Will-my-pc-run-Arma3? What cpu/gpu to get? What settings? What system specifications?

[oldbear 390]

The i3-4130 is doing quite well, you can really play Arma3 on an "i3-4130/GTX750/8Go/SSD" rig.

Performances and playing experience are on par with an "i5-2500/HD6870/8Go/SSD".

 

ATM, from my point of view, the "Recommended Minimum" for Arma3 is a "i3-6100/GTX750Ti/8Go DDR4/250 GB SSD" plateform.

 

I am still testing Arma3 with various hardware configurations around a Pentium 4500.

You can play Arma3 on SP and Low graphics presets using only.the integrated HD Graphics 530

Performances are surprisingly good.

You can also try to play MP, but overall view distance over 1500m, amount of AI and jungle will kill the FPS level to an unplayable level

and jungle.

Here are some screens taken while playing a MP Liberation mission on my own Team vanilla server.

 

Here fighting a small Syndikat group in a village ...

 

 

... and here stumbling under heavily loaded rucksack in the jungle [with IGPU bottleneck?] ...

 

 

But I must add that the Pentium 4500 can't be a "Recommended Minimum" asset because under heavy load, with 100% usage of the 2 cores, it will bottleneck any graphic card [tested with R7-250, HD 7770, GTX 750Ti, HD 6870, GTX 770] 

 

@ Vass. : Yes, Arma3 is still CPU dependent, the best CPUs being i7-4970K, i7-6700K and i7-5775C.
I can add you can play at a not so bad FPS level on "Low" with such CPU without any discrete card.

But adding GPU will show you that you can get not only better graphic quality but also a better FPS level.
From my own axperience, now, after APEX release, a GPU the GTX 1060 6GB level is needed is order to get graphics without limitation and a full CPU power expression.

I must add that Arma3 is also "L3/L4 & RAM" sensitive.

Missing L3 cache condemn many low cost AMD CPU to mediocrity.

Fast RAM help a lot of AMD usable CPUs to be playable ones and Intel CPUs to gain some FPS.
It seems that the L4 eDRAM on the i7-5775C helps it a lot to be the king of the hill.

To be complete, I will add that Arma3 is also HDD dependent due to the continual data load while playing.
That why a SSD is needed to host OS and Arma3. Last Arma3 "Recommended" requirements shows :

 

• HARD DRIVE     25 GB free space, SSD / Hybrid HDD / SSHD storage

[ErinMT 1]

Hello everyone, first post here. So i was introduced to Arma through a few different sources. Long story short, I will be building a rig for this game and future versions of it. I'm still playing with budget, especially since we are looking at the new versions of CPU/GPUs coming out. Here's what I'm looking at so far, thoughts?

 

Intel I7-6700K

Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 5 LGA1151

Crucial 16GB 2x8 D4 2400 BSLT

MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X 8GB PCIE

Samsung E 500GB 850 Evo SSD

Toshiba 1TB P300 3.5" HDD

Seasonic 760W 80+P FM ATX PSU

CoolMast Hyper 212

Corsair Vengence C70 ATX green

IPSG LG 24x DVD

Windows 10Home

 

Still deciding on the monitor, but looking at a 4K Samsung probably. Still on the fence about a curved monitor or not. Corsair M65 and Strafe MX Silent.

[domokun 515]

Hello everyone, first post here. So i was introduced to Arma through a few different sources. Long story short, I will be building a rig for this game and future versions of it. I'm still playing with budget, especially since we are looking at the new versions of CPU/GPUs coming out. Here's what I'm looking at so far, thoughts?

 

Intel I7-6700K

Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 5 LGA1151

Crucial 16GB 2x8 D4 2400 BSLT

MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X 8GB PCIE

Samsung E 500GB 850 Evo SSD

Toshiba 1TB P300 3.5" HDD

Seasonic 760W 80+P FM ATX PSU

CoolMast Hyper 212

Corsair Vengence C70 ATX green

IPSG LG 24x DVD

Windows 10Home

 

Still deciding on the monitor, but looking at a 4K Samsung probably. Still on the fence about a curved monitor or not. Corsair M65 and Strafe MX Silent.

Good build but (in order of importance):

1. drop that 4k monitor unless you want mediocre performance (40fps).

