Battlefield 2 rig for around $800?

[Known Unsoldier]

Anybody bored enough to help me piece together a budget gaming pc which will be solely used for Battlefield 2? I've never built a system before. I was one of the Dudes who Got a Dell long ago, and the thing has been running out of steam for years. Time to get something new.

I cannot go over 800 bucks, but the good news is that I already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and dvd-rom. This thing is only going to be used for gaming, so it won't need a big hard drive either. For everything non-gaming I have my trusty work laptop.

I've been looking at the current state of affairs in the gaming market and it appears that nvidia and ati are now selling video cards that cost more than I want to spend for the entire rig. Scary.

It obviously isn't going to be the best of the best, but if it can allow me a good fps at a medium resolution, I'll be happy. Any takers?

Cheers, all.

 

[Sinn707]

I'll give it a go:

Centurion 534 $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119106
Xclio Goodpower 500W $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817189005
Gigabyte GA-P35-S3L $87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128057
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 $205
http://tinyurl.com/27ojb7
Crucial 2GB $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146565
Seagate 320GB $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148140
Sapphire X1950XT $168
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102067

$705 after rebates :

With this system you'll easily be able to run BF2 on full setting with AA on 1280X1024 and average about 100+FPS...
You'll also get a really fast CPU, 320GB of space, 2GB of quality ram and a nice case with good airflow to keep your components cool.

You should enter it all up on newegg and see what the price comes to pre-rebate and with shipping. If that's still too much you can downgrade from E6750 to E6550 and save another $36.
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/vie...a=BA24050&RSKU=BA24050

Good luck.

 

[mrfatboy]

Originally posted by: Sinn707
I'll give it a go:

Centurion 534 $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119106
Xclio Goodpower 500W $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817189005
Gigabyte GA-P35-S3L $87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128057
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 $205
http://tinyurl.com/27ojb7
Crucial 2GB $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146565
Seagate 320GB $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148140
Sapphire X1950XT $168
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102067

$705 after rebates :

With this system you'll easily be able to run BF2 on full setting with AA on 1280X1024 and average about 100+FPS...
You'll also get a really fast CPU, 320GB of space, 2GB of quality ram and a nice case with good airflow to keep your components cool.

You should enter it all up on newegg and see what the price comes to pre-rebate and with shipping. If that's still too much you can downgrade from E6750 to E6550 and save another $36.
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/vie...a=BA24050&RSKU=BA24050

Good luck.

Throw in a extra $100 for the 8800 gts 320.

 

[Sinn707]

I was originally gonna do that but $800 is the max, before rebates and with shipping the cost is going to be more like $900. You could in theory go with E4300 + 8800 GTS but you'll need to overclock, otherwise 1.8Ghz will be a huge bottleneck.

 

[mrfatboy]

Originally posted by: Sinn707
I was originally gonna do that but $800 is the max, before rebates and with shipping the cost is going to be more like $900. You could in theory go with E4300 + 8800 GTS but you'll need to overclock, otherwise 1.8Ghz will be a huge bottleneck.

He wants to play BF2, E4300 + 8800 gts is plenty and will give him a leg up on DX10 games. Crysis is coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bladder23]

Originally posted by: mrfatboy

Originally posted by: Sinn707
I'll give it a go:

Centurion 534 $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119106
Xclio Goodpower 500W $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817189005
Gigabyte GA-P35-S3L $87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128057
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 $205
http://tinyurl.com/27ojb7
Crucial 2GB $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146565
Seagate 320GB $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148140
Sapphire X1950XT $168
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102067

$705 after rebates :

With this system you'll easily be able to run BF2 on full setting with AA on 1280X1024 and average about 100+FPS...
You'll also get a really fast CPU, 320GB of space, 2GB of quality ram and a nice case with good airflow to keep your components cool.

You should enter it all up on newegg and see what the price comes to pre-rebate and with shipping. If that's still too much you can downgrade from E6750 to E6550 and save another $36.
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/vie...a=BA24050&RSKU=BA24050

Good luck.

Throw in a extra $100 for the 8800 gts 320.

I would rather have a E6550 and a 8800GTS because of DX10 and the bang for buck.

A little CPU overclock would make it perfect.

 

[Sinn707]

Yes but the difference between 8800 GTS and X1950XT is $112, when the difference between the cpu's is $36. That will be well over $800.
Besides, BF2 will fly on X1950XT

 

[mrfatboy]

get the 8800 GTS 320 and get the best for the money around that. BF2 will fly and you will be able to play dx10 games. I'm too lazy right now to do the math.

 

[Sinn707]

I'll do it for you

Centurion 534 $40

Xclio Goodpower 500W $50

Gigabyte GA-P35-S3L $87

Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 $119
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/sku....hmx?SCriteria=BA23789

Crucial 2GB $80

Seagate 320GB $75

XFX 8800 GTS $250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150173

$701 after rebates

You lose half the cache, 667Mhz of speed but get a video card 2x faster
Probably worth it, especially knowing that you can probably overclock to 2.4Ghz on stock HSF.

