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Battlefield 2 Buyer?s Guide
So Battlefield is back and in a big way. In the past week hardcore and causal gamers alike flocked to download the Battlefield 2 demo, hoping to continue their gaming bliss in new levels and vehicles with updated graphics. Since the release of Half Life 2 there has not been another title that has inspired gamers to upgrade their systems, but with the release of Battlefield 2 right around the corner, and its sure need for a power hungry graphics driven system, many gamers that had no problem chugging along on a ATI 9800 Pro are now looking to build a new system. Here is what we recommend:
With the release of Dual Core processors and next generation video cards in the next few months or so, not to mention ATI?s CrossFire technology, anyone deciding to build a computer is in a tight spot. Questions about SLI or CrossFire, Dual Core or Single, or whether to wait for next generation video cards or buy the best one can get now, can become overwhelming. But, this latest title from Electronic Arts has everyone getting ants in their pants, dreaming about putting lead into an unfortunate n00b who happens to cross your path of fire, and can simply not wait. So as we recommend this hardware for your next build, take it with a grain of salt. Also we are recommending this for gamers with some money to spend, gamers on an extreme budget look elsewhere. All parts were chosen with their stock performance in mind, while most will still overclock well, that is not the main goal of this system.
The minimum system requirements from EA?s Website for the Battlefield 2 Demo:
The Battlefield 2 demo has the following minimum requirements. If your computer does not meet these requirements, the game will not run properly if at all.
· Windows XP (32 bit version).
· 1.7 GHz or faster processor.
· 512 MB or more RAM.
· Supported 128 MB video card with the newest manufacturer drivers.
· 500 MB free hard disk space plus space for the Windows swap file and save data.
Supported Processors:
· Intel Pentium 4, Xeon, Extreme Edition, Celeron D.
· AMD Athlon XP, Athlon 64, Athlon 64-FX, Sempron.
Supported Video Cards:
ATI Radeon
· X700 (PCIe), X600 (PCIe), X800 XT Platinum Edition, X800 PRO, X300 series.
· 9800 series, 9700 series, 9600 series, 9559 (RV350LX), 9500 series, 8500 series.
NVIDIA GeForce
· 6600 (PCIe), PCX 5900 (PCIe).
· 5800 series (AGP).
· 6800 Ultra, 6800 GT, 6800.
· FX 5950 series, FX 5900 series, FX 5700 series.
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Core Socket 939
Gamers will not benefit from dual core anytime soon, so going with a single core processor is the best/cheapest route to go, especially if you are waiting for AMD?s X2. Of course we are recommending an AMD processor as they outperform all Intel CPU?s in gaming. Currently there is no reason not to go with socket 939 these days, considering the price of most 939 boards have come down, and for those of you who like to be future-proof you can sleep soundly at night knowing that in the future you can simply drop in an X2 and power up to two cores without having to upgrade. Also as there is virtually no price difference between AMD?s old Winchester core and its new Venice one would be crazy not to get the new core for reasons such as overclocking and SSE3 support. We recommend a 3200 for its great overclocking potential, and for its great stock performance that will give any late night gamer enough power to run Battlefield 2 into the night, without burning a Prescott like hole into your wallet.
Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI
We recommend DFI?s flagship model for this gaming system. While still a bit pricey, the Lanparty comes laden with features and is a solid enthusiast board, offering many features for tweaking, not to mention its many excellent reviews and support for extreme overclockers. While some may consider SLI a waste, and we agree to some point, we are not recommending it for the performance benefits alone. It also makes a great upgrade path. With the introduction of ATI?s CrossFire into the market, Nvidia will be dropping their prices of all their all their SLI chipsets so manufacturers can offer SLI boards for under one hundred dollars, making any money conscious buyer take a second look. Most extreme gamers, not to be outdone, do not want to see low end budget computers toting a superior motherboard, mocking you through its case window. The board also comes feature laden, and with UV-reactive parts it certainly does not lack in the looks department. As for our reason for SLI, this also has to do with our graphics card selection.
