Graphics card for wow with this setup

TCwow

Honorable
May 2, 2012
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10,510
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1858584&sku=B69-1392

GIGABYTE GA-H61M-DS2 Intel H61 Motherboard
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10 GHz Dual Core Processor

Upgrades
Corsair CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 XMS3 8GB DDR3 RAM x2 = 16GB
600W Power Supply

was gonna choose this
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=419883&sku=V261-5552
VisionTek 900331 Radeon HD 5550 Video Card - 1GB, DDR2, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), 1x Dual-Link DVI, VGA, DirectX 11

not looking to run ultra in raids but looking to be able to raid pretty well i know connection has its part in lag but i dont wanna see a slide show when in raids looking to be able to run atleast high in raids/bgs/dungeons/arenas
 

Kardius

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Apr 7, 2012
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I'm not the greatest at telling ya what you want or what you need. But I'll try and help you out where I can.

You won't need that much RAM. I would suggest dropping one of those ram sets and going with just 8gb. I play WoW a lot. I don't do much raiding, but do a lot of PVP. I don't have any stuttering with 8gb of RAM. I just built a computer myself recently. And I am using 8gb of RAM, and never seen more than 4gb used at any time yet.

I would suggest taking the money you save from the RAM and putting it into a better GPU. The one you listed it OK. But you can get a better one with the extra money. I was doing some slight research on GPUs between $50~$100.

I am basing findings off of this Toms Hardware Graphics Card Hierarchy April 2012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161395 <<< Higher Tier card than what you selected. Take saved money from RAM add in your GPU funds. And you can support that and a lunch after building the computer. I would ask for further support on this, if you want more expert advice.

But for sure. You don't need 16gb of RAM unless you're doing high intensive stuff outside WoW as far as I know.

I am just a gamer and novice builder, but I hope this helps some.
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator

If you factor in game files/data in the disk cache, you probably break 4GB total working set for WoW. When Cataclysm came out, I only had 4GB RAM and was hearing continuous disk accesses while flying over Stormwind with associated disk-IO stuttering. Upgrading to 8GB RAM smoothed that out.

With my 5770, I hit 50+fps at 1920x1200 with almost everything at Ultra so a 5550 might get uncomfortable when Mists of Pandoria comes out this summer. A 6770 or better would be a safe bet.
 

xXmjzXx

Distinguished
Apr 22, 2012
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oh its so garbage like the ultra brand lol sorry its not so over priced like the stuff you tell them. oh its never been tested cry about it, its a PSU.....
 

TCwow

Honorable
May 2, 2012
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10,510
Thanks alot guys everyone for that great feedback here i thought i would get flamed lol. Guess i know where to ask my tech questions from now on :).

ive decided im gonna get this videocard (thanks dirtyferret)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1jhnelbdu8ttp

other then that what site would u guys recommend for me getting better price on monitors i have a 18inch but looking to upgrade that also.
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator

People around here have a fixation on oversized PSUs.

With only an i3 (or even i5/i7), a mid-range video card and likely no intention to go SLI or overclock, your system might not even break 150W actual load power so you would get better value out of a good ~400W PSU. The Antec Earthwatts 380 for ~$55 is among the cheapest 80+ Bronze certified PSUs out there and would be plenty sufficient.
 

xXmjzXx

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Apr 22, 2012
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18,690


i cant even under stand what you're saying you make no sense you're talking about my system..
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator

The "memory in use" in task manager is only memory allocated to programs, you need to add the amount allocated to disk caching to get your actual total memory usage and that's going to be nearly all leftover memory if you loaded that much data/code that wasn't already loaded since the last time something released memory to the OS.

With 8GB RAM, all parts of the game used in a typical raid night land in the 4-5GB disk cache and never need to be reloaded from drive again for the whole evening, which eliminates nearly all stuttering after the initial loading pass since even if the game discards the data, it still remains in the OS' disk cache when you have enough RAM to keep it there, which is almost like running WoW off a RAM-disk.

If you physically downgrade your system to 4GB RAM so Windows has insufficient leftover RAM to effectively cache WoW's data set behind your back, you will get frequent stuttering from swapping and reloading as you move around.