Very High Priority! Need built for Battlefield 3

[XcS Dead Deer]

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP as Battlefield 3 releases in under 2 weeks

Budget Range: 700-1500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: mostly gaming, some video/audio streaming

Parts Not Required: mouse, monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, microcenter, amazon. Open to new sites if reliable

Country of Origin: North America

Parts Preferences: Planned on AMD processor, gigabyte motherboard, radeon graphics card. Open to suggestions/changes

Overclocking: Haven't before but would love to start

SLI or Crossfire: Crossfire as dual Radeon's may be in the future picture

Monitor Resolution: atleast 1680x1050, preferably as high as possible

Additional Comments: need to run BATTLEFIELD 3 flawless, also want to run The Old Republic on highest settings once it is out, as well as other games. I am going to post the parts i've looked at, but if you see something incompatible or am offering an improvement, feel free to post. This will be my first build, need all the help/advice i can get

Here are the parts i've looked at and prefer. Like i said am open to improvements and suggestions;

Cooler Master Storm Enforcer USB 3.0 Mid Tower ATX Case with Window and Black Interior (SGC-1000-KWN1)http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WK3KKQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055QYKQO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

AMD CPU HDZ955FBGMBOX Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz AM3 125W Retail
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TQYUAE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB) 1333 MHz PC3-10666 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit CMX8GX3M2A1333C9
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003N8GVUY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

XFX AMD Radeon HD 6850 775M 1 GB DDR5 Graphics Card HD685XZNFC

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047ZH7FU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=AZ8ZZL30AH7DI

if anybody sees anything that should be changed, feel free to post. Need everything else necessary that i haven't posted. Also, should i go with a large or mid range case? Not sure if an extra $60 is worth the room or not. Thanks for the advice

Forgot to add: I do have an 850 watt power supply that I found affordable. Plan on holding that for a while for future builds

-DD

 

[morgoth780]

what brand is the power supply? also, what settings do you want to run bf3 on?

 

[XcS Dead Deer]

Cooler Master Silent Pro M850 Series Modular 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Active PFC Power Supply RS850-AMBAJ3-US
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RWJGC2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I want to run BF3 on the highest settings possible, preferably 1920 x 180. 1280 x 720 would be the lowest i'd like to run it on

 

[KidRetro]

May I recommend going with a Radeon 6950/6970. One of those cards would be more beneficial for running games on high settings. ( I believe a 6950 or higher is recommended for Battlefield 3, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.)

 

[morgoth780]

Cooler Master Silent Pro M850 Series Modular 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Active PFC Power Supply RS850-AMBAJ3-US
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RWJGC2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I want to run BF3 on the highest settings possible, preferably 1920 x 180. 1280 x 720 would be the lowest i'd like to run it on

well, an hd 6850 won't come very close to that. the best choice would be to get an intel/nvidia build, so here's a decent option.

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

2x EVGA 012-P3-1571-AR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130621

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Logitech G110 Black USB Wired LED Backlighting Gaming Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126087

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Compucase Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Fans-1x 230mm front RED LED fan, 1x 140mm rear fan, 1x 230mm top fan, and 1x 230mm side fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Total:$1,434.91

This should be able to play bf3 at high, if not maxed. You don't have an ssd, but you don't really need one to get good fps in bf3.

 

[XcS Dead Deer]

My question is: is it worth the extra $100 for the intel i5 processor over the amd black 955 i posted? If the advantages aren't quite worth $100, i probably would run the AMD setup. I figured i'd need a better gpu than the one i posted, it was just a starting point

Also, sorry for this newbish question, but how much advantage does one get out of an ssd?

 

[morgoth780]

My question is: is it worth the extra $100 for the intel i5 processor over the amd black 955 i posted? If the advantages aren't quite worth $100, i probably would run the AMD setup. I figured i'd need a better gpu than the one i posted, it was just a starting point

Also, sorry for this newbish question, but how much advantage does one get out of an ssd?

it's definitely worth the $100. Just look at some benchmarks, and the i5 owns everything that amd has, including bulldozer(except for a few,non-gaming tasks).

ssd' just give you really fast load times, but the price/gigabyte is really high, and it won't affect the frames per second that you get at all.

