Building Custom Computer, how does it look?

[Yosupraz]

Ok so i've decided to start playing WoW again. When i played before I would be lucky to have 15 fps in WSG. My comp was that bad. If I start playing again, I want an awesome computer! But dont want to spend a ton. For me im trying to budget around $1000 or so, and I'm buying parts slowly over time. I have everything picked out but want some input on if it is a good make up. Basically I want to be able to run on ultra smoothly, mainly for BG's and Arena, but would love to run good in large raids and cities. This is only for WoW i'll use my laptop for other tasks.

Here's the makeup

CPU - Intel Core i5-3570 Unlocked $205
Graphics Card – Evga GTX 660 $219
Mother Board - MSI Z77A-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS $109
Cooling - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO $32
Power - Antec BP550 Plus $64
Memory - Corsair Vengeance CML8GX3M2A1600C9 Lowprofile 8GB $53
Storage - Samsung MZ-7PC128D/AM 830 Series 2.5" Solid State Drive Kit - 128GB, SATA III, 6Gbps, Norton Ghost 15, Desktop Upgrade $109
Case - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White Steel ATX Mid Tower $109

I've never built a computer and don't know much about any of this, my dad has made a few and knows more but doesn't know what WoW requires or anything about games. I asked my friend to look over it and said everything is good, and i could probably get a smaller hard drive. Just incase i ever get anything else I'd like to stick with this. But please let me know! thanks!

[Deleted]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JFR1
You can get that rig with about $900.

Looks good, but it probably wont run WoW at 60 FPS Ultra (1080p).

[Yosupraz]

Wow thanks for the link to that! Hmm what do you think it would be able to run it at? any cheap upgrades that would make it run better? Anyone else have any input on this?

[Vaelanor]

I would say scrap the gtx 660 and spend 15-20 bucks more and get the vastly superior 7870 gtz edition.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150604
Or if you don't like XFX, get the sapphire one for onyl a few bucks more.

[Deleted]

Wow thanks for the link to that!
Hmm what do you think it would be able to run it at? any cheap upgrades that would make it run better?
Anyone else have any input on this?

I'd say it can run Ultra, but you might need to reduce anti-aliasing / shadow quality.
Neither of which really make the game look any worse, so you should be set.

As for any notable upgrades, GTX 670, or maybe AMD Radeon HD 7870.
Off-note: I've heard some bad things about EVGA GPU's, might want to consider different manufacturer.

[Vaelanor]

Yea, the 7950 is also a great choice for right at the 300 dollar mark, and it blows the 660ti out of the water. However, personally I do use the gtx670 ftw and it's a monster of a card, though I payed $360 for it. If you're willing to spend that much, you should take a look at the gtx 670.

[Toffie]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

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: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.45 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $709.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-14 15:46 EDT-0400)

GFX card : http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo.../dp/B00AWKYB1M

Will run WoW at max settings at 1080p. Will run extremely well in bgs/raids/big towns if you decide to overclock the cpu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=668ATnnBOZU

[Yosupraz]

So it sounds like most of you are suggesting to change out the gpu from the gtx 660 to Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT with Boost 2GB? That sounds good to me, especially because you've all agreed on it and its around the same price.

Toffie is there a reason you suggested 2 storage? And the XFX Core Edition PRO550W is better than the Antec BP550 Plus 550w? They both have mixed reviews

[Punisher]

I have a 7850, a bit weaker than a 660 and I do run WoW on ultra with all maxed EXCEPTED multisampling, but I don't see a difference between x2 and x8 (or 16?), I also have view distance at high instead of ultra, but I can do it, its just personnal preferences.

And for the PSU, I have a XFX pro 550w, and its a great PSU but I think you wont see any difference between this and the corsair one

Toffie linked two storage because one is a SSD, if you don't know what it is I recommand you to read this http://www.storagereview.com/ssd_vs_hdd
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404258,00.asp

You'll see, SSD are great ^^

[Yosupraz]

I have an ssd already linked in my first build (Samsung MZ-7PC128D/AM 830 Series 2.5" Solid State Drive Kit - 128GB, SATA III, 6Gbps, Norton Ghost 15, Desktop Upgrade) do i need the hdd and ssd? im pretty sure my dad has one laying around if so.

[skrump]

I'd say it can run Ultra, but you might need to reduce anti-aliasing / shadow quality.
Neither of which really make the game look any worse, so you should be set.

As for any notable upgrades, GTX 670, or maybe AMD Radeon HD 7870.
Off-note: I've heard some bad things about EVGA GPU's, might want to consider different manufacturer.

