Battlefield 3, which PC spec?

[missmuffet]

My son wants a new pc for combined xmas / birthday gift. He wants something good enough for battlefield 3 pc game. I have got two quotes from scan one recommended for the game and one that is cheaper which should be fine. Bearing in mind these pcs are a fortune which one should I go for please.

Spec one.

Intel core i5 2500k 3.3Ghz, quad core, 6mb cache, 2nd generation intel core sandy bridge CPU professionally overclocked to 4.5Ghz, 4GM (2 x 2GB) corsair vengeance LP, DDR3 1600Mhz, 1Gb MSI GTX 560 Ti, 880Mhz GPU, 384 Cores, 4200Mhz GDDR5, 1TB Seagate Barracuda, 7200rpm, 32MB cache, microsoft windows 7 home premium 64bit OEM (think thats all the important bits),

OR:

Spec two,

Intel core i5 2400, quad core, 3.1Ghz, 6MB cache, 4GB (2 x2GB) corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600Mhz, 1GB MSI GTX 560 Ti, 880Mhz GPU, 384 cores, 4200Mhz GDDR5, 1 TB seagate barracuda 7200rpm, 32mb cache, SATA6, Microsoft windows 7 home premium 64bit 0EM

Now to me thats as clear as mud. I understand the first is overclocked and got a good graphics card in which will play the game and I understand the latter is not overclocked but still has the same graphics card. The diference between the two is £124. Which one should I go for and why please.

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section, but I'm just a Mum looking for a bit of info before I get him an upgrade PC and I really haven't got a clue if I should go with spec one or spec two and if its really worth the extra money. I'm not Mrs moneybags so thats why I need more advice. Thanks in anticipation.
Karen

[PapiFiveNine]

Spec 1 cought my eye. The difference is simply in the CPUs as far as i noticed. The CPU from the first spec has the "k" after its name, meaning it has an unlocked multiplyer and can easily be oc'd to 4.5ghz. This in comparison to the non "k" cpu gives you somewhat longer lifespan and it will do whatever you need it to do for quite some time. Excelent choice of gpu if i may add, i own one of those and its amazing. Quiet, cool, and can be overclocked to like 1ghz core speed. So my reccomendation would be Spec 1.
Also, i didnt notice a PSU (power supply) on the list, so if you dont mind posting which one it is, its a very crucial part of the pc and money cannot be spared on it. Some of the major quality brands you should look for are OCZ, Corsair, Antec, Pc Power and Cooling, Termaltake, Seasonic...

[them16master]

damn, i must say, you're a great mom!! lol

[missmuffet]

Thank you, although I think I get taken for granted at home

Both of the systems have a 500W corsair builder series power supply

[them16master]

thats a good psu, very decent brand and nice amount of watts.
you should go for the first pc, it is really powerfull, he can handle battlefield 3 very easy on it.

[PapiFiveNine]

I hate battlefield just because of its blown out of proportion popularity... Like its the best game ever made or something...

[SauceBoss]

first of all i gotta say i wish my mom would buy me an i5

secondly i think you should go for the i5 2300/2400(im not good with the small details ) and ask the store to place in a h61 board instead of the one they put (im guessing a h67/p67) with those parts installed you can in the same price get him a better card like the 570/6970 and stay right within your budget.
as much as cpu matters alot for games, most of the work is done by the gpu and with a good gpu like the 570/6970 that pc could be top notch for over 3 years

p.s buying a h61 board means only up to 8 gigs of ram and no support for crossfirex/sli in the future.
there are some other things that you lose by going h61 like the lsot of virtu and such and such but those things dont matter for a gamer

[PapiFiveNine]

I couldnt live without overclocking... I just gotta push my stuff as far as it can go :/

[SauceBoss]

yea but if the mom buys the pc im guessing that the kid isnt realy that intrested in the pc itself but the games that it offers.
if the kid is partsnerd(some 1 that the pc himself intrest him and not only the software) like me then yea , get a p67 with i5 2500k , but if is jsut a gamer then go for a solid cpu with a beasty card

[missmuffet]

Wow, thanks for all the information. I am going to have a think about what you have all said. This son is mainly into online games and I know he wants battlefield 3 and he's waiting for star wars the old republic too. I can't tweak the spec too much because I also have 2 other teenage sons to consider.

Thanks again for your quick responses, much appreciated.