Value motherboard and graphics card for WoW

[gamingguru7]

So i am considering ripping some components out of a 2 year old desktop and putting them in a new case with some new parts. I am looking at the intel i5 4460 for WoW @ high settings on 1080p (unless someone wants to save me some money or talk me into something a bit better). I need a value motherboard (I know most people tell me to buy an Asus, but I don't have the slightest clue what to buy. I'd like a bargain, the one I have on part picker currently is the Asus B85-Plus for ~$100, but thats just because I used ibuypower to see whats compatible! 😀 I also need a graphics card, I don't mind buying parts that are a year or 2 old if it saves a lot of money and I am not losing a lot. I can upgrade the graphics card every 2 years or something, but playing on high at 30-60 FPS in a 20 man raid is important to me.

 

[jmartin2017]

While I'm not the expert on old mobos, I can tell you the best bang-for-the-buck budget graphics card in my opinion is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti. My personal favorite is this ASUS one for ~$150, but there are cheaper models available: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121855&cm_re=750_ti-_-14-121-855-_-Product (Keep in mind you need to have a monitor with DVI or VGA compatibility.) I had this card for a long time and it performs decently in all kinds of games, and probably suits your needs best.

 

[jijomathew]

My opinion
CPU-OK
MOBO-Asus Z97
GPU-GTX 970(least GTX 760)

 

[jmartin2017]

jijomathew, those suggestions are both great, but I believe gaminguru is looking for a budget GPU to match his system. The bottleneck with a B85 Plus and a GTX 970 would be incredible, and $500+ dollars spent on the card would be wasted. The best option for a higher tier system would be a Z97 ASUS board (Usually $120+) and a GTX 780 or 780 Ti (~$450) However, still this would mean pouring in more money for a better PSU and a case to fit it all in. The 750 Ti and B85-Plus is far and away the best budget option.

 

[gamingguru7]

While I'm not the expert on old mobos, I can tell you the best bang-for-the-buck budget graphics card in my opinion is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti. My personal favorite is this ASUS one for ~$150, but there are cheaper models available: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121855&cm_re=750_ti-_-14-121-855-_-Product (Keep in mind you need to have a monitor with DVI or VGA compatibility.) I had this card for a long time and it performs decently in all kinds of games, and probably suits your needs best.

Thank you for the response, I actually was looking into the 750 TI. PCpartpicker found me one for $115 with a mail in rebate! Should I get a corsair power supply or will anything 600W bronze certified cut it?

 

[gamingguru7]

My opinion
CPU-OK
MOBO-Asus Z97
GPU-GTX 970(least GTX 760)

Thank you for your response, I did consider this, but I don't need a long term system. I tend to quit the game quite often. I also have a retina Macbook with a 650m I would dock and play on if I wasn't so scared of input lag.

 

[gamingguru7]

jijomathew, those suggestions are both great, but I believe gaminguru is looking for a budget GPU to match his system. The bottleneck with a B85 Plus and a GTX 970 would be incredible, and $500+ dollars spent on the card would be wasted. The best option for a higher tier system would be a Z97 ASUS board (Usually $120+) and a GTX 780 or 780 Ti (~$450) However, still this would mean pouring in more money for a better PSU and a case to fit it all in. The 750 Ti and B85-Plus is far and away the best budget option.

This would be ideal, after a lot of forum reading I can see that a 750 TI with the i3 @ 3.4-3.6ghz is great for WoW as it wont take advantage of a quad core i5. I get the higher clock speeds; what are your opinions on that anniversary pentium that can be overclocked to ~4.5ghz? 60$ and can be faster than that i3. Like I mentioned, all I need is a 1-2 year computer than can play on high settings.

 

[jijomathew]

jijomathew, those suggestions are both great, but I believe gaminguru is looking for a budget GPU to match his system. The bottleneck with a B85 Plus and a GTX 970 would be incredible, and $500+ dollars spent on the card would be wasted. The best option for a higher tier system would be a Z97 ASUS board (Usually $120+) and a GTX 780 or 780 Ti (~$450) However, still this would mean pouring in more money for a better PSU and a case to fit it all in. The 750 Ti and B85-Plus is far and away the best budget option.

My mistake,there no clue about total budget and I tried to get a good config for coming years

 

[jmartin2017]

Any power supply above 400 Watts should do. I've built budget systems for friends of mine and my personal favorite is the Corsair CX430 80+ Bronze for ~$50 (It's an AMAZING value!) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&cm_re=CX430-_-17-139-026-_-Product It's been given many awards for its price/performance ratio. However a 600W would do just fine.

