Upgrade advice for Battlefield BC2

Wang Computer · 2 May 2010 at 12:33

I'm sort of out of the loop as far as PC components go, so bear with me...

I've sort of swayed away from gaming for the past year for various reasons. That was until the recent aquisition of Battlefield Bad Company 2. I really, really like this game but unfortunately it's very choppy at times, even on the lowest graphics settings. Therefore I think it's time for an upgrade.

My current set up (and presumably the components that need replacing - my HDD + PSU are both pretty modern).

E6400 @ 3Ghz
Abit IP-35 Pro
4GB DDR-800
Nvidia GTX 260 216 core
******
Samsung F3 1GB
Corsair 550W

I think a 5870 is a must (unless I hear otherwise), but I'm open to the suggestions on everything else. Not bothered about AMD or Intel, I just don't know which is best at the moment.

Ideally I'd not want to spend more than £600.

Cheers!

mrfun1981 · 2 May 2010 at 12:53

Are you looking for a new system or are you looking to use some of the system you got now? As your motherboard can take quad cores so you could look to just change that with maybe a new GPU

Tikkabhuna · 2 May 2010 at 12:54

Your system is better than mine and I can run mine at medium (1680x1050) while having about 30FPS average. Maybe its a driver issue or something? If not you could upgrade mobo/cpu/memory and see if that helps. That graphics card should be able to run it quite nicely.

Edit: For reference, I have a Athlon 64 X2 @2.65GHz, 4GB DDR2 and a 4850.

Wang Computer · 2 May 2010 at 13:06

@ mrfun. Would it be worth upgrading the CPU? How would that compare to going for a whole new architecture? I just want the most cost effective option.

@ Tikkabhuna. I've updated the drivers of course. I'm using 1920x1080, so I'm not sure what sort of extra impact pushing those extra pixels will have.

mrfun1981 · 2 May 2010 at 13:16

Wang Computer said:
@ mrfun. Would it be worth upgrading the CPU? How would that compare to going for a whole new architecture? I just want the most cost effective option.

It all depends as the socket 775's are dieing out now, there wont be much room to upgrade in the future with out getting a whole now system so to speak.....But its the cheapest option right now if you dont want to spend it all.

But if you have the £600 spare right now you could get yourself a nice new AM3 system with a 5850........Also im not 100% if the PSU would be enough....The specs below are only a guide line Im guessing you would be reusing your case.

Im not 100% on the latest motherboards but some one maybe be able to pick out a better/cheaper one if needed

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Asus ATI Radeon HD 5850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card Asus ATI Radeon HD 5850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £224.99
(£191.48) £224.99
(£191.48)
AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £166.99
(£142.12) £166.99
(£142.12)
Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AMD 880G (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £102.99
(£87.65) £102.99
(£87.65)
OCZ Gold Low Voltage 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1600lV4GK) OCZ Gold Low Voltage 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1600lV4GK) £91.98
(£78.28) £91.98
(£78.28)
Sub Total : £499.53
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £89.08
Total : £598.11

stulid · 2 May 2010 at 13:43

^
nothing wrong with that.

mrfun1981 · 2 May 2010 at 13:46

^^ But would the OP's 550w PSU be enough. as i was thinking that they would need at least maybe 650w

stulid · 2 May 2010 at 13:48

its enough.

www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/10/14/ati-radeon-hd-5850-review/9

i7 and 5850 power consumption.

Tikkabhuna · 2 May 2010 at 14:06

Wang Computer said:
@ Tikkabhuna. I've updated the drivers of course. I'm using 1920x1080, so I'm not sure what sort of extra impact pushing those extra pixels will have.

Ah, that's probably true. I don't have the luxury of having a nice new monitor.

Fallen god · 2 May 2010 at 14:32

Wouldnt a faster 4 core AMD be better than the 6 core in most games?

reflux · 2 May 2010 at 14:50

Fallen god said:
Wouldnt a faster 4 core AMD be better than the 6 core in most games?

Yes. Tbh I would recommend the 3.4ghz Phenom II Black Edition quad core.

Fallen god · 2 May 2010 at 16:14

I would go with something like this, its abit more than £600 but if you sell your current set up you should get a nice amount.

Asus ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £323.99

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £135.99

Asus M4A89GTD PRO AMD 890GX (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £107.99

OCZ Gold Low Voltage 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1600lV4GK) £91.98

Total comes in at £659.96

You could get a cheaper Mobo, i just picked that one cause it does 16x/16x xfire not sure if theres a cheaper one that does that and comes iwth all the good stuff like usb3 and such.