So I've been looking into a new computer for a while now, and I've decided that I'm going to build my own. I have never built a computer and am looking for some advice on building a decent gaming computer for ~$600-$800. I've been playing World of Warcraft for 4 years on a crappy little compaq that gives me 4 fps in raids . This makes raiding pretty much unbearable. All i'm really looking for is to get 20-50 fps (with mid-level graphics) on boss fights and something where i can actually have iTunes open in the background without it crapping out on me.
Been looking into a few things and they seem to be a good fit:
I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to computer. What else would i need other than those things, and with all of that plus the others do you believe i can make my budget? Any suggestions to help me save money and better this sucker would be greatly appreciated.
When it comes to building your own gaming rig, a checklist tends to be a good idea. To keep things easy, here is a list of basic components:
1. Computer Case 2. Motherboard 3. CPU 4. RAM 5. Hard Drive 6. Graphics Card 7. PSU 8. Optical Drive - DVD/CD Drive 9. WiFi Card (optional) 10. Aftermarket CPU Cooler (optional 11. Operating System (Essential!)
Then you also need to consider : 1. Screen 2. Keyboard / Mouse 3. Speakers
What you've chosen so far is pretty good, but you could save money in quite a few areas.
Firstly, the CPU you've chosen is AMD's top of the range Quad Core. You could get away with an AMD Athlon II if you're not too worried about getting max performance. You could also reduce the size of your HDD to 500 GB.
If I were you I would also choose a full size ATX motherboard over the one you've chosen, which is a MicroATX motherboard. They are much smaller than regular motherboards. There isn't much difference in terms of performance, but some extra expansion slots can come in handy for WiFi cards and Sound Cards.
In essence, however, we can't really tell you what to buy. A lot of it comes down to personal preference and budget.
What I suggest you do is go through the component check-list and choose all the stuff you need. Then post back here and we can suggest some cheaper alternatives.
Nice find with the CPU. You've saved yourself nearly $100 and you won't really notice the difference.
It should run WoW without much of an issue. If you want to get a bit more performance out of the whole machine, you could always try looking at an ATi card instead of an nVidia card.
It's a bit better than the GT240. The main reason I suggest you go with an ATI card instead of nVidia is because your Motherboard has an integrated Radeon 4200 chip. If you use a discrete ATI graphics card you'll be able to take advantage of ATI's Hybrid Crossfire technology :
Nice find with the CPU. You've saved yourself nearly $100 and you won't really notice the difference.
It should run WoW without much of an issue. If you want to get a bit more performance out of the whole machine, you could always try looking at an ATi card instead of an nVidia card.
It's a bit better than the GT240. The main reason I suggest you go with an ATI card instead of nVidia is because your Motherboard has an integrated Radeon 4200 chip. If you use a discrete ATI graphics card you'll be able to take advantage of ATI's Hybrid Crossfire technology :
It's not a bad choice, but it's not quite as good as the 4850, and it's priced a bit high. The 5570 should be around the $80 mark.
The thing to remember with graphics cards is that the numbers do mean something. The first number is the series number, and the higher the last three numbers, the better it is. So in essence, the 5570 is a better series and supports DirectX 11, but the 4850 has a bit more power behind it.
It might be worth checking all your prices on Newegg to see if you could get it any cheaper. You might end up saving a hundred dollars or more.
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. This makes raiding pretty much unbearable. All i'm really looking for is to get 20-50 fps (with mid-level graphics) on boss fights and something where i can actually have iTunes open in the background without it crapping out on me. 
