ArmA 3 Performance Tweaks and Settings Guide

[zeealex 2029]

not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but I find it beneficial (as an AMD user) to turn off the ingame AA and use the catalyst control center profiles, gained 8-9 FPS just by doing that, it's probably my card, but FXAA tanked it so badly, I found setting the game to use adaptive multisampling at 8xEQ was much more performance friendly.

[KrIxXuS 10]

Hey, just wandered if i could add to this as many people forget Sound/audio. I have an internal sound blaster attached to my motherboard, and also have nvidia audio...as a rule for me since ArmA 2 i always disable the graphics card audio in device manager( i use DVI) and just use the one that's applicable, i NEVER install the nvidia audio software and this definitely makes a difference for me may do for others too. Some people may have on-board, independent and the nvidia/ATI audio so it's worth checking out what you have and just disabling all but the one you need and might also stop random ctd's plus give a more stable experience ;-) as i've found out through experience, trial and error.

Blue.

Edited July 21, 2014 by KrIxXuS

[Bucic 1]

This guide includes plenty of invalid tweaks (non-existing startup parameters for example) or placebo 'tweaks'. Does anyone have a (almost)full list of invalid tweaks this guide gives?

[incontrovertible 13]

Hey guys, sorry for the absence

To those talking about the start-up parameters, originally there was no information from Bohemia on them so ArmA 2 parameters were the most accurate anyone could really be (this guide stems back from Alpha release), however now there is now an official page on the wiki. Thanks OldBear for pointing this out.

On the placebo effect, it is a bit of yes and no, you will more than likely not see any increase in FPS (this has been true for as long as I've played ArmA) but it is about 1) providing your game with the correct information so it can make correct decisions, as by default it will not take into account all that it can and 2) it doesn't hurt to have them set as it may help in some cases without you knowing. Some start-up parameters like the GPU ones are aiming at improving mouse responsiveness more than anything else, and some like loading an empty world vastly decrease the applications boot time. In any case I have updated the guide with the newest available parameter information from Bohemia, it is up to you whether or not you use it.

There are other areas of the guide that I need to sit down and update as well, including this elusive revamp of the benchmarking section. Thanks guys, as always comments and constructive criticism are welcome!

Edited September 22, 2014 by incontrovertible

[incontrovertible 13]

Didn't you mean 'decrease'?

Yup, was thinking increased speed at the time I guess =]

[incontrovertible 13]

I have a problem occurred in the management and I got lost control associated with the keys Ctrl + W and Ctrl + S Ctrl + A Ctrl + D tell me what to do and how to return control back to it?:(

Not sure, probably need to create a stand-alone thread on the issue.

Ok got an Update on the state of the guide, it's now in wiki format making it easier to read! Benchmark's were re-done for this issue and done three (3) times each.

As always feedback and suggestions are welcome, thanks for your time.

[EDcase 87]

This might help people with settings / keybinding problems:

Make sure Arma is NOT running

Go to C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\Arma 3 - Other Profiles\ProfileName

Rename file ProfileName.Arma3Profile to ProfileName.Arma3Profile.BAK

All gameplay settings / keybindings will be reset to defaults

For display problems go to:

C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\Arma 3

Delete/rename file Arma3.cfg

This resets all display parameters to defaults

----------------------------------------------------------

How do you stop the dead bodies from melting into the ground? Tossing grenades through windows is useless. How to stop the clipping?

Bodies melting into ground is set by mission maker (Might be parameters available when starting the mission)

Throwing grenades is a pain and hopefully will be improved in future.

Can't prevent clipping at the moment.

----------------------------------------------------------

...Freezing/ stuttering...

This sounds like your HD might be struggling. Make sure its defraged. I have heard of this happening to others but I don't know what the outcome was. (Best to keep searching and you should find related threads)

Try reducing TextureDetail to see if that helps. (If it does then you need faster HD)

Edited April 6, 2015 by EDcase

[ratszo 17]

Found this youtube tweak guide from Jshock:

[EDcase 87]

Hello ive got a brand new pc with intel core i7-4790 3.60 GHz, 32GB of ram and Nvidia GTX970 4g. I can play campaign scenarios CO OP , without a single problem or frame drop or anything but when I join a server with 30-40ppl + my game crashes without getting any performance drop or something it just freezes. I open task manager and both arma 3, steam and some times teamspeak are not responding plus something happens with internet I can even load pages on my browser and I usually I have to restart my pc or wait 10-20 mins for my pc to start functioning normaly again ... the strange thing is that I have tried to play on this server with every single graphical optimization from ultra to low even on ultra im running the game at 50-60 frames stable and I just get frozen without any performance drop or something just gets stuck same on everyother graphical optimization even on low ...yet I can play everything else in the game perfectly except competitive multiplayer

That's a problem with firewall/router not game settings.

Check router ports 2302-2306 are open. (Do a search to make sure which are needed)

Arma server list does block internet access for some time even if I cancel it.

Try joining from the Steam server list (no search option tho)

[jumpinghubert 48]

Totaly agree and until every one else starts to admit this the better then and only then BIS might pull there heads out of there ass and do some thing about it but even then I dont think they will.

ARMA series to me now is a waste of my hard drive space shame as I loved OFP and arma and have every add on but tbh I give up with arma 3 they should have learnt from arma 2 but nope same old problem.

