PC for WOW mainly, intel build, flexible budget

[escher138]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: When I decide on parts
BUDGET RANGE: flexible, maybe 1000-1500

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: World of Warcraft is main game, although some FPS single player (Bioshock)- dont really do multiplayer gamemodes anymore; other than that, usual video playback, internet.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: peripherals

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg is fine

PARTS PREFERENCES: intel

OVERCLOCKING: unlikely
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: unlikely

MONITOR RESOLUTION: samsung syncmaster 226bw currently at 1680 x 1050 (is that a GPU limitation or monitor?)
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: dont need a fancy box or anything(windows/lights etc), dont want water cooling, would have two monitors running. average use will have WOW playing along with firefox +4-5 tabs up
I know I dont have demanding needs, but I would like a PC that will last 4-5 years without me feeling like I need to build another (like if I was to switch my main game or something)

I have seen some remarks the i5 750 vs i7 860. I have been leaning to maybe one of these, but not sure which I should go, if I do.

 

[banthracis]

Here's an i5 System I put together yesterday


Case
Haf 922 $89.98 Free shipping with promo code EMCYZNT45,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

HD
Spinpoint F3 $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

RAM
Rip Jaw DDR3 1600 7-8-7-24 $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

MOBO
Asus P7P55D-E Pro USB 3.0/SATA 6.0 2 x PCIE x8 $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621

PSU/Optical
OCZ 700W and Lite ON $96.98 w/ $25 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.323055

GPU/OS
Sapphire 5850 + win 7 Premium 64 bit OEM $384.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.298043

CPU/HSF i5-750 and Hyper 212 Plus $221.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.296096

Total $1153.89 before $25 MIR and shipping which should cancel out.

 

[banthracis]

You don't need a i7-860 for gaming. Multi threading doesn't help there.

Monitor resolution is monitor limited. A GPU will theoretically support any resolution, whether it can actually handle it is another story.

 

[MadAdmiral]

One change to banthracis' build:

RAM: Corsair XMS3 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 for $110. It's a little cheaper for the same specs.

If the cost worries you, you can get a single 1 TB Spinpoint F3 for $90. Or just get one of the 500 GB versions.

 

[banthracis]

Hey Mad, you know of any tests/benchmarks of the new XMS3's?

It's at an uncommonly good price for Corsair, makes be suspicious!

 

[MadAdmiral]

I haven't seen anything yet. I don't think the price is permanent.

 

[swifty_morgan]

few higher end products I could throw together.... I would get a separate 500-1tb HD for storage and/or run raid with the raptor...... a couple of small item missing... drives, etc...... operating system of your choice. ( W7 )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136375

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161301

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231282

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131599

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

 

[MadAdmiral]

That's a not a very good build by swifty.

First, VelociRaptors aren't any good compared to the 500 GB platter drives (Samsung Spinpoint F3, Seagate 7200.12 and WD Caviar Black 2 TB). The Samsung offers the same performance for 1/3 of the cost.

Second, you're wasting a good $30 on a modular PSU. The case is bottom mounted, so the cables are already out of the way. Why pay for the same feature twice?

Third, those sticks of RAM have a higher speed, but aren't very good. Speed doesn't really affect performance. You should be looking for tighter timings (CAS Latency). Keep in mind that AM3/LGA 1156 defaults to 1333 mhz sticks until you begin to overclock.

Fourth, that board is really expensive for what you get. For $10 less, you get the same main features, plus USB 3 and SATA III support.

But the case, CPU and GPU are good...

I'd stick with banthracis' build. If you're dying to spend closer to $1,500, grab an HD 5870 or a SSD for a boot/app drive.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Disagree about the Raptors. The memory is fine. Latency doesn't mean a whole lot. It isn't DDR2 here. He said no over clocking but these offer it anyways. Nobody will notice cas9 over cas7. The other power supply can't compete in quality over this one. Why have extra cables in your box if you don't need them ? The other mother board... 33% of the reviewers gave it 3 or less stars. SATA 6.0 and USP 3.0...... if he needs it EVER.... an add in card costs $40.... so what ?
EDIT: and as a matter of fact I have been doing research for my next machine and decided the "860" would be the best choice.

 

[MadAdmiral]

1.) Look at the benchmarks. The VRs are older tech that gives lower performance at a higher price.

2.) Latency is the most important spec. Why spend $165 for 1800 mhz CL 9 when you can spend $110 for 1600 mhz CL 7 that will offer better performance? If speed doesn't matter, why spend the extra for it when you can get 1600 mhz CL 9 sticks for $93?

3.) Yes, yes it can. OCZ makes very quality PSUs. If that's your complaint, here's a much higher quality, higher wattage, and higher efficiency SeaSonic 850W for $110.

4.) Are you really citing on Newegg user reviews as reasoning? If you are, you really don't know what you're talking about. Most Newegg reviews are written by idiots who shouldn't be allowed near tech. A lot of great products get poor reviews because of rebates, having to actually customize your settings, or perceived slights by the company. On the USB 3/SATA III, instead of spending $10 LESS to get those features, you want him to spend $40 on an extra card for them? How's that make sense? And it's not an IF you need it, it's a when. Do you remeber what it was like to use USB 1 with USB 2 tech? It was horrible.

