8 replies to this topic

[Rebelism]

As I attempt to create one (as my last one passed away after 5 years), I am torn between two major things: graphics card and processor.

Always been an nvidia fan, and am eyeballing their GTX 260, but this whole Radeon company really seems to be pushing their own cards, any personal experiences?

My old processor was 2.2 or 2.3 or 2.1 I can't remember it was crap. Couldn't run my addons in 25m raids, couldn't run Firefox in 25m raids, and could barely get by without firefox and my addons in 25m raids >.>. Granted times have changed!. What speed processor do I need to run WoW? I don't play many other games, but I do play a few such as HoN (which ran fine). 2.8-2.9 seems the average, but I see people pushing for 3.1 and 3.2? Do I really need that fast of a processor? I'm not playing Crysis or anything here.

[zojakownith]

3ghz+ will give you an increased lifespan on your computer.

you dont need more then 2 cores though

[[AoL]Maj]

First CPU - Don't worry about the speed. Concentrate on the architecture. Make sure it is either an Core i7, Core i5, or Core 2 (in order of descending cost). Ghz comes second. Processors to avoid (even though they have crazy high Ghz): Pentium Dual Core (not core 2, very confusing wording by Intel), Celeron, Core i3.

Video Card - Currently, ATi (the Radeon guys) have the top spot in every segment. I would suggest you pick a price range, then look for a Radeon 5000 series in that segment. That way you get DirectX11 for future proofing and all the new architecture changes.

Other Advice - 4 Gigs of ram with a 64 bit OS will also future proof you. All the other options are your choice.

[Traximus]

Building is fun

I am in the market for a new system. few of my friends here had some success with Dell (Alienware)

I may look into that or use Maj's Example too

[.Firstpizza.]

I use a laptop for WoW. And i use Core 2 Processor with 4 gigs of ram, the video card in it is an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 and at max setting with my add ons and everything, in extreme AoE situations I still run at 30 FPS minimum.

[Tingles]

Maj hit the head on the nail. make sure you plan for future games which will use DX 10 and 11.

[Rebelism]

Atm I'm browsing a Dell Studio 9000 (the 8100s couldn't run the radeons? am I looking at too high of radeon specs?), in order to get enough power for the radeon graphics card. Here's the funny thing, when upgrading to the 9000 from an 8100, and going from an i5 to an i7, the gigahertz actually decreases from 3.2 to 2.6. Should I disregard this as Maj said? Seems like a pretty big drop...

/confused

[[AoL]Maj]

Rebelism, on Apr 27 2010, 10:13 PM, said:

Atm I'm browsing a Dell Studio 9000 (the 8100s couldn't run the radeons? am I looking at too high of radeon specs?), in order to get enough power for the radeon graphics card. Here's the funny thing, when upgrading to the 9000 from an 8100, and going from an i5 to an i7, the gigahertz actually decreases from 3.2 to 2.6. Should I disregard this as Maj said? Seems like a pretty big drop...

/confused

That becomes a little more complicated. In that case, I would recommend the i5 as the raw Ghz increase will be better for present day games and you still get the new architecture. Overall though, you wont really see too much of a real world difference between the two, the video cards will make the most significant differences. If the i7 gives you better video card options, I would suggest you choose that one as most of the games you play will not be CPU limited.

[Pake]

Rebelism, on Apr 27 2010, 10:13 PM, said:

Atm I'm browsing a Dell Studio 9000 (the 8100s couldn't run the radeons? am I looking at too high of radeon specs?), in order to get enough power for the radeon graphics card. Here's the funny thing, when upgrading to the 9000 from an 8100, and going from an i5 to an i7, the gigahertz actually decreases from 3.2 to 2.6. Should I disregard this as Maj said? Seems like a pretty big drop...

/confused

Yes, completely ignore it. Too much goes into the processors architecture these days to compare their frequencies, such as number of cores and L cache sizes. That's my personal opinion, as Maj says otherwise. Then again, it also depends on the game. Some games actually perform better on the top i5 processors than on the top i7 processors, just from how they coded the engine. Strange phenomenon to say the least.