Not all tweaks are placebo: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?177454-a-simple-registry-tweak-for-increased-performance&p=2935920&viewfull=1#post2935920

[opendome 91]

I dont understand the new malloc at all, all I see i can find is from https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma_3:_Custom_Memory_Allocator and I dont understand which one I should use, I have 8 GB G-Skill RAM and Windows 7 64 bit

[shark2727 10]

I ran the hot fix on both 1.48 and 1.49 and they ether crash from 0xc0000005 or

0x000000ff but after the hot fix its only 0x0000000ff. Please help

[Atom_Monky 14]

Thanks it run perfectly fine

[seigE 0]

Not sure if this the right place I should be posting this but I have a decentish pc with an r9 280x and i5 4690 but my fps is still around 30 fps after changing cfg, startup settings, and ingame settings to what I believe to be the right settings for me (best performance while looking aiight). Is it possible that higher latency's can dramatically hurt your fps?

 

Any way really nice tutorial and is by far the most in depth I have found, thx bruh 

[ArmaMan360 94]

One thing which has helped me greatly is to set priority to realtime. I have coupled this with Game Booster 3. And you need Arma 3 running before you go ahead. Even when it starts loading the game after you have clicked "Play" from the launcher you can proceed. :)

 

Here's how you do it.

 

Open Windows task manager (Alt+CTRL+Del) > 'Processes' tab > Find 'Arma3.exe' > Right Click on it > Change Set Priority to 'Realtime'

 

 

I hope someone else also finds it useful.

 

Al Hamdolillah, this has helped me remove whatever little stutter I was having. :D

[DancingCorpse 5]

An interesting fix I hadn't seen before that has worked really well for me is to change on of the MSconfig boot options.  Saw this posted on the Steam Forums.

 

Go to Start Menu   -->  Type in "msconfig" (without quotes) and hit Enter  -->  Go to the "Boot" tab  -->  Select "Advanced Options"  -->  Check "Number of processors" and select the appropriate number  -->  Hit "OK"  --> Hit "Apply"  -->  Hit "OK"  -->  Restart.

 

You might have to experiment with the setting for your own CPU, but I have an older AMD Phenom II+ 6x 1090T and I selected 6 processors and it worked like a charm.

[snake11100 0]

 iam having trouble getting arma 3 to work on windows 10 and i got arma 3 off of steam does anyone know how to solve this

[Five 0]

Problem signature:

  Problem Event Name:    APPCRASH

  Application Name:    arma3server.exe

  Application Version:    1.54.133.596

  Application Timestamp:    565f11b2

  Fault Module Name:    arma3server.exe

  Fault Module Version:    1.54.133.596

  Fault Module Timestamp:    565f11b2

  Exception Code:    c0000005

  Exception Offset:    00d47b75

  OS Version:    6.1.7601.2.1.0.272.7

  Locale ID:    1033

  Additional Information 1:    b28d

  Additional Information 2:    b28d8132f2d9e8d91a0e469d171cc985

  Additional Information 3:    285a

  Additional Information 4:    285a905e7a6ea9319d413029180055f3

 

 

 

 

what does this mean

[d_lukin 16]

Hello guys, there's a real a way to increase FPS?

I tried to play with startup parameters - receive a placebo effect, or a gain 1-2 fps. Overclock processor above 4 gHz is not suitable.

 

I want play Arma3 while going holidays, but with this FPS is unplayable   :(

[lex__1 422]

Hello guys, there's a real a way to increase FPS?

I tried to play with startup parameters - receive a placebo effect, or a gain 1-2 fps. Overclock processor above 4 gHz is not suitable.

 

I want play Arma3 while going holidays, but with this FPS is unplayable   :(

Video of control:

Visibility range - 2000 meters or is less

Range of a portrayal of objects - 2000 meters or is less

Vertical synchronization - it is switched off

The rest is possible on ultra.

FPS=60-80

Visibility range - 1000 meters or is less

Range of a portrayal of objects - 1000 meters or is less

FPS=80-100

 

But unfortunately, settings aren't always acceptable for good game.

And it as doesn't influence periodic departures of game, and falling of FPS by 1-15 ((

[K.I.N.G.I.5.5 0]

Hey 

 

I have problem with Arma 3 Launcher Exception Log 

So can you guys tell me what to do ?

It happens when i try to open Arma3 on Steam

[lex__1 422]

Hey 

 

I have problem with Arma 3 Launcher Exception Log 

So can you guys tell me what to do ?

It happens when i try to open Arma3 on Steam

Make a label of "arma3launcher" on "desktop" of the folder of game.

Start of arma3launcher. It is a lot of useful settings.

[BaZOOM 0]

Thanks helped me alot!

[incontrovertible 13]

Hey guys, I will be updating this guide very soon as at Day0 we are in the middle of updating the website. As such I need to completely reformat the guide for the new layout as well as do a new round of benchmarks on the new RC Branch of ArmA 3 (version 1.60.136052) due to new settings becoming available.

 

I will be livestreaming the benchmarking process (which will not interfere with the results as I have a Dual-PC setup) starting tomorrow at around 7PM AEST.

 

Thank-you for your time.

[vashcz 3]

Guys, my average FPS went up from 25 to 35 and minimal FPS from like 8 FPS to 13. It is huge success under circumstances. Anyone can explain me why?

 

I have i5 4GHZ, it is being used 80% each core.

And GTX 760, holds down at 45% usage(35% before update). VRAM usage optimized from 1850MB to 1800MB, then it s filling up to 2GB so I can´t track it too good from here but probably no performance issue.

 

Anyone know about way to make game run even smoother? This update gave me hope! I couldn´t play game before, now I can play... in editor not in town I can feel the smoothness! Want more.