Time to upgrade for battlefield 4

Bramill

Bramill

Bramill

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Joined
16 Sep 2009
Posts
158
Hi there,

This is my current spec and it's served me well for the last 2 years.

CPU: i5 2500k
MB: Asrock Extreme 4 Gen 3
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
GFX: 6950 Twin Frozr III GFX
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda
Case: Silverstone Raven RV03 Case
PSU: Corsair TX750

I've just purchased Battlefield 4 and my pc doesn't meet the recommended requirements. I'd like to have my pc sustain 60 fps with everything maxed out.

As far as I'm aware my PC needs a better graphics card and a faster CPU. I'd like my pc to be future proof for a couple of years so I imagine investing in a new mobo and cpu combo would be a good idea and maybe I should upgrade the ram while i'm at it.

I've been really happy with the Noctua cooler but it only supports sockets 1155 and 1156. I can either stick with those sockets or buy a new cooler.

I'm not on a set budget but I don't want to waste money on components that cost twice as much and only offer <5% performance increase.

Thank you for reading, I've been out the loop for awhile so please be patient with me.

JJ
 
Also i'd like to upgrade my 128gb SSD to 256gb. When I bought my Crucial M4 they were all the rage and I've been very happy with it, whats the general consensus on the best bang for buck SSD now?
 
The 2500k can still cut it. Is it overclocked? You'll see a bigger performance gain from the step to a 4770k in Battlefield 4 than in most other games, but I doubt it would be worth the ~£400 it and a Z87 motherboard would cost you. I certainly wouldn't bother going from a 2500k to a 4670k.

The Samsung EVO is the SSD of choice these days.
 
Yeah I have the i5 overclocked to 4.4ghz, any higher wasn't stable. Thanks for the tip on the SSD. What about graphics card options?
 
Depends on the budget. For Battlefield 4 I suppose you'll want AMD as it will be the first game to utilise Mantle (eventually). That leaves you with...

270X @ £150-180
280X @ £250-290
Reference 290 @ £330-350
Non-reference 290 @ 375-390
Reference 290X @ £440-460
Non-reference 290X @ £480-500

By common consent the 290X is not worth the premium over the 290. My advice would be a non-reference 290 as it seems to me that the cooler and quieter performance is well worth the extra £40 or so over the reference version.

What resolution are you running at, by the way?
 
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Another vote for keep cpu/mobo and just upgrading GPU.

Recently went from i5-i7 because it was fairly cheap and I thought BF4 might benefit and its made no difference at all.

How much RAM do you have? need 8gb minimum for BF4
 
Exactly what everyone else said. By the way, an 1155/1156 cooler will fit on an 1150 socket I believe
 
I'm gaming at 1080p and i'm capped at 60fps. I'm relieved to hear I can stick with my current mobo and cpu. I already have 8gb ram. I'll probably go ahead and purchase Non-reference 290 and a Samsung EVO SSD after a little more research. Should I upgrade my ram to 16gb?
 
I don't think so, 8GB is great for now for BF4 and if you need you can add 8GB more later on; 8GB is great for gaming
 
as said 8gb is fine for bf4
i would upgrade the gfx and get a 290 non reference design with custom cooler as the reference ones get hot and loud and are rubbish :p OC should have a few brands in by end of january, i will most likely be getting the MSI twin frozr :D with the spec in my sig (down below)
if you really want a bigger ssd then as said again get the samsung EVO :D
 
I had basically the identical PC to yours, i5 2500k @4.4ghz, 16gb of Ram, Asrock Ex4 Gen3 mobo, 6950 Toxic, 120gb SSD. I could run BF4 on High settings comfortably, i swapped the 6950 for a 7870 and it was roughly the same, a slight improvement on fps.

I bought a 290 and put that in, everything to ultra, it didnt struggle at all.

I have subsequently bought a new mobo, case and CPU but thats another story ;) but at this present moment im running on my z68 rig with the 290 while i get my mobo RMA'd, and i often play BF4 on ultra 1080p and this machine eats it up.
 