 

[Le Reveur]

The i5-2500k is probably the best gaming processor price for performance wise. Definitely worth the extra benjamin.
As for the ssd, if you make it your drive to install your OS, your computer will startup and shutdown much quicker compared to an hdd. For BF3, you'll most likely see faster loader times, and less slow down.

 

[Outlander_04]

My question is: is it worth the extra $100 for the intel i5 processor over the amd black 955 i posted? If the advantages aren't quite worth $100, i probably would run the AMD setup. I figured i'd need a better gpu than the one i posted, it was just a starting point

Also, sorry for this newbish question, but how much advantage does one get out of an ssd?

Its definitely NOT worth paying a $100 more for a processor when the limitation in your system will be the graphics card .

It would help if you had given us a budget

 

[morgoth780]

Its definitely NOT worth paying a $100 more for a processor when the limitation in your system will be the graphics card .

It would help if you had given us a budget

his budget is 700-1500, but I think with that budget, the i5 would be useful.

 

[XcS Dead Deer]

Its definitely NOT worth paying a $100 more for a processor when the limitation in your system will be the graphics card .

It would help if you had given us a budget

I listed my budget as 700-1500. If it's actually WORTH the extra $100, i will go with it. If there's not a very noticeable difference, i'd rather go the cost efficient route.

 

[KidRetro]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

Go ahead and check this out, the i5-2500k performs considerably better than the AMD processors. I agree that it would be worth the extra $100.

 

[morgoth780]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

Go ahead and check this out, the i5-2500k performs considerably better than the AMD processors. I agree that it would be worth the extra $100.

+1

 

[Outlander_04]

In general the i5 2500 is a stronger processor , but this tends to make very little difference in graphically intense games at higher resolutions .

These benchmarks from the BF3 beta are interesting
http://www.techspot.com/review/448-battlefield-3-beta-performance/page7.html

Overclocking the top end intel 2600k makes barely any difference
and even the midrange desktop AMD A8-3850 produces the same fps as the intel 2500K


A clear sign that the game is limited by the graphics system , and cpu power is a secondary concern

At lower resolutions the intel sandy bridge will produce higher FPS , but this is largely wasted anyway because monitors only refresh at 60Hz which is 60 fps .
It doesnt matter whether you feed the monitor with 100 fps , or 60 fps , or even 200 fps ....all you can ever see on the monitor is 60

 

[ares640]

The i5 2500k and a GTX 560 ti would be the cheapest options I would recommend if you want to play Battlefield 3 on ultra settings at 1080p. If you overclock the 560ti, you should get 40+ frames a second with everything on ultra. The game isn't out yet, this is just assumptions based on the beta.

 

[XcS Dead Deer]

In general the i5 2500 is a stronger processor , but this tends to make very little difference in graphically intense games at higher resolutions .

These benchmarks from the BF3 beta are interesting
http://www.techspot.com/review/448-battlefield-3-beta-performance/page7.html

Overclocking the top end intel 2600k makes barely any difference
and even the midrange desktop AMD A8-3850 produces the same fps as the intel 2500K


A clear sign that the game is limited by the graphics system , and cpu power is a secondary concern

At lower resolutions the intel sandy bridge will produce higher FPS , but this is largely wasted anyway because monitors only refresh at 60Hz which is 60 fps .
It doesnt matter whether you feed the monitor with 100 fps , or 60 fps , or even 200 fps ....all you can ever see on the monitor is 60

Interesting... The only thing is, with future games and such coming out that will probably be pretty demanding hardware wise, I should probably go the Intel route, as a lot of benchmarks show intel running higher speeds. Hmph, looks like I gotta do a little more research...

 

[ares640]

Interesting... The only thing is, with future games and such coming out that will probably be pretty demanding hardware wise, I should probably go the Intel route, as a lot of benchmarks show intel running higher speeds. Hmph, looks like I gotta do a little more research...

I've never been impressed with the performance of AMD cpu's. They are generally cheaper but I guess that's for a good reason Even the just released AMD Bulldozer series cannot beat Sandy Bridge on average for game performance.

 

[morgoth780]

I've never been impressed with the performance of AMD cpu's. They are generally cheaper but I guess that's for a good reason Even the just released AMD Bulldozer series cannot beat Sandy Bridge on average for game performance.