Video Card: ATI Radeon X800
Why an X800 you may ask after getting a SLI board you may ask? Simply because with next generation cards right around the corner, we cannot justify spending our money on something such as two 6800 Ultra?s in SLI, when they will soon be outperformed by a single card, either Nvidia?s G70, or ATI?s R520. This way you can still have your high detail settings and play Battlefield 2, or any other games right now, but have only spent around 250 dollars, a moderate price compared to many current generation cards. This provides an excellent upgrade path for when the G70 and R520 come out. Currently it looks like Nvidia?s card will be out first, and considering ATI?s past history Nvidia will probably have a significant advantage in availability. While some may argue that ATI has preformed better in Battlefield, one can simply not overlook that Nvidia?s cards will be the first thing you can get to have the best performance on the block. Buy one G70 when they come out, and then later when the prices drop and more demanding games are released buy another and enjoy pure graphics bliss, pumping out 16AA at 1600x1200 to the wee hours of the morning. That?s all right; you can catch a nap at work.
Memory: 1GB OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 184-Pin DDR 400 (PC 3200)
Now shipping with TCC5, instead of TCCD chips, this RAM from OCZ still offers great performance and reliability. In dual channel mode this RAM can still hold its own easily and overclocks well. OCZ is known for its great reliability and performance and should feel right at home in your system. We recommend 1GB, which is now becoming the standard, with the possibility of upgrading to 2GB?s if you determine you need the extra memory. There is also the possibility of going with OCZ?s VX RAM, which pared with the DFI board allows for great overclocking. The VX or the RAM of your choice will also be sufficient, such as something from Corsair, depending on your needs and plans of what you are going to do with your system.
Power Supply: OCZ ModStream 520W
We recommend the ModStream for its great reliability and ability to offer a solid, steady flow of juice for your system. It has modular cables; meaning you can detach the cables that are not needed to keep your case neat. It comes fully sleeved and ready to go, and while a bit bigger then some other power supplies you should have no problem fitting it into your case. We also recommend the Antec TruePower 2.0, for its great features and popularity among enthusiasts and gamers alike. With both the OCZ and Antec weighing in at the same price, it all depends on your opinion. We feel a high quality PSU, such as something form OCZ, Antec, or PC Power and Cooling, with over 500 watts is necessary to be sure that your PSU can handle all your peripheral needs, and allow for upgrading, such as next generation video cards that are sure to suck the life right out of any no name PSU.
Hard Drive: Western Digital 74GB Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA or Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 7200 RPM SATA
There is no doubt about it, if you are looking for the best non-SCSI drive performance wise, the Raptor delivers in all aspects. It will also certianly help in loading those long levels in the game. To reap the benefits of the Raptor with its 4.5ms seek time, and with the hard drive being one of the biggest bottlenecks in any modern day system (ignoring your 56k modem junior), this beast is worth the cost to some people. To others the price is simply not worth it, they cannot justify spending that much for only 74GB of storage. So for those who look at the GB/$ ratio we recommend the Seagate, it is quiet, dependable, and offers NCQ or Native Command Queuing technology. The size of the drive is up to you, and around 200GB is sufficient for most people. To quell the rumors of putting two Seagate?s in RAID to get the performance of a Raptor, or even two Raptor?s in a RAID 0 array, we have to say that most users, including gamers, will not see any real world benefit from having two drives in RAID in the desktop world. Save your money and get something that you will see more of a benefit from.
Sound: CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
For those of you who cannot live with onboard sound we suggest the Audigy2. It has great sound and is relatively cheap. For gaming it also has EAX support. If you are a gamer that uses headphones or not, this is still a solid card that should not be looked over for other uses also.
Approximate Price: $1,100
The price of this system is well worth it, as it will serve you well for the next couple of years, or at least until Battlefield 3. You still need to buy a case and cooling, monitor, keyboard, optical drive and any other peripherals and miscellaneous parts that you want to add to your system. We did not include recommendations on those components due to the variety on the market and wants/needs of every gamer. If you are going the SLI route make sure to get a quality monitor that can support high resolutions so all that extra money will not go the waste.
Remember this is just a guideline to follow when building your system, if you find the price too high or you find you can spend more money you can substitute for better parts, such as upgrading the CPU or RAM.
We hope we may have cleared up any confusion about what parts currently are best for building a middle to high end gaming system. Enjoy your new rig and squeezing the last ounce of performance out of it for those extra FPS in Battlefield 2. Happy hunting!
