Being a long time Battlefield fan and a former PC geek and overclocker, I decided to go ahead and build a new PC once I heard Battlefield 3 was about to release. Besides, it is almost winter and I’m approaching my hibernation for the coming cold months. My goal was to keep the build under $1000, and in the end I stuck to it.

I was prepared to build a top notch PC within my budget. I consider myself a pretty savvy online shopper as well. Of course when it comes to buying PC parts, all you need to know is Newegg. I have had nothing but the best service with Newegg. My parts arrive within 3 days, and I have never had to return any parts.

My last PC build was an AMD platform back in 2005. A 939 single core processor, 2GB RAM, and a 7800GT graphics card. In its peak I had it running at 3GHz and with a pencil mod on the graphics card to raise the Vcore for overclocking. Being older, I don’t think I am going to mess with my hardware this time around.

My BF3 build today consists of an Intel build:

ASROCK Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard
Intel I5 2500K processor
EVGA GTX 270 Graphics Card
G.Skill 4GB x 2 Dual Channel Memory
Corsair 850W TXV2 Power Supply
ASUS DVD-R Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium

The parts I kept from my previous build:

Cooler Master Centurion Case
Dynex Generic keyboard and mouse
40″ Dynex 1080P TV
Hitachi 80GB Sata Hard Drive

For the most part, I didn’t run into any problems during the build, other than a debug on the motherboard dealing with the memory, Dr. Debug code 2E and 45 for those with an ASROCK motherboard. After seating the CPU a second time, the system booted just fine with no error codes.

So what is the verdict? I love my new build. I am running Battlefield 3 on ultra settings without any noticeable problems. Of course I’ve never been a fps geek. My TV/Monitor is 60Hz so all I can expect is 60fps, which is fine with me. Your eyes can’t notice the difference beyond that point anyways, that is why VSync for screen tear exists.

Nvidia has finally announced their competition for the ATI HD 5000 series video cards.  The GeForce GTX 480 and 470 boast performance that outpaces the HD 5000′s.  The chart below may be speculative, we will have to wait for third party benchmarks.

The surprising news about the 400 series cards is the price. The $500 GeForce GTX 480 and $350 GeForce GTX 470 are very competitively set to take on the HD 5000 series. We will start seeing the cards around April 12th. Check out the specs below.

GTX 480 SPECS:

GPU Engine Specs

Memory Specs

GTX 470 SPECS:

GPU Engine Specs

Memory Specs

I should have probably held out a little bit longer amidst rumors of a relaunch on the PSP Go, but I couldn’t hold out any longer on a price drop.  I’ve been too bored on my train rides for the past year.  I needed something else besides books and the newspaper to keep me entertained.

The last handheld device I had was an original Gameboy playing mario bros, metroid, choplifter, breakout, amongst other things.

I’ve been messing around with the PSP Go for the last few days, and so far I feel like it will at least entertain me when I am bored.

A few things I have noticed is that the wireless connection is a bit slow, it took about 2hrs to download and install Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.  And of course Sony has yet to get a decent browser installed on the PS3 or PSP to view most websites.

Is the PSP Go really worth the $250 I spent on it?  Only time will tell.  I’m kinda mad that I can’t find Sid Meier’s Pirates! on the Playstation Store, since that is one game I’ve wanted to play.

I recently decided to upgrade my Playstation 3 hard drive just for the fun of it.  I had an original 40GB model and bought a 250GB replacement on Newegg.  If I had known it was so easy to upgrade the hard drive, I would have probably done it a while ago since I like messing with computers and hardware.

First off, you have to make sure you get a 2.5″ SATA hard drive (the size they put in laptops) because it is the only size that will fit.  Also, you can choose from 5400RPMs or 7200RPMs.  The stock hard drive is rated at 5400RPMs, so it is probably best to stick with that type for compatibility issues.  In addition, tests comparing the two showed only a marginal difference in the 7200RPM model.  Check out this GamePro article comparing a 5400RPM hard drive to a 7200RPM hard drive in the PS3.

I went with a 250GB 5400RPM Western Digital Scorpio Blue.  It was on sale for $50 when I bought it at Newegg.

Depending on the model of your PS3, the required steps for replacing the hard drive are a little different.  I read this GamePro PS3 hard drive replacement article to get the gist. It turned out I had a newer model, and the drive bay was different. The only problem I ran into was having to download a PS3 update file that was 3.10 or higher onto a flash drive, since I was prompted to upgrade before I could format the hard drive.

If you haven’t thought about upgrading your PS3 hard drive, I recommend you do it since it is extremely easy.  Sony allows you to buy a third party hard drive unlike Microsoft, so a hard drive from Western Digital or Seagate will work fine.  The stock hard drive is a Seagate model for reference.

It seems Sony’s recent incarnation of the PS3 is a big hit in America. Combined with the $100 price drop and 120GB hard drive upgrade, the PS3 slim is a bargain compared to previous PS3 versions.

I have always thought that the only way Sony would make any money on the PS3 is by reducing its price. In return there will be more sales in video games for the console.

Source: Weekly Analysis – PS3 Sales Double in America

Check out this video showing off the new PS3 slim releasing September 1st in North America. The PS3 slim is 33% smaller, 36% lighter, and comes with a 120GB hard drive.

“I expected we’ll see a PlayStation 3.5 before we see a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox 560 before we see an Xbox 720,” he said.

Hilleman also predicts that online games will play a bigger role as opposed to package video games, making light to the 28,000 internet game rooms in South Korea alone.

Source: CVG; EA expects PS3.5 and Xbox 560 before next gen

Check out this custom made portable Super Nintendo! It is a bit clunky and big, but still awesome. It is called the Supertendo.

The PSP-3000 now has a new cousin, the PSP Go. New pictures of the PSP Go have surfaced before its debut at E3 2009.

The PSP Go will have 16GB of internal memory, built in Bluetooth support, and features UMD-less technology. The PSP Go is expected to be available this Fall. I’ll be sure to pick one up. I have been wanting a PSP for a while now, but heard there was a new version coming out soon.

Source: engaget; Video: Sony’s PSP Go leaks out before E3, is obviously a go