Need Upgrade / New PC advice to play WoW 60fps on 2560x1600

[Istrebitel]

Greetings.

I have the following setup:
Graphics: GTX 560 Ti
CPU: i5-2400 3.1 Ghz
PSU: 600W by OCZ
MB: ASUS P8H6
(I can't actually find this "P8H6" anywhere on the internet, but that's what's written on the board)

Right now, on almost-Ultra settings (I believe i only changed one or two options that said they were most performance-intensive, like shadows and something else), I'm getting around 45 FPS on typical workload (like, in a 10v10 BG), with occasional drops when lot of stuff is happening on the screen. Battles like Nalak or Sha are uncomfortable (kinda like slideshow, but I still can control my character). I'm playing on 1900x1200 now.

Generally, I'm fine with the performance right now, I'm mostly a PVPer so in most cases I never get fps drops that would impact my gaming. But I want to be able to play with stable 60 FPS on a 2560x1600 monitor I'm planning to purchase somewhere in the near future.

* Am I looking at an upgrade or a completely new PC?
* Can I re-use something I've already got in my PC?
* What will be approximate price of the purchase in order to achieve what I want?

(I don't need OS, perepherials and stuff)

Thanks!

[Ripox]

You've got another thing coming if you think you can even maintain 60FPS @ 1920x1080 in 25man raids, but you're a PvPer so that shouldn't affect you much

As a CPU bound game, you wouldn't really want a locked CPU for WoW :/

Whats your budget?

---------- Post added 2013-07-01 at 01:01 PM ----------

You might be able to reuse your SSD/HDD, what is it? Potentially your RAM, too, if it is 8GB at least 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM

Reviews say not to trust OCZ PSU's and while I guess you're not forced to replace it, I wouldn't trust one >.>

---------- Post added 2013-07-01 at 01:01 PM ----------

Also, what is your location? Do you do anything other than WoW? Any preferences about size/noise/color/etc?

[Istrebitel]

Locked? What's "locked"?
Budget? Well, I'm really not very much "pressed" on the money. If i find it worth it, I guess I could spend 3000$ or more. But I need to think. That's why I'm asking what is the approximate amount I'm going to pay if I want to get what I need.

EDIT: Oh stupid me, I forgot to check what kind of RAM I have. I'll be able to check in the evening. I believe its 8GB but I'm not sure about clock and DDR number.

Of course I'm planning to reuse my SSD and HDD's, I doubt new SSD (both OS and WoW on it) will really help. Using HDDs for other games and file storage, so doubt that'll matter.

I have OCZ OCZ600MXSP 600W, is it a bad PSU? Read the reviews, seemed to be a good one.

I'm from Russia, so I guess I'll have to find out best deals myself, but most of the stuff is just linearly a bit more expensive here, so I guess prices will stay relatively the same. Or maybe I'll order through my relatives who live in other countries if like buying in America and sending to Russia will be way cheaper.

I need it to be as silent as possible, and I don't care about color or size. Don't need WiFi - builtin ethernet is fine.

[Ripox]

You will NOT need $3000, probably half that or less

What is your country? What vendors do you have access to? What HDD and RAM do you have?

Something common with CPUs is to overclock them, this is to get the most potential out of the CPU as possible. Processors that have a "k" at the end are 'unlocked' meaning they can easily be over clocked. For that series of CPU's the unlocked i5 is the 2500k, you simply have a 2400, meaning you can not overclock which is a shame because that series of chips (Sandy Bridge) could overclock INSANELY high.


I'll get it going, sec

---------- Post added 2013-07-01 at 01:07 PM ----------

Do you have any preferences like Wi-Fi, color schemes, case sizes?

[Istrebitel]

About that 3000$ number - yeah well that's why I'm saying budget is not really a problem to me, I don't really know how much it can cost, and I can stockpile around 1000$ per month because I'm not really into moneysinks other people do (like, movies, bars, consumer credits, fancy gadgets, expensive mobile phones, expensive tripple A games, all that shit). And this PC will probably serve me for several years. But I don't want to waste the money either - I want to know "*this* will cost me *that*, now is it really worth it?" and think about it for a while, before commiting to a purchase.

