Intel v AMD for the money concern for building new computer.

[Xaser04]

I don't follow?

I think he meant multiplier.

 

[Wile E]

I think he meant multiplier.

In that case, whatever the cpu will allow. The higher, the merrier. lol

If he meant to type mb, I was referring to the Blood Iron.

 

[PyroX1040]

Okay, well, the story is, I need a dedicated machine for running 3 copies of World of Warcraft at or above 25 fps at the same time.

I was looking at the AMD dual cores, because they have gotten SO cheap. But, my thing is, I don't really know how far I need to go into performance to remain as cheap as possible. I've been out of the loop for a while, and kind of had a couple quick questions that might be somewhat repetitive to some of you, and for that I apologize.

For an AMD 4000+ x2, $60...Would that be enough? Would I really need to step up to like an e4400 or something along the C2D line, or would this work? The mobo to pair with it would obviously be one of the low-mid budget mobos that will just -work-, nothing fancy.

Best GPU for the money now (but must meet the initial qualifications): would a 7900gs be a decent candidate for $100?

As for RAM, would I need to get 2gb or step up to 4? Ram is getting so cheap nowadays, and I know I can only utilize around 3.5 gbs, but still?

Again, I apologize for the repetitive nature, it just seems as though prices on everything have recently gone haywire, and I'm just seeking the best bang for the buck.

Thanks.

I can run world of warcraft perfectly fine with the following:

AMD 3200+ 2.8Ghz [Overclocked]
ASUS A5S Mobo
2 Crossfire Sapphire 1650XT

I can run 2 world of warcrafts perfectly fine while holding 30FPS in shattrath, but if your an intel guy then I would say a cheap ass P4 can even run it fine seeing that my older one works perfectly fine with this

Intel Pentium 4 3.2Ghz Stock / 3.7Ghz OC
1 ATI 1950XT

 

[xazraelx]

Okay everyone...I didn't mean to get into an amd vs intel heads up debate. That wasn't the point, and numbers DO NOT MATTER in this case. Yes, I know intel OC's better than AMD. This is a fact. But a lot of people are misunderstanding what I am wanting. I want to be able to have 3-4 copies of World of Warcraft running (yes, the characters will be moving around) 24/7, whether it's for AoE grinding with two mages and a priest or whatever...that's my decision

I am a fan of OC'ing, I like it, but I also like stability and BUDGET builds. This is for a budget, and what I've seen is that Intel is just way too much for the money FOR WHAT I NEED. Yes, my gaming machine is an OC'ed e6750...we're not arguing which one makes for better gaming, we were debating on which one is better for the money, and capable of running 25FPS on each copy 24/7.

I really appreciate all the support TPU has given...many thanks.

xazraelx

Edit: I didn't mean to rant and rave, it's just that people seemed to focus in on oc numbers, etc...when it's been shown WoW doesn't really suck up processor power too much. I want the bare minimum for this, nothing fancy - that's all I'm trying to say. There are no bragging rights involved in this build, just pure efficiency.

 

[Silverel]

Basic Case 29$ Shipped. (x3 = 87$)

CD-Drive18 $ Shipped (x3 = 53.5$)

ASUS M2V-MX 50$ Shipped (x3 = 150$)

AMD X2 3600+ 53$ Shipped (x3 = 159$)

2600 Pro 128-bit/256MB 78$ Shipped (x3 = 234$) or w/REBATE 63$ Shipped (x3 = 189$)

WD 80g Hard Drive 45$ Shipped (x3 = 135$)

pqi 2x512mb Ram 27$ shipped (x3 = 81$)

Rosewill 300w PSU 19$ shipped (x3 = 57$)

OS - Linux - Free w/WINE

319$ each(304$ w/rebate), 957$ (912$ w/rebate) at most considering shipping costs will likely be lower if you order it all at the same time. Each of these would have no problems maintaining 30fps in WoW. I'd strap all three of em together w/duct tape and hang em from the ceiling just for kicks.

You could probably build a 900$ rig that could run 3 instances, but this way is much more fun.

 

[xazraelx]

My object is to run 3-4 on the ... same ... computer.

And -not- spend $900.

I'd just build another computer with an e8400 if I wanted to spend 1k...

 

[Wile E]

I still say an OCed Intel is the way to go. It will multi-task batter than the AMD setup. Even an OCed dual core celeron would be good.

What I'm trying to say is, with a P31 board, and a bottom line Core2 like the E2000 or E1000 series, you won't end up spending more than you did with AMD, but you'd get more performance and multi-tasking abilities.

If you planned to run at completely stock, it doesn't matter which you buy. They both offer similar price/performance ratios. Once you OC, the Intel does better. It might even leave you with a little extra headroom, so it's not running 100% 24/7. That's why we're bringing up OCing. More performance from Intel, for the same amount of money.

Couple that with the best midrange card in your budget, and you have a winning combo.

 

[mrw1986]

Buy a dell.

It's 2am and I can't think of anything else to say. I'd personally go with an intel build. I priced out a $600 intel system that could run 3 instances of WoW but I deleted the wishlist from Newegg...

