I’d like to put an intel build together to play on max or very nearly max settings at 1080p. I haven’t put a build together in probably 5 years and have no idea what’s what these days. I’m willing to bet there are some smart cookies up in here and I’d appreciate so much if you’d bestow a pearl on me.
** Specifically, I really want recommendations for a motherboard, CPU, ram, and GPU. (I already have the case and PSU.)
(I realize GPU prices are crazy and that pre-builts may be the way to go right now, as a couple have been so kind to point out. I’m still seeking specific hardware recommendations!)
Bear in mind I’m willing to spend what I must but do not wish to go stupid overkill with anything. Please let your recommendations reflect the minimum necessary to play at max or nearly max settings on 1080p.
For bonus points, if you have a recommendation for a fairly good monitor, throw that in as well.
Sadly right now I’d say your best bet is to look for prebuilts, just for economic reasons. The GPUs are nuts right now, both in price and finding them. Well, guess they’re easier to find, but the prices are ridiculous.
I would second the pre built choice. They have the advantage of being able to get current GPUs at reasonable prices. Also when you select parts, make sure you get a good power supply. Get a corsair or seasonic.
Yes, friends, I get it… there’s a consensus that Pre builts are the way to go… BUT PLEASE, can we focus a bit here on what I’m actually asking for help with. Pretty please? Can we just take take GPU’s out of the discussion all together if that’s too much of a distraction…
Check this website out - it goes into extremely detailed comparisons about hardware builds vs the graphical settings you’d want to play on for WoW specifically:
Any personal recommendations I have are based on the requirements I need for the games I play in particular, so it would be nowhere near the minimum you wish to have:
CPU - Intel 11900k
Motherboard - An Asus board with the Z590 chipset, with MSI a close second
RAM - 16GB Corsair Vengeance RAM with low CL and high bandwidth
GPU - Nvidia 3000-series
Getting a current GPU at MSRP is difficult but not impossible. You’d just have to compete with others during retailer “drops” and hope you can get thru checkout before it’s sold out. Other methods like the NewEgg shuffle and BestBuy line queue are completely RNG.
Neat-o site. And I knew about Newegg shuffle but didn’t realize BestBuy had something similar. It’s called ‘line queue’ I take it? I’ll have to search it up. ty for posting.
The way it works, is that when BB releases the next wave of GPUs, clicking on “add to cart” doesn’t actually add the GPU to the cart but rather puts you in a queue, with the button changing to “please wait”.
When your turn comes up, that button will return back to “add to cart”. If there’s still stock remaining, then clicking on it will add the GPU to the cart so you can fulfill the order. If the stock empties out by the time it’s your turn, the button won’t work and you’ll get met with an error message.
That’s how I got my 3080ti. Not quite the card I wanted due to the price, so I was on the fence whether to say eff it and buy it or pass and hope for the cheaper model. I already waited 10 months for this moment…
If you haven’t built a machine in 5 years then the landscape is very different now.
You don’t want an Intel CPU for WoW unless you’re getting a golden sample 10900k that can hit max OC.
Recommendations depend on your budget but overall here’s the best perf you can get. Spending anymore will need in tiny perf improvements but large costs.
CPU: Ryzen 5800X
GPU: Radeon 6800
RAM: Trident Z 3600MHz CL16
Mobo: Asrock X570 Tachi. MSI Godlike if you want to throw the money at it.
Depends on what you are doing that $400 CPU might be overkill or it might not be enough.
A 5600X would be great also. However, we’re seeing games already using full 8 cores (New World, Star Citizen, Bannerlord) etc.
You can go lower tier to something tier like a 10700 or 3700X for some perf loss in intense fire fights during raids/PVP but in this day and age I’d highly recommend an 8 core. Intel doesn’t have much competition on the AMD 5000 series in WoW unless you start OCing a 10900K and get a 1% top quality or so-er.
Edit:
Oh and BTW the Radeon 6800 is about as good perf as you can get in this game at the moment unless you use the RT features. RT is kinda useless in this game though.
Get an MSRP graphics card first. Don’t bother trying to buy other parts until you do. Otherwise while you wait, your may run out of return period on those other parts.
Or they may become obsolete. That’s how long you’ll be waiting to get an MSRP graphics card.
In November, paid $599 for a Gigabyte RTX 3070 Aorus Master (high end, 3 fan card). In December I paid $750 for an ASUS TUF RTX 3080 (decent 3 fan). These were the last MSRP GPUs I’d be able to get.
Wasn’t able to get anything at close to MSRP until early June, where I paid $750 for an ASUS KO RTX 3070 (low end, 2 fan card).
Right now, unless you win a shuffle or camp microcenter, a 3070 is around $800, a 3070ti is around $1000-1100, a 3080 is around $1200, and a 3080ti is around $1400.
I wouldn’t pay those prices. So I would bank on a Newegg Shuffle, best buy drop, or microcenter drop.
Welp, depending on your needs, 20 or 30% above MSRP could be reasonable, specially if your works depends on it. Compared to the 100 to 120% we were experiencing at the beginning of 2021. It’s far from optimal, but it depends on how much cash you have lying around and willing to spend.
Nvidia is supposedly holding a massive quantity of 3060s that’ll be unleashed and drop prices of GPUs when the Radeon 6600s hit the market. We’ll see if that’s true but given the dirty tactics Nvidia’s played though their existence I wouldn’t put it pas them.
