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

Al Gore explains that Man Bear Pig is seen in Left For Dead 2, then swooshes away with his cape.

inzane from from Pink Zinic has decided to drop out of school at age 17 to pursue her Counter Strike professional career. She is also modeling for “a friend”. Lucky friend, right?

“The Sims 3 is an incredible game that lets you play with life, create art and show off your creations,” said Ben Bell, Executive Producer, The Sims 3. “In the game, players are inspired by endless creative possibilities like the new Traits and Lifetime Wish features which allow players to create Sims with real personalities and destinies. Players can then take their Sim into town to interact with other Sims in the game and capture the action on video to show off online.”

“The June launch combined with the break-through game the team is building gives us the perfect runway to create awareness for The Sims 3,” said Russell Arons, Vice President of Marketing for EA. “The Sims 3 will be the original IP summer blockbuster of 2009 as we build off the success of the best-selling PC franchise of all time to create awareness with both loyal Sims fans and new players.”

Am I reading this correctly?  They are delaying the game to create an awareness, meaning they want to advertise the game some more, FOR 4 MONTHS?  This is the biggest load of shit I have ever read.  But, it is no surprise that EA would make such a move.  Did someone forgot to mention that they should be making commercials of the game or something?  Reading the reaction on Sims 3 communities seems like EA’s plan to delay is going to backfire quite a bit.

This reminds me of Spore.  Big hype, big delay, shitty game.

I guess we can be assured that The Sims 3 will be ideally prepared before its release, instead of EA releasing a buggy version that requires 20 patches.

Source: thesims3ea.com; New Ship Date for The Sims 3

Visit the Sims 3 Design forums to discuss latest Sims 3 news, your designs, your thoughts and more!

The PC version of Gears of War has a very big problem at the moment. The DRM used to protect the game has a certificate that expired on January 28, 2009. This means the game has been shut off and can no longer be played even after uninstalling and installing the game.

As a result of this blunder, Gears of War is unplayable by legitimate paying customers. When trying to play the game, the gamer is presented with the following error:

[installpath]\Gears of War\Binaries\wargame-g4wlive.exe: You cannot run the game with modified executable code. Please reinstall the game

A moderator of Epic Studios stated they are working with Microsoft to get the problem resolved. Other games released on Windows with potential DRM expiration include Grand Theft Auto IV and Crysis. It is only a matter of time before we know if these two games will be affected by the same certificate expiration.

Source: torrentfreak.com; DRM Jams the Gears of War: Crysis and GTA IV Next?

One game in particular that many gamers might appreciate being released on Steam is Spore, a game that was ruined partly by DRM protection know as SecuROM.  A limited number of installs is one of the many complaints from Spore players.  MaxisCactus, a Maxis community manager, confirmed that Spore will not contain SecuROM when released on Steam.

The EA games releasing on Steam will include:-  Spore
-  Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack
-  Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
-  Mass Effect
-  Need for Speed Undercover
-  EA SPORTS FIFA Manager 2009
- Mirror’s Edge
- Command & Conquer Red Alert 3
- Dead Space

Source: hellforge.gameriot.com; EA Games to release DRM-free titles on Steam

The first Rockstar Games announcement is the much anticipated downloadable content for the Xbox 360, you know, the stuff that made you buy the Xbox 360 version instead of the PS3 version of GTAIV. The DLC is titled, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned, which is the first of two episodes that will release for the Xbox 360.

The Lost and the Damned features a brand new main character to explore Liberty City, and includes a plot that intersects with the GTAIV storyline. The DLC will have new missions, multiplayer modes, weapons and vehicles, and new soundtracks.

The DLC is exclusive to the Xbox 360, and will be available on Xbox LIVE on February 17, 2009.

The second Rockstar Games announcement is the details of the PC version of GTAIV. Among the features of the PC version are enhanced graphics, customizable radio station songs via mp3s, and 32-person multiplayer.

The recommended PC specs are:

- Window Vista SP1 or XP SP3
- Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz or AMD Phenom X3 2.1Ghz processor
- 2.5GB of memory
- 18GB of hard disk space
- 512MB nVidia 8600 or 512MB ATI 3870 video card

Sorry PS3 fans, there is no GTAIV love for you this holiday season. But, if you really want to play the DLC, there is probably a good deal on an Xbox 360 somewhere out there this Black Friday.

Source: Rockstar Games; GTAIV