BFBC2: considering upgrading

[gmreplay]

I'm really enjoying BFBC2, but my system is having a difficult time keeping up on high settings. Where will I get the best bang for my buck in regards to upgrading? I'm considering a total system upgrade, but I intend to wait for Intel's Sandy Bridge to drop before I do that.

I'm currently considering replacing my graphics card with a GTX 460. Would this put me in a good position to keep current by doing 460 SLI when I do a full upgrade sometime next year?

My current system specs:
E8400 OC'd to 3.6GHz
4gb ram
EVGA GTX 260 core 216

 

[CaptNumbNutz]

The biggest thing you need for BC2 is a quad-core processor. It doesn't even have to be a very fast one. You can get by with a fast dual core on this game, but the quad will help tremendously with minimum frame rates.

If your thinking about a gtx 460, go with a 1GB model.

 

[dajet24]

I run the game at max settings ( well only 2xAA) 4x is smooth but i get weird corruption black boxes.. driver issue i think 1920x1200 on rig in my sig..

 

[samuelmorris]

No corruption here, and the game runs fine for me at 2560x1600, but only if I leave AA and HBAO disabled. Agreed on the CPU, that will make a bit of a difference, but it'll also be really expensive. Benefit per dollar you'll get more out of a faster GPU. The difference between the 260-216 and the 768MB is 25% at most, and you're downgrading memory size. I would say go for at least an HD6850 if not an HD6950 or GTX570.

 

[DualOwn]

No corruption here, and the game runs fine for me at 2560x1600, but only if I leave AA and HBAO disabled. Agreed on the CPU, that will make a bit of a difference, but it'll also be really expensive. Benefit per dollar you'll get more out of a faster GPU. The difference between the 260-216 and the 768MB is 25% at most, and you're downgrading memory size. I would say go for at least an HD6850 if not an HD6950 or GTX570.

bc2 and fermi dont like each other.

i would get the 6950 instead.

 

[exlink]

Get a Q9xxx CPU and a 5870...you could probably score both of them used for fairly cheap.

On my Q9550 @ 3.6GHz and 5870 1GB (900/1250) I'm able to run Bad Company 2 at 4520x900 (4320x900 Eyefinity w/ Bezel Correction) at max settings but with 2x AA, 16x AF and HBAO off and sit around 50-60 FPS with dips in the low 40/high 30's.

HBAO is pointless, its improvement in IQ is very hard to notice while in game, yet chops off about 20-30% of your FPS.

 

[[21CW]killerofall]

What resolution you play at? This question is important. Honestly I have looked around and there doesn't seam to be much difference between a GTX 260 and a GTX 460. You would be better off at getting a 2nd GTX 260 off ebay or FS/T Thread for about $100 and SLI then spending $180 and getting a GTX 460. But you will likely be needing a quad core CPU It will help but not tons. I have a i970 (that's 6 cores ant 12 threads) and a GTX 260 core 192 and get around 50-60 FPS with all High settings, 4 AA, and 4 AF at 1920 by 1200. If you run below 1080P then a GTX 260 will be plenty, otherwise you might want to SLI the GTX 260. I use no more than 20-30% of the CPU on BFBC2 but the extra cores will help with minimum frames as I can also run tasks in the background and don't have to worry about it affecting performance. If you really don't want to wait and you game at 1080P or higher then I would go SLI now with the GTX 260 and that should help while you wait on the CPU upgrade in ~6 months.

 

[nobody_here]

a AM3 quad 955BE at stock speed paired with a good 460GTX 1Gb model, and you have yourself flawless BFBC2 performance without even overclocking anything.....i swear, all maxed out settings, including BVOA or whatever it is on, 16xAA/16xAF at my native 1440x900 19" widescreen resolution and it plays like a movie, flawless

 

[jbz7890]

I don't recommend mixing a GTX 460 with a Core 2 CPU. I and many others have had very low performance with this combination, and the upcoming drivers don't appear to help at all.

 

[homerandabe69]

a AM3 quad 955BE at stock speed paired with a good 460GTX 1Gb model, and you have yourself flawless BFBC2 performance without even overclocking anything.....i swear, all maxed out settings, including BVOA or whatever it is on, 16xAA/16xAF at my native 1440x900 19" widescreen resolution and it plays like a movie, flawless

i think that is only because you are playing at 1440x900. my system still gets framerate dips in the 20s if there is enough action going on even though i average over 60fps at 1920x1080. i run an x6 1055t at 3.9 and a 6970.

 

[nxcess]

Get a Q9xxx CPU and a 5870...you could probably score both of them used for fairly cheap.

