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BF3 upgrade.

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josepie

Registered
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Hi all, new to this forum and have a quick question regarding BF3. Big BF2 player and tried running BF3 on the same "old" box - haha, didn't I waste my time. :shrug:
So I was intending to upgrade bit by but to cut back on expenses and thought I would start with the video card. Can someone suggest a decent card around $100 mark? Or, maybe I need to focus on some other part first, not a real techie guy so unsure where to start.
Anyway, any advice is appreciated.
Here are my current specs:

GC = NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
MB + Proc = ASUS P5B-Plus, Intel Core 2 CPU @2.13 GHz
Windows 7 Ult 32 bit
Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green SATA II 64 MB Cache
2GB memory (I know, I know, need to remedy this)
 
What resolution will you be playing BF3 at?

If its 1920x1080, $100 isnt going to get you a card good enough to play BF3 really. 1680x1050 and medium settings (no AA) and a 7770 (about $120) will allow you to play it.

You really need more RAM though. That game barely likes to run on 4GB, so 2GB isnt helping your cause (neither is the processor, that needs overclocked to help).

Honestly, you, at minimum, need 4GB of ram (suggest 8GB), to overclock the CPU (if nto upgrade to a quad) and go from there.
 
Don't mind playing with lower resolution as long as I get to play. Currently, I can play but very choppy/stutter or laggy. Not sure if this is the HD or proc or memory or what.
Would you advise a memory upgrade first? Or the card? Cant really afford both!
 
You need it all to be quite frank. If you get a GPU, you will be hurting in the memory department. If you get memory, your GPU will still hold you back.

Overclocking is free performance (see C2D/C2Q guide in my signature) so I would start there on the CPU while you save money for a system upgrade.

Here is 2x4GB of ram for $42: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313080
2x2GB $22: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313119
Here is the 7770 I was talking about: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...p=And&SecondSearch=1&Order=PRICE&PageSize=100

You really need about $150 to make things better.
 
You need it all to be quite frank. If you get a GPU, you will be hurting in the memory department. If you get memory, your GPU will still hold you back.

Overclocking is free performance (see C2D/C2Q guide in my signature) so I would start there on the CPU while you save money for a system upgrade.

Here is 2x4GB of ram for $42: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313080
2x2GB $22: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313119
Here is the 7770 I was talking about: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...p=And&SecondSearch=1&Order=PRICE&PageSize=100

You really need about $150 to make things better.

He's using Win7 ultimate 32bits, he'll have to change his OS too.
 
You need it all to be quite frank. If you get a GPU, you will be hurting in the memory department. If you get memory, your GPU will still hold you back.

Overclocking is free performance (see C2D/C2Q guide in my signature) so I
would start there on the CPU while you save money for a system upgrade.

...

You really need about $150 to make things better.

+1

Your entire system is in need of a refresh. But by the sound of it your budget isn't going to allow a full upgrade.

So like EarthDog said OC the CPU for free performance.
 
+1 to ED's comments but....

I really wouldn't spend money upgrading that platform... you could get a lot more bang for your buck on a lga 1155 platform. sure the initial investment will be higher but it wont be money down the drain either (like upgrading your current system).

The game is about $50 on its own... if you can justify that, then i'm sure you can spend a little more on the supporting hardware that will actually let you enjoy and appreciate the game's graphics.
 
I was intending to refresh in stages starting with the Video Card.

Sounds like everyone thinks starting fresh is a better option.

Def can't afford that so might have to stick to my PS3 for a while. 1
But great advice nonetheless.

Thanks for the info.
 
I was intending to refresh in stages starting with the Video Card.

Sounds like everyone thinks starting fresh is a better option.

Def can't afford that so might have to stick to my PS3 for a while. 1
But great advice nonetheless.

Thanks for the info.

The problem is that right now, if you try to upgrade something you'll hit another wall that will prevent the game from running smoothly.

If you get 4gb or higher of RAM, you'll hit the limit of your 32bit OS (btw, the difference between Pro and Ultimate wasn't really worth it for win7 unless you really needed to use BitLocker).

If you upgrade the vid card, you'll be limited by your cpu and RAM.

To upgrade the cpu, you'll most likely need a new motherboard (upgrading for a chip with the same socket would be counter-productive as it would cost more for a minimal increase in performance) and possibly new ram (not sure if you had DDR2 or DDR3 but even if you had DDR3 it was probably first generation memory with a voltage higher than 1.7 which would be dangerous to use with a core iX chip and their integrated memory controller). And then you would be limited by your vid card.

It's really a vicious circle and you reached the point where any single upgrade will not be enough.

Sorry :(
 
Wow!

This site rocks. I never experienced this level of support before. I wish all support was as smooth as this.

Anyway, for the OS, I can download any OS - I get them free from Microsoft. (full MSDN License) So that's not an issue.

Anyway, I will focus on rebuilding my entire machine. Maybe I will start with a MB that's not too expensive and go from there. Maybe once a month I can make a purchase. Thats the most economical way I can see right now.

I appreciate all the help and advice I received. Big help in making my decisions.
Thanks.
 
Wow!

This site rocks. I never experienced this level of support before. I wish all support was as smooth as this.

Anyway, for the OS, I can download any OS - I get them free from Microsoft. (full MSDN License) So that's not an issue.

Anyway, I will focus on rebuilding my entire machine. Maybe I will start with a MB that's not too expensive and go from there. Maybe once a month I can make a purchase. Thats the most economical way I can see right now.

