Cheapest possible build to run battlefield 3 at ultra

[teemow]

Hi Guys,

So just want to know this, Im going to follow the format as instructed sticky thread i dont want to break any rules so here it goes. I need a new pc to run battlefield 3 at ultra with no lags and smoothly as possible and cheaper too. Im still in collage taking up Information Technology so i dont have my own income yet so i'll ask my parents for the money 😀 , I like nice graphics and awesome animation thats why i want battlefield 3 to run at ULTRA!!! hehehe...

Informations:
Approximate Purchase Date: Still asking for how much 😀

Budget Range: Cheapest Possbile 😀

System Usage from Most to Least Important: The people would answer this 😀

Are you buying a monitor: No, I have a LG Flatron W1942S Im happy with 1440x900 😀

Parts to Upgrade: Building new pc right? 😀

Do you need to buy OS: I think so, my friend suggested to use a pirate of windows 7 LOL

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: The people would answer this 😀

Location: Im from the philippines 😀

Parts Preferences: The people would answer this 😀

Overclocking: I dont know this stuff yet

SLI or Crossfire: This is the gpu part right? The people would answer this 😀

Your Monitor Resolution: 1440x900

Additional Comments: I really need your help guys were not rich thats why i wanted the cheapest possible 😀

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Im not , Im buying a new pc 😀

 

[tsnor]

This $500 PC (plsu copy of windows = $600) will play BF3 at Ultra.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-do-it-yourself-geforce-gtx-560,3216.html

$500 Gaming PC System Components
CPU Intel Celeron G530 (Sandy Bridge): 2.4 GHz, 2 MB Shared L3 Cache
$50
CPU Cooler Intel boxed heat sink/fan 0
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V: LGA 1155, Intel H61 Express
$60
RAM Pareema 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 MD313C80809L2 $20
Graphics ECS NGT560TI-1GPI-F1 GeForce GTX 560 Ti $210
Hard Drive Western Digital WD3200AAKX: 320 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
$75
Case Rosewill R101-P-BK MicroATX Mid Tower $30
Power Antec VP-450 450 W $38
Optical LG 22x DVD Burner SATA Model GH22NS90B-OEM $17

Total Cost
$500

I'd go with i3-2120 instead of G530. You might get by with cheaper video.

 

[teemow]

Hi tsnor,

Thanks for replying, Wow i was shocked can this build really run it at ultra?

 

[Hazle]

Hi tsnor,

Thanks for replying, Wow i was shocked can this build really run it at ultra?

singleplayer campaign; yes.

64 players online maps; you'll probably need to make some compromises.

 

[teemow]

singleplayer campaign; yes.

64 players online maps; you'll probably need to make some compromises.

Hi hazle,

Thanks for replying, can you suggest a possible build?

 

[FinneousPJ]

Something like this probably

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.26 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 (G3) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apex PC-389-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $595.18
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-08 06:34 EDT-0400)

 

[Hazle]

Hi hazle,

Thanks for replying, can you suggest a possible build?

Something like this probably

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.26 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 (G3) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apex PC-389-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $595.18
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-08 06:34 EDT-0400)

FinneouPJ's suggestion's could definitely do it (i see no RAM, so add another $20-25), as a quad core will matter in those 64 players maps. any cheaper, and you'll have to switch out to a 6870 or a 560 (non-ti) which would border close to 30-35fps at worse during gameplay.

another thing to consider to cheapen it more is to grab an HDD instead particularly the 320GB tsnor suggested earlier, UNLESS you're seriously only going to play BF3 exclusively for a month or two on the PC before going out to get an HDD for storage purposes and don't have tons of other files to put in the SSD. if so, stick with the SSD.

 

[mauller07]

To get better performance on ultra, disable motion blur as well, it adds nothing to the game and looks terrible.

 

[tsnor]

Hi tsnor,

Thanks for replying, Wow i was shocked can this build really run it at ultra?

Here's that build at Ultra at 1680X1050 with av frames in the mid 40s.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-do-it-yourself-geforce-gtx-560,3216-9.html

If you google youtube BF3 and GTX 560 Ti you'll see video footage (with stronger CPU) running ultra at higher resolution than the 1440x900 you plan to run. So YES!! it should play smoothly at ultra.

Enjoy

EDIT: But I like the i5-2300, HD7850 build much more -- go that path. Except you will need a larger drive than 120GB SSD, suggest a fast 1TB drive instead. And you'll live with that case for a long time -- consider also spending another $30 for an antec 300 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 And everyone already has an optical they can steal from an old machine, and...

OR go grab any major manufacturer (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc) refurbished i3 based system $250 and add in PSU ($50) and video ($200). That takes care of windows, keyboard, etc. that are not in these builds.

 

[FinneousPJ]

FinneouPJ's suggestion's could definitely do it (i see no RAM, so add another $20-25), as a quad core will matter in those 64 players maps. any cheaper, and you'll have to switch out to a 6870 or a 560 (non-ti) which would border close to 30-35fps at worse during gameplay.

another thing to consider to cheapen it more is to grab an HDD instead particularly the 320GB tsnor suggested earlier, UNLESS you're seriously only going to play BF3 exclusively for a month or two on the PC before going out to get an HDD for storage purposes and don't have tons of other files to put in the SSD. if so, stick with the SSD.

Derp.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.26 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 (G3) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.54 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($94.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apex PC-389-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $641.71
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-08 07:54 EDT-0400)

Or if you want more space the 1.5 TB Barracuda is cheap

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.26 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 (G3) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.54 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apex PC-389-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $626.72
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-08 07:56 EDT-0400)

 

[teemow]

CPU: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.26 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 (G3) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.54 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apex PC-389-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $626.72
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-08 07:56 EDT-0400)

Wow this sounds like a good build , may i ask if this will run at 1680X1050 smoothly with no lag ? and do i need to buy another monitor ? and do i need to overclock things? dont know how to overclock yet sorry total noob here 😀

 

[FinneousPJ]

Yeah, it will run 1050p no problem.

I don't understand what you mean about the monitor.

You can't overclock the CPU in this configuration to cut costs. GPU overclocking will help maintain higher frame rates but is not obligatory.

 

[teemow]

Best answer selected by teemow.

 

[teemow]

I don't understand what you mean about the monitor.

Sorry nevermind thanks for all the help guys love you all 😀