 

[driver66]

On my current rig i run 8 copies of wow all at 60fps. while surfin the net! I'm sure a system similar to mine could be built pretty cheap. Good luck with ur ah.....Gliding lol

 

[xazraelx]

I still say an OCed Intel is the way to go. It will multi-task batter than the AMD setup. Even an OCed dual core celeron would be good.

What I'm trying to say is, with a P31 board, and a bottom line Core2 like the E2000 or E1000 series, you won't end up spending more than you did with AMD, but you'd get more performance and multi-tasking abilities.

If you planned to run at completely stock, it doesn't matter which you buy. They both offer similar price/performance ratios. Once you OC, the Intel does better. It might even leave you with a little extra headroom, so it's not running 100% 24/7. That's why we're bringing up OCing. More performance from Intel, for the same amount of money.

Couple that with the best midrange card in your budget, and you have a winning combo.

Thanks.

The old AMD fanboy in me still hasn't left, and I guess I just wanted to be stubborn for a while. I'll look into the builds.

@Driver: Yeah, I can run 8 on my current build as well...I just want a dedicated computer so I can use my personal cpu for more fun things. Just for kicks, I ran crysis one day while four copies were going, and averaged around 30 fps Talk about fun times....lol (30 fps drives me crazy)...but at least we know the comps can handle it eh?

 

[ChillyMyst]

wow is not cpu demanding, theres no need to worrie about getting a core2 to deal with it, a cheap amd overclocked would do just as well, main thing is to have plenty of ram if you plan to run them offten for long periods of time as most multi account players of WoW and other games do.

and with crysis 30fps is good

 

[Franklinwallbrown]

Basic Case 29$ Shipped. (x3 = 87$)

CD-Drive18 $ Shipped (x3 = 53.5$)

ASUS M2V-MX 50$ Shipped (x3 = 150$)

AMD X2 3600+ 53$ Shipped (x3 = 159$)

2600 Pro 128-bit/256MB 78$ Shipped (x3 = 234$) or w/REBATE 63$ Shipped (x3 = 189$)

WD 80g Hard Drive 45$ Shipped (x3 = 135$)

pqi 2x512mb Ram 27$ shipped (x3 = 81$)

Rosewill 300w PSU 19$ shipped (x3 = 57$)

OS - Linux - Free w/WINE

319$ each(304$ w/rebate), 957$ (912$ w/rebate) at most considering shipping costs will likely be lower if you order it all at the same time. Each of these would have no problems maintaining 30fps in WoW. I'd strap all three of em together w/duct tape and hang em from the ceiling just for kicks.

You could probably build a 900$ rig that could run 3 instances, but this way is much more fun.

You can play WoW on Linux?

 

[xazraelx]

What mid-range video card should I purchase for this?

I've looked at the 2600xt and the 7600gt, as well as the 8600gt

They are all around the same price, but which is more efficient? (Or does someone have a completely different suggestion )

As for the processors, I wish my amd opty system hadn't got hit by lightning...those processors were a beast.

Edit: And wine is a windows "emulator?," so I'm assuming you can...I know some things won't run on Wine though, just not sure about WoW.

 

[ChillyMyst]

3650 or low end 3850 would be better choices then the ones you listed.

And unless ur a true linux geek avoid trying to play windows games on linux, its a real hassle more times then not, and you also have to wait months many times for new games to get support under linux, its a REAL HASSLE, better and easyer to just use windows 2000 or newer!!!!

 

[Silverel]

Yeh, but what he's looking for isn't really "playing", its for multi-accounts in WoW. If WoW doesn't have some kind of Linux support (what with being the biggest MMO EVER) there's a sad state of affairs in our world. From what I understand, he's not looking for performance, just enough to get from point a to point b. Linux, in theory, should do just fine.

Besides, it's free.

 

[xazraelx]

Because my minor is ITCS, I get free copies of XP and Vista, so either way it's free.

No need to throw in another debate on this subject - however, silver definitely saw my point. I don't want to PLAY WoW, I just want point a to point b...a point a lot of people have missed.

 

[ChillyMyst]

yeah then amd all the way, if you can get the new biostar ta780g board
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?p=638130

the onboard gfx should be enought for uber low res point a to b movement, if not u can alwase add a card later, you oculd also use hybred cf and add a cheap 8400 to boost gfx perf

email the egg asking when they will have this board

 

[Wile E]

yeah then amd all the way, if you can get the new biostar ta780g board
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?p=638130

the onboard gfx should be enought for uber low res point a to b movement, if not u can alwase add a card later, you oculd also use hybred cf and add a cheap 8400 to boost gfx perf

email the egg asking when they will have this board

Nope, Intel is still the way to go. He can build the Intel for the same price, and even if it's more than he needs, who cares? It cost the same. That's basically a free upgrade.

AMD is not the way to go here, unless he plans to run 100% stock.

 

[driver66]

wow is not cpu demanding, theres no need to worrie about getting a core2 to deal with it, a cheap amd overclocked would do just as well, main thing is to have plenty of ram if you plan to run them offten for long periods of time as most multi account players of WoW and other games do.

and with crysis 30fps is good

yes actually since the last patch if i run 2 copies it takes my cpu to 100%:shadedshu but i still run 8? I think they threw in some junk processes to stop botters? I dont see any extras though got me confused Used to be i could run 8 copies at 35% cpu lol
!