What do i need to play new titles like BF3?

[brian1bialey]

What will i need to play titles like BF3?


Ik my setup will play it but i want to play it on pretty good setting and i also have a desire to upgrade it because i havent updated my system in a couple years.

AMD AHTLON XII 215 Dual core @ 2.7Ghz
3gb DDR2 @ 800Mhz
320gb 5400m rpm
MSI Geforce GT 430 OC Edition
250 Watt power supply
2 generic cooling fans ( i forgot what brand)

I have a budget of about $300 what should i do?

 

[brian1bialey]

also i have a 32 inch 60 HZ with a resolution of 1366x 768

 

[purple stain]

Well your gonna need to upgrade almost everything.Can you stretch your budget any?

What motherboard do you have? Since your using DDR2 RAM i'm guessing you have a AM2+ mobo which makes upgrading a little harder but you can still use a Phenom ii on it depending.

Here's what I'm thinking.Your going to need a new PSU to accomadate even a mid range GPU.For a title "like" BF3 and "others" your going to need a powerful quad core.

Phenom ii x4 960T $125

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995

Sapphire 6850 $150(it has a $135 MIR but it's only a weekend deal)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

Antec 400 watt $45 + $2 Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029

Build with 6850=$320

Build with 5770=$290

If your budget is very strict and you can't exceed $300 then the 2nd best thing other than the 6850 would be the 5770/6770.

Sapphire 5770 $120=$100 after MIR + Free Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102898

 

[mouse24]

if you cant afford the 6850, save your money, the 6850 is equivalent to 2x5770 (if i recall the benchmarks correctly

 

[brian1bialey]

I could stretch it to 320 as thats not much more. Also would my current system playmost modern titles @ 1366x768 and also if i got the 6850 could you give me the link which flushs the bios to make it a 6870 ( i was researching a build like the one you suggest but iwanted some input from people)

 

[purple stain]

You can't flash a 6850 to a 6870.You might be thinking about the 6950.That's the only card from AMD that is able to unlock to a 6970.Their are also rumors of synthetics stating that it's possible to flash a 6790 to a 6850 but it hasn't been proven.The 6950 is the only card able to do it and I wouldn't reccomend it to a novice.

With the right processor and a 6850 at that resolution you should come close to maxing out games.But "heavy hitters" like BF3 and Crysis 2 you will likely have to play on medium or high settings depending on what your preferences of fps is.

The processor I suggested may not work with your mobo so I just want to be sure.What is the make/model of your motherboard?

 

[brian1bialey]

Sorry about my poor posts, I have been on my tablet which is very hard to open windows and script out my posts.

The 6850 should be able to run @ 1366x768 @ 100 fps if im not mistaken.

I could go up to $350 but i would like to not have to spend that much money as i am trying to save up for some good ear buds.

I was just on facebook with my brothers friend who owns a computer store and said he would give me a 750 Watt power supply w/ a silver for my old graphics card and processor.

Another thing i would want to adress is would my current system run Battlefield 3 @ 40-50fps on 1366x768?

Thanks!

 

[brian1bialey]

on a side noteI just wrote my post right when you posted lol!

The specifications to my computer are here at http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01859813&tmp_track_link=ot_faqs/top_issues/en_us/c01859813/loc:4&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&lc=en&product=4005896#N89

the motherboard is made by pegatron m2n68-la or aka narra5

 

[sunnyhj]

@OP If u'r going to upgrade your PC as purple stank suggested then u will be able to play most of the games at High to ultra setting at 1366*768...

i have an i3 550@3.2 with 4gb Ram and a 6770 card...and i played BF3 Beta at 45-60 fps at High/ultra and i play crysis 2 (hardcore) at 45-60fps and Rage at 60fps with all settings at high....

So with a 5770 u will be able to play most modern games at really good fps as u really don't require more than 60 fps for proper gaming..if u turn off vsync and AA u can get 55-60 fps constant in modern games..and if u went for a 6850 u can get MUCH better fps on high/ultra settings on most games at ur Resolution.


And as for ur current system just compare with my system and see if its better to upgrade or just use u'r old system.

 

[brian1bialey]

So could i keep my current proccesor, upgrade the ram to 8gb, get a 500-600w psu, with a 5770 i should be good?

Also should i wait for the 7xxx series to come out to upgrade my computer?

 

[sunnyhj]

No, u'll need to upgrade the CPU...as bf3 is a cpu heavy game...i'll recommend what purple stank said...upgrade to x4 get a good psu and a 5770/6770 as at ur reso..they are more than enough...as for the 7xxx it will be launched in Q1 of 2012..if u can wait for that much time then why not.

 

[Djentleman]

THe 6850's power supply requirement is 500watts. Of course with a 12v rail on atleast
14amps...

 

[purple stain]

I really don't trust your motherboard.I think you should get a Athlon instead since the FSB on the processor will have to be downclocked because of the mobo.
Phenom
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103993
Athlon
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871

I suggest getting the phenom.On second thought the L3 cache will benift you better.But with that CPU you will have to use your old cooler.

