Ending my love affair with Apple need Advice on a build

uncle_sam_ie

After 10 years of using only Apple computers I decided end my love affair and switch back to a PC. Not because I don't like OS X or there hardware, but my one joy in life is playing World of Warcraft when i get home from work in the evenings. I've up to now been playing it on a Mac mini( late 2009 with the newer NVIDIA 9400) and it works fine. I can go into a 25 man raid with everything set to low and to be fair its not that bad. Frame rates are about 20-30 per sec. But, I don't want to play anymore with everything set to low. I want to be able to go into a 25 man with everything turned on high and having it run smoothly. Basically I want to play with everything at its full glory. Now I've read through the Boards forums and have read some good stuff but I'm still a little lost. Also, since I will only be using this PC to play WoW and surf the web I'm guessing my requirements will be different from other builds suggested here?
So my questions are,
- Where to buy? I would prefer to pay by laser and on a site were I won't get hassle returning it if its faulty. I don't mind paying a little extra for those 2 things
-What to buy? Now after selling the Mac mini my budget will be €550 max, but keep in mind I can always replace stuff like a better video card or more memory later in the year when I have the money. I just need to get it up and running for the new WoW expansion when it comes out in 5 weeks. From what I've been reading the AMD road seems to be the cheaper option. I might buy the case here at PC world and Maplin. I've seen a few that I like, but will it work with what I buy online?
-How hard is it to build really? I have seen many youtube videos and it looks easy and I have no fear in doing it, but I don't want to get in over my head. I have a friend that can help me with the software part of things so no worries there.

Thats all I can think of for now. Like I say this is only for playing WoW the way its meant to be played So, I don't want to go overboard with the build.

Thanks,:P

marco_polo

Presumeably that would need to include a new OS. Any keybords, monitors etc that can be recycled? The other important bit of info would be the resolution you will be playing at (on either your existing or a new monitor).

Have a browse of the invaluable Budget Gaming PC sticky as well as it is full of good builds at around the 500 euro mark.

uncle_sam_ie

marco_polo wrote: »

Presumeably that would need to include a new OS. Any keybords, monitors etc that can be recycled? The other important bit of info would be the resolution you will be playing at (on either your existing or a new monitor).

Have a browse of the invaluable Budget Gaming PC sticky as well as it is full of good builds at around the 500 euro mark.

Thanks for the reply,

This is my current monitor 20"

DELL IN2010N:
Resolution: 1600 x 900 @ 60 Hz
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Adapter Type: Mini DisplayPort To VGA Adapter
Adapter Firmware Version: 1.03


and the keyboard, mouse I have already. The OS, well hmm, I have that sorted.

marco_polo

In that case 550 is a very comfortable budget. Will pop something up later on if you don't get some replies in the meantime.

Solitaire

I hope you don't try to re-use your old Apple kb/mouse! :eek: Even if they somehow work they don't have the same layout

30 cent overbudget I think you won't mind though

papajimsmooth

Why not opt to build a rig that OSX can run on. Its not illegal and if you check out the OSXx86 project they can list the parts that are compatible along with drivers that support them. Its something id like to try but im not really familiar with this kind of thing .

Solitaire

papajimsmooth wrote: »

Why not opt to build a rig that OSX can run on. Its illegal

FYP :cool:

uncle_sam_ie

Solitaire wrote: »

I hope you don't try to re-use your old Apple kb/mouse! :eek: Even if they somehow work they don't have the same layout

30 cent overbudget I think you won't mind though

Thanks Solitaire,

My Apple mouse was thrown out the window in frustration long ago. I use a Razer DeathAdder now. It is an Apple keyboard though, but thats not a problem I can dig up a used keyboard for the time being. The list that you gave me, could you link the website for me please and do they take bank Debit cards. Also, how long does the delivery usually take.

Thanks,:P

Solitaire

Hardwareversand.de and they only take bank transfers (and Paypal or something, someone got it to work a while back I think)

uncle_sam_ie

papajimsmooth wrote: »

Why not opt to build a rig that OSX can run on. Its not illegal and if you check out the OSXx86 project they can list the parts that are compatible along with drivers that support them. Its something id like to try but im not really familiar with this kind of thing .

