£1000 WoW PC

[devroz]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week


Budget Range: £1000(everything included), but can stretch it for a few hundred more. Wouldn't mind spending less if 1k is too much .


System Usage from Most to Least Important: World of Warcraft on pretty (high) settings.


Parts Not Required: OS


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Been looking at www.ebuyer.com. But anywhere that does either after 5 or weekend delivery should be fine. Northern Ireland.


Country of Origin: U.K. (Northern Ireland)


Parts Preferences: No preference.


Overclocking: Not immediately. Maybe when the game is unplayably slow...


SLI or Crossfire: Not until 6000 series.


Monitor Resolution: Hoping to get a full HD monitor.


Additional Comments: I would like a quiet PC as it will be on most of the time and close to the bed. 2ms response monitor. Gaming keyboard(preferably) and gaming mouse.

The plan is to give the girlfriend the graphics card and upgrade to a 6000 series when they are out.

 

[Silvune]

CPU: Phenom II X4 955 3.2Ghz MBox £109
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190673

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H £100
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/197546

RAM: Patriot Viper 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800C7 CAS 7-7-7-20, 1.6-1.65v PVS34G1600LLK £70
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/memory-pc/ddr3-pc3-12800/1600mhz/patriot/pvs34g1600llk.html

GPU: HIS ATI Radeon HD 5850 iCooler V 1024MB GDDR5 H585FN1GD £200
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-004-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411
Or
Gigabyte GTX 460 OC 1GB GDDR5 OC Edition £170
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/232853

PSU: XFX 850W Black Edition 80Plus Silver Modular £111
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/177664
Will be able to deal with the majority of possible GPU configs.

Case: Fractal Design Black Pearl Define R3 £80
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/236437
The R2 reviewed well at SPCR. R3 is very similar as far as I can tell, so it should just be minor improvements.

Heatsink: Thermalright MUX-120 Black £41
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Thermalright-MUX-120-Black-tower-heatsink-for-Intel-1366-1156-775-AMD-includes-1x120mm-fan
Or
Scythe SCNJ-3000 Ninja 3 £40
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/239821
Help reduce noise over stock.

HDD: Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB £48
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804

ODD: Any Sata DVD Burner £15.

Display: LG W2361V-PF 23" LCD Wide, Full HD Gaming monitor 300cdm/2 1920 x 1080 2ms, Black- 3yr Warranty £150
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/165288
Might want to do more research into this as manufacturer stated specs are pretty worthless sometimes. So rely on reviews or personal experience.

Keyboard/Mouse: Anything you want.

Total £924

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I'm off to my nightshift now but this should see you on the right lines,
didnt put keyboard or mouse as I think thats down to personal choice/comfort, and you'll still want a monitor ofc
but shop around on scan.co.uk, ebuyer and pixmania for deals, talking of which, I took the case and psu because they are a deal, I was going to leave the case up to you as well.
http://orders.ebuyer.com/customer/shopping/index.html?action=c2hvd2NhcnQ%3D
And Silvunes beat me to it hehe
Moto

 

[devroz]

I have been pondering the i7 build Motopsychojdn linked as the recent price drop for the 950 makes it a good deal.

I also like the looks of the Fractal Design Black Pearl Define R3 that Silvune linked. It advertises noise reduction and the spinpoint hdd is apparantly loud.

My friend recomended samsung syncmaster, and I see ebuyer have Samsung SyncMaster BX2450, http://www.ebuyer.com/product/224045.

Also, checked 3 websites policies for delivery. None of them have Saturday delivery for Northern Ireland. I will ask at work if I can get the stuff delivered there.

 

[Silvune]

Well an i7-950 build would add in the region of [strike]£260[/strike]£180, even more if you got triple channel RAM. I don't really think it's worth it. Altho I can't see the build that moto posted.

 

[devroz]

His build comes to 900 with no monitor, mouse or keyboard.

I tried editing my posts but it will not let me. I always play wow in windowed mode and have firefox, msn, skype, music etc. going on.

I am also planning on usinf frap and then editing the video to release some arena footage. I think the i7 would help with this?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I think something went wrong with ebuyers basket link, I Built a 955 system as well but I just tried accessing it from my phone and its an empty basket, I'll re post properly in the am dude
Moto

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I found this this morning from another uk site
http://www.awd-it.co.uk/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=9046
bundle that with the case and psu deal iirc thats under £500 for both?
my original build was:

Asus M4A89GTD PRO, AMD 890GX Socket AM3 DVI VGA HDMI 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard £93.93

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Socket AM3 3.2 GHz 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor £108.62

HIS HD 5870 iCooler 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Graphics Card With Call Of Duty Game Voucher £309.99

CM Storm Scout + Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W Modular PSU *Special Offer Bundle*
£128.98

£654.98 inc postage

or the awd-it bundle plus case deal £440.30
after that its gfx card of choice, hard drive/optical, K.board,mouse and monitor
Sorry for link not working right, that'll teach me to be lazy/rush things
Moto

 

[devroz]

I checked that bundle, and buying the parts seperately on ebuyer seems to make it cheaper.

