New gaming mid-tier setup

[Deleted]

I'm making myself a new setup to come back into WoW raiding, (and other games as a side-effect) and am looking for some advice on the selection of pieces i put together.

My goals are:
- Decent confort in WoW raiding: 50-60fps on 1024x768 or at least 30fps on 1600x1200 on low quality (no shadows, ect... what can i say? years of crappy computer made me used to it...)
- 1'000Euros is the absolut maximum i can spend (I'm in EU). i'd rather only go up too 800-900 if possible, as that would mean not eating into my "rent" budget...
- A computer that will last me at least 5-6 years, preferably 10+. I'm not interested in Overclocking, but i want solid long-lasting stuff that will allow me to play pretty much every thing even if not at high/ultra quality.


Motherboard: M5A99FX PRO R2.0
GPU: AMD NITRO R9 380 DUAL-X OC - 4 Go GDDR5
CPU: CPU FX8320 Socket AM3+ 3.5GHz
PSU:PREMIUM POWER SERIES 650W 80PLUS BRONZE
Box: Corsair Carbide SPEC-01 Windowed
HDD1: SSD Serie 850 EVO 250Go (I've been hearing lots of good things on SSD drives and i think it's time i actually see what the hype is about)
HDD2: WD Blue 2 To WD20EZRZ
RAM: Fury Black 8 Go (2x4 Go) Hyper X PC12800 1600MHz
CPU fan: Hyper 212 Evo


What do you guys (and girls?) think ?
I'm more interested in high effectiveness/price ratio and life-length of the pieces than I am in top raw processing power.
I think everything should work together, but I have no clue if the pieces manufactors are known to make good gear or if it's stuff that'll break/wear down in a year

[Tehterokkar]

Check out Marest's Sample Builds. There is a ~600€, ~800€ and a 1200€ build.

The only thing that I would change on your build is the CPU to an Intel one, they are far superior to AMD ones in every scenario of WoW.

[Deleted]

Thank you for the responce.
I've taken a look at that link, but it's from 2014, builds are two years old now.
The 800€ build recomends the Intel 4690k CPU which is about 100€ more expensive than the AMD fx8320 and less powerfull. So that's not really a step in the direction i wanna go (7715 vs 8023 using https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html as benchmark)

[Lathais]

Thank you for the responce.
I've taken a look at that link, but it's from 2014, builds are two years old now.
The 800€ build recomends the Intel 4690k CPU which is about 100€ more expensive than the AMD fx8320 and less powerfull. So that's not really a step in the direction i wanna go (7715 vs 8023 using https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html as benchmark)

Actually, the 4690k is much more powerful than the fx8320. Especially for WoW, you do not want an AMD CPU. The IPC on AMD CPUs is terrible and that is what WoW benefits from the most. Even a Pentium G3258 will perform better for WoW than the fx8320.

In addition, if this build is for WoW, you should go with an nVidia GPU. WoW favors nVidia.

Here's what I would go with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $798.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-06 20:09 EST-0500

If you could stretch the budget and squeeze a GTX 970 you'll be playing WoW on Ultra averaging over 60 FPS no problems. You'll have dips in heavily populated areas and during particle heavy fights in raids, but outside of that the 970 will serve well. With the 950 you'll likely have to turn a couple things down, but it will still be plenty.

[Deleted]

Okay didn't know that, thank you.
I'm looking into switching to a 6600k CPU and a gtx950.

One question thou : do i really need 750W on the PSU ?
i was thinking that 650W was already more than enough

[Lathais]

Okay didn't know that, thank you.
I'm looking into switching to a 6600k CPU and a gtx950.

One question thou : do i really need 750W on the PSU ?
i was thinking that 650W was already more than enough

No, you don't, but it was cheaper. I apologize, I meant to switch that to EU before doing the build. You'll be fine with even a 500-550W TBH.

