Upgrading graphics for BF3 and Diablo 3

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Jboyd1829

Junior Member
Feb 4, 2012
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Looking for advice,

I am currently running a Dell XPS 630i system with Q6600 processor and 9800 GT graphics card. I am currently playing Diablo 3 and BF3 on the lowest settings which is far from my ideal settings. I run a 1080p monitor that is the max resolution I typically play at.

I would like a card that can run those games at 1080p preferably with almost all settings on high. I have been looking at the Nvidia 670 and 680 series. If I upgrade to the 670/680, will those games be limited by my older processor in such as way I will see a big change in performance or just a few FPS? I may look at upgrading the computer as a whole later, but am desiring a quick fix for my gaming solution now if possible.

Thanks in advance,
Jboyd1829
 
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chronochime

Member
Feb 29, 2012
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Well I have a e8400 and a 4870 1gig and I can run 1080p with everything high except for shadow(med), and I think it runs okay, even when surrounded by lots of enemies. Mind you I have the fps capped at 40 in the settings.

Hope this helps.
 
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JAG87

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2006
3,921
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BF3 multiplayer will be severely limited by a Q6600 at stock clock.

But if you plan to upgrade the system later on, I guess a 670 is not a bad investment.
 
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Jboyd1829

Junior Member
Feb 4, 2012
13
0
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What sort of theoretical upgrade to the processor would get me out of the range where CPU is my limiting factor? I have looked at the mid-range builder guide in the past which suggested the 2500k. However I know the new Ivy Bridge processors recently released as well and I think the guide has been updated to include those processors. Would one of the mid-range build Mobo and CPU combo still give me the same limiting factor with a GPU upgrade?

Thanks all for your replies.
 
jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
Don't mean to derail, but I have a 1GB 5870 for sale.

It would pair quite nicely with your CPU.

It offers 90% of stock 7850 peformance, so it would be a solid card for 1080p. Diablo 3 would max out for sure, single player BF3 would run high settings at 1080p.

64 man, no idea
 
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Kastor Krieg

Member
Jun 10, 2012
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The best bang-for-buck set is the one I got now. I have an i5-2500k on a P67 mobo, overclocked it to 4.6Ghz. I had a severely OC'd GTX 460 @ 900Mhz Core, but between it's limited power and lack of memory for BF3 (just 1GB), I needed something better.

I got myself a 7850 2GB and I'm not looking back. Grab yourself the Sapphire OC 7850 (-01-20G/40G model! Not the -00- batch!) or an ASUS DirectCU II like mine or an MSi Twin Frozr III one. Avoid the Gigabyte one, said to be less reliable and noisier / worse of an overclock. Then OC it to hell and hack again. Those cards stock @ 760 Core, mine came in as an 870, now it's at 1100 Mhz Core and I got a poor oveclocker! People here reach 1200 or even 1300 after overvolts.

There's a huge thread about the card on this subforum and it's the best choice out there. My card is about as powerful as a GTX 580, for half the price. Two of these would eat a GTX 680 alive.
 
jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
Kastor Krieg said:
The best bang-for-buck set is the one I got now. I have an i5-2500k on a P67 mobo, overclocked it to 4.6Ghz. I had a severely OC'd GTX 460 @ 900Mhz Core, but between it's limited power and lack of memory for BF3 (just 1GB), I needed something better.

I got myself a 7850 2GB and I'm not looking back. Grab yourself the Sapphire OC 7850 (-01-20G/40G model! Not the -00- batch!) or an ASUS DirectCU II like mine or an MSi Twin Frozr III one. Avoid the Gigabyte one, said to be less reliable and noisier / worse of an overclock. Then OC it to hell and hack again. Those cards stock @ 760 Core, mine came in as an 870, now it's at 1100 Mhz Core and I got a poor oveclocker! People here reach 1200 or even 1300 after overvolts.

There's a huge thread about the card on this subforum and it's the best choice out there. My card is about as powerful as a GTX 580, for half the price. Two of these would eat a GTX 680 alive.
Click to expand...

My 7850 is at 1275/1375 @ 1.24v, but its one of the better performers.

Problem here is a Q6600 will probably bottleneck a O/C'd 7850 some.


If your looking to keep your CPU and looking for a cheap upgrade, I'd recommend looking at a GTX 480 or a 5870. They can be found for $150 ish used.
 
