My 8800GTX can run the game at around ~30 fps on minimum. Not too bad, although it did drop heavily in the underground areas for some reason (I suspect it's the particle effects for the fires and dust).

Bara

So my power supply died on me. Sent a request to Amazon to have it replaced. I'm using a backup power supply in the meantime, and since I don't have my video card yet it's been working well. I've stress-tested my CPU and RAM and they've been fine. Hopefully when my new power supply and GPU get in (which should be within days of each other), they work properly otherwise I won't get to play BF3 on launch

Bara

Saw this http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/3322/article/battlefield-3-pc-on-lowest-graphical-settings-has-similar-visuals-to-consoles/ 

Holy crap... watch this 

Hey Brad you should buy this and let everyone try it out.

Better not buy BF3 at all after word is out that it's installing software Origin is nothing but a big bad bunch of spyware.

Yet another DRM debacle. When will those game publisher learn...?! *shakeshead*

Yeah ... I'm not very thrilled about the origin software.

In the user agreement it states that anything on your harddrive is fair game to be reported back to EA. How about those tax records? Those pictures of friends, family, etc. How about that one little program you're running that EA dislikes? Guess what, it all gets reported back to EA and then they have the explicit right from that user agreement that forward that information onto whoever they want whenever they want. Period.

Excuse me? I would like to keep what is on my harddrive mine.

That's why in Germany they already had to correct the text of their user agreement. Otherwise they would have risked a complete sales stop due to potential violation of german privacy protection laws.

Funny enough: Latest news has it that EA states not Origin would access all those files but windows to adjust access rights for installation of patches, updates n stuff. I'd laugh my ass of if it wouldn't be so damn sad...

Unfortunately, that origin issue has kept me from buying the game. Not on any moral grounds, but the fact is I use my gaming computer as a workstation too. It would be quite illegal for me to allow a third party program to sniff my files.

This is EXACTLY the predicament I am in as well. My personal desktop at home for my business has projects that require disclosure agreements etc. EA's software would violate that trust between myself and my clients.

Such is life.

Origin is not spyware, is it?

Origin is not spyware, and does not use or install spyware on user’s machines. In order to allow Origin to install games and their patches for everyone to use, Origin implements a permission change that results in Windows, not Origin, reviewing the filenames of every file in a directory and can have the appearance of a scan. This is an ordinary Windows function, not an information-gathering process – Origin is not scanning the directory, no information is accessed, collected, stored or shared by Origin during this process. However, we are aware that this process has created some customer confusion, and are updating our software in future releases to eliminate unnecessary operations. Consumer privacy is very important to EA and we take every precaution to protect our users’ data.

Does Origin access, collect or store information from my system?

Origin collects a limited amount of information needed to provide players with a service that allows them to purchase, download, access and play games and game content, connect online with other gamers and directly provide content and software updates. The information is also used to identify and fix software bugs as they arise. No information such as pictures, documents or other personal data unrelated to the application’s performance on a player’s system is accessed or collected. The collection and use of information by Origin helps ensure that consumers are able to access their games as easily as possible and are able to enjoy the best service and experience from EA.

Is my information secure with Origin/EA?

Yes – consumer privacy is very important to EA and we take every precaution to protect personal and anonymous user data. EA would never sell your personally identifiable information to anyone. We do not share information that personally identifies you without your consent, except in rare instances where disclosure is compelled by law.

I'm not even sure they still have the section you're all talking about.  I am still awake at 6:30am, mind you, but I'm just not seeing it.

(And yes, I know I quoted the FAQ rather than the ToS, but I read both.)

This article sums up the concern pretty well (also links to some original articles that talk about this). This article also references and quotes the sections in whole that are related to this concern of the Origin software (notably section 2 & 3) and how it collects as well as gives EA the right to distribute the information as it sees fit etc etc ...

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/battlefield-3/news/6330914/ea-origin-eula-sparks-privacy-concerns

The EULA for Origin is a mess and really needs to be changed.

I have every reason to believe it was changed.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/battlefield-3/news/6331203/ea-changes-origin-eula

Well that certainly is going a long way to being better. Is there new verbage in the agreement however to say that they will NOT collect it though (as opposed to not saying anything) similar to Steam's agreement? That is the next step that would be nice to see.

LOL please show us the passage in the steam Privacy policy or subscriber agreement where it says it won't collect information. Please note that the hardware surveys are in a separate section from information gathering, and are not the same thing.

I find it amusing that the minute EA does what steam has been doing for years people throw a hissy fit.

By using Valve's online sites and products, users agree that Valve may collect aggregate information, individual information, and personally identifiable information, as defined below. Valve may share aggregate information and individual information with other parties. Valve shall not share personally identifiable information with other parties, except as described in the policy below.

http://www.valvesoftware.com/privacy.html

So whats the difference?

Now I personally refuse to use either.. but what amuses me is that many of the same people who are crying foul over this have no qualms with running steam.

News flash. If a game requires a separate client to run.. that client isn't there for your benefit.. if it was it would be optional.

Check it yourself.  As far as I can tell the contested language was completely removed and replaced with something far less intrusive.