I need a new WoW Machine

[Chreman]

My current computer can only run WoW reliably for soloing and 5-mans. Everything else it bottoms out at around 4-5 fps making it impossible to raid. I'm looking to build my own PC since it seems the cheapest route, and was wondering if anyone had some recommendations as far as the cheapest spec I could go to reliably raid with.

My price range is minimal but I only need this machine to run WoW and basic word-processing and other general college duties. If at all possible being able to pull 20-30 fps in Dal on a budget of $500 sounds great, but I'm curious if this is a pipe dream or doable with the current state of things. Any advice?

[aurik]

You'd probably be best off getting a pre-made computer if you don't know how to build one yourself. I figure if you already knew how to build your own computer, you probably wouldn't be asking for spec advice.

Sure, you'll pay a bit more, but you don't have to fuck around with figuring out how to build one, waiting on and dealing with multiple part vendors to ship you shit, then diagnosing and resolving any screwups that inevitably happen, etc. You'll save yourself a lot of time and headache if you just go out to a local computer shop and custom order what you want.

[Norellicus]

What's more, you can actually get a surprisingly well performing system for the budge you're looking at. If you're building a pc for the first time and aren't coming off another one you've built, your costs will add up quickly in components you can't recycle.

[Jodwahh]

May sound a tad redundant but make sure you are packing at least 2g of ram, wow eats ram for breakfast,

[Mabubeezareel]

Probably best to post this in the Tech section.

Personally, I'm running a CPU/Video card combo of E8400/ATI 4850 on XP with 4GB of memory (though about 500mb of that is wasted because of 32-bit XP). My settings are all maxed except multi-sampling, and at 1440x900 resolution, I maintain a steady 30-40 fps in raids, about 25-40 in Dal and Org, and a steady 60 everywhere else (except a few spots in Northrend). I'm sure that you can build a rig with similar components in your budget range, give or take.

[Cephius]

Moved to tech.

And to keep it under $500 you may have to sacrifice on the video card, but you should still be able to put something together on the cheap. Buying a pre-built PC isn't a bad idea either, though the graphics card options with those are either non-existant or extremely limited. It may be to your advantage to buy a pre-built PC with a decent dual core processor and 3-4gigs of ram, and then shell out the cash for a Nvidia GTX or ATI 48xx

[Shuemue]

Probably best to post this in the Tech section.

Personally, I'm running a CPU/Video card combo of E8400/ATI 4850 on XP with 4GB of memory (though about 500mb of that is wasted because of 32-bit XP). My settings are all maxed except multi-sampling, and at 1440x900 resolution, I maintain a steady 30-40 fps in raids, about 25-40 in Dal and Org, and a steady 60 everywhere else (except a few spots in Northrend). I'm sure that you can build a rig with similar components in your budget range, give or take.

Pretty much exactly what I'm running, and it comfortably dual boxes WoW in general play too.

[altwight]

same as mabubee here. cept i use multisampling x8 with shadows all the way down.

[Olo401]

500 bucks you say? Hmm...

Case : Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
CPU: Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Mobo: Newegg.com - ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Memory: Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
HDD: Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F DT HD502IJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
GPU: Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100225L Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
PSU: Newegg.com - Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V Power Supply - Power Supplies
DVD: Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners

~$468 before shipping. If you need an OS you can get Vista Home Premium 64-Bit for another $99.

Oh and if you plan to do any overclocking, get this aftermarket cooler for $40 more. The stock Intel fan blows, pardon the pun.

[MrW]

I asked this question this morning to a friend of mine. Glad I found this seeing as how $600 is my vise. I was going to use Olo's post as a skeleton and go from there. My only problem is that I know pretty much nothing about hardware and its compatibility with other parts. How will I know if it'll all ... "fit"?

[Mojo]

To begin with, what operating system do you plan on running, and what else would you be doing with the computer? Also, what are the specs on your old computer and what do you plan on doing with that?

[Neb]

Just Buy this if you are on a tight budget Newegg.com - iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 505 Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 4GB DDR2 320GB NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Desktop PCs

Its like $509