Please help me with my computer and graphics card - I'm so lost!

[Guest]

I'm looking to get a prebuilt system for gaming, I only play world of warcraft but I would like to have a good system for other games in the future. I know only the basics about computers, but I've learned a lot in the past few days.

1) Would it be better to get a prebuild system from cyberpower such as the components listed below or the one I selected from dell (also shown below).

2) I've read that the i7-870 is overall faster than the i7-930, would I notice a difference in gaming? I will not be overclocking on my own.

3) If I get the dell, would the components I can't configure to buy on their website hold back the system or be kinda cheap, like maybe their motherboard?

4) If I get the dell, would the gsx260 or hd5770 be better for gaming? I can't seem to find a clear answer but I read that the gsx260 might not be as good with dell because dell might adjust it?

5) I've read this dell xps8100 can be noisy but I read a lot of horror stories about the cyberpower company and experiences. Should I stay away from cyberpower?

6) Does anyone know if the dell sx2210 21.5" monitor (1920x1080 and TN2) would be pretty good?

I will be running Windows 7 and I'm trying to keep the price around $1500 and that includes the monitor. Keep in mind that I will not be doing advanced computer things with my system, I just want to have an excellent gaming experience. The cyberpower configuration is around $1400 without a monitor and the dell configuration is around $1500 (with my husband's work discount) with the monitor I selected.

Here are the specs below, thanks for your help:

CYBERPOWER (a friend of a friend built this spec for me):
Case: Apevia X-Dreamer 3 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Side-Panel Window & Temperature Display (Black Color with Black Ring & Blue LED Fan)
Internal USB Extension Module: None
Neon Light Upgrade: None
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
Noise Reduction Technology: Power Supply Gasket [+5]
Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts [+9]
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-930 2.80 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366 [-20]
Freebies: FREE Game: Just Cause 2
Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: No Overclocking
Cooling Fan: Intel LGA1366 Certified CPU Fan & Heatsink [-20]
Motherboard: Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio [-30]
Motherboard Expansion Card: None
Memory: 6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Freebies: Mafia II Full Game Download Coupon with purchase of NVIDIA GTX460 video card or above
StarCraft II Free Trial Coupon with purchase of NVIDIA GTX460 video card or above
Video Card 2: None
Video Card 3: None
Dedicated PHYSX Card: None
Multiple Video Card Settings: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
Power Supply Upgrade: * 800 Watts - XtremeGear Gaming Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
Hard Drive: 30 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk [-7] (30GB x 2 (60B Capacity) Raid 0 Extreme Performance [+82])
Data Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+65] (Single Hard Drive)
Hard Drive Cooling Fan: None
External Hard Drive (USB3.0/2.0/eSATA): None
USB Flash Drive: None
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: None
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
3D Vision Glasses: None
LCD Monitor: None
2nd Monitor: None
3rd Monitor: None
Speakers: None
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Network Surge Protector: None
Mega Notebook/Netbook/Server Bundle: None
Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
Gaming Gear: None
Extra Thermal Display: None
Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: Zonet ZEW1642S IEEE 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card [+29]
External Wireless Network Card: None
Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None
Bluetooth: None
Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
Video Camera: None
Headset: None
Printer: None
Cable: None
Power Protection: None
Surge Protector: None
IEEE1394 Card: None
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
Floppy: None
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional [+135] (64-bit Edition)
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None
Office Suite: None
Games: None
Ultra Care Option: None
Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Rush Service: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS

DELL:
PROCESSORS Intel® Core™ i7-870 processor(8MB Cache, 2.93GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English
MEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs edit
MONITOR 21.5" Dell SX2210 Full HD Monitor with Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam, Dual Microphones
VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5
HARD DRIVE 1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
OPTICAL DRIVE 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1 Year Basic Service Plan
Studio XPS 8100 Studio XPS 8100
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language

 

[compfreak93]

Dont go through cyberpower its better to build a custom PC and the experience is great and if you're only playing WoW a $600-$700 would be perfect.

