Suggestions on low-budget PC

[zandre88]

Hey everyone,

So a friend of mine is using a PC that is over 10 years old and it is getting to the point where it is almost unusable. He is very tight on money though which is why he would need something low-budget. I know just about anything at this point would be an upgrade for him but I'd like some help. He wants it to be able to World of Warcraft on at least medium graphics or around there. That is about the only game he plays. It will also be used for the normal web surfing, music, email, and Microsoft Office. His budget is around $500 but he'd prefer to spend around $400 but I told him he'd be hard pressed to find something that would be able to play WoW around medium graphics. I figure with this budget it'd be best to go with AMD over Intel but I could be wrong.

Anyways, I'd really appreciate some help if you guys could give me some suggestions. It isn't an option to build him one because he lives very far from where I do and I just don't want to have to ship it to him. He also doesn't feel like he can or wants to build it himself.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[MindoverMaster]

Is there any parts he can carry over from his old system? I suspect you'll put 7 on it? You can just get an OEM.

Since he only plays WoW, let's look at a AMD system, as it can save him some money. Trotter can find you a good combo. Always does.

Heatsink, get this: Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler
Better than stock, still cools well.

Does he care about the case look? I'd recommend this one: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite RC-310-BWN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Cheap, simple. I used that on my mother's computer. It's rather nice.

Hard drive, standard 500GB? partition that up, I think he'll have enough room.

Optical, would he need blue ray?

As he isn't OCing or playing much more intensive games than WoW, look at this: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

As for gfx, not sure what'd he need. definately a mid-range card.

Edit: forgot RAM, I love the GSkill RipJaws series

 

[Cameron69]

You get what you buy.
I'd highly suggest GeForce FTX 550 Ti It can run WoW on all ultra settings at 60 FPS.

 

[Druid]

Well, if you can't build: iBUYPOWER Computer :: Gamer Mage D245

It comes with speakers, keyboard, mouse, and OS. You would only save $10 by ditching the keyboard, mouse, and speakers though, so I'd keep em. If he doesn't need an operating system, he could save $70 there and then up the graphics card from a 6450 to a 5750. If he has an OS, this is what I recommend doing. The 6450 isn't that great. This does not come with a monitor, but he should have one.

Still, building isn't hard, and he would get a way better system if he did.

 

[Fat.Clown]

your friend's lucky day (if he buys it before it sells out)
Newegg.com - Open Box: CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 2064 Desktop PC Phenom II X4 925(2.8GHz) 4GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity ATI Radeon HD 5670 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Phenom II X4 925(2.8GHz) 4GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity ATI Radeon HD 5670 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

quad core, ddr3 and HD 5670 paired with the quad should run WOW at max.
everything else is cake as long as you have a quad and 4GBs of RAM haha.

 

[Druid]

That is quite a steal. Your friend should pull the trigger on that pc fat.clown posted in an instant.

 

[zandre88]

your friend's lucky day (if he buys it before it sells out)
Newegg.com - Open Box: CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 2064 Desktop PC Phenom II X4 925(2.8GHz) 4GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity ATI Radeon HD 5670 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Phenom II X4 925(2.8GHz) 4GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity ATI Radeon HD 5670 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

quad core, ddr3 and HD 5670 paired with the quad should run WOW at max.
everything else is cake as long as you have a quad and 4GBs of RAM haha.

Well it sure did sell fast. You made that post two days ago and its sold out now. I should have come by and checked sooner but I don't know if he had the full funds yet or not. I will ask him if he would be willing to build it. He is a smart guy so he could do it I'm sure but he is probably going to be most comfortable with just buying something pre-built. I will show him the iBuyPower computer suggested above as well.

Please keep the suggestions coming they are very helpful and are much appreciated. LOL I will make sure to check the thread more frequently now so that I don't miss out on a deal like the one.

Thanks all!

 

[Fat.Clown]

well, you came back 1 day too late.
saw this yesterday

Dell XPS 420 has a Q6600 quad-core processor (2.4GHz), 350GB Hard Drive (with an empty slot for another drive) and has been upgraded to 6GB DDR2 RAM, and an OCZ Fatal1ty 550w PSU. Includes an eVGA GTX 260 core 216 for $325 shipped

granted it's used, but it was a great value. even i thought about buying it lol.

you might want to try your local craigslist