Battlefield 3 Upgrade Path

[Paul]

So Battlefield 3 is still a pretty long way away (Due date is 02 November 2011) but we have all seen the vids and they look great.

It also means that chances are most of us will be needing to do either a full upgrade (mobo, CPU, GFX etc) or a partial upgrade (GFX, ram) in order for BF3 to run nicely.

So I thought instead of everyone starting their own thread asking for help we can combine it here, maybe if bulk order some components if it is worthwhile.

Personally I foresee myself needing the following and will most probably only order after I have played BF3 on my current rig to see the of what I need to upgrade (I included estimates).

Paul
===============
New GFX (R3000)
New PSU (depends on the GFX, I have a 650W, should be ok for most GFX cards) (R1000)
2GB or 4GB extra RAM ( I currently have 4GB, I think with the destructibility, RAM will be important) (R500)
New Case (Not totally necessary but my case is getting long in the tooth) R1000
Joystick (Can’t fly those Jets without one of these) R400-R500

So all in all I am looking at about R6000 that needs to be saved in 7 odd months. I am sure you could throwing and extra R4000- R6000 if you need a new MOBO and CPU


So who else is going to need help getting up to speed so to speak

[J_Th4ng]

Paul, I reckon that the only bits from the above that you will really need are the Graphics card and the joystick. A 650W PSU should be fine for powering any current Graphics card (as long as it's a single GPU). RAM is beneficial, but I doubt that you will need it. A new case is a nice idea, but it's obviously a cosmetic change.

If I were you, I'd pump more money into getting a high end GPU. Get the best that you can afford at the time of upgrade. In current terms, I'd be looking at for least a GTX570 or a HD6970.

As for me, well I'm certainly hoping that I don't need to upgrade anything, although there's every possibility that I may do so anyway ;)

[SlipperyDuck]

I'll more than likely get a Sandy Bridge Gen2 chip near the end of the year - with a 8Gb RAM setup - keeping my GTX570 - should be able to handle it (hopes)

[Paul]

That is what I am thinking as well, I am just planning for worst case. Would rather save the money and not need it than need the money and not have saved it.

Who can recommend a good joystick? This something I can get now, I was looking at this,

http://www.nivo.co.za/#buy~logitech.wingman.extreme.3d.pro.joystick~p279

[Megageth]

Paul I have that joystick. Same with Jono. Its decent entry level stuff, was good enough for basic BF2 flying, not sure how it will cope with BF3. Though its the only one I have tried, from what I have read, there are much better options out there and you will notice the difference. Simple question of how much flying you intend to do and how much you are willing to spend.

Ya, I have been trolling hardware estores as well. My only real necessity is GPU and for that I am willing to wait til BF3's release for newer hardware and better prices on the old. I'll also have a better idea on what it will take to run BF3 with all the sauces.

What I have been scratching my chin about in the meantime is getting a good water cooling system. Not much choice in SA so any links or experiences shared will be appreciated. Its gonna have to be a really good watercooling system though cos my high end air cooling is comparable with many of the low end water systems. I also want something quiet. I looked at phase change out of interest but that looks overpriced/overkill/bitch to install.

[SlipperyDuck]

I'm VERY happy with my Corsair H70 - it performs much better than my Thermalright 120 air cool kit, it's neater, more stylish AND since I have dual fans running at low speed - it's actually quieter than my previous Air-cooled setup.

Also having the GTX570 has dropped the noise levels to almost non-existent now. The GTX5XX cards are super silent.

[Paul]

Geez thanks for reminding me, I also needed to add in the cooling. Look at my Thread about CPU cooling, Jarrod and Lee gave some good suggestions

[Phatso]

Good idea Paul, although more than likely still a long time and I am sure we'll see some new technologies pop up.

I will be undergoing the monster upgrade for this as my specs are as follows (also, I don't want what happened to BC2 to happen with me to BF3):

Q9550
4x1GB 667 DDR2 RAM
HD6870
Asus P5N-D Motherboard
XFi-Fatality (might replace)
550W Coolermaster

I have had x2 of those Joysticks and they were great.. But "broke" after a 2 year stint. I will most def go for something again tho.

I like my case, but I foresee ALL the above needing an upgrade. Maybe even some SSD achtung. Thoughts?

[J_Th4ng]

Phats, I'd slap in another 6870, that'll keep you going graphics wise for a long time. As for the rest, a Sandy bridge upgrade would see you styling in terms of CPU power.

That lot would require a better PSU, and new RAM (DDR3). If you have the cash, an SSD would increase general system performance, so an excellent nice to have...