On my Q9550 @ 3.6GHz and 5870 1GB (900/1250) I'm able to run Bad Company 2 at 4520x900 (4320x900 Eyefinity w/ Bezel Correction) at max settings but with 2x AA, 16x AF and HBAO off and sit around 50-60 FPS with dips in the low 40/high 30's.

HBAO is pointless, its improvement in IQ is very hard to notice while in game, yet chops off about 20-30% of your FPS.

Damn. Mine is similar to yours and I can't even max out my settings. Crossfire 5770 @ 960/1325 with Q9550 @ 3.8 and 5040x1050. Everything set to low 1xaa and 1xaf. Looks like I'm gonna have to upgrade too.

i think that is only because you are playing at 1440x900. my system still gets framerate dips in the 20s if there is enough action going on even though i average over 60fps at 1920x1080. i run an x6 1055t at 3.9 and a 6970.

I just built my little brother's machine over the christmas break with an i5 760 @ 3520 with a 6850. Everything set on medium and high on texture detail. It was either 2xAA or 4xAA and I had a constant 60fps with vsync on. This was on 1680x1050. I'm gonna pull it out once the monitor comes in and test it out on 1920x1080

 

[BottomsUp]

I don't recommend mixing a GTX 460 with a Core 2 CPU. I and many others have had very low performance with this combination, and the upcoming drivers don't appear to help at all.

this doesn't make sense and seems unfounded. I run a Q6600 ~3ghz with a GTX470 and it kicks BFBC2's arse

The CPU and VGA are totally separate. How would any C2D/C2Q have low performance with a GTX 460?

 

[Jodiuh]

E8400 OC'd to 3.6GHz
4gb ram
EVGA GTX 260 core 216

I had this exact system and it ran like crap...I refused to play the game. Upgrading to a Q9550 eliminated the CPU bottleneck, spiked the GPU usage, and got rid of most of the stutters and uber minimum framerate spikes.

But it still ran too slow, so I put a 460 in there. Couldn't get proper GPU usage because of Fermi's love affair w/ i5/i7's.

So I dropped in an i5 760 and @ boom goes the dynamite.

1680 x 1050, 4x AA
High details except for HBAO
Minimum framerate's rarely if ever below 60

I would say framerates more than doubled going from the E8400/260 to the i5 760/460. The game's incredibly smooth and it's a much, much better experience.

this doesn't make sense and seems unfounded. I run a Q6600 ~3ghz with a GTX470 and it kicks BFBC2's arse

The CPU and VGA are totally separate.

It doesn't make sense to these guys either. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to see a screenshot of GPU usage and full system specs including driver version and game detail settings.

E8400 - GTX 260 216

Q9500 - GTX 260 216

Still think they're totally separate?

 

[BottomsUp]

the original quote said I wouldn't recommend using a GTX 460 with a C2D since others have low performance.

You are posting a GTX 260 with C2D vs a GTX 460 with a Quad. I think we're talking about two different things...

 

[rUmX]

the original quote said I wouldn't recommend using a GTX 460 with a C2D since others have low performance.

You are posting a GTX 260 with C2D vs a GTX 460 with a Quad. I think we're talking about two different things...

It's a GTX 260...

 

[Jodiuh]

the original quote said I wouldn't recommend using a GTX 460 with a C2D since others have low performance.

You are posting a GTX 260 with C2D vs a GTX 460 with a Quad. I think we're talking about two different things...

I wouldn't either. But then I wouldn't recommend using a dual core with any GPU in this game and here's why...

The first image shows the E8400 @ 100% with the 260 @ ~50%. The second image shows the Q9550 @ ~80% with the same 260 @ ~100%.

The 2 screenshots illustrate just how important the CPU-GPU relationship can be for a demanding game. The combination of BC2 and a dually sends the lucky winner on a star-stuttery vacation straight to the min FPS caves of doom.

 

[Iching]

What resolution you play at? This question is important. Honestly I have looked around and there doesn't seam to be much difference between a GTX 260 and a GTX 460. You would be better off at getting a 2nd GTX 260 off ebay or FS/T Thread for about $100 and SLI then spending $180 and getting a GTX 460. But you will likely be needing a quad core CPU It will help but not tons. I have a i970 (that's 6 cores ant 12 threads) and a GTX 260 core 192 and get around 50-60 FPS with all High settings, 4 AA, and 4 AF at 1920 by 1200. If you run below 1080P then a GTX 260 will be plenty, otherwise you might want to SLI the GTX 260. I use no more than 20-30% of the CPU on BFBC2 but the extra cores will help with minimum frames as I can also run tasks in the background and don't have to worry about it affecting performance. If you really don't want to wait and you game at 1080P or higher then I would go SLI now with the GTX 260 and that should help while you wait on the CPU upgrade in ~6 months.