Heres a quick build i put together in like 5min that would play WoW like a charm.
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398
Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462
HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

And you can add and extra $100 for a case and DVD drive if you see this before its updated give me some time ill update with a better build.

 

[Proximon]

Both of those systems are balanced poorly. Too much CPU compared to the GPU.

The GTX 465 is a poor value also... it's a poor performer.

Look for a system with an i5-750 or an AMD X4 955, plus an ATI 5850 or Nvidia GTX 470. Get 4GB of DDR3... games do not use any more than that. 8GB is a waste.

As compfreak states the system he showed you will play WoW fine. There is nothing wrong with a bit more though.

I looked over Dells site and it's a problem. You really can do far better on your own. Plenty of guides here to help you through the process of building.

 

[Guest]

Dont go through cyberpower its better to build a custom PC and the experience is great and if you're only playing WoW a $600-$700 would be perfect.

Heres a quick build i put together in like 5min that would play WoW like a charm.
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398
Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150462
HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

And you can add and extra $100 for a case and DVD drive if you see this before its updated give me some time ill update with a better build.

Should I not go through Cyberpower because they've had a bad reputation or just because it's more expensive than building my own? I really don't want to build my own, if I had someone to help then maybe I would do it or maybe pay a friend to do it that knows what their doing but unfortunately I don't know anyone to help me on this. Plus my husband is paying for it and wants me to just order a prebuilt one...don't think he'll finance me building one even if it's less expensive. He doesn't trust me lol Thanks for your help.

 

[Guest]

Both of those systems are balanced poorly. Too much CPU compared to the GPU.

The GTX 465 is a poor value also... it's a poor performer.

Look for a system with an i5-750 or an AMD X4 955, plus an ATI 5850 or Nvidia GTX 470. Get 4GB of DDR3... games do not use any more than that. 8GB is a waste.

As compfreak states the system he showed you will play WoW fine. There is nothing wrong with a bit more though.

I looked over Dells site and it's a problem. You really can do far better on your own. Plenty of guides here to help you through the process of building.

Thanks for your help. I know that the CPU is rather uber in the ones I selected...I have been reading all over that wow is more CPU dependant than GMU dependant and 3 of my online wow friends basically recommended a baseline of 8Gb memory and a 1 TB hard drive. Also, many of my wow friends are using the 5770 graphics card in systems similar to what im looking at and they love it. What's the problem you found when you looked on the dell website - is it the motherboard or some other cheap things they are using for the xps studio 8100?

 

[Guest]

Everyone that responded is saying the CPU and GPU are balanced poorly. I've changed the cyberpower computer spec to give it a more advanced graphics card, the ati 5850. Can you all give me feedback on the computer below now? I really need to know:
1) I had no idea what motherboard to select, can you go into the configuration and tell me which one I'm supposed to pick?
2) Does the hard drive and data hard drive selection look good? I have no idea what to do for those, but a friend of a friend told me to configure them as I have done.
3) For bluetooth, I have selected 'none', does that mean I won't have any bluetooth capabilities with the desktop?

Thanks for your help!

Configuration URL: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1CNM8U

Product Name: CyberPower P55 Configurator (NO MONITOR)

Price: $1,353.00

______________________________________________________________________

*BASE_PRICE:[+619]

BLUETOOTH:None

BUNDLE:None

CAS:Apevia X-Dreamer 3 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Side-Panel Window & Temperature Display [-12] (Black Color with Black Ring & Blue LED Fan)

CASUPGRADE:None

CD:24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)

CD2:None

CPU:Intel® Core™ i7-870 2.93 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1156 [+86]

CS_FANefault case fans

FA_HDD:None

FAN:Intel LGA1156 Certified CPU Fan & Heatsink [-20]

FLASHMEDIA:INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer [+10] (BLACK COLOR)