[SlipperyDuck]

mmm, mayhap time for a dedicated gaming SSD..... dang these komputa thingzees can potentially cozt more than BOTH kidneys!

[Thor_23]

At this stage I have done a upgrade recently but I am not sure what to expect at all with this game.
Thinking of getting a SSD to speed things up and maybe an extra gpu? also that H70 cooler really caught my eye and I am also considering it

Currently I have the following:

- AMD hexacore chip 1055t
- 4gig xms3 gaming ram
- ATI 5870
- ROG crosshair 3 formula
- 550w Odin psu

[Hubris]

In my uninformed opinion, you shouldn't need epic cooling if you have good airflow - i.e. 2 or 3 120mm fans and a nice perforated case.

My i7, 570 and mobo generally run in the low thirties at idle and up to say 50 with full blown BC2.

Of course horses for courses so it depends on what components you run and how future forward you want to be.

[Paul]

In my uninformed opinion, you shouldn't need epic cooling if you have good airflow - i.e. 2 or 3 120mm fans and a nice perforated case.


I agree problem is my case is going on 10 years old, the only vents it has are at the back and there are no fans (other than the CPU and GPU)

So I will be getting another case, then see if I need extra cooling. Although sometimes the extra cooling is just to make your rig look sweet

[Thor_23]

In my uninformed opinion, you shouldn't need epic cooling if you have good airflow - i.e. 2 or 3 120mm fans and a nice perforated case.


I agree problem is my case is going on 10 years old, the only vents it has are at the back and there are no fans (other than the CPU and GPU)

So I will be getting another case, then see if I need extra cooling. Although sometimes the extra cooling is just to make your rig look sweet


when you get a new case. you have to consider one of the coolermaster cases. they are awesome!

[Paul]

In my uninformed opinion, you shouldn't need epic cooling if you have good airflow - i.e. 2 or 3 120mm fans and a nice perforated case.


I agree problem is my case is going on 10 years old, the only vents it has are at the back and there are no fans (other than the CPU and GPU)

So I will be getting another case, then see if I need extra cooling. Although sometimes the extra cooling is just to make your rig look sweet


when you get a new case. you have to consider one of the coolermaster cases. they are awesome!


I am, this is the one I am looking at

http://www.nivo.co.za/db/img/00/02/00/tn_47_0000A186_0320.jpg

[J_Th4ng]

That's the same case that we built Stu's new rig into. It's pretty decent, I must say.

I agree that you shouldn't need extreme cooling (particularly for CPU) for normal operation in a well ventilated case. Water cooling or other high end coolers are really there to allow for decent CPU overclocks. If you don't plan on overclocking, then there's no need in installing expensive aftermarket coolers.

Regarding the H70 (and the other H range coolers from Corsair), they do seem to perform very well. There is however one thing about them that I don't like. In order for them to work properly, they disrupt the normal airflow path through the case i.e. they need to be configured to pull air in from the back of the case, rather than pumping it out. This is kind of a 'cheat' compared with normal w/c radiators that use warm air from inside the case to cool the water. Not that I care about this, it's smart design to use cool air for the radiator. However, the knock on effect is to leave you with more hot air inside the case. This can only really be vented out of the top of the case, assuming that the case has a vent/fan on top. this will increase the temperature inside the case, effecting all components (graphics cards, chipset, hard drives etc.).

Lee, what's your experience with inside case temps since you've installed your H70? I've heard from some people that have had real problems with motherboard temps by using an H50. Have you had any issues?

[SlipperyDuck]

Mine is on PUMP air out - I get an extra 3°C drop when I PUMP Air OUT rather than IN the case....

I think the Japanese guy who wrote the Manual was on crack when he said pump the air IN....

That or I guess the thinking was that the system would be installed in a case without any other airflow....who knows.

The bottom line is that their plan is WRONG

[J_Th4ng]

Apparently Denis installed his pumping air out, and performance was initially shite until he changed it around. But, good news that got it to work well the other way around.

I'm still quite keen to replace my archaic Aquagate MAX with one of these (something to lighten my VERY heavy PC case), but I'm hoping for an H80 release before I do so. The H60 lifts performance quite a bit over the H50, so I'd home that the H80 would do the same to the H70.

[gr@v1ty]

I think the Japanese guy who wrote the Manual was on crack when he said pump the air IN....


Air in/out is all relative to which space you feel you're talking about. He was prob talkiing about the air in his tiny corner office where the case took up most of the space.