Cheapest possible build for WoW on Ultra?

[Ladey Gags]

I'm looking to upgrade from this rather crappy laptop I've had for a couple years now into something that can actually play WoW decently. However, this time I think I'm going to actually build my first desktop to save a bit of money. Now, seeing as the only game I'll be playing in the foreseeable future will be WoW, I'm wondering what the cheapest setup is that I could build in order to play on max settings with decent FPS.

Budget: Cheapest price that will allow decent FPS on ultra settings.
Resolution: Preferably 1920x1080, but willing go under that for a lower price.
Games / Settings Desired: Only WoW on Ultra
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): No
Country: USA
Parts that can be reused: None
Do you need an OS?: Yes, Windows 8
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?: None, unless a case is included in this, which I will need.

Let me know if there's something I didn't cover.

[Toffie]

Build 1

- Build below should handle WoW raids at ultra with medium shadow at 30-40 fps in 25M raids though.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($112.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $687.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-22 19:04 EST-0500)

Build 2

- CPU can be overclocked to increase performance.
- Will handle WoW at MAXED at 45-55 fps while raiding with a 4.3GHz + overclock.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($113.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $896.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-22 19:07 EST-0500)

[Deleted]

Not sure about these number i have a 7950 wich gets better results than a 660 and i wouldnt count on 50 dps on ultra, maybe on 10 man i guess

[Flame6]

Not sure about these number i have a 7950 wich gets better results than a 660 and i wouldnt count on 50 dps on ultra, maybe on 10 man i guess

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-7.html agrees.

[yurano]

Not sure about these number i have a 7950 wich gets better results than a 660 and i wouldnt count on 50 dps on ultra, maybe on 10 man i guess

WoW is solidly CPU bound in raids, especially 25m. Your 7950 has little bearing on 25m raid FPS. You're likely bottlenecked by your CPU (likely an AMD FX CPU).

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-7.html agrees.

Tomshardware's hierarchy chart is all kinds of wrong.

The 7970 Ghz is at best 9% better than the 7970, but is listed as a whole tier higher.

The 660 Ti is listed at the same tier as the 7870, but the 660 Ti is a good 14% faster.

There are plenty other fallacies with Tomshardware's hierarchy chart.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/N...TX_760/27.html

[chazus]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-7.html agrees.

Stating that any kind of GPU benchmark 'agrees' when it comes to raid performance in wow is inherently a bit misleading. Anything over a $120 GPU will pretty much run WoW at it's best, as long as you have the other hardware (cpu) to support it.

[Ladey Gags]

Okay, so I've used Toffie's first build and tweaked it a bit for about $120 less. This is the first time I've done this so I did my best with side-by-side comparisons to keep the specs similar. How would it run WoW on ultra? Specifically, how is the GPU that I chose? I honestly don't mind toggling down the shadow or water effects a bit if I must, as long as I can have a fairly smooth experience.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26Prl

[Kindahuge]

I have one simple recommendation: Whatever CPU you buy, get a good aftermarket heatsink (such as the hyper212 evo that is constantly being updated for latest sockets) and learn to attach that thing and OC the hell out of your CPU. I have an older 2010 I5 upgraded from 2.9ghz to 4.0ghz and it makes a huge difference, because other players (and their shadows/particle effects) will cause your CPU to bottleneck the rest of your system quite severely. Even with my system, a popular outdoor raid boss like Ordos will drop my fps pretty low if I crank everything to ultra.

[chazus]

How would it run WoW on ultra? Specifically, how is the GPU that I chose?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26Prl

A couple things.
The GPU is good, and you could go 'lower' but at that price, it's pretty slick. I'd keep it.

Also, I'd recommend splurging at least an extra $20 on the power supply. CoolMax like to go splodey.

[Ladey Gags]

A couple things.
The GPU is good, and you could go 'lower' but at that price, it's pretty slick. I'd keep it.

Also, I'd recommend splurging at least an extra $20 on the power supply. CoolMax like to go splodey.

That's fine; is Toffie's original power supply okay? It's only $5 more.

[constantduty]

That's fine; is Toffie's original power supply okay? It's only $5 more.

One quick note on your build - go with two sticks of ram, not one. You need to take advantage of dual-channel memory!

Also, splurge a bit on your case. It's the one thing your next build will probably inherit. Plus you have to work in it and look at it (in theory) most of the time.

[Biernot]

- No need for dual-channel in a gaming build with a graphics card.

- Stick with the original PSU from Toffie's build

- Get a case which has better airflow for the graphics card. The Rosewill case has little ventilation under the graphics card, which is not good in the long run. NZXT Source 210 and 210 elite are solid suggestions for the lower price regions.

[Scufflegrit]

Not trying to hijack this thread, but I'm looking to build a new rig myself and have been comparing builds people have posted. I'll be posting my own thread shortly, but I have a question regarding the Noctua CPU cooler listed above. Is it considerably better than the Thermaltake Frio? pcpartpicker lists it right now with a $5 discount code and a $20 mail in rebate (from newegg), effectively cutting the price in half. On a limited budget, even $25 can make a big difference.

[yurano]

The Thermaltake Frio has better thermal performance, but is much louder.

http://www.frostytech.com/articlevie...id=2270&page=5
http://www.frostytech.com/articlevie...id=2523&page=5

Since budget is tight, go for the Frio. It looks like there's a dial to control the fan speed and the fans are 3-pin.