FLOPPY:None

GLASSES:None

HDD:30 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk [+41] (Single Hard Drive)

HDD2:1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+65] (Single Hard Drive)

IEEE_CARD:None

KEYBOARD:Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard

LANSURGE:None

MB_ADDON:None

MEMORY:8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module [+114] (Corsair or Major Brand)

MONITOR:None

MONITOR2:None

MONITOR3:None

MOTHERBOARD:[CrossFireX] Asus P7P55 LX Intel P55 Chipset DDR3 LGA1156 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI

MOUSE:XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse

MULTIVIEW:Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors

NETWORK:Onboard Gigabit LAN Network

NOISEREDUCE1ower Supply Gasket [+5]

NOISEREDUCE2:Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts [+9]

OS:Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition)

OVERCLOCK:No Overclocking

POWERSUPPLY:* 800 Watts - XtremeGear Gaming Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+63]

PRINTER:None

PRINTER_CABLE:None

RUSH:NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS

SERVICE:STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT

SOUND:HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

SPEAKERS:None

TEMP:None

TVRC:None

USB:Built-in USB 2.0 Ports

USBFLASH:None

USBHD:None

USBX:None

VC_PHYSX:None

VIDEO:ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [+240] (Major Brand Powered by ATI)

VIDEO2:None

VIDEO3:None

WNC:Zonet ZEW1642S IEEE 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card [+29]

_PRICE+1353)

_view_:d

______________________________________________________________________
Note:
i7-870 processor, 5850 vid card

 

[compfreak93]

You can get a cyberpower PC there are actually pretty good reviews about them, alienware is better but WAAAAAAY to overpriced. If i was in your position i would ditch the whole Intel build and just go with an AMD build which shall be posted below, so then you can save money spend money on games, mouse, nice monitor etc.

heres the build i put together:

•*BASE_PRICE: [+1075]
•CASE: * In-Win Ironclad Full Tower Gaming Case w/ 220MM Side Panel Fan (Black Color)
•CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
•CPU: AMD Phenom™II X6 1090T Six-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [+90]
•CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
•FAN: NZXT Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
•FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
•FREEBIE_CU1: FREE Game: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
•FREEBIE_CU2: FREE Game: DiRT™2
•HDD: 640GB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [-19] (Single Hard Drive)
•HDD2: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+65] (Single Hard Drive)
•KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
•MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
•MONITOR: 22" Widescreen 1920x1080 ViewSonic VG2227WM (Viewable 21.5 inch) LCD (Black Color) w/ Built-in D-Sub & DVI Input [+199]
•MOTHERBOARD: Asus M4A87TD EVO AMD 870 Chipset CrossFireX Support DDR3 Socket AM3 ATX w/ 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, IEEE1394a, USB3.0, SATA-III, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI
•MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
•MULTIVIEW: Xtreme Performance in SLI/CrossFireX Gaming Mode Supports Single Monitor
•NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
•OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional [+31] (64-bit Edition)
•POWERSUPPLY: 700 Watts - XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply
•RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
•SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
•SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
•SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
•USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
•VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
•VIDEO2: ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
•PRICE: (+1450)

If this is too expensive you can always get a cheaper CPU.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help compfreak93, I'm going to think about this more then I will decide.

 

[Proximon]

I have a few things to point out here.

First up, I may not have played WoW much this year but I've had a continuous account since beta RAM usage, even with more than 80 addons, never exceeds 4GB.

I can deal with large raids, or massive PvP battles just fine with an overclocked dual core. You just don't need that much CPU.

What you do need that these Cyberpower builds lack so far is a quality power supply.

If you are going to use them, get what matters and not the other stuff. You do not need an SSD. It does nothing for WoW. It just makes your boot times faster, as well as game loads.

