Ideal PC Builds for The New SWBF?

[Gold Man]

Hey guys, figured I'd put up this thread for the new SWBF. Obviously, there are many of us who either have a rig that will be able to run the new game, but there are also quite a few of us who probably don't have a rig that could run the new SWBF on par, so to speak.

So, I more accurately put this up as a question, does anyone know of any good, cheap PC builds that could potentially run the new SWBF? I've been relying off of Battlefield 4's PC specs (even though I probably should've been relying on Battlefield Hardline's specs really), and found a PC for $700 that runs BF4 on High settings, with Hardline on Medium-High settings.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_1203_1446_1448&item_id=077425

(For reference, I've been using GameDebate for comparing system requirements between other PCs)

Also, feel free to post other recommendations here for PC builds that could run the new SWBF.

[WusiBabyEater]

I guess that's a a decent PC for that price range, an i3 seems kinda low, maybe find an i5. Take your time in choosing a PC, took me about a couple weeks to choose mine. In my opinion battlefield 4 is better graphically than hardline even though hardline requirements are higher but I think battlefront 3 will have the same requirements as hardline.


http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Intel-Z97-Core-i5-Configurator

I found a PC for $809...well I just realized that it does not come with windows 7 or 8 and its and extra $135 to add it with it on their site but I'm sure you can get windows 7 somewhere else between $50-$90. The PC has a GTX 960 which is way better than a AMD 260 and can run battlefield 4 in ultra and close to ultra in Hardline. Ibuypower is a good site to buy PCs. They probably will have a 4th of July sale in a couple weeks while today they're having a fathers day sale at the moment.


also cyberpower is another good site except it's a bit pricier
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

[Unit 33]

So the specs are out...

I got selected to play in the Star wars Battlefront 3 closed Alpha. Anyone else get an invitation? EA is only selecting a certain amount of people so I guess I got lucky. The Alpha starts on July 2nd and here are the PC requirements.

•   CPU: Quad Core CPU e.g. Intel Core i5-2300 @ 2.8 GHz or AMD Phenom II x4 955 @ 3.2 GHz or AMD FX-8350 @ 4.0 GHz
•   RAM: 6 GB
•   OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8/8.1 (64-bit operating system required)
•   Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 with 2 GB of Video Memory

I'm considering getting a PC, because I resent subscription fees that come along with the consoles. Unfortunately I don't know anoything about PCs, since I have only ever owned Macs.

[Syrion]

Same goes for me, I'm thinking about building a PC, because my current laptop will certainly not be able to run SWBF.
There's this community on reddit ( https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc ) that might be helpful.
I still can't wrap my mind around the differences between an i5 and i7 processor.

[Gold Man]

• CPU: Quad Core CPU e.g. Intel Core i5-2300 @ 2.8 GHz or AMD Phenom II x4 955 @ 3.2 GHz or AMD FX-8350 @ 4.0 GHz
• RAM: 6 GB
• OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8/8.1 (64-bit operating system required)
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 with 2 GB of Video Memory

That NVIDIA card doesn't come cheap, I'll say that much.

Actually just by trying to build based off those requirements, that builds going to reach above $500, even if I were to use that Intel with an AMD.

Just trying to cut costs here, do you think an R5 or R7 series GPU would compare with that? Preferably something in that area, that is still somewhat cheaper? (I can't even find that GPU on the Canadian stores.)

[{PLA}gdh92]

There's not much difference between I5 and I7. I7 is slightly better but at a cost where as I5 is better value (in general) and fine for gaming, if they have a k after the name they can be overclocked to a higher speed.

