Picking computer parts...

[Napoleon the Clown]

How will I know if it has good circulation then? Its not got a lot of open space in it, and the only cooling unit is on the processor. Or thats what it looks like, anyway. It already has a GPU in it, and I haven't had any problems with heat so far, apart from the occasional processor overheat. I'm hoping the HD6670 will be similar in heat and power usage to the 9400 GT.

How many fans and what sizes? Exhaust fans should ideally be toward the top of the case, if not actually being a top fan that blows air outward. I avoid retail simply because I don't want to end up having something that has shit circulation.

[Interlord1]

Just to get this straight before I buy it then, an AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2Ghz Processor and a HD6670 graphics card will be able to run Battlefield 3 at 1280 by 1024 resolution, preferably at medium settings? And if not, could somebody tell me what graphics it will support please? I need to know before I buy it, please.

[Skgoa]

Yes.

[Interlord1]

Okay, thanks. I'll go buy it then.

[Edward Yee]

For perspective, I was able to run the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition (3.4 GHz, although I had it underclocked to 2.2 GHz) and MSI HAWK R5770 1 GB (the MSI take on the HD5770) at 1920 x 1080 on the default graphics settings just fine; it wasn't the greatest-looking but it ran smoothly so far as I could tell with no obvious dips in the frame rate.

[Number Theoretic]

Just out of curiosity: Why did you underclock it? To save power or because your mainboard's frontside bus can't keep up with a fully clocked Phenom II?

[Napoleon the Clown]

Just to get this straight before I buy it then, an AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2Ghz Processor and a HD6670 graphics card will be able to run Battlefield 3 at 1280 by 1024 resolution, preferably at medium settings? And if not, could somebody tell me what graphics it will support please? I need to know before I buy it, please.

Probably effortlessly, definitely capable.

[Edward Yee]

Just out of curiosity: Why did you underclock it? To save power or because your mainboard's frontside bus can't keep up with a fully clocked Phenom II?

More because with the stock cooler it idles at ~40 C at any clock*, but shoots up to mid-50s or even high-60s under load when gaming if running at the full 3.4 GHz. At 2.2 GHz I still get most of the benefit noticeable to me in terms of smooth and stable frame rate, but the temperatures even under load are only mid-to-high 40s C.

* The processor has a 200 MHz base clock, the Windows 7 power saver "power plan" caps its multiplier at x4 (800 MHz) most of the time, rarely x11 (2.2 GHz), while "balanced" allows for/usually results in x17 (3.4 GHz) when gaming, and "high performance" forces the full x17 multiplier. I got the 2.2 GHz "underclock" by creating a custom power plan where the minimum and maximum processor states are both 75%.