[Ripox]

Notes: the large PSU I included is for potential SLI expansion

Something that will work:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($173.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.62 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($456.13 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($102.68 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1452.75
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-01 05:10 EDT-0400)


Something that will kill games (Difference is GPU):
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($173.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.62 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($663.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($102.68 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1670.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-01 05:13 EDT-0400)


Going completely overclick and H.A.M. in a way that is aesthetically appealing (black+yellow colorscheme) with an expensive and overkill motherboard (that includes Wi-Fi and shiny stuff.) which will essentially destroy everything even outside of gaming e.g. streaming:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z87 MPOWER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($223.02 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($173.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.62 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($456.13 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($456.13 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2409.22
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-01 05:18 EDT-0400)

---------- Post added 2013-07-01 at 01:20 PM ----------

By the way when I say 'something that will work' I mean for your situation. There aren't many 2560x1600 WoW benchmarks with a GTX 770 that I could find, though >.> (and the ones I can find are bullshit)

Edit: If you can get those framerates with a 2400 and a 560 Ti, the first build I linked (if OC'd to at least 4.0Ghz which is very easy as you can probably push to 4.3+ on that cooler) it will go way above 60, I think. Do you want a cheaper build without an SSD/HDD (where you re-use your old ones) and you re-use your PSU and potentially re-use your case if it fits the H100i and just give you a build with a GTX 760 and a 4670k? That'll be really cheap and still be an improvement from where you're coming if you want to save money

[Istrebitel]

Wow, thanks alot. I'll study these setups.

I don't think I need to pay extra $1000 for streaming and stuff, and yes, if I can just upgrade what I have, I'd go with that.

My case is really shit (Thermaltake Soprano http://www.computer-hardware-explain...e-soprano.html)
Can't even fit what I want to fit into it without much trouble - several HDDs and an SSD conflict with GPU for space inside the case, making all the power and data cords do hoops and jumps to get to the destination, constantly bent and ready to stick out because of that. It has no spare mount points for the extra coolers of a liquid GPU cooler.

BTW, that "overclocking" is done via BIOS settings by just changing the frequency/power values and checking if it maulfunctions or not, or will i need some special software / special skills to do it?

PS: Btw, prices in Russia for those parts are about 10% more than what you list, so it's not a big deal.
For example, Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card is ~$770 (vs $663)

[Ripox]

Its really easy. Many motherboards today come with UEFI BIOS easy clicks to overclock. read up on the uefi bios on the motherboard in the first build

even if it doesnt have the option which it should then its still really easy to OC and you can google the cpu and motherboard for an overclock guide

---------- Post added 2013-07-01 at 01:59 PM ----------

btw i just realized that the framerates you are currently getting is not at 2560x1600...

if im not mistaken, the second build might then be your best bet because it is better for resolutions higher than 1080p such as 1440p and 1600p. Obviously the best choice is a one thousand dollar titan but thats overkill and i think the 780 performs better in general at higher resolutions

[Deleted]

btw i just realized that the framerates you are currently getting is not at 2560x1600...

if im not mistaken, the second build might then be your best bet because it is better for resolutions higher than 1080p such as 1440p and 1600p. Obviously the best choice is a one thousand dollar titan but thats overkill and i think the 780 performs better in general at higher resolutions

A 7970 is enough to run wow at 1440p. It drops down to 20-ish during Nalak. And that is with a 2500k @ 4,5 GHz. So a single 7970/770 will suffice if its just for wow. And even for other games. You can probably even get away with a 760/7950, seeing as you are mainly pvping.

If you plan on playing anything besides wow, which is graphicly intensive. I would either go with a 770/7970, or SLI 770.

[Ripox]

He is (planning on) playing at 2560x1600, not 2560x1400 and wants (seemingly) steady 60FPS. I do not think a 760 will cut it there seeing how thats approximately what a 760 gets at 1920x1080.

