I’m currently running a Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 (Ryzen 7 5800, RTX 2060 Super, 32GB 3400MHz). I’ve been running it on a 4k BenQ monitor, and while it’s fine solo and passable in 10m raid content, going into Nerub-ar Palace with groups of 25+ is essentially unplayable, with some of the encounters mocking me with 3-5fps even setting the resolution down to 1440P.
I know, I know… I have no business attempting to drive this at 4k. So, I’m looking at a couple of upgrades and am hoping for thoughts as to if the first option below with a 4070 Super would be sufficient (WoW is really the only game I play), or if the second would be necessary (I’m assuming it would be more than capable).
iBUYPOWER i9 (model SMI9N47S01)
i9-14900f, RTX 4070 Super, 2 TB NVME drive, 32GB DDR5 5200MHz - $1700
MSI Aegis R2 (model Aegis R2 B14NUG9-833US)
i9-1400f, RTX 4080 Super 16GB, 2 TB NVME drive, 32GB DDR5 5600MHz - $2300
Any thoughts?
You should avoid the Intel 13 and 14-series CPUs, for multiple reasons.
A big reason is that they have been found to have serious issues with CPUs degrading due to voltage issues. Intel has released multiple firmware updates to try to mitigate the issue (each of which also slows the performance of the CPU). Meanwhile lots of people have CPUs that have already degraded/failed and are sending them back to Intel for replacements. It’s a huge disaster and you don’t want anything to do with it.
Another reason is that Intel’s recent CPUs use a TON of power. This is a result of them using a somewhat less advanced manufacturing process compared to what AMD is using at the moment. The only way that they can compete with AMD at all is to really crank up the power and heat output. You almost require water-cooling to keep these cool, but it will still hit your power-bill, heat-up your house, and is related to other issues like the CPU degradation I mentioned before.
But probably the most important reason, is that you said:
There is a certain type of CPU out there right now that REALLY shines with WoW. They are the AMD 3D-Cache CPUs. Some games benefit more than others from the extra cache that these CPUs have, but WoW benefits from it more than almost any other game besides MS Flight Simulator.
Buy a 5800X3D or a 5700X3D (much cheaper, only slightly slower). Either would blow away any Intel 14-series CPU in World of Warcraft, and you can put it right into your existing motherboard.
Then just buy a new videocard and swap it into your existing system also.
Personally I’d recommend the 4070 Ti Super. It has the same amount of VRam (16GB) as the 4080, which will help at 4K, but is better in terms of price/performance ratio.
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get a 5700X3D or 5800X3D
see if your PSU can handle a more powerful video card, if not that would need an upgrade
pick up an Nvidia RTX 4070 super or AMD RX 7800 XT or better video card, not sure what other games you play so you may want to look into Nvidia vs AMD performance in them.
It depends on the scene and graphics settings.
It’s rare, but a 4080 with everything maxed out will occasionally be the limiting factor in wow (although it’s rarely below 90-100 FPS, this game is usually CPU limited).
The much cheaper way would be to drop in a 57 or 5800x3d upgrade, and then upgrade the GPU (if the PSU has enough available wattage). Upgrading your old build beyond that will be a pain because it’s Alienware, which is a bigger mess of proprietary parts and connections than Apple.
As far as running wow in 4k, 4070 Super level is about the minimum I’d recommend. If you can find a used 3080 on the market for cheaper, that’s also a good option.