World of Warcraft rig build help and planning

[zeo_nanomus]

      Hello everyone I was approached and asked to make a computer primarily for World of Warcraft. He doesn't have much to spend so I need to keep this build as cheap as possible while trying to get the most up-to-date parts as I can. Any advice is highly appreciated. All prices need to be $US. OS needs to be included but no peripherals. My thinking is the machine could have an i3 or a low tier FX processor, current gen motherboard if possible, 4 gigs of RAM, 500W PSU, normal 1 TB HDD, nvidia 760 or r9 270, and any good quality cheap case. I also figured that the stock cooler would be sufficient because there would be no need to overclock. A lower tier graphics card is a definite possibility, I was just trying to stay current gen and both cards stated are around $170. Also, I don't know the minimum specs for the WoD expansion that is coming out soon but a 270 or 760 should be more than enough I would think. If this is not that case please share what you know. 

      I would give a budget if I had one lol. All he would tell me is it needs to do is play WoW on highest settings without care. I guess the minimum budget for a good machine would be around $500 but if it could be below that it would be ideal. He wanted me to give him a price. A difficult person he is lol.

 

      All help is welcome and thanks in advanced.

[Guest Emrye]

A budget would help.

[zeo_nanomus]

Here is what I have so far. 

 

 

CPU Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor                                     $54.00

 

GIGABYTE GA-Z97M-DS3H LGA 1150 Intel Z97 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard  $99.99

 

Memory Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory                                $68.99

 

Storage Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive                 $54.99

 

Video Card XFX Radeon R9 270X 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card             $169.99

 

Case Rosewill Line-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case                                               $39.99

 

Power Supply Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply    $29.99

 

                                                                                                           TOTAL     $507.94

 

Now, I don't know much about intel, but the Pentium was rated high and used one of the current gen sockets (I think). It is just a duel core but it has a decent clock speed. I figured I could get the Pentium, slap it on a z97 chipset, he could upgrade it later if he wants, and I can put more into the GPU. I figure the GPU is more important in this case anyway. I went for the XFX GPU because of the lifetime warranty.

I've also been thinking that I could remake this entire machine and swam for AMD. Do you guys think this would help me get more bang or not? Please explain.

I have another weird question. If I have a Windows 8 installation DVD can I activate it with a Windows 8.1 key from g2a.com? I ask because Microsoft sells Windows 8.1 in its own packaging and everything. 

All help welcome.

[GloriousPain]

 

 

Video Card XFX Radeon R9 270X 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card             $169.99

 

                                                                                                           TOTAL     $507.94

 

Now, I don't know much about intel, but the Pentium was rated high and used one of the current gen sockets (I think). It is just a duel core but it has a decent clock speed. I figured I could get the Pentium, slap it on a z97 chipset, he could upgrade it later if he wants, and I can put more into the GPU. I figure the GPU is more important in this case anyway. I went for the XFX GPU because of the lifetime warranty.

I've also been thinking that I could remake this entire machine and swam for AMD. Do you guys think this would help me get more bang or not? Please explain.

All help welcome.

 

Switch to pentium G3258 (it uses the same cores as the i7 4790k just with disabled cores hyperthreading and underclocked but overclocked it matches the i7 in single threaded performance) I <3 AMD cpus when on a budget but WoW doesn't agree w/ me on that  

I would recommend getting an SSHD 8GB of Cache instead of 64MB could help with loading and not add much into the cost(note however the 8GB cache only works when used loading the same thing multiple times it'll do it in the background)

Getting a normal 270(non x)  and OCing is genuinely the same ifnot more powerful than a 270x but it's overkill for WoW and I just recommend getting a 750Ti, 260x or 265... Also XFX's double dissipation cooler is taller than standard and will not fit in the Line-M which is a "Things barely fit but they fit" kind of case

[coen113]

If youre gonna get a pentium, get the anniversary edition

[zeo_nanomus]

Switch to pentium G3258 (it uses the same cores as the i7 4790k just with disabled cores hyperthreading and underclocked but overclocked it matches the i7 in single threaded performance) I <3 AMD cpus when on a budget but WoW doesn't agree w/ me on that  

I would recommend getting an SSHD 8GB of Cache instead of 64MB could help with loading and not add much into the cost(note however the 8GB cache only works when used loading the same thing multiple times it'll do it in the background)

Getting a normal 270(non x)  and OCing is genuinely the same ifnot more powerful than a 270x but it's overkill for WoW and I just recommend getting a 750Ti, 260x or 265... Also XFX's double dissipation cooler is taller than standard and will not fit in the Line-M which is a "Things barely fit but they fit" kind of case

 

Here is the new list with updates. http://pcpartpicker.com/user/zeo_nanomus/saved/zhbCmG

Total $497

 

I added the anniversary edition CPU, a different motherboard, and r9 270. I kinda wanted to overkill a little on the GPU so when WoD comes out there would be no issues.

I wasn't able to find an SSHD with an 8MB cache however so can you post a link to one? Are you sure that the GPU will not fit? It doesn't throw a compatibility flag and people have commented on Newegg saying a normal R9 270 will fit in the Line-M. If you're sure it does not fit do you have any suggestions?

I don't know much about overclocking CPUs or GPUs. Do you have any good guides you can post? Lol.

[GloriousPain]

Here is the new list with updates. http://pcpartpicker.com/user/zeo_nanomus/saved/zhbCmG

Total $497

 

I added the anniversary edition CPU, a different motherboard, and r9 270. I kinda wanted to overkill a little on the GPU so when WoD comes out there would be no issues.

I wasn't able to find an SSHD with an 8MB cache however so can you post a link to one? Are you sure that the GPU will not fit? It doesn't throw a compatibility flag and people have commented on Newegg saying a normal R9 270 will fit in the Line-M. If you're sure it does not fit do you have any suggestions?

I don't know much about overclocking CPUs or GPUs. Do you have any good guides you can post? Lol.

Linus just did a guide on how to overclock the Pentium K(anniversary edition) TODAY use that... PCPP doesn't show SSHD caches properly 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dx001 (hint under storage hit the hybrid filter and anything labeled SSHD is what your looking for) here's one look through the specs it'll show Cache and SSD Hybrid Cache  yeah it's still overkill honestly WoW isn't very graphically intensive Case wise yeah the Line M is tiny  http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-nse200kkn1 it's another budget case that's a bit bigger

I have provided links for the majority of things