Here is the way I would do it... with the extra deleted. If it's not on this list it's not in the build:

# CAS: * CoolerMaster 690 II Advanced Mid-Tower Gaming Case [+29] (Black Color)
A good cooling case with lots of room

# CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)

# CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-760 2.80 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1156
This is all you need here, and will be overclocked by them

# FAN: CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan [-6]
A good CPU fan that will ensure they get a nice overclock.

# HDD: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+22] (Single Hard Drive)

# KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard

# MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)

# MONITOR: * 24" Widescreen 1920x1080 Asus VH242H LCD w/ Built-in Speaker, DVI, & HDMI [+229]

# MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX] Asus P7P55D-E Intel P55 Express Chipset DDR3 LGA1156 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, IEEE1394, USB3.0, SATA-III, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI [+66]
It's a very nice board, in case you feel the need to upgrade later. Will OC well.

# MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
I think they just tacked the KB and mouse on for free.


# OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition) Be sure it's this one

# OVERCLOCK: Pro OC (Performance Overclock 10% or more) [+19] <-- VERY nice feature for a novice like yourself.

# POWERSUPPLY: * 650 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+99]
ALL YOU NEED. They may try to sell you a 700W that is junk... just say no.


# RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
# SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT

# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

# VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+258] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Here we have a very strong single video card. About the same power as the dual 5770s listed in the other build, but without the hassle of crossfire.

$1439 - You could build this exact system for a bit less, but it's a good price with the warranty and OC.

 

[compfreak93]

Thats a pretty decent build Proximan and i try and move people away from Nvidia and there new Fermi products because of all the overheating problems and since they run so hot, and since Nvidia has been falling behind in its driver support but other than that our builds are almost the same.

 

[Proximon]

Yes they run a bit hotter, but well within the tolerances they are designed for. Two 470s on a tight board without great airflow might be a problem, but one in a well cooled case is fine.

A pair of GTX 460s might also be possible. They run cooler and don't cost much more than the 5770s... but I think that goes over budget. The 650TX could probably handle them though.

 

[Atotalnoob]

Cyberpower is fine, if it is broken in the mail, call 'em and they will ship it back (it really isn't their fault if it breaks in the mail). I bought several from them and other companies, and they are pretty good. Their site isn't for "newbies" (no offense)...
Couldn't an X3 + 4 gigs of ram and 5770?
Proximon, if I was buying this computer I'd go with your build, but she really doesn't NEED sata III and usb3.0, it isn't like there are any products for those? (like two, ok?[ok more then that, but you get my point?])
yes, the mouse and keyboard are free, when I got my rig (for work) I stole the mouse, I like it, it is LED lit.
Something that hasn't been mentioned is she will be getting a free game.. Just cause 2 is the one I saw somewere on this page. I own it (dwang I wish I could've gotten it for free...) it is dx10 only and is awesome... =D I think a amd phenom x3, 4 gigs of ram and a 57xx is fine for her. By the By I think they have 5% off. Another company that is on (roughly) the same level is Ibuypower.
There will always be disgruntled people flaming companies, life works this way... D=
Alienware is for people who have to much money... =D

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your build Proximon, that looks great! I just have a quick question...when everyone says a CPU is maybe OP'ed, like if I get the i7-870 vs. the i7760, does that mean that I'm just paying more for it but I'm not gonna notice any difference in speed of the processor? And what about for future usage? I'm just curious because the difference in processor price is $200.00 but I'd be willing to pay that extra $200.00 if there is a slight increase in performance and it will less likely to be 'old' technology in the near future. I'm just worried if I get the i7-760 then it's going to feel like old technology faster than the i7-870 would.

