Time to upgrade, feedback please!

[Suntzu-Cenarius]

I have been working on a few lists... and can not make up my mind what to do. Part of my wants to keep it on the cheap.. yet the other part of me thinks why bother if you're not going to at least get something decent...

My initial cheap build would be....

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $534.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 16:08 EST-0500)



Though, I would prefer something along the lines of...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $674.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 16:12 EST-0500)


Which is about $140 more... Is it really worth that extra $140? I'm sure it might be... but by how much? As far as going cheap.. I know as well if I considered AMD I could bring the price down once again, maybe free up some funds to put towards the GPU, but I have not built Intel in some time, and would like to go back for this build if possible....

So, thought?

And thank you!

[vesseblah]

If you're playing only Blizzard games and will never overclock, first setup is ok.

If you're interested in overclocking or are playing other stuff than MMOs only, get the second setup.


Also make sure to get 2GB version of the graphics card, preferably 7870 GHz edition which isnt lot more expensive.

[anyaka21]

The only thing to add here is that if you plan on building you own, why build something that you are only going to wish you spent the extra cash on in the first place. I'd personally go with the 2nd build.

Add that I'd look at tigerdirect right now for a some amazing ssd deals. For example: a 240gb vertex 3 for $139. Definitely worth the extra cash IMO, especially if you plan on playing more than just WoW. Because if you think about it, with WoW and 4 expansions and extras, it's going to take about 30-40gb's thus you'll be half way to capacity with just one game and OS.

[vesseblah]

240gb vertex 3 for $139. Definitely worth the extra cash IMO, especially if you plan on playing more than just WoW.

Yep, getting 240GB is worth the extra money. That is dirt-cheap.

Because if you think about it, with WoW and 4 expansions and extras, it's going to take about 30-40gb's

WoW takes 20.5GB currently for me. Maybe it's time you delete old patches from two expansions back? All patch files before the new launcher will be still there taking space.

[Suntzu-Cenarius]

At this time, mainly will be WoW, some Minecraft, and a little COD. I had not seen the deal for the vertex 3... good find, and very much worth the extra $40.. though it does require a $30 MIR.

As far as the 7870 2gb goes, I hadn't really looked that high, as it breaks the $200 price point for the GPU. I'm just not certain I am wanting to invest that much towards a video card at this time.