Need help building a rig designed for BF3

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apav

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May 20, 2010
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Hey guys, I'm looking for a build that will be able to handle BF3 on high/max settings at 1080p. I'm not looking to spend more than $1100.

Let me first off say that I won't be building until December. I would like to know if I selected the right parts for the job and if I should wait for new parts in these next few months. I've only listed the mandatory parts, I don't need to ask about an optical drive because I'd just get any one.

Right now I'm looking at this deal:

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan

BYTECC 6 ft. 18AWG Power Cord w/ 3 Conductor PC Power Connector – Black Model POWERCORD-6K

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (

Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.722562

My only concern with this combo is the psu is only 650W. Right now I am going to get a 6950(and flash to a 6970) but in the future I could get another hooked up to xfire and oc'ed and flashed as well. So I would be using dual oc'ed bonafide 6970's.

It depends really if a single 6950 can run BF3 at high. Since the system requirements aren't out, no one will know, but I'd like to have an idea in mind.

Also do should I used some sort of cooling system as well?

I have so many questions, this is my first build so I am curious to see what will work out best. Again if you can give me an idea of what kind of gpu would be the best choice for ultra settings in BF3, and I'll stick to that. I think that the 6950's are the best bang for buck because you can flash and xfire them.

But I should most likely for get about trying to find parts now and just wait till black friday comes around the corner. Right now its pointless, but I still like to have an idea in mind.


 
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I feel like maxed with a 6950 I'll get 20-30 fps, so I'm probably going to get another one to add another 30 fps to max settings. So would a 650W psu be able to handle that, or should I go for a 850W one?

Also what is this amd bulldozer processor coming out soon, I heard it will smoke the i5 2500k and be a little cheaper?

Also if the AMD 7000 series comes out soon, I might just get a single gpu if its less than 2 6950s
 
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At E3, they said the demo's were running with an i7 and GTX 580, and even then they weren't maxing the settings at 1920x1080! This game is somewhere between Crysis and Metro
 
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"Everybody" seems to have evidence, like what devs have said and, as has been mentioned, the hardware that it was run on at E3. And, of course, I wouldn't even be comfortable with that setup for BC2. Where is your evidence that the BF3 devs are wrong in their assessment of what they designed?
 
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the beta comes out this month, so you will likely be able to see benchmarks at ultra settings. in either case, buy the parts separately and go for a 750w psu for dual hd6950's. the odds of you flashing the hd6950 are low, as the newer production runs cannot be flashed.

for example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.723510

also the MSI Twin Frozr III is only $260 right now, which is a great deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127604

the above build with 2x hd6950's totals $1136
 
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I'm building it at Christmas, just wanted to get s general idea for the parts out there? So in December, will almost all 6950s not be able to be flashed? Or should I wait for a 7000 series gpu that is supposed to come out soon. But just a straight up yes or no answer-- would dual 6950s be able to play this in ultra at 1080p well? If not would a single 7000 series gpu do it?

Also because this is a processor intense game, will I be fine with the i5 2500k? Or is the bulldozer going to be cheaper?
 
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My guess is that dual 6950s should suit you pretty well at 1080p. You might not be able to get a minimum of 60 fps, so if this is a requirement for you as it is for me, you might have to turn a few settings down. I see this as moot as you'll be waiting until Christmas, and, despite the prices drops in the 6000 series, they still won't compete with the 7000s for value.

BF3 will definitely be CPU intensive, but it will also be well optimized for 4+ cores. By Christmas, we'll be able to see benches on various CPUs and GPUs, so who knows if SB or BD or SB-E will be king of BF3. (Will refrain from fanboy-biased speculation) But my guess is that a 2500k (Edit: overclocked?) will be able to push a minimum of 60 fps at 1080p with everything cranked.
 
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It depends on the price of the 7000 series. If one single 7000 series is better than most crossfire 6000 series, ill buy that. And the 6970s are only marginally better right? If I cant flash a 6950 anymore. Maybe ill just fork over $140 for dual 6970s. Unless the 570 sli is better.. I don't know who is winning the gpu arms race anymore
 
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I'd say we don't have enough info for now since this is so far down the road, as in Intel and AMD are releasing new CPUs and AMD new GPUs between now and your purchase date. I'd become familiar with the capabilities of the 6950 and 6970 so that you're ready to decide between those and the 7000s at Christmas.
 
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