 

[ckmost]

Talk about overkill, geesh you guys are nuts to play WOW, seriously. For that kind of money, to build a WOW setup i'd go with a single GPU 5850 an AMD Athlon II or Phenom (at least x3 3.0ghz), 4gb ddr3 (anything over 4gb for gaming is overkill), & 500gb 7200 HDD (unless you are a severe HD pirate you will never even use this, plus HDD cost are dropping very rapidly as SSD are being pushed out). With all the money saved ($ roughly 700) you could easily buy 3x20"+ monitors (plus the $30 adapter) and do WOW the best way you could with 3 screen eyefinity. I game with this setup, replace the 5850 with gtx460, and could not be more happy playing WOW. The rule I stick to is don't buy top of the line to future proof with technology, you always get burned and pay a huge premium. Its more cost effective + you will have a more modern machine to upgrade more regularly, tech moves way too fast anyways.

To give you an idea what your experience on wow could look like (couldn't fine a good video with the 5850, but you get the idea):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft39wCete0E


GFX $250
Mobo $100
CPU $100
HDD $50
RAM $100
CASE $50
PSU $50

 

[asteldian]

Certainly in the case of the i7 the overkill is in the fact that in terms of gaming performance, the i7 offers pretty much nothing over the i5 760. The i7 key feature that the i5 does not have is hyperthreading (using virtual cores in addition to the 4 it already has). The thing is, games don't need more than 4 cores, in fact, in reality they only just started using 3 cores on the whole, so hyperthreading is an irrelevant feature for gaming when an i5 760 already offers you 4 cores.
It will be a long time before more than 4 cores are needed, and even then, the virtual cores created by hyperthreading will be no substitute for a CPU with real 6 or 8 cores.

Proximons build is a nice one. It is WAAAY more than is needed for a game like WoW, but if you ever play demanding games in the future then it could be worth having. Otherwise, you should be able to get a build for about $800 to deal with WoW. Be aware that WoW does not make real use of 2 card set ups, so Proximons plan of having 1 x GTX470 is much smarter than 2 x 5770. Though, again, for WoW I would settle for a GTX460 as it is more than enough.

In future if you need more power, Proximon gave a motherboard that allows two cards, 2 x GTX460s give plenty of power and are a much nicer design than the GTX470. Also, a 650W quality PSU will be able to handle 2 x GTX460, whereas you would be struggling to have it power 2 x GTX470, especially if your CPU is Overclocked too.

 

[Proximon]

This is all true, it's more than required. However, the budget is met and no computer should be built around one game. Especially one as old as WoW. It is always advisable to build a computer that will last 4 years, at least. As long as the budget allows.

I appreciate your polite disagreements though

Think back (well, unless you are too young to remember) and consider what was a high end system 5 years ago. You'll find Athlon systems in sockets that are completely obsolete, and 6 or 7000 series Nvidia cards. Few of those systems are still being used by serious gamers, however I do know a few casual gamers (non-raid) that are still playing WoW at reduced settings on such computers.

Yes, on a 19x10 monitor you can probably run WoW fine with a triple core Athlon II and a 5770. All max settings, as many addons as you like. As I said, never buy a system for just today.... unless your budget is $500.

As to USB 3 and SATA 6GB/S, there are not many things that use those now and the ones that do don't need them. I assure you, 4 years is a very long time in hardware development. I've been building my own and others computers since the days of 80mhz Cyrix CPUs.

What barely worked for WoW 4 years ago doesn't cut it today and what barely works today won't cut it in the WoW that exists in three years, or the SWOTOR that exists or the next game.

 

[ckmost]

s.
I appreciate your polite disagreements though

your welcome lol

I've been building my own systems since the good old 386 days, more recently in the last 10 years i have had built a few PCs using newegg. Great thing about newegg is that it keeps record of every single purchase I have ever made. After doing the math, not to mention what is common knowledge, mainstream is where your value lays. A $1,500 dollar pc is definitely not mainstream. I've built high end systems, trying to future proof, only to find out that I really only cared about a single game or maybe 2 over a period of 3-4 yrs; all the capacity I paid for ended up just going to waste since the system really wasn't up to par when the rare 2nd game i liked came into play. I'm guessing this lady is in similar situation and will not get sick of playing WOW for quite some time until maybe another great hit comes out from the likes of blizzard. For anything outside of gaming a mainstream build will be great for quite a few years, hell i still use an old 1.6ghz athlon from 7 years ago for regular tasks in the spare bedroom.