The 680 is an older card, the new version is a 960/70. This is a good guide to compare cards: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32899-7.html

[spoiler]GeForceRadeonIntelDiscrete: GTX Titan Z
Discrete: R9 295X2

Discrete: GTX 690, Titan X
Discrete: HD 7990
Discrete: GTX 780 Ti, 980, Titan Black


Discrete: GTX 780, 970, TitanDiscrete: R9 290, 290X
Discrete: GTX 590, 680, 770
Go (mobile): 980M
Discrete:  HD 6990, 7970 GHz Ed, R9 280X
Discrete: GTX 580, GTX 670, GTX 960
Go (mobile): 970M
Discrete: HD 5970, 7870 LE (XT), 7950, 280, 285
Discrete: GTX 660 Ti, GTX 760
Go (mobile): 880M
Discrete: HD 7870, R9 270, 270X

Discrete: GTX 295, 480, 570, 660
Go (mobile): 680M, 780M
Discrete: HD 4870 X2, 6970, 7850, R7 265,
Mobility: 7970M

Discrete: GTX 470, 560 Ti, 560 Ti 448 Core, 650 Ti Boost, 750 Ti Discrete: HD 4850 X2, 5870, 6950, R7 260X
Mobility: 7950M

Discrete: GTX 560, 650 Ti, 750
Go (mobile): 580M, 675M Discrete: HD 5850, 6870, 7790
Mobility: 6990M

Discrete: 9800 GX2, 285, 460 256-bit, 465
Discrete: HD 6850, 7770, R7 260
Mobility: 6900M

Discrete: GTX 260, 275, 280, 460 192-bit, 460 SE, 550 Ti, 560 SE, GT 650, GT 740 GDDR5
Go (mobile): 570M, 670M
Discrete: HD 4870, 5770, 4890, 5830, 6770, 6790, 7750 (GDDR5), R7 250 (GDDR5)
Mobility: HD 5870, 6800M

Discrete: 8800 Ultra, 9800 GTX, 9800 GTX+, GTS 250, GTS 450
Go (mobile): 560M, 660M
Discrete: HD 3870 X2, 4850, 5750, 6750, 7750 (DDR3), R7 250 (DDR3)
Mobility: HD 4850, 5850, 7870M

Discrete: 8800 GTX, 8800 GTS 512 MB, GT 545 (GDDR5), GT 730 64-bit GDDR5
Go (mobile): GTX 280M, 285M, 555M (GDDR5)
Discrete: HD 4770
Mobility: HD 4860, 7770M, 7850M

Discrete: 8800 GT 512 MB, 9800 GT, GT 545 (DDR3), GT 640 (DDR3), GT 740 DDR3
Go (mobile): 9800M GTX, GTX 260M (112), GTS 360M (GDDR5), 555M (DDR3)
Discrete: HD 4830, HD 5670, HD 6670 (GDDR5), HD 7730 (GDDR5)
Mobility: HD 5770, HD 5750, 6600M/6700M (GDDR5), 7750M

Discrete: 8800 GTS 640 MB, 9600 GT, GT 240 (GDDR5)
Go (mobile): 9800M GTS, GTX 160M
Discrete: HD 2900 XT, HD 3870, HD 5570 (GDDR5), HD 6570 (GDDR5)
Mobility: 6500M (GDDR5), 6600M/6700M (DDR3), 7730M

Discrete: 8800 GS, 9600 GSO, GT 240 (DDR3)
Go (mobile): GTX 260M (96), GTS 150M, GTS 360M (DDR3)
Discrete: HD 3850 512 MB, HD 4670, HD 5570 (DDR3), HD 6570 (DDR3), HD 6670 (DDR3), HD 7730 (DDR3), R7 240
Mobility: HD 3870, HD 5730, HD 5650, 6500M (DDR3) - See more at: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32899-7.html#sthash.D3sEaTo7.dpuf[/spoiler]

Bare in mind when buying that you can get away with a 2gb card but you'll need at least a 980 to run new games on Ultra settings, I have one and with the Witcher 3 on ultra it occasionally dips below 60fps, although that's with a feature called hairworks which animates every individual hair and comes at a huge performance cost.