Thanks I will look into it but, to be honest I only want to play WoW and surf the web with it. My wife has a new iMac so if I need to do any iLife stuff I could always use hers.

Curry Addict

if u can strech your budget this would be nice. solataires build is a little light on the psu if u want to upgrade graphics in the future.
u can also overclock this to 3.4ghz or push it to 3.6ghz on stock cooler and its blazes along.

Article-No. Article Availability Delivery price HV20I576DE Intel Core i5-760 Box 8192Kb, LGA1156
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 165,98 € HV1131ILDE Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3, Intel P55, ATX, DDR3, PCI-Express
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
expected on 2010-11-04 115,32 € HV20G303DE 4GB-Kit G-Skill Ripjaws PC3-10667U CL9
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 64,64 € HV203ABTDE Aerocool Vx-E Schwarz, ATX, ohne Netzteil
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 45,00 € HVR650CGDE Cooler Master GX Series PSU - 650 Watt
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 70,77 € HV1024TCDE Powercolor HD5750 1GB GDDR5
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 101,44 € HV1310F3DE Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 50,37 € HV207SC3DE Samsung SH-223C bare schwarz SATA
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 16,89 € Sum: 630,41 €

uncle_sam_ie

Solitaire wrote: »

Hardwareversand.de and they only take bank transfers (and Paypal or something, someone got it to work a while back I think)

Banks transfers? sounds dodgy. But,then again hardware versand.de seems to come highly recommended from everyone on the forums. Hows their customer support and how are they at people returning faulty components.

uncle_sam_ie

Curry Addict wrote: »

if u can strech your budget this would be nice. solataires build is a little light on the psu if u want to upgrade graphics in the future.
u can also overclock this to 3.4ghz or push it to 3.6ghz on stock cooler and its blazes along.

Article-No. Article Availability Delivery price HV20I576DE Intel Core i5-760 Box 8192Kb, LGA1156
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 165,98 € HV1131ILDE Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3, Intel P55, ATX, DDR3, PCI-Express
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
expected on 2010-11-04 115,32 € HV20G303DE 4GB-Kit G-Skill Ripjaws PC3-10667U CL9
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 64,64 € HV203ABTDE Aerocool Vx-E Schwarz, ATX, ohne Netzteil
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 45,00 € HVR650CGDE Cooler Master GX Series PSU - 650 Watt
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 70,77 € HV1024TCDE Powercolor HD5750 1GB GDDR5
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 101,44 € HV1310F3DE Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 50,37 € HV207SC3DE Samsung SH-223C bare schwarz SATA
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 16,89 € Sum: 630,41 €

Thanks curry Addict,

630€ is over my budget but, like I say, I just need to get it up and running I can always make small upgrades in the months ahead.

uncle_sam_ie

Curry Addict wrote: »

HV1024TCDE Powercolor HD5750 1GB GDDR5
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 101,44 €

Christ man, that video card was 250€ in PC World Cork.

the untitled user

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

Christ man, that video card was 250€ in PC World Cork.

That's why you never ever buy from PCWorld / Currys. Only in cases of absolute last resort!

uncle_sam_ie

the untitled user wrote: »

That's why you never ever buy from PCWorld / Currys. Only in cases of absolute last resort!

I was in PC world today to just have a look see and the sales guy in there was hell bent on selling me a Dell for 899€. He tried to convince me that building a Gaming PC would in the end cost me more. It would if I bought everything in there. Christ, the motherboard bundles were two years out of date and way overpriced. I though Maplin would be better but it wasn't really.

Solitaire

PCWorld is the place you go to get screws or kettle cords or PSU cable extensions or missing SATA cables. It is not the place you go to for PCs

Only place that offers even close to rational prices for close to modern gear is Peats - you can find the odd bargain in there. But even then they're only better than Craplins/PCWorld - and better than bad doesn't always mean good!

indough

maplins is the most expesive and outdated tech shop ive ever been in

btw i cant find kettle leads anywhere. eventually got them in soundstore but maplins were asking for 15 quid each, no joke! this was my face :eek: and thats no exaggeration haha

AlmightyCushion

Solitaire wrote: »

PCWorld is the place you go to get screws or kettle cords or PSU cable extensions or missing SATA cables. It is not the place you go to for PCs

Only place that offers even close to rational prices for close to modern gear is Peats - you can find the odd bargain in there. But even then they're only better than Craplins/PCWorld - and better than bad doesn't always mean good!

