Another new build suggestion

[thestrangebrew1]

A friend of mine is contemplating between a Dell/Alienware Aurora build with an i5 or building her own with approx. $800 budget. Have at it....

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

-Mostly gaming, primarily plays WoW, internet, maybe some light movie playback

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

-$800 max incl. OS (W7 64-bit)

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

-US

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.

-n/a

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

- n/a - For WoW I was thinking maybe a 7850 would be good enough

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

-Won't be re-using any current parts, whole new build for the tower itself


7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

-No OC'ing

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

-She's not sure. I don't *think* she's gaming at 1080p, she said she had either an older 19" or 21" which makes me think 1280*1024

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

- Possibly within the month.


X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

- Aside from the OS, no need for BR Playback.


I'm thinking for a WoW system, $800 as well as a Dell/Alienware machine is overkill, but who knows, I don't play WoW. She likes the bling, so a case with all the lights and stuff will prob add to the cost. Thanks!

 

[xXdragonbatXX]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TbFJ

 

[Termie]

I'd go for an i5-3470 and a GTX660. The 660 is much better in WoW than a 7850: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-650-ti-benchmark-gk106,3318-12.html

And there's a great deal on one right now, if your friend is willing to buy soon: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127699

A month is a long way off, honestly, but assuming prices don't go up, and you look for hot deals, this is what I'd get:

(1) i5-3470 ($180)
(2) B75 motherboard ($70)
(3) 8GB RAM ($60)
(4) 1TB hard drive ($70)
(5) GTX660 ($180)
(6) NZXT Source 210 Elite ($45)
(7) Corsair CX430M ($40)
(8) Windows 7 ($100)
(9) DVD Burner ($20)

Total: $765 after rebates
If she has the budget for it, she should add an SSD for $100, but that's optional.

 

[xXdragonbatXX]

The 7950 come with 4 games on Newegg.

 

[Sleepingforest]

For just a hair under $800, you can get a build with good upgrade potential (to an unlocked 4 core CPU) and tons of power:

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 ($120.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB 2x4GB ($47.20 @ Newegg with code SAVE2041925)
Storage: WD Caviar Blue 1TB ($66.68 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB ($309.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($95.25 @ Amazon)
Total: $795.07
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-27 00:00 EDT-0400)

There are a few trades that might be worth making. If your friend don't find the free games of the 7950 that intriguing (Bioshock Infinite, Crysis 3, and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon), you can get a 7850 instead for $185 and get an 128GB SSD instead, which will help immensely with load times and boot times.

 

[Torn Mind]

It'd be great if she could see if the monitor has the model number somewhere on it, because a 7950 could be rather overkill if the monitor resolution is low enough.

 

[mfenn]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TbFJ

Spamming builds out with no explanation helps nobody.

 

[mfenn]

For just a hair under $800, you can get a build with good upgrade potential (to an unlocked 4 core CPU) and tons of power:

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 ($120.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB 2x4GB ($47.20 @ Newegg with code SAVE2041925)
Storage: WD Caviar Blue 1TB ($66.68 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB ($309.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($95.25 @ Amazon)
Total: $795.07
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-27 00:00 EDT-0400)

There are a few trades that might be worth making. If your friend don't find the free games of the 7950 that intriguing (Bioshock Infinite, Crysis 3, and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon), you can get a 7850 instead for $185 and get an 128GB SSD instead, which will help immensely with load times and boot times.

I think that for an MMO machine, I'd rather have a quad core like the i5 3470 or i5 3350P ($170 right now AP). Then step down to the GTX 660 or 7850 2GB.