Optimal WoW raiding build

[golds]

Help!!!!!



Budget 1,000

Resolution I don't know how to gauge this. help?

Games / Settings Desired Ultra maxed out settings on WoW hardcore raiding 25 mans with 60+ fps

Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc) no

Country usa

Parts that can be reused nope

Do you need an OS? yes

Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? nothing except monitor. I have an HD tv, would that work?

[noteworthynerd]

Constant 60FPS on Ultra is not achievable with a $1000 budget, you'd need to double or maybe even triple that. $1000 is enough to get a decent PC, though.

[golds]

what could it realistically maintain fps wise though

[the_dynamite]

Constant 60FPS on Ultra is not achievable with a $1000 budget, you'd need to double or maybe even triple that. $1000 is enough to get a decent PC, though.

That estimate is a bit too generous. I built my PC about 6 months ago around $1700 and the most expensive part was the video card. gtx680, i52500k, H100, x2 120gb ssd in raid 0, sabertooth z77, 8 gb 2133 CL 9 & 850 watts PSU all sitting in HAFX. I run on maxed out settings and the system never gets pushed at all. So you dont really need 2-3k to build a powerful PC. just need right parts. at the end of the day its WOW. graphics are not that demanding.

And it is important to point out that all parts were bough in Canada which tends to be more expensive. If i were in US i would have probably shaved off another 100-150.

[noteworthynerd]

what could it realistically maintain fps wise though

Probably 40-60FPS on Ultra with shadows and multisampling turned down/off. Something like this:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($238.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $917.46

If you'd rather have Windows 7, you could swap that 8 for Home Premium 64-bit, they're the same price. Also, you could probably technically use your HDTV as a monitor, but I would consider buying a proper monitor (a decent one will cost $120+).

That estimate is a bit too generous. I built my PC about 6 months ago around $1700 and the most expensive part was the video card ... I run on maxed out settings and the system never gets pushed at all.

I've got a PC with almost identical specs and I know for a fact that it will not maintain a constant 60FPS in 25-man raids. It will maintain good FPS (40-60), but it will not maintain a constant 60FPS. To achieve that you need a i5 or greater with a huge overclock and multiple GPUs. WoW gets very demanding on max settings in "intense" environments.

[golds]

Probably 40-60FPS on Ultra with shadows and multisampling turned down/off. Something like this:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($238.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $917.46

If you'd rather have Windows 7, you could swap that 8 for Home Premium 64-bit, they're the same price. Also, you could probably technically use your HDTV as a monitor, but I would consider buying a proper monitor (a decent one will cost $120+).



I've got a PC with almost identical specs and I know for a fact that it will not maintain a constant 60FPS in 25-man raids. It will maintain good FPS (40-60), but it will not maintain a constant 60FPS. To achieve that you need a i5 or greater with a huge overclock and multiple GPUs. WoW gets very demanding on max settings in "intense" environments.

Thanks a lot! David Tennant was a better doctor!!! :P

So would adding an SSD affect the overall performance of raids? Or is it just fast loading time and boot up convenience?

---------- Post added 2013-06-05 at 06:33 AM ----------

Also, what makes an actual monitor better than a HD tv?

[noteworthynerd]

Correct, adding an SSD would not affect performance, just load and boot times.

Monitors are better than TVs for a couple reasons:

1. The refresh rate on monitors is usually better than on TVs.
2. Depending on the age of the TV, the resolution on a monitor will probably be better.
3. If the TV is large (> 24"), but the resolution is comparatively small (e.g. 1080p), the pixels will need to "stretch" to fill the space, resulting in a yucky picture.
4. Monitors are meant to display video from computers, they're generally just better at it.

I don't know the more technical details of why they're better, so someone else might come along and correct what I've said and/or explain it better.

[golds]

Probably 40-60FPS on Ultra with shadows and multisampling turned down/off. Something like this:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($238.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $917.46

If you'd rather have Windows 7, you could swap that 8 for Home Premium 64-bit, they're the same price. Also, you could probably technically use your HDTV as a monitor, but I would consider buying a proper monitor (a decent one will cost $120+).



I've got a PC with almost identical specs and I know for a fact that it will not maintain a constant 60FPS in 25-man raids. It will maintain good FPS (40-60), but it will not maintain a constant 60FPS. To achieve that you need a i5 or greater with a huge overclock and multiple GPUs. WoW gets very demanding on max settings in "intense" environments.

noteworthynerd, or anyone else,

would the same build work with this cpu?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

[chazus]

Honestly, I would recommend the 3570K over the 4570, for a few reasons.

1) 4570 cant overclock, so the 3570K would perform MUCH better than the 4570 there.
2) I haven't seen benchmarks, but speaking -specifically- about WoW, I believe higher OC clocks (4.5-4.7) would benefit WoW more than Haswells better IPC at 4.2-4.3.
3) Cost. Haswell simply costs more. You can, with a $1000 budget, effectively get 'better performance' for WoW with it.

I don't believe going from a $1000 to $1700 system would improve wow performance. You can't get anything better than best (3570K, 4670K)

I run on maxed out settings and the system never gets pushed at all. So you dont really need 2-3k to build a powerful PC. just need right parts. at the end of the day its WOW. graphics are not that demanding.