[Deleted]

Modified Lathais' build to squeak in an R9-380:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (€244.93 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Respire T40 68.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (€29.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€121.06 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€52.11 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€71.73 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€51.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card (€194.26 @ Mindfactory)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (€64.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€87.25 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €918.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-07 10:41 CET+0100

That should kill at your current resolution, and gives you options for upgrading your monitors down the line.

[Deleted]

No, you don't, but it was cheaper. I apologize, I meant to switch that to EU before doing the build. You'll be fine with even a 500-550W TBH.

Okay thanks for the info. If anything i'll see if i can get a lesser "W" gold certified PSU for the same price.

Modified Lathais' build to squeak in an R9-380:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (€244.93 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Respire T40 68.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (€29.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€121.06 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€52.11 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€71.73 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€51.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card (€194.26 @ Mindfactory)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (€64.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€87.25 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €918.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-07 10:41 CET+0100

That should kill at your current resolution, and gives you options for upgrading your monitors down the line.

Lathais said above that WoW favors Nvidia cards, why would i want to go out of my way to get an AMD gpu instead ?

[Tehterokkar]

Lathais said above that WoW favors Nvidia cards, why would i want to go out of my way to get an AMD gpu instead ?

The 280X is like 20% stronger than the GTX 950. But Video cards don't really matter in WoW, they rarely get full use(only when you are in open world with no other players), and end up mostly sitting at 20-30% usage during raids/in cities.

The 280X is if you want to play other games, but for just WoW, the GTX 950 is fine.

[Xkiller9000]

I'm making myself a new setup to come back into WoW raiding, (and other games as a side-effect) and am looking for some advice on the selection of pieces i put together.

My goals are:
- Decent confort in WoW raiding: 50-60fps on 1024x768 or at least 30fps on 1600x1200 on low quality (no shadows, ect... what can i say? years of crappy computer made me used to it...)
- 1'000Euros is the absolut maximum i can spend (I'm in EU). i'd rather only go up too 800-900 if possible, as that would mean not eating into my "rent" budget...
- A computer that will last me at least 5-6 years, preferably 10+. I'm not interested in Overclocking, but i want solid long-lasting stuff that will allow me to play pretty much every thing even if not at high/ultra quality.


Motherboard: M5A99FX PRO R2.0
GPU: AMD NITRO R9 380 DUAL-X OC - 4 Go GDDR5
CPU: CPU FX8320 Socket AM3+ 3.5GHz
PSU:PREMIUM POWER SERIES 650W 80PLUS BRONZE
Box: Corsair Carbide SPEC-01 Windowed
HDD1: SSD Serie 850 EVO 250Go (I've been hearing lots of good things on SSD drives and i think it's time i actually see what the hype is about)
HDD2: WD Blue 2 To WD20EZRZ
RAM: Fury Black 8 Go (2x4 Go) Hyper X PC12800 1600MHz
CPU fan: Hyper 212 Evo


What do you guys (and girls?) think ?
I'm more interested in high effectiveness/price ratio and life-length of the pieces than I am in top raw processing power.
I think everything should work together, but I have no clue if the pieces manufactors are known to make good gear or if it's stuff that'll break/wear down in a year

Your first mistake is having AMD products, if youre building for gaming you want an Intel processor and NVIDIA graphics card (a geforce, evga, asus, pny all make the same things as nvidias.)


Im with you on the cost, I dont wana spend more on mine after the $1700 ive put into it throughout its 4 years, but right now its still considered "high end" but i plant to put together another $600-700 for a new case, motherboard, PSU, and a second graphics card. Gotta have wow on ultra at 60+ fps in raid lol

[Deleted]

Your first mistake is having AMD products, if youre building for gaming you want an Intel processor and NVIDIA graphics card (a geforce, evga, asus, pny all make the same things as nvidias.)

There we go.... You are indeed better of with an Intel CPU. But either AMD and Nvidia are good for GPU's. But it all depends on the budget.

Imo, 950 > 380(x) > 390(x) > Fury > 980ti.

[Deleted]

The 280X is like 20% stronger than the GTX 950. But Video cards don't really matter in WoW, they rarely get full use(only when you are in open world with no other players), and end up mostly sitting at 20-30% usage during raids/in cities.

