Need opinions on the heart of my new RiG

[tk3445]

Ok so like the title says im building a new rig. I Started my Computer building in love with Intel. a Few Years back i found out what AMD was alll about when i bought a Athlon64 3700+ and i loved it.
Now that im on the market for an upgrade(Finally) it seems as if Intel is back on top.

Im really not sure where to start

Currently im running a

AMD athlon 64 3700+
2GB of PC3200
ATI Radeon 1650Pro 512MB(PCI express x16)

and im bottle necking on World of Warcraft and only getting about 20FPS on high settings.

Im assuming it is my CPU that is causing that.

So Down to business.

Opinions on what i should go with AMD for the Value or Intel for power.

I'm Hoping to spend in the 100$ Range(give or take $25) for the new CPU.

Also with what you suggest Please include a good MOBO suggestion if you can. i know enough about computers to build one but i would not consider me a guru by anymeans.

PS i am not into overclocking because i have heard it shortens your CPU life.


Thanks in Advance i have been reading Posts for awhile i figured i might as well post my first post and see what people thought.

 

[Zenthar]

If you are playing the new Lich King WoW expansion, the video card might actually be the bottleneck, the requirements really got up.

About the 100$, is it for the CPU alone or the total upgrade budget?

Can you give us all your system's spec (MB, PSU, ...)?

 

[Shadow703793]

^+1. esp the PSU.

 

[tk3445]

$100+/-25 is for the CPU alone im figuring on spending about $400ish on the new system since i just bought a 585w PSU and i thought my video card was good.


total system is

Mobo - MSI MS-7184
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3700+
Memory - 2GB PC3200(4x512mb)
VID - HIS Radeon 1650Pro (512mb)
PSU - 585w Generic

The Way i see it is i plan on buying a new CPU, MOBO, RAM, HDD and Vista Home Premium and hopfully stay around 400ish

the extent of my gaming is usually World of Warcraft. however i do want to get somthing that i can eventully upgrade to a Quad Core when they are price efficent (or maybe they are price efficient right now, i saw an AMD Phenom 9600 for 99$ on newegg special last night, however after reading here i dont want anything that isnt AMD XX50)

 

[tk3445]

i read the budget build for the month and it was using an overclocked intel for 625 and they spend 160 on a video card and around 100ish for a case and PSU so if i did that build i could do it it for just under 400$ish and then buy vista. just trying to buy with some knowledge of what is currently out there thanks for the help so far.

Tom

 

[dragonsprayer]

get a quad - forget what other says
get an i7 it is amzingly fast - people just do not understand mem bandwidth

i just shipped a 4.2ghz air cooled system, it runs 3.8ghz on air with all four cores (synth 8) max

it is so fast, on 64bit it just rips though program installs

`

 

[tk3445]

the problem is i have a budget. or an i7 would have been in my newegg cart already.

lol

 

[dragonsprayer]

photos - this site is my photo posting site!

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

If all you play is wow you should try lowering the shadow settings. Lich added a lot shadows which combined with spell effects can really tax a GPU. If you can live with medium shadow and spell detail, then I'd wait till you have the cash for a core i7 build.

 

[roadrunner197069]

+1 i7, tax time is as early as next month, wait for your rebate, or government stimulus.

 

[tk3445]

if i were to build a intel system now could i upgrade just the CPU to an I7 in 6months to a year when i7s come down in price?

 

[roadrunner197069]

No. You need a socket 1366 mobo and DDR3 memory.

 

[tk3445]

i just cant see myself spending $1000 to build a computer anywhere in the near future.

 

[roadrunner197069]

You get what you pay for.

 

[lumpy]

I would recomend http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2335930,00.asp CPU=E5200. GPU=ATI 4850 MEM=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

 

[tk3445]

This is true but some of us are regular people who have to pay bills and have budgets for everyday life and somtimes we can always afford the best of everything. sorry to burst your bubble.

 

[tk3445]

Lumpy thanks for the input.

 

[roadrunner197069]

Some of us make a living using our PCs and need the best. It must suck to have a PC just for web surfing.

 

[tk3445]

by the time i could afford an I7 somthing else better and more powerful would be out and everyone would be telling me to buy that. and i would be in the same perdictament.

 

[roadrunner197069]

LOL. I hear that.

 

[weinheimer]

I'd go for an E7300 with a P45 and you do need a new video card. Grab a 4850 if budget allows otherwise a 4830 or 9800. The e7xxx's are faster than anything AMD has for similar pricing, and I'm an AMD Fanboi. Overclock to 3.3 - 3.6 and you will have all the fps you need.

 

[tk3445]

yes, sadly for me when i dont use my PC to make a living i dont need the best i just need enough to have some fun.

My wife is a full time student and I am a utility worker at a college(not a ton of income for 2 people) therefore i cant afford an I7 nor do i need one for what i do however i do want better performance than im getting out of my single core. 3700+

 

[roadrunner197069]

Get a p45 motherboard with a e8400 CPU. OC to 4.0, and you will be amazed compared to what you got.

 

[tk3445]

is tyere a particular P45 mobo? when im looking at Newegg there is a lot that come up when i throw p45 in

 

[roadrunner197069]

I like the Asus P5Q series. If you grab one of those look me up and I will give you the settings for 4.0.

Also buy the zigmatek s1283 cooler, or similar.