Gaming PC for around $600?

Hey everyone!

My current laptop is basically a paperweight when it comes to gaming, so I’m trying to figure out how much I should realistically set aside for a decent gaming PC. My main goal is playing titles like World of Warcraft (with a heavy emphasis on 😁) while maintaining a solid frame rate—ideally hitting at least 40+ FPS even during the heavy lifting. I'm looking to run things on High settings, though I don't need everything cranked up to Ultra. Right now, jumping into a 25-man raid in WoW is an absolute massacre on this machine; even with everything set to the lowest possible settings, I'm struggling through about 5 FPS. It feels more like a slideshow than a game. I want to be able to handle those intense environments with at least 40 FPS without having to turn every single detail down just so I can actually see what's happening around me 😁. Would $1333 be a reasonable budget for a build that can handle WoW and newer games on relatively high settings, or am I looking at needing to invest a bit more?

Kingston DDR3 1600
MSI H87M-E33 iH87 (S1150, DDR3, USB3.0, USB2.0, SATA III, audio Line-Out, Line-In, Microph
Intel CPU desktop Core i5-4440 (3.1GHz, 6MB, LGA1150) box
Power Supply SILVERSTONE Strider Essential ST40F-ES AC 90-264V, 47/63Hz, DC 3.3/5/±12V, 400W, Retail
Toshiba DT01ACA050 500GB 3.5''
Sapphire R7 265, 2GB GDDR5, 2xDVI, DP, HDMI
LG GH24NS sat Bulk crn 24 x 1
Zalman mid tower case black, ZAL-ZM-Z1

Total: $4,089.24 +$27 shipping... Centro.hr

I guess you should go with Intel, since there are just a few games where AMD really struggles. The graphics card should be plenty for Ultra settings too.

You could always grab 8GB of RAM, though that bumps the price up by about $67:

Then again, wow isn't exactly a RAM hog, so whatever works for you.😉

The price might even drop a bit more $39 if you skip the disc drive...

1 x Kingston DDR3 1600, 4GB (1x4GB), CL9, Hyper X, KHX1600C9D3B1/
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x CORSAIR 430W, CX Series 80 + Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x ASUS DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA, DVD-R 24x, DVD-RW 6x, DVD+R 24x
1 x Zalman ZM-T2 PLUS micro tower case. 189(W) x 427,5(H) x 364(D)mm
1 x MSI GTX 750 Ti Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC Gaming
1 x Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz (Max Turbo FQ 3.3 GHz) ,6MB
1 x MSI B75MA-E33, Socket : 1155, microATX, Intel® B75, 2xDDR3

$1376

1 x Kingston DDR3 1600, 4GB (1x4GB), CL9, Hyper X, KHX1600C9D3B1/
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x CORSAIR 430W, CX Series 80 + Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x ASUS DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA, DVD-R 24x, DVD-RW 6x, DVD+R 24x
1 x ASUS M5A97 R2.0, AM3,AM3+, AMD 970, SB950, BUS 5200 MHz, DDR3
1 x AMD FX-Series X6 6300 3.5GHz,14MB,95W,AM3+, FD6300WMHK
1 x MSI GTX 750 Ti Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC Gaming
1 x Spire Maverick 6009, kućište ATX/micro ATX
1 x Thermaltake Contac 21, 775,AM2,AM2+,AM3,AM3+,FM1,1155,1156

$1357

@ Robert Rodriguez2

What kind of bad builds are you putting together lately? 😬

Look, if you can grab this deal, do it. You're getting a solid graphics card paired with a beefy processor and a motherboard that actually lets you overclock without losing your mind. Plus, it’s pretty much future-proofed since modern games are starting to chew through anything with fewer than four cores like there's no tomorrow.

AMD CPU desktop FX-Series X8 8320 (3.5GHz,16MB,125W,AM3+) box
Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3, AM3, A990X, D3, S3, U3, FW, A
XFX AMD Radeon R9 270 x Graphic card 2 GB DDR5, XFX-R9-270X-CDFC
CORSAIR Power Supply, Builder Series CX 80+ Bronze, 500 Watt, ATX, EPS12V, PS/2, US Version
Kingston DDR3 1600
Thermaltake Contac 39
LG GH24NS sat Bulk crn 24 x 1
ZAL-Z3 plus total

Total: $460.78
Great deals over at Centro.hr

If he spends most of his time playing WoW, those 8 cores aren't going to do much for him. I guess the FX 8320 / FX 8350 is just slower than an i3 when it comes to WoW.

crimsonstag84 said:If he spends most of his time playing WoW, those 8 cores aren't going to do much for him. I guess the FX 8320 / FX 8350 is just slower than an i3 when it comes to WoW.

Sure, maybe he'll struggle in WoW, but people play more than just one game. When he moves on to other newer titles, that clocked-up 8320 is definitely going to outrun a non-K i5. Besides, with this setup, he'll still be cranking through most games on high settings.