I appreciate all the help and advice I received. Big help in making my decisions.
Thanks.

I would accumulate the money and keep an eye out for good deals (I don't know where you are but most retailers have some kind of weekly special). If your budget is really limited, check out used hardware. You could probably find some great deals there too but be careful and compare to the price of new components (for example, no sense in paying 200$ for a 1-2 generation old used video card when you can buy it new for 220$).

Start building a mental list of what you want, the kind of performance you're looking for and try to stick to it. It's easy to be lured to something bigger when you're looking for hardware (look at my rig, it's a perfect example haha but I already had the monitors and needed something to drive those 2560x1600 pixels).

Some websites also offer price alerts so if you KNOW you want that specific component, it's always useful to tag it.

Feel free to ask suggestions for some components but always keep YOUR needs in mind.

Good luck.
 
Thank you, I appreciate the advice.

So I will go ahead and ask "Is there a good MB/CPU combo I can shoot for that wont break the bank" that you would recommend? I'm not entirely poor and I'm willing to begin now. Just unsure where to start? And can I hope to use my current PC for parts.

I just need a decent gaming rig, nothing special, just enough to run BF3 on medium to lower res. I have the DVD drive, case, Monitor and parts. Just need the rest. If you could point me in the right direction it would help.
 
2500k + Z77 motherboard. If you have Microcenter close by, you can get a heck of a deal (less than $300).
 
Well you can use most of that. Monitor, DVD, hard drives, case (as long as it's not OEM like dell and it supports at least an ATX motherboard you'll be fine)

In general, I'd look for a sandy bridge/ivy bridge setup.

Basically what you'll need to replace are :

1 - Mobo : P67, Z68, Z77. Look around in the Intel motherboard section there are tons of threads there with suggestions. There are plenty of options at different price point and to be honest I didn't follow the mobo market in the past months.

2 - CPU : As I mentionned before, a good SB/IB chip and you'll be set for quite a while and if you get something like the 2500k, 2600k or the new IB chips (can't remember the exact numbers) they can overclock really well. But those are more expensive.

3 - RAM : While you could reuse your current RAM, it's not too expensive to buy a 2x4GB kit now and they're guaranteed to work together. Also you only use 2 out of 4 slots (cheaper motherboards sometimes have issues when you fill all 4 slots)

4 - Video Card : for BF3, I wouldn't get anything lower than a 550/560ti (or the AMD equivalent) and that should be good at a lower resolution for a while now. If you get a slightly budget, a 670 would be simply perfect and would allow you to increase the resolution (reasonably) down the line but that's a lot more expensive (around 400-500 depending on the model)

5- If you can afford it, try to get a SSD. You can get 120gb ones for around 100$ (or less if you're lucky) now and you should see a great improvement. No need to go for the absolute best either. Any (reliable) SSD will do. Install windows and your main softwares/games on it, everything else should be on a bigger but slower hard drive. I'd move your user folder too (clears more space for stuff that really needs the speed).
 
Well you can use most of that. Monitor, DVD, hard drives, case (as long as it's not OEM like dell and it supports at least an ATX motherboard you'll be fine)

In general, I'd look for a sandy bridge/ivy bridge setup.

Basically what you'll need to replace are :

1 - Mobo : P67, Z68, Z77. Look around in the Intel motherboard section there are tons of threads there with suggestions. There are plenty of options at different price point and to be honest I didn't follow the mobo market in the past months.

2 - CPU : As I mentionned before, a good SB/IB chip and you'll be set for quite a while and if you get something like the 2500k, 2600k or the new IB chips (can't remember the exact numbers) they can overclock really well. But those are more expensive.

3 - RAM : While you could reuse your current RAM, it's not too expensive to buy a 2x4GB kit now and they're guaranteed to work together. Also you only use 2 out of 4 slots (cheaper motherboards sometimes have issues when you fill all 4 slots)

4 - Video Card : for BF3, I wouldn't get anything lower than a 550/560ti (or the AMD equivalent) and that should be good at a lower resolution for a while now. If you get a slightly budget, a 670 would be simply perfect and would allow you to increase the resolution (reasonably) down the line but that's a lot more expensive (around 400-500 depending on the model)

5- If you can afford it, try to get a SSD. You can get 120gb ones for around 100$ (or less if you're lucky) now and you should see a great improvement. No need to go for the absolute best either. Any (reliable) SSD will do. Install windows and your main softwares/games on it, everything else should be on a bigger but slower hard drive. I'd move your user folder too (clears more space for stuff that really needs the speed).

SSD/670 are probably out of his budget. He's also running DDR2, so he needs new RAM.

Some benchmarks:
amd%20high%201920.png

nvidia%20high%201920.png


Even a 6850 should be fine, if you find one on sale, you can grab it for around $100.
 
SSD/670 are probably out of his budget. He's also running DDR2, so he needs new RAM.

I know I wasn't seriously suggesting them as THE option, I just wanted to give ideas in case he decided to expand his budget. The SSD was 100% optional but would be nice to get eventually.

Even a 6850 should be fine, if you find one on sale, you can grab it for around $100.

Yeah the 6850 should be fine, I don't know the AMD cards much but on Nvidia's side I'd stick to 550/560ti minimum.
 
Keep in mind that prices are relative to location. It wasn't explicitly said he was in the US. Over here a 6850 is usually around $160, add $10-25 shipping, 10-15% sales taxes. Not exactly the same deal.
 
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