What should I upgrade?

[daviesm118]

Hello,
I'm running gigabyte mobo with a intel core 2 duo e7300 2.66G processor, 4gb ram, and a radeon HD 4800. i know im due for some updates before I go buy BF3 because MW3 (and black-ops) run quite slow on my rig. what will be the most effective upgrade: video card, mobo+i5 processor, or am i going to bend over and get both? =(

 

[refillable]

Get Both? Or... a new system!

If MW3 is lagging then probably BF3 will have more lag. Because I heard that BF3 is a very high resource demanding game. Correct me If I am wrong because I didn't play these. But I think it is time to upgrade your system!

 

[Helltech]

Tough call buddy, probably both. What resolution do you play at?

 

[daviesm118]

1920x1080 i'd like to play on high resolution, however I find myself reluctantly cranking back to medium and low on the graphics end. I just feel my processor is well underpowered, and the only fix is to go new mobo and processor

 

[refillable]

1920x1080 i'd like to play on high resolution, however I find myself reluctantly cranking back to medium and low on the graphics end. I just feel my processor is well underpowered, and the only fix is to go new mobo and processor

Still I think you need both upgrade for 1080p.

 

[daviesm118]

I think so too. I just hope I can get out the door for under $400. I think if i can get a new video card, and board/cpu, ram is cheap. Hopefully i can duct tape my rig up to par enough to do some work on BF3! Oh well, student loans should be coming in next month! upgrades count as college expenses right?

 

[refillable]

Actually it is more then $500...

 

[novanex]

ALSO! don't forget that if you go the i5+ mobo route, you're going to have to buy DDR3 ram.

correct me if i'm wrong anybody

sorry, i didn't see your "ram is cheap post." you know what you're doing.

 

[supremeusa]

Your CPU is a must upgrade. A lot of people on this forum will tell you the cpu doesn't matter in BF3, that is incorrect. - The popular benchmark done here, was on a singleplayer scripted movie scene. Any time you try multiplayer in BF3, it attempts to use 4 cores. Depending on your motherboard, a quad core intel, or a new AMD bulldozer quad core will suffice. If you have an AM3 motherboard, make sure you get the CPU upgrade first, as the phenomII quad is now out of production, and only a limited supply remains, for those of you with AM3 mobo's.
Your GPU, will probably not have DX11 support, that needs to be upgraded. -- If you ''must'' save money, go with a standard clock GTX 560. If you can spend 50 bucks more, go with either a 6950 or a 560ti. If you really want to benefit from ultra settings with full motion blur and high resolutions(beautiful by the way). Go with a 6970, or a 570.

 

[supremeusa]

1920x1080 i'd like to play on high resolution, however I find myself reluctantly cranking back to medium and low on the graphics end. I just feel my processor is well underpowered, and the only fix is to go new mobo and processor

Stick with AMD for GPU, - get the 6950 2mb or the 6970 2mb, for desired performance at that resolution. For NVidia, you could do it with a 560ti or a 570, but you will have much more stable performance with the 2mb solutions from AMD.

 

[daviesm118]

Awesome, thanks for all the input everyone. I feel better about the direction I need to go!

 

[supremeusa]

For under 400 your best bet is AMD all the way.

Easy.

Phenom or Bulldozer, quad, core - 120
XFX AMD 6950 2GB - 280

total-400

Ram is cheap. u only need 4 gigs total.
This is my suggestion with 1080p BF3 in mind.

 

[novanex]

i agree with supremusa. I bought a q9450 quadcore used on ebay for 175 bucks. then sold my E8500 duo for 110 bucks. Then bought an asus gtx 570 1.25 gb for 280 on ebay, and sold my sli 9800 gt pair for 100.

all in all, i paid about 260 bucks for an upgrade that's maxing battlefield 3 and anything else i throw at it at 1080p resolution. that's full AA and what not. (I can't max AA on metro 2033) but that's literally the only thing. but it's not optimized well.

anyways, the LGA 775 chipset still has some awesome powerful cpu's you can get for relatively cheap

 

[refillable]

For under 400 your best bet is AMD all the way.

Easy.

Phenom or Bulldozer, quad, core - 120
XFX AMD 6950 2GB - 280

total-400

Ram is cheap. u only need 4 gigs total.
This is my suggestion with 1080p BF3 in mind.

Why do you need 2GB? 1GB is enough isn't it?

 

[supremeusa]

Why do you need 2GB? 1GB is enough isn't it?

yes but 2gb is future proof and handles higher resolutions better. What if he gets 'college money' to get 2 extra monitors?

 

[refillable]

Oh... I saw a review that said overall performance of 1GB is really slightly better than the 2GB version and 1GB costs $30 cheaper.

 

[supremeusa]

Oh... I saw a review that said overall performance of 1GB is really slightly better than the 2GB version and 1GB costs $30 cheaper.

never heard that

 

[daviesm118]

I'm only upgrading what the girlfriend can't see, She'd test flight two new monitors off the balcony if i got them haha! She'll never see a fancy new GPU and CPU if theyre safely tucked away in the tower!

 

[daviesm118]

Best answer selected by Daviesm118.