Hi all,
Back on WoW, playing a bit, and several kids are interested on top of the other games they have, so competition for my one "good" computer is getting high.
Reference games are WoW Retail, WoW WotLK, WoW Classic, Space Engineer, Minecraft and Sims 4. Ideally I'd aim to have 4 to 5 computers able to run Sims 4 and WoW Classic, or even WoW WotLK, if not someday WoW Retail... also Space Engineer has to run on another computer than #1. Besides fixing #2 (and maybe clone the system of #3 to it), what should I do next and in what order? repair #6, #7 or #8? And/or would I be better off upgrading #2 with the i7-4790 from #8 and maybe look for a cheap GPU upgrade?
I have so much to do and so little time available I seek advice on what to do first. Plus having to set up multiple MS and Steam accounts if only for all of them to play Sims 4 at the same time messes with my head. Also space is at a premium at my place so the footprint of #2 and #7 is somewhat problematic.
Following is the current functionnal inventory :
#1 : Custom self-built desktop, Win 11 : i5-8600K, Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev. B cooler, 16GB DDR4 RAM (8GBx2/2), M.2 SSD 500 Go Samsung , Asrock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming-ITX/ac (has TB3), GTX 1080, in compact Silverstone RVZ02 Raven case, running Win 11 : satisfies even recommended hardware requirements for WoW DF. Plugged into 27' Samsung Space Monitor (QHD, 144Hz, FreeSync). Drive would be easy to swap but for the RAM I'd have to remove the cooler...
#2 : 2nd hand custom prebuilt, Win 10 : i7-7700K, Intel AIO single fan watercooler, 16GB DDR4 RAM (8GBx2/4), NVME M.2 SSD 500 Go WD Black SN850 with heatsink, Asus ATX board (need to recheck reference), GTX 1070, in a full size case, with a dedicated sound card. Previous elderly owner had it to play MS Flight Simulator, and it came without any drives. I wanted to directly graft my son's SSD to it but ran into issues, also maybe there was a RAID I need to find out how to get rid of that messes up with startup, asking me to enter UEFI each time. Daughter runs Sims 4 for now, could run Space Engineer and WoW but her tiny desk is not ideal for me to use.
#3 : 2nd hand Medion prebuilt my brother gifted my 10y old eldest, Win 10 : Intel Pentium G3250, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, 2.5' SSD 500 Go Samsung, MOBO and PSU are probably proprietary, no extra cable for GPU, GTX 750. He's happily playing Minecraft and Lego games on it, but he's stoked on Space Engineer and its unsufficient for even minimal requirements for WoW DF.
#4 : Thinkpad T410s, Win 7 : i5-560M, 8GB DDR3, 1.8' SSD 160 Go Intel, Nvidia 3100M. I used to play WotLK up to ICC25 back in the days so maybe it has more oomph than I give it credit for?
#5 : Thinkpad X201 Tablet, Win 7 : i7-620LM, 3GB DDR3, 2.5' SSD 480 Go.
Here's the vaguely to entirely non functional hardware :
#6 : Acer Predator G9-593 laptop : i7-7700HQ, 16GB DDR4 RAM, M.2 SSD 256 Go, 2.5' 1 To HDD, GTX 1060, the laptop has TB3. The screen got cracked and I've been considering replacing it (already dissasembled), but in the meantime, as I was using it as a desktop plugged to an external monitor, I ran into driver update issues and after several months found a way to output something, but it seems I'd have to do a total reinstall as I'm more or less stuck in safe mode.
#7 : old HP Z420 workstation I got from work : Intel Xeon E5-1620, 16GB DDR3 RAM (EMMC), 2.5 SSD 128 Go Samsung, MOBO and PSU are proprietary, GTX 960. Probably has PSU issues as regularly it will beep error signals when starting, and other times work just fine. If worthwhile I'd have to replace the PSU with a proprietary one or a standard one with adapter.
#8 : old Lenovo H50 workstation I got from work : Intel i7-4790, 8GB DDR3, no drive yet, MOBO and PSU are proprietary, GT 745. Won't start up with only error signals, PSU is most likely dead. If worthwhile I'd have to replace the PSU with a standard one with adapter, or cannibalize its CPU and RAM.
In addition, I have the following spare parts :
#9 : 2x8GB DDR4 sticks matching the ones in #1, brand new
#10 : M.2 NVME 2 To Samsung 980 Pro with heatsink, brand new (meant for #1, but hesitant on wether to clone or reinstall, luckily M.2 slot should be easily accessible).
#11 : 2.5' SSD 480 Go Adata, second hand
#12 : GTX 550 Ti (lol)
#13 : 3 FHD external monitors for the kids in total
It's getting a little pressing, given that one kid ruined the Nintendo Switch cartridge holder pins, so all the multiplayer games are unavailable, adding to my list of to do/maybe get a new one.
Separately, I'm suspecting trouble connecting so many PCs via the Wifi of a puny internet box. For now I've reduced the load by directly wiring the Smart TV, but I'm wondering if I should look for a dedicated wireless router.