Building a new gaming machine today.

[piepants1]

Hey guys, I'm attempting to build a new gaming machine by ordering the parts today. I should mention that I will only be needing a box, so mobo/cpu/case/power supply/ram/video card/HD/OS. I've been trying to find deals on newegg and so far I have:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
$39.94

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433
$49.99

MSI 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130275
$69.99

ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363
$119.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311
$89.99

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
$99.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
$99.99

Any ideas on how I could shave maybe $50-$100 off this by making minor sacrifices? I'll be using the machine to run multiple instances of World of Warcraft. In addition, are there any problems with combining this motherboard, cpu, ram, and video card?

Thanks for any help you guys can offer!

 

[Griffolion]

Looks good to me. I don't deal in dollars, only sterling so i don't know Newegg too well.

If you absolutely must, maybe you could move the CPU down to a tri-core. That should save a bit. I know for a fact that Asus 5770 isn't the cheapest you can get so take a look there (unless its part of a deal).

Other than that, i think you're as good as you can get.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

check for combos, you can often shave quite a bit off that way

 

[piepants1]

Alright thanks for the ideas. I revised my list by opting for a cheaper video card that's still 1gb DDR5 (assuming this will be important over DDR3?) and finding a combo deal of a mobo/cpu:

MSI N240GT-MD1G/D5 GeForce GT 240 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127483
$89.99


AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor HDX925WFGIBOX
BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.547344
$144.99

So with these changes I'm down to $515. I'd still like to get down into the $400ish range which I could do by grabbing a cheap OEM of XP 64 for the OS maybe. And I could probably drop the 8gigs of DDR3 1333 for 4 gigs and save $30 or so. Would I even be utilizing 8 gigs of ram for running multiple WoW windows? Any further ideas are much appreciated.

 

[Twoboxer]

Did I miss your power supply selection somewhere?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006

As for memory needed to run multiple WoW windows . . . I like 8GB for a single (primary) WoW instance, including addons, leaving room for textures, Vent, the OS, antivirus, keyboard/keypad/mouse drivers, and other crap without needing disk. WoW runs a lot better for me on that kind of rig than a 4GB rig with faster vid cards. And I use two PCs to run two instances, not caring much about memory on the second rig . . . its a bot anyhow.

In your case I'd recommend 8GB also. If you plan to run 2 or 3 instances simultaneously, you aren't really playing the game, so you can turn graphics details down . . . but the last thing you need happening is going to disk and adding overhead, time, and lag.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the 240 is MUCH weaker than the 5770. I'd try to keep that or get a 450

 

[piepants1]

Alright I definitely forgot the power supply, heheh. I did however find a cheap case w/500W power supply:

APEVIA Black SECC Steel / Aluminum X-MASTER-BK/500 ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144231
$24.99

Does anyone have any suggestions for a cost-effective video card that would work well with this current setup, like under $150? At a reasonable $120 I could just go back to:

ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363&cm_mmc=CM2010-_-48-_-N82E16814121363&nm_mc=CM2010
$120.00

Would the 5770 be alright with only a 500W power supply?

Thanks!

 

[Twoboxer]

You can't buy a quality 500W psu for $25, let alone get a case. Keep in mind that the psu is one part that can damage or shorten the life of your PC. . . or worse.

No one here would recommend that combo to you.

Yes, your PC and its 5770 would be fine with a real, quality 500W psu.

 

[piepants1]

Hmm, well it's actually $55 with a $30 mail-in-rebate. Should I scratch that and go for a 600W power supply then and separate case then?

Also, does anyone have any opinions on whether I should fork out the $100 for windows 7 or just get a cheap copy of XP 64? The only real difference for running WoW would be the DX upgrade, right?

 

[piepants1]

Ah alright, thanks. I'll see what I can find in the PSU dept.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

Alright, if you want a decent PSU and Case combo:

COOLER MASTER Elite RC-310-OWR460 Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case RS-460-PSAR-J3, Elite 460W Power Supply: $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119218