 

[jmartin2017]

With the Pentium Series of Intel processors, the pricing is done in a different way than just off clock speeds alone. While the $60 CPU may be OCed to 4.5 gHz, you get a limited number of PCIe lanes (a max of 18 I think) meaning all the bandwidth on your PCIe devices may no be utilized. In addition, depending on the Pentium you go for, the cache is generally smaller.

 

[gamingguru7]

Any power supply above 400 Watts should do. I've built budget systems for friends of mine and my personal favorite is the Corsair CX430 80+ Bronze for ~$50 (It's an AMAZING value!) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&cm_re=CX430-_-17-139-026-_-Product It's been given many awards for its price/performance ratio. However a 600W would do just fine.

Appreciate that, I would certainly save $50 if I only need a 400 watt power supply for the 750 TI. In the case of the pentium I will stick with the i3. Will I need any sort of cooler if I put a green cathode neon light strip inside? ;D

Is anyone able to recommend a good motherboard for a good price for the i3?

Update: I actually love you for that power supply tip - $30 with mail-in rebate.

What I have so far: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VnPnNG

 

[jmartin2017]

With the extra money you've saved, it may be worth it to upgrade to MSI's Z87-Gaming series. One great choice would be the G45, which would match your CPU and provide amazing OC ceilings. (~$140) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130693 However, keep in mind you'll need a network card if you want to connect to the internet over WiFi, and the ATX size may be too big for your case. They do make smaller mATX and ITX sizes that are a little cheaper if that's what you're after.

 

[gamingguru7]

With the extra money you've saved, it may be worth it to upgrade to MSI's Z87-Gaming series. One great choice would be the G45, which would match your CPU and provide amazing OC ceilings. (~$140) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130693 However, keep in mind you'll need a network card if you want to connect to the internet over WiFi, and the ATX size may be to big for your case. They do make smaller mATX and ITX sizes that are a little cheaper if that's what you're after.

I have a network card from my old desktop (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03186697&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en#N166), but you just completely lost me there. ATX what? lol, I hate to say this, but the biggest reason I am considering upgrading and not using my laptop is dock input lag and I love that gaming case in particular. What won't fit inside? There is also a larger version of my phantom case (http://www.outletpc.com/ya4644.html?gclid=CK3eqp_ZmcECFSRp7AodJlsAjw), but i REALLY liked that initial one. Thank you for that motherboard suggestion. If I don't plan on overclocking is it possible to save a little on that mobo? (I'm not trying to be stingy, but rather I'm mad at myself for buying the 15" retina specifically to play WoW on and now going to be using my desktop).

 

[gamingguru7]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130703&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

I feel as if this is an incredible value, but I'm scared for the quality.

 

[jmartin2017]

ATX simply refers to the size of the motherboard. The PC you sent the link to can definitely fit an ATX sized board, and so can any of the NZXT Phantom cases. (I actually use the 410 myself), so there's no issue with keeping the one you have. As for the mobo, try going for an ASUS Z87-K (~$90). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131983R&cm_re=asus_z87-k-_-13-131-983R-_-Product You lose some of the overclocking features, while still maintaining solid quality. If you plan on using the stock case that came with your store bought system, I would recommend opening it up and seeing the mobo orientation, which can be done by looking at the front of the board. Some stock systems have the I/O (All the ports) on the right side, while today's mobos have a left side I/O. Make sure this won't cause any problems.

 

[jmartin2017]

The motherboard you were looking at, while an incredible value, only has 1 PCIe 16x slot, which would go to the graphics card, while the network card may not fight in the 1x slot underneath. The ASUS board I suggested has plenty of PCI expansion to avoid these problems.

 

[gamingguru7]

ATX simply refers to the size of the motherboard. The PC you sent the link to can definitely fit an ATX sized board, and so can any of the NZXT Phantom cases. (I actually use the 410 myself), so there's no issue with keeping the one you have. As for the mobo, try going for an ASUS Z87-K (~$90). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131983R&cm_re=asus_z87-k-_-13-131-983R-_-Product You lose some of the overclocking features, while still maintaining solid quality. If you plan on using the stock case that came with your store bought system, I would recommend opening it up and seeing the mobo orientation, which can be done by looking at the front of the board. Some stock systems have the I/O (All the ports) on the right side, while today's mobos have a left side I/O. Make sure this won't cause any problems.

Thank you for explaining that, I actually plan on using one of the phantom cases (the 410 or the 240), I suppose I could shell out the $40 for a better mobo; I know that is something I shouldn't skimp on. I appreciate all of your help.