So I have decided it’s time to upgrade my dinosaur. I know literally nothing about computer specs other than how to turn them on and plug stuff in.
I want a computer that will run WoW on max settings and everything enabled. and of course a few other games I play, but nothing worth noting. I figure I can spend up to $4,000 if I need to, obviously the less the better but up to $4k is fine if that makes a difference.
So what should I look for in:
CPU type
RAM
Video Card
Anything else I need to know?
I did just by an amazing monitor so I am ready for it to actually be used properly!
Thanks in advance for helping this old man out.
1 Like
Post the deals you see that you think you might buy in this thread, then people will give you feedback. Places like staples and office depot often have pretty decent premades on sale every week. Ebay often has great refurbished deals direct from the manufacturers. Don’t rush buy anything. Black friday and Christmas would be better times because of sales if you can wait.
1 Like
Yeah, I just dont know… Iguess Video card is super important and not sure what I should be looking for.
You should probably start with what resolution is your monitor. Theres a big difference between maxing out on a 1080 and a 4k screen.
1 Like
2560X1440
165hz
4k looked way too small for me, I liked this resolution
The minimum and recommended system requirements are listed here:
I would recommend building not only on wow, but other games you might want to play.
Buying most of the parts for my most recent build was not hard until trying to find a GPU. Word has it since many bit mining operations are being shut down the street price of a decent graphics card should come down eventually.
5 Likes
Check out pcpartpicker for guides, builds they recommend, and understanding the rationale and playing around with builds yourself.
https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/
For CPU typically I’d recommend whatever latest i5 processor is in. Ram you want 16gb 2 sticks (so 8 each) in a good speed (I believe 2666mh are the current speed most people buy?)
Video card for WoW you want the latest mid sized card or above, so a 3060 will do there nicely. If you will be playing in higher resolution considering getting a card (3070 should suffice for high end specs in 4k as well as run other games well).
AMDs are doing good and are very good price/perfomance, but I have little experience with them and always went intel/nvidia.
Due to shortages you might have difficulties finding a good card. Newegg shuffle (if youre in USA) might be a good chance to get it, but do be warned might take some time. Otherwise you might want to consider a prebuilt.
1 Like
Look up “logical increments” on Google. Can’t post links sorry.
Go there and look at some recommendations for your price range. $4k is way way over the top for maxing wow, and I don’t seen mention of other games you play.
That said, right now and probably for the rest of the year, you’re gonna have trouble finding parts, mainly cpus and gpus.
What’s your current specs?
1 Like
Ok, great info and site, ty… I guess the whole Video Card thing is where I get super confused. I want a really good one that has a few years of use for high end graphics and can currently run everything at highest resolution. There are so dang many that I get overwhelemd.
Also want to add, if you get a pre-built make sure everything is named!! Most listing on sites now just say something like “750 watt power supply” but there is a massive massive difference between Corsair and Great Wall power supplies. And if it’s not named you can guarantee that the part is gonna be cheap.
Every. Single. Component. Needs to have a brand name. If you don’t recognize it, do a Google search and make sure it’s a quality part.
4 Likes
With the current shortages you will probably get a better deal if you wait a year or so, I’m not sure about the pre-built market but many individual parts are currently selling well above MSRP, particularly graphics cards.
Also, the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus has recently been reviewing several pre-made options, it might be worthwhile to watch some of those videos to get an idea of what brands you might want to avoid.
3 Likes
h t t p s://www.microcenter.com/category/4294967292/all-desktops
This is good place, but they often don’t ship many items, but you can still browse to see what the general prices and computer builds are.
Since you can basically afford any desktop, look for builds that have these graphics cards:
-
nvidia RTX 3090, RTX 3080, RTX 3070, RTX 3060, RTX 2080ti, RTX 2080super, RTX 2080
-
amd radeon RX 6900, RX 6800, RX 6700
I want to upgrade too but I’m not paying 3000 series prices for 2000, parts are too pricey still for me.
Maybe start making plans and watching prices then jump when things stabilize more.
1 Like
Like I did see this and it looked solid:
http s://smile.amazon.com/Mytrix-by_CyberpowerPC-Desktop-i7-10700F-GeForce/dp/B097FFZMNW/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2F6OJOYPX0Z2I&dchild=1&keywords=gaming+pc&qid=1627250671&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580788011&rnid=2257851011&s=pc&sprefix=gaming+pc%2Caps%2C192&sr=1-10
The thing that’s going to kill the pocket book is the GPU find that 1st then build the rest around that
Not personally a fan of Intel chips, but that’s a solid computer.
That will last you quite a while before you’ll need to swap out any parts.
I don’t see a single named component on that listing other than the CPU. Maybe the actual Cyberpower website has the actual items used in making the PC. If it doesn’t, assume they will be a mix of lower to medium grade parts and that could affect both performance and longevity of the PC.
Edit: not saying it’s outright bad or anything, just to proceed with caution.
2 Likes
This is why I just prefer to build my own.
It increases the price, but you’ll end up with a longer lasting computer.
However, some people just prefer to buy something off the shelf and that’s fine, but there’s always a hazard to doing that.
yikes, that isnt good… Ok, will look for some brand names.