This.
I run GTX260 216 SLI @ 2560x1600 with these settings and cannot complain. both cards are maxed out 95 to 99 percent. When I run the game at 1920x1200 the cards will run 70 percent.

[WindowSettings]
Width=2560
Height=1600
Fullscreen=true
RefreshRate=59.860001
VSync=false
[Sound]
Quality=high
VoipEnable=true
SpeakerCount=0
[Graphics]
Effects=high
Soldiers=high
Vehicles=high
Overgrowth=high
Undergrowth=low
StaticObjects=medium
Terrain=high
Shadows=medium
Bloom=true
HSAO=true
MSAA=0
Water=medium
MainQuality=custom
Texture=high
DxVersion=auto
Aniso=4
Detail=high
RenderAheadLimit=3
Fov=55

 

[Jodiuh]

^^ How much do the occlusion effects add to the game?

 

[Iching]

^^ How much do the occlusion effects add to the game?

You will not notice during the gameplay. Also, I noticed there is no difference between medium and high.

 

[Jodiuh]

I won't notice HBAO while gaming? Medium and high for what?

 

[gmreplay]

You guys raise a lot of good points. Now I'm worried about not getting my money's worth by mixing the E8400 with a 460. What kind of a jump in FPS should I be expecting?

I play at 1680x1050, so I'm not taxing the card too hard in that department.

I'm surprised to hear that the 460 might not be a big jump over the 260. The tomshardware review of the 460 (along with everything else I've seen) seem to show it being a very capable card. Anyone else have some thoughts on this?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-gf104-fermi,2684-11.html

 

[Jodiuh]

What kind of a jump in FPS should I be expecting?

Nothing? Who knows with Fermi. I'd be looking to replace the CPU first. Pop in a quad and it'll be smooth, but you'll need to dial back a lot of settings and eliminate AA to get happy frames on a 260 216.

I'm surprised to hear that the 460 might not be a big jump over the 260. Anyone else have some thoughts on this?

It is. Maybe not @ stock, but the 460 next to me has 35% OC headroom. My EVGA 260 216 55nm had 0%.

Why not skip the 460 and go with a 470 for another $20/$30 bucks? Pair it w/ a nice quad and you'll be in for quite a show.

 

[gmreplay]

Nothing? Who knows with Fermi. I'd be looking to replace the CPU first. Pop in a quad and it'll be smooth, but you'll need to dial back a lot of settings and eliminate AA to get happy frames on a 260 216.

But that means replacing the mobo/ram/cpu together, and doing that now means that I miss out on Sandy Bridge technology and the price drops that will be associated with it in older processors in the coming month(s). I'm really hoping to just pop in a new graphics card and make the game more playable for the near future. If I can't do that, however, I hope to figure it out soon before upgrade fever really gets to me.

 

[Superhuman]

[WindowSettings]
Width=2560
Height=1600
Fullscreen=true
RefreshRate=59.860001
VSync=false
[Sound]
Quality=high
VoipEnable=true
SpeakerCount=0
[Graphics]
Effects=high
Soldiers=high
Vehicles=high
Overgrowth=high
Undergrowth=low
StaticObjects=medium
Terrain=high
Shadows=medium
Bloom=true
HSAO=true
MSAA=0
Water=medium
MainQuality=custom
Texture=high
DxVersion=auto
Aniso=4
Detail=high
RenderAheadLimit=3
Fov=55

You play with 55 FOV?!?!?!

 

[Jodiuh]

But that means replacing the mobo/ram/cpu together, and doing that now means that I miss out on Sandy Bridge technology and the price drops that will be associated with it in older processors in the coming month(s). I'm really hoping to just pop in a new graphics card and make the game more playable for the near future. If I can't do that, however, I hope to figure it out soon before upgrade fever really gets to me.

Yes, yes it does. I made the jump a few months back because I couldn't stand it any longer. Wait for the new hotness and miss out on 4 ~ 5 months of gaming and LAN parties? I do not think so.

You can pop in a new GPU, but don't be surprised if it stares back at you with a pouty face. The recommended Frostbite PC Specifications are...

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad or higher
Graphics: 512 MB Video Card (GeForce GTX 260/ ATI Radeon 4870)

IMO, that's what you need to get by @ 1680 w/ some AA. But that won't serve up liquid smooth 90 FPS avg, 60 FPS min. More like 45 avg, 30 min. Here's the [H] Frostbite PC Specifications...

