computer upgrades

[Papi]

http://www.cnet.com/products/asus-es...0-bp004/specs/

This is what I've got to work with. Currently has a GT 220 as the running VGA. United States.

Looking to buy a new CPU, motherboard and video card. PSU if needed. Budget is $400-$550

Wow is the only thing he does on the computer that may be somewhat intensive.


Looking for a little guidance with which way to go.

Thanks!

[Cyrops]

So he will only play WoW? You will want to get new RAM as well and it will fit in budget easily.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($135.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($52.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($50.99 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $410.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 02:03 EDT-0400

[Deleted]

The way i see it you got 2 options:

Option 1:
You go with a good board, very good ram and gpu. You grab a pentium overclock it really easily over 4Ghz (4.5?) and enjoy wow. Will lack at multitasking since its a 2 core but will rock in wow when overclocked. Whenever you can upgrade the board is ready for any i5 for next years.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock 2 87.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($216.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($50.99 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $543.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 02:35 EDT-0400


Option 2:
You go for the overclockable i5. You get slightly slower ram (not much important) but alot less power gpu wise. An aftermarket cooler doesn't fit at the budget, so you will have to stay at stock untill you can afford the extra 30bucks for it and overclock for further performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $559.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 02:40 EDT-0400


Bare in mind that wow is cpu intensive and not gpu when you make your decision.

[tielknight]

A bit more bang for your buck IMO. The G3258 overclocks very well and is a beast in WoW, Z97 leaves room for future upgrades, GPU is a bit better than the 650, Memory is a great deal at the moment and a CPU cooler.

Edit: removed case(no idea why it was still in there) and swapped to a GTX 660

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master RR-T4-18PK-R1 70.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($115.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $455.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 16:02 EDT-0400

[Cyrops]

A bit more bang for your buck IMO. The G3258 overclocks very well and is a beast in WoW, Z97 leaves room for future upgrades, GPU is a bit better than the 650, Memory is a great deal at the moment and a new case to fit the ATX board plus a CPU cooler.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master RR-T4-18PK-R1 70.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($115.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($105.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($50.99 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $441.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 03:16 EDT-0400

As someone who had R7 series, I wouldn't recommend those.
And for wow with budget you are bettter off with nVidia over AMD, GPU wise.

[tielknight]

As someone who had R7 series, I wouldn't recommend those.
And for wow with budget you are bettter off with nVidia over AMD, GPU wise.

Swapped to a 660 and removed the case that got left in there ;|