Never built a computer before...

[artaxix]

So I'm turning to you guys for some assistance.

I'm selling my old laptop for $650, and I'm looking to get a new PC with the funds. I've looked at tigerdirect at their pre-packaged PCs and I keep finding issues with them that I don't like. (Namely their use of extremely underwhelming GPUs)

I'm not the most saavy when it comes to building computers, but I need something that would play WoW a hell of a lot better than my 5 y/o laptop.

Help a guy out, please! (I can't spend more than the money I'd get on the laptop, because I have a son, and I'm getting married soon =\ )

And ideally, I gotta get the stuff on a site that I can use paypal at.. likely just newegg and tigerdirect? Not sure if there's other sites..

Thanks a lot, everyone.

[n0cturnal]

Do you need a monitor, keyboard, mouse or operating system with that?

[Serzy]

What kind of laptop are you selling thats that old and worth $650? I bought a brand new ultrabook with dedicated graphics for $650 for my wife that plays wow at ultra settings....

For your original question why not just get a tigerdirect.com package that doesn't include a graphics card and add one on top of it.

[artaxix]

Don't need a monitor, mouse or OS.. I've got those taken care of

[n0cturnal]

This is pretty much the best you can get for playing WoW with your budget.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.50 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($172.08 @ NCIX US)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $623.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-27 10:01 EST-0500)


If you want a system that can play other games on higher settings then you can go with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($121.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.50 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($217.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $602.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-27 10:02 EST-0500)

[artaxix]

For the first build minus the OS - the total would be ~550, no?

Think for $50 more, the second build with the different GPU would be that much better? Performance-wise?

[jholdaway]

You could go with either http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6107&CatId=333 or http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6888&CatId=333 and purchase the gpu separately

[n0cturnal]

For the first build minus the OS - the total would be ~550, no?

Think for $50 more, the second build with the different GPU would be that much better? Performance-wise?

Yeah I edited the first build when I saw you didn't need a new copy of windows.

The first build is more powerful for CPU dependent games like WoW.

The second build has a a ~20% more powerful GPU that will give you significantly better performance in most other games. You could even go for a Tahiti LE version of the 7870 that would boost the performance with about 10% more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202024

[artaxix]

Does

"ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard has an onboard USB 3.0 header, but the Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case does not have front panel USB 3.0 ports."

Even matter?

[n0cturnal]

Does

"ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard has an onboard USB 3.0 header, but the Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case does not have front panel USB 3.0 ports."

Even matter?

No, you can still plug in USB 3.0 devices in the back.

I'll add a few other decent cases in the same price range for you to look at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UDK9U6/?tag=pcpapi-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005869IUY/?tag=pcpapi-20
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=691...=ZALMAN%20TECH
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID=