Good system specs for running WoW?

[Bendy Walker]

Hey guys,

I'm currently running WoW on an iMac and whilst I can play just fine on it, I'm obviously not getting a steady 60fps and don't have the ability to run the game on it's highest settings.

I'm planning on purchasing a new PC in time for Cataclysm, and was wondering what would be the minimum spec to run the game on max settings at a steady 40+fps. Preferably, I don't want to go above £500.

 

[Sleinous]

Something like this maybe?

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD ATHLON II X4 630 (2.8GHz/2MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M4A78LT-M: mATX MAINBOARD, DDR3, USB 2.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB ATI RADEON™ HD 5770 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £535.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Bendy Walker]

Thanks for the quick reply Sleinous.

Do you play WoW yourself? I noticed you recommended an ATI GPU over an NVIDIA one. Any particular reason? I'm not very familiar with computer components, and I suppose in my naivety thought that NVIDIA was better. Also, could I get away with a less powerful GPU? Or would I be compromising my performance a great deal by doing so?

 

[Sleinous]

Normally id spec an Nvidia, as, (ill be blunt) i prefer them.

Problem was that with £500 I was a bit stuck, maybe if i went for an AMD X2 and a GTX460? Any thoughts anyone?

Chose Ati here as the card offers more bang for buck. I do occasionally play mmorpgs but not wow currently

I thought of the 5750 but again, i need a wow player to tell me if its likely to struggle on that weaker gpu

 

[Bendy Walker]

I forgot to mention... I already have a genuine copy of Windows 7 Professional (bought it for £30 when it was on offer). So that's... £80 more you've got to spend on hardware. Go wild!

 

[Sleinous]

Ah! Ok so was about to post a Amd X2 spec but with that extra money i can spec an AMD X4 with a GTX 460 What ya think? Its £1 over budget so don't shoot me

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD ATHLON II X4 630 (2.8GHz/2MB CACHE/AM3)
Motherboard
ASUS® M4A78LT-M: mATX MAINBOARD, DDR3, USB 2.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £501.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Bendy Walker]

Looks very nice, yeah!

Do you have any idea how well this will cope with more demanding games (stuff along the Mass Effect 2 line)?

 

[Sleinous]

The GTX460 could quite easily handle the likes of bfbc2, gta iv etc, to give you an idea. Its the smaller brother of my GTX 470 but still packs some punch. If we had a little more money to play with later, id recommend upgrading the mobo a bit, still not quite happy with it.

 

[Bendy Walker]

I see. Well I'm not going to be able to purchase the system for another month or two yet due to cash constraints. Will there be more powerful hardware available by then do you reckon?

 

[Sleinous]

Yes, but, for your needs it'd be best to stick to something like this and, with price drops on sll the other parts you should be able to purchase a better motherboard

 

[Bendy Walker]

Okay. That sounds good.

There aren't multiple options for the motherboard on the PC Specialist website though? Am I missing something?

 

[Phoenix]

Okay. That sounds good.

There aren't multiple options for the motherboard on the PC Specialist website though? Am I missing something?

No not in all of the sections but for a straight upgrade you could make the PC in the Top Spec section and get a motherboard with USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0GB/s.

 

[Sleinous]

Okay. That sounds good.

There aren't multiple options for the motherboard on the PC Specialist website though? Am I missing something?

Correct, some specs only have one available, if you plan on buying in 2 months or so, prices may have dropped enough for you to progress into the next tier of CPUs

 

[Bendy Walker]

Okay then. Well I shall bear your current recommended spec in mind, and post back on here when I'm getting ready to purchase! Thanks for your help guys