[Solved] Whats the best way to max out my older rig

Forum Graphics & Displays : Graphics Cards [Solved] Whats the best way to max out my older rig

Hello everyone. This is my first time posting and I love this site!

I want to get my pc running BF3 on the highest setting possible and was thinking of upgrading, maybe the cpu and gpu. ( I dont want to get too crazy with it). I am worried about bottle necking if I upgrade the vidcard...

Here is what I have currently..
CPU: Phenom 9850 quad core 2.5Ghz (with Domino A.L.C. liquid cooling)
Motherboard: asus M3A78
Ram:8G G-Skill DDr2 1066
Vid Card: Radeon HD 3870 x 2
PSU: Antec 850W
OS: Windows 7 professional
Case: Raidmax- Monster
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 220WM

I was thinking about maybe getting the Phenom2 and the gtx 460?? I dunno, any suggestions would great!

Reply to cdavis0355

get the gtx560ti and phenom2 (at least 955 types)
It may have bottleneck, but you still be able to enjoy the performance upgrade

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to cumi2k4

cumi2k4 wrote :

get the gtx560ti and phenom2 (at least 955 types)
It may have bottleneck, but you still be able to enjoy the performance upgrade

+1 i agreed..

Reply to didhot123

To Max out: buy X4 980 and 6950/560Ti

Message quoted 2 times
Message edited by refillable on 12-07-2011 at 01:11:47 PM

Reply to refillable

refillable wrote :

To Max out: buy X4 980 and 6950/650Ti

that would be sick awesome..wait, what? 650 Ti? :??:

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by didhot123 on 12-07-2011 at 12:51:28 PM

Reply to didhot123

didhot123 wrote :

that would be sick awesome..wait, what? 650 Ti? :??:

Thanks. Fixed. I swap 5 with 6 by mistake.

Reply to refillable

refillable wrote :

To Max out: buy X4 980 and 6950/560Ti

Thanks for the advice, I may try this. Not sure if my MOBO can take the Phenom x2 980...

Message quoted 2 times

Reply to cdavis0355

cdavis0355 wrote :

Thanks for the advice, I may try this. Not sure if my MOBO can take the Phenom x2 980...

Phenom II X6 would actually be better for BF3, it's one of few games that will utilize all 6 cores.

Here's my proof.
http://www.sweclockers.com/artikel/14650-prestandaanalys-battlefield-3/5#pagehead

If your motherboard doesn't support Phenom II try overclocking your processor, it should pull decent frame rates.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to loneninja

It will support a Phenom IIX6 1090T @ 3.2ghz Or I was thinking the Phenom2 955 x4 @ 3ghz.

My main caution is wasting money on a bottle neck...

Reply to cdavis0355

save some money and get the 955 and overclock it, most games don't use six cores yet,and in some benchmarks the quads are better! I would also recommend the hd6950 2gb!

Reply to jijoslin

cdavis0355 wrote :

Thanks for the advice, I may try this. Not sure if my MOBO can take the Phenom x2 980...

If you are not sure get x4 955. x6 1100T are not really great for gaming (correct me if i am wrong).

Reply to refillable

Best answer

loneninja wrote :

Most games out there, like the others have said, do not even use 6 cores (or 8 for that matter). They are not really worth the cost if you can get a 955BE for an insane price right now, and it still packs a punch.

If you don't want to do that, your processor is still a quad core, and it asumedly can be overclocked, so I would try that for a cheaper solution.

The best graphics card I would recommend for you would be the 6950 or the GTX560Ti (neither is better than the other; it is more of a preference thing, even though people will tell you that one is better than the other)

Here is my proof, right from Tom's.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 63-13.html

It states that "And no wonder—Battlefield 3's single-player campaign doesn’t care if you’re using a $130 Core i3 or $315 Core i7. It doesn’t care if you come armed with two Hyper-Threaded cores or four Bulldozer modules. It just. Doesn’t. Care...Any reasonably-modern processor is going to be held back by graphics long before hamstringing performance itself."

Reply to Deemo13

Get the 6950 2GB or 560Ti 1GB(I suggest 6950 2GB) with the Phenom II x4 955 BE and overclock it to 4Ghz.Nothing will bottleneck,If you are not OC'ing,your CPU will slitly bottleneck your graphic card.You also need to upgrade your Mobo if you are upgrading to phenom 955BE,I suggest getting 970 chipset motherboards,good and cheap.

Comparing link between 6950 2GB and 560Ti:
http://www.hwcompare.com/8888/gefo [...] -6950-2gb/

Reply to ajaat

Thanks, I was worried I may need to upgrade the mobo. Looks like I should just keep my PSU and case, and rebuild. If I am going to do that then I will do it "right"... Now to find a money tree :-)

Anyone know where I can see BF3 running on Ultra? I YouTubed it and it does not look any better then my HD 3870x2... And with my current setup, I dont really notice any frame issues, I would say im running better than 30FPS on med-high settings. If that is really the case ( its not much better looking), then I will keep what I have and start saving for a new highend machine in a year from now...

Reply to cdavis0355