Battlefield 3 Build - $2k

[fire r a g e]

Hey everyone. It has been a long time since I have posted on THG and a lot has changed since then (I have been keeping up with the updates). I have been researching a lot over the past few months, but I still don't think I can come up with a config on my own, so I need help from you all.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (BF3, Skyrim, GW2), minor video editing, web browsing, watching youtube in 1080p quality.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$2k, although if REALLY necessary, I can stretch it a bit ($100 to $200 more)
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
U.S. Dallas, TX

4) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None.
5) Will you be overclocking?
Yes.
6) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
2560x1440; 27"
7) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
September 14 when my paycheck comes
8) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Maybe CF/SLI support, if I need it, USB 3.0, SATA 6GB/s, UEFI.
9) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, 64-bit W7 Home Premium.

Thanks!

 

[strife_ff7]

This is a great build for gaming.

cpu - i5 3570k http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor

cpu cooler - cm hyper 212 evo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

mobo - gigabyte z77 ud5h http://www.microcenter.com/product/386359/GA-Z77X-UD5H_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Motherboard

ram - g.skill ares 8gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546

gpu#1 - evga gtx 670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

gpu#2 - evga gtx 670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

hdd - wd 1tb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339

ssd - samsung 830 128gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147134

psu - corsair tx750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

case - corsair 500r http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139009

optical drive - samsung http://www.microcenter.com/product/382892/22X_DVD%c2%b1RW_Burner_with_Dual_Layer_Support_-_OEM

If you want you can get a i7 3770k and 8gb more ram for the video editing but you did say minor editing so what I have should be fine. The total even if you add the i7 and extra ram will be under $2000.

 

[fire r a g e]

What's the total on that? So CF/SLI is needed for 2560x1440?

 

[strife_ff7]

After taxes and rebates it should be a little over $1700. Look at this chart http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2012-vga-gpgpu/13-Battlefield-3-DirectX-11-C-Extreme,2969.html
You would only be getting like 38 fps at 2546x1440. 38 fps isn't bad but around 60 fps is much better.

 

[fire r a g e]

But according to http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/10/nvidia_geforce_gtx_670_video_card_review/7 my fps will average 51.5fps on 2560x1600.

Sherlock, where did you find those benchmarks? What article? Could you link it for me?

 

[sherlockwing]

What's the total on that? So CF/SLI is needed for 2560x1440?

The answer is yes if you want to maintain 60+ in FPS. Also his build left you $300 so get a 256 Gb samsung SSD instead of 128(+100ish) and a 3TB HDD(+50)

 

[ohhgourami]

If you have a microcenter close by, you can save ~$100 if you get both the i5 and mobo from there.

I would go for 2x: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121637&Tpk=gtx%20670%20asus
instead of the evga ones. These run quieter and cooler. Also uses a better PCB and more power phases.

Get a 256gb SSD instead of a 128gb. A 2k budget should not have such a tiny ssd. Gives you a lot more room to work with and 256gbs are faster than the 128gbs.

Could go for a better cooler if you want to OC high like this: http://www.amazon.com/ThermalRight-HR-02-MACHO-Thermalright-Macho/dp/B005ERSN7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347140386&sr=8-1&keywords=hr-02+macho

Many would argue the 212 Evo is more than enough, but the quality is shoddy from my experience.

 

[sherlockwing]

But according to http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/10/nvidia_geforce_gtx_670_video_card_review/7 my fps will average 51.5fps on 2560x1600.

Sherlock, where did you find those benchmarks? What article? Could you link it for me?

Click the picture itself as I embedded the link, the Q3 PC uses a stock EVGA 670(not even FTW), the Q2 uses an ASUS 680 Top.

I recommend the Gigabyte 670($399.99) over either the ASUS(paying $20 for cooling+ a back plate??) and EVGA(680 stock cooler will run hotter and noiser than custom cooler like ASUS and Gigabyte).

My very average Gigabyte card(seen a lot people on OCN with higher stock boost)
My card: Gigabyte N670-OC/GD2, Windforce 3X 980/1058 core/boost.
Have yet to OC with, just got the card last weekend.

