PC build for World of Warcraft.

[Captainpoo]

I'm looking for a computer build for under £200 to play WoW at 1920x1080 resolution.

I have this in mind:

Gigabyte GA-G41MT-S2P G41
Intel Pentium Dual core E6600
Coolermaster 450W GX PSU
(OLD) x1950 PRO PCI-E GPU. (already got)
4GB g.SKILL PC2-6400 800mhz (already got)

Would it be better to get a newer GPU or will the x1950 PRO work well enough at that resolution?

 

[Recus]

DX11 adds fps boost so you need new GPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793-7.html

 

[Evolved]

You're going to get less than 30fps with that build, especially at that resolution.

 

[Wyverex]

WoW is pretty playable even at 30 FPS and most players don't force playing with maxed settings... so, if you don't plan to max out every setting there is, you'll do just fine with that GPU

With that said, I would still suggest getting a power-efficient DX11 GPU, for example Radeon HD 5750 or maybe even the GeForce 460 768 MB version

 

[Captainpoo]

we're going to try to use the x1950 pro at low settings. if everything runs slow, i can grab a hd4850 from ebay at £40-50+

 

[1Kurgan1]

DX11 adds fps boost so you need new GPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793-7.html

That game is optimized like crap, even my 6950 got horrible FPS in Stormwind city (I'm talking sub 20 fps). I think 1920 with the rest of the settings lower it should work just fine.

 

[Fourstaff]

Have you considered Llano instead? Or at least the Athlon II X4's? You will need to buy new DDR3 ram, but it shouldn't be expensive.

Something like this:
Athlon II x4 3.2Ghz AMD Phenom II X4 840 Socket AM3 3.2GHz 2MB Cache.....
Some cheap mobo Asus M4A88T-M 880G Socket AM3 Onboard Graphics 8.....
lots of ram G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory K...
or something more sensible: Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Blu Memor...

Works out to be £159, Just slap on some PSU. This is very value for money, but leaves no room for graphics card.

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

That game is optimized like crap, even my 6950 got horrible FPS in Stormwind city (I'm talking sub 20 fps). I think 1920 with the rest of the settings lower it should work just fine.

That's because those places have hundreds of people in them at a time, if you go to somewhere less populated, like the crossroads you will get a ton of fps. I am doing some blood elf quests atm and I have the settings maxed and im frame capped. I do believe someone on here is selling a 5750 for $80

 

[LordJummy]

Have you considered Llano instead? Or at least the Athlon II X4's? You will need to buy new DDR3 ram, but it shouldn't be expensive.

Something like this:
Athlon II x4 3.2Ghz AMD Phenom II X4 840 Socket AM3 3.2GHz 2MB Cache.....
Some cheap mobo Asus M4A88T-M 880G Socket AM3 Onboard Graphics 8.....
lots of ram G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory K...
or something more sensible: Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Blu Memor...

Works out to be £159, Just slap on some PSU. This is very value for money, but leaves no room for graphics card.

Athlon II would be a bad choice for wow. WoW does not like weak CPU's, especially AMD.

The E6600 would outperform it quite easily.

That game is optimized like crap, even my 6950 got horrible FPS in Stormwind city (I'm talking sub 20 fps). I think 1920 with the rest of the settings lower it should work just fine.

Your 6950 is not the bottleneck. It's your CPU. WoW has serious issues with CPU's; AMD ones to be more specific.

I got well over 50fps in the most populated cities at max settings in 1080p at peak hours with one 6950 on my i7 950 rig. I even got over 30fps at 5760x1080 in cities. The SSD's don't hurt though...


To the OP: Go for the E6600 if you can get all of it cheap. Otherwise scrap it and just go for a really cheap SB build. Even an i3 2100 will do well. I do recommend getting a low end DX11 GPU if you can swing that, e6600 or otherwise. It runs very well in DX11, as it is more optimized.

 

[Fourstaff]

Try old 1156, people will shit brix on me for suggesting, but it offers almost unparalleled bang for buck in the WoW category:

Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz Socket 1156 4MB L3 Cache...
Biostar H55A+ Socket 1156 HDMI DVI VGA 6 Channel A...

 

[LordJummy]

Try old 1156, people will shit brix on me for suggesting, but it offers almost unparalleled bang for buck in the WoW category:

Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz Socket 1156 4MB L3 Cache...
Biostar H55A+ Socket 1156 HDMI DVI VGA 6 Channel A...

I think that's actually a great idea.

Go for a used 1156 mobo/cpu combo on ebay or CL or something. That is a great idea actually...

 

[bretts31344]

Are you buying used parts or new? I might be able to work something out depending on how much shipping would cost.

Edit: Shipping costs way too much for anything reasonable. If you get something like Fourstaff posted, you will have a much better computer for WoW anyway.

 

[LordJummy]

I highly recommend going with an intel setup over almost any AMD setup.

Intel will run WoW better, as long as it's a decent c2duo or better.

 

[Captainpoo]

I bought a E6550 for £30 used. I think it shall play WoW without a fuss.

 

[LordJummy]

Yep I used to play wow on an E6400 back when it was new, but then again WoW has changed since then. As long as you don't run max settings, no problem.

 

[xenocide]

That game is optimized like crap, even my 6950 got horrible FPS in Stormwind city (I'm talking sub 20 fps).

With my i5-2500k I can get at least 60fps in SW at all times with a 5850. Even my Q6600 was capable of getting 30~ fps reliably at nearly maxed settings in SW. Something tells me your CPU isn't playing nice. Also, the game is optimized pretty well for DX11, I believe it was TomsHardware did an article comparing the DX9 and DX11 modes and saw noticeable gains.

EDIT: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793-7.html

 

[LordJummy]

That toms hardware review shows how AMD CPU's just don't come close to Intel's in WoW.

Having a DX11 gpu doesn't hurt either.

 

[CrackerJack]

<My specs (Ultra Settings) , Wife's (Good)
Org- ~40-50fps dx9/dx11 , ~30-40fps dx9
World- ~120fps+ dx9/dx11 , ~80fps+ dx9

Not much difference when switching between dx9/dx11

 

[LordJummy]

<My specs (Ultra Settings) , Wife's (Good)
Org- ~40-50fps dx9/dx11 , ~30-40fps dx9
World- ~120fps+ dx9/dx11 , ~80fps+ dx9

Not much difference when switching between dx9/dx11

It's a shame you're using that 460 for PhysX. You should give it to your wife so she can use DX11

 

[CrackerJack]

It's a shame you're using that 460 for PhysX. You should give it to your wife so she can use DX11

lol i'm not using it anymore, I actually was gonna do that.. thanks for reminding me