That's true, forgot about the PSU, you probably would want to replace your current one.
However bomber, you speak as if there are additional components other than a cpu and gpu (and the psu i forgot) that he should replace as well in order to run WoW well. Obviously, building a new system to replace his mobo and memory would be preferred, but it certainly isn't required to run WoW on ultra settings. WoW is not a very graphically demanding game. Rewind to say 3 years ago, and pretend someone is wondering whether a high-end (for the time) Athlon 64 dual-core, a Geforce 8800GT, and 3GB of memory can run WoW on ultra settings. Of course they could. Things didn't magically change in 3 years just because computers have gotten better and better.
If it's a big deal that he spend as little money as possible, and building a new system or even replacing his core components is not feasible, i'm trying to give him another option, however "unsavory" or "inefficient" the dinosaur components i'm recommending may be. Context is important here.
graphics aren't the same as they were when the game first came out.
For instance, look at the system in my sig, the 3870 came out in 2007 and was, for a time, the best ATi card you could get and played WoW on full settings no problems. I play WoW and have it on ultra settings, 1280x1024, except for shadows and the tickboxes to keep a steady 60 fps. I put shadows on and all the options it slows to around 20-30 fps, and that is now with wotlk. Cata will be bringing about even better graphics, and the option to have DX11 too.
You are right, that only the CPU and GPU need upgrading really as the memory is ok, however, notice his system has an AM2 motherboard which only supports up to 65W Athlon 64 X2:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...en&dlc=en&cc=uk&lang=en&product=3793941#N1044
so that doesn't leave much space to upgrade. The PCIe lane is also only PCIe x16, not PCIe 2.0.
Because of that, a motherboard upgrade too wouldn't be a bad idea. However, if that is done, a new OS must also be bought, as the old one won't work with another motherboard because an OEM OS (which is what he has) gets bound to the one it was installed on
If you sell your motherboard, CPU and memory, you will be able to make atleast $100 on it all, then could upgrade to:
CPU & mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.455981 $138
Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144266 $80
PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 $50 ($30 after MIR)
Video Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873 $150 ($135 after MIR)
which comes out to $383 after MIR
Take the money you make from your old components, it will come out to around $300, probably just under, and you would be able to run the game in DX11 once Cata is released, and have alot of room for upgrading
6800