The 280X is if you want to play other games, but for just WoW, the GTX 950 is fine.

Thank you for your input. WoW will definitively be my most intensive game.
i'm thinking maybe i should get a gtx 750 for half the price instead.

Your first mistake is having AMD products, if youre building for gaming you want an Intel processor and NVIDIA graphics card (a geforce, evga, asus, pny all make the same things as nvidias.)


Im with you on the cost, I dont wana spend more on mine after the $1700 ive put into it throughout its 4 years, but right now its still considered "high end" but i plant to put together another $600-700 for a new case, motherboard, PSU, and a second graphics card. Gotta have wow on ultra at 60+ fps in raid lol

I've been "burned" once on that regard : spent ~4'000$ to import a top-end bleeding-edge laptop 12 years ago (waht can i say? i was young...). Probably paid a hell of a premium to get it build too.
And while it was VERY nice to play on it, it still burned down a year ago (both graph cards, the battery, part of the screen and i suspect the cpu was starting to give up too :/ ) giving it a pretty bad "$ per year" ratio!

I much rather buy this, and an other "mid-tier" for ~1'000 in 5-6 years: almost the same enjoyment for half the total price. A lot less problems too, the laptop's last year was hell.
Hopefully I'll salvage parts of this setup then. Or just give it a friend/familly. Or sell it. Anything other than having a un-salvageble burned out useless pile of s...

There we go.... You are indeed better of with an Intel CPU. But either AMD and Nvidia are good for GPU's. But it all depends on the budget.

Imo, 950 > 380(x) > 390(x) > Fury > 980ti.

thanks i'll keep that general order in mind

[Artorius]

With current products, AMD is a better overall option at any category minus the very very low (where you should go with a GTX950) or the very high but not multi-card high (where OC'd 980Tis are better, but 2 Fury/Xs are better than 2 980Tis because CFX works better than SLI).

Why? Because they're already performing better at 1080p/dx11. They've always increased their performance gap to Nvidia the higher you go with resolution, they've always aged better meaning that they'll only increase the difference over time and this generation AMD cards have DX12 support while Nvidia ones don't fully have it. So when this turns mainstream the card will get even better.

The only downsides are that Nvidia is faster at releasing band-aid drivers for horribly coded games, Nvidia cards are using less energy, and for WoW specifically Nvidia also performs better at the low-end cards.

If the only thing that you play is WoW, then pick a 950 or 960 and be happy. If you play anything else, a 380 is still completely fine for WoW while being better at almost everything else. And will only get better and better with time.

[Deleted]

Here's another suggestion for you:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (€256.82 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (€32.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€123.83 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Kingston FURY 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€83.93 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€87.89 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€51.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card (€202.38 @ Mindfactory)
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (€57.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€90.53 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €988.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-07 17:02 CET+0100

[Deleted]

Okay after taking in you advices here's my updated list which somehow managed to stay unde 1'000

PSU: ANTEC TP 550C | 550W 80 PLUS GOLD
(If i can get a longer lifelengh and lower noise from it i'll consider it money well spent)

GPU: AMD NITRO R9 380 4G PCI-E LITE
(given a decent setup I think i will, eventually, branch-out of WoW, if only at the end of raid tiers. I have to admit i'm still traumatized by 11 months of ICC raiding )

CPU: INTEL - Intel® Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz
MB: GIGABYTE - GA-Z170-HD3P
RAM: DDR4 - CORSAIR - Vengeance LPX Black 8G(2x4G) 2666MHz
FAN: COOLER MASTER - Hyper 212 Evo
(those four come as a pack)

HDD1: SSD Serie 850 EVO 250Go Samsung 3-Core MCX
(I suspect i'll eventually want to have ALL my games/apps on it)
HDD2: WD Blue 2 To WD20EZRZ | SATA 6 Go/s


Only thing i'm not sure about is the box:
Corsair Carbide SPEC-01 Windowed
Or the larger : Suza TUNING Darkside (ADVANCE 8303B30)