Processor: Intel Core i5/i7 or higher
Graphics: 1 GB Video Card (GeForce GTX 460/ AMD Radeon 5850)

You play with 55 FOV?!?!?!

Maybe the monitor's actually a 65" Plasma and the chair's actually a couch.

gmreplay:
I had your system and wasn't happy w/ BC2's performance either. If you want performance today, I'd recommend an i5 or i7 if you'll use HT and a 470. If you don't mind waiting, you know what's coming around the bend. Also, Vietnam's fanfreakintastic, so I'm not worried about BC2 going outta style anytime soon.

 

[jbz7890]

this doesn't make sense and seems unfounded. I run a Q6600 ~3ghz with a GTX470 and it kicks BFBC2's arse

The CPU and VGA are totally separate. How would any C2D/C2Q have low performance with a GTX 460?

This problem occurs only with the GTX 460, not with any other Fermi card.

 

[Blacklash]

With proper CPU support an overclocked GTX 460 1Gb should run BC2 fine @ up to 1920x with 4xAA.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...6850-vs-gtx-460-1gb-overclocking-study-6.html

 

[Jodiuh]

This problem occurs only with the GTX 460, not with any other Fermi card.

Hmmm ... are you sure about that?

With proper CPU support an overclocked GTX 460 1Gb should run BC2 fine @ up to 1920x with 4xAA.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...6850-vs-gtx-460-1gb-overclocking-study-6.html

As long as 41's an acceptable minimum and you're not going to be playing online*.

*"To benchmark BF: BC2 we used a five minute stretch of gameplay starting from the second checkpoint (after the helicopter takes off) of the second single player mission up until your battle with the tank commences. Framerates are recorded with FRAPS." -Hardwarecanucks

 

[pokevitek]

Well, with BFBC2 I have strange story to tell

I have new PC built yesterday, based on Core i5 760 and HD 6850. When I first run the game I expected FPS to be around 55 avg, based on benchmarks I read. (1680x1050 4xAA 16xAF all high HBAO on)

But the game was VERY sluggish. I havent got installed fraps at that time, but I could tell it was about 30FPS. I was desperate. So, I tried OC the CPU. I set it to 3.5 GHz, with stock cooler (I know, not very good but I am still waiting for my Freezer 13). Than I played the game, expecting about 5 FPS increase. But suddenly, I have got about 60 FPS average with minimum about 40 when in havy dust and peaks around 80 in open space.

Just reminding i5 760 is quad core CPU. So, I think its not like get quad CPU no matter for frequency, its heavily dependant on frequency. I have no idea why though....

 

[THOMO]

I have a Q6600 @ 3800MHz/2GB DDR2-1058MHz/GTX460 768MB @ 850/1700/2100MHz and BC2 runs smooth as silk here.

Width=2560
Height=1600
Fullscreen=true
RefreshRate=60
VSync=false
[Sound]
Quality=high
VoipEnable=false
SpeakerCount=0
[Graphics]
Effects=high
Soldiers=high
Vehicles=high
Overgrowth=high
Undergrowth=high
StaticObjects=high
Terrain=high
Shadows=low
Bloom=false
HSAO=false
MSAA=0
Water=high
MainQuality=custom
Texture=high
DxVersion=auto
Aniso=0
Detail=high
RenderAheadLimit=1
Fov=62[/QUOTE]

 

[IeU]

Been wondering what is the bottleneck on my side . . .

  Motherboard:  
   CPU Type   QuadCore Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 1600 MHz (9 x 178)  
   Motherboard Name   Asus P5Q (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)  
   Motherboard Chipset   Intel Eaglelake P45  
   System Memory   8192 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)  
   DIMM1: Kingston   2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)  
   DIMM2: Kingston   2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)  
   DIMM3: Kingston   2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)  
   DIMM4: Kingston   2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)  
   BIOS Type   AMI (04/07/09)  
   Communication Port   Communications Port (COM1)  
   Communication Port   PCI Parallel Port (LPT2)  
   Communication Port   PCI Parallel Port (LPT3)  
   
  Display:  
   Video Adapter   NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+ (512 MB)  
   Video Adapter   NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+ (512 MB)  
   3D Accelerator   nVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX  
   Monitor   Samsung SyncMaster 245B/245BW/245BPlus (Digital) [24" LCD] (HS4P700587)  
   Monitor   Samsung SyncMaster 245B/245BW/245BPlus (Digital) [24" LCD] (HS4P705257)  
   
  Multimedia:  
   Audio Adapter   Creative SB X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card  
   Audio Adapter   Realtek ALC1200 @ Intel 82801JB ICH10 - High Definition Audio Controller  
   