Dunno my system is running the i5-2500k with a evga 550ti on a evga pro/gen3 and I am able to max everything in wow (including shadows/multisampling and still get above 35fps in a 25m raid while running netflix on my secondary monitor so the system you linked should be equal if not surpassing the fps i get.

The only real difference in my build and the one linked is I don't have an ssd of course I don't overclock either even though I got the unlocked version of the 2500k I have not needed to overclock it and most likely will not do so for another year or two when games start to slow down to the point that it makes the hassle of reconfiguring my bios worth it.

---------- Post added 2013-03-14 at 02:02 PM ----------

I'd say it can run Ultra, but you might need to reduce anti-aliasing / shadow quality.
Neither of which really make the game look any worse, so you should be set.

As for any notable upgrades, GTX 670, or maybe AMD Radeon HD 7870.
Off-note: I've heard some bad things about EVGA GPU's, might want to consider different manufacturer.

Been using Evga for several years and consider them to be among the best on the market "if not the best" the only issue I ever had with one was a old 9800 series that fried after 2 years of use because the fan went out and I didn't notice it (and I bought that card used on Ebay)

Honestly amazed it lasted as long as it did because the system it was in had some issues with either the power supply or the motherboard, not sure which I just know it was killing at least 1 hard drive every year if not 2.

---------- Post added 2013-03-14 at 02:05 PM ----------

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

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: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.45 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $709.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-14 15:46 EDT-0400)

GFX card : http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeo.../dp/B00AWKYB1M

Will run WoW at max settings at 1080p. Will run extremely well in bgs/raids/big towns if you decide to overclock the cpu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=668ATnnBOZU

Wouldn't go with Msi as I've had nothing but bad luck with all of their products crapping out within a year or two
As for Xfx power supplies ... well I've yet to own one that lasted for more than 3 months.

[Lemmiwink]

XFX550W is a good one. Don't worry about it. There is also no real truth in Msi products being "crap". They are one of the three top dogs with ASUS and Gigabyte. They also have good customer support in my experience. All their products aren't great, but neither is ASUS', Gigabyte's or ASRock's either.

[Toffie]

So because you had bad luck with their product all their products are black listed? Every quality part from ASUS - Gigabyte - MSI - Sapphire - Evga can be faulty, thats why you have RMA.

[Punisher]

Yeah my card is from MSI and I can't complain (okay its not because im coming from a hd 4650 that Im impressed easily =D )
It works extremly well and outperform everything that I ever saw and it still a poor 7850 (I think I would had a heart attack with a 7970)

[Yosupraz]

Thanks for the help so far guys, you've done exactly what I wanted suggested upgrades that kept it around the same price. This is how its looking since i've asked

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor $189.99
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $29.98
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $107.99
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory 53.45
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $117.28
Case: Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case $109.99
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $59.99
Total: $668.67

and the graphics card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT with Boost 2GB $225

hows that? im not going to get an hdd unless i need it, i only plan on having wow on this for now. ill use my laptop for everything else. and i already have an optics drive / mouse / keyboard / monitor

[Toffie]

It's perfect, you will be very happy with it.

[Klutzington]

I would say scrap the gtx 660 and spend 15-20 bucks more and get the vastly superior 7870 gtz edition.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150604
Or if you don't like XFX, get the sapphire one for onyl a few bucks more.

I would scrap the 7870 ghz edition and get the vastly superior 7870 XT for the same price.

[Punisher]

Playing WoW on a SSD isn't the best idea, it will reduce is lifetime, many huge writes on SSD's are not very good.
That's why a SSD/HDD combo is good, you can actually let the huge writings to the hdd and only keeps the file that only need to be read on the ssd

And WoW uses a lot of disk space and ssd are more tight on this

[jholdaway]

Thanks for the help so far guys, you've done exactly what I wanted suggested upgrades that kept it around the same price. This is how its looking since i've asked

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor $189.99
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $29.98
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $107.99
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory 53.45
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $117.28
Case: Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case $109.99
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $59.99
Total: $668.67

and the graphics card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT with Boost 2GB $225

hows that? im not going to get an hdd unless i need it, i only plan on having wow on this for now. ill use my laptop for everything else. and i already have an optics drive / mouse / keyboard / monitor

Looks good and good choice on the case. I'm using the same one and I love it. My only complaint about it is the fan mounts on the side window. Would of been nice if it was solid but it was easy and cheap to modify it.

[chazus]

Playing WoW on a SSD isn't the best idea, it will reduce is lifetime, many huge writes on SSD's are not very good.

This is for all intents and purposes, entirely false.