 

[brian1bialey]

I have finally done some research and this is what i have concluded about upgrades for my computer.

AMD Phenom 9850 Black Edition

http://www.upgradebay.com/c1_itemdetail.asp?rid=22&itemid=168861661

$120.00 + free shipping

Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226089

$62.99 + free shipping

I am a little shook on what GPU i should buy but i was considoring this:

SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

or

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VX-2L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102898

$119.99


I would like someone to give me some advice on what PSU would be good for my current build.
120+120+63= $300 or 120+150+63=$333

I would like to keep the bill around $360-$380

So i would like someone to pick a power supply that would be sufficient for my current build as i will be building a new build in a couple years.

I game on a 32 inch TV with a resolution of 1366*768 and my question is would my current GPU(MSI GT 430 afterburner edition) be able to run the game on 1366*768?

Thanks!

 

[purple stain]

Ok.Don't get that Phenom 9850.It's very old and would be an unwise upgrade.In fact your current CPU is probably faster than it.Go with one of the CPU's I suggested above.I also listed a PSU in my previous post as well as the GPU's.You don't really need more RAM but if you think you do I would suggest going with a 2GB stick.Mixing different capacity RAM sticks can cause instability so it isn't a good idea.

Do you know what type of RAM stick you have?(Capcity)

 

[brian1bialey]

2gb+ 1gb ddr2 @ 800mhz and my MOBO only accepts am2 or am2+ cpus and its memory bus is 2000mhz so maybe i should get a new mobo and cpu and just get a new gpu later?

 

[purple stain]

Yah that sounds like a better option.But the CPU you have,the Athlon ii, is a AM3 CPU.They are backwards compatible but because the HT on the mobo is 2000mhz it downclocks the AM3 CPU's.

HP even states that in the overview.

AMD Athlon II X2 215
Figure 2: AMD Athlon II logo

Operating speed: Up to 2.7 GHz
Number of cores: 2
Socket: AM3
Bus speed: 4000 MHz HT3 (clocked down to 2000 MHz)

So let me know your budget and I'll start looking for a CPU and Mobo as well new DDR3 RAM.

 

[brian1bialey]

The highest i could go would be around $400 because i'm going to be moving so this is the highest could string out from our budget. I could keep my current video card as i feel it will play BF3 at 1366*768 at low-med setting at around 40-45fps (but there is always jagged edges of color sometimes that flashes which is the reason i want a new gpu.

In sum my budget is around $400 tight.


Intel Core i5-650 Clarkdale 3.2GHz 4MB L3 Cache


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115220

$174.99

Very low power consumption which i want


BIOSTAR TZ68A+RCH LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138320


$129.99


CORSAIR XMS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145334


$49.99


CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo


I have a nvidia geforce gt 430 which should be able to play bf3 until i get enough money to buy a new video card.
would this plan work or would you have another plan?

 

[purple stain]

That motherboard you picked isn't compatible with the processor.As well as the RAM is way to expensive.Here's my Intel build...

Intel i5 2500k $220 + Free Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

ASRock P67 1155 $90 + $8 Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157249

Antec 400 watt $45 + $2 Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1l74ybdnjzl2t

8GB DDR3 1333mhz $42+ Free Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178333


The 2500k should power through BF3 really easily.Of course you won't have any graphical horsepower but when you do get enough money for a GPU it will be a really good combo and you should come close to maxing out BF3.That build is really good for only $400.

 

[sirR9]

Honestly, the best way you're going to notice a big upgrade in visuals is to stop playing at 1366x768 on a 32" monitor, unless that's the native. If you can, I'd ramp up the resolution.

 

[brian1bialey]

it's the native resolution

 

[purple stain]

You could also go with an AMD build that would be cheaper and allow you to get the 5770 but I think the 2500k is the best option.You will start to see the gains in the long run.

 

[brian1bialey]

I preferr amd so what build would you recomend for AMD? Looking at their APU series and the new fx series. Could you give me a build for amd and im not much of a fan intel + nvidia but its all about the bang for the buck.

 

[purple stain]

Well bang for your buck is definitly the Intel 2500k.It's a very powerful CPU and is much needed for BF3.

ASRock 880G AM3+ $90 + $8 Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157243

Phenom ii x4 955 $120 + Free Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Sapphire 5770 $120=$100 after MIR + Free Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102898

And then just pare all of that with the PSU and RAM in my previous post and you should be set.Though I strongly urge you to go with the 2500k.I was playing BF3 with my Phenom ii x4 965 and it was being maxed out by it.

 

[brian1bialey]

You seem to know what your saying so i'll go the route with the 2500k. now that that is solved do you think it would be possible to run bf3 on my gt 430 on med setting on 1366*768? if not i would like you to show me the most futureproof video card i would need as i won't upgrade my rig for another 2-3 years. I bought the machine i currently have 2 years ago i feel its time to upgrade