flashburn

I'm biased, but a AMD Radeon 6850/6870 would be more than enough to handle Battlefield 3 at high resolutions. You can also get a free copy of Deus Ex and Dirt 3:
http://promotions.newegg.com/AMD/11-...%2f118x118.jpg

RocShemp

Hopefully newegg is better at honouring that deal than TigerDirect. TigerDirect is playing dumb on this after I just bought a 6850 from them, even though the card I purchased is linked on their promo page.

To add insult to injury, the only way to find TigerDirect's page for this promo is to follow the link in AMD's promo page. If you search "deus ex" on TigerDirect's webpage, the only video card that shows up isn't even listed in their promo page.

flashburn

Well, TigerDirect sucks ass, and NewEgg is awesome, so I'm not surprised.

RocShemp

Does NewEgg accept PayPal? If so, I'll take my business to them from now on.

cruzness

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RocShemp

So after my new RAM and video card arrived, it turns out my MSI P55M-GD41 Mainboard was the real culprit. So I got an Asus P7H55-M PRO as a replacement.

My current setup is the following:

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Corsair High Perform Vengeance 16GB (4 × 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz RAM
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Black Edition 1GB DDR5 PCIe
Asus P7H55-M PRO
Aerocool PGS Qx-2000


In theory that should be the end of it but now I'm enduring a very weird problem. After I re-installed my copy of Windows 7 Professional, I re-installed my copy of Norton 360 4.0. As it was upgrading me to 5.0 (the version I had before my MSI mobo died), I got a blue screen error and the PC restarted. It then refused to start up Windows until it repaired.

I let it repair and started from scratch. I tried installing Norton 360 again and, before it even finished installing the 4.0 version of the program, I got the same blue screen crash and restart. It made me run the repair once again.

After a few unsuccessful tries, I decided to first let Windows download and install all the drivers and updates it desired (there were over 90 updates). Then I downloaded the latest version of Catalyst for my Radeon HD 6850. I also installed the various drivers and utilities that came in the DVD with my new mobo. So far, so good. I even restarted a few times to be sure.

Assuming all was fine, I decided to finally install Norton 360 and... It crashed again. This time, the windows repair even told me it couldn't find a solution to the problem (after it even claimed to check online) and just shut down my PC. So I just booted it back up and installed Catalyst and just shut down the PC after Windows downloaded/installed 40+ updates (part of the 90+ updates I lost due to the repairs).

I'm at a loss. Why would Norton be causing my computer to crash when it worked fine with my previous setup?

flashburn

Because Norton is a GIANT pile of shit. Stay away from Norton and Symantec. Just get Avast or AVG, they are both free. I've used Avast for several years and it does a great job of catching malicious software and websites.

RocShemp

Well that's a shame since, before my previous mobo dying, I had just renewed Norton 360 for another two years.

chess

Damn.

RocShemp

I was thinking of getting this (hopefully someplace local) and doing a HDD wipe and fresh reinstall of Windows 7. Might that do the trick?

Fandango

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RocShemp

I sure hope I got my PC up and running by the time this game is out.

chess

Two thoughts about this:

1. Holy crap.
2. Dogtags!!!!

RocShemp

Well I went ahead and wiped my HDD clean (after I passed my sensitive data to an external HDD) and have been slowly reinstalling everything. Even Norton 360 reinstalled without a hitch (I'll keep it until my license expires and then look at the other solutions that were recommended). In fact, I'm posting from said PC right now.

devynal

I know you'll be using Norton for awhile, but I'd recommend Microsoft Security Essentials. It has a very small system footprint and I get daily virus/spyware definition updates. And best of all it doesn't intertwine itself into the system like a cancerous tumor like all the other flavors of AV software.

I've used Avast and AVG for years, but they got way too bloated and resource-heavy for my liking.

RocShemp

I use Microsoft Security Essentials as well. In fact, I re-installed it before I re-installed Norton. I like it because it sometimes catches things that Norton misses.

flashburn

Somehow I wasn't even aware of Microsoft Security Essentials. I'll have to check that out, as a replacement for Avast.

chess

I love that this thread has devolved into a discussion about how to build a PC to run the game.

RocShemp

Hey. If you're gonna play Battlefield, you gotta play it right.

Sheff

This game made me end up jumping on a Microcenter deal for a core i7 + asus motherboard combo. Now I'm just waiting on a good graphics card deal to come out.

RocShemp

Nice. Make sure to get a good cooler for it. Battlefield games are CPU heavy. The stock cooler of my i5 goes crazy when I play. Since my case is a double decker, I need a low profile fan but all the ones I've found would force me to pull one of my RAM sticks.

Sheff

Ended up getting a Corsair 212, which only after installation I realized is too large for my case. So...now I need a new case.

Who knew I'd end up building a whole new PC for this damn game?

chess

I'm pretty committed to sticking with PS3. BC2 runs just fine, and I'd rather play on the big plasma in the living room than hunched over my desk in the office.

If that limits me to 24 players, I consider that a good thing since 24 feels great on most maps in BC2...Heavy Metal being the notable exception. With 24, you can run around a bit between objectives, but the more you get beyond that, the more it turns into a battle of attrition and twitch.

Preordered today...should arrive just before I get home from Afghanistan.

flashburn

Yeah, me too... oh wait, it's crazy, you can actually use a PC on a TV! Crazy, I know.

RocShemp

The same thing happened to me with a CoolerMaster. I ended up returning it for a full refund the next day. That said, given that my search for a low profile fan that wont force me to sacrifice some of my RAM is proving fruitless, I may have to hunt for a new case afterall.

I hope the larger HTPC cases are more accomodating since I don't want a tower in my setup.

I have my PC hooked up to my 52" LCD and my Onkyo 705 handles the sound.