considering making the jump to PC...

So i'm primarily an Xbox gamer, and with the release of BF3 imminent i'm thinking of buying a gaming pc for the full 64 player experience. I wouldn't be able to build my own PC just yet so does anyone have any good recommendations of PC's I can buy online? I'd like to run BF3 on max settings if poss.

Also - anyone else like me recently made the jump? how are you finding it? a few games i'll be getting this year are BF3 and Skyrim (should be no problem on PC there hehe) but also Fifa 12 and I hear Fifa's get a bad deal on PC :/

So i'm primarily an Xbox gamer, and with the release of BF3 imminent i'm thinking of buying a gaming pc for the full 64 player experience. I wouldn't be able to build my own PC just yet so does anyone have any good recommendations of PC's I can buy online? I'd like to run BF3 on max settings if poss.

Also - anyone else like me recently made the jump? how are you finding it? a few games i'll be getting this year are BF3 and Skyrim (should be no problem on PC there hehe) but also Fifa 12 and I hear Fifa's get a bad deal on PC :/

Chris_shanahan8

Build your own PC, I cannot stress it enough. It is seriously SO easy. If you can put together a set diagram of legos to create a building or vehicle, you can build a PC. Go to the PC hardware forum, and tell them your budget.

I made the jump around 4 months ago. With no prior experience to building PCs. The hardware forum helped me pick out parts, I ordered them and put the computer together in less than 2 hours. Nothing was messed up, perfect fire the first time. And if you run into a problem, the forum will help you out. Even if you need to know what goes into that one port that you just can't figure out. Seriously, do NOT be afraid to build your own.

i'd probably be willing to go up to £1000 - but less is better obviously. Oh and i live in Birmingham - UK

hope you don't mind DRM

i'd probably be willing to go up to £1000 - but less is better obviously. Oh and i live in Birmingham - UK

Chris_shanahan8

yeah I think i'll just wait for the full specs for BF3 to be released and then just go to a small PC shop I know and say "build this please!" lol

That is a REALLY good idea TC :P Most PC builder shops slashes the overall cost if they are to build the entire PC for you. And yeah, You can get a pretty good PC for that amount, or even under :P

But even tho its a really good idea, I would still suggest heading to the hardware forum before you ask a shop to build one.

The HW forum would be able to give you specifics on what you should be looking for in a gaming PC at the time. Since some shops WILL try to blow alot of hot air, in order to sell some of thier orlder components, so it helps if you can just smack a list of componants on the disk and ask "how much will this cost?" and ask around a few places if you can, to see who can give you the best price.

Remember that being a PC gamer doesnt require you to go out and build some uber rig that maxes out BF3. I am slowly starting to enjoy more PC centric games like SC2, Crysis and others and I game on a Dell XPS. It is very cpable of handling these games and others. I plan on playing BF3 on it as well. I figure if it can handle Crysis 1 and 2, Metro 2033, BC2 and the Witcher 2, Ill be able to play BF3 on atleast medium.

So i'm primarily an Xbox gamer, and with the release of BF3 imminent i'm thinking of buying a gaming pc for the full 64 player experience. I wouldn't be able to build my own PC just yet so does anyone have any good recommendations of PC's I can buy online? I'd like to run BF3 on max settings if poss.

Also - anyone else like me recently made the jump? how are you finding it? a few games i'll be getting this year are BF3 and Skyrim (should be no problem on PC there hehe) but also Fifa 12 and I hear Fifa's get a bad deal on PC :/

Chris_shanahan8

hope you don't mind DRM

iwilson1296

[QUOTE="iwilson1296"]

hope you don't mind DRM

FelipeInside

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="iwilson1296"]

hope you don't mind DRM

C_Rule

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="iwilson1296"]

hope you don't mind DRM

C_Rule

TC - As people have said, don't be afraid to build your own, it is very easy and will save you a lot of money. Personally I wouldn't buy the parts from a shop as there will be overheads. Get them online from someone reliable, Amazon/New Egg or if you want a little cheaper but still reliable Ebay (new parts not used, although remember most RAM (Corsair, OCZ) comes with a lifetime guarantee so you can buy that used without any concerns).

With a £1000 budget and buying the parts yourself you will be able to get yourself a very nice gaming PC. Remember you will likely never need more than 6GB of RAM unless you plan on doing sound/video production. For gaming, concentrate on getting a good graphics card first and foremost and secondly the processor. Also if you can budget for it, I highly recommend an SSD drive in addition to a normal hard drive. Just big enough for booting windows and a few of your favourite games, they are absurdly quick to load things.

Go for a GTX580 and a Intel I7 processor or dont even bother.

yeah I think i'll just wait for the full specs for BF3 to be released and then just go to a small PC shop I know and say "build this please!" lol

Chris_shanahan8

Building it yourself would be SO much cheaper! And its really easy to build a PC. I mean REALLY EASY!

No, an i5 2500k(which goes on sale for as low as $160 in some places now) is more than what any multiplatform game needs, especially BF3 which mostly depends on GPU and a GTX 570 or HD 6970(or HD 6950 unlocked) is more than enough for BF3. BF3 alpha ran like a snack for me on my old system which has two HD 6950 in crossfire and a very old CPU.

[QUOTE="Chris_shanahan8"]

yeah I think i'll just wait for the full specs for BF3 to be released and then just go to a small PC shop I know and say "build this please!" lol

morrowindnic

Building it yourself would be SO much cheaper! And its really easy to build a PC. I mean REALLY EASY!