New rig for BF3

[dragon246665]

I've recently decided to give up on my junked up rig (you served me well) and start from scratch on a new one. My main goal for this new rig will be to run Battlefield 3 on high specs when it comes out, as well as having plenty of memory to accommodate for my large-ish collection of games.

 

My trouble is, after spending hours browsing Newegg I still have almost no idea what to get. Do I start from scratch? Do I get a barebones kit? Do I buy some combo pack? Its all very confusing to me. My biggest concerns are that none of the components I buy will "fit" together, so that makes me scared to go completely from scratch, and when I look at barebones kits, I'm totally lost when it comes to seeing which ones could support good enough expansions.

 

So I ask you, what would you suggest? Does anyone have any links to some good rigs I could buy? My price cap is 1500$ but I might be willing to consider 2000$ if you think its a really really great rig. Please keep in mind that I'm very inexperienced at this, and so any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

This is what I currently had in mind: Computer

 

Its fairly expensive, but it looks pretty cool and I really love some of those specs, do you think this is what I'm looking for?

[jasignhagj]

AMD is a big no-no for a high end gaming computer, and 6 cores will just go to waste. Your best choice is an Intel core i7 2600k, which is a beast of a processor. I'd also go with a GTX 570 or 580 and 8gb of RAM. A SSD is a bit out of that price range, unless you want a 32gb one just for the OS. You could go also go for 2 sli'd GTX 560 ti cards, but there is only one motherboard that has true 16x/16x PCI-e slots and it's super expensive.

[Nadril]

http://www.tested.com/news/how-to-build-a-future-proof-1500-gaming-pc/2003/

 

This actually is a really good build that should help you. It's a $1,500 PC and they have a video showing you exactly how to build it :thumbup:.

[jasignhagj]

Not bad, but I somewhat question going with a core i5 and spending the saved money on a 2tb drive.

 

This is your base, you just need to pick a case that you like, and decide if you want a DVD drive ($20) or a blu-ray drive ($100)

 

Make sure you put the product codes in the search box so you get the right model, and make sure you get the $20 combo deal with the motherboard and processor.

[Guy]

Combos are always good - they save you money. Putting a computer together isn't too bad. I would definitely stay away from AMD for a good computer. I doubt you need to spend the money on a 2TB drive - 1TB will probably suffice and it is easy enough to add another hard drive if you end up needing the extra space. I would go the whole way and get an i7 2600k, although a i5 2500k will suffice. You'd definitely want third party CPU cooler because you should overclock - those sandy bridge's go crazy high. For cases - you'll want one with lots of fans, and cable management. I see the computer you chose had a seagate HDD - stay away from them.

[dragon246665]

Hmm...these are all things I should consider. My biggest fear about buying a computer completely from scratch is that the parts I buy for it won't "fit" together, or that I won't have enough cables to hook everything up. Plus the actual assembly would be pretty scary, do these things come with instructions?

[Guy]

Hmm...these are all things I should consider. My biggest fear about buying a computer completely from scratch is that the parts I buy for it won't "fit" together, or that I won't have enough cables to hook everything up. Plus the actual assembly would be pretty scary, do these things come with instructions?

Once you've chosen your parts, give us a list of links to them and we can help you with that. Physically, they should fit together because everything conforms to an industry standard, so all parts are physically the same. You don't actually need many cables for the inside of the computer, most stuff physically plugs into the motherboard. The only cables you need are external ones, and perhaps a couple of SATA ones for the HDDs, but normally the motherboard comes with a few. Assembly-wise, they don't normally come with instructions on how to assemble your computer, but it is really not such a difficult concept as some people may suggest. Sure, a couple of things require knowledge and know-how, but that's what google is for :P

[dragon246665]

Alright I'll try to come up with a list of components later today, thanks for helping me out with this!

[cheeky16]

Just a quick question, why stay away from AMD? Is it just a gaming issue? I have the 1090t and it's awesome. Mind you runescape is the only game I really play much.

[dragon246665]

So here is my "from scratch" list of components...

 

 

 

Would this be enough to even get my computer to turn on? Assume that I already have a monitor/keyboard/mouse.

[Guy]

Just a quick question, why stay away from AMD? Is it just a gaming issue? I have the 1090t and it's awesome. Mind you runescape is the only game I really play much.

Their internal cpu architecture is incredibly dated and slower than intel's.

