[uzziah]

for wow and wIII you can do well with something little

if you're in socal i've got a perfect pc for you

try craigslist

i have an x800gto, a64 3200, 1gb ram, plays wow and med-high settings with high framerate; great for hl2, CSS, bf2, no good for oblivion or newest games

 

[MusicallySilent]

e4300
dfi lanparty p965 chipset
good psu (pc power and cooling/corsair/seasonic/antec/etc)
8800gts
thermalright 120 ultra extreme cooler
2gb overclocking ram (should spend around 120 for it)

Overclock processor to 3ghz on stock volts without risking frying,

Serve.

 

[brrritish!]

get a p4 with an underclocked 6600gt, also downgrade to 128mb of ram

 

[MuZI]

Alright guys, quick questions.

I ended up picking the 8600 GT for $125 [ Link] Anything better you guys can think of?

And this as the [ Zalman]

This is the power supply [Cooler Master]

 

[ex0du5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif I suggest that you have a look at the system requirements for both of these games. You will notice that each of them only demands a modest CPU (P3 800Mhz), but demands a decent graphics card and 1GB memory. A faster CPU will probably gain you very little for these games as they are memory and graphics intensive rather than CPU. You can save yourself money by simply buying a new motherboard that supports PCIe graphics and a new middle of the road PCIe Graphics card, and use you existing CPU witha view to upgrading it later; when you actually will use more CPU cycles. Check out the following link http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww0830p The other recoimmendation seems to be 1GB of memory. There seems to be a prevailing view lately that every PC needs 2Gb of memory. They simply don't. 1GB will be fine for your needs. You may also choose to buy your new case and PS anyway and just move all of your existing components and upgrade the new bits. Google world of warcraft hardware specs and read the squillion responses on this issue. That will then allow you to make up your own mind.

No offence to fordlover....but DO NOT FOLLOW HIS ADVICE.

Your CPU is well over 4 years old. Upgrading to a PCI-E board supporting that processor is just a waste of money. Why spend $400 in upgrades, when your CPU will bottleneck you and need to be replaced soon anyways. If you follow that route and decide to upgrade CPU later, you will need to buy another motherboard yet again.

I recommend:

Asus P5B-E
C2D E4300
GeForce 8600GT
2GB of Kingston or Corsair Value Ram DDR2-667

That motherboard is a cheap, but very overclockable motherboard. There are also some decent Gigabit motherboards out there too.

Get the Core 2 Duo E4300. Explanation to come.

The GeForce 8600GT should be plenty to run WoW and WC3 pretty flawlessly. An 8800GTS would most likely go to waste, unless you have some higher end games you plan on playing right away, as the GeForce 9 series will most likely come out within a year. If you do have some higher end games targetted, then by all means, go ahead with the 8800GTS 320MB as it will give you considerably more power than the 8600GT, for only $150 more.

2GB of RAM should be more than enough. DDR2-667 will let you overclock that E4300 from 1.8GHz up to 3GHz without having to overclock the RAM (if you want to OC that is). You could get DDR2-800 if you wanted to push the speed higher.

 

[MuZI]

ex0du5, it's almost as if you saw my shopping cart before I ordered.

I just forgot to pick up a heatsink/fan...

What do you recommend?

 

[FallenAngel]

ex0du5 - nice package, but I'm with fordgtlover on the completely unnecessary front. As long as people don't install tons of crap on their computer (toolbars, sidebars, launchers, all that crap), you really don't need that much. I have an old P4 2.4GHz with 1GB of ram that runs faster than almost every computer I've seen (I put myself through 3 years of college by fixing up peoples computers, so I've seen LOTS).

MuZI - if you're just upgrading because it's not "fast enough" for running WoW and you're fine with the regular performance of it otherwise, you don't really need that much. If of course, you're upgrading for other reasons (feel like buying something new, fad of the month cravings, whatever), feel free.

Otherwise, just throw in another 512mb ram and a graphics card like the
ATI x800gto or NVidia 6800GT, for $100-$150 you'll be all set.

 

[ex0du5]

Good move going to a newer processor. There's no sense in spending $400 on a new video card and motherboard when you will be severely crippled by that old processor. If the processor is too slow as to bottleneck the rest of the system, it won't matter what video card you get (a 9800pro would do nearly as well as an 8800gtx). That processor will be $120 very well spent.

And MuZI, I don't know if you've ordered yet, but for a fan, I see ooztuncer recommended a Tuniq Tower....I just remembered it is indeed one of the best air coolers out there. If you want to push it up to 3GHz, then adequate cooling will be needed. Otherwise, for minor overclocks, probably up to 2.4GHz, stock cooling should do fine. Just make sure you're not running over 65 degrees celcius under load.

Check either HardForums, Overclock.net, or TomsHardware for help on overclocking if you want to do it....either of those sites should have helpful guides on there along with people that will help you get the most out of your system.

Have fun gaming

.

 

[ex0du5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif ex0du5 - nice package, but I'm with fordgtlover on the completely unnecessary front. As long as people don't install tons of crap on their computer (toolbars, sidebars, launchers, all that crap), you really don't need that much. I have an old P4 2.4GHz with 1GB of ram that runs faster than almost every computer I've seen (I put myself through 3 years of college by fixing up peoples computers, so I've seen LOTS). MuZI - if you're just upgrading because it's not "fast enough" for running WoW and you're fine with the regular performance of it otherwise, you don't really need that much. If of course, you're upgrading for other reasons (feel like buying something new, fad of the month cravings, whatever), feel free. Otherwise, just throw in another 512mb ram and a graphics card like the ATI x800gto or NVidia 6800GT, for $100-$150 you'll be all set.

