Looking to push Lifespan a bit.

[Elmister]

My GF has a computer that I am looking to squeeze some life out of and wondering if it is possible yet. I am getting a video card for her PC but I dont want any bottlenecks. Only game that is played on this PC is WoW. The current video card the FPS have came to a screeching halt. Used to be able to do 25 man raid getting about 20-30 FPS good/high settings, now comp is struggling to get above 10 in raid finder at fair settings. Is there any hope of small upgrades?

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Processor 2.60 GHz
ASUS M4A78LT-M LE
EVGA nividia 550 ti
Ram 8gb g skill sniper
650 watt PS

[Killora]

My GF has a computer that I am looking to squeeze some life out of and wondering if it is possible yet. I am getting a video card for her PC but I dont want any bottlenecks. Only game that is played on this PC is WoW. The current video card the FPS have came to a screeching halt. Used to be able to do 25 man raid getting about 20-30 FPS good/high settings, now comp is struggling to get above 10 in raid finder at fair settings. Is there any hope of small upgrades?

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Processor 2.60 GHz
ASUS M4A78LT-M LE
EVGA nividia 550 ti
Ram 8gb g skill sniper
650 watt PS

FPS in raids are going to be related to the CPU more so than the GPU. Replacing the GPU isn't going to do a darn thing for framerates in raids. You'll need a new CPU/Motherboard for that. Which is essentially a new PC.

[googz]

Was this FPS drop recent or did you stop playing and just started MOP?

The CPU is a bit aged and the GPU was bottom tier for it's generation. You might be able to OC the CPU with a decent heatsink and upgrade the GPU to a 650ti boost and get some good results.

Do you have any sort of budget in mind? Where do you live? What brand of PSU do you have?

[vesseblah]

Used to be able to do 25 man raid

Hardware requirements of WoW has crept up with every single expansion. A computer that achieved 50fps during TBC will run at 5fps today.

As others have said, there's very little you can do about it besides complete rebuild. Or just live with the fact that most of the graphics settings need to be low.

[Elmister]

The FPS surprisingly have dropped when I moved it from her desk to mine (I got a new one figured mine was still holding strong and could have it). It is like the PC took a turn for the worse the min it hit her desk. 2 hrs after it was there, it started blue-screening. So I had the computer before her, ran 25 man raids no problems frames were fine. I have been playing since game launched. Got this PC midway through wrath so I understand it is dated. I was looking at Newegg last night after googz suggestion. I forgot to mention there is a OCZ vertex 4 128 gb ssd in there.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1246811
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/Sh...px?Submit=view

I am looking bout 3-400ish dollars. After just buying my computer, we really cant justify buying another intel system. I live in The U.S. (california) I have a cheaper PSU that came with the PC, been holding strong since then. It is a case gears eco element 650 watt per supply.

[Killora]

The FPS surprisingly have dropped when I moved it from her desk to mine (I got a new one figured mine was still holding strong and could have it). It is like the PC took a turn for the worse the min it hit her desk. 2 hrs after it was there, it started blue-screening. So I had the computer before her, ran 25 man raids no problems frames were fine. I have been playing since game launched. Got this PC midway through wrath so I understand it is dated. I was looking at Newegg last night after googz suggestion. I forgot to mention there is a OCZ vertex 4 128 gb ssd in there.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1246811
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/Sh...px?Submit=view

I am looking bout 3-400ish dollars. After just buying my computer, we really cant justify buying another intel system. I live in The U.S. (california) I have a cheaper PSU that came with the PC, been holding strong since then. It is a case gears eco element 650 watt per supply.

Why can't you justify another Intel system? No AMD is going to run nearly as well in WoW as an Intel.

PCPartPicker part list
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $304.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-07 16:12 EDT-0400)

These are the parts i'd recommend. You can get a Z77 board if you want to spend an some extra closer to 400.

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $374.46
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-07 16:16 EDT-0400)

The best AMD you could buy is a FX-8350 for the same price as the 3570k.

WoW Benchmark

These numbers aren't even in raids. I don't know if this was before or after the windows hotfix but reported increases are only in the 10% range. Not nearly enough to catch up to any of the intels. IPC is the most important aspect in CPU performance for WoW and AMD just doesn't rule in that department.

[Elmister]

What astonishes me as right now!! I am flying around in pandaria getting 70 to 105 fps. Sec I get into raid/group boom 10-17.
Those prices aint even including a video card or should I just use the 550ti?

