So I used to be a major hardware nerd, read Anandtech every day and kept myself fully up to speed on new developments, what's good, what's not etc. But as of late, I've been quite out of touch with the hardware scene due to general lethargy and the fact that I haven't needed to worry about my home PC for a while. Last night though, the onboard ethernet adapter on my motherboard crapped itself, and though I was able to get an old PCI ethernet card to work, I thought now might be an appropriate time to upgrade my ~2.5-ish year old gaming box.
I have always loved the Anandtech buyer's guides, I've used the low end ones to build machines for my mum and sister, and the mid range gaming ones for myself. So, naturally, the first thing I did after deciding to get a new computer was to come here and check out the latest mid range buyer's guide, which just happens to be ~7 months old.
So, I've gone through it and settled on the mid range Intel one. I suppose what I want to ask here is if those selections are still relevant today (the guide being somewhat outdated), and to check if there are any better options available (e.g. the 8800 GT instead of the original recommendation). So, minus accessories (which I will cannibalize from my current system), I'm currently thinking of:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 (2.33GHz 1333FSB 4MB Shared)
Motherboard: MSI P35 Neo2-FR or Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
Memory: 2 x 1 GB of whatever I can get my hands on
Video Card:
Asus GF8800GT 512MB OR
Gigabyte GF8800GT 512MB 256bit OR
Leadtek PX 8800GT 512M OR
MSI NVIDIA GF8800GT PCI-E 512MB
Power Supply: 500W+
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit (OEM)
My usage will mainly be for World of Warcraft and perhaps Age of Conan. So I don't need anything TOO outrageous. Please also keep in mind that I live in Australia, so some of the exotic brands suggested in the guides are not always easily available and sometimes are not worth the hassle of tracking down. So where possible, I've replaced them with the more commonly available ones.
Does this seem like a reasonable mid range gaming system to build today? Are there any better options now, or in the near future that I should consider?
Thanks!
I have always loved the Anandtech buyer's guides, I've used the low end ones to build machines for my mum and sister, and the mid range gaming ones for myself. So, naturally, the first thing I did after deciding to get a new computer was to come here and check out the latest mid range buyer's guide, which just happens to be ~7 months old.
So, I've gone through it and settled on the mid range Intel one. I suppose what I want to ask here is if those selections are still relevant today (the guide being somewhat outdated), and to check if there are any better options available (e.g. the 8800 GT instead of the original recommendation). So, minus accessories (which I will cannibalize from my current system), I'm currently thinking of:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 (2.33GHz 1333FSB 4MB Shared)
Motherboard: MSI P35 Neo2-FR or Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
Memory: 2 x 1 GB of whatever I can get my hands on
Video Card:
Asus GF8800GT 512MB OR
Gigabyte GF8800GT 512MB 256bit OR
Leadtek PX 8800GT 512M OR
MSI NVIDIA GF8800GT PCI-E 512MB
Power Supply: 500W+
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit (OEM)
My usage will mainly be for World of Warcraft and perhaps Age of Conan. So I don't need anything TOO outrageous. Please also keep in mind that I live in Australia, so some of the exotic brands suggested in the guides are not always easily available and sometimes are not worth the hassle of tracking down. So where possible, I've replaced them with the more commonly available ones.
Does this seem like a reasonable mid range gaming system to build today? Are there any better options now, or in the near future that I should consider?
Thanks!
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