Maybe a compromise is in order. Buying a very good case that will be re-used is always a good idea, maybe even a great PSU. I'd go with a regular 7200 Sata HDD of lets say 500gb (easy upgrade later to SSD when prices are more reasonable); Intel Chipset that supports the latest i7s, but I wouldn't get much more than a i7930; SLI ready mobo with at least 4 ddr3 slots; & a GTX 460 (with the idea to upgrade to SLI when needed as these cards perform very well); & last 4 Gb ddr3 (super easy to upgrade as needed).

 

[Proximon]

Good points. I do know people like you that don't need that much. I think the OP has enough data to decide now... I will link the relevant guides:

Monthly Gaming CPU roundup - Note that these recommendations are for today, not tomorrow:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i5-760-core-i7-970,2698.html

Monthly GPU roundup - as above
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-radeon-hd-5570-gaming,2697.html

 

[ckmost]

lol I just realized I ended up where we started basically. Going back and reading the original post, if you don't plan on ever upgrading the PC get the dell. Otherwise i'd go with a built system since you have more control over the PSU and Mobo. From my experience Dell uses the cheapest parts possible that run the components it comes with (to save money). I've had several problems attempting to upgrade friends Dells as they have crudy proprietary PSUs which are not standard sizes and custom mobos that will not play well with newer parts. With that said Dell does have great support and you take all of the guess work out of the equation. With that said PCs nowadays are Soo easy to work with, there are so many resources on the web you could easily learn how stuff works as you upgrade and perhaps the next PC you will build yourself.

 

[ckmost]

Good points. I do know people like you that don't need that much. I think the OP has enough data to decide now... I will link the relevant guides:

Monthly Gaming CPU roundup - Note that these recommendations are for today, not tomorrow:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i5-760-core-i7-970,2698.html

Monthly GPU roundup - as above
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-radeon-hd-5570-gaming,2697.html

Good links and great points as well, she'll just have to see where she fits in. Best of luck

 

[Guest]

Thanks everyone, I will think this over and buy something this weekend - I appreciate all of your help!

 

[Guest]

I'm going with Proximon's build exactly as it is, I love it. Except I'm not going to do the 10% overclocking. And I'm getting 1 5850 gaming card. I was just wondering if it would make a difference if I got this motherboard instead (its the the least expensive P55 motherboard that cyberpower is offering) because it will save me $66.00:

[CrossFireX] Asus P7P55 LX Intel P55 Chipset DDR3 LGA1156 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI


Also, do I really need the CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan if I'm not overclocking? The standard intel fan is just $14.00 less.

THANK YOU!

 

[Proximon]

The board will work fine, especially with no overclock. It's lacking the current generation of USB and SATA. As has been pointed out, no devices really need those technologies right now, but you may find something that needs those in the future.

If you need one of those later an expansion card will work though, and would probably cost less than the difference in price.

The performance boost from the overclock is very significant, but you would need the board and cooler for that.

Would you be interested in taking the $80 you saved from the two items and upgrading to an i7-870? It's $87 more and would get you about the same performance increase as the overclock.

Again, you don't need it today but might in a year or two.

 

[Guest]

Yes, I orginally wanted to go for an i7-870 but I thought it wouldn't be a big difference. If I get the i7-870, can I still get the cheapest motherboard:
[CrossFireX] Asus P7P55 LX Intel P55 Chipset DDR3 LGA1156 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI

And with the i7-870, do I still need the CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan?

And the 650 watt power supply is still enough then right?

 

[Proximon]

Yes, the board will be fine and no, you don't need the CM hyper cooler. The Corsair 650W is more than enough for the build, but you should probably still get it as it's high quality.