 

[mrfatboy]

I sort of get the feeling the OP is not even watching this thread anymore


I would recommend the EVGA 8800 just because of the warranty the setup up program.

 

[Sinn707]

I hope he does
XFX costs $10 less, offers double lifetime warranty and clocked 200Mhz higher on the memory But yeah, no step up

 

[Known Unsoldier]

Oh, I'm watching and taking notes. Thank you for your suggestions. Seriously.

I like Sinn's original arrangement plus the XFX because although I've heard OC'ing really isn't that hard to figure out, I'm still not sure I'd be comfortable monkeying around with clock speeds and what not. In that case, having a higher stock speed cpu would be easier for me. And does BF2 support DX10? If not, I think I'll hold off on the higher-end video card. With a E6750 installed, I could always sell the X1950XT and upgrade the VC later on if I ever decide to try a newer game.

But I'm so indecisive, another part of me says to just get the 8800gts and learn how to OC the slower cpu... It sounds as though BF2 will be quite playable with either scenario, though, for under $800 even!

Also, I like that centurion case.

Wait, now I'm liking Sinn's second arrangement. See? Indecisive...

 

[Sinn707]

If I was you I'd go with the original setup, and wait till november or so when the new 9 series midrange cards hit the market. They will be much more suitable for the DX10 games if you decide to play them. E6750+X1950XT I say.

 

[MarcVenice]

But by then he can't get crap for his 1950xt. I dunno, videocards rule supreme in games, cpu comes second. A e4400 @ 2.4ghz, which is REALLY easy to do, and probably doesn't require any voltage increasements, paired with a 8800gts will last him quite a long time. Simply has more staying power then the 1950xt, which might crap out when he wants to play something new.

 

[Known Unsoldier]

I never want to have to worry about "core temps" and constantly having to check in on my cpu to make little adjustments. I just want to get off work, turn her on, and play. But lets say that I were to get the E4400 and bump it up to 2.4ghz, would I ever have to worry about temperatures and what not? Also, would the stock heat sink be fine? If it really isn't that hard, I might indeed go with the 8800gts and the slower cpu. But as Sinn says, I'm not even sure if I'll be playing the new games. Right now it's just BF2.

 

[Piuc2020]

Once you hit a stable OC its not like you have to baby your computer all the time, it will work, just make sure its stable when you first overclock.

 

[MarcVenice]

A small OC to 2.4ghz, without any extra vcore will be stable from the get go. Just push up your temps once with orthos or TAT, if they don't hit 55c you won't have to worry about it at all.

 

[Known Unsoldier]

Alright I think I am going to go w/ the E4400 and the 8800gts. My current old dell is a P4 3.0ghz; 1gb ram; outfitted with a 6800GT. BF2 is pretty much unplayable (~25 fps). CS:S is okay though. New machine will far outshine the old one, yes?

 

[Piuc2020]

Yes by a long long shot, you are talking about 2 whole generations of graphic cards ahead and in the video department, 2 generations is a HUGE performance gap.

 

[mrfatboy]

He sees the light! :thumbsup:


I picked my new rig after 4 years just because :

1) I don't like to upgrade
2) I like to Future proofing the best I can
3) I play BF2 only right now
4) I want a system that can play crysis (i hope it is good as they say it is)
5) I like a stable system (24/7)

 

[Known Unsoldier]

Yes yes, the light has been seen. I'm about to pull the trigger. Now I need to focus on learning how to put all the parts together... lol

 

[Master Shake]

Originally posted by: mrfatboy
He sees the light!


I picked my new rig after 4 years just because :

1) I don't like to upgrade
2) I like to Future proofing the best I can
3) I play BF2 only right now
4) I want a system that can play crysis (i hope it is good as they say it is)
5) I like a stable system (24/7)

-------------------------
E6750 - L722A495| P35C-DS3R | Crucial Ballistixs DDR2 800 | EVGA 8800 GTS 640 | Corsair HX 520 | Tuniq Tower 120 | Antec 900 | XP Pro

I just built a very similar system to the one in your sig, you are creeping me out man!


Anyhow BF2 runs like butter on it, but I spent $1100

 

[AMCRambler]

I think the 8800 GTS would probably be overkill for BF2. I'm running a 7950 GT and that maxes out the in game frame counter at 100fps with everything turned on. I say it maxes out the counter because I don't think it'll read higher than 100fps. When I turn it on from the console it will just sit at 99.9 and sometimes drops to mid 90's when there's a lot of shooting happening on the screen. Never bothered using FRAPS or any utils to check to see how many fps I'm actually getting because it looks beautiful as is. No overclock needed.
Anyhow an 8800 will blow the 7950 outta the water. Unless you're looking at playing DX10 games down the road before your next upgrade, the ATI 1950 they suggested will work just as well.

 

[Zenem]

If you want to unlock your fps in BF2 just type game.lockfps 0 in the console. Of course, you could enter any number in there to cap it at any rate.