Also, the motherboard has an integrated vga, which I do not plan on using. I had a look to find @ motherboard without an integrated vga which supports usb3 and sata3 but couldn't find any sub £150.

I was thinking of getting a motherboard that supports 2 card crossfire for 6000 series so I can just add a card in the future to keep performance high.

The phenom II does seem like a good deal as processor + motherboard comes to around £200.

Which speed memory modules should I be looking at? 1600 mhz with cas 9?

Also, which graphics card would you recommend for max or ultra settings on wow. I will be using it until the 6000 series comes out, and then I will pass it onto my girlfriends phenom II x2 550 with ddr3 1333. I have been looking at 5770, gtx460, 5850 and 5870 mostly. Not exactly sure which is suitable for her. She does say she wants all on max settings.

Overall I see the phenom II x4 as a very good price/performance trade, and am wondering about what to build around it.

 

[devroz]

There are a lot of rumours going on that the 6XXX series will be out in a month.

Is it wise to get a motherboard with integrated graphics and using the integrated vga while waiting for the new series to upgrade to that?

 

[noble]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think WoW performs better with similarly priced Nvidia cards... Although an ATI owner myself...

 

[devroz]

Current build looks as such. Forgive me for the lack of links, posting on phone. If anything seems odd or is wrong let me know.

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Socket AM3 3.2 GHz 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor 190673 £108.62
ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 890GX Socket AM3 DVI VGA HDMI Out 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard 198314 £115.50
Ebuyer Mug with ebuyer logo 6 pack 201515 £2.50
Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz Memory Kit Unbuffered CL9 178943 £76.23
CM Storm Scout + Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W Modular PSU *Special Offer Bundle* 177749 £129.98
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM 173804 £47.99
Samsung SyncMaster BX2450 - HDMI LCD display - TFT - LED backlight - 24" Monitor 224045 £196.24
Razer Deathadder Re-Spawn 3500DPI Infrared Gaming Mouse 175523 £46.99
Razer Lycosa Mirror Special Edition Keyboard - USB - UK Layout 153143 £61.05
Logitech S220 2.1 Speakers - 17W RMS 129428 £16.75
Scythe SCNJ-3000 Ninja 3 Socket LGA1366, 1156, 775, AM3, AM2+, AM2, 754, 939, 940 Processor Cooler 239821 39.52
Plantronics Gamecom 377 Computer Headset 158667 £24.00
Samsung TS-H653G DVD-RW SATA Optical Drive - OEM 227080 £13.99

Total £880 + shipping. A hair under 900.

Anything wrong? Could do with upgrading? Better alternative?

Thanks.

 

[devroz]

I still am notwed to edit my posts...

I don't know about the performance gap between amd and nvidia cards, however I am planning on holding off until the 6XXX Series is released. I expect the new series to have better performance overall.

As noted, I am planning on using the internal gpu until the new amd 6XXX series comes out, reportedly next month.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Your gf will be happy with a 5770 for WoW (Me and the gf run them fine on max settings), but if budgets not an issue go for one of the 58xx's, it'll last her a bit longer,
I upgraded from a nvid 9500gt so definately voting ati over nvid hehe although 450's get good reports
I would go for 1600 ram (cl8 or 9) and lose the Mug, otherwise nice looking build man,
Moto

 

[Silvune]

No one's allowed to edit their posts. The only way you can successfully post an edit is in the quick edit section - usually I just paste the full edit into the quick edit section then post it.

It advertises noise reduction and the spinpoint hdd is apparantly loud.

I'm pretty sure it's one of the quieter performance harddrives. http://techreport.com/articles.x/19330/9
And unless you choose your other components* really carefully it won't be anywhere near the noisiest or most notable thing in your system.

*(CPU heatsink, GPU - in particular the fan, number, speed and quality of case fans, etc)

Which speed memory modules should I be looking at? 1600 mhz with cas 9?

Any reason you are not going for that Patriot RAM I linked earlier?
The lower the CAS latency the better. 7 is about the lowest you can get. Some people don't think it's worth paying extra for lower latency tho as the speed difference between 1333 7 and 9 won't be noticeable in most programs.

The only thing I'm not convinced of is the power supply. It is a good power supply, but it is much less capable of powering multiple GPU builds than a really good 850W. No problems with single cards, but you might have to upgrade PSU when/if you decide to CF. I'm also not sure how quiet a Storm Scout case will be.

 

[devroz]

@ Moto: I am planning on getting her a new 6xxx series gpu for christmas. She says she can wait. Would that be overkill for her machine?

