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Build Advice First PC for Battlefield 3

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by McDuff32, 24 Oct 2011.

  1. McDuff32

    McDuff32 Minimodder

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    Hi!

    I've been lurking around this place over the past few months after reading a few Custom PC's, not posting much because I don't know much.

    Anyway, battlefield is out this Friday and I'd like a PC that I can play it on. I'd like to get over 40fps at say high settings, and 60ish on medium, hopefully that's attainable!

    First the questions from the sticky:
    Budget: ~£750, I wouldn't like to go over this, but quite happy to come under lol
    Main uses of the PC: Battlefield and Tribes Ascend when that comes out.
    Spec of current PC: My current PC is a Dell with 2gb RAM and dual core processor, its about 5 years old and I'm not expecting to re-use any parts.
    The native resolution of your monitor: 1600x1050, it's good enough for me for now.
    Overclocking or not: Maybe the cpu a little bit if there's a dummies guide somewhere, nothing extreme though.
    Storage space:Between 750gb-1tb to start with
    Special requirements? Not really, quiet & efficient is better

    So this is what I've got so far:
    £73 - Case: Lian Li PC-A05NB
    £58 - HDD: 1Tb Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache
    £167 - CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad, 3.3GHz, OEM
    £180 - GPU: 1GB Asus GTX 560Ti Direct CU II TOP, 40nm, 4200MHz GDDR5, GPU 900MHz
    £27 - RAM: 4GB Corsair DDR3 Vengeance LowProfile Cerulean Blue, PC3-12800(1600)
    £15 - DVD: Sony 24x DVD-RW SATA
    £43 - CPU Cooler: Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1 Socket 775, 1155, 1156
    £90 - PSU: Corsair 650W HX Modular PSU
    £82 - Mboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 Z68 Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX
    Total: £735

    I guess I have a few questions. First one being will all that stuff fit in the LianLi case! Also will it all fit together with each other and work? ^^! I've mainly based my choices from the bittech reviews and these forums.

    If anyone has suggestions for better recommended parts I'm all ears, or if I've done something nooby like completely missed a vital component out.

    I'm kicking myself over the hdd, if I'd bought that last week I'd have saved £20!

    If you guys give it the 'bit-tech approval' I'll buy it tomorrow. Any comments appreciated :)
     
  2. Dae314

    Dae314 What's a Dremel?

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    soodesune...

    That build is fine as far as compatibility goes, I see no point where there would be any problem (checked the normal areas). As far as playing BF3, I'm pretty sure that the 560Ti is up to the task. Regarding your concerns about high/med graphics, you should know that if you want a certain frame rate on high all you need to do is change the resolution so that it's lower :naughty:. However, I assume we're talking about your native resolution at 1600x1050. The 560Ti may start to have trouble if you replace your monitor and get a 1920x1050, 1920x1200, or higher resolution, but as you are your target frame rates should be achievable.

    The 6950 1GB is basically an equivalent card to the 560 Ti, so you could always give that a look. It has different connection options, so say if you want to use displayport I would recommend a 6950. Other than that, if you want better performance you'll have to go higher on the graphics card hierarchy (570/6970/580).

    If you feel like spending some extra money, you could go for an 8GB (2x4GB) kit of memory so you have more overhead to run multiple programs if that's what you like to do. You could also possibly save some money by getting a P67 motherboard if you don't ever plan on using the Z68 specific features.

    The case you chose is a bit boring imo, and it's cooling potential isn't all that high (only 1 front and 1 back fan). Check out cases by Antec, Cooler Master, and others. I have a bunch of good ones in my hardware guide. However, it will serve your purposes. The Dark Rock is 166mm tall, so keep that in mind when looking at other case options. The Lian Li case you chose is ~210mm wide so you've got a good deal of room there even if you factor in the small amount of height added by the motherboard.

    I'm just throwing out options for you right now, that build looks fine to me ^^.
     
  3. The_Beast

    The_Beast I like wood ಠ_ಠ

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    Do you need a DVD drive or CPU cooler? I'd cut them out and get a GTX570/ati equivalent
     
  4. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Yeah, I'd probably get the Gelid Tranquilo over the Dark Rock. Or, if you are going to spend £43 on a CPU cooler, then spend £45 and get the Antec Kuhler 620
     
  5. TheKrumpet

    TheKrumpet Once more, into the breach!

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    Unless you really want your PC to look like a fridge, you could pick up something more along the lines of the Cooler Master 912 Plus. I use the 922, it's bigger brother and the airflow is fantastic.

    If you do want it to look like a fridge however, you can use the Fractal Design Define R3 (Say that 3 times fast).

    And yes, I got both of these from the September 2011 Buyer's Guide. I'd recommend you to check that out ^^.
     
  6. chewbaccas_nan

    chewbaccas_nan Minimodder

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    You probably don't need to overclock the cpu yet, I think stock settings will probably be fine, so you could just get a cheaper cpu cooler like the hyper 212+ or the gelid, or just buy the retail version of the 2500k and have the stock fan for now and buy a cooler down the line
     
  7. yassarikhan786

    yassarikhan786 Ultramodder(Not)

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    If your not looking to overclock much above 4GHz like me, then a CM Hyper 212+ will be adequate enough to keep your CPU under 60 C. I have one and it keeps my 2600K under 63 C at 4GHz with HT on. With HT off I average around 56-58 C :).
     
  8. McDuff32

    McDuff32 Minimodder

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    Woow thanks for all the responses!!

    @Dae314 - Hi!

    I did take a look at the 6950, but prices for that seem to be a bit higher than the nvidia equivalent at the moment. I've seen there is a 2gb 6950, so if I've got any budget spare I could always get that I suppose.

