Can you guys run over this PC for me please?

[Dmitry]

Hey all,

My friend has gotten the WoW bug pretty bad, and is desperate for a machine that can run it after trying to get one from Aaron's and having a bit of trouble with it. The only direction I was given was to find one that can run it perfectly. Here's what I came up with:

Motherboard 1:
GIGABYTE GA-H57M-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H57 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $128

This would use an i3 ($115) or i5 ($195, quad core), and I think either of those is probably overkill.

Motherboard 2:

MSI P43-C51 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard $83

This is an LGA 775 board, I was thinking Intel Pentium E5300 Wolfdale 2.6GHz for it at $62.


For power supplies, I found two different $50, and I'll admit I'm not familiar with what is necessary in power supplies. Both the ones I found had 2 +12v rails for just in case? I guess, idk.

They are XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W ATX power supply
and Athena Power AP-MP4ATX47FE 470W MicroATX

But any input on power supplies would be appreciated. I guess it would matter on which case more than anything.

For memory I just saw this Crucial 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory. Figured it was the cheapest 3GB the boards could handle. I'm not sure if the boards can do triple channel or not though, or if it would need more than 2GB (assuming XP), would have to go look back over them again before deciding on anything.

He does have a video card that we got while trying to beef up the Aaron's computer, I want to say it's a low profile nVidia 9400 something or other. I'll have to get the specifics, but it was around $90 and we got it from Staples if that helps.

Other than that, I just need DVD and Hard drives so I just picked cheap ones. Hard drive is Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3160318AS 160GB 7200 RPM and DVD drive is a $18ish Samsung.



As of right now, I told him to look at cases since that's probably the most personal thing you can pick for a computer, but I told him ATX or MicroATX and that shouldn't factor too much into anything. If you guys could just go over this one and let me know what I might have overlooked I would really appreciate it.

[Furtwangler]

If you get the second mobo and processor you're going to be shooting yourself in the foot in 1-2 years. Get the first combo if he can afford it with an i5. The lower psu will work ok as well with that card, but if they are within 20 bucks of each other get the 500.
If all hes using it is for wow and basic browsing etc, that will do fine but 160g can easily be used nowdays, and I'd look for a little bit larger, but more drives can always be added later so no biggie.
For cases try to get an atx so you arent squeezing shit in there, and as you said its more of his choice.
I'm a bit tipsy, but I think that's about the same as what I would've said sober! gl on the build

[sruon]

if all he's doing is WoW, this computer is overkill already but yeah, i5(750 at least) is fairly future-proof

[Kurp]

Be careful with your power supply selection. Xclio can make some good ones, but I'm not sure about that specific model. I'd pass on the Athena Power one.

[Dmitry]

Thanks for the answers guys.

I'm not sure about power supplies as I've only really built 1 PC myself, and even then my dad got the power supply for me. I should just check what that one is. Can someone tell me what the +12v rails are used for specifically where you would want more? I figure just periphal cards? Who knows.

Yeah Furt you make a point. Right now all he's doing is WoW, but we used to do D2 way back in the day, and he can't wait for D3 so maybe I'll tell him to save for the i5 and a better video card.

But again, thanks a lot. I'm still not very confident about building even though I should be >.<

[Sieg]

I wouldn't worry about the +12v rails specifically but if you must know, CPUs and GPUs regulate their power off of the +12V DC rail. Also, hard drive and optical drive motors, fan motors, pumps for water-cooling, etc.

When buying a PSU you just need to know if the PSU will provide enough power for your machine, if it has all the connectors you will need, and if using SLI/XF, is it certified for it.

Check out:
Seasonic X-series
Antec Signature
Corsair HX & Antec TruePower

[Olo401]

I wouldn't go with either of those board.. You're not gonna be using the onboard graphics that H55/H57 offers, so why get that feature? As for 775, it's outdated but still viable.. but an E5300 is just too outdated.

So instead let's split the difference and do a P55 build.. Go with one of these two boards instead and match it either with a Core i3-530 or a Core i5-750 (depending on the budget). For memory on this one you can get this 4gig dual channel kit (3 gig kits are meant for tri-channel).

[Gulkeeva]

The i5 one would be decent unless your friend plans to run the game with shadows on. 25man raids/dalaran will really kill the fps.

i7 920 2.8ghz @ 3.6ghz goes from 200fps no shadow dalaran(mid/high pop server)/25mans -> 2nd highest shadow settings 80-140fps -> max shadow setting 30-50fps dalaran/25man raids (bout same for the 40man bg/wg)