Self-build PC, optimising for WoW

[Deleted]

Hi,

As I will be replacing my laptop with a desktop in the next few weeks, for my first post here I thought I would ask about building a PC that is optimised for WoW (I don't play any other games). There are various guides that give information about gaming in general but from what I have gleaned reading here WoW is a little different from the average PC game.

Firstly I am a long way from being a boffin and some of the questions I ask here may seem foolish to more experienced users. If that is the case then please bear with me - I am trying to make the best decisions I can.

So, question 1. Will the new Z68 chipset motherboards for the Sandy Bridge CPUs make any difference? Specifically, will the ability to use an inexpensive SSD as a cache using the Z68 motherboard make a difference playing the game? Even if you cannot see the difference, does this make the game an easier load for the PC? I read somewhere on these forums that WoW caches a lot of information but have no idea if the new feature will make a noticeable difference.

Question 2. Building on the first question, will using a larger SSD for the OS and WoW make a difference playing the game? I am not so much interested in whether it starts faster, more about the actual game experience.

Question 3. Does 8Gb RAM make a difference over 4Gb? Other than generic "you need at least 4Mb" or "more is better" comments I have not seen any data that proves an advantage for the extra memory.

In case it matters, the build I am looking at is i5 2500K (+ cooler)/GTX 560ti Twin Frozr/650W psu/NZXT Phantom case.

[tankz]

1) Dont worry about it, just load all on SSD, its a gimmick imo
2) no, as long as you can get wow and windows on 1 drive its np (I have all on my 64gb one) and the load speeds are awesome for both windows and WoW but dosnt make it any faster once in game (except loading screens)
3) 4Gb is fine, as wow dosnt have a 64bit version (yet) so cannot use over 2Gb

Good build, same as a guy at work did 2-3 weeks ago and he is over the moon with it.

[Sephiracle]

Using a SSD will help lower load times considerably but have little impact elsewhere.

I'm assuming you meant gigs for the RAM, but again, it won't have a huge impact if you're just playing WoW, you probably won't even touch the 4, however, it is a very small jump in price for a considerable upgrade that you may not need to upgrade again until you just do a full rebuild.

Also, the setup you're looking at putting together is overkill for just WoW. If you have no interest in playing any other games in the future(which likely isn't the case) you can go with an AMD or one of the cheaper i5's if you're wanting to stay within a budget.

[Drunkenvalley]

1. No.
2. Yes, any loading of files will be faster with an SSD. No, bigger SSDs won't benefit from it more than smaller ones.
3. No, not really. Due to limitations WoW shouldn't be able to use 4GB.

Generally, I'd say you're off to a good start. I'd pick another case, but that's about it. Just let me summon Fuzzykins.

[Djinni]

1) Yes it will make a difference but this is subject to you not having enough free cash to invest in a larger SSD just to put your OS and WoW on which is where you will see the best results. (If you have the spare money then by all means buy a singular SSD and use it as a boot / game drive.) Otherwise if money is slightly too tight to allow for a 64GB+ SSD then a small (20-64GB) SSD will serve as a great cache drive.

2) No... The only difference an SSD will make to your system is in load times, everything you are currently doing in-game is stored in RAM / CPU cache which is many times faster than an SSD.

3) I think you mean 8GB rather than 8Mb, in any case again its subjectional. RAM isn't exactly expensive anymore so I would suggest going for 8GB of RAM rather than 4GB becuase it will give you more freedom to multi-task (IE Browse the web, watch a movie, play music and play your game all at the same time.) If you ONLY have WoW running then no, it's unlikely you will see any performance gains. Remember you DO NEED a 64 bit OS to make use of more than 3GB of RAM. Windows 32bit might be able to see and report RAM above the 3GB but it can't actually use it.
(it's a little more than 3GB but for all intense and purpose we'll just say 3GB)

---------- Post added 2011-06-29 at 04:03 PM ----------

Also, the setup you're looking at putting together is overkill for just WoW. If you have no interest in playing any other games in the future(which likely isn't the case) you can go with an AMD or one of the cheaper i5's if you're wanting to stay within a budget.

Not nit-picking, but the OP didn't actually state a budget...
Also overkill isn't always a bad thing, it's reffered to in marketing as "future-proofing"

[BicycleMafioso]

Q1: It's worth it. Get a Z68 and a small (40-60GB) SSD. The smart-cache only supports 64GB.

Q2: No.

