$1200 Battlefield 3 Build

[NeedForSleep]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next week

Budget Range: $1200 give or take

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Gaming, Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: Yes



Parts to Upgrade: Everything except the OS and HDD

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, NCIX, Amazon, or any other trustworthy site.

Location: Beaufort/NC/USA

Parts Preferences: Intel/Nvidia

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I prefer clean cases. A couple of fans with LEDs would be nice

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I've been a console gamer for years and I want to give PC gaming a try. I would like to be able to play Battlefield 3 on Ultra on 64 man servers. And I would also like to play Skyrim with lots of mods.

I don't really have any parts picked out. I'm not an expert and I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.

I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[DeusAres]

Try this...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Intel 330 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($359.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1129.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-26 14:52 EST-0500)

It will easily max out those games you mentioned. It comes in right under your budget and includes a decent 23 inch monitor. Feel free to search around and grab a different monitor. There are far better options out there. Just make sure it is at your preferred resoution (1920x1080).

Oh and if you need an optical drive, just throw a cheap lite-on in there.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I hope this helps; good luck!

 

[NeedForSleep]

Looks like a promising build. Thanks for the reply!

I'll definitely take a look at some more monitors. Thanks to pcpartpicker, this should make things easy.

Also, can you recommend case fans with blue LEDs?

 

[DeusAres]

Take your pick...

COOLER MASTER R4-L2S-122B-GP 120mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103022

COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200mm Blue LED
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103073

 

[NeedForSleep]

Best answer selected by NeedForSleep.

 

[djangoringo]

Get a proper mobo and monitor :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($172.60 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1152.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[NeedForSleep]

Thank you for your help.

I'll probably go with one 200mm fan for now.

 

[DeusAres]

The Z75 is good enough for his needs.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4853/asrock_z75_pro3_intel_z75_motherboard_review/index.html

He doesn't plan on doing SLI/Crossfire; therefore, the Z77 board is a waste.

I second the monitor though. Asus makes great monitors.

 

[djangoringo]

The asrock z77 is better for oc, it has 8 power phases, i think that's the point of getting a i5-3570k + hyper 212 evo.

 

[NeedForSleep]

Well, considering the Extreme4 motherboard is nearly $40 more than the Pro3. I think I'm going to go with DeusAres's recommendation. The tweaktown review gives positive feedback for that motherboard.

I'll definitely take a look at the Asus monitor. I'm not a big fan of Acer. Thanks for the suggestions guys. I truly appreciate it.

Oh and I just noticed that you guys included an extra HDD. I stated above that I didn't need one. A 240gb SSD will more than meet my needs. I already have a 2tb Seagate drive here at my house. So, I think I'm going to reuse it.

Once again, thanks for the suggestions. Should be ordering my parts first thing Monday morning.

 

[NeedForSleep]

The asrock z77 is better for oc, it has 8 power phases, i think that's the point of getting a i5-3570k + hyper 212 evo.

I plan on overclocking my CPU to somewhere around the 4.0-4.5GHz range. What would be best for that? I'd rather keep it at the 4GHz range to prolong the life of my CPU.

I may not even overclock my CPU. Coming from a console, stock clocks may suit me just fine for the time being. Once I become more familiar with the idea. I may give overclocking a try in the future.

 

[djangoringo]

I recommend still going with a z77 mobo :

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-z77ag43

or http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z77pro3

And good luck with your build.