Gaming Computer Advice

[Torval]

I would appreciate any and all advice or comments. I am looking to purchase a new computer and have been considering building my own computer for quite some time now. I have been looking on cyberpowerpc and using their customization option to get around what I want as I am a little apprehensive of physically building the computer but I may end up doing it myself anyways.

My problem is that I feel like what I am building is going to be overkill and is slightly over my comfortable spending limit. I'd really like to be able to build this computer for $1000 or less, if possible.

Physical size is not an issue. The tower will not be sitting in an enclosure. I don't really care if it has fancy neon lights inside although I would like a case that isn't hideous. I have always had an affinity towards AMD processors. They have just served me better than intel in the past.

I will be using this computer for word processing, general internet browsing but most importantly I will be using it for gaming. The game that I would like to be able to run on ultra are World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. The game has not been released yet so there are no specs on it specifically but I assume that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King could be used for reference. I would also like to be able to run Star Wars: The Old Republic on at least medium settings when it comes out but I don't believe they have released any specs either.

I will provide a link to the computer build that I have set up; however, please feel free to offer any advice that you can. I've always bought pre-made computers so I am flying by the seat of my pants here.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1CT39E

Is this going to be overkill? I'd like the computer to be easily upgradable in a couple of years if the need would arise but I don't need a top notch machine right now. Just something that can perform the tasks described above.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I will be needing to purchase Windows 7. I would like to also be able to include a monitor, keyboard and mouse if possible but with the $1000 budget I don't know if it is possible. The absolute most that I could touch is $1300.

[RickyTick]

Tossed this together for you to look at. In the past, WOW has not been overly demanding on PC hardware. It doesn't take much to run it at maximum settings.

Case $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

PSU $70 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Motherboard and OS COMBO $184 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.552523

CPU and GPU COMBO $336 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.544411

RAM 4gb (2x2gb) $75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231275

Hard Drive $65 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Optical Drive $19 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Mouse and KB $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.540773

Monitor $150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236050

Comes out to $1019 if you include the Mail-in-Rebates.
This is a very upgradeable system for several years to come.

[Torval]

Tossed this together for you to look at. In the past, WOW has not been overly demanding on PC hardware. It doesn't take much to run it at maximum settings.

Case $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

PSU $70 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Motherboard and OS COMBO $184 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.552523

CPU and GPU COMBO $336 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.544411

RAM 4gb (2x2gb) $75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231275

Hard Drive $65 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Optical Drive $19 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Mouse and KB $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.540773

Monitor $150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236050

Comes out to $1019 if you include the Mail-in-Rebates.
This is a very upgradeable system for several years to come.


I ended up taking the plunge and just building the computer myself. I took your advice into consideration but ultimately ended up ordering what I thought would make more sense for my personal use. WOW may be the only real online game that I play at the moment but that will change in the future and I wanted a system which I felt I would be able to upgrade and would still be able to effectively run WOW and SWTOR when it comes out without any problems. It may be a bit of overkill but only time will tell. Here are the specs.

Case: Rosewill Cruiser RT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147145)

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850W RT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568)

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 970 3.5G AME RT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894)

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 RT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128443)

Ram: 4gb (2x2gb) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226120)

HDD: 1TB HDD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533)

Video Card: Nvidia EVGA GTX 460 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568)

ODD: Sony Optiarc (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040)

Monitor: Acer 23" (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009266)

And then I also got a standard keyboard and a single system-builder Windows 7 Professional.

Total: $1209.86 (including shipping)

It was a little over what I was initially willing to spend; however, dropping the monitor off would have put me pretty close to my initial goal.

This was my first build and I ran into a few hiccups but nothing too terrible. My biggest issue was that once I had everything hooked up and did my first boot I was not getting a display. It took me about 45 additional minutes of troubleshooting( IE - going back through and making sure I didn't make a stupid mistake) before I realized that while all my fans were kicking on and everything seemed to be operating, I had forgotten to plug my 12v ATX power cord into the mobo. It was only drawing power from the 24 pin. Once I plugged that in it was all smooth sailing. Win 7 installation was very quick and painless compared to some fresh installs of previous OSes I've done.

Of course, please let me know what you think about this build.

Edit: I forgot to include that I have $40 of mail-in rebates so that would actually bring the total down to $1169.86

[RickyTick]

Of course, please let me know what you think about this build.


I think it's awesome. Hope you enjoy it.