 

[banthracis]

Ok Swifty why on Earth would you recommend DDR3 1800 RAM for an i5? It is not even possible to overclock the damn CPU high enough to use 1800 unless you purposely increase the memory ratio, which is the equivalent of buying a huge truck in the city and adding a 50 ton brick behind it just so you can claim you're using its towing capabilities.

You're paying tons of extra money for a feature you'll never use.

The Velociraptor is an overpriced piece of crap. It gets beaten by $54 Spinpoints F3 and 7200.12. For that money get yourself a 60gb SSD drive which will beat a velociraptor by an Order of Magnitude.

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631&p=22

As for USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0, implementation might not be the best, but they are the new industry standard and companies will stop making old standard boards this year. No point getting a MORE expensive MOBO that is already outdated.

Your build would have been great a year ago (minus the dismal RAM suggestion). Unfortunately, the industry has advanced a bit since then.

 

[swifty_morgan]

WOOF WOOF........ no, I don't rely on neweggs customers reviews...... but I do read them and take what other people have to say under consideration. You'd be a fool not to.
As far as "RipJaws" goes..... fantastic name. But from experience it's not the greatest memory in the market at any given price.
I trust my selection of the mother board as being superior to the other one listed. I don't care what other options it might have over the board I picked. Is it the only board I could have picked, no, but I tried to put the best system together at the price constraints of the "customer".
And don't forget to complain about my change in processor. I choose the i7 860 over i5 750. Hope you can see why.

 

[MadAdmiral]

The Ripjaws are an excellent set of RAM. They're made by the same company as the Trident ones you pointed to. And they aren't the ones I'd recommend (I'd go with the new $110 Corsair XMS3 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 sticks). I just pointed to extremely comparable sticks.

On the Newegg reviews, yes, it's nice to see what people say. But you have to take them with a [strike]grain[/strike] pound of salt.

Your board is outdated and overpriced. So it's not good by any stretch of the imagination.

I like the 860, just not in a strictly gaming machine. The premium is worth it if you're using it to game and do other tasks. The strictly gaming build would benefit more from the extra $80 in the budget than the hyperthreading.

 

[Truhls]

Escher, go with admiral on this. Especially for ram. And Ripjaws are excellent.

 

[banthracis]

Your build is more expensive than mine, has more waste in it, and is outdated...

You linked the i5 not i7-860. Either way hyper threading is useless for gaming. Read the OP. He's making a gaming machine.

Games show no improvement when using more than 3 threads.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/multi-core-cpu,2280-11.html

Just because he has a budget of up to $1500, doesn't mean you use use fill up his build with Fat to reach that point.

He'd be better off adding a second 5850 or a 80 GB X25-M SSD if he wants to spend closer to $1500.

 

[swifty_morgan]

How can any of this i5-i7 stuff be old and out dated ? Do you call 3-4 month's old and out dated ? The i5 came out in the end of Oct. if I'm not mistaken. The board has to be newer than that, no ? This is along the lines of the R.O.G. boards but it's not "years" old. Where does that come from ? Don't tell me how fast you CAN'T get the memory to run on these systems. Save it, okay. Surprised you guys haven't tried to con this guy into buying high priced Intel SSD's.

 

[MadAdmiral]

i5 come out early Sept. 8, to be exact. The board is outdated because of the newer USB 3/SATA III boards (released early December I believe). Outdate doesn't mean old, it just means it's not using the newest tech.

WE'RE trying to con him? First, to be a con, we would have to benefit in some way from the transactions. I certainly don't care how much he spends on any part or where he spends it. Second, you've got him buying parts that are $100s more expensive for lesser performance. If anyone is on a con here, it would be you. Third, banthracis' build is at $1,100 and the only time a SSD was mentioned was as an example of how to waste the rest of the budget. It was never actually recommended.

I highly suggest you go and start reading up on the newer tech before suggesting changes...

 

[banthracis]

If Chevy released a 80 mpg Car yesterday and Toyota released an identical car, but with 500MPG car for the same price today, I'm pretty sure any sane person would consider the Chevy car to be outdated, even if it's only 1 day old.

If anyone is conning, it's you. You're trying to get someone to buy $165 DDR3 1800 RAM and a $240 300gb velociraptor which has worse performance than a $55 500gb F3.

 

[escher138]

Best answer selected by escher138.

 

[escher138]

Here's an i5 System I put together yesterday


Case
Haf 922 $89.98 Free shipping with promo code EMCYZNT45,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

HD
Spinpoint F3 $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

RAM
Rip Jaw DDR3 1600 7-8-7-24 $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

MOBO
Asus P7P55D-E Pro USB 3.0/SATA 6.0 2 x PCIE x8 $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621

PSU/Optical
OCZ 700W and Lite ON $96.98 w/ $25 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.323055

GPU/OS
Sapphire 5850 + win 7 Premium 64 bit OEM $384.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.298043

CPU/HSF i5-750 and Hyper 212 Plus $221.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.296096

Total $1153.89 before $25 MIR and shipping which should cancel out.

I went with this combo deal, parts arrived and easily put together. The case is super quick & easy to install drives in. Box POSted on first attempt and I had no difficulty except for one SATA power plug from the Power Supply broke a little and won't hold a connection, but their are plenty of others to use.

 

[Truhls]

I went with this combo deal, parts arrived and easily put together. The case is super quick & easy to install drives in. Box POSted on first attempt and I had no difficulty except for one SATA power plug from the Power Supply broke a little and won't hold a connection, but their are plenty of others to use.

Great! Hope you like your new rig!