OvEr_KiLL said:
as said 8gb is fine for bf4
i would upgrade the gfx and get a 290 non reference design with custom cooler as the reference ones get hot and loud and are rubbish :p OC should have a few brands in by end of january, i will most likely be getting the MSI twin frozr :D with the spec in my sig (down below)
if you really want a bigger ssd then as said again get the samsung EVO :D
Click to expand...

As i can see you have a 7950 im guessing you dont own a 290, i do, they are hot, but this is controllable, mine averages mid 80's, as for loud, fairly, i run mine at 47% fan speed, its fairly audible but nothing i cant drown out with my headset. As for rubbish? ummm yeah ok.....
 
Bramill said:
I haven't seen anyone suggest I go for a gtx 780, is there any reason other than mantle, that I should wait for a non ref 290.
Click to expand...

Not really. They're similarly performing, similarly priced cards. The 780 edges it for me because (apart from actually being available) it seems to overclock better. I suggested a 290 purely because of Mantle, but to be honest we really still have no idea what kind of performance boost you'll get from it.
 
SiDeards73 said:
As i can see you have a 7950 im guessing you dont own a 290, i do, they are hot, but this is controllable, mine averages mid 80's, as for loud, fairly, i run mine at 47% fan speed, its fairly audible but nothing i cant drown out with my headset. As for rubbish? ummm yeah ok.....
Click to expand...

what are you talking about? i dont have a 290 but i have read up about them, you have admitted they get hot and loud and i said they are rubbish because the non reference ones are a lot better, not as hot, not as loud and overclock better! there is no way i would buy a reference 290!!!
 
Fulax said:
Not really. They're similarly performing, similarly priced cards. The 780 edges it for me because (apart from actually being available) it seems to overclock better. I suggested a 290 purely because of Mantle, but to be honest we really still have no idea what kind of performance boost you'll get from it.
Click to expand...

The availability factor is tempting. And I'm also keen to try a nvidia card for once. I like batman and assassin's creed too. I've read some positive reviews about the EVGA classified but I've seen an MSI twin frozr that's £47 cheaper.
 
OvEr_KiLL said:
what are you talking about? i dont have a 290 but i have read up about them, you have admitted they get hot and loud and i said they are rubbish because the non reference ones are a lot better, not as hot, not as loud and overclock better! there is no way i would buy a reference 290!!!
Click to expand...

Ok so you have read about them, thus it makes you an expert, as opposed to say myself who actually owns one? ok....

They arent rubbish, and overclock very well, yes they can get hot, yes they can be loud if you dont know how to set a custom fan profile. But they are insanely good for a GPU.

Slap it under water or spend a little on a custom cooler and they are equal to non ref cooled versions and a bit cheaper. Dont believe me? google is your friend.
 
Bramill said:
Hi there,

This is my current spec and it's served me well for the last 2 years.

CPU: i5 2500k
MB: Asrock Extreme 4 Gen 3
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
GFX: 6950 Twin Frozr III GFX
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda
Case: Silverstone Raven RV03 Case
PSU: Corsair TX750

I've just purchased Battlefield 4 and my pc doesn't meet the recommended requirements. I'd like to have my pc sustain 60 fps with everything maxed out.

As far as I'm aware my PC needs a better graphics card and a faster CPU. I'd like my pc to be future proof for a couple of years so I imagine investing in a new mobo and cpu combo would be a good idea and maybe I should upgrade the ram while i'm at it.

I've been really happy with the Noctua cooler but it only supports sockets 1155 and 1156. I can either stick with those sockets or buy a new cooler.

I'm not on a set budget but I don't want to waste money on components that cost twice as much and only offer <5% performance increase.

Thank you for reading, I've been out the loop for awhile so please be patient with me.

JJ
Click to expand...
CPU is fine depending on overclock, i run my 3570k @ 4.6ghz
add in a new GPU and you are laughing bud :) 280x-290-290x / 770-780 ..worried about heat? get a non-ref cooler. EVGA or gigabyte if you ask me.
All of those will do you fine.
I can run ultra with 2xMSAA above 60FPS just fine.
 
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