This statement is misleading. There is a very big difference between "Max settings at 60fps" and "System not getting pushed"

My system gets -close- to 60fps in heavy raids... However my system usage rarely goes about 40-50%. There is a difference.

Everyone time someone goes "LOL I have ____ system and I have solid 60fps in raiding all the time" ... Vesseblah usually comes in and says "ss or it didn't happen" and it doesnt happen. There is, currently, no technology or hardware that can run LFR/25Mans with SOLID 60fps. No matter how much money you throw at it. [COLOR="red"]

would the same build work with this cpu?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

Yes, except you'd need a Z77 board.

[BicycleMafioso]

2) I haven't seen benchmarks, but speaking -specifically- about WoW, I believe higher OC clocks (4.5-4.7) would benefit WoW more than Haswells better IPC at 4.2-4.3.

Can't speak specifically about WoW and about Haswell<->Ivy Bridge, but in general, 4.4 GHz on a Haswell is roughly equal to 4.9 GHz on a Sandy Bridge in performance.

[golds]

Honestly, I would recommend the 3570K over the 4570, for a few reasons.

1) 4570 cant overclock, so the 3570K would perform MUCH better than the 4570 there.
2) I haven't seen benchmarks, but speaking -specifically- about WoW, I believe higher OC clocks (4.5-4.7) would benefit WoW more than Haswells better IPC at 4.2-4.3.
3) Cost. Haswell simply costs more. You can, with a $1000 budget, effectively get 'better performance' for WoW with it.

I don't believe going from a $1000 to $1700 system would improve wow performance. You can't get anything better than best (3570K, 4670K)

This statement is misleading. There is a very big difference between "Max settings at 60fps" and "System not getting pushed"

My system gets -close- to 60fps in heavy raids... However my system usage rarely goes about 40-50%. There is a difference.

Everyone time someone goes "LOL I have ____ system and I have solid 60fps in raiding all the time" ... Vesseblah usually comes in and says "ss or it didn't happen" and it doesnt happen. There is, currently, no technology or hardware that can run LFR/25Mans with SOLID 60fps. No matter how much money you throw at it. [COLOR="red"]
Yes, except you'd need a Z77 board.

can you explain to a noob what pointts 2) and 3) mean? which part are you referring to

---------- Post added 2013-06-09 at 06:53 PM ----------

also which z77 mobo are you referrring to

[BicycleMafioso]

can you explain to a noob what pointts 2) and 3) mean? which part are you referring to

Haswell is the over-all architecture name of the core-i series in the 4000-naming scheme (i5 4670 and i7 4770), Ivy Bridge is the 3000-series
4.2-4.3 and 4.5-4.7 are all overclocks measured in GHz.
Ivy Bridge is cheaper.
IPC means instructions per clock; A higher one means that a CPU is higher at an equal clockspeed to another CPU and means that you can't just mention XX GHz and amount of cores to tell the whole picture.

[chazus]

Can't speak specifically about WoW and about Haswell<->Ivy Bridge, but in general, 4.4 GHz on a Haswell is roughly equal to 4.9 GHz on a Sandy Bridge in performance.

Yeah... It's WoW specifically that I am concerned about... And for the additional cost of haswell, I just dont feel that it's worth it when it comes to high clocks that improve Raiding performance specifically.

also which z77 mobo are you referrring to

Any Z77 board, really. I was pointing out that if you want a 3570K, instead of the listed 4570 + H87 board, you'd need 3570K + Z77

[golds]

Yeah... It's WoW specifically that I am concerned about... And for the additional cost of haswell, I just dont feel that it's worth it when it comes to high clocks that improve Raiding performance specifically.

Any Z77 board, really. I was pointing out that if you want a 3570K, instead of the listed 4570 + H87 board, you'd need 3570K + Z77

which z77 would you recommend with that budget? also thank you so much for this help

i'm buying and building my new pc this week!

[chazus]

Asrock Extreme3 or Pro4, or MSI Z77A-G45 are usually ones I recommend.

[golds]

isnt msi infamous for being shitty?

[chazus]

isnt msi infamous for being shitty?

Nope. They've actually been very good for a long time. I've both bought and sold them, and almost used MSI exclusively for years. They -might- have a higher failure count, due to having higher sales. But no, MSI is a good computer. I'd recommend them over just about anything else besides Asus or Asrock.

[yurano]

I don't know the more technical details of why they're better, so someone else might come along and correct what I've said and/or explain it better.

TVs are blurry as crap. I didn't believe it until I saw it.

It doesn't matter how far you sit from the TV, the text is going to be more difficult to read than on a monitor.

Monitors are designed for text so they have high clarity. In contrast, TVs are designed for pictures so they sacrifice clarity for high contrast ratios, which makes pictures look much better.

[stellvia]

Why are you only getting a single stick of ram? Then it's only running in single channel... you need the paired ram for dual channel memory...

The rest is fine except for the case. If you're going to go for a low-end case like that, pick up the Fractal Design Core1000 and a MiniATX board instead then. It's a much better quality case.

[yurano]

Why are you only getting a single stick of ram? Then it's only running in single channel... you need the paired ram for dual channel memory...

Single channel vs Dual channel isn't actually all that important.

On the other hand, super duper overclocking RAM on sale: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Low Profile 1x4GB 1600 Mhz C8 1.35V x2 = $54.