Decent Gaming Computer with 500 dollar price range?

[rajohns08]

I am currently playing WoW on a latitude d830 with a nvidia quadro nvs 140m gfx card. i have been told that gfx cards is absolutely abysmal for gameplay and it is showing up in my fps in wow (usually around 40 fps while playing at like 700x600 resolution). so what would be a good idea for a desktop or laptop that would be good to run wow smoothly within a 500 dollar price range?

 

[WR2]

Hello rajohns08;

Gaming GFX card make 3D gameplay possible.
You're talking about the Quadro NVS 140m laptop card in particular? G84M class video chip

In the Passmark GPU benchmarks Quadro NVS 140M scores 145 which is a really puny score even for laptop graphics. That makes it just a graphics card, and not a gaming graphics card.

A popular budget WoW graphics card like the $70 Radeon HD 5670 scores 1224.

 

[WR2]

That should work well on WoW:Cataclysm

Combo deal: AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana 3.1GHz Triple-Core CPU & GIGABYTE Radeon HD 5670 1GB Video Card $166 & $10 rebate
Combo deal: BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard & Win7 Home Premium 64-bit OS $155
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 2 DDR3 1333 RAM $47
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $50
LG 24x DVD Burner $17
CM Elite 310 Mid Tower Case with 420W Power Supply $60

around ~$495

 

[rajohns08]

That should work well on WoW:Cataclysm

Combo deal: AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana 3.1GHz Triple-Core CPU & GIGABYTE Radeon HD 5670 1GB Video Card $166 & $10 rebate
Combo deal: BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard & Win7 Home Premium 64-bit OS $155
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 2 DDR3 1333 RAM $47
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $50
LG 24x DVD Burner $17
CM Elite 310 Mid Tower Case with 420W Power Supply $60

around ~$495

i was looking around the site and saw this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-overclock-athlon-ii-x3,2811-8.html

do you think it would be better to go with what you have mentioned or try the components from that link and why? thanks for your help by the way, im a noob at this stuff

 

[WR2]

Thats a good combination of parts but I don't think the cost of Win7 is included.

The GTX 460 video card is a nice jump up in performance.

You could pick the lowest price parts from each list and save a few $$ if you wanted.

 

[rajohns08]

Thats a good combination of parts but I don't think the cost of Win7 is included.

The GTX 460 video card is a nice jump up in performance.

You could pick the lowest price parts from each list and save a few $$ if you wanted.

what if i already have a windows 7 install disc with license key? will it let me install on new computer even though i have already installed it on my laptop?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

depends. If its a full retail, then yes, If it's OEM, then probly not.

 

[WR2]

With the license already in use on the laptop trying to also activate the license on the desktop is going to likely fail and invite you to call microsoft to complete activation.

 

[rajohns08]

depends. If its a full retail, then yes, If it's OEM, then probly not.

i got it through my university for free. think it will work?

 

[rajohns08]

With the license already in use on the laptop trying to also activate the license on the desktop is going to likely fail and invite you to call microsoft to complete activation.

do you mean that if i explian my situation they would approve or disapprove?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

at worst, you can buy another student edition for $30

 

[WR2]

I actually don't know what they would do.

 

[sartorius]

It really doesn't require much to run WoW.

OP, here's a build you could use:

CASE: Cooler Master Centurion 5 -- $20. Despite that price, the case is brand new. I bought one of these a week ago for my new build and it came in pristine condition.
MOBO: Biostar A780L3G -- $59.99
CPU: Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition -- $89.99
RAM: Patriot 4GB DDR3 1333 -- $39.99
GPU: Radeon HD 5670 -- $74.99 (Still way overkill for WoW, but a very nice little card nonetheless)
PSU: Corsair CX 430 -- $44.99
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM-- $39.99
ODD: LG 24X DVD Burner -- $16.99 (the ODD WR2 posted)

All together this would total out to $386.93 without tax/shipping.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

for $89.99 you're better off with an Athlon II X3 455 or for $10 more an X4 640. The extra cores will matter more than the L3 Cache. Especially since Cataclysm is fully multi-threaded -- it even performs better on a Phenom II X6 than a Phenom II X4. The more cores you throw at it the happier WOW:C is.

 

[WR2]

With just a bit of luck you might be able to get the Athlon II X3 445's 4th core to unlock.

 

[CsG_kieran_2]

With a bit of luck you maight be able to get the Phenom ii X2 *3rd AND 4th* core unlocked!

just saying

 

[WR2]

Sure; but it does cost $13 more to begin with. And you have to get lucky twice.

 

[rajohns08]

so if i buy all the parts from the link i provided, how hard will it be for me to put together myself?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

for unlocking odds are about 50% you'll unlock 1 extra core. *If* that unlocked, then only about 20% of them unlock to a 4th core.

An athlon II X3 450 is $79.99 ($10 less than the 555), and gives you a guaranteed 3 cores (compared to a 50% chance at them) and a 50% chance at 4 (vs 10%), an Athlon II X4 640 is $10 more, with a guaranteed 4 cores (compared with a ~10% chance at 4)

 

[WR2]

It's really not hard at all as long as there are no problems.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a PC

 

[WR2]

If you do run into problems this might be handy:

"System won't boot" and "no video output" checklist

My advice is to read that first. It talk about a couple problems that can be avoided if you're aware of how some problems occur.

 

[dalauder]

If you have a Micro Center nearby, the $500 decent gaming computer gets a lot easier to do.

 

[dalauder]

Go with the Phenon II x2 565BE. It overclocks much more easily and half of the ones I've built unlock 4 cores so you just need to get a little lucky. Get a GTX 460 1GB, 4GB DDR3 1600 (same price as 1333), a Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (because it's much better than the 500GB and only $55). Make sure you get an AM3 mobo that can unlock cores. Asus has some nice ones for like $70. 4 memory slots is nice too.

 

[aznshinobi]

You could try to use the 450$ build I have on my site. I think that'd work out just nicely Course these other builds look nice as well.

 

[dalauder]

Oh, I'd like to recommend the 5850 for your graphics. You can't beat that bang for your buck in your pricerange.