Buying a new computer - 3 options

[mubaba]

As my old computer is more or less dead I have started to look around for a new one. As I have more or less no knowledge of hardware I could really use some help deciding which one to buy.

A guildie recommended komplett.dk as good a place to order a new computer. I aware that it might not be the best place nor the cheapest place to buy it. But with my limited experience I think it may be the place for me. So lets assume that their computers are the only option available.

The only game I really play is WoW, so it should naturally be able to run that on good+ settings in a 25m raidsetting.
I will most likely replace the computer with a new one within 1½ year.

My budget is rather limited so I have narrowed it down to 3 options.

Also I plan to buy Windows 7 64bit and get 4gb extra ram (8 in total)


1.

800 EUR
Cabinet - Cooler Master Elite 430 Midi Tower Black Blæser: 1x 120mm Front, Blue LEDs, mATX, ATX, 2x USB, 1x Audio
Powersupply - Corsair CX 500W PSU ATX 12V V2.3, Standard. 2x 6+2pin PCIe, 5x SATA, 120mm Cooler
Processor - Intel Core™ i5 Quad Processor i5-2500 Socket 1155, with Operation Flashpoint Red River
Motherboard - MSI P67A-C45 B3, Socket-1155 ATX, P67, DDR3, 1xPCIe(2.0)x16, SATA 6Gb/s, USB3.0, FW, THX, EFI
DDR Memory - Corsair Vengeance™ DDR3 1600MHz 4GB CL9 Kit w/2x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL9-9-9-24, 1.5V, Vengeance Heatspreader, 240 pin
Graphiccard - ASUS GeForce GTX 560Ti 1GB PhysX CUDA PCI-Express 2.0,"DirectCU II TOP", GDDR5, 2xDVI, native-HDMI, 900MHz
Harddrive - Western Digital Caviar® Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s (SATA 3.0), 32MB, 7200RPM
CD/DVD - Blu-Ray Sony Optiarc DVD±RW Burner, AD-7260S SATA, DVD±R: 24x, DVD+RW: 8x, DVD-R: 6x, DVD-RAM: 12x, Bulk, BLACK

2.

670 EUR
Cabinet - Cooler Master Elite 430 Midi Tower Black Blæser: 1x 120mm Front, Blue LEDs, mATX, ATX, 2x USB, 1x Audio
Powersupply - Corsair CX 500W PSU ATX 12V V2.3, Standard. 2x 6+2pin PCIe, 5x SATA, 120mm Cooler
Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core, 3,2Ghz, AM3, 8MB, 125W, Boxed
Motherboard - MSI 870A-G54, Socket-AM3 ATX, AMD870+SB850, DDR3, 2xPCIe(2.0)x16, SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, Military Class
DDR Memory - Corsair Vengeance™ DDR3 1600MHz 4GB CL9 Kit w/2x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL9-9-9-24, 1.5V, Vengeance Heatspreader, 240 pin
Graphiccard - Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0, 2xDVI, HDMI, 2xmini-DisplayPort
Harddrive - Western Digital Caviar® Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s (SATA 3.0), 32MB, 7200RPM
CD/DVD - Blu-Ray Sony Optiarc DVD±RW Burner, AD-7260S SATA, DVD±R: 24x, DVD+RW: 8x, DVD-R: 6x, DVD-RAM: 12x, Bulk, BLACK

3.

540 EUR
Cabinet - Cooler Master Elite 430 Midi Tower Black Blæser: 1x 120mm Front, Blue LEDs, mATX, ATX, 2x USB, 1x Audio
Powersupply - Corsair CX 500W PSU ATX 12V V2.3, Standard. 2x 6+2pin PCIe, 5x SATA, 120mm Cooler
Processor - AMD Athlon II X4 640 Quad Core, 3.0Ghz, AM3, 2MB, 95W, Boxed
Motherboard - MSI 870A-G54, Socket-AM3 ATX, AMD870+SB850, DDR3, 2xPCIe(2.0)x16, SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, Military Class
DDR Memory - Corsair Vengeance™ DDR3 1600MHz 4GB CL9 Kit w/2x 2GB XMS3 modules, CL9-9-9-24, 1.5V, Vengeance Heatspreader, 240 pin
Graphiccard - PowerColor Radeon HD 6750 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.1, DVI, HDMI, VGA
Harddrive - Western Digital Caviar® Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s (SATA 3.0), 32MB, 7200RPM
CD/DVD - Blu-Ray Sony Optiarc DVD±RW Burner, AD-7260S SATA, DVD±R: 24x, DVD+RW: 8x, DVD-R: 6x, DVD-RAM: 12x, Bulk, BLACK


The most expensive is ofcourse the best but would it be viable to choose one of the cheaper ones? Which I would prefer.

