSI R4670-MD512 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127448&cm_re=4670-_-14-127-448-_-Product
$65

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395
$50 -Free Shipping

Antec Two Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.304806
$80 with combo discount

LITE-ON Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDP118-04 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106274
$18

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
$30 -Free Shipping, student discount

Total = $494

 

[nano56]

Thank you for the fast reply, i really like that build so far and im considering it as we speak. However i've read quite a bit about computers built specifically for Wow since i posted and i realized i wouldn't mind shaving 100 dollars off price to make it a total of around 550 ish including windows 7.
If anyone else can come up with a build that would still run WoW smoothly at MEDIUM settings(i really dont care about how good the game looks, just that i can play it so playing on medium settings is no problem for me) for about 100 less or maybe just a little cheaper that would be great.
If not i really appreciate that build and ill get to ordering asap, tyvm! I myself might just use that build as a guidline and see what i can swap to save a few bucks. however im not the most tech savvy so i'd really appreciate more opinions on the matter so i don't gimp myself

 

[MothMusic]

The 4670 can play modern games at high settings at 1400 res. And the 425 will handle WoW easily.

AMD Athlon II X3 425 Rana 2.7GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103726
$77

ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176
$60

Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model CT25664BA1067 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148149
$78 for two sticks

MSI R4670-MD512 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127448&cm_re=4670-_-14-127-448-_-Product
$65

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395
$50 -Free Shipping

Antec Two Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.304806
$80 with combo discount

LITE-ON Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDP118-04 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106274
$18

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
$30 -Free Shipping, student discount

Total = $456

 

[Truecrude]

This is my HP computer and it plays WoW on medium easily and get laggy on High.
AMD 3800+
8600GT
3GB of ram at 500 or 600 frequency I can't be to sure
350watt PSU non-brand
DVD Drive is like 4 years old so I don't know its speed but that doesn't matter for wow.
With this I get 30+FPS which isn't to bad and I never get Lag spikes.

This is just to help other judge what parts are needed to play wow on medium.

 

[MothMusic]

This is my HP computer and it plays WoW on medium easily and get laggy on High.
AMD 3800+
8600GT
3GB of ram at 500 or 600 frequency I can't be to sure
350watt PSU non-brand
DVD Drive is like 4 years old so I don't know its speed but that doesn't matter for wow.
With this I get 30+FPS which isn't to bad and I never get Lag spikes.

This is just to help other judge what parts are needed to play wow on medium.

30 fps is pretty bad, anything lower and the game will stutter. And lag is really dependent on the server, not your pc. And that gpu is made for 1600 res, so is the 250, but the 250 is stronger.

 

[nano56]

your like a computer building beast, thanks alot man haha, thats a nice cut back of money. I like both builds very much, i just have to decide if i want to cough up the extra cash and get the first, more expensive, one just to be sure i have NO problems for the expansion. If anyone else has opinions, that would be great! : )

 

[Truecrude]

What I meant was I get a minimum of 30FPS not maxium. But trust me with my specs wow doesnt feel like it stutter at all even in major cities on weekends and but that doesn't include Dalaran on Weekends.

 

[nano56]

I'm not expecting any computer to run perfectly in major cities or heavily populated areas, especially during peak hours, as its a MMORPG and you're gonna have network lag just from there being so much people in one area, so i'm not worried about stuff like that(as long as raids and BGs are still playable of course)

 

[Truecrude]

well then let me tell you my setup handles raids with ease. Infact for a graphics card I wouldn't recomment the GTS 250 thats just overkill for wow.

 

[nano56]

how do i know what my res is lol? i'm sure its simple to figure out, just like i said, im not the most tech savvy

 

[Truecrude]

He said its 17" so there no way its 1600x1080 and i've also got a 17" and its set at 1080x700 and for games I usually play at 1080x1024.

But I don't know how to check res but you can start up wow and check the video options for the res I think but im not sure.

 

[MothMusic]

how do i know what my res is lol? i'm sure its simple to figure out, just like i said, im not the most tech savvy

Use this link:
http://www.whatismyscreenresolution.com/

 

[LStaunton]

to shave some money off, get a smaller hard drive and a cheaper case That will help a bit. If your a college student, you can get 7 for $30

 

[MothMusic]

to shave some money off, get a smaller hard drive and a cheaper case That will help a bit. If your a college student, you can get 7 for $30

Even if you were to get the cheapest case, $25 + $65 psu = $90. Why would you get a smaller, mediocre hdd? If it turns out his res is less than 1600, then I'll update the builds with the 4670 to shave off cash that way. If he is a college student, then yea, $30 for Windows 7.

 

[nano56]

it says my res is 1024 x 768. which i could have saw by going to properties haha, is it that simple?

 

[rtlltj]

Is there a better motherboard you guys would recommend besides ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail listed above for a build like this?

 

[MothMusic]

Is there a better motherboard you guys would recommend besides ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail listed above for a build like this?

Nope, this is as cheap as it gets for DDR3/AM3 mobos.

 

[rtlltj]

How about if the price point for the motherboard was increased to $100?

actually can I send you a pm for some advice/

 

[nano56]

okay so i was looking into windows 7 being 30$ and while im only a senior in High school, my roommate is a college student who takes online courses so i can probly get him to purchase it for me so we can save the cash, but my quesiton is since its like a kinda "you download it then it installs" kinda thing, would there be a way i could purchase windows 7 then use it for this new computer im going to buy/build?

 

[MothMusic]

How about if the price point for the motherboard was increased to $100?

actually can I send you a pm for some advice/

Yea you can pm me.

 

[Truecrude]

From what I know...you buy the OS then just put the CD in the drive and it'll boot the computer if there is no OS on the computer but if it already has a OS then it's like any other CD you put in your DVD drive and it'll take you through the instalaiton process and I think you can use the CD twice on different computers but I could be totaly wrong.

 

[MothMusic]

okay so i was looking into windows 7 being 30$ and while im only a senior in High school, my roommate is a college student who takes online courses so i can probly get him to purchase it for me so we can save the cash, but my quesiton is since its like a kinda "you download it then it installs" kinda thing, would there be a way i could purchase windows 7 then use it for this new computer im going to buy/build?

You can download it or get it on a disk. But if you download, I don't believe you can transfer it to another pc.

 

[nano56]

okay so i'd want the disk, gotcha

 

[MothMusic]

okay so i'd want the disk, gotcha

There is a good chance that your friend can get Win 7 from his college directly.

"You can always check with your school’s technology administrator or your campus book or computer stores to find out if your school may have already bought a license of Windows 7."