Looking for a good budget desktop.

[pinedaleave]

We can bump the price to $7-800 including http://pcpartpicker.com/part/logitec...oard-920002478 and http://pcpartpicker.com/part/logitech-mouse-910003602

[Rathimis]

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 760 2GB Enthusiast Edition Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($8.99 @ B&H)
Mouse: Logitech G500s Laser Gaming Mouse Wired Laser Mouse ($54.83 @ Amazon)
Total: $810.73

If you have to knock that 10.73 off, reuse your DVD drive

If you want a SSD, you could reuse the DVD drive and reuse your HDD, then throw in a Crucial m500... it's also possible to reuse your case

This configuration would run WoW 25man raids really well

[Deleted]

Crucial M500 has quite a bit of bad rap of units going bad, I'd personally pick Samsung EVO.

R9 280 is $199. Slightly faster than GTX 760 and you get 3GB of VRAM http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280atdfd

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H97M-E35 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($205.66 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($8.99 @ B&H)
Mouse: Logitech G500s Laser Gaming Mouse Wired Laser Mouse ($54.83 @ Amazon)
Total: $779.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-31 06:40 EDT-0400)

If you don't mind the MIR on the R9 280 that Samthing linked then you can pick that up instead and as mentioned reuse DVD drive if possible or just install Windows from an USB flash drive.

[pinedaleave]

Okay update time, one of her friends has the parts listed here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kmhVD3 that she is going to give her, so I just need to fill in the blanks.

Maybe go for an ssd and hdd now?

[Deleted]

Well, comparing the builds, even with the very first i lower budget one i posted up to Notarget's above, those parts are worse. Free is free of course, but you wouldn't be looking for a whole build from start and even raising the budget. Dunno how happy your fiance is going to be when she will be raiding, streaming or not along with it.

[Rathimis]

That's not much better than my Athlon 640 and 5770 rig, she's not going to be happy raiding 25 man at low setting and still getting dips into single digit fps. Steaming is never going to happen with that

Why are you guys recommending AMD gpus for wow raiding and streaming? Nvidia for wow and shadowplay seem to fit the needs better here. Especially since the budget doesn't allow an i7

[Deleted]

Why are you guys recommending AMD gpus for wow raiding and streaming? Nvidia for wow and shadowplay seem to fit the needs better here. Especially since the budget doesn't allow an i7

Why not? Please enlighten us what Nvidia has going over AMD in WoW today. You could just as well use open source streaming software.

[pinedaleave]

How's this look? It is a suggestion of a friend, thought I'd post it here to gauge.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($52.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($8.99 @ B&H)
Mouse: Logitech G500s Laser Gaming Mouse Wired Laser Mouse ($52.48 @ Amazon)
Total: $751.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-01 11:22 EDT-0400)

[Deleted]

Get the WD Blue 1TB for just a few extra $.

$2 extra for faster RAM:

ADATA XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Drop the unreliable CX power supply (again) for something more reliable like the XFX TS or XFX 550.

[pinedaleave]

Oh the price actually went down after that, maybe I can modify some other stuff as well?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($52.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($8.99 @ B&H)
Mouse: Logitech G500s Laser Gaming Mouse Wired Laser Mouse ($52.48 @ Amazon)
Total: $728.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-01 12:04 EDT-0400)

[Deleted]

Too bad there isn't enough in the budget for an unlocked CPU + Z97 but yes above build is fine.

[pinedaleave]

Though I do note these at the bottom:

Compatibility Notes
In order to fit, the XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card may require removing drive bays from the NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case. The case only supports video cards up to 290mm in length without removing drive bays, while the video card is 294mm long.

Some Intel H81 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Haswell Refresh CPUs.

I have no issue removing bays for more room but would a different case be better just for any sort of upgrades in the future?

As for the mobo/cpu potential issue, it says I "may" have to, is there any way to confirm needing to do this beforehand? Or should I go with a different mobo as well?

[Deleted]

Apparently I had some filter on last time I checked so I missed the CPU part. Yes Switch to an H97 or Z97 if the price is really close.

See if you like any of these cases from Corsair, they cost about the same or less:

200R: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-200r
300R: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-300r
SPEC-03: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-cc9011054ww
SPEC-02: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-cc9011051ww

[pinedaleave]

Thanks, anything else I can tweak to get the extra 25 or so dollars and get it to at or a little over 800?:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($8.99 @ B&H)
Mouse: Logitech G500s Laser Gaming Mouse Wired Laser Mouse ($52.48 @ Amazon)
Total: $775.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-01 19:07 EDT-0400)

[Deleted]

An unlocked i5-4670k. Don't forget the PSU deal end 6/2.

[Rathimis]

Why not? Please enlighten us what Nvidia has going over AMD in WoW today. You could just as well use open source streaming software.

I'm still not finding that AMD has anything similar to Nvidia's shadowplay/nvenc encoding. Shadowplay or NVENC (through OBS) lets you do the encoding on the GPU instead of using the CPU. Most games this isn't going to be an issue, but if you want to stream 25man raids (why else would u stream WoW) its highly beneficial to do this as no matter what processor you use. WoW is CPU limited and the CPU is going to get pushed to it's upper limits in 25 man raids no matter how good it is. Your GPU will have plenty of room for it = the game/stream will run better at higher settings

[Deleted]

^You forgot to mention one CPU core is pushed to it's limit, leaving the rest free for enconding

[pinedaleave]

Will be putting the rig together in a few hours just wondering the best steps once I get the OS installed.

What drivers/updates are best to install first before we get to installing all her previous software/games?

[Deleted]

Always download the newest drivers from the web. In case after you install windows it doesnt recognize your lan controller that gives you access to the web then you can use the cd/dvd that came with mobo to update that driver. Other than that as i said download the latest drivers for mobo controllers etc and gpu. Thats mostly it and windows updates ofc.