Really appreciate all the help I can get and thanks alot for the help in advance

- Mubaba

[vesseblah]

#3 is rather crap for 25-man raids if you want it to look pretty but it'll do at medium or below settings. #2 is usable and #1 fastest. Both 1 and 2 has more powerful graphics card than is needed for WoW in 1920x1080 or smaller monitor, and there might be better package deals than these three you're looking at now. Also you don't really need extra RAM, 4GB is totally fine for games right now unless you're into multiboxing. Can easily save money there.

If you buy smart, you could try to pick a computer today which is easily/cheaply upgradeable in year and a half if you're serious about redoing it then without the need of scrapping whole thing.

Afaik people use komplett because it has very good selection of components for DIY builders cheap-ish compared to usual nordic extortion prices.

[Aminozuur]

Go with number 1 this one is easy to upgrade (Ivy bridge is 1155 socket). My try to get a 2500K if you want to overclock.

If you can buy this system by your own. Your going to save about 100euro if you build it yourself (including better PSU,Core,Mobo,HDD)

[Deleted]

Go with number 1 this one is easy to upgrade (Ivy bridge is 1155 socket). My try to get a 2500K if you want to overclock.

Sandy not ivy

[Deluyxe]

I would go with Option 1 but you will want to switch out your processor for the i5-2500k or downgrade your mobo for an H67 series as you have an unlocked mobo and a locked processor at the moment.

[mubaba]

Thank you for the quick reply. So as I understand #2 gives me good+ videosettings and with #1 I could get close to ultra settings?

About the upgrading, as I said I'm very noobish with computers and don't really know anyone who has a lot of experience with building computers so buying a completely new one is likely the thing.

I'm rushing a bit since I missed a raid yesterday, first one in 3 months ;(, because the computer wouldn't start (likely a powersupply issue but can't replace it because of the way its fabricated).
But if someone from Denmark could give me a link to a better option in the 5-6k DKK range it would ofcourse be grand

---------- Post added 2011-05-16 at 04:03 PM ----------

Ok, read the replies again. So basically buy #1 and upgrade to 2500K (2 EUR) and go buy a book about how to build/upgrade computers, so I can keep it running for 2-3 years ?

[Djinni]

I know my answer probably isn't one your looking for... but 800EUR on a machine thats going to get replaced in a year and a half seems a bit much to me... why not spend the extra 50-100euros and get one that will last you 3 or 4 years.

(average projected lifespan of a new PC from new (release) is 4 to 5 years, before it needs any major upgrades)

P.S As long as you're semi-intelligent and have some marginal reasoning skills / common sense pretty much everything only fits in one way round, (where it doesn't it doesnt matter (round pins such as headphone/speaker jacks for example) ). The key is not to force anything in or to use anymore strength than you would to hold an egg.

[Uvania]

number 2 will run without any issues on ultra in 25 man settings that gfx card and the processor is rather powerful

[mubaba]

I know my answer probably isn't one your looking for... but 800EUR on a machine thats going to get replaced in a year and a half seems a bit much to me... why not spend the extra 50-100euros and get one that will last you 3 or 4 years.

(average projected lifespan of a new PC from new (release) is 4 to 5 years, before it needs any major upgrades)

I understand, and guess I should put some effort into learning more about how to upgrade/build computers. You mention 50-100 extra EUR to make the 800EUR machine last 3-4 years.
What parts do you think I should upgrade?

I'm on a tight budget but if a few upgrades would make it happen I guess I could squeeze out a couple more bucks.

[vesseblah]

Ok, read the replies again. So basically buy #1 and upgrade to 2500K (2 EUR) and go buy a book about how to build/upgrade computers, so I can keep it running for 2-3 years ?

Sounds like a good plan. You can use it for playing WoW as it is for 2-3 years, but if you take 2500K instead, you can also overclock it later and not just upgrade easier than computers #2 and #3. It's fairly easy way to get more speed for free, and you don't have to make any decision about it now if you take the K model.

#2 is totally playable today for 25-mans, but it's upgradeability is going to be significantly worse two years from now, and it also runs WoW much slower than #1 today at high/ultra settings. There's about 20fps difference between #1 and #2 in 25-man raids at high+ video settings.

