Battlefield 3 (BF3) System Build Guide - What you need to succeed
1680x1050 - Medium Settings
So, you want to play Battlefield 3 but you don't have a need for a high end system to do it - you just want to make sure you aren't left behind. Your monitor might be a bit behind the times with a resolution of 1680x1050 but that doesn't mean you can't still snipe some Eyefinity-using-punks avatar from 600m, right? Here is the system we think you need to do it all at medium quality settings.
CPU: Core i5-2500k - $219
MB: ASUS P8Z68-V LE - $129
Memory: 2 x 2GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 - $32
The most expensive part in this system is going to be your processor - the Core i5-2500k and you won't hurt my feelings at all if you decide to step down to a lower cost Sandy Bridge part here and stick with the same motherboard or even if you decide to go with the AMD platform instead.
For only $169 you can grab the Phenom II X4 980 3.7 GHz processor and easily pick up a 990FX motherboard for the $140 range that will get you running and more than adequate speeds for BF3 and prepare for the pending launch of AMD's Bulldozer 8-core CPU. As I mentioned on the first page the CPU platform of choice doesn't really make much a difference in the performance of this game but we like you to be prepared for future titles as well that just MIGHT use the CPU more heavily.
GPU: Zotac AMP! GeForce GTX 560 1GB (overclocked) - $220
My testing has shown that to really reach that 60 FPS mark that is our target for the best gameplay experience, the best card to reach that at Medium quality settings in BF3 is the GTX 560 or the GTX 560 Ti. The reason I selected this Zotac overclocked model is just because of its price and how much it is overclocked from reference speeds: 950 MHz versus 810 MHz! Even though it has fewer shader units than the GTX 560 Ti card I still think for the money this card will get you to your BF3 goals the cheapest.
Oh, and with most of the GeForce cards in this little article, you get a free copy of the upcoming Batman: Arkham City game - a $50 value for what is likely to be a pretty sweet game.
GPU alternate: Gigabyte Radeon HD 6870 1GB (overclocked) - $190
If you want to go the route of the AMD Radeon lineup then the lowest priced card to meet our quality goals for this system would likely be the Radeon HD 6870 card though in my testing it is a bit slower than the GTX 560 series. This overclocked model likely has some more headroom you can push out of the GPU as it is only clocked at 950 MHz (compared to the 900 MHz stock setting).
Base Components Cost: $600
This is definitely a higher cost than our budget system on our Hardware Leaderboard but Battlefield 3 is a tough game on your system, so this is where I think you should be starting at.
PC Perspective Upcoming Events
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I would buy Battlefield 3 if it wasn't for the horrible piece of crap software that is Origin.
"Wake up"
i feel the exact same way.
i will NOT get BF3 UNLESS its on steam, and i DONT have to install Origon
Yeah, I completely agree. Steam is a pain, but Origin is AWFUL. Just like I want to get BC2's Vietnam, but would have to go through Origin to get it (as I bought the physical copy of BFBC2). I've currently been having a blast of a time (heavy sarcasm) with Origin, having the 'pleasure' of trying to download the beta :/
Just relax, they are trying to fix it. And they have got the Origin "stable" for now^^
Thank you sir. This cuts a lot of my homework out of the way.
Geosys
Glad to help!
Hey Ryan,
How does this run on your Alienware m17x? I have one with a 580m and would like to know what the performance is going to be like.
It ran great on our at 1080p resolution, though we are using a Radeon HD 6990m.
Does the higher latency on the RAM not really make much of a performance difference?
Not for gaming, nope.
Alright. Saves me a few dollars then. Thanks for the quick reply Ryan!
Hey what is the difference between high and ultra? Other than AA being turned on. I have heard rumors that dice did not include the actual ultra settings in the beta.
Also quick question HBAO vs SSAO? I know HBAO is more intensive, but I can't tell the difference.
Thanks for the article Ryan. I guess I will have to get a second 570 :-\
Check out my previous BF3 articles for some IQ comparisons.
I've been thinking about going for a 6870 Trifire setup. Using the 6870 X2 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131446) and single 6870 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948) the cost would be around $600. Any thoughts as to how this would perform in BF3 and Rage?
I would think 2 6970s would be better for that kind of money, VRAM doesnt scale as in 2 1gig cards does not equal your pc having 2gigs usable vram (so Ive been told)
BF3 is said to use about 1.3gigs of vram ps
If Andrew's cost comment is right, I think that is a better choice. Two GPUs will scale better (in terms of cost/FPS) than three GPUs will.
I wanted to be sure so I looked into it and found an article on Toms Hardware:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/245454-33-crossfire-faqs
Do SLI or CrossFire double the memory ?
No.Adding another card with more memory doesn't double the overall memory of your cards.
Agreed, 2 GPUs will almost always have a better FPS per dollar ratio than 3. However, I used to run a 4870x2 + 4870 setup and was surprised at just now well tri-fire scaled.
Will we be seeing BF3 included free with any new cards?
(for us cheap thrifty bastards)
Doesn't look like. It appears the new Batman is the pack in of choice for the fall.
The 6950 Dirt 3 comes with Dirt 3 and Deus Ex:Human Revolution which most AMD cards come with still. That was the GPU route i went last month, I plan on running two of those eventually so i can get more than the 30fps i'm getting now in Caspian Border on Ultra lol.
Thanks for the article! I'm running an older Asus 4870x2 with an i7 2600K, Maximus IV Extreme-Z, Vertex 3, and 16GB of Vengeance DDR3-1600. I upgraded recently except for the GPU b/c waiting for the upcoming 28nm GPU's. Any idea when to expect them? Is this a good idea in your opinion? I'm not dissatisfied with the 4870x2 on the demo - it's running in "high" mode. But really looking forward to seeing how a 28nm multi GPU card will do.
i ran beta with 6770 5770 xfire phenom x4 965 8 gig of crucial 1333 ram at 2048X1154 on whatever settings they recommend (not the highest but must categories were up all the way)and i got 60 fps on fraps, note: it does drop in the 40s at some points but others its up in the 90s.
This game rocks
How is the game's memory usage using 3 1920x1200 monitors? ARMA2 absolutely eats VRAM and 1.5GB isn't enough. Is BF3 much less demanding even with ultra settings?
Great article, thanks for all the in-depth info.
I have a 5850 do you think if I add another for the small additional price I will be able to play BF3 on high settings 1080p? or am I still going to be held back by 1gb of VRAM on this game at that res?
I have 6gb RAM and an i7 920 also.
2x 5850 will be plenty if you arent playing eyefinity.
Guess my old Q6600,750i FTW and 570 may not cut it. lol though I do have a brand new P55 Mobo I won from EVGA almost 2 yrs ago. Don't know if I'd be better off with an i7 or i5. Been trying to build a new machine since I got the board, but damn life keeps getting in the way and sucking up extra funds :)
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