[Killora]

What astonishes me as right now!! I am flying around in pandaria getting 70 to 105 fps. Sec I get into raid/group boom 10-17.
Those prices aint even including a video card or should I just use the 550ti?

Oh, my bad, i didn't know you wanted a build including a GPU xD.

If you're willing to up your budget to $500:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $503.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-07 16:44 EDT-0400)

If not, i think you'd be better served running with the 550TI for now if all you do is WoW. It's not a terrible card, its a midrange card still and should run WoW fine.

[Toffie]

Don't try to fill in a gpu on that budget OP. The 300$ build suggested will do you nicely even with a 550 ti. If you extend your budget, then a 650 boost is your best bet.

[Elmister]

What astonishes me as right now!! I am flying around in pandaria getting 70 to 105 fps. Sec I get into raid/group boom 10-17.
Those prices aint even including a video card or should I just use the 550ti? Will I have to upgrade the Video card in another 6 mos tho again. I am not trying to go top of the line I am just trying to go with comfortable. She hates it when we get a part and then 6 months later it is dated and need something else.(I try to tell her that is PC's but she just being argumentative) So how long will the 550 last?

And I guess I should clairfly a lil bit here, she is not a avid wow player like most, she gets on does her farm and some dailies and maybe a instance or 2. That is not even every day she does it. Not 25 man raiding constantly in a set grp. LFR once a week to get valor and a chance at gear. She isnt looking for breakneck speeds. Would a newer I3 be a upgrade? I dont know about the I3's at all. I have I5 in my current set up.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Wouldn't spend money on a K processor and Z chipset if she isn't going to overclock, meaning you can keep the i5 performance (3470 is very close to the 3570K when the latter is not overclocked) and significantly increase the power of the GPU (going from a low-mid tier card to a high-tier card).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 PRO3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($234.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $502.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-07 22:05 EDT-0400)

Forced it to take Newegg prices so that the microcenter combo deal isn't included. If you have a microcenter you can go to you'll save 50 bucks. If you shop around you could also save a few dollars if you don't have the microcenter option.

[torterra275]

And I guess I should clairfly a lil bit here, she is not a avid wow player like most, she gets on does her farm and some dailies and maybe a instance or 2. That is not even every day she does it. Not 25 man raiding constantly in a set grp. LFR once a week to get valor and a chance at gear. She isnt looking for breakneck speeds. Would a newer I3 be a upgrade? I dont know about the I3's at all. I have I5 in my current set up.

An i3 is fine for wow, I'm running that with a 7770 and getting about 40fps in 25m raiding. Turned AA down to 8x though.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

An i3 is fine for wow, I'm running that with a 7770 and getting about 40fps in 25m raiding. Turned AA down to 8x though.

Not on high/ultra settings though.

[torterra275]

Not on high/ultra settings though.

Its on ultra setting atm. WoW doesn't take too much. 1x Multisampling I noticed though.

[Killora]

Its on ultra setting atm. WoW doesn't take too much. 1x Multisampling I noticed though.

Huh?

An I3 and 7770 -cannot- run 40 FPS in 25 man raids at ultra settings with 8x AA. Hell with 8x AA it couldnt run 40 FPS anywhere in WoW except maybe when looking directly at the ground.

And what do you mean turned AA -down- to 8x? That's still a relatively high AA sample rate. Certainly not a sample rate a 7770 can handle unless on lower settings.

Don't get me wrong here, an I3 isn't terrible for WoW, it'll still run, but not THAT good.

Anyway, if she's not going to overclock, Butler Log's build is a good option. If you don't feel like upping the budget the 650 TI boost will still last you more than 6 months for sure. you could probably get away with it for 2 years assuming you're okay with turning down quality settings in future games.

The 7870 XT is the best price/performance on the market now so it's a very good buy.

[Klutzington]

This is the best you will get for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 PRO3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $443.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-07 23:15 EDT-0400)

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

This is the best you will get for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 PRO3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $443.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-07 23:15 EDT-0400)

When you can fit something like a 7870XT in the budget instead of a 650ti boost, I'd do that.

[Elmister]

Would superclocked 660 be better than the 7870tx?

[Deleted]

Would superclocked 660 be better than the 7870tx?

Possibly, but I'd counter with the XT being cheaper, thus allowing you to get a better motherboard (though damned if I could tell you which).

[Killora]

Would superclocked 660 be better than the 7870tx?

No. The 7870 XT outperforms the 660. The 7870 XT uses a toned down 7900 series chip.

The 660 TI and the 7870 XT trade blows. but the 7870 XT is cheaper. can't go wrong with it.