[Uvania]

SteelSeries Siberia Full-size Headphone
Stødsikker PC-æske
SteelSeries QcK mousemat
Cooler Master HAF 922 Midi Tower Sort
Chieftec Nitro Series BPS-750C 750W PSU
Intel Core™ i5 Quad Processor i5-2500K
Operation Flashpoint Red River
MSI P67A-GD65 B3, Socket-1155
Corsair Vengeance™ DDR3 1600MHz 8GB CL9
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560Ti 1GB PhysX
Western Digital Caviar® Black 1TB
Sony Optiarc DVD±RW Burner, AD-7260S
MS ROYALTY Win Home Premium 7 Nordic
MS COA Label Windows Home Premium 7
MS DVD Win H.P/Pro/Ultimate 7 DK 64bit

i made this computer from komplett.dk with modifying the komplett gamer 6k and it will cost you 8.531,41 DKK

buy another gtx 560 ti for more juice later on and just buy a SSD when they drop in price and you have a great computer which will last for atleast 5 years

the processor can be overclocked very easy with 1 click in the bios and can without any issues run on 4.2 ghz with stock cooler

[Djinni]

Your two most likely Upgrades will be RAM and HDD (Although personally I don't count HDD's as an upgrade since you can just port them to the next system and they're relatively inexpensive. You will also probably find that the PSU isn't quite good enough. Might be worth having a look around for one with a slightly higher rating. (I had to run a 750W PSU with 2x 260GTX cards.)

Suggestions:
- Get at least 8GB of RAM (this said, you don'#t need to get all 8Gb now, 4 is enough just make sure you have space(/slots) to install an extra 4GB of the same RAM in a year or two)
- Upgrade PSU to a 700W + (Preferably Corsair or one of the more reliable PSU's (dont pay much attention to user reviews have a look on tech forums)
- Sometime in the near future you will want to add an additional hard drive, so get a 500gb WD Caviar Black one to use as your main drive, then a 1 or 2TB green to use as a data drive.

Find an old PC you don't mind breaking, take it apart, identify each part and where it came from then put it back together, turn it on, see if it still works. (Continue untill it does work) You will learn far more doing it like this than you will by reading a book.

Also don't assume just becuase everyone here says so that you really CAN build a PC for less than you can buy a premade one. Although if you are buying a premade one, make sure its one that doesn't have a
*If selected brands aren't in stock other brands may be used.



P.S I've seen people spend days deciding weather to buy a £50 (55 EUR) wristwatch, do yourself a favour spend some time looking up your PC :P


(P.S.S I'm not big on posting lists of systems for people to build, hardware often changes between the time of posting and the time of the actual build, not to mention you actually learn more about a system by researching it yourself, rather than taking a list off a forum and building it. Since you're going to be the one using it, it makes sense that you know what your buying. (If you asked me to physically build it for you thats a different story.). As well as prices. (I'm from England we use £'s :P) Also I tend to look at prices ex VAT as I can claim the VAT back.

[georgevonfranken]

Sandy not ivy

Last i read ivy is going to be on the 1155 socket

[mubaba]

I really appreciate the effort you guys put into helping me

I'll take a little break and try to "digest" all the info you have given me. And then I'll make a decision

[Deleted]

I really appreciate the effort you guys put into helping me

I'll take a little break and try to "digest" all the info you have given me. And then I'll make a decision

As someone mentioned earlier you should spend some time looking around tech forums to get a bit of knowledge yourself.

A few recommendations or pointers:

-Building yourself is great. You wont have to pay others for assembling your computer and you can choose all the parts yourself so you're not stuck with some weak power supply or subpar graphics card. But if you're extremely scared about doing it you're probably better off not bothering, but if you're up to the task then go for it. As mentioned earlier in the thread look up as much info and videos as you can, ask a friend or relative who's a little tech savvy to help you out, try breaking apart and reassemble an old computer to get a sense of what's what and what goes where.

- Wow is very CPU intensive and less demanding of graphics cards. Don't combine an Athlon cpu with a gtx 570.

- If you need an OS (win 7 most likely) then get the home premium version, there's little point in spending lots of money on pro/ultimate versions when you're on a tight budget.

-if you decide to go with a sandybridge setup (looks like your budget will allow it) I'd recommend getting one that overclocks (the 2500K). The small price premium for the K tag (unlocked multiplier for overclocking) is well worth it as overclocking adds substantial performance and thus value. And if you ask a little around and watch a few videos then you'll find that overclocking the sandybridges is quite simple.

-Stick with 4gb's of ram (make sure you get 2x2 sticks for dual channel memory). From a gaming point of view you don't get a huge increase by going up to 8gb (it's a good place to spend for future upgrades though)

-Adding an extra GPU later on in a SLI/Crossfire setup is good way to upgrade and increase the longevity of your system but it means spending more on motherboard on power supply when you purchase so don't spend unless you're certain you'll get that extra card.

-don't buy graphics card more expensive than the Radeon 6950 or the Geforce GTX 560 ti, cards more powerful than those are a LOT more expensive, and wont fit your limited budget (both cards are strong and probably a bit beyond what's needed for wow)

[Djinni]

Actually Students (and by extension family of) can get Windows 7 Business for about £50 - £75