Instead go for an 1440p monitor as this will allow you good framerates (70fps).

https://youtu.be/bZrGImpdxy0?t=9m55s

2. get faster RAM, i.e. swap your DDR4-2400 for DDR4-3000 for a minimal increase in cost

3. get a faster SSD, e.g. Samsung SSD 960 Pro (the Z170X Gaming 5 has 2 M.2 ports)

Got more money than sense? Grab a TrackIR 5 with Clip.

Also, if you're interested in flying then get yourself an x52 

[ErinMT 1]

Does the 4K not give an edge to target detection? That was the reason I was leaning towards it, I've watched a few dozen hours of videos and noticed that seeing threats seemed easier on the videos of people running 4K monitors. Is that just a symptom of watching a video of someone having played a game vs what the actual experience is?

 

Would this be a good fit for the overall system?

http://www.samsung.com/us/computing/monitors/led/samsung-32-curved-led-monitor-lc32f391fwnxza/

 

That TrackIR looks entertaining, would have to be down the road, already around $2500+.

[domokun 515]

Yes 4k offers an advantage to target detection but I'd argue that the difference between 1440p and 4k is minimal.

Indeed I'd argue that 1440p @ 70 fps will offer you much better target detection than 4k @ 40 fps.

In fact, I think most people would agree with that.

With the money you save from going from a 4k to a 1440p monitor you can easily pay for a TIR5, e.g. Acer K272HULbmiidp (4 ms, 1440p, IPS @ $275)

Trust me when I say that you need as much horsepower as possible with Arma.

So unless you going to run 1080 SLI, forget about A3 in 4K.

[ErinMT 1]

Sounds like I need to do some serious priority checks. If I'm not going to be able to reach 4K looks without doubling my budget, I'd be willing to settle for nearly 4K looks and smooth as silk performance. Sounds like I'll need to respec.

I've been wanting an immersive sized monitor, and with going to a 1440, that'll open up options. How big do you all find to be a good balance?

[domokun 515]

Sounds like I need to do some serious priority checks. If I'm not going to be able to reach 4K looks without doubling my budget, I'd be willing to settle for nearly 4K looks and smooth as silk performance. Sounds like I'll need to respec.

I've been wanting an immersive sized monitor, and with going to a 1440, that'll open up options. How big do you all find to be a good balance?

No need to re-spec. Provided you OC your 6700k to 4.5 (easy), that rig will run A3 at Ultra settings at 70 fps in 1440p.

[SSG-Levi 7]

Hi,

Anyone here have any experience with runing ARMA on an ultrabook with IGPU?

Im going to get the new Dell XPS 13 with the low power dual core i7-7500U @ 3.5GHz and integrated GPU.

can i expect at least that the 3D editor to work? (Low settings, no AI, 1080p)

I know this machine is underpowered and it will be used while im flying or on the road (for ARMA).

Thanks.

[oldbear 390]

There will be limitations in the video global quality of course, but you can expect to have a not so bad experience on the 3D editor.

You can even play to test missions, my own experiences playing a Pentium G-4500 with HD Graphics 530 were showing that the there was an IGPU  bottleneck.

I must add that on Tanoa, even with "Low" parameters, the jungle was looking great.

 

   

[SSG-Levi 7]

Thanks,

That Pentium G4500 specs seems very close to the mobile i7-7500U maybe even less.

I hope that it will be possible to edit missions and such with it while im away from my other machines.

[oldbear 390]

You can have a look at some posts about my Pentium G4500 tests on the French Canard PC forums here ;  http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/107211-Jouer-%C3%A0-Arma3-avec-un-Pentium

Of course, I am sorry to inform you it's all written in french but I think you can get a glimpse at some in-game screenshots and pics.

ATM, I have only posted about the G4500 without discrete GPU.

 

The main question about this ultrabook is how it will deal with power need and temperature under the constant heavy load of the game.

[SSG-Levi 7]

The Dell XPS 13 9360 have an active cooling system, so it should keep it from thermal throttling,

As for heat, im sure it will be better than my main laptop (Precision 5510~=XPS 15) as its getting extremely hot to a point that the carbon palm rest becomes too hot to rest your hand on (while runing ARMA)

At least according to early XPS13 reviews, the max temp. Should be reasonable.

Thanks for the linked article, ill google translate it later.

