New PC for a casual scrub.

[Chort]

Hello all, Thank you for reading this!

I been playing on mac for about 4 years already. And it began to shut down randomly. So, I am looking for a new gaming PC. I like to play some easy / lame games with mediocre graphics: WoW, LoL, SC2, Lotro, Hon and may be some other games like that. However, I play casually about 1 hour a day, and not every day. Most of the time I use my old mac for reading and typing (since battery is long gone this laptop works as a desktop . So I would like to invest some money into a new pc. But since gaming is not a priority I don't want to pay a lot of money.

My budget is $600, HOWEVER if for extra $100 I can get much better deal - I don't mind Paying extra.

Also, I am a scrub - and I want it to last 3 years at least (at least as my old mac).

I live in New York - where during the summer it is pretty hot and humid - so i would prefer good cooling fan.

I dont have OS, however , I do have nice monitor, keyboard and a mouse.

Some of the deals that I considered are :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229362

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229285

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883258019

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227437

But when I read reviews a lot of people complain and Cases/towers where damaged during S&H and that power supply died in a couple of months.

Thank you for any help, and if no help was provided thank you anyways !!!

[Heksar]

Uhh.. Man I'm sorry to say but every pc on your list is bad.. I mean that 8gb of RAM is good but that AMD CPU is not that good, and that GPU, ahem... My point being, unless you are going to play the same games for the next 3 years, don't buy any of those.

Can you (or any of your friends) assemble a PC from parts? I believe some1 here will recommend buying the parts seperately, which I also recommend, unless you don't know how, it isn't that hard though.

[Seezer]

I used a mac for about the same amount of time as you. And Macs have a pretty limited life if you want to play games. Those PC's you've linked are pretty bad. And the reason the reviews are negative in regard to PSU's is that they often cheap out on the PSU. Something you shouldn't cheap out on. Go with Chaud's recommended builds.

http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/...-Month-TCG-Art. Scroll down. His puppy build is better than anything you've linked, and within your price range.

PSU-Corsair CX500 - $58
Case-NZXT GAMMA Classic - $34
CPU-AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition- $105
Heatsink-Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - $27
Motherboard-ASUS M5A97 R2 AM3+ 970 - $95
Memory-Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB 1333 - $27
GPU-ASUS 7770 - $109
HDD-Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $56
DVD-Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW - $23

Total=$534

[yurano]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($159.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $619.13
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-01 18:01 EDT-0400)

[Chort]

OMG guys you replied You made me warm inside

OK so For me to buy any of the listed above PCs I need to order each part separately from a respective source, wait for all of them to arrive and then assemble?

What about OS - I read that windows 8 is worse than 7? ( definitely not Vista - but what about going old-school and installing XP? )

[yurano]

I need to order each part separately from a respective source, wait for all of them to arrive and then assemble?

You will have to do this for the build I posted.

I read that windows 8 is worse than 7?

Windows 8 a little painful if you don't like the new Start menu or MetroUI aesthetics but a lot of things perform better in Windows 8.

but what about going old-school and installing XP?

I would only consider this if you have an old copy of XP and really need to save the $100. There are a lot of drawbacks to XP compared to Windows 7 and 8 (even Vista): Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP in 2014, Windows XP does not support DirectX 11, newer hardware/software may lack support for Windows XP.

[Chort]

Yurano You are the boss. Thank you very much for your help. Wish you many internets and few trolls.

Another question: From the PCpartpicker I can see that difference between i3 and i5 is only 50$. Can someone please tell me is i5 much better than i3 ?

[chazus]

Another question: From the PCpartpicker I can see that difference between i3 and i5 is only 50$. Can someone please tell me is i5 much better than i3 ?

Which i3, and which i5?

[Chort]

Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor
and // or
Intel Core i5-3330
Intel Core i5-3550

and others from:
http://pcpartpicker.com/benchmarks/s.../overall-list/

will those $30 - $50 make a noticeable difference. Same about video cards.
My main wish is for PC be durable and work for 3 years at least.

[Kezotar]

Drop the windows key. Ask your school of a key, most of the times they can give one. Those 80-90 bucks can pimp your PC

[potis]

Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor
and // or
Intel Core i5-3330
Intel Core i5-3550

and others from:
http://pcpartpicker.com/benchmarks/s.../overall-list/

will those $30 - $50 make a noticeable difference. Same about video cards.
My main wish is for PC be durable and work for 3 years at least.

Generally the i5's are stronger than i3's its a quad core versus a dual core there is no comparison.

For some games they are the same because the games are running bad/old engines that only use 1-2 core and thats because they are almost the same they have same performance (Both at 3.3GHz).

Newer games that run more cores or at least utilize them somehow the i5 is simply much stronger.

Generally if you can afford the i5 3550 go for it, or add i think its 8$ and a get a i5 3570 which is slightly better and more secure.