[Led]

Hmm, I have a Radeon 7950 with 3 GB...seems fine, but it a tier below the 7970...maybe it's time for an upgrade 


edit:  ouch, those top tier cards are expensive 

anyway, I am a big fan of manufacturer refurbished computers, such as this one for $835
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-PHOENIX-810-810qe-i7-4790-3-6Ghz-16GB-2TB-4GB-GTX745-Blu-ray-Desktop-W7-Pro-/221809387464?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33a4dea7c8

• 4th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 quad-core processor [3.6GHz, 8MB Shared Cache] w/turbo boost up to 4.0Ghz
  16 GB DDR3-1600MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs] - 32GB Max
  2TB 7200 rpm SATA (6.0 Gb/sec) - hard drive
  4GB dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 745 [DVI, DP, HDMI, DVI to VGA dongle; DX11]
  Blu-ray player w/16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
  Integrated Bluetooth 4.0 and Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n featuring
  4 SS USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed)
  SuperSpeed — New higher signaling rate of 5Gbps (625MB/sec), 10 times faster than regular USB 2.0
  Beats Audio (tm) -- Built-in High Definition 8 channel audio
  Liquid Cooling Solution
  500W Power Supply
  Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

[Gold Man]

Anything budgeting in say, oh, I don't know, $500CDN range? 

[Unit 33]

What happens if I prefer laptops?

[{PLA}gdh92]

What happens if I prefer laptops?

You have to pay more money for less performance. 

[Gold Man]

Good luck to you, you'll be fetching an $8-$900+ laptop if you want to attempt running that, if lucky. Probably $1k would be able for it.

[WusiBabyEater]

What happens if I prefer laptops?

Do not get a gaming lap top, they're way over priced and you could be get a better PC for cheaper and what is your budget?

[aeria.]

Guess who works in Microcenter!

The go-to setup is i5 + GTX 970 + 8GB ram + ssd + hdd. It's a very strong value for a gaming PC. The GTX 970 is phenomenal in performance for the 350USD range. It's only ~10% less powerful as a GTX 980 but at ~60% of the cost.  If that's above your price range, drop it down to a GTX 770 or an AMD 280X/380X. Worst case scenario drop it down to a GTX 960. Anything lower than that is honestly not worth the money saved from the performance lost at this time. Games are becoming more demanding. The GTX 770 is a rebrand of the GTX 680 so a GPU below that grade is below their recommended specifications.

I'm not a fan of gaming laptops and it's mostly because of their weight and size defeating the purpose of it being portable. Other reasons are battery life, screen sizes limited to 17 inches, and the price to performance ratio is very poor compared to a desktop PC. If you see yourself having no time to play video games at home and can only resort to playing on the go, having a gaming laptop isn't the worst idea. However that's only the scenario where I see myself wanting to buy one. Otherwise you're better off building a desktop.

The AMD FX 8320 would be an alternative CPU but honestly it's worth the extra money by going Intel. The per-core-performance of AMD is weak and it only competes well enough in multithreaded games and applications.

I'm also not a fan of AMD GPUs anymore. The power consumption, noise levels, and poor drivers have driven me mad. I'm not going back to that.


Anyway that's my input. Here's an ideal build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($217.72 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($96.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($82.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1054.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 19:12 EDT-0400

[Unit 33]

You have to pay more money for less performance. 

Good luck to you, you'll be fetching an $8-$900+ laptop if you want to attempt running that, if lucky. Probably $1k would be able for it.

Do not get a gaming lap top, they're way over priced and you could be get a better PC for cheaper and what is your budget?

Okay, thanks guys. I think I've made it obvious that I don't actually know anything about PC hardware.

Yeah, so my budget would be lower than the $1000 mark (£600) because I'm a poor art student.


I do already have a high end i7 Mac Book Pro, so I might experiment around with bootcamp or parallels.

[Shazam]

I've been trying to avoid this thread because it reminds me that I won't be able to play the new Battlefront without upgrading.  I've looked at the predicted specs for it, and there's no way my $200 laptop will be able to handle it.

Unfortunately, I'm in the same boat as 33 here; I can't afford a $1,000 PC. 

What are my options?  Would it be possible to upgrade my current laptop enough to run Battlefront on low(ish) settings?