 

@OP

Stay away from Seagate, their harddrives are not great quality. I can't say I've ever heard of the 'Palit' brand, although it could be an american thing. Compatibility wise, looks fine, although I've not actually checked in much detail. I would say an 850W PSU is a little OTT. I know little about nVidia graphics cards, but I'd be hesitant about GTS, and IDK whether the 450 model is enough

[Sbrideau]

I thought the better hard disk brand were Seagate and Western Digital, would seagate have fallen like that?

[Guy]

I thought the better hard disk brand were Seagate and Western Digital, would seagate have fallen like that?

I've heard rather bad things about seagate lately. Personally both of my hard drives are seagate, but they are quite old. What I've been told is that previously, Seagate was indeed good, but now they are slipping quite badly.

[cheeky16]

I have 3 Western Digital and an OCZ, all have been great so far.

 

1Tb Caviar Green, 300Gb something(it's a little older), 1Tb Caviar Black

60Gb OCZ SSD

 

Solid State is nice for the OS and programs. :)

[Jernlov]

i7 for gaming. Laffo.

 

AMD is definitely not a no-no. Phenom II 945/955s are beastly processors if you're looking for price/performance. 6870 is also a top-notch GPU for the money. Faster than a 5850 which is more than good enough for almost anyone.

 

i7 is a workstation processor. i5 is way more than good enough for gaming, not even kidding. I have a 760 (1156) and it destroys almost everything out there right now. I think an i7 would be a waste of money that could be used on faster RAM, GPU, so on. Also, you really do not need 8GB of RAM unless you're video editing and playing Crysis at the same time. Seriously. I have 4GB and I've not seen it come close to maxing out. 4GB of fast RAM is far more than good enough for playing games.

 

Just a word of warning that Sandy Bridge motherboards are really not that great from what I've been hearing about them so keep that in mind if you're going 1155.

 

BF3 recommended (based on its engine):

 

 

Recommended System Requirements

Processor: Quadcore Processor

Memory: 4 GB

Hard Drive: 15 GB for Digital Version, 10 GB for Disc Version

Video Memory: 512 MB

Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

DirectX: 11

Keyboard and Mouse

DVD Rom Drive

 

Good components which fulfil these criteria will be more than enough. It's preferable to get a 1GB graphics card so you have more space for high-resolution textures but it's hard to find an enthusiast GPU without 1GB of memory these days. 4GB of 1333/1600MHz RAM will be fine, i5 2500k will be fine. It might even be overkill depending on this guy's screen resolution... But yeah, the "top-end" components definitely don't give you the best price/performance at all.

 

I'm sorry for sounding like an [wagon] but I can't stand it when I see $1500 "gaming" builds when a gaming PC should cost nowhere near that much. You could probably get something for $700-$900 which will destroy BF3 and I'm willing to give you a hand doing so, unless you're set on getting what's been posted. I don't really think it's necessary but it's your call, dude. Obviously a build like that will be nothing short of exceptional but then you'd need to get a suitably high-resolution monitor to really push your hardware enough to get your money's worth out of it. No use spending $1500 on a nuclear reactor and playing on your 10 year old 15" CRT.

[jasignhagj]

i7 for gaming. Laffo.

 

AMD is definitely not a no-no. Phenom II 945/955s are beastly processors if you're looking for price/performance. 6870 is also a top-notch GPU for the money. Faster than a 5850 which is more than good enough for almost anyone.

 

i7 is a workstation processor. i5 is way more than good enough for gaming, not even kidding. I have a 760 (1156) and it destroys almost everything out there right now. I think an i7 would be a waste of money that could be used on faster RAM, GPU, so on. Also, you really do not need 8GB of RAM unless you're video editing and playing Crysis at the same time. Seriously. I have 4GB and I've not seen it come close to maxing out. 4GB of fast RAM is far more than good enough for playing games.

 

Just a word of warning that Sandy Bridge motherboards are really not that great from what I've been hearing about them so keep that in mind if you're going 1155.

 

BF3 recommended (based on its engine):

 

 

Recommended System Requirements

Processor: Quadcore Processor

Memory: 4 GB

Hard Drive: 15 GB for Digital Version, 10 GB for Disc Version

Video Memory: 512 MB

Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

DirectX: 11

Keyboard and Mouse

DVD Rom Drive

 

Good components which fulfil these criteria will be more than enough. It's preferable to get a 1GB graphics card so you have more space for high-resolution textures but it's hard to find an enthusiast GPU without 1GB of memory these days. 4GB of 1333/1600MHz RAM will be fine, i5 2500k will be fine. It might even be overkill depending on this guy's screen resolution... But yeah, the "top-end" components definitely don't give you the best price/performance at all.

