Looking to build a computer for a friend.

[Razorlor]

Budget is MAX $700 (Including cost of OS), looking to run WoW on fairly decent settings in raid. He currently gets like 4 fps in raids and it's a problem.

Would greatly appreciate any help!

Nevermind the SSD.

[Remilia]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.97 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($100.09 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.20 @ Directron)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Total: $692.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-01 17:12 EST-0500

[Razorlor]

Thanks for the reply, gonna wait for some other feedback as well.

[Karry]

Actual logic behind the build: This i3 runs Wow no problem and you will get no noise or high temps from it. Mobo is good, best really at its price. You dont really need much more than this for a casual computer for gaming.

Now. Storage. The build above is way overkill. You dont need a 256SSd off the bat. You get a 1 TB HDD now - which still plays WoW at the same fps, just loads faster - and save money and put them in the video card and when your friend has some money he can get a 128-256GB SSD and add that then. There is no reason to get a SSD off the bat if you want to squeeze out all the performance you can get from a budget like this. Case is good; good ventilation and nice looks. Beefy 620W from Seasonic which has only premium components in it.

The video card. GTX 960 and r9 285 are neck and neck basically and the 280 lags behind 960 a bit and has higher TDP = more heat. Getting a 265 in a 700 budget is really really bad. Also, there's the r9 280x options which puts you over budget by about 20-25 bucks, there's that to consider but for WoW I wouldnt really go over budget really; if your friends wants to that's more than fine. I have a old GTX 660 and it runs WoW on mix of Good-High with CMAA no problem in raids. So 960 and r9 285 will run it with no problems.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...60,4038-4.html

Again. I stress. Don't worry about a SSD so soon and get one down the line. It's basically wasting performance if you put a SSD in this budget. Better to get a better video card than have WoW load faster. If you decide to go without a SSD first then when the time comes to buy on I do recommend what Remilia listed. The MX100 is an amazing bang for buck. I have one, my friends' builds which I've done have it and no probs whatsoever.




PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill NS Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $692.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-01 17:43 EST-0500

[Razorlor]

So, I'm really liking the builds. My one concern is the i3? Would WoW actually run well on a Dual Core?

[Cracked]

So, I'm really liking the builds. My one concern is the i3? Would WoW actually run well on a Dual Core?

Depends on the user. If all you have up is WoW and maybe a voice chat client, then the i3 should be fine. If you also like to watch videos and the like (on say a second screen), then it could get choppy. WoW itself usually uses several threads, the main one will keep one of the cores fully occupied, while the other core should have around 30-40% idle time.

[Razorlor]

Depends on the user. If all you have up is WoW and maybe a voice chat client, then the i3 should be fine. If you also like to watch videos and the like (on say a second screen), then it could get choppy. WoW itself usually uses several threads, the main one will keep one of the cores fully occupied, while the other core should have around 30-40% idle time.

Okay, I doubt he has more than a voice chat open, so I suppose the i3 will be enough. Thanks for the insight.

[Vash The Stampede]

So, I'm really liking the builds. My one concern is the i3? Would WoW actually run well on a Dual Core?

For WoW yes. For other games, maybe? A little tweaking of Remilia's build and I'm able to force in a i5. Just no SSD but a 1TB drive.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.97 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card ($135.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.20 @ Directron)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $696.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-01 22:42 EST-0500

[Karry]

Getting an i5 and a average video card is the worst thing you can do. Get a dual core ( i3 is hyperthreaded is it's actually a "fake" quad core ina sense anyway ) and a good graphics card and in a few a few years if he feels the need he can get a new CPU. WoW runs fine on an i3. I played WoW on my dads work PC that has a Haswell Celeron and I just put a gtx 760 in there and WoW worked perfectly.

[chazus]

The i3-4160 @ 3.6ghz will outperform the i5-4440 @ 3.2ghz.

There's almost no situation that warrants an i5 non-K that is worth the money unless its on super sale.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't get an old crappy gpu so i can fit an i5 when you don't have the budget for it.
This is similar to Karry's just a couple different options, mostly psu cause its already too much.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1300 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Total: $684.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-02 04:35 EST-0500

[Karry]

Yeap good build. Forgot bout the Fractal 1300. And yeah I went auto pilot on the seasonic cause it's such a beast. And XFX are basically made by seasonic anyway and that 550 one is quality. Your friend will be very happy with either mine or Kostattoo's build I can guarantee you that.

[Vash The Stampede]

I wouldn't get an old crappy gpu so i can fit an i5 when you don't have the budget for it.
This is similar to Karry's just a couple different options, mostly psu cause its already too much.

I modified Remilia's build to get the i5. It wasn't a bad build but you can certainly have your i5 and 960 for even less. You just have to be Ok with $45 worth of mail in rebates.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($48.97 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($199.95 @ Directron)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $664.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-02 13:26 EST-0500