Upgrading parts for BF3

[sammydfrancisco]

Im from AUSTRALIA(so prices and products may be different). my mates looking at upgrading his pc to play some BF3. its a really old pc, im not even 100% sure on the parts.

I know he does have a 9800gt vid card and his cpu is terrible, and most likely his psu is probably on its last legs. i believe his cpu is an old amd phenom 950? its a quad core, but not an II4 version thats outs now.

I told him he would struggle to run bf3 even on low settings so he wants to upgrade, but only a bit at a time as he doesnt have all the money ATM.
My recommendations to him where to grab a new cpu, mobo and some ram. I think just from that he will notice a massive increase for the time being.

I was looking at suggesting to him an:
CPU: i5 2400 chip
Mobo: unsure yet
Ram: 8gb hopefully of jst cheap ddr3 ram, ive seen it for about $55-60 bucks.
fan: possibly a hypermaster tx3 seeing as his case doesnt have the best airflow and its coming into summer.

and later on add:

GPU: 6950, 560ti or gtx 570 depending on how much he wants to spend
PSU: most likely a 650w psu, he wont be sli'ing or crossfiring. The psu may be lowered depending on wat graphics card he gets
CASE: he has one now, its nothing special, but if he is trying to cut costs it shouldnt matter to much should it?

If anyone can recommend any cheap motherboards and some compatible ram to go with thatd be good. Would it be worth getting the new psu now? maybe a cheap antec 520? but if he decided with a gtx 570 later on, could that handle it? i know the psu is basically the heart and soul of the pc and if it goes the pc most likely follows, so is it worth forking out a little extra to make sure these new parts can get enough power?

and just to clarifiy the 9800gt will fit inside new motherboards slots?

also, refer to this website if possible please www.pccasegear.com . the parts i will be purchasing and availability will be very similiar to wat that website shows.

any help would be really appreciated!!

 

[Outlander_04]

For the intel processor the best option is a motherboard with a Z68 chipset .
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=18137

The RAM you buy needs to be 1.5 volt [or less] or it can damage the processor. Buy reasonable quaility 1600 MHz sticks . You only need 2 x2 gig for gaming .

Dont bother with the TX3. The stock cooler works fine .
If the case is bad add or replace the fans instead.


The corsair TX 650 psu is a good option
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=17211
and so is this Antec
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=15134

The 8800gt will work for now . But the gaming performance wont be much , or even any better , than it is now till you can upgrade to a better graphics card

 

[roblaw42]

Why not get the i5 2500K. It is the best Intel cpu for gaming.

 

[sammydfrancisco]

For the intel processor the best option is a motherboard with a Z68 chipset .
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=18137

The RAM you buy needs to be 1.5 volt [or less] or it can damage the processor. Buy reasonable quaility 1600 MHz sticks . You only need 2 x2 gig for gaming .

Dont bother with the TX3. The stock cooler works fine .
If the case is bad add or replace the fans instead.


The corsair TX 650 psu is a good option
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=17211
and so is this Antec
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=15134

The 8800gt will work for now . But the gaming performance wont be much , or even any better , than it is now till you can upgrade to a better graphics card

i know the 9800gt wont over very much gaming performance but he can't upgrade his video card until his mobo, ram, psu etc can handle it. so that will have to be his last hardware purchase i think. And is there much difference in getting the 1333mhz ram over the 1600mhz? and with the motherboards i was looking at an asrock h61us3s board. have u heard about them at all?

Why not get the i5 2500K. It is the best Intel cpu for gaming.

He doesnt want to spend that much money. If he isnt going to overclock is there really a point in spending the extra $20 on a cpu that 100mhz higher?

 

[roblaw42]

Fine, don't get the 2500K but he might as well get the locked 2500.
1600 Mhz is better for RAM and ASRock is a great mobo maker.

 

[sammydfrancisco]

Fine, don't get the 2500K but he might as well get the locked 2500.

why though? can u give me a good reason? im not trying to be a smartass or anything, im jst curious if the extra money is worth a 100mhz extra clock speed? if he is trying to save money where he can is the 100mhz less gonna kill him?

 

[roblaw42]

It can get you a extra few fps in bf3 and on a budget build that seems somewhat significant. The extra speed will also handle other computer uses better and smoother and it will not become obsolete as quickly.
But if he is really strapped for cash then do whatever you think is best.

 

[sammydfrancisco]

he's trying to get the best performance for the cheapest price and i personally don't think the 100mhz will make the i5 2400 obsolete quicker, or provide any real noticable difference in any computing. The i5 2500 is the exact same chip as the i5 2400 cept lower clock speed. it can't make that much difference im thinking

 

[Outlander_04]

An H61 board will give the same level of performance as a Z68 , but it wont be as future proof .
A 2400 with an H61 is a sensible and very powerful budget build