    In terms of only going for 4gb RAM, I thought if it turns out not to be adequate, I can upgrade that at a later date. I'll check how much extra 8gb is though, if its only a tenner then why not!

    You mentioned a p67 board being cheaper, can you link one that's any good? I struggled with picking a motherboard, so I just went with one bittech reviewed and gave over 80 lol

    I think I read your hardware guide a few weeks back, very helpful :)

    Tempting. Very tempting. Didn't think of that.

    I don't think the cpu comes with a cooler at the moment so I'd like to get something, however the Dark Rock does seem expensive for a glorified fan! LOL

    OK cool thanks for the suggestions. Isn't the antec cooler a liquid cooling device? I'm not sure I'm ready for one of those just yet. How easy is it to install? It looks cool though.

    Fridge! lmao!! To be honest I'm a bit of a minimalist fan. Chunky/flashy cases don't really do it for me. The white version of the r3 looks sweet, but that only increases the chances that I wake up in the morning and find someone's popped their milk in it :D

    Dropping the cooler to a lower-spec'd/using a stock one seems to be the general consensus, I'll take a look at the gelid, cheers.

    Ok sweet.


    £73 - Case: Lian Li PC-A05NB
    £58 - HDD: 1Tb Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache
    £167 - CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked, S1155, Sandy Bridge, Quad, 3.3GHz, OEM
    £180 - GPU: 1GB Asus GTX 560Ti Direct CU II TOP, 40nm, 4200MHz GDDR5, GPU 900MHz
    £27 - RAM: 4GB Corsair DDR3 Vengeance LowProfile Cerulean Blue, PC3-12800(1600)
    £6 - DVD-Drive: I'll get a used one off ebay
    £23 - CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212+
    £90 - PSU: Corsair 650W HX Modular PSU
    £82 - Mboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 Z68 Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX
    Total: £706

    Swapped in a cheaper cooler and I'll pick a dvdrw drive off ebay for cheap, so price has come down! yay!

    What am I best upgrading with the left over £50? RAM, Graphics card or motherboard?

    Thanks :)
     
  9. TheKrumpet

    TheKrumpet Once more, into the breach!

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    If you can squeeze a tiny bit more money out of that wallet then the first thing I would suggest would be an SSD. The Crucial M4 64GB can be picked up for £75-£80 and would be a really nice OS drive.

    You could also get a second Spintpoint F3 and RAID them.

    Other than that, for the specs it would probably be GPU, and maybe some more RAM. The motherboard you've got there is a nice all-rounder and with what you've quoted I'm not sure you really need any more features on that.
     
  10. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Very easy to install, you literally just install the backplate and lock the cooler in place, then mount the radiator and fan on any available 120mm fan mount.
     
  11. mucgoo

    mucgoo Minimodder

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    Well you can get 8GB of RAM for £15 more and given I'm guessing you want this to last 3-4 years that would be sensible.
     
  12. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Wouldn't spend any more on RAM. 8Gb is nice, but nothing really uses more than 4Gb.

    Next step up for GPU would be a GTX 570, which start at £260, so you'd need another £80. At 1680 x 1050 I'm not sure it would be worth it.

    An SSD would also be my recommendation above and beyond anything else. The Crucial M4 is a great choice too. It'll make your OS absolutely FLY, and be especially useful for launching in and out of BF3.
     
  13. Blogins

    Blogins Panda have Guns

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    I had the BETA installed on my Vertex 3 and it really fired through the level loads.
     
  14. McDuff32

    McDuff32 Minimodder

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    Ok thanks again. So I'm gonna move to the retail processor instead of oem, take off the custom cooler as I'm not overclocking and spend the extra on the m4 ssd (looks like ebuyer have a £10 discount offer too). Awesome.

    Upgrading the RAM can be done easily enough in future, but I figure it would be best to get the OS initially on the ssd rather than moving it over from the hdd at a later date.

    If I want to overclock down the line then I'll pick up the antec liquid cooler. Exciting! :)
     
  15. j4mi3

    j4mi3 What's a Dremel?

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    with that resolution, on high, with that card, youd be getting about 35fps id say

    however on ultra i think youd need a better card. likewise if you were thinking of getting a bigger screen in the future
     
  16. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Nice, all good choices IMHO. And honestly, even with the retail cooler, you can push it to 4Ghz and it'll still stay nice and cool.

    Also, its worth mentioning, that the 560ti (especially the Direct CU II version you've chosen) is an amazing overclockable card. Stock is 820mhz, but you should be able to push it to 850/875mhz (perhaps even faster, my friends is at 920mhz) just by increasing the GPU core speed in MSI Afterburner. Since at that res your not going to be limited by vRAM this would give you a fair few extra fps.

    Also, remember that Bit Tech has a Platoon and a 64 player server for BF3 you'd be welcome to join.
     
    Last edited: 24 Oct 2011
  17. McDuff32

    McDuff32 Minimodder

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    I think ASUS must have released a new version, because its saying the card is at 900mHz already!

    Woot! Time to get ordering :p

    I'll send an invite your way over battlelog :) I'm going to be so bad at first, never used a mouse + keyboard for any PC gaming beyond terraria lol. Will feel so weird compared to ps3.

    I really appreciate all you guys help, thank you.
     
  18. TheKrumpet

    TheKrumpet Once more, into the breach!

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    Keyboard and Mouse is such a step up on an FPS over a game pad. It will feel weird at first, but once you're used to it you'll never wanna go back.
     
  19. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Also, not sure if you know, but posters here with over 20 posts get free delivery from Scan on all orders over £20.

    Sign up here
     
  20. The_Beast

    The_Beast I like wood ಠ_ಠ

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    If it's a retail CPU then it will come with the stock heatsink, which actually isn't that bad and can handle a mild OC
     

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