Guild Wars 2

Both the builds run great, an issue i always encountered with AMD is that they tend to run hotter then Intel(just food for thought). Also if you are considering building your own PC then i would look at newegg’s DIY PC Supercombos. they have everything except an OS in the deal and are cheaper then most other stores.

I think I’m not going to build it myself. Reason being I don’t have tons of time to fiddle around with it. I’d like to do it, but unless I know I can do it in a few weeks with zero issues, I’m just going to order a computer.

Now the question is then, R9 280/285 with a regular i5, or a Nvidia 960 with a superclocked i5?

I’m curious, why is it either/or? Also, you can always buy a prebuilt computer without a GPU, then pick up a GPU separately yourself to save a good bit of money ($50+), which takes all of 1-2 minutes. And by superclocked i5, do you mean a K model/overclockable one?

That being said, it should take ~3-4 hours to build the computer, maybe 5 if you’re going to install the basics (Skype, Teamspeak, drivers, some sort of media player, etc) for your husband.

On ecollegePC.com’s Intel i5/i7 builder, I picked:
CPU: i5-3690k ($204)
Heatsink/Fan: Hyper 212 EVO ($35)
Motherboards: MSI Z97 PC Mate ($44)
Memory: 8 GB (4 GBx2) ($76)
Hard Drive: 1 TB 7200 WD Blue ($57)
Case: Corsair Black Carbide Series 200R ($36)
Power Supply: 600W Corsair CX600 ($28)
Wireless Networking/Bluetooth: ASUS USB-N10 Wireless USB adapter ($15) (You could get a $10 PCI x1 of these or whatever and install it too)

Which totals $817. With Windows 8 for $15 from that subreddit I linked, you’ll have $170 or so to pick out a GPU.

ForgottenGold.2306:

I think I’m not going to build it myself. Reason being I don’t have tons of time to fiddle around with it. I’d like to do it, but unless I know I can do it in a few weeks with zero issues, I’m just going to order a computer.

Now the question is then, R9 280/285 with a regular i5, or a Nvidia 960 with a superclocked i5?

I would go with the R9 vid card.

Lévis.5489:

Guild Wars 2 is very unoptimized for AMD CPUs. Avoid them like the plague.

The build with the CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4690 3.50 GHz is better, despite the very meh motherboard and the GTX 960, which is fine for 1080p, but it’s 128bits memory bus and 2GB memory are not take good for resolutions above of it. (Nvidia kitten it so that they can release an unkitten GTX960ti when AMD will release their new cards.)

… sigh …

Only because they are slow. Same can be said about older Core2 dual and quad cores or the first gen iX series.

Fermi.2409:

I’m curious, why is it either/or? Also, you can always buy a prebuilt computer without a GPU, then pick up a GPU separately yourself to save a good bit of money ($50+), which takes all of 1-2 minutes. And by superclocked i5, do you mean a K model/overclockable one?

Either/or because of price. By overclocked (don’t know why I said overclocked…I think I was thinking of the EVGA 960 superclocked GPU), I mean the K version. The 4690k. And they’ll overclock it to 10%. Or 15% if I pay a few extra dollars.

Fermi.2409:

That being said, it should take ~3-4 hours to build the computer, maybe 5 if you’re going to install the basics (Skype, Teamspeak, drivers, some sort of media player, etc) for your husband.

It’s what leads up to it… :/. Research, research, and more of it. And if I get a wrong part, or something doesn’t fit? Or if I receive a defective one? Or if I break something. There’s cat and dog hair everywhere, regardless of how much I vacuum. That’s what I get for having a husky (especially) during shedding season.

I need to have it ready by the end of June. >__<

Teon.5168:

I would go with the R9 vid card.

Thanks.

NOTING the GW2 client does needs an i7……an i5 is more than sufficient.

Per above, unless you are going to do some serious overclocking, a huge aftermarket cooler is just a waste of money.

ForgottenGold.2306:

It’s what leads up to it… :/. Research, research, and more of it.

What more do you really need to research? You yourself put together a pretty solid build, and people are always willing to critique them. Researching the construction process can be done by just watching a couple video guides, and then if you have one open while you’re building you’ll be more then fine.

ForgottenGold.2306:

And if I get a wrong part, or something doesn’t fit?

People are more then willing to double check your builds to make sure that sort of stuff doesn’t happen.

ForgottenGold.2306:

Or if I receive a defective one? Or if I break something.

That can be an issue, but if you have until the end of June you’ll have plenty of time to RMA something if need be. Not breaking stuff is pretty easy/manageable, too; nothing really needs to be forced, and if you’re forcing stuff it’s likely going into the wrong place.

ForgottenGold.2306:

There’s cat and dog hair everywhere, regardless of how much I vacuum. That’s what I get for having a husky (especially) during shedding season.

Not an issue at all, honestly. My house is the same way (my cats shed a ton), but if you have a clean table it’s fine.

I’m sorry if it seems like I’m really trying to push the whole build the computer thing (even though it is the best way to go), but it just seems like a lot of your fears are somewhat unfounded. And, you can always get most of it built and save some money/buy better parts by doing the easiest stuff (GPU/wireless card) yourself.

Fermi.2409:

What more do you really need to research? You yourself put together a pretty solid build, and people are always willing to critique them. Researching the construction process can be done by just watching a couple video guides, and then if you have one open while you’re building you’ll be more then fine.

People are more then willing to double check your builds to make sure that sort of stuff doesn’t happen.

You have a point there….

Not breaking stuff is pretty easy/manageable, too; nothing really needs to be forced, and if you’re forcing stuff it’s likely going into the wrong place.

You have a point there, too.

Not an issue at all, honestly. My house is the same way (my cats shed a ton), but if you have a clean table it’s fine.

As long as I vacuum first and make sure the dogs and cats are locked away in the other room. XD

I’m sorry if it seems like I’m really trying to push the whole build the computer thing (even though it is the best way to go), but it just seems like a lot of your fears are somewhat unfounded. And, you can always get most of it built and save some money/buy better parts by doing the easiest stuff (GPU/wireless card) yourself.

Haha. Well you are convincing. And yes, I’m sure some of them are unfounded. I read an article about building a computer this morning and it scared me off the idea. Lol.

I changed my mind again, thanks to Fermi. Lol.

So this is the final build. I’m checking to make sure all the parts work together, and will fit together and in the case. (The Thermaltake is a huge case, so I can’t see anything not fitting in it, but better to be as sure as possible.)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kVgYBm

I’m still debating between the Antec 900 and the Thermaltake, though. I like the Thermaltake for styling, and the Antec for the smaller size and the large side panel.

That looks pretty good to me, although I need to question going for Windows 7 over Windows 8; I don’t really see a reason to take the downgrade. I also don’t know how necessary the 200mm fan is going to be, either, but in any case you sometimes just need to go for style points. Others might find other things to nitpick about, but overall that’s a solid build.

Case choice is a tossup, honestly. Too much about it is personal preference for me to be able to say anything.

I assume it’s for either in the 2nd spot on top or the side.

Yeah, the 200mm fan is for the side. I figured I’d get it just in case he wanted it. As per the OS, I’m going to let him pick it out and install it, since he’s good at that aspect. He might pick 8, and since 10 is coming out in a few months, neither choice will matter a ton for terribly long (provided 10 is any decent).

Thanks so much, guys! You’ve been extremely helpful! I’m going to start ordering parts in a day or so.