Build advice for BF3

[Buckiller]

So I am looking to build a PC a little bit before BF3 comes out... which is still quite a few months away. I want to get an idea though since I might want to sell/part out my current PC.

For really great perf in BF3, mainly want to now what I could keep and what a complete system would look like.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing?
Obviously gaming is the big thing. Moderate overclocking. Everything else should fall into place.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
If I did everything new, ~$1000.

3) Where do you live?
Not sure when BF3 comes out... maybe CA..

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Not sure what I can reuse... I need a bunch. (CPU, CPU fan, Mobo, GPU, SSD/HDD, DVD, PSU, case, mouse, keyboard, monitor)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Here is my current build:
*** LIAN LI PC-7B plus II PC case
*** PC Power and Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power
*** DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
*** Q6600
*** Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler
*** G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)
*** XFX PVT88PYSF4 GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI-Ex 2.0
*** Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
*** RAID0 2x15k RPM SCSI Ultra-320
*** SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
*** Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium

6) Will you be overclocking?
Need the ability, yes. Air cooling likely.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Have a 20" widescreen now I think. Those 24" high-res ones look nice.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
~Winter 2011

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
Sata 6Gb/s

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Arch Linux and Windows 7. Either.

 

[Cmustang87]

Wait until around 2 weeks before you are ready to build to get advice. So much will change by winter of this year.

 

[Buckiller]

Mainly wanted to get an idea which components I could reuse (is the PSU suitable for the latest stuff etc.) so that I could get good prices for my current PC now. I have a low end desktop I never use and a laptop I use a ton. So a gaming PC isn't getting much use from me right now... I might want to sell or part it out if that is the smart thing to do.

 

[Cmustang87]

That power supply will probably work, but that depends on which GPU you end up going with at that time. The case should also be fine.

If you don't mind selling it now, it would be a good time now to part out. You could build a really nice system for around $1k+your part out price.

 

[tiraides]

Right now, you can safely reuse you case and optical drive. I personally recommend that you buy a new power supply and hard drive (if not an SSD) along with the rest of your new system.

If you were to buy a new monitor, when would you purchase it?

 

[Buckiller]

Right now, you can safely reuse you case and optical drive. I personally recommend that you buy a new power supply and hard drive (if not an SSD) along with the rest of your new system.

If you were to buy a new monitor, when would you purchase it?

Whenever prices are cheapest probably. Black Friday?

I'll have to research PSUs and what videocards require these days. Other than videocard I will probably be using less power... CPUs stay pretty constant, I'm getting rid of the RAID0 eventually (when I get the SSD), and I'm not sure about sound cards. If PhysX is ever a big deal I might keep the 8800GT as a PhysX card...

Here is a shot of the side panel of my PSU: http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/17-703-005-04.jpg

 

[Dangman]

Your link doesn't work.

3) Where do you live?
Not sure when BF3 comes out... maybe CA..

So you're not sure where you'll be living when BF3 comes out?

Yes this question is very important since where you live is gonna determine a lot of hardware choices and where you should be buying your parts from. If you're still living in California when BF3 comes out, then I recommend buying as much of your parts as possible from Amazon.com since they do not charge tax to CA residents whereas Newegg does. We've been able to shave off $100 to $300 off a California build just from Amazon in the past.

As tiraides noted earlier, pretty much the case and the DVD drive are the only parts with little doubt that you can reuse. Every other part can/will have to be replaced. Your choice of video card as well as how old exactly is your PC P&C PSU will determine whether or not you should reuse it.

In addition, your monitor choice will determine what video card you should get. The video card recommendation for a 20" monitor differs a bit from the video card recommendations for a 23" - 24" monitor.

So yeah, wait till 2-3 weeks before your actual build time if you want up-to-date specific hardware recommendations. As Cmustang87 noted, a lot can change between now and Winter.