You mention 1600 ram. The motherboard supports it? Willing to change the motherboard, 2x8x for crossfire is puzzling me, although I like the usb3 and sata3 capabilities.

@ Silvune: Thanks for the info!

Ebuyer don't have that ram, and I was being lazy. If you recommend I do get it I don't see a reason not to if it is indeed better.

The bundle for the case and psu seemed good. Although if it isn't a convincing deal I can go for the options you link.

Also, is it worth getting i5 760 or should I just stick with this phenom II?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

if your Gf is happy to wait till Xmas, wait and get her a 6k series I'd say, although I cant say if its overkill for her rig without knowing what hers is
Your choice of Mobo will support up to 2000Mhz overclocked ram
ah, I didnt notice the x8 on the Xfire, although theres not a massive difference between x8 and x16 if most talk on the subject is heeded but feel free to find one thats x16 on both lanes in Cf, and for price over performance I'd say stick with Amd
Moto

 

[davewolfgang]

WoW doesn't need that great of a video card currently (Cata will probably change that).

I run it will all the settings maxed and I'm only using a BFG GeoForce GTS 250, Windowed mode on a 1920x1080 Acer 23" (DVI cable). I get 100+ fps even in Dalaran and more out questing. It does drop to 40ish fps in full raid fights, but I can live with that until next year to upgrade.

System:
i7 930, Gigabit UD3R
8 GB RAM
WD 640 GB 7200 HD
HAF 932

 

[devroz]

@ Moto: The Asus crosshair formula, http://www.ebuyer.com/product/206344?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products, has all I am looking for minus pirce and integrated gpu.

My gf has my old phenom II x2 550(not sure maybe 1 lower) with 4gb of 1333 ddr3 ram on an asus 785 evo.

@ Dave: She will be playing cataclysm. I don't want to get a card that will be obsolete in a month if I can help it. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[Silvune]

Dual x8 PCI-E lanes bottlenecks two 5870s to the tune of 4% compared to dual x16. Chances are with faster cards the bottleneck would be a greater percentage. Still not necessarily enough to warrant extra cost.

You won't get a AMD board with dual x16 PCI-E and IGP.
The MSI 890FXA-GD70, Asus M4A89TD Pro (no G) and the Asrock 890FX Deluxe3 should be cheaper than the Crosshair IV. If you wanted dual x16 on Intel it would cost north of £150 for such a motherboard. If you're happy with dual x8, you can get the MSI-P55A G55 for £93 from scan, it has CF & SLI, SATA6G & USB3. I don't know how well it OCs - that's my only question mark with that mobo. This option would kind of make the change of CPU more 'manageable' from a monetary point of view.

Ebuyer don't have that ram, and I was being lazy. If you recommend I do get it I don't see a reason not to if it is indeed better.

If the delivery cost gets too much from ordering from multiple sites then you probably would be better off just sticking to ebuyer, but for £70 there is no better RAM, and everything else with similiar specs will be £80 minimum.

The bundle for the case and psu seemed good. Although if it isn't a convincing deal I can go for the options you link.

It is quite a good deal. It saves £20 compared to buying them separately and getting quality cases and PSUs for £130 can be tricky. It just might not be that suitable for what I think is your plan.
One of the things I don't like about that PSU is that it only has 600 watts on it's 12V rail.
My intention is to let you know what you are potentially getting yourself in for if you buy that bundle - so that you are making an informed decision.

What PSU does your gf have?

 

[devroz]

My girlfriend has a bad psu. I was planning on upgrading my psu and giving her the one I bought now. That should be fine?

I don't know if I want to crossfire or even if it would be needed. was thinkin of getting a 6770 or something along those lines. I could just get a higher model and skip crossfire if it makes more sense.

Also, is 8gb ram overkill?

 

[Silvune]

Sounds like a good idea to me about the PSU.

I don't know if WOW benefits from lots of RAM or not, but for most games 8GB is overkill.

 

[davewolfgang]

Sounds like a good idea to me about the PSU.

I don't know if WOW benefits from lots of RAM or not, but for most games 8GB is overkill.

For just the game yes, but will she be running other things while playing?

I run WoW, Outlook, FF with multiple tabs open, Y Messenger with multiple convo's going, and usually WMP going with some music, I've seen my mem go up to over 4 GB usage if I go to a multimedia page up while playing.

 

[devroz]

The ram is for me not her!

OK. Getting crossfire seems to add cost. Slash that. I will get a decent 6xxx series card when released.

How much extra would an i5 be and is it worth it? Otherwise we can start scrutinising each individual part and order soon!

The usb3 and sata3 capabilities add cost, but also add to the longevity of the system adding re-sell value. So I think that is worth the extra £50 odd or what.

 

[devroz]

Alright, I8 amgoing to bed now. Will check back in the morning.

Overall I think I am satisfied with how the build turned out. Some minor adjustments and it should be ready for ordering.

Let me know what you think.