Any suggestions on how to improve this will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Battlefield 2 Buyer?s Guide
So Battlefield is back and in a big way. In the past week hardcore and causal gamers alike flocked to download the Battlefield 2 demo, hoping to continue their gaming bliss in new levels and vehicles with updated graphics. Since the release of Half Life 2 there has not been another title that has inspired gamers to upgrade their systems, but with the release of Battlefield 2 right around the corner, and its sure need for a power hungry graphics driven system, many gamers that had no problem chugging along on a ATI 9800 Pro are now looking to build a new system. Here is what we recommend:
With the release of Dual Core processors and next generation video cards in the next few months or so, not to mention ATI?s CrossFire technology, anyone deciding to build a computer is in a tight spot. Questions about SLI or CrossFire, Dual Core or Single, or whether to wait for next generation video cards or buy the best one can get now, can become overwhelming. But, this latest title from Electronic Arts has everyone getting ants in their pants, dreaming about putting lead into an unfortunate n00b who happens to cross your path of fire, and can simply not wait. So as we recommend this hardware for your next build, take it with a grain of salt. Also we are recommending this for gamers with some money to spend, gamers on an extreme budget look elsewhere. All parts were chosen with their stock performance in mind, while most will still overclock well, that is not the main goal of this system.
The minimum system requirements from EA?s Website for the Battlefield 2 Demo:
The Battlefield 2 demo has the following minimum requirements. If your computer does not meet these requirements, the game will not run properly if at all.
· Windows XP (32 bit version).
· 1.7 GHz or faster processor.
· 512 MB or more RAM.
· Supported 128 MB video card with the newest manufacturer drivers.
· 500 MB free hard disk space plus space for the Windows swap file and save data.
Supported Processors:
· Intel Pentium 4, Xeon, Extreme Edition, Celeron D.
· AMD Athlon XP, Athlon 64, Athlon 64-FX, Sempron.
Supported Video Cards:
ATI Radeon
· X700 (PCIe), X600 (PCIe), X800 XT Platinum Edition, X800 PRO, X300 series.
· 9800 series, 9700 series, 9600 series, 9559 (RV350LX), 9500 series, 8500 series.
NVIDIA GeForce
· 6600 (PCIe), PCX 5900 (PCIe).
· 5800 series (AGP).
· 6800 Ultra, 6800 GT, 6800.
· FX 5950 series, FX 5900 series, FX 5700 series.
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Core Socket 939
Gamers will not benefit from dual core anytime soon, so going with a single core processor is the best/cheapest route to go, especially if you are waiting for AMD?s X2. Of course we are recommending an AMD processor as they outperform all Intel CPU?s in gaming. Currently there is no reason not to go with socket 939 these days, considering the price of most 939 boards have come down, and for those of you who like to be future-proof you can sleep soundly at night knowing that in the future you can simply drop in an X2 and power up to two cores without having to upgrade. Also as there is virtually no price difference between AMD?s old Winchester core and its new Venice one would be crazy not to get the new core for reasons such as overclocking and SSE3 support. We recommend a 3200 for its great overclocking potential, and for its great stock performance that will give any late night gamer enough power to run Battlefield 2 into the night, without burning a Prescott like hole into your wallet.
Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI
We recommend DFI?s flagship model for this gaming system. While still a bit pricey, the Lanparty comes laden with features and is a solid enthusiast board, offering many features for tweaking, not to mention its many excellent reviews and support for extreme overclockers. While some may consider SLI a waste, and we agree to some point, we are not recommending it for the performance benefits alone. It also makes a great upgrade path. With the introduction of ATI?s CrossFire into the market, Nvidia will be dropping their prices of all their all their SLI chipsets so manufacturers can offer SLI boards for under one hundred dollars, making any money conscious buyer take a second look. Most extreme gamers, not to be outdone, do not want to see low end budget computers toting a superior motherboard, mocking you through its case window. The board also comes feature laden, and with UV-reactive parts it certainly does not lack in the looks department. As for our reason for SLI, this also has to do with our graphics card selection.