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Bryson777

Member
Nov 26, 2008
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I don't play BF3 multiplayer and I hear that starcraft multiplayer is also brutal on CPUs but as far as my 7850 goes, i pretty consistently reach 99-100% GPU usage on load when playing games and benching so i have no idea how much my Q is actually bottlenecking my card.
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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www.techbuyersguru.com
Jboyd1829 said:
What sort of theoretical upgrade to the processor would get me out of the range where CPU is my limiting factor? I have looked at the mid-range builder guide in the past which suggested the 2500k. However I know the new Ivy Bridge processors recently released as well and I think the guide has been updated to include those processors. Would one of the mid-range build Mobo and CPU combo still give me the same limiting factor with a GPU upgrade?

Thanks all for your replies.
Click to expand...

Yes, a stock 2500k would be fine for a GTX670. If you aren't the overclocking type, then the 2500/3570 is what you should be looking for. You don't need to pay extra for the "k" if you aren't overclocking. The difference between the Ivy Bridge 3570 and the Sandy Bridge 2500 is minimal. If the price is close, buy the 3570, otherwise skip it.
 
Don Karnage

Don Karnage

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 2011
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Bryson777 said:
I don't play BF3 multiplayer and I hear that starcraft multiplayer is also brutal on CPUs but as far as my 7850 goes, i pretty consistently reach 99-100% GPU usage on load when playing games and benching so i have no idea how much my Q is actually bottlenecking my card.
Click to expand...

What's the point in even buying bf3 if you don't play multiplayer
 
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Bryson777

Member
Nov 26, 2008
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Don Karnage said:
What's the point in even buying bf3 if you don't play multiplayer
Click to expand...

Actually I don't play bf3 at all lol. I just got back into PC gaming. I did upgrade my GTS 250 to a 7850 to play diablo but the game is still a laggy unoptimized pile of poo poo.
 
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aaksheytalwar

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2012
3,389
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Even a gts 450 or Radeon 4670 will be several times as fast as your 9800gt. Upgrade your gpu before your CPU

Get at least a gtx 460 or gtx 560
 
S

Smartazz

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2005
6,128
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Having used a 3GHz Q6600 for BF3, I can tell you that a stock Q6600 is not going to run bigger servers all too well.
 
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minitron

Member
Mar 12, 2012
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aaksheytalwar said:
Even a gts 450 or Radeon 4670 will be several times as fast as your 9800gt. Upgrade your gpu before your CPU

Get at least a gtx 460 or gtx 560
Click to expand...
The 4670 is garbage; the 9800GT dumps on it. I'd also suggest a GTX 550 Ti or 460 though.

9800 GT should max D3 with playable framerates. Playing BF3 on high will require a new computer as others have mentioned.
 
Jaydip

Jaydip

Diamond Member
Mar 29, 2010
3,691
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9800GT would crawl when there are multiple enemies on the screen or u are playing with friends
 
nenforcer

nenforcer

Golden Member
Aug 26, 2008
1,767
1
76
Your motherboard should be upgradeable to .45nm 1333MHz FSB Yorkfield Core 2 Quad CPU's like the Q9450, Q9550 and Q9650.

Unfortunately, they cost from $130 to $200+ on eBay which is just not a cost effective purchase for a used processor since you can purchase a brand new Core i5 2500K for $200 (albeit with a new motherboard and RAM).

You do have a 750W power supply in that system which is an nForce 650i chipset and is SLI capable. Even though it only supports PCI-E 1.0 x16 speeds I'd consider another 9800GT in SLI which should be the cheapest and most cost effective upgrade you can make on that existing system.

It would make Diablo 3 very playable and if you got the Core 2 Quad cpu you would have a minimum system necessary to play Battlefield 3 multiplayer.
 
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Gordon Freemen

Golden Member
May 24, 2012
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Jaydip said:
9800GT would crawl when there are multiple enemies on the screen or u are playing with friends
Click to expand...
I can comfortable say with confidence that there would be major lag in BF3 playing on a 9800GT -1fps as in 1sec pause in between each frame per second.
 
frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
aaksheytalwar said:
Even a gts 450 or Radeon 4670 will be several times as fast as your 9800gt. Upgrade your gpu before your CPU

Get at least a gtx 460 or gtx 560
Click to expand...

I would agree that a GPU upgrade could help you with Diablo, but the CPU would hold you back a lot in BF3. Just a comment though, a 9800GT is faster than a HD4670 for sure, FWIW.
 
frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
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Jaydip said:
9800GT would crawl when there are multiple enemies on the screen or u are playing with friends
Click to expand...

It might be a bottleneck at 1080p, but I have a 9800GT and can play on high at 1440x900. Even in the biggest battles on normal I havent seen much slowdown except for the annoying lag from the server.
 
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