ArmA 3 System Requirements

[Incognito84 10]

Hey guys, I upgraded. Last time I was told that I barely had enough to run the game so hopefully I'm doing a bit better now since I swapped the GTX 460 with the Radeon:

i5-2500k Sandybridge (not OC'ed yet)

Asrock P67 Pro 3 mainboard

8GB Gskill 12800 RipJaws DDR3

Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB

My friend is insisting that the 7870 is not really much of a step up from the GTX 460 but I'm not inclined to believe him as the internet disagrees.

Also, what settings am I looking at? Low, mid, or high?

Edited September 17, 2012 by Incognito84

[finguide 1]

Going to buy new system for A3:

i5-3570k 4 x 3,40 GHz (probably OC to ~4,5 GHz)

Radeon HD 7970 3 GB (probably OC a little bit)

8GB ADATA DDR3-1333 DIMM CL9 Dual

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77

Samsung 830 128 GB SSD

etc.

What do you think, could it be possible to reach very high settings and high viewdistance at 1080p? Any chances to play in 3D (gonna buy Samsung 3D monitor & glasses)?

Thanks in advance,

finguide

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Hey guys, I upgraded. Last time I was told that I barely had enough to run the game so hopefully I'm doing a bit better now since I swapped the GTX 460 with the Radeon:

i5-2500k Sandybridge (not OC'ed yet)

Asrock P67 Pro 3 mainboard

8GB Gskill 12800 RipJaws DDR3

Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB

My friend is insisting that the 7870 is not really much of a step up from the GTX 460 but I'm not inclined to believe him as the internet disagrees.

Also, what settings am I looking at? Low, mid, or high?

Going to buy new system for A3:

i5-3570k 4 x 3,40 GHz (probably OC to ~4,5 GHz)

Radeon HD 7970 3 GB (probably OC a little bit)

8GB ADATA DDR3-1333 DIMM CL9 Dual

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77

Samsung 830 128 GB SSD

etc.

What do you think, could it be possible to reach very high settings and high viewdistance at 1080p? Any chances to play in 3D (gonna buy Samsung 3D monitor & glasses)?

Thanks in advance,

finguide

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/05/10/nvidia-geforce-gtx-670-2gb-review/4

The above review has an i5 2500K as the test system, compare your GPUs to the list. BI were running ArmA 3 on GTX 580 at E3, no ideas as to their settings (High/V. high?), but VD looks like 3 km or more.

---------- Post added at 15:23 ---------- Previous post was at 15:19 ----------

Any chances to play in 3D (gonna buy Samsung 3D monitor & glasses)?

Thanks in advance,

finguide

If there's no native stereo 3D support in ArmA III, like we have now, then you'll need 3rd party software, like Nvidia's 3D Vision or its equivalent. Look up IZ3D and DDD TriDef drivers.

http://www.mtbs3d.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11389&Itemid=57

[finguide 1]

Thanks for quick answer!

I'm going to get Samsung S23A700D (23") with TriDef 3D upgraded to retail version.

BTW, does anyone have any clue if overclocked i5-2500k is better than overclocked i5-3570k?

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

BTW, does anyone have any clue if overclocked i5-2500k is better than overclocked i5-3570k?

i5-2500K is Sandy Bridge, thus previous generation, they're equal clock-for-clock, both can reach 4.9 Ghz, but here's a more detailed answer, http://lmgtfy.com/?q=i5-2500k+vs+i5-3570k+overclocked

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2012/05/01/intel-core-i5-3570k-cpu-review/6

;)

[finguide 1]

Thanks a lot for the links. So, i5-3570k with Asus Z77 motherboard and decent cooler should do it and that's what I wanted to know. Any personal experience is still welcome though.

[GRS 10]

Whatever the listed reqs are, just triple it and those are the actual. I built my last system for Arma2's recommended reqs. Boy was that an expensive waste.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Whatever the listed reqs are, just triple it and those are the actual. I built my last system for Arma2's recommended reqs. Boy was that an expensive waste.

