Budget PC Build for Battlefield 3

Justindh

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Oct 29, 2011
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Hello, I am looking to build a PC to play Battlefield 3 for about $400-$550.

So far I am looking at the following, but need advice about the GPU and a Hard Drive.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4 GHZ (Code: HDZ965FBGMBOX) ---$120.99

Motherboard: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 Motherboard - AMD 890GX, AM3, DDR3, USB, RAID, ATX ---$124.99

RAM: Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1/4G Desktop Memory Module - 4GB, PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 240-pin DIMM, 9-9-9-27 CAS Latency, 1.5V, Non-ECC, Unbuffered---$28.99

Disk Drive: LG GH24NS70B Optical Media 24x Internal DVDRW Drive - 24x DVD+/- Write Speed, Serial ATA Technology, DVD/CD Read and Write, OEM---$19.99

Case: Cooler Master RC-310-BWN1-GP Elite 310 Mid-Tower Case - ATX, mATX---$39.99

PSU: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500-Watt Power Supply---$29.99

So that is about $365.

What would you recommend for a GPU (550ti?) and a budget Hard Drive that will do the job?

Thanks,
 

ukee1593

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Jun 8, 2009
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Firstly, Save yourself some money and go for the AMD Phenom II x4 955. Its clocked slightly lower but it can overclock to the same as the 965 pretty easily.

Secondly, Make sure the power supply is of good quality. You don't want a cheap firecracker in your computer that blows taking 1/2 your components with it. Cheapest I'd go would be this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031 -- $50

You can probably save some money on the motherboard by getting one with an 880 or even the 970 chipset where the latter would give you CPU upgrade options and built in USB 3.0 on the chipset. This might shave the cost down to -- $100 for the motherboard. Crossfire is not an option though. My suggestion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519

HDD -- Preferably wait before buying the computer as the Thailand floods have caused a massive price hike in HDDs. That being said I can recommend the Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB or 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152238

GPU -- To play BF3 better I suggest the GTX 560. However the GTX 460 is pretty comparable and is available at the moment with excellent run out pricing. $160 for this GIGABYTE one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333

Total: $600 with Suggested motherboard and $100 1TB HDD

Please note that the HDD can normally be bought for $55 during normal "non flood" conditions. That would bring the price within your budget.


 

miyelsh

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Nov 2, 2011
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This may or may not be too much of a help, but if you are looking for an ATI graphics card I would say to buy a $140 Radeon HD 6850 as this will play near high if not ultra settings on standard resolution, then once you have the money for another you can crossfire it and have a system set for a surprisingly low price.
 

vx53c

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I believe there will be a bottleneck at about the range of 6850 or 460 between the CPU and the GFX card. Going higher will net you so limited benefits. It is the same with the i3. If you wish to go higher in terms of graphics you will need an i5 2400
 

vx53c

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I was wrong, i just checked it out. There is no bottleneck untill 6950. (Though there still is for i3 should you consider. I'd go for i5 2400 in prospects of 6950 or with i3 2100 and 6850 knowing that i would never upgrade this build)
 

cutebeans

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With BF3, CPU isn't that big a factor. Any CPU can handle that. A 6850 would be able to play it very well though.
 

zooted

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There is no reason to go with that gtx 430 that was listed, when you can get a 6870 for cheaper. Battlefield 3 doesn't require a very strong cpu it is a very graphically intensive game. If this is the main game you wish to play you could probably drop the cpu down to a athlon x3 and put as much muscle into the gpu as possible. You may be able to squeeze a 6950 1gb in that range.
 

jetstorm9520

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im running a 560ti with everything ultra save for ambient occlusion which lags the hell out of all my room mates PCs as well (one with a 6950), as a reference point.

so do you want to 'play' the game, or do you want all settings maxed?