Need a cheap gaming Rig

[shado_temple]

between the required larger standoffs and the height of the cooler, it would run into my side fan and generally interrupt case airflow... plus, my CPUs never heat up much anyway... it's my GPUs I worry about.

Ah, see, between the video editing and the folding, my i7 920 can get a bit toasty at times, which makes a decent/cheap cooler a great thing to have. But you're right; to the average user, the stock cooler works just fine IF you don't intend on over-clocking too hard.

 

[loc978]

Ah yes, the only reason to go with a monster processor: video compiling. Gamers with $700 processors make me giggle a little... I don't overclock at all, and I can run Crysis just fine on a 3-year-old machine... it's all in GPU speed (and caching) and hard drive access.

back on topic, and continuing for my system build post...
Depending on where you live, you should be able to pick up a 19" standard 4:3 LCD monitor for around $130, a keyboard for $10, a mouse for $10, and an operating system for free (before and comments on piracy hit, I'm talkin' about ubuntu. I've gotten WoW running under Wine. It's not hard)

 

[shado_temple]

... and an operating system for free (before and comments on piracy hit, I'm talkin' about ubuntu. I've gotten WoW running under Wine. It's not hard)

I know a nonexistent OS budget can be nice, and going the way of Linux works just fine if this thing will be nothing more than a WOW machine. However, I have no idea what sort of technical prowess our OP here has, and if he/she does wish to do something other than WOWing it up, he/she may want to bite the bullet and pick up a (legal) copy of 7.

EDIT:

I really don't know a squat about anything and I need allot of it explained to me.

That might be an issue for running Linux, methinks.

 

[loc978]

Linux is actually a hell of a lot easier than most people make it out to be. Pop in the bootable disc and turn on the power, and a few minutes later it's installed and ready to go with no user input. Poke around in available menus until you find the "package manager", search up wine, install it (requiring a double-click and a little waiting), download the executable blizzard installer for WoW, run it... and after a number of hours and several gigs of downloading/installing you're ready.
Mind you, if you want to do more than browse the internet and play online games, you'll have to learn some stuff about command line and libraries. That's where the learning curve goes from zero to incredibly obtuse.

 

[slipknot4]

Linux is actually a hell of a lot easier than most people make it out to be. Pop in the bootable disc and turn on the power, and a few minutes later it's installed and ready to go with no user input.

I don't think os will be a problem. I have some friends that can give me windows 7 for free.

 

[loc978]

sssshhhhh!

 

[EHKOS]

i would reccomend NOT getting the GTX 450 and instead opting for the better value (especially in europe) Radeon HD 6750.

Antec 300 case
Intel i5 650 processor

These are the only two from the list i would reccomend. In terms of motherboard get a better one than listed, sure it might cost you more but a decent motherboard will save you a whole host of headaches. i would look for something in the ATX formfactor, perhaps an Asus Deluxe.

Now I would think a 4550 or 5500 be a better price and could run all he would want :/
As for RAM you would want about 4 or 6 gigs and an intel processor. I've got an AMD quad that cant multitask worth a shit and is disgraceful for it's clock speed. I know alot about everything but the motherboard seeing as how ive never had to deal with one (thank God for that) but I've got a few WD drives that are pretty darn old and still work. You are also forgeting the PSU which in my opinion would be a nice little 300-350 watt.

 

[EHKOS]

ATI and AMD are essentially equal to Intel/nvidia rigs but about half the price.
Processor speed > number of cores for WoW (it only ever uses 1, most games do for that matter)

protip: overclock. it sounds a lot harder than it is and you don't need expensive cooling to do it. Also it is very very hard to break a computer by overclocking, so don't be scared to try it.


Also WoW is hugely dependant on processor and RAM speed, not so much GPUs. Even Cataclysms graphical updates are minor in comparison to most other games. WoW, especially with high latencies, uses huge amount of CPU to run raids and BGs smoothly. Don't believe people saying it doesn't take a good system because it does.

Then warn him about HP sustems I made that mistake and now I can't overclock anything

 

[slipknot4]

Saying "I need a cheap gaming rig" is like saying "I need a Chinaman that isn't chinese".

There is a diffirence between being stupid and being efficient. I don't want a "Gamer Über Killer HD5970 CrossFire" I want a custom rig that's good, and yes. That name is real.