I completed vanilla ArmA II campaigns and missions on release with a Phenom II x550 & an HD 4890 @ 1080p, everything high, AA off, and then a year online on the same rig with great results. Always wondered how people manage to break the simplest of things. :)

[oldbear 390]

@ GRS: I had played Arma2 with a Core2Duo E6600 and a 4870 Vapor-X and enjoy the game. No need to triple anything ...

I am playing it on Core2Quad 9400 and GTS450 (!) and found the thing working well ...

Of course, Arma2 looks better on my i7 3770/GTX670OC rig ...

I believe that these System requirements show what you really need to play Arma3 :

Processor: Intel Core i5 or AMD Athlon Phenom X4 or faster

Memory: 2 GB

Video card: Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 5770 with Shader Model 3 and 896 MB VRAM, or faster

DVD: Dual Layer compatible

Hard disk: 15 GB free space

Other: DirectX® 10

Of course, it will be possible to get a better DX11 GPU or a faster CPU, but remember that the min requirements are extremely low - I am still wondering what you will get on your screen. There will be a wide range between a playable game (low view distance, low details in textures and objects, no shadows) and an enjoyable game.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Old Bear

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Anyone not desperately looking for a new graphics card may want to wait till the release of either ArmA III, or a new generation. Here's a rumour,

http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/amd_oland_radeon_hd_8800_series_info.html

Bigger die size means better heat dissipation - the overclock potential, if specs are to be believed, is going to be outstanding, especially with a reduced TDW of 160W. Nvidia's current Kepler GPUs have a larger die than the 7800-Series Radeons and run at considerably cooler t*, while provided the same, or even higher performance.

---------- Post added at 21:53 ---------- Previous post was at 21:39 ----------

Spec check, http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/radeon-hd-7970_2.html#sect0

Texture, pixel fillrates of the alleged 8870 are by 3-5% higher than the current 7970. Not bad for a middle range GPU, which is half the price of the 7970. Here's hoping its not a fake. :)

[Incognito84 10]

I just put in my Radeon 7870 today (inside a new case with a new Corsair 600W PSU). It's a major improvement over the GTX 460 I had in there! I have a feeling that Arma 3 is going to run really smooth on it, especially if I overclock both the 7870 and my i5 2500k. The crazy thing about the Radeon is that it uses very little power, even when overclocked apparently. I don't think I have to upgrade again for two years.

[handicap 19]

I see the listed system reqs on the link that Old Bear posted and figure I should be good. This rig is about 10 months old now but here's what I'm running:

CPU: Intel i5 2500k OC'd to 4.2

RAM: 8gb DDR3 1600 (Detuned to 1333 for the OC) G/Skill Ripjaw

PSU: Corsair GS-700 series

GPU: 2x Nvidia GTX 560 Ti's in SLI (80mhz OC on each, matched)

Mobo: Asus P8P67 Pro Gen 3

Speakers and the like don't matter much. Turtle beach headsets ftw. Played through all of Vanilla ArmA 2 and OA with this rig (And one before it which was a little less powerful) on 1080p resolution with everything at max save for AA.

I'll tell you what though, want to test your rig? Turn your 3d resolution to twice (or 200%) of your normal resolution. That killed my fps to about 15 in OA.

Looking forward to ArmA 3. See you guys on the beach.

[finguide 1]

What do you think about performance of HD 8870 compared to HD 7970 in A3? Could it be possible that the HD 8870 with a lot smaller pricetag could beat the much more expensive HD 7970 in performance?

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

What do you think about performance of HD 8870 compared to HD 7970 in A3? Could it be possible that the HD 8870 with a lot smaller pricetag could beat the much more expensive HD 7970 in performance?

It has always been the case with new generation GPUs. Generally, next gen middle range has 30-40% higher performance than the same middle range of the previous one, thus making it equal with the previous generation high-end, which currently is the HD 7970. As the naming suggest, the 8870 is not the high-end in the line, there should be a 8970/8990 or something similar later.