+1

 

[ross_mitchell]

for people debating about going AMD or intel, I have a phenom ii 955 and 2 5850s in crossfire and i can easily max BF3, i play at 1280 * 1020 on my monitor and 1080p on my tv.

 

[Outlander_04]

Interesting... The only thing is, with future games and such coming out that will probably be pretty demanding hardware wise, I should probably go the Intel route, as a lot of benchmarks show intel running higher speeds. Hmph, looks like I gotta do a little more research...

The Phenom and A8 core design is 4 years old and still no game can put them under 100% stress .

By the time any game can , IF IT EVER CAN , then you will be needing a hell of a lot more of an upgrade than just a cpu


The way to design a gaming computer is to start with the monitor and its resolution
then work out what graphics card you need to get playable fps
then cpu and RAM

If you have the money to spend on the Intel then go for it . But IMO the same $100 spent on a better graphics card is a MUCH smarter buy .

And as for those that say AMD cpu's have never been good for gaming ........ You must have alzheimers or be very young . Not that many years ago 1800 MHz Athlons were killing intel pentiums so badly that intel started paying people to use their processors with cash kick backs that eventually saw them fined and subject to lawsuits for unfair trade practice. Ultimately it cost them several billion dollars in the US and EU...... which might explain why they over charge so much now

 

[XcS Dead Deer]

Hm. Well, i'll probably go with the setup morgoth posted, i'm just gonna do a little price searching. I may end up getting a 2nd monitor at a later date, i haven't decided yet. It's not a necessity and can be done without. THanks all for the advice and replies

 

[JackNaylorPE]

For other ideas, search the forum for other $1500 builds.....we see about 4 - 6 posted each day.

Case - $ 155 - Antec DF-85 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087
Case Fan - $15 - Antec Red 120 mm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209013
PSU - $ 115 - Antec CP-850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024
MoBo - $ 220 - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790
CPU - $ 205 - Intel Core i5-2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Cooler - $ 50 - Scythe Mugen 3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185168&Tpk=Mugen%203
TIM - $ 5 - Shin Etsu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
RAM - $ 50 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186
GFX - $ 205 - Gigabyte GTX 560 (900MHz) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363
GFX - $ 205 - Same
HD - $ 60 - Spinpoint F3 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
SSD - Later - 120 GB Vertex 3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706
DVD Writer - $ 59 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247
Game Free Batman incl w/ GFX Card
Keyboard - $ 100 - Logitech G510 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126100
Mouse - Existing - Logitech G500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104318
Monitor - Existing - ASUS VH246H 23.6" LED http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059
OS - $ 100 - Win 7-64 Home Premium OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

I went $44 over ya budget but ya get that back if ya drop the Blue Ray.

The twin 560's get 11 fps less than twin 570's outta the box in Guru3D's gaming test suite... but the 560's have plenty more OC headroom.

 

[XcS Dead Deer]

Thanks man, i'll check out some of those prices too. Like that case as well. Already got the monitor and mouse, will buy a cheaper keyboard, and will probably stay with one graphics card right now and cut out the SSD. College funds while working at a Radioshack doesn't exactly make me a millionaire >.< haha

Also, Not to sound like the complete noob I am, but are all screws and everything included? Or will I need to pick some up from Lowes?

 

[thesnappyfingers]

If you decide to build Intel the I5-2500k is on sale at ncix, for 189.99 no MIR required.

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=57962&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1339

I just bought one 2 days ago.

I only think microcenter has sold them for cheaper. The I5's were on sale last week and they sold out pretty quick. So you probably have to jump on this deal, I sure did.

In terms of screws being included, i assume you are talking about screws for mobos, yes they typically are included with the case.

 

[XcS Dead Deer]

If you decide to build Intel the I5-2500k is on sale at ncix, for 189.99 no MIR required.

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=57962&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1339

I just bought one 2 days ago.

I only think microcenter has sold them for cheaper. The I5's were on sale last week and they sold out pretty quick. So you probably have to jump on this deal, I sure did.

In terms of screws being included, i assume you are talking about screws for mobos, yes they typically are included with the case.

Thanks for the deal, i'll be sure to get it that cheap lol. Also, would I be better getting the Corsair h50 as opposed to the schythe scm-3000 heat pipe? I'm not sure i like the size of that thing lol