Upgrading PC...

[Daganare]

Ok, so if you guys me with this I promise to level maybe two-three times.

I've got about $628 to spend on PC parts. And all I want is a PC that will run WoW full settings, be able to record with FRAPS smoothly, and be able to edit in Adobe Premiere/After Effects. I really don't know what parts to get, as I'm not a PC noob, just a PC building noob. (if you can't tell I'm really into WoW Machinima, and am currently working on a few projects)

Cider, I was hoping maybe you could help since you make vids and edit them in Adobe. Its a pita to edit even in just Sony Vegas now because previewing with heavy effects is a slide show, so precision is hard to accomplish. What parts would you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance,
-Dag

[McGrupp]

for full WoW performance: check out Asus Motherboards (I have the A8n-E), seagate hard drives, video card is up to you - I think Nvidia 6600gt 256mb PCI-E is in your price range (dunno about the equivalent in other brands) and pc3200 to 4200 RAM atleast 1024MB (I use 2048mb). As far as video/fRAPS/adobe crap good hard drive speed (possibly more than 1 HD) is essential, Cider can elaborate more on that

video cards cost the most, so keep that in mind. while full video settings require all these parts, it is most dependent on RAM and video card. good luck!

[Sly]

I just built a new comp last week.

Asus P5B-E motherboard
Nvidia 7900gt 256mb
OZC 600watt power supply
pc4200 1536mb ram
2.7ghz intel core duo
2 190gig SATA hard drives from my old comp.

I love it.

[Ash]

Oooo Fevor, if you dont mind me asking, how much did you fork out for your new rig and did you OC at all? I'm in the middle of figuring out parts for my new system.

[rursusferre]

628 dollars is an oddly specifc amount to spend "about".

[Sly]

Oooo Fevor, if you dont mind me asking, how much did you fork out for your new rig and did you OC at all? I'm in the middle of figuring out parts for my new system.
half of the stuff was from my old comp.. but total.. probably.. 1600 or less maybe.
Im really not sure because i bought alot of the stuff over time.

[Daganare]

Yes yes, "about 628" cause some of it can vanish little by little >.>

I actually don't need an HD, I've got a WD 320gig 8mb cache atm that I can use. I'm putting some parts together I'll post them here when I figure out which ones.

[Darkire]

I just started lurking on these here forums, thanks in part to Cider's amazing posts on the WoW boards concerning tanking... </obligatory butt-kissing> Anyhoo, I felt compelled to respond to this, simply to give my $.02 on your upgrade issue.

Here's a list of components I came up with on Newegg, with a grand total of $620.94, before shipping.

Motherboard: ASUS M2NPV-VM Socket AM2 (this allows you a lot more room to upgrade in the future, unlike the older Socket 939, and also gives you the ability to use DDR2 memory)

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Orleans Socket AM2

Video Card: eVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB PCI-E x16

Memory: 1GB (2 x 512) Corsair XMS2 DDR2 675

Hard Drive (Optional): Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

DVD Burner: Samsung 18x / 12x DVD-Ram

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 ATX Mid-Tower

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 430W

Optional: If you choose not to get the additional hard drive, I'd recommend one of two things -- 1) Upgrade the processor to an X2 4200 or similar (dual cores will help pick up the performance loss from the hard drive when it comes to the actual editing and rendering) or 2) Replace the onboard audio with an X-Fi Xtreme Music or Fata1ity, as they can both be had for fairly cheap nowadays.

For folks on a budget, sometimes you've got to compromise on one component to be able to afford another, more important, one. In your case, since you're going to be editing and rendering video, I would strongly suggest a SATA II HD with a 16MB cache. The faster speed and larger cache help cut down on lag and skipping you can experience when you're recording. If you'd rather not, you can always use one of the other options I posted as well.

Hope that helps. :)

[Daganare]

Heya, thanks for the reply.
A friend of mine has been working with me as well on this. Here is what he suggested (Total PC cost 668, I got some more money lol)

Video Card: eVGA GeForce 7900GS 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16

Motherboard: ABIT KN9 ULTRA Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 Ultra MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

Case: ATRIX CSCI-G8022C-C43

Case Power supply: 480W

(No DVD Burner or HD or Sound Card)
-------------------------------
The case kinda worries me, it got pretty good reviews though. The DVD burner, HD, and Sound Card are probably going to be upgrade a little later on. It looks like with the HD and DVD gone for now, we upgrade some on what you suggested, good sign cause I'll be iffy on ordering until the PC is up and running.
The thing is I also need a gaming PC, so it's hard to go between editing machine and gaming. I'm getting a job in a couple months and that's when I'll be making my big upgrade. And its a big help knowing about the 16mb cache on HDs and I need to keep that in mind. Regardless this is a pretty big upgrade from my machine now (p4 1.8ghz, 1gig PC2700 ram, Geforce 6600).