It's time, boys.

[Mcconnell]

Thank you guys for explaining what g-sync is and how it relates to the monitor.

I do not plan on OC'ing my computer as I think that's really just beyond my scope. I also did go ahead and purchase the tower/case linked in the first build as it was aesthetically pleasing and seemed to have a lot of space to put the parts in.

As far as I know, can't you just buy Windows 7 and then get the free upgrade to 10 from that? I get pop-ups like every day on my computer wanting me to upgrade from my Windows 7 Vista Home Edition to Win10 and I never do it. And you're totally right about my AMD card lasting a long time. My current card is an amd Radeon 6800 series and it came out in 2010. My CPU is an Intel i5-2310 2.9 GHz. It's worked great so far but with the graphics updates in Legion and computer already being so old, I felt it incumbent upon me to build a new one.

I'm a bit nervous about splurging on an i7 if I'm not going to get the most use out of it, barring overclocking which I do not want to delve into.

[Artorius]

Just because something is proprietary doesn't mean people wouldn't want it.

Of course not, Windows is proprietary as well and I'd take it over any current Linux distro without thinking half a time. That's not the point.

Great coders want to earn money with their coding and that's why we have great closed-source software all over the place.

Point is that this is a silly argument to use in favor of Nvidia when you can do virtually the same thing with Free-sync. While it's cheaper and open for everyone to use.

Supporting Nvidia is indirectly supporting their attempt to achieve exclusiveness. Nvidia is anti-competition and anti-consumer. If they could they'd make game X only work on their cards.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you guys for explaining what g-sync is and how it relates to the monitor.

I do not plan on OC'ing my computer as I think that's really just beyond my scope. I also did go ahead and purchase the tower/case linked in the first build as it was aesthetically pleasing and seemed to have a lot of space to put the parts in.

That case is great =)

As far as I know, can't you just buy Windows 7 and then get the free upgrade to 10 from that? I get pop-ups like every day on my computer wanting me to upgrade from my Windows 7 Vista Home Edition to Win10 and I never do it.

Yes you can but, and sincerely speaking you don't even need to do the upgrade anymore. Just download Windows 10 from Microsoft's website and install it, and then you activate with the Windows 7 key.

And you're totally right about my AMD card lasting a long time. My current card is an amd Radeon 6800 series and it came out in 2010. My CPU is an Intel i5-2310 2.9 GHz. It's worked great so far but with the graphics updates in Legion and computer already being so old, I felt it incumbent upon me to build a new one.

Mine is 4 years old or so, and for what I do I don't really see any reason to upgrade unless it breaks.

I'm a bit nervous about splurging on an i7 if I'm not going to get the most use out of it, barring overclocking which I do not want to delve into.

Well, the 4790K comes at 4GHZ which by itself is beneficial for WoW. WoW is a pure CPU-bound game and this clock difference makes some difference at your "minimum fps".

In any case, this is a way to get HT without spending a lot of money:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($62.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.34 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($231.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $1215.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-24 13:00 EST-0500

Just swap the 4790K for the Xeon, you don't really need the Z97 motherboard nor the CPU cooler anymore but they're not that much more expensive anyway.

The other alternative is:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A PC MATE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.34 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($231.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $1333.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-24 12:57 EST-0500

Which is probably a good option as well since you're getting DDR4 and an upgrade path.

- - - Updated - - -

The non K i7s are not overclockable, so you don't need to worry about it.

[Mcconnell]

I like the look of that second build, Art. But is there a way to use the Gigabyte motherboard from the build in the first post for that computer? It's still within my budget.

Beyond that, it seems like in every build the Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB is the go-to drive. Should I just go ahead and purchase that now? Same thing with the CPU cooler. I'm still torn between getting the BenQ monitor and the Dell U2414. I'll have to do my own research into that apparently.

[Artorius]

I like the look of that second build, Art. But is there a way to use the Gigabyte motherboard from the build in the first post for that computer? It's still within my budget.

Beyond that, it seems like in every build the Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB is the go-to drive. Should I just go ahead and purchase that now? Same thing with the CPU cooler. I'm still torn between getting the BenQ monitor and the Dell U2414. I'll have to do my own research into that apparently.

The HD, yes you can. Everyone will recommend it.

The SSD as well, everyone will recommend the 850 EVO.

Are you talking about http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyt...gaz170xgaming3 ?

If yes then yes you can use it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.34 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($231.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $1373.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-24 13:13 EST-0500

I could probably find you RAM with red details as well if that's important =p

That BenQ is 1440p, bigger resolution and will use more of your computer to handle it (although WoW is probably more than fine). For 1440p the default recommendations are that one and Dell u2515h. But in your case I think sticking to 1080p is a better option.

[Mcconnell]

Ok I have gone ahead and purchased the case/tower from first post and the SSD and HD that everyone links in their builds automatically.

I really do appreciate your help so far, Art, and others that have explained to my retarded ass what all this stuff means. I also think you're right in that since I will not be getting into heavy duty graphically intense games, I will just stick with the Dell u2414 monitor unless someone has an argument against it. I will probably need to look more into whether or not the i7 is required but currently I'm leaning towards just buying it and hoping it lasts for a good 4-5 years.

[Sicarius87]

Because I'm basically technologically retarded, can you explain in layman's terms what g-sync is and why a new monitor compatible with the nvidia card would be a better alternative to the AMD card?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-Sync

Here is a 4k monitor that has gsync and is 60hz. https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/ROG-SWIFT-PG27AQ/

[Dartz1979]

I dont recommend getting a Radeon card for wow. An nvidia card performs better in this game. The best Bang for the buck would Be a second hand gtx 780 ti for around 250 dollar. If you dont trust me do some searches on techpowerup (only one regularly testning new gpus on wow) which will show you how nvidia Card get 30-40% better fps in wow compared to Radeon in the same price range, hell a 780 ti outperforms a Radeon Fury which is double the price

Mines got a R7 Amd Radeon runs quite fine for WoW i get 45-67 frame sin crowded area with people casting and in quiet areas zones instances i get 70-121 frames so yeah. screw nvidia

[noteworthynerd]

So... I went ahead and cleaned up this thread, a lot, in the future can we please let obvious lightheartedness go and help folks who ask for help? Thanks!