Ok I have tried all the install methods and there is a bug with installing the game and the HD pack.
It has to do with the game bottle necking as it tries to load both the SD content and the HD content from the same source, in this case the Hard Drive.
While having the game and HD pack installed does make it look better than just playing the SD version, it will not look as good as a proper install.
It also cause pop up issues, like players detail popping in on kill cam.
Here's how to do it.
If playing for the first time, put in the MP/CO-OP disc. load the game and when prompted, install the HD pack and nothing else.
Always load and play the game from the DVD disc never install it.
If you've already played and have both the game discs and the HD content installed then do this.
Delete everything from the Battlefield 3 folder except for you profiledata file (savegame), and I do mean everything, game discs and HD pack along with title updates.
Go to your hard drive manager, "settings/memory/hard drive" press "Y" to bring up maintenance options and clear out your system cache.
(note this will remove title updates for all you games, requiring you to redownload them when you first play them again)
Now exit back to the dash, load the Battlefield 3 MP/CO-OP disc,load the game and when prompted, install the HD pack and nothing else.
Always load and play the game from the DVD disc never install it.
You should now notice a huge improvement in the visual quality of the game, textures will be a lot sharper, and model pop up should be reduced big time.Especially on the kill cam.
It's easily tested, just load the game before cleaning it all out, find a surface like a floor with a "wet" shine to it, or a wall with some text or signs look at it until it burns into your brain.
Then do the clean out and install as instructed and go back to that same same surface and texture, you'll notice it's about 4 times as sharp.Or you can do it in reverse, ater installing properly, install the game disc and you'll see it become a blurry mess by comparison.
Apparently if you have a USB drive that is as fast as or faster than your DVD's drive speed, you can install the game to that and the HD pack to the Hard Drive for an even greater performance increase.
The reason this fixes it in simple terms is that the DVD has it's own "channel" as does the HDD, and loading content from both sources doesn;t bottle neck compared to them being loaded from the same source. Think of it as running water down 2 pipes instead of just one. 2 pipes will give you a lot more water flowing.
Hope this helps and gives you BF3 as it's meant to be.
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