Budget PC for World of Warcraft

tyrannosaur

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Apr 29, 2007
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when i say budget. i am serious! :). lets say about $300 for a PC that can handle World of Warcraft at full settings and still be quite playable. like 20 fps minimum. heres what i've come up with:

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower

motherboard: ASUS P5N-MX LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E2200

GPU: EVGA GeForce 8600GTS

RAM: Kingston DDR2 PC5300 1GBx2

PSU: Thermaltake W0093RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0.

i already have the HDD and CD drive.

any help on this would be super, as im not too sure on a budget PC such as this. thanks guys :)
 

zenmaster

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Feb 21, 2006
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#1 - Get a Better Mobo -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128084

#2 - The E2180 will OC just as well, especially with a decent Mobo.

#3 - This looks like a steal for DDR2-667 2GB of RAM. $15AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227078

#4 - Even an 8600GT or 7600GT will do just fine if the cost difference matters. Just be sure to get DDR3. Of course the 8600GTS is better and nice if you have the cash.

#5 - You can save some cach with the PSU.

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

zenmaster

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Feb 21, 2006
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8800GT or HD 3850 totally uncessary for WoW.

I don't think Sparkle would be the best quality PSU.
You can get a name brand PSU with Active PFC and 80+ Certified for that price.
 

tekzor

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Jul 7, 2006
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save up yo money and ditch this sh*ty game and make a PC that can run AOC on medium. Prepare for MMOs of this year and future. Else you are throwing you money away
 

tyrannosaur

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thanks for the input guys. will be a big help :)

i have no interest in AoC or any upcoming MMO. i simply want a PC that can handle WoW without lagging, that is cheap, for WotLK's imminent release :)

i am in the USA atm too.
 

ojomow

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May 4, 2008
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WOW doesn't really need extreme pc to play .
You need pro internet and gfx for rendering less time and amazing pictures
cpu duo and ram-> BlahO.O
 

effel

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May 19, 2008
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http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=8376112

Honestly, the 780G chipset handles WoW pretty damn good on its own. But I set up this config with a 3650 with GDDR3 instead of the cheaper variants (tacks on a measily $10 compared the GDDR2). You'll get the benefit of hybrid CF, and power savings through the motherboard . If you're playing at 1024x768 or 1280x1024 you should be perfectly set for WoW(You really could not even use an add-in card, or even a **** 3450, and you'd have 40+ fps at most times).

I know it's over $300, by a fair margin, but if you start cuttings corners on things like the case, psu (how can you ask for any cheaper than what I suggested anyways) or the ram, you're entering dangerous territory. You'll be able to keep the case a good while, same with the psu without worrying of either crapping out(case door falling off, or plastic parts breaking--psu fan/etc. failing and killing your system).

I didn't see the 5000X2 BE in stock at newegg, and even if it were there, you'd have to get an add on fan because it doesn't come with one; so the 5400 should be fine--At least you won't need to muck around with any clock settings. I saw somebody picked out some $15 DDR2 667 2x1GB AR, but, I found some good OCZ stuff for $19 AR its DDR2 800 so it will be quicker than the previously mentioned, for a few bucks more.

I know the initial cost is going to hit you a bit harder, because it's nearly $400; but, if it matters to you, there's about $55 worth of rebates you can do to make the 'real' cost 350ish. You could get a 'similarly priced' Intel set-up, but there is absolutely no reason to overclock a cpu to play WoW when you could get a great AMD set-up. I don't mean to play favorites, but an AMD config will suit a WoW machine better (there's so much less work/money/headache involved) A few things to note; you could switch the case to something like the Cooler Master Centurion 5 which would give you the option to get something like a 3850 for graphics.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 -- Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102715 --Graphics
 
$275 after rebates and before shipping

a $20 gigabyte case after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233039
Antec Earthwatts 380w $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371005
Biostar AMD MATX mobo $60 (can go phenom in future)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138112
AMD Athlon 64X2 5000+ $66
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103211
OCZ DDR2 800 $20 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227139
EVGA 8800GS $80 after rebate