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[Joe]

my friend wants to order a computer today and we're trying to learn together right now.

his price range is about $650 but if he must he will go to $700-750 but no higher than that.

a lof of stuff can be the minimum like cd-rom drive, and 40gb hard drive. he wants a decent videocard (to run WoW) and probably 512mb ram for now. he pretty much wants to order a computer to play WoW and it doesnt have to have the greatest parts in it now he can just upgrade that later. i think right now hes most concerned with the motherboard and processor.

any suggestions gaf?

 

[bjork]

I'm actually curious to know what's a good video card for wow also, because a GeForce 4 mx420 isn't cutting it...

 

[demi]

help computer (that's what i got from this thread)

GO FOR A 9800 PRO

 

[Tarazet]

If that's the price-range, I would choose to go for the cheapest Dell or whatever desktop you can get for $300 or so, then just swap the video card.

 

[Joe]

we're actually looking at ibuypower.com right now, do you guys reccommend it?

http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=135

he likes that one at the moment, would you make any upgrades/downgrades?

 

[NohWun]

The config looks reasonable, though I'd go with Socket 939.
Oh, and I don't like their video card selections.
I'd also probably go for an ATI 9800 with lots of RAM.

 

[Jupiter]

I recommend 1 GB of RAM for WoW. Makes a huge difference when entering a new area or town.

 

[Joe]

why 939 pin and do i have to upgrade the mobo so it fits?

 

[AntoneM]

well the benchmarks I've seen but a gefore 6600GT ahead of a 9800 Pro, though just slightly, at the $200 price range, here is one such article keep an eye on resolutions, AA and AF. A 9800 Pro is not a bad choice, just not necessarily the best.

 

[Joe]

nzxt guardian case 420w power supply
amd athlon 64 3000+
gigabyte k8ns nforce3 board
512mb ddr-400 pc3200
ati radeon 256mb 9550
western digital 80gb 7200rpm hard drive
56x cd rom
viewsonic keyboard and optical mouse
2.1 speaker system

$616....is that a good deal? we're looking for value here and this is in his price range.

 

[teh_pwn]

General Specs I'd recommend:

Some AMD S939 motherboard
AMD 64 S939 3000-3200+
512 or 1024 MB of value RAM (get them in sticks of 512 for future expansion)
nVidia 6600 GT AGPX8
onboard audio for your price range...or spend $30 to get a cheap Audigy or something that's equivalent and will take CPU load
Lite-on or other cheap brand disc drive
120 GB SATA HDD

Note about World of Warcraft. It eats RAM like nothing else. The faster the video card, the more it'll consume. With my 6800 Ultra on max settings, WoW consumes 600-1300 MB.

 

[Joe]

why s939?

 

[teh_pwn]

You can get S754. Whatever's the best deal.

S939 is a bit better at memory bandwidth.

 

[Joe]

does that mean i need a 939 mobo?

 

[teh_pwn]

Well, yes. lol

S939 means the CPU connection has 939 pin connections. If you have a CPU with 939 pins, I'd recommend it.

 

[NohWun]

why 939 pin and do i have to upgrade the mobo so it fits?

939 offers double the memory bandwidth, and is hopefully more future-proof.

Yes, CPU and MB must both be 939.

(To actually get the double-bandwidth, I think you need to install 2 DIMMs, though.)

 

[teh_pwn]

Hmmm...if you didn't know that, then you probably don't know about installing SATA Harddrives.

You've typically have to hit F2 when the blue screen for windows installation comes up to tell it you need to load SATA drivers via Floppy to let it see your SATA HDD. Otherwise, it won't see your HDD.


And when you load Windows the first time, you're going to have to install LAN drivers for your network to actually work.

Couple pointers that could have helped me on my first build.

 

[Joe]

does he have to worry about compatability or any worries in the future?

 

[element]

Intel LGA 775 Pentium 4 520 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache HT
Kingmax 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
Hitachi 80GB 7200RPM SATA
XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT 128MB PCI-E
BenQ 16x, Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive

$635.91 - $50 Rebate for the Shuttle Case
Final Total = $585.91

That is a freaking steal!! And the case is HOT!!

 

[teh_pwn]

Generally, I wouldn't worry to much about future compatibility. Considering your budget, your not going to buy expensive CPUs down the road.

Also, CPU manufacturers change pin connections and cores so often that its really pointless trying to be compatible for the future.

I remember 2 years ago when some people were planning for Intel P4 Prescott compatibility.

 

[NohWun]

does he have to worry about compatability or any worries in the future?

Is it ever the case that you don't?

(and I'd skip the SATA drive - not much real advantage in the bargain basement.)

 

[element]

I win!! Mine is the best suggestion!!!

 

[AntoneM]

Intel LGA 775 Pentium 4 520 2.8 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache HT
Kingmax 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200
Hitachi 80GB 7200RPM SATA
XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT 128MB PCI-E
BenQ 16x, Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive

$635.91 - $50 Rebate for the Shuttle Case
Final Total = $585.91

That is a freaking steal!! And the case is HOT!!

so... where can some one buy this?

 

[NohWun]

I win!! Mine is the best suggestion!!!

What vendor?

 

[element]

so... where can some one buy this?

newegg.com!! It is parts, so you would have to assemble it.