[Deleted]

1600p is not that far off from 1440p, so that does not really matter.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/M...Gaming/24.html

According to that a 760 gets about 65-70 fps on 1600p. Of course that number will drop down during fights. So it might be enough. For me personally, I dont see the difference between 40 and 60 fps on my screen (could be different for the OP, of course). It starts to get laggy when im under 30 fps I think. And that should be doable with a 760.
But if you want to be safe and got the money for it a 770 should be more than enough.

[Ripox]

If I'm not mistaken those benchmarks are when a character is either idle in a place in the world or on a flight path, I can't remember but I think its the latter. My old crappy MacBook Pro with a GT230M and a first gen low-end i5 @ 1400x900 or so resolution could get 65+FPS on ultra during flightpaths during Cataclysm, to be honest. Of course, that went down to like 5FPS when any action was involved (At the start of MOP that laptop couldn't get more than 10FPS @ Jade Forest on min settings, could've been a corrupt file or something, though. I believe there was a mac client memory leak around that time)

If the MSI 760 is getting 70FPS (4xAA, ultra settings) during flight paths @ 2560x1600, I am 99% sure it will not maintain 55-60 FPS during 10v10 BG's (especially RBGs or big team fights in general)

I know you're trying to help him minimize his costs and all but if the guy wants the performance, give him what will get it done well, which is at least a 770 I think

Edit: I shudder to think how the 760 will perform at 2560x1600 during large boss fights in Isle of Conquest or Alterac Valley!!

Let us not forget that the 760 is like a 660 Ti/low-end 670, and GTX 660 Ti's and 670's were the card recommended for 1920x1080 not 2560x1600. People were recommending GTX 680's for that (so like a 770 today)



@Zeara: Can you in good conscience suggest a GTX 760 when someone has this request:

I want to be able to play with stable 60 FPS on a 2560x1600 monitor

because I really cant.

[Deleted]

About the benchmark:

Of course that number will drop down during fights.

Im also explaining why I think a 760 might be enough. I dont think there is that much of a difference between 45 and 60 fps. That said, during massive aoe and what not it is still the CPU that will determine the fps (that is my opinion, I dont have any proof on that. Its just my gut feeling).

And if I want to nit pick. Yes I can suggest a 760. He didnt say anything about the settings :P That said, I also said if you got the money (and want to be safe) go for either a 770 or 7970.

[vesseblah]

But I want to be able to play with stable 60 FPS on a 2560x1600 monitor I'm planning to purchase somewhere in the near future.

Solo questing possible, 10mans maybe, 25man raids or things like Nalak is not possible with today's technology to get stable 60fps on 2560x1600 at anywhere close to ultra settings.

[Pharstar]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Pharst%C3%85r/saved/HLLdnQ
This is based on an overclocked and air cooled Pentium G3258 (a new unlocked 2 core just recently released). Wow really only uses 2 cores so a single powerful overclocked core will get you the most gains for raids and bg's FPS. My kid has a similar build to this but he only has a 750ti 2 gig gpu and he gets 65-90 fps on ultra in 25 man raids at 1920x1080. I would say for 1440p the new 970 4 gig is a great bargain for $350 because overclocked it can match the 780ti for 1/2 the price and will be all the power you need for 1440p. Hope this helps remember in general an overclocked cpu is the best upgrade for wow.

[glo]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Pharst%C3%85r/saved/HLLdnQ
This is based on an overclocked and air cooled Pentium G3258 (a new unlocked 2 core just recently released). Wow really only uses 2 cores so a single powerful overclocked core will get you the most gains for raids and bg's FPS. My kid has a similar build to this but he only has a 750ti 2 gig gpu and he gets 65-90 fps on ultra in 25 man raids at 1920x1080. I would say for 1440p the new 970 4 gig is a great bargain for $350 because overclocked it can match the 780ti for 1/2 the price and will be all the power you need for 1440p. Hope this helps remember in general an overclocked cpu is the best upgrade for wow.

This thread was made over a year ago.