BF3 Budget Build Help

[Th3Boss]

Approximate Purchase Date: No specific date though sooner the better

Budget Range: Dont really have a budget I just want to build a system as cheap as possible that I can take with me to play BF3

System Usage from Most to Least Important: I only really plan on using it to play BF3 online in 64 player servers at other peoples houses

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:anywhere that ships to US, currently I stick to newegg and amazon though.

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: I have usually stuck with AMD for cpu and nvidia graphics cards but which ever is best for the price I will go with

Overclocking: prefer not to

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Looking to build the PC as cheap as possible, doesnt need a cd/dvd drive or anything, nothing too huge as ill be taking it to peoples houses. Im looking to play online with atleast medium settings and 30 fps on 64 player servers. I have no problem buying used parts to budget more.

Battlefield 3 Specs:
MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: WINDOWS VISTA (SERVICE PACK 2) 32-BIT
PROCESSOR: 2 GHZ DUAL CORE (CORE 2 DUO 2.4 GHZ OR ATHLON X2 2.7 GHZ)
MEMORY: 2 GB
HARD DRIVE: 20 GB
GRAPHICS CARD (AMD): DIRECTX 10.1 COMPATIBLE WITH 512 MB RAM (ATI RADEON 3000, 4000, 5000 OR 6000 SERIES, WITH ATI RADEON 3870 OR HIGHER PERFORMANCE)
GRAPHICS CARD (NVIDIA): DIRECTX 10.0 COMPATIBLE WITH 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE 8, 9, 200, 300, 400 OR 500 SERIES WITH NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800 GT OR HIGHER PERFORMANCE)
SOUND CARD: DIRECTX COMPATIBLE
KEYBOARD AND MOUSE

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: WINDOWS 7 64-BIT
PROCESSOR: QUAD-CORE CPU
MEMORY: 4 GB
HARD DRIVE: 20 GB
GRAPHICS CARD: DIRECTX 11 COMPATIBLE WITH 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 OR ATI RADEON 6950)
SOUND CARD: DIRECTX COMPATIBLE
KEYBOARD AND MOUSE

 

[lehtv]

So it needs to include everything - the PC, all peripherals and the OS? Headphones? Are you going to install Windows via USB?

Here's a PC for u:

CPU i3-2100 $125 [not sure how CPU scaling goes in BF3 with 64 players ...? Could be fine with a Celeron G530, or could need i5-2400].
Mobo Biostar H61MGC $57
RAM Mushkin 8GB $38 ($33 AR)
GPU Sapphire 6850 $140 ($125 AR)
HDD Yeah... the prices are temporarily sky high at the moment... Also, not sure how much HDD space you want/need.
PSU XFX 450W $50 ($30 AR)
Case Cooler Master Elite 430 $35 after rebate and promo
Anted 300 Illusion $45 after promo (ends 31st)
Fractal Core 1000 $50In Win Dragon Slayer $72
NZXT Vulcan $70

BF3 performance tests:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,review-32308.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/battlefield-3-vga-and-cpu-performance-benchmark-test/

 

[Th3Boss]

I have extra peripherals, hard drive and such.

Only really need:
CPU
Mobo
RAM
GPU
PSU

 

[mfenn]

BF3 performance tests:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,review-32308.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/battlefield-3-vga-and-cpu-performance-benchmark-test/

Hmm, when is TechPowerUP or Anandtech going to do a BF3 performance article? These 2nd tier website's reviews all seem to indicate something different in terms of performance. One says that AMD is better, another says that Nvidia is better, and so on.

 

[mfenn]

I have extra peripherals, hard drive and such.

Only really need:
CPU
Mobo
RAM
GPU
PSU

Just pull those parts from lehtv's build above in that case.

 

[lehtv]

Hmm, when is TechPowerUP or Anandtech going to do a BF3 performance article? These 2nd tier website's reviews all seem to indicate something different in terms of performance. One says that AMD is better, another says that Nvidia is better, and so on.

I don't really consider Guru3D a second tier site, well OK it's not as professional as Anandtech, but it's better than Tom's. Techpowerup isn't that different... Still, you're right, they show a bit conflicting results. This may not be because there's something wrong with either site's tests, it could indicate AMD is better in some areas of BF3 while NVIDIA is better in others.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Hmm, when is TechPowerUP or Anandtech going to do a BF3 performance article? These 2nd tier website's reviews all seem to indicate something different in terms of performance. One says that AMD is better, another says that Nvidia is better, and so on.

People like me on lga775 worry more about if you need a whole new platform or could reuse what we currently have.

Video cards are simple to swap out unlike a new mobo,ram and a cpu.

Hope anandtech's review can include maybe a q6600,e8400 and a i5 750 in the bag too...alot of people still using those chips .

 

[mfenn]

I don't really consider Guru3D a second tier site, well OK it's not as professional as Anandtech, but it's better than Tom's. Techpowerup isn't that different... Still, you're right, they show a bit conflicting results. This may not be because there's something wrong with either site's tests, it could indicate AMD is better in some areas of BF3 while NVIDIA is better in others.

Yeah, but tpU has W1zzard, who is a genius. That puts them into top-tier status IMHO.

Spoiler

But maybe I am just being a fanboi.