1150 Max Boost(+92 Mhz in Kepler Boost)
3005/1502.5 Max Memory
Max Temp 51
Max Fan Speed=56%(not audible over case fans)
Custom fan profile->constant 30% until 30C, 35C-40% ,40C-47%, 50C-55%, 64C-79% fan, 70C-100% fan to counter throttle down.

3D mark 11 (stock CPU with no OC)

I recommend Rosewill Thor V2: Maybe not as fancy as the Corsair 500R but also come with 4 Fans, 3 Fans(230mm) larger than Corsair's largetst(1 200mm),+ 2 USB2.0 front port. In this review It proved to be the best case for air cooling 4 Way GTX 590 SLI(way hotter than your 670 could ever be)

 

[fire r a g e]

I don't plan to OC real high (past 4.2 GHz) as I hear after that point, voltage tweaks are needed, and IVB runs hotter when you mess with the voltages.

 

[sherlockwing]

I don't plan to OC real high (past 4.2 GHz) as I hear after that point, voltage tweaks are needed, and IVB runs hotter when you mess with the voltages.

a Hyper 212 Evo will keep your CPU running cool at that OC.

 

[fire r a g e]

I do not have room for a full tower case, so it must be a mid-tower.

 

[blazorthon]

But according to http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/10/nvidia_geforce_gtx_670_video_card_review/7 my fps will average 51.5fps on 2560x1600.

Sherlock, where did you find those benchmarks? What article? Could you link it for me?

I recommend against paying much attention to old benchmarks. They usually aren't accurate if they don't use current drivers. Also, benchmarks that don't have identical hardware (beyond just the graphics card) at identical performance levels (if overclocked anywhere, overclocks should be identical) are not going to line up similarly. The CPU and even the memory and to a slight degree, the storage too can impact gaming performance. The software/operating system and drivers can also have significant impact. When comparing benchmarks, these all need to be taken into account and adjusted for (oftentimes not the easiest thing to do) if you want a valid comparison.

 

[fire r a g e]

I have never heard of an instance where driver updates will hinder performance.

 

[fire r a g e]

According to http://www.anandtech.com/show/6159/the-geforce-gtx-660-ti-review/13 the GTX 670 gets 60fps average without an OC.

 

[fire r a g e]

Then would you kindly show me a current benchmark?

 

[blazorthon]

I have never heard of an instance where driver updates will hinder performance.

Catalyst 12.7 increased performance on the Radeon 7000 cards so much that old benchmarks of them with previous drivers are all useless. That's just one example. Even Nvidia has made some driver improvements with their GTX 600 cards (although not as much as AMD made), so a review from March is pretty much useless.

 

[nafoni]

For exceptional Battlefield 3 performance, this is my suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($215.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 690 4GB Video Card ($999.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($149.93 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($94.98 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1950.82
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-08 18:17 EDT-0400)

SSD big enough to store OS, apps and games.

Keep in mind that you will get more than good enough performance with something like a 1300-1500$ build.

 

[nafoni]

I am no big fan of SLI, so that is the reason that I picked one GTX 690 instead of two GTX 670s.

 

[fire r a g e]

I took a look at the benchmarks for the 650D, and although it is quiet, the temps seem high. Is this true?

 

[blazorthon]

Then would you kindly show me a current benchmark?

Reviews with the GTX 660 Ti that also have your graphics card included in the tests might be new enough. Reviews of the Radeon 7970 GHz Edition that include our cards in the tests might also be new enough, but that's as far back as I'd go.

 

[fire r a g e]

Got a link to those benchmarks?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4529/corsair-obsidian-650d-transmuting-graphite-to-obsidian/6

 

[nafoni]

Got a link to those benchmarks?
I just picked that case because I personally like the look of it.
As always, find a case that you like yourself, not one that someone just says is good.

 

[nafoni]

But not in the same way as two separate cards.

 

[blazorthon]

A GTX 690 is still using SLI. It's just SLI with the two GPUs on the same card. It's no different except for maybe slightly higher scaling and slightly lower stutter (the differences probably aren't noticeable by human eyes).

 

[fire r a g e]

EDIT: Nvm.