Q3: 8Mb is horrible. 4Mb is horrible. Even 4Gb is horrible. Get 4GiB. We haven't had RAM small enough to fall under 4Mb in decades

If you wish to optimise it for wow, truly optimise it for wow and get the most performance out of your money...

i5-2500K
Gigabyte Z68 ud 3
4GiB 1333MHz RAM, 1.5v or less
GTX460 1GiB or HD6850 or HD5770.
60GB 320-series SSD from Intel
500GB-1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
400w PSU-

[Deleted]

1: You wont be able to take advantage of all the features of a z68 chipset if you are only going to play wow. (You could use the ssd cacheing yes, but it only speeds up the loading times (loading screen) and game start up. and you might aswell be better with abit larger ssd.)

2: Nope it will only speed up the reading/writeing aka faster loading, and possible faster patching.

3: 8gb ram will ONLY make a difference if you can fill up the first 4gb else they will just slack and use power

I recomend the corsair tx 650w v2 psu for that build.

[Sephiracle]

Not nit-picking, but the OP didn't actually state a budget...
Also overkill isn't always a bad thing, it's reffered to in marketing as "future-proofing"

I think you were nit-picking. I did say if.

Also, like I said, he could go with a cheaper i5 such as a 2100, and if he needs better he can do so at a later time, since the Ivy's are going on the same socket. Going AMD would be silly, but it's an option.

[Deleted]

Many thanks for the quick replies. Looks like I don't need to worry about any of the questions I posed, which is great as it lets me save some money.

As far as not needing such a powerful PC just for WoW, I understand the point but I would rather get a little ahead of the game as the requirements seem to gradually increase as time goes by.

[BicycleMafioso]

Many thanks for the quick replies. Looks like I don't need to worry about any of the questions I posed, which is great as it lets me save some money.

As far as not needing such a powerful PC just for WoW, I understand the point but I would rather get a little ahead of the game as the requirements seem to gradually increase as time goes by.

Going with the build I suggested will max out everything except the price, assuming you do a bit of overclocking and play in 1920x1080 as resolution. You can go even more cheapo on the GPU if you play in lower, but I wouldn't recommend it.
But honestly, a GTX460 or a HD6850 with a 400-500w good-quality PSU is enough. I'd go Seasonics fanless version of their X-series 400w PSU. However, that doesn't fall under the cheap category, sadly.

[Bikiniwax]

Hi,

As I will be replacing my laptop with a desktop in the next few weeks, for my first post here I thought I would ask about building a PC that is optimised for WoW (I don't play any other games). There are various guides that give information about gaming in general but from what I have gleaned reading here WoW is a little different from the average PC game.

Firstly I am a long way from being a boffin and some of the questions I ask here may seem foolish to more experienced users. If that is the case then please bear with me - I am trying to make the best decisions I can.

So, question 1. Will the new Z68 chipset motherboards for the Sandy Bridge CPUs make any difference? Specifically, will the ability to use an inexpensive SSD as a cache using the Z68 motherboard make a difference playing the game? Even if you cannot see the difference, does this make the game an easier load for the PC? I read somewhere on these forums that WoW caches a lot of information but have no idea if the new feature will make a noticeable difference.

Question 2. Building on the first question, will using a larger SSD for the OS and WoW make a difference playing the game? I am not so much interested in whether it starts faster, more about the actual game experience.

Question 3. Does 8Gb RAM make a difference over 4Gb? Other than generic "you need at least 4Mb" or "more is better" comments I have not seen any data that proves an advantage for the extra memory.

In case it matters, the build I am looking at is i5 2500K (+ cooler)/GTX 560ti Twin Frozr/650W psu/NZXT Phantom case.

1. A SSD drive will make a noticeable difference when loading windows and WoW, including loading into and out of dungeons/instances.

2. Having a large SSD for both your OS and WoW is the fastest option not because of 'disk space' but because you don't need to use a mechanical drive at all. However with the Z68 motherboards (like the Asus P8Z68-V Pro that I have), using a smaller 60GB SSD drive as a 'cache' drive while using a larger mechanical drive for your OS and WoW is a great trade off.

3. RAM is so cheap right now - there is absolutely no reason not to buy 8 GB (2x4GB) of RAM. For Sandy Bridge, go with 1.5 volt memory from Corsair or G.Skill.

The 2500K is an excellent choice. The Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is an excellent aftermarket CPU cooler for the money.

[Sephiracle]

The Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is an excellent aftermarket CPU cooler for the money.

If you can still get it at around 30 >_> Newegg is at 50.

[Djinni]

Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler Fitment For AMD AM3, AM2+, AM2 & Intel 1366, 1156/5, 775 Socket Processors

£19.59 ex vat
(£23.51 inc vat)

(Up from £15 ex vat in just over a week :'( )