I'm going to try and start with an unbiased option of playing BF3 on a console because it would probably be cheaper than a new video card and CPU. HAHA, sorry, I hate playing any FPS games without a keyboard and mouse but I had to put it out there.
I've had a HTPC in my living room for about 8 years now, but until recently it was always a lower-powered PC with whatever video card I had left over from upgrading my gaming rig. When I upgraded to a nice 7.1 sound system and a big-screen HDTV I thought to myself how sweet L4D would look/sound. I upgraded my HTPC to a water-cooled AMD
[email protected] and 5850 and it easily handles games or video at 1080p. It probably won't max out BF3, but I could always add another GPU to get close. I love having the flexibility to play any Steam game on a 52" screen, at least until my wife demands to watch a movie.
Pros:
*Might save some money upgrading your existing rig over building a completely new one as some have suggested... unless you go whole-hog with triple-SLI and need a new mobo and PSU
*Allows you to play games on your best A/V setup, assuming your living room has better equipment than your PC monitor and speakers
Cons:
*Fan noise may be distracting if you can't tone it down for movies (Even with my water cooled setup I still have a fan controller to keep noise to a minimum)
*Some people don't like using a keyboard and mouse to frag from their couch (I keep a wireless keyboard and large mousepad under the couch)
*You may notice some hiccups in your recorded TV files if you're recording and playing games at the same time. This can vary greatly based on your setup, but without a new CPU I'm guessing you'd see some stuttering.
*If you are willing to drop $500 on video cards to max out BF3 you might as well leave your HTPC alone since your TV (probably) can't handle resolutions higher than 1920x1080.