Video Card: ATI Radeon X800
Why an X800 you may ask after getting a SLI board you may ask? Simply because with next generation cards right around the corner, we cannot justify spending our money on something such as two 6800 Ultra?s in SLI, when they will soon be outperformed by a single card, either Nvidia?s G70, or ATI?s R520. This way you can still have your high detail settings and play Battlefield 2, or any other games right now, but have only spent around 250 dollars, a moderate price compared to many current generation cards. This provides an excellent upgrade path for when the G70 and R520 come out. Currently it looks like Nvidia?s card will be out first, and considering ATI?s past history Nvidia will probably have a significant advantage in availability. While some may argue that ATI has preformed better in Battlefield, one can simply not overlook that Nvidia?s cards will be the first thing you can get to have the best performance on the block. Buy one G70 when they come out, and then later when the prices drop and more demanding games are released buy another and enjoy pure graphics bliss, pumping out 16AA at 1600x1200 to the wee hours of the morning. That?s all right; you can catch a nap at work.
Memory: 1GB OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 184-Pin DDR 400 (PC 3200)
Now shipping with TCC5, instead of TCCD chips, this RAM from OCZ still offers great performance and reliability. In dual channel mode this RAM can still hold its own easily and overclocks well. OCZ is known for its great reliability and performance and should feel right at home in your system. We recommend 1GB, which is now becoming the standard, with the possibility of upgrading to 2GB?s if you determine you need the extra memory. There is also the possibility of going with OCZ?s VX RAM, which pared with the DFI board allows for great overclocking. The VX or the RAM of your choice will also be sufficient, such as something from Corsair, depending on your needs and plans of what you are going to do with your system.
Power Supply: OCZ ModStream 520W
We recommend the ModStream for its great reliability and ability to offer a solid, steady flow of juice for your system. It has modular cables; meaning you can detach the cables that are not needed to keep your case neat. It comes fully sleeved and ready to go, and while a bit bigger then some other power supplies you should have no problem fitting it into your case. We also recommend the Antec TruePower 2.0, for its great features and popularity among enthusiasts and gamers alike. With both the OCZ and Antec weighing in at the same price, it all depends on your opinion. We feel a high quality PSU, such as something form OCZ, Antec, or PC Power and Cooling, with over 500 watts is necessary to be sure that your PSU can handle all your peripheral needs, and allow for upgrading, such as next generation video cards that are sure to suck the life right out of any no name PSU.
Hard Drive: Western Digital 74GB Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA or Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 7200 RPM SATA
There is no doubt about it, if you are looking for the best non-SCSI drive performance wise, the Raptor delivers in all aspects. It will also certianly help in loading those long levels in the game. To reap the benefits of the Raptor with its 4.5ms seek time, and with the hard drive being one of the biggest bottlenecks in any modern day system (ignoring your 56k modem junior), this beast is worth the cost to some people. To others the price is simply not worth it, they cannot justify spending that much for only 74GB of storage. So for those who look at the GB/$ ratio we recommend the Seagate, it is quiet, dependable, and offers NCQ or Native Command Queuing technology. The size of the drive is up to you, and around 200GB is sufficient for most people. To quell the rumors of putting two Seagate?s in RAID to get the performance of a Raptor, or even two Raptor?s in a RAID 0 array, we have to say that most users, including gamers, will not see any real world benefit from having two drives in RAID in the desktop world. Save your money and get something that you will see more of a benefit from.
Sound: CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
For those of you who cannot live with onboard sound we suggest the Audigy2. It has great sound and is relatively cheap. For gaming it also has EAX support. If you are a gamer that uses headphones or not, this is still a solid card that should not be looked over for other uses also.
Approximate Price: $1,100
The price of this system is well worth it, as it will serve you well for the next couple of years, or at least until Battlefield 3. You still need to buy a case and cooling, monitor, keyboard, optical drive and any other peripherals and miscellaneous parts that you want to add to your system. We did not include recommendations on those components due to the variety on the market and wants/needs of every gamer. If you are going the SLI route make sure to get a quality monitor that can support high resolutions so all that extra money will not go the waste.
Remember this is just a guideline to follow when building your system, if you find the price too high or you find you can spend more money you can substitute for better parts, such as upgrading the CPU or RAM.
We hope we may have cleared up any confusion about what parts currently are best for building a middle to high end gaming system. Enjoy your new rig and squeezing the last ounce of performance out of it for those extra FPS in Battlefield 2. Happy hunting!
Any suggestions on how to improve this will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks