BF3 multiplay with c2d e8400 options (possible overclocking discussion).....

[icebags]

hi all, the mission is to play BF3 multiplayer with my existing 4 yrs old system @ medium/medium high settings with fluent FPS rates ( min fps 30+ ) @ 1920x1080 or at least 1680x1850 resolution:

C2D E8400
Intel DG31PR motherboard.
2GB DDR2 RAM
-Currently graphics cards is down, will get a suitable one-
-Will get a 500-550W Corsair GS/TX SMPS-
-Will get cooler if needed-

problem is i have been reading all these negative stuff that, for multiplayer BF3, even when playing at low graphical settings dual cores will bottleneck graphics cards for fluent gameplay.

# *forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1806351
# E8400 vs i5-2500 - how much more performance - Electronic Arts UK Community

so, it seems i have 3 options to achieve my goal:
#1. upgrade system (cpu, ram, mobo).
which is i dont really want to do, at least not for an year. cause for my any other games/ purpose e8400 is still very good. and also current hardware prices are a bit on the higher side because of the $ rise (i remember seeing them at lesser prices some times ago). Pls consider this option as last choice.
#2. leave the system as it is, and start playing.
will this be ok ? experienced users kindly see the above 2 links and share your opinion.
#3. overclock current setup.
well, Intel DG31PR doesn't have option to overclock. i will need a new MB for this, with probably 4gb ddr3 ram. but the only chipset currently available in market is G41 budget series:
1. Theitdepot - Jetway JI41M 8GB DDR3 Intel Motherboard
2. Theitdepot - ASRock G41M-VS3 R2.0 8GB DDR3 Intel Motherboard
3. Theitdepot - ASRock G41C-VS 8GB DDR3 Intel Motherboard
4. GIGABYTE G41 MTS2

# an asrock manual can be viewed here
# a gigabyte manual can be viewed here
for bios settings info.

so, what kind of overclocking can i expect form these ? (i have never did oc before it will be my first), lets say will it be stable to something like 3.8GHz ? also what will be the impact on game performance ?

please share ur thoughts. actual users experience will be much appreciated.

sorry for not posting in "Will this game run on this configuration?" thread, i m guessing it will be a bit longer discussion for a common thread.

 

[s18000rpm]

get a decent gfx card & total system RAM of 8GB. no need to OC/new m/b.
+ give us the budget range.

 

[icebags]

hi, DG31PR only supports upto 4 gb.

if i m to get even 4gb, its kinda costs ~same as getting a new mobo + DDR3 4 GB. because i will have to get a 4 gb DDR2 (both ram slots already used with 2x 1GB) that's very expensive.

if i m to get new motherboard + ram than budgest is as low as possible. may be <4k.

 

[iittopper]

My suggestion - sell your 2 x 1 gb ram and buy 2 x 2 gb ddr2 ram . And get a good gpu ! . I myself play with dual core cpu with nvidia 560ti at ultra setting .

 

[icebags]

My suggestion - sell your 2 x 1 gb ram and buy 2 x 2 gb ddr2 ram .

thanks for the suggestion.

2x DDR2 2GB = 1400x2 = 2800 & i can sell 2x DDR2 ram.
new G41 mobo + 1x 4GB DDR3 = 2500 + 1100 = 3600 & now i can sell the old mobo + 2x DDR2 ram. & DDR3 will probably help me if i upgrade next year after BF4 release (nov-dec'2013) right ?

I myself play with dual core cpu with nvidia 560ti at ultra setting .

are you sure there is no lag/ sudden momentary freezing while playing multiplayer maps of 32 or 64 players (pls see my first 2 links) ? what average frame rates u get at what resolutions? have you compared the same with an i3 / i5 system ?

 

[iittopper]

Which gpu are you planning to buy anyway?

 

[icebags]

something between HD7770 and gtx560. but that's my last concern.

so, more ppl have experience with BF3 and non-quad cores ? or G41 chip-set overclocking ?

 

[icebags]

what is happening, why ppl are not posting ?

 

[RCuber]

lol I was actually searching for this thread.. cause I had not replied or subscribed

I would recommend a RAM of 8GB as it makes a lot of difference on load time.

I have a Core i5 with 6850 Cyclone , I can run at high settings, but cannot run on 1080p, frames drops during explosions. 1680x1850 doesnt cause much problems.

 

[icebags]

^^thanks for telling about the 8gb ram. what kind of frame rates you get at 1080p and at 1680x1050 ? do frames drop at 1080p when using medium graphics setting too ?

p.s. i read a bit, seems G41 chipset cant overclock an e8400 beyond 3.1 ghz. thats puny. may be i should look for some old p35/45 or g45 mobo with ddr3 ram. too bad, none of them are in market now.

 

[topgear]

@ Op - you better have a look at these and decide

*static.techspot.com/articles-info/458/bench/CPU_02.png

*media.bestofmicro.com/Y/K/313580/original/amd%20fx-8150%20cores.png

 

[icebags]

thanks topgear, can you give the page link ? and are they multiplayer benchmarks or single player ?

i also found some form another site, but they don't tell whether these are multiplayer or single player benchmarks.

*img.inpai.com.cn/article/2011/11/11/9d50954d-b18d-4f92-ab21-869c8f74b0ea.png

hoping to hear more details from core 2 duo users, meanwhile help me decide graphics card (considering 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 has first pref, cause my monitor is 1920x1080):

# tomshardware says 550Ti is better than HD7770 in BF3, for other games result varies. i can probably get a zotac 550ti @ ~7500/- locally.
Charts, benchmarks 2012 VGA-GPGPU, 13 - Battlefield 3 DirectX 11 Performance

# anandtech says HD7770 is better than 550Ti in BF3, its better overall in most cases. locally powercolor comes @~8k, msi~@8.5k (primeabgb has @7.9k), msi OC version @8.8k
AnandTech - Bench - GPU12

# GTX560 has 50% more fps over 550ti for 50% higher price tag. i can probably find zotac 560 amp edition @ just below 12k with 5 yrs warranty locally whereas primeabgb listed asus 560 direct cu @12.2k. which is better ?
AnandTech - Bench - GPU12

if a graphics card becomes obsolete after 3 years, then spending 8k seems better choice, but gtx560 is 50% better so i m a bit puzzled . how is zotac / asus service ? say if card goes kaput just before end of warranty what they do ? (i have had bad experience with a msi mobo ..... it went faulty after 2.5 yrs and all they offered was rs 900/- for that 4k motherboard. however they replaced it later though, with a super cheap one. so investment security matters a bit.)

 

[topgear]

here's the sources :

Battlefield 3 GPU & CPU Performance - TechSpot Reviews
Benchmark Results: CPU Scaling : Battlefield 3 Performance: 30+ Graphics Cards, Benchmarked

here's some more :
HARDOCP - Introduction - Battlefield 3 Multiplayer Performance and IQ Review
BF3 Multiplayer CPU scaling - CPUs - CPU-Components
Radeon HD 7970 CPU scaling performance review - DX11: Battlefield 3

if you can get GTX 560 and the preferred brand should be Zotac.

 

[iittopper]

Before upgrading to i3 2100 , i used to play with core 2 duo e4600 which is a very low end cpu . For maps like operation metro , there used to me no lag , but when lots of people throw grenade at the same time , i used to feel lag . For other big maps , there were occasional lags sometime and fps used to drop to 10-15 sometime , otherwise i used to get 30fps on low setting and 24 at high setting .

Regarding GPU - you can get zotac 560 for 9.5k if searched locally( where do you live ??) . Zotac After sale service is good and RMA is handled by Aditya infotech . gtx 560 will be far much better than 550ti . For BF3 Nvidia cards give more fps than similar price AMD one . Even 560 beat HD 7850 in bf3 . 550ti is already showing it age .

 

[theserpent]

Hope even hd 7750 can hadle this game

 

[Piyush]

hi, DG31PR only supports upto 4 gb.

if i m to get even 4gb, its kinda costs ~same as getting a new mobo + DDR3 4 GB. because i will have to get a 4 gb DDR2 (both ram slots already used with 2x 1GB) that's very expensive.

if i m to get new motherboard + ram than budgest is as low as possible. may be <4k.

I'd sugest you to sell your motherboard and Ram
lets suppose you get 1 k from it (DDR1 is expensive these days, good for you if you are selling those)
you have 5k for mobo+Ram

you need a motherboard like this:
ECS Web Site > G41T-M7 (V1.0)

it will be available for like 3k- 3.5k in market
ebay is selling this
ECS Motherboard G41T-M7 (V1.0) Intel LGA775 G41 DDR3 SATA PCI Express microATX 881038029641 | eBay

so problem solved
this mother board comes with 8gb ddr3 capacity, PCIe X16 slot, core 2 Duo/Quad compatibility and within your budget range

 

[icebags]

@topgear thanks!
@iittopper thanks for the info much helpful. but pls tell what resolution u play in. i m in kolkata and will look for zotac 560. if it's <10k then (hopefully it's not 560 SE version) it would be my first choice.
@Piyush thanks! thats the plan currently. Theitdepot - India's First IT Online Shopping Store sells asrock/ecs mobos @ <2.4k thinking of getting that and a gskill 4gb ripjaws for latency tweaks. and later may add another 4 gb if the system can handle things well.

is theitdepot a good place to buy online? how is their service ?
and among ecs and asrock which is better in terms of service and quality ?

i will wait some time to get the motherboard, will see if can find a used p35/p45/g45 with ddr3 support upto 1600mhz. that will give some overclock headroom.

 

[iittopper]

^^ I play at resolution 1440*900 . In delhi gtx 560se is avaialable for 8k and gtx560 for around 9.4k

 

[icebags]

wow, i went to market (kolkata chandni chowk) today and found gtx 560 is almost out of market. those few left are 12k+vat.

evga gtx560 is 11.9k+vat. forsa is probably a bit lower.
and gtx560ti is 13.5-14kk +vat.

HD7850 is ~15k, and HD7770s are ~8k.
thinking whether to wait for 7850 to come down below 12k or buy that evga/forsa gtx560......

*media.bestofmicro.com/U/4/352300/original/BF3%20HIGH.png
*media.bestofmicro.com/S/X/326337/original/battlefield%203%201920.png

if i go for 7770, i may have to forget AA. how the game looks without AA ?

 

[iittopper]

@icebags - You better contact Zotac ( delta peripherals) , they may offer good price , And you can even contact smcinternational and ask about 560 pricing . If your main purpose of upgrading is BF3 , then better stick to nvidia 560 . Or if you are low on budget You can buy a used gtx 460 from erodov/techenclave ( MY friend got gtx 460 from techenclave today for 5.5k which is a good deal)
PS - I dont know how game looks without AA as i always set it to max