You haven't seen very fast computers out there have ya? Running the stress test in Counter-Strike Source, my P4 3.4GHz with a 7950GT got 130fps. After I replaced the P4 with a Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, I got 250fps.

People don't realize that nowadays for gaming, processors are just as important as video cards. This was not as important in the early P4 generation, as a fast video card was all that was needed to run the newest games. Most new games today push the video card and processor to the limit...if one is lacking, you will know it.

 

[flashnolan]

I have never played WoW, but I have played Warcraft III and Final Fantasy XII. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but at least FFXI is not very far off (if any) from WoW in detail. I got away just fine playing FFXI with an ATI 9200, 512 MB, and 2700+ AMD. It does sound like it is time to upgrade, but I don't think you have to get too crazy like some are recommending.

Also, whatever you do don't don't skimp on the RAM. Buying cheap RAM will just lead to random errors down the road, blue screens of death, etc. Whenever I buy RAM I almost always buy the highest quality.

 

[ex0du5]

Cheap RAM is fine as long as you get it from a compatible maker....Kingston and Corsair are probably the best for compatibility. Anything frmo Kingston or Corsair should not go bad, provided you don't overclock it (and you shouldn't need to).

Your 2700+ AMD might be slow, but remember that your processor is almost double the speed of his. He really does need an upgrade. Also, there's no sense in getting an old AGP card as they are all overpriced. You can get a card a good 5-10x the speed of your 9200 for $150.

Upgrading his 4 year old computer will do no good. Spending $200 on a cheapo graphics card and 1GB of RAM will give him a small framerate boost while playing WoW and WC3, but the computer is otherwise obsolete and will not properly play any games released in the past 2 years. He will have to upgrade the next time he wants to play a game. Not to mention, even your 2700+ AMD, 9200 would not run WoW over 30fps most of the time.

Anyways, add an extra $400, and he'll have a computer that will be 12x as fast in games (I'm not even exagerating), and will last him another 4 years to come. The choice is pretty easy to me.

Let me put it this way.....would you spend $5,000 on a turbo for a 92' Tercel? Or would you rather spend 10-15k on a completely new car that will likely last you another decade.

Oh, and I'm recommending a nice budget system that will do very well at a $600 price point. I have a $1500 system, with a C2D E6600 and a 7950GT (though thats a generation old). Sure I could recommend something along the lines of the E6600 and an 8800GTS, but I realize you only need that if you are a big gaming enthusiast.

The E4300 and 8600GT offer incredible performance for the money.

Also MuZI, did you say you have a really bad 400W PSU? Well if it'll last you, go ahead and keep it. But if you need a new case and PSU, I'd recommend the Antec Sonata II or Sonata III (I think the III is out now). The Sonata II comes with a decent 450W power supply, which is plenty if you don't plan on going SLI (2 video cards). The case is about $90-$100 nowadays, so I think it's the best value out there. But like I said, if your current PSU is doing fine, don't worry about it. If it is giving you trouble and now providing enough power however, it's time to switch. If you don't need a new case, then Enermax, Corsair, and Seasonic are probably the best power supply manufacturers out there, so go ahead and pick up a 450W-600W power supply. The 600W is only if ever you plan on getting a higher end gaming card for example, as a 450W might be cutting it close. It would do fine for mid-range cards like the 8600gt however.

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ex0du5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You haven't seen very fast computers out there have ya? Running the stress test in Counter-Strike Source, my P4 3.4GHz with a 7950GT got 130fps. After I replaced the P4 with a Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, I got 250fps. People don't realize that nowadays for gaming, processors are just as important as video cards. This was not as important in the early P4 generation, as a fast video card was all that was needed to run the newest games. Most new games today push the video card and processor to the limit...if one is lacking, you will know it.

Actually, I have, but that's irrelevant. You got such an increase in frame rate by switching to dual core only because you have junk running in the background which is now handled by the second core while the first is playing your game.

I haven't tried the stress test and for regular users I would say running tests is not something I like to do in my spare time. Sure, I used to overclock and benchmark, but that's childplay. I'm currently running an Opty 146 @ 2.8Ghz with TCCD ram 1:1 300MHz 2.5-4-4-8. I max everything on CS Source at 1920x1200 on a 24" LCD and get over 120 fps on any server I connect to so I'm really not worried about numbers, the game runs smoother than my eyes can tell.

I really can't agree with "obsolete" because, although the computer will not be worth it to sell, it will work perfectly for everything except multimedia extensive applications such as high-end games / 3d engineering, etc. For personal computers, where you're not working on multimedia apps, you can easily run all you want. WoW doesn't take much processing power and I think it would be a waste to upgrade just for that game.

Like I said before, if the computer is for mainly those 2 games and you're happy with it otherwise, you can easily get it to a nice performance level with a sub $150 upgrade. If on the other hand, you just want a new computer, ex0du5's package is very nice if you don't mind spending a nice amount on it. It's just the logic of "must upgrade to newer/newest technology just to get by" I can't agree with.

 

[brokensound]

Right now is an alright time to buy, but you could hold out till winter when the intel Penryn comes out, then all the current core 2 dou will have a nice drop in price.

 

[Honken]

So... you ONLY play WoW and WC3 and you just want a FPS boost?

Well, then you wont need much:
GPU: http://spacecentersystems.com/produc...ucts_id=107787
CPU: http://www.allpcdeals.com/servlet/th...cessor/Detail?
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186115
Memory:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231036
= 201.93USD

That'll run WoW just fine. Sure, it's hardly up to date, but who cares as long as it does what you want it to.

Edit, you might want to change the motherboard though, that one I picked seems to be pretty... bad, quality-wise.
Edit, picked another one. Seems to be of better quality (never heard of the brand before though). It's cheaper if you use that rebate, too