lewench

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Oct 31, 2011
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Morning,
I recently bought battlefield 3 with the hopes of it running semi decent on my XPS laptop (i7 core and nvidia 440M) but even on medium when stuff is crazy my FPS just drops to the floor. I was wondering if my old gaming PC can be given new life and possibly run BF3.
Senerio:
Old Gaming PC with the following specs:
Proc: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
Video Card: Nvidia 8800 GTS

So with the main specs named I was wondering if I can just upgrade the video card I know that my processor will be the bottleneck but Im not sure how bad of a bottle neck, also how bad is my RAM, would it need upgrading?

Now for the catch... If possible Id like to purchase a video card from Dell.com why? Id like not to dish out $3-400 for a card at once but I wouldn't have an issue paying it over 3 months. If possbile id like to get it from dell but maybe you might know whats best.

I was looking at the GEFORCE GTX570 HD but its 400ish and not know if thats what i need to run BF3 with no issues, or if another card (bang for your buck) would be suitable.
Links if desired:
Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392
Proc
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189
 

we1shcake

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Sep 27, 2011
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what res will you be running at and also what power supply is in your rig, your processor and ram are both fine, you could do with a video card upgrade but a 560 or 6870 will be enough at 1080p or less no need for the 570
 

lewench

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Oct 31, 2011
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@we1shcake The resolution of my monitor is 1920 x 1080 (Native). Also the current power supply is Thermaltake W0093RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Version Passive PFC Power Supply, would this need to be upgraded as well?

@akopp21 once I get a firm answer on what to purchase I will defiantly take a look at that promo thanks!

@tinnitus I will take this under consideration, but I will admit I am pro Nvidia just because I've read ATI drivers aren't always too stable.
 

lewench

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Oct 31, 2011
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Ok after looking around I think the bang for my buck would be:

EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130595

before I go and purchase this what do you all suggest? Anything better my budget is 450. I was also looking at:
EVGA GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) HD 2560MB 320-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130687

*Assuming more memory is better but I only have 1 monitor; though im thinking of adding a second monitor (26" |1920x1080):

seeing as I have a 550W PSU would I need to upgrade this too?
 

ellmondo

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Aug 29, 2009
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the coolers on those cards you recommended are ridiculously stupid. i would not recommend a card now days that is only cooled by one fan....
if you are looking at nvidia go with a 560Ti, this card will play on very high settings at 1080p with good fps.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363

if you want ATI go with the 6950, it will also play just as well. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125385

Your other specs will be fine (I run a very similar setup, but i use a 6950). Good luck and happy gaming!
 

lewench

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Oct 31, 2011
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What about the cooling? I've always used EVGA for there limited to life time warranty (Has a card burn on me and got a replacement that was a super clocked version of my original card)
 

ukee1593

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Jun 8, 2009
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With the Old Phenom you could run the risk of bottlenecking the CPU with a GTX 570. A bit more of an overclock to 3.6 or 3.8 GHz might do it, but there is no real way to tell.

I'd be recommending either the AMD Radeon 6970 or 6950 as the AMD GPUs are kinder to slow CPUs. The other option is the GTX 560Ti.

You can go for the GTX 570 I suppose, but I'd expect to be wasting some of its performance due to your CPU. The 6970 would be better Bang for Buck
 

AxemanACL

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Oct 17, 2011
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I've been using a MSI Hawk GTX 460 and been getting 35-50fps at 1920x1080 with setting on high, and the bottleneck has been my cpu (Q6600 OC'd to 3.0Ghz). I have been overclocking the card up from 675 Mhz to 900 MHz, the Hawk has a massive cooler, makes the one on my old 8800gt to pathetic. My temps don't get above 60C.

It is currently on sale for $120 with rebate from NCIX US

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=55409&vpn=N460GTX%20HAWK&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar&promoid=1316

Shipping is at least a week from them.

I know this card doesn't give you much future proofing, but if you don't want to spend a lot of money this is an option.
 

lewench

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Oct 31, 2011
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So I have ordered the parts to give life to my new PC. Thought Id share with everyone that gave their input.

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913
$15 Back

Processor Fan: ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118074
Free: XIGMATEK PTI-G4512 thermal grease

Video Card: MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127582

Total was 651 which was over my budget but thanks for the newegg preferred plan I'll have that paid off in 3 months with no interests.

Just wanted to thank everyone again, all the help and advise was much appreciated!
 

phishy714

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May 16, 2011
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You might want to upgrade that PSU. I am surprised no one mentioned it. With that gtx 570 the recommended is about 550-600w from a quality brand. Your 500w from an ok brand makes me wonder if it will be enough to be able to run it. I would buy a new power supply if I were you.
 

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