Gamer on a budget

[blackraven]

Hi I started playing WoW since launch but had to stop due to two main reasons, one - all my friends (irl) played a different mmorpg and two - my computer really wasnt running it like i wanted WoW to. Well to make a long story short, my friends have finally decided to move on to another mmorpg (WoW) and now i have to solve problem 2. I have prebuilt two systems via Newegg on my budget (less than $1000) and was wondering which one I should buy.

Contestants:

CPU 1:
CPU: (Socket AM2) AMD Athlon™64 X2 3800+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD: (Socket AM2)GigaByte GA-M55SLI-S4 nForce4 SLI Chipset DDR2/800 SATA 16x PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN, IEEE1394, USB2.0, &7.1Audio
MEMORY:1GB (2x512MB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
VIDEO CARD:NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GS 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card
HARD DRIVE: 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
CD-ROM:16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER

CPU 2:
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300 CPU @ 1.86GHz 1066FSB 2x1MB L2Cache
MOTHERBOARD: MSI P965 Neo-F P965 Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1066 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN, USB2.0, &7.1Audio
MEMORY:1GB (2x512MB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
VIDEO CARD:NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GS 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card
HARD DRIVE: 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
CD-ROM:16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER

Both systems will be watercooled, and have a 500w PSU. Also CPU 1 is about 100 bucks cheaper (is on his way to college and could use that 100 bucks, lol).

My main concern is the processor... i dont want to have to buy a new motherboard and processor for a long while... everything else I figure I can upgrade slowly as requirements for gaming increases. Of course the main thing I want to do is play WoW finally but i'd also like to play other games and i'll be doing lots of photoshop (will get more ram later). Lastly if it means anything I would rank my computer knowledge as intermediate I guess (A+ and Network+ certified). I guess thats it... sorry for the long post and thanks a lot. Now to look for those WoW cds.

[AaManiac]

Both systems look good.....
If you are going to be doing watercooling and Dual Processors.... I'd suggets at least 550W or 600W PSU..... buts that being on the safe side.. and it will enable SLI if that's an option you want to look at down the road.....

Setup 1- FTW (IMO) ^_^
Setup 2 - A Close Second....


-Maniac

[blackraven]

Thanks, I think i'll go with the Athlon then. I probably will look into a better PSU because i did want SLI as an option when it gets cheaper in about a year or so. If possible, could you explain why you think setup 1 is best.

[AaManiac]

Both Set-up are basically the same.... if you would have listed brand names it would be eaiser to make a decision on what ones to get....

But From my experience w/ Motheboards I've favored Boards that carry the same chipset as the Video Card you use..... and I almost always when i build my customers Computers go with Nivida Boards (either by Abit or Asus) with Nvidia Video Cards)

^_^


-Maniac

[Xanadros]

I have a Gigabyte motherboard, and am not happy at all with it. I'd recommend going with something else. There's barely any support and most of the support is in Japanese. Just my 2c.

--Xan

[rgirty]

I don't recommend gigabyte either, and have used quite a few.


Setup #1 there looks good to me.

I've built thousands of machines, and custom machines.

[Blaizze]

The cheapest way to get a decent machine is go around shops (not PC world or Tiny etc) and get quotes on a PC. Get it built to your spec.
About £500 will get you a machine that can handle wow at max settings whithout breaking a sweat.

[blackraven]

Ok... to tell the truth i completely overlooked the motherboard, I'm going to go with the - Abit KN9 SLI nForce 570 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 SATA-II RAID 16x PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN, USB2.0, &7.1Audio - for setup 1. I'm also going to use a slightly better video card, the EVGA GeForce 7900 GT. About the brands the memory is corsair the hard drive is western digital, and the cd-rom is sony. Thanks a lot for the advice about the gigabyte MBs i had no idea.

[Xanadros]

I'd say those are fairly good choices... the eVGA video card is a great choice, I have one myself, and have heard that it performs better than others.

--Xan

[AaManiac]

I'd say those are fairly good choices... the eVGA video card is a great choice, I have one myself, and have heard that it performs better than others.

--Xan

Yeah I have 2 Evga 7900 Gt's right now with the Abit A8N board... both are great and run with out a hitch....


-Maniac

[rgirty]

Abit is a better board IMO!

[blackraven]

Alright guys heres the new build.

CASE:X-Cruiser Mid-Tower Case
CPU:AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
Mboard:ABIT KN9 SLI nForce 570 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 SATA-II RAID 16x PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN, USB2.0, &7.1Audio
RAM:Corsair 1GB (2x512MB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
VIDEO CARD:EVGA NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express
HARD DRIVE: Western Digital 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM
PSU: NZXT PF500 550WATT PERFORMANCE POWER ATX 2.0
All for $880.00 minus shipping
Now lol, I really do have to find those WoW cds... I refuse to buy a new game especially when I still have the cd-key.

[AaManiac]

OK this is not from me but from a friend off of another board... I had a questio about the PSU since i've never heard of the brand....

"It looks like another rebadged unit much like what OCZ has been using for their PowerStream PSU's. The amps look pretty good, but it's new enough that I haven't seen any reviews of it. For what they offer, they're a bit pricey. I don't think NZXT actually makes them so much as rebadges one. I'd like to see some good reviews first. My guess is that they probably are good units, but this is the first foray into PSU's that I'm aware of.

If those things, are in fact, the same PSU's OCZ has been rebadging as an OCZ Powerstream, they'll be good units. However, the guts mean everything, so if you're dead set on one, at least wait until a PSU review comes up. The only sites I know of that do good PSU reviews are PC Perspective, JonnyGuru, and X-bit Labs."


-Maniac