Computer recommendations for WoW

[Kaetzchen]

So, got to talking about this just a little bit last night in the tank channel and thought I'd post a little something. It really doesn't take much to play wow, and you can get away with playing on a crappy computer for most thing, but as you get into high end raids it becomes ever more difficult to do what's required of you with a sub-par computer.

That said, desktops always tend to be a lot better than notebooks, partly because desktops have a far higher tendency to have discrete graphics cards compared to laptops. Basically, you'll pay probably half as much for a desktop that can play well compared to a laptop.

Now then, what to look for. CPU doesn't matter much, but buy AMD and I'll drag every cleaving mob that I can on top of you Core 2 Duo is the way to go, preferably the ones with either 3, 6, or 12 MB of L2 cache (they run cooler/less electricity than the 2, 4, or 8 MB ones.) Quad core is currently a waste for most everyone - not all too many things are coded to make use of four threads.

Memory - Since you're probably going to get stuck with Vista if you buy something new, you'll want 2GB minimum. If you're comfortable with upgrading memory yourself, chances are that it'll be cheapest to get 1GB on the system, then buy 2 1GB DIMMs and put them in yourself. Either way, you'll definitely want 2GB, having more doesn't hurt.

Graphics card - This is the most important part. You do -not- want integrated graphics. Even the next generation stuff that's coming out next year will still be sub-par compared to the discrete solutions of today. As to what a good baseline discrete graphics to aim for is: NVIDIA 8600 GT or higher, ATI 3650 (preferably 3850) or higher. Watch out on NVIDIA for 8600 GS, it's actually half as good as an 8600 GT, yeah, annoying naming.

Everything else - doesn't matter Really, it's pretty much just memory and graphics card that you have to look for.

Now, just to give an example... One notebook that looks quite well suited for gaming at a reasonable price would be the dell XPS 1530 - 2.4 GHz processor, 4 GB memory, 8600 GT, and all the other stuff for $1500. As for desktops, well, there are plenty of them, haha. Or, even better, Gateway actually has one of the best deals around for a gaming notebook - you can grab a P-6860FX from Best Buy for $1250 that has a bit older processor, but an 8800M GTS, which is still one of the best mobile graphics cards around. Let's put it this way, I dunno how it can be so cheap

[compression O.O]

Great post!

[Aelwind]

Kaetzchen wrote:

It really doesn't take much to play wow, and you can get away with playing on a crappy computer for most thing

I stopped reading after this. You've obviously never had the privilege of playing on a *superior* machine like mine.


j/k great post.


MY recommendation: Don't but a Dell Inspiron 8600 unless you want to become violent/quit wow/commit suicide.

[Kel/Odessa]

Thanks Kaetchen, I'll keep in mind those suggestions when I go shopping for my new laptop.

[Kaetzchen]

Hehe, if anyone ever has questions about how good the specs on a computer are, just feel free to ask. I can't really say much of anything about build quality/manufacturer support though - for that your best bet is to read a review or two. A good place for that on laptops is www.notebookreview.com Dunno of something similar for desktops since I've never cared (In my opinion, so long as you're competent, building a computer is the way to go if you want a desktop )

[Kelmutlock]

Kaetzchen, I love you. Upgrading memory as soon as I get back...and buying a new battery, damn you DELL.

[Kel/Odessa]

I'm gonna convince my mom to buy me an Alienware Area-51® m15x. What's even better...you can get it with Windows XP! Yay! Screw you Vista!

[Kaetzchen]

Hehe, definitely, upgrading memory is the cheapest (and usually only) thing you can do on laptops. If you have a more recent laptop that uses DDR2 memory, you're only looking at $40-$50 to buy 2GB worth of memory. Which is why buying the upgrades at time of purchase from the manufacturer is such a rip-off, .

As to that alienware laptop, yeah, it looks like it'd be pretty decent. The base configuration is acceptable, though definitely want 2GB of memory instead of 1GB (aftermarket being the cheaper way if you're comfortable doing so.) That said, Alienware isn't what they used to be, and an estimated ship date a month and a half away is pathetic. Not that other places are much better, but still, heh. Still, if you're just intending to go with the based 8600M GT graphics option, you can get the equivalent system for cheaper elsewhere. Just saying that yes it's good, but you're paying around $400 for brand name, not quality or an actual better computer.

[Kel/Odessa]

If I get something, I'm going ALL OUT! So we'll see.

[Kaetzchen]

Keladrey wrote:

If I get something, I'm going ALL OUT! So we'll see.

Oh indeed? It's best to attach a dollar value to "all out" you know That, and a good idea of exactly what you want on the non-performance stuff - screen size/resolution, hard drive space, design in general. As much as I hate it, I realize some people don't care about wasting money for a design that they like - I just like making certain that all the actual computer beneath that design is good. (Which does seem to be the case with that alienware, most of the issues reported earlier on have apparently been corrected.)

[Kel/Odessa]

Well your suggestions and what little knowledge I do have are what led me to choosing that laptop. The design is simplistic and not what actually led me to looking into Alienware. I just remembered that way back, they use to make really awesome computers.

[Kaetzchen]

Ayup, they used to be quite good - they're now owned by Dell Not trying to say that's a bad thing, because really it isn't, they still operate separately and have better support from what I've heard. They just aren't what they once were.

That said, I got bored with playing my hunter for a bit, so I meandered around on the internet looking at laptops a bit This is by no means an exclusive list, just meant to give an idea.

15 inch laptops
Alienware m15x - Can be configured to be the most powerful 15 inch laptop, but has the typical price premium. Base acceptable config (just changing to 2GB memory) is $1650.
Dell XPS M1530 - One of the more populate laptops currently it seems. Base price acceptable config (just upgrading graphics card) is $1100, configuring to be comparable to the alienware (actually better, 2.4GHz processor vs 2.1GHz, 160GB vs 120GB) puts it up to $1400.
Lenovo T61p - This is actually a workstation laptop - the quadro 570M is the workstation version of the 8600M GT. Hence, it's actually a good laptop for gaming. Basically the same configuration as the alienware is $1250, one nice thing is they don't way overcharge you for the upgrades, heh. (This is an updated model of the work laptop I have, the T60p, it'd likely be decent.)

17 inch laptops
Alienware m9750 - It's a slightly older model, but comes with the slightly faster 8700M GT by default. Base acceptable config (again, changing memory to 2GB) is $1550. This is a slower processor than the m15x, hence the lower price.
Gateway P-172S FX - Rather impressive specs, and general impression seems to be quite good. Yes, the CPU is a tad bit slower (minimal difference) but it has an 8800M GTS, which is twice as fast as the 8700M GT.

And then, well, there's lots of other smaller name ones too. And reading more, I'm just slightly wary of the quality on the alienware m15x. I know it's always the case that people who have problems are the most vocal, but there are more negative comments on it than I'd expect /shrug