 

I'm sorry for sounding like an [wagon] but I can't stand it when I see $1500 "gaming" builds when a gaming PC should cost nowhere near that much. You could probably get something for $700-$900 which will destroy BF3 and I'm willing to give you a hand doing so, unless you're set on getting what's been posted. I don't really think it's necessary but it's your call, dude. Obviously a build like that will be nothing short of exceptional but then you'd need to get a suitably high-resolution monitor to really push your hardware enough to get your money's worth out of it. No use spending $1500 on a nuclear reactor and playing on your 10 year old 15" CRT.

 

He told us $1500 was his budget, so that's what I went with. He could cut down to a 2500k, although the i7 is worth the extra $100 IMO. I see no point in going for less than 8gb of RAM, you will notice the difference with 4gb and it is only around $40 more. As for BF3, Those are the recommended settings, if you want to play on a 1080p monitor with at least 4x AA and Very High/High (Anything less is ugly), then what I posted is what you want. 1tb is the sweet-spot for price/GB right now, and buying a 2tb drive is overkill unless you need the space right now. AMD Cards have awful drivers, and I would never put myself through that. You could go down to a 560 ti, and SLI another one in a year as 8x PCI-e isn't a massive bottleneck for that card, but the 570 is your best choice for a single card.

 

About the motherboards being bad, Intel released a faulty chipset originally, which made the SATA2 ports fail, but all the new boards being sold now have the new fixed chipset.

 

tl;dr, spend the $1500 unless you need the money elsewhere badly.

 

 

So here is my "from scratch" list of components...

 

 

 

Would this be enough to even get my computer to turn on? Assume that I already have a monitor/keyboard/mouse.

 

That's a pretty weak GPU for BF3. You may be able to get by on low settings, but the 570 is a much better choice. I'd go for the WD Caviar Blue or Samsung Spinpoint drive, but spending the extra for the Caviar Black SATA 6.0gbps is worth it. Otherwise everything will work together, corsair makes the best PSUs around and they come with plenty of cables.

 

You still need a disk drive though, unless you're planning on recycling an old one.

[dragon246665]

Oh shoot, forgot that I needed a disk drive, those aren't that important, right? :P (sarcasm, just so you know)

 

As for the RAM, I really don't plan on cutting back, I don't even want to think about lag while playing any of my games, and it really seems like an easy way to get more performance out of my machine for a low price.

 

So I was looking around for potential GPUs and I landed on this guy...

 

Card

 

If this one isn't enough I don't know what is.

 

And as for my missing disk drive, I decided to get this one. Tell me what you think? I mean, it seems like most disk drives are pretty much the same, and if your wondering no, I don't want a blu-ray drive.

 

These new additions bring my total up to $1534.40 which is a bit over my limit, but I think it'll be worth it.

 

I've been seeing a lot of debate over which CPU to get, and understand almost none of the debate going on, could someone just step in any say "yay" or "nay" to my current CPU? (And if you say "nay" suggest a better one, remember, I would prefer quality over price, but please don't suggest anything too much over like,$250.)

[jasignhagj]

Go for the i7 unless you need the $100.

 

As for the GPU, the 580 may be a bit too much for your needs. Do you have any reason for going for zotac, because you can get higher clocked ones for cheaper. I'd recommend this EVGA card, as it has a lifetime warranty. I still think the 570 will be enough for one monitor though.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 - Go for this disk drive, it's a burner, and they are all essentially the same.

[Unb34t4bl3]

1) Get a 2500k with a nice P67 motherboard and overclock it to 4.5GHz. A 2600k isn't worth the extra for gaming.

2) Get a SSD for your boot/os drive.

3) Look into 2GB HD 6950s - most flash to HD 6970s, for around $240-$250 each. Sorry NVDA fans, but AMD won this round.

[cheeky16]

1) Get a 2500k with a nice P67 motherboard and overclock it to 4.5GHz. A 2600k isn't worth the extra for gaming.

2) Get a SSD for your boot/os drive.

3) Look into 2GB HD 6950s - most flash to HD 6970s, for around $240-$250 each. Sorry NVDA fans, but AMD won this round.