Honestly, the requirements for wow are just ridiculous (though you definitely need a decent rig to hit those max settings), especially since the game is practically ancient and everyone has blown way past their initial budget 😬
If you're looking to stay under $400, just throw in a 260X and you can still play on Ultra. You might want to turn down or disable multisampling to get a massive FPS boost, and make sure to kill Vsync so it doesn't cap your frame rate

swiftpilot said:Look, if you can grab this deal, do it. You're getting a solid graphics card paired with a beefy processor and a motherboard that actually lets you overclock without losing your mind. Plus, it’s pretty much future-proofed since modern games are starting to chew through anything with fewer than four cores like there's no tomorrow.

AMD CPU desktop FX-Series X8 8320 (3.5GHz,16MB,125W,AM3+) box
Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3, AM3, A990X, D3, S3, U3, FW, A
XFX AMD Radeon R9 270 x Graphic card 2 GB DDR5, XFX-R9-270X-CDFC
CORSAIR Power Supply, Builder Series CX 80+ Bronze, 500 Watt, ATX, EPS12V, PS/2, US Version
Kingston DDR3 1600
Thermaltake Contac 39
LG GH24NS sat Bulk crn 24 x 1
ZAL-Z3 plus total

Total: $460.78
Great deals over at Centro.hr

Actually, take this one instead. I was rushing and forgot to include a hard drive in the list above, but honestly, it doesn't matter. Focus on having a strong foundation—the motherboard, the CPU, and a decent case. You can always swap out the graphics card later once you've got a powerhouse platform to support it. Even with this setup, you'll be running wow on high settings no problem.

So, here's the deal:
AMD CPU desktop FX-Series X8 8320 (3.5GHz,16MB,125W,AM3+) box
Matična ploča Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3,AM3,A990X,D3,S3,U3,FW,A
Sapphire Radeon R7 260 x OC
CORSAIR Power Supply, Builder Series CX 80+ Bronze, 500 Watt, ATX, EPS12V, PS/2, EU Version
Kingston DDR3 1600
Thermaltake Contac 39
WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3 WD10EZEX
LG GH24NS sat Bulk crn 24 x 1
ZAL-Z3 plus total

Total: $454.61

1 x Intel Core i3-4130, 3.40GHz
1 x ASUS H81M-E, 1150, Intel ® H81, DDR3, 2 slots, 1333,1600 MHz
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, Hyper X, KHX1600C9D3B1/
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3.5", 24mj
1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD disk, Capacity 120 GB, 2.5"
1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 260 x OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
1 x Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS micro tower case. 189(W) x 427,5(H) x 364(D)mm
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA
1 x CORSAIR 430W, CX Series 80 + Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+

$1335
adm.us

I guess the requirements for wow aren't really that intense, so an i3 should be perfectly fine even for some heavier games. Because of that, I'm thinking it might actually be better to skip the beefier CPU and GPU and just throw in an SSD instead, just to make the whole computer feel faster overall.

crimsonstag84 said:@ Robert Rodriguez2

What kind of bad builds are you putting together lately? 😬

I agree, as long as we stay within the budget and don't have to worry about shipping costs. 🙂

The gap between my Intel build and yours is basically nonexistent. No matter which one you pick, WoW is going to run just fine.

1 x AMD FX-Series X6 6300 AM3 box 1
1 x Raijintek Aidos 92mm PWM CPU Cooler
1 x Samsung HD502HJ (3.5", 500GB, 16MB, SATA II-300)
1 x LG GH24NS sat Bulk crn 24 x 1
1 x Zalman Z1 Midi Tower, black
1 x XFX Pro Series CoreEdition 80 450 w pas
1 x Kingston DDR3 1600, 4GB
1 x Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P, AM3, A970, D3, S3, U3, A
1 x Sapphire Radeon R7 260 x OC, 2GB GDDR5, HDMI, DVI

Total: $1354

FUTURA IT. Free assembly and delivery included.

Joseph Myers2 said:Hey everyone!

My current laptop is basically a paperweight when it comes to gaming, so I’m trying to figure out how much I should realistically set aside for a decent gaming PC. My main goal is playing titles like World of Warcraft (with a heavy emphasis on 😁) while maintaining a solid frame rate—ideally hitting at least 40+ FPS even during the heavy lifting. I'm looking to run things on High settings, though I don't need everything cranked up to Ultra. Right now, jumping into a 25-man raid in WoW is an absolute massacre on this machine; even with everything set to the lowest possible settings, I'm struggling through about 5 FPS. It feels more like a slideshow than a game. I want to be able to handle those intense environments with at least 40 FPS without having to turn every single detail down just so I can actually see what's happening around me 😁. Would $1333 be a reasonable budget for a build that can handle WoW and newer games on relatively high settings, or am I looking at needing to invest a bit more?

Intel Core i3-4130 (3.40GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box, Intel hd Graphics
ASRock B85M Motherboard
8GB DDR3 1600MHz (2x4) XPG v1 kit AD
Sapphire Radeon R7 260 x OC Graphic card 2 GB DDR5, DVI, DP, HDMI
LG GH24NS sat Bulk crn 24 x 1
Toshiba DT01ACA050 500GB 3.5''
XFX Pro Series CoreEdition 80 450 w pas, XFX-P1-450S-X2B9
Zalman micro tower case black, ZAL-ZM-T2 plus total

$1238 Centro.hr (Free builder tool)

P.S. $1333 for what you're looking for, this is more than enough 🙂