What Yurano posted above is pretty accurate to what you should aim for, try to find Windows 7 from someone to be honest and use those 90 bucks to get an i5 3570 and you are set.

Generally to be on the "safe side" for the next years you want to invest on a i5 3570, 8GB of RAM and any High Media Card, which the only one to be called "Strong" or "good" right now its the 650 Ti Boost for what you are looking to play.

For the game you listed 650 Ti should be fine for even High without Anti-Aliasing and Shadows and you are fine.

Look for i5 3570/8GB RAM/Any cheap 650 Ti Boost <--Notice the boost, not simple 650 Ti.

[chazus]

The difference between the 3220 ($109) and the 3350P ($178) is 70... The 3330 is even more expensive (and slower)

Buuut. That said. If you plan to upgrade again later, get the i3-3220 now (and a Z77 board). If you definitely won't upgrade, I'd probably recommend the 3470 (And a B75 board)

---------- Post added 2013-06-01 at 06:39 PM ----------

Keep in mind... The i3 is still 4x threaded. It's still a very respectable CPU.

[potis]

I would suggest something along these lines, there is no case since thats your choice..Just get any Midi Tower you find pretty really, assuming you can find Windows 7 from someone else, if you cant thats a completely different story since you have to add around 30-40 for a case, and 90 for windows, you look at ~720.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.13 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB Video Card ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $605.05
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-01 21:44 EDT-0400)

[chazus]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)

I'd do the 3470 at most. The 3570 isnt worth the $20... and if 3470, then skip the z77. B75.

[potis]

I'd do the 3470 at most. The 3570 isnt worth the $20... and if 3470, then skip the z77. B75.

He has the money so why not? I just a put a Z77 there instead of a B75 to cover every aspect, he said himself that he can push to 700 and for the games he mentioned that built is perfectly fine.

I still prefer the -original- CPU's over the weaker ones, leading CPU's, even if its not the K version are simply better, even if its a 5% difference.

[chazus]

He has the money so why not? I just a put a Z77 there instead of a B75 to cover every aspect, he said himself that he can push to 700 and for the games he mentioned that built is perfectly fine.

Because 'spending money' is different from 'spending money effectively'.
A 3570 is not worth the money. A Z77 is not worth the money. IF he doesn't plan to upgrade. If he does, or can afford a Z77 and 3570K now, then hell, roll it. But there is really no place currently for a 3570 (non K)

I still prefer the -original- CPU's over the weaker ones, leading CPU's, even if its not the K version are simply better, even if its a 5% difference.

I'm not sure what 'original' or 'weaker' ones you're referring to, or 'leading' ones. The sentence was just kind of weirdly worded.

[yurano]

Another question: From the PCpartpicker I can see that difference between i3 and i5 is only 50$. Can someone please tell me is i5 much better than i3 ?

An i5 is better than an i3 for WoW (when both have the same clock).

I would not drop to the 1GB 650 Ti Boost for it though. The 650 Ti non-Boost is on the borderline between 1 and 2GB. The 650 Ti Boost and the 7850 are both powerful enough that you should really only consider 2GB editions.

[chazus]

An i5 is better than an i3 for WoW.

That... might be a point of contention.
You're comparing an i3-2100 @ 3.1ghz to an i5-2400 @ 3.4ghz. Whereas the i3-3220 and i5-3350P will both be even at 3.3ghz. It's hard to say where the performance line is drawn. It's not apples and oranges, but more like... oranges to grapefruit.

I would not drop to the 1GB 650 Ti Boost for it though.

I've thought about this a lot, and I have mixed feelings about it. People don't like 1gb models... However, I've -never- seen wow break ~800mb on 1080p/Ultra. I've even checked my card to verify this. If you can afford the marginal extra cost, do it. But on a limited budget, again, mixed feelings.

[yurano]

That... might be a point of contention.
You're comparing an i3-2100 @ 3.1ghz to an i5-2400 @ 3.4ghz. Whereas the i3-3220 and i5-3350P will both be even at 3.3ghz. It's hard to say where the performance line is drawn. It's not apples and oranges, but more like... oranges to grapefruit.

The i5-2400 is 3.1 Ghz stock non-turbo.

I've thought about this a lot, and I have mixed feelings about it. People don't like 1gb models... However, I've -never- seen wow break ~800mb on 1080p/Ultra. I've even checked my card to verify this. If you can afford the marginal extra cost, do it. But on a limited budget, again, mixed feelings.

OP plays more than just WoW.

[chazus]

The i5-2400 is 3.1 Ghz stock non-turbo.

I understand its 3.1 non turbo... But any kind of use (Like, say, gaming, or benchmarking) and turbo will kick in. It's -really- hard to determine how accurate those numbers are.

OP plays more than just WoW.

Yes, all less demanding games.