Building PC Recommendations

[Janaz]

Hi,

I'm looking to build 2 PCs with near the exact specs that can take on games like WoW, SWToR, L4D2, etc all with full everything on. I've done some looking around and it seems everyone is stressing the video card, but what about the CPU and such? I can put the machines together myself, but it's been awhile since I've bought parts (finally having the money, kids sap it out of ya). I want both machines to last for a good while (4-5 years hopefully with just minor upgrades along the way). I'm hoping to get both machines under 2,000 USB, minus the video cards which by looking around are going to be about 300 to 400 USD themselves for the good ones? Also I don't need mouse, keyboard, but monitor recommendations would be welcomed!

Thanks!

[Deleted]

Imo:

2500/3750 CPU
660/78xx GPU
8 gig of ram
any 1155 mobo (probably micro-atx to reduce costs)

should handle the games you listed without a problem, and leaves some money for good monitors (at least 1080) and a fast harddrive. today's GPU's are pretty fast, for example the HD 7770 OC is capable of running pretty much everything, and it's under €150 (so I'd say, $180?)

[hapylol]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.12 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($142.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.88 @ B&H)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($116.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: OCZ 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($145.84 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1225.63
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-05 09:38 EDT-0400)

This does not include windows7 so if you need that just add $200. I included the GPU because frankly, there are no major upgrades that would be worth the additional money. If you want better GPU's(the 7850's will be capable of running the games you listed @ max), you are probably looking at the Nvidia 670 which runs ~420.

You can also change the case if you don't like this one or it is too expensive for you. If you don't plan on overclocking you could ditch the aftermarket cooler. If you needed less space you could drop the HDD to a 500GB Caviar Blue. All these things would save you money but not really impact performance.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[Janaz]

Thanks guys! I'm going to look over everything shared and let everyone know what I picked! Again, thanks alot guys!!!

[protput]

This does not include windows7 so if you need that just add $200.

Get the OEM version of Windows 7, its 100 dollars max.

[hapylol]

Get the OEM version of Windows 7, its 100 dollars max.

Windows7 is $100 each and he is buying 2 computers.

I guess OP could use the same code for both so that thanks for reminding me

OP,

You should just need 1 W7 disc because the code works on multiple computers. Sorry for the confusion!

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

You can also buy a bundle of three windows 7 licenses for 10 or 20 bucks discount.