The HD 7970 is the best single chip GPU for ArmA II, second best being GTX 680 - they're pretty equal in performance.

[BasileyOne 10]

well,actually 88x0 and 89x0 GPU's specs appear WAY more meaningful[for stressful/demanding DirectX10/DirectX11 appz/games], than previous generation.

also hope that improved/polished 28nm production on TSMC/GF allow AMD/partners to ship/sell them more cheaply.

no more sales - market stall. no hardware update - adjaced markets[like software]stalls too.

ie, business[-models]rely on cash-flow/percentage/foothold of market, not profits margin.

also some executing/processing improvements in 89x0, initially uintersting/underpromoted cam become/behave really nice/attactive/handy. especially [further]improved sheduler, tuned/boosted inter-chip communication performance and slightly increased cache[and/or decreased latency].

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

well,actually 88x0 and 89x0 GPU's specs appear WAY more meaningful[for stressful/demanding DirectX10/DirectX11 appz/games], than previous generation.

also hope that improved/polished 28nm production on TSMC/GF allow AMD/partners to ship/sell them more cheaply.

That appears to be the case, a polished 28nm production with better yields and lower voltage leakage in the GPUs themselves. Someone more knowledgeable than myself, suggested that the 8870 is a Pitcairn Architecture 7870 with added compute units/shader processing cores, which would make sense due to the increase in the die size of the chip.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/radeon-hd-7870-ghz-edition-hd-7850.html#sect0

Watch this space people, it may be a rumour, but it has tangible specs in tune with reality. :)

[finguide 1]

If you wanted top performance, price wouldn't matter and would have to choose between HD 7970 or wait for the upcoming HD 8870, which one would you choose and why?

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

I'd wait, the 7970 is somewhat bloated, the 8870 will be the ultimate gaming chip based on the 7870 with increased shader core count, equaling HD 7970/GTX 680 in performance with lower TDP. The update is very likely to happen till the end of the year - wouldn't be the first time for AMD.

[skulldragon 1]

I'd also say it's worth waiting, both because of the better hardware and, by the time it gets released, we should have at least got the alpha which will give us a good idea of how well different GPUs perform, whether the game runs better on nVidia/AMD etc.

[ScorpionGuard 10]

Hello.

Will ArmA 3 be able to run on Xeon processers?

[samyg 3]

Hello.

Will ArmA 3 be able to run on Xeon processers?

I don't see why it wouldn't but why would you be using one?

[BasileyOne 10]

I don't see why it wouldn't but why would you be using one?

probably he mean S2011 Xeons. thing 10x-stram/core E5 kind overkill ;)

basically workstation chips wasn't quite uncommon in gamers PC's rigs/builds.

both Xeons and Opterons.

personally knew two gamers with G32 Opteron PC's and one with G34 chip, for example =)

[finguide 1]

How have multi-GPU systems like SLI or Crossfire worked in ArmA series? I consider getting for example a pair of GTX 660 Ti in SLI or Radeon HD 7950 in Crossfire mode instead of one Radeon HD 7970 to make sure that I can run A3 in (very) high settings in 3D in 1080p, but I found some threads that report serious issues with multi-GPU systems in ArmA 2 and OA.

[Covert_Death 11]

when i had both of my GTX 460's in SLI arma2 and OA ran perfectly fine...

in my opinion though your always better off going with a single card, it will work GUARANTEED with every game out there AND it gives you upgrade options in the future... in my case i just got a single 670 and that will be enough for now but in time when i need an upgrade all i need to do is buy another 670 to ADD to my performance instead of completely replacing my GPU system because it was capped out in SLI from day 1 of purchase.

get this single card in my opinion

[sgt gul 0]

how will my system perform with ArmaIII? It did struggle at times with ArmaII:

Main board:

ASUS M4A78 PRO (whats the max upgrade for CPU?)

CPU:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 processor

Socket AM3 938

Core Speed: 3.6Mhz

GPU:

ATI Radeon HD 4870

1GB