 

Gotta be honest, the ssd isn't really worth it to the average user. Its extra money you wouldnt need to spend. But if you got an extra like $130 get one for sure. Makes boot times and program launches super fast.

[jasignhagj]

SSDs are overrated if all you install on them is the OS. Wait a couple years until they come down in price. AMD has terrible drivers, and I mean god awful. My friend has a computer with a 5770, and it has a hard time playing a lot of older games, even with the newest drivers. Plus you should never buy a card or processor hoping it will flash, because if it doesn't you're stuck with something worse than you want.

[cheeky16]

I personally disagree that SSD are overrated. I truly do like mine, it holds my OS and programs. It could be that I'm a little biased because of some programs I run. Video Editing software tends to be a little larger and I notice the faster load times but for most people it's not that noticable. Unless you're concerned about super fast load times for bragging rights or it's actually useful I wouldn't spend the money. My 60Gb SSD was $130, while my 1Tb Caviar Back was $65 or $70.

[Unb34t4bl3]

SSDs are overrated if all you install on them is the OS. Wait a couple years until they come down in price. AMD has terrible drivers, and I mean god awful. My friend has a computer with a 5770, and it has a hard time playing a lot of older games, even with the newest drivers. Plus you should never buy a card or processor hoping it will flash, because if it doesn't you're stuck with something worse than you want.

 

SSDs, while still expensive, have now fallen down into the affordable range. I could understand that argument 1-2 years when SSDs were not only outrageously priced, but also unreliable. If you can spend thoughtfully on your components, you can easily fit a SSD into the build, especially given a $1500-$2000 budget. With a few rebates and/or instant savings, the SSD is taken care of. I love my SSD. Do you know how many reboots one has to go through to fully tweak a good overclock? :P

 

But even for the average user... it never made sense to go high end on all of your components of and then skimp on one leaving a potential bottleneck (whether it be the PSU, CPU, GPU, and now HD, and etc). But yeah, if the SSD seems like too much right now, just go for the standard mechanical drives and consider upgrading to a SSD later on. Keep watching the deals too. Two days ago Buy.com had some 100GB OCZ Vertex SSDs for $52 shipped! (Not sure if anything is wrong with those drives, but with a 3 year warranty you can't go wrong there)

 

I also recommended the 2GB HD 6950s because even if they don't flash (which is like a 10% chance they don't right now) they're still GTX 570 performance for $50 less. It's a win-win situation.

[cheeky16]

So since this topic has a lot to do with gaming builds I have a quick question that someone may be able to answer. I just build my first system a few weeks ago and I'm getting blue screens, internet explorer closes, the runescape client will randomly close, and the system is a little unstable. I'm starting to believe it's the graphics card driver after doing some searching around. Others have apparently had some issues as well.

 

Gygabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H

AMD Phenom II X6 1090t

8Gb Patriot 1333Mhz

Asus HD5770

OCZ 60Gb SSD - OS and programs

2 1Tb Caviar Black/Green for files set in Raid 1 through windows 7

Bluray burner, DVD drive

 

I also added an old nvidea 7600GT into the second PCI Express slow to support a third monitor as the asus 5770 does not support eyefinity. The crashes were occuring prior to the addition of the second graphics card.

 

Any Thoughts?

[Guy]

So since this topic has a lot to do with gaming builds I have a quick question that someone may be able to answer. I just build my first system a few weeks ago and I'm getting blue screens, internet explorer closes, the runescape client will randomly close, and the system is a little unstable. I'm starting to believe it's the graphics card driver after doing some searching around. Others have apparently had some issues as well.

 

Gygabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H

AMD Phenom II X6 1090t

8Gb Patriot 1333Mhz

Asus HD5770

OCZ 60Gb SSD - OS and programs

2 1Tb Caviar Black/Green for files set in Raid 1 through windows 7

Bluray burner, DVD drive

 

I also added an old nvidea 7600GT into the second PCI Express slow to support a third monitor as the asus 5770 does not support eyefinity. The crashes were occuring prior to the addition of the second graphics card.

 

Any Thoughts?

Start your own thread mate, kinda counts as thread hijacking.

 

OT: I would be wary of having 2 cards crossfired/sli'd as an initial build, you're kinda slowed by that 8x pci. Just go for a 6970 I guess, or hell, a 6990 XD