Upgrading gaming PC

Lockon02

Lockon02

New Member
I need some advices upgrading my PC since Battlefield 3 is coming out next month and the system requirement just been released:

Minimum System Requirements
OS: WINDOWS VISTA (SERVICE PACK 2) 32-BIT
PROCESSOR: 2 GHZ DUAL CORE (CORE 2 DUO 2.4 GHZ OR ALTHON 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
DVD ROM DRIVE

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
DVD ROM DRIVE

This is my current build:
OS: Windows 7 64bit
Mobo: MSI 770-C45
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955
GPU: Radeon HD 4890
Memory: 4GB
Hard drive: 1 TB HD
Power supply: OCZ 550W power supply

I'm looking at upgrading GPU and may be power supply. Also, I'm thinking of adding more memory (2 or 4 GB more)
This is what I'm looking at right now for the GPU:
MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC Radeon HD 6950
and XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970

What should I do? Battlefield open beta starting next week (Sep. 29) but the game release on Oct. 25th. I was playing fine during closed beta and the game looked fine eventhough I think it was on low or minimum.

Edit: Budget: I'm not looking to spend more than $500 for this upgrade.
 
Definitely upgrade the GPU and PSU. For the PSU, look for a 650w by antec, corsair, silverstone, seasonic, PC power and cooling, or xfx brand power supply.

The two GPUs you listed are great cards. They will get great frame rates. Look into Nvidia 570 for a little more power.

For the RAM, going to 8GB is not a priority, but you can do it and see a little performance increase. I would definitely upgrade the GPU and PSU first.
 
no, ocz is fine, they just aren't as good as the others, but it should work fine, it isn't as much of a risk of blowing up like the other crap ones
 
I see, thanks for the replies. Is GTX 570 perform a a lot better than Radeon HD 6950? I mean its quite a bit different in price but if it does perform a bit better I might throw in a few extra bucks for a better card.

And I check my power supply again, it may be 450W instead of 550W like I listed above. I guess I'm going to buy a new PSU after all.

What do you think of these PSUs:

Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W
COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W

The Antec is the cheapest one but ugly color lol. Are there any big differences between these 3? I'll probably end up buying the cooler master or the corsair one since its only $10-20 difference in price.
 
Dystopia said:
Hahahahaha
Click to expand...

Ok, not terrible, but not the best. If ya do go for a 570, I would never put my trust in a OCZ, my opinion. Comparing the only 2 550w OCZ on newegg, one has 38 amps on the 12V, which is all right, but the other one only has 25 amps. Once again, with a decent GPU, would require a better PSU than one with 25 amps on the 12 rail.

Out of those, I would go for the corsair, I just got that one.
 
What resolution are you gaming at?
I would say the HD4890 is nice card and will be able to handle Battlefield 3 but it won't max out anything.You will be able to play it at max resolution and low-medium settings.
I would say wait for the newer GPUs or get Battlefield 3 when it releases and if you feel the need to upgrade then do so.
 
BF3 Min/Recommended specs were released the other day:

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
DVD ROM DRIVE

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
DVD ROM DRIVE

The 4890 is a good card but we're two generations ahead.
 
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