You can get a 5850 in PC World for €230. That's pretty good value.

Curry Addict

ok, then this will fit your budget and give the same performance as the last one i specd. your gpu draws so little power that the psu here will also give u ample space for overclock.
if u want advice on upgrading gpu in the future pm me and ill make sure your power draw is ok. right now im running a similar system with @3.6ghz with 60w more power draw on the gpu. so this should purr along. the performance is amazing when overclocked, its very noticable imho, gime a shout if u want info on how to do it.

Article-No. Article Availability Delivery price HV20I576DE Intel Core i5-760 Box 8192Kb, LGA1156
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 165,98 € HV1131ILDE Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3, Intel P55, ATX, DDR3, PCI-Express
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
expected on 2010-11-04 115,32 € HV20G303DE 4GB-Kit G-Skill Ripjaws PC3-10667U CL9
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 64,64 € HV203GXQDE JCP Midi Tower ATX "Dark Crystal", schwarz, 500W Netzteil
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 40,79 € HV1024TCDE Powercolor HD5750 1GB GDDR5
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 101,44 € HV1310F3DE Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 50,37 € HV207SC3DE Samsung SH-223C bare schwarz SATA
incl. VAT and excl. shipping costs
immediately available 16,89 € Sum: 555,43 €

Huawei Gallagher

I found this useful, along with the advice online, when researching a build:

Build Your Own Computer: The Complete Step-by-step Manual to Constructing a PC That's Right for You [Hardcover]
Kyle MacRae

Just make sure to buy the latest edition if you did buy.

That German site looks interesting though,I may use it -thanks Solitaire. I deal with Germans sometimes on EBay and they are fond of using Bank Transfers for payment, so its normal for them.

I bought a Cosmos S case for a build from PC World. Figured that shipping that from abroad would be costly as it is huge! Did not get around to the build yet though, am gonna wait a bit to see if processor prices drop.. In my amateur opinion the online sites are so much more up to date than PC World for components, PC World seem to be selling old crap at a high price.

dabs.ie and overclockers.co.uk may be other sites you could look at. Some sites sell a motherboard and processor bundle that is better value as well as being compatible with each other. Another thing is that you can get a cheap legitimate operating system when you buy a Motherboard (as you are considered to be a PC manufacturer if you do, so it is worthwhile checking out.)

Curry Addict

Stanley Blade wrote: »

I found this useful, along with the advice online, when researching a build:

Build Your Own Computer: The Complete Step-by-step Manual to Constructing a PC That's Right for You [Hardcover]
Kyle MacRae

Just make sure to buy the latest edition if you did buy.

That German site looks interesting though,I may use it -thanks Solitaire. I deal with Germans sometimes on EBay and they are fond of using Bank Transfers for payment, so its normal for them.

I bought a Cosmos S case for a build from PC World. Figured that shipping that from abroad would be costly as it is huge! Did not get around to the build yet though, am gonna wait a bit to see if processor prices drop.. In my amateur opinion the online sites are so much more up to date than PC World for components, PC World seem to be selling old crap at a high price.

dabs.ie and overclockers.co.uk may be other sites you could look at. Some sites sell a motherboard and processor bundle that is better value as well as being compatible with each other. Another thing is that you can get a cheap legitimate operating system when you buy a Motherboard (as you are considered to be a PC manufacturer if you do, so it is worthwhile checking out.)

u will get better advise on component choice and where to buy right here. while the bricks and mortar shops focus on the bottom line, most here will be focused on buying at the best price available. pc world and likes have their place and even an odd bargain. building a pc isnt rocket sience either
companies like hardwareversand.de charge in the region of 30e for postage of a full system or more if u like but the prices speak for themselves

uncle_sam_ie

I just remembered, my brother will be coming out here from the US in three weeks time. I wonder if buying the motherboard and cpu from Tiger Direct might be the way to go. I had a look at these two.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5023027&Sku=A455-2902

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4959973&csid=_25