[The Turbanator 32]

@oldbear I know that last time I was on this thread I was going to get a gaming laptop. I have since scrapped that idea & decided to build a custom rig that over time I will upgrade & eventually replace if need be. I have been purchasing the parts from my local computer store which are quite reasonably priced. I just want to get Arma 3 Apex up & running just to begin with. Here are the components which I have purchased & now have to put together:

Case: NZXT Source S340 Mid Tower Case Black

Motherboard: Asus H170-Pro LGA 1151 ATX

PSU: EVGA Supernova 750w 80+ Gold Modular

SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 250gb

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 16gb (2x 8gb)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S 92mm CPU Cooler

CPU: i5-6600K LGA 1151 3.5ghz

HDD: Seagate 3TB Barracuda

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 ti oc 4gb

OS: Windows 10 Home

That's pretty much it. I just wanted to know what kind of performance I'd be getting, as I've been trying to find YouTube videos or even articles on Arma 3 Apex with the GTX 1050 ti oc but have come up empty. Any suggestions & feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[domokun 515]

@oldbear I know that last time I was on this thread I was going to get a gaming laptop. I have since scrapped that idea & decided to build a custom rig that over time I will upgrade & eventually replace if need be. I have been purchasing the parts from my local computer store which are quite reasonably priced. I just want to get Arma 3 Apex up & running just to begin with. Here are the components which I have purchased & now have to put together:

Case: NZXT Source S340 Mid Tower Case Black

Motherboard: Asus H170-Pro LGA 1151 ATX

PSU: EVGA Supernova 750w 80+ Gold Modular

SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 250gb

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 16gb (2x 8gb)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S 92mm CPU Cooler

CPU: i5-6600K LGA 1151 3.5ghz

HDD: Seagate 3TB Barracuda

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 ti oc 4gb

OS: Windows 10 Home

That's pretty much it. I just wanted to know what kind of performance I'd be getting, as I've been trying to find YouTube videos or even articles on Arma 3 Apex with the GTX 1050 ti oc but have come up empty. Any suggestions & feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Even if you can afford a laptop with a GTX 1060 or even 1070, its a wise decision to ditch the laptop in favour of desktop.

BTW did you create that with PCPartPicker? If so, simply share the URL from your build and it will be easier for us to help.

But until then, here's a few pieces of advice:

1. Replace your mobo with one with a Z170 because you can't overclock jack with an H170

2. Why a 750W PSU? Save yourself $40 by getting the 650W version. Even a 500W will be more than sufficient (unless you run AMD and/or SLI, most rigs draw less than 350W).

3. Why such an expensive HSF? The Hyper 212 Evo from CM is 50% cheaper and almost as good

4. With the cash you saved from #2 & #3, upgrade that GTX 1050 Ti to a 1060 6GB

Here's a build I that I recently put together for a fellow Arma-holic: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/tBkqbj

[EDcase 87]

Did you create that with PCPartPicker? If so, simply share the URL from your build and it will be easier for us to help.

But until then, here's a few pieces of advice:

1. Replace your mobo with one with a Z170 because you can't overclock jack with an H170

2. Why a 750W PSU? Save yourself $40 by getting the 650W version. Even a 500W will be more than sufficient (unless you run AMD and/or SLI, most rigs draw less than 350W).

3. Why such an expensive HSF? The Hyper 212 Evo from CM is 50% cheaper and almost as good

4. With the cash you saved from #2 & #3, upgrade that GTX 1050 Ti to a 1060 6GB

Here's a build I that I recently put together for a fellow Arma-holic: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/tBkqbj

I would add that the CPU will need to be seriously overclocked (up to 4GHz+) so it doesn't bottleneck the GPU

 

Always best to install ARMA on a separate drive to the OS. (Preferably on SSD of course)

[domokun 515]

I would add that the CPU will need to be seriously overclocked (up to 4GHz+) so it doesn't bottleneck the GPU

 

Always best to install ARMA on a separate drive to the OS. (Preferably on SSD of course)

A 6600k with a good HSF will OC to 4.2 defo, 4.3 easy, 4.4 prolly, 4.5 maybe and 4.6 if you're lucky.

But you're right, regardless of GPU, you want to push that CPU as far as possible.

Even at 4.5 GHz A3 doesn't bottleneck most GPU:

Most people known that Arma needs a fast CPU but few people realise that a fast GPU also has a significant impact on performance:

[oldbear 390]

@ Sneaky_Pete : Hi.

Moving to desktop is a sensible move from the gaming point of view.

 

I agree that you don't need so large a PSU for this project, one in the 550/600 W range is quite enough.

The i5-6600K is probably one of the best cpus for playing ATM.

If you have some OC in mind, I agree you must switch to a Z170 MoBo.

From my point of