  Storage:  
   IDE Controller   Intel(R) ICH10 Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 3A26  
   IDE Controller   Intel(R) ICH10 Family 4 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 1 - 3A20  
   IDE Controller   Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller  
   Storage Controller   AHJXA0LG IDE Controller  
   Disk Drive   DMI HDS721010CLA332 USB Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)  
   Disk Drive   OCZ AGILITY-EX ATA Device (59 GB, IDE)  
   Disk Drive   ST31500341AS ATA Device (1500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)  
   Disk Drive   WDC WD1500AHFD-00RAR5 ATA Device (150 GB, 10000 RPM, SATA)  
   Optical Drive   _NEC DVD_RW ND-3520AW ATA Device (DVD+R9:4x, DVD-R9:4x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/24x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)  
   Optical Drive   KBUJA IJKL2BCXYZ SCSI CdRom Device  
   Optical Drive   KBUJA IJKL2BCXYZ SCSI CdRom Device  
   SMART Hard Disks Status   OK

 

[THOMO]

^^

I had to remove my x-fi pci-e soundcard and revert to onboard high def sound after I installed a second gpu to run a third monitor. My vantage score dropped from 18,700 to 9,200 with the x-fi installed.......after I removed the x-fi pci-e soundcard my vantage score then returned to 18k+. This is with a GTX460 & 8400GS installed on a P5Q-pro.

I tested also with only GTX460 running 16xpci-e and scored the same as with GTX460 & 8400GS both running 8xpci-e. As soon as I add a third pci-e device my vantage score plummits.

 

[DriZzLe]

bc2 and fermi dont like each other.

i would get the 6950 instead.

What you talking about Willis?

I have used both the gtx470 & gtx480 & have not a single issue running this game maxed out. With the 470 I had everything on high except effects on medium & 2x AA@ 1920*1200 & got 45-50fps & the 480 everything maxed out & never dip below 60fps.

 

[z3r0-]

What? Fermi runs BC2 better than ATI...

 

[Jodiuh]

With the 470 I had everything on high except effects on medium & 2x AA@ 1920*1200 & got 45-50fps.

I got 90 from that chip and those settings. Might wanna check your GPU usage in Riva/Precision.

This isn't an unknown issue guys, it's all over the EVGA and Nvidia forums w/ comments every now and then about a fix coming from an NV rep. Fermi acts weird and stutters or performs poorly in certain configs. The majority of the time it's when a C2Q or Phenom's being used.

 

[pokevitek]

Been wondering what is the bottleneck on my side . . .

that would be CPU frequency. As I stated above, I had to OC Core i5 760 to 3.5 GHz to get nice framerate from HD 6850.

As for normal non-OC i5 760 - Turbo Boost is the key.... I mean I was wondering how is possible that even unclocked 760 runs games better than my, than realised I disabled Turbo Boost (I like to control my own frequencies)....

If anyone interested I am planning series of benches from 2.8 to 4 GHz as soon as I install Freezer 13 later today. I can post....

 

[Jodiuh]

More like a neck with C2Q + G92.

 

[-Sn1PeR-]

I would hold out for the full system upgrade and jump to a quad sandybridge. The 260 is a very capable card. My friend runs BC2 maxed out and very smooth (smoother than I do) at 1200p on a stock i7 920 and 260's SLI. The difference is the cpu. My brothers computer (i7 950 stock with a 768 460) also runs BC2 smoother than I do. (although he does get the occasional pink blip on screen) A Core2Quad (at least mine at less than 3.4ghz) is simply a bottleneck in full multiplayer games of BC2.

In short, I would wait for sandybridge, grab a a new cpu/mobo/ram -- see if you get the performance you want. If you don't I would briefly consider and search for deals on another 260 for an SLI setup and weigh the pros/cons/economics of a gpu upgrade at that point.

 

[strikerP4]

Get a new video card first and see if that resolves your issues. As you can see from my sig below I have a Core2Quad and a 4850 which is a little less powerful than your 260. I get mid 50's at 1680x1050 with 2xAA and HBAO off. Dips into the 30's when I walk through a smoke cloud. I'm holding our for a 6970 for eyefinity but I won't be upgrading my CPU for a while.

 

[Jodiuh]

Quite a few folks in that big overclock.net thread had no problems w/ ATI's 58XX series a couple months back. In fact, some of them flipped their Fermis because the red team didn't care what CPU anybody ran.

Kinda funny now that I think back and maybe a 5870 would have been all I'd needed.

Oh well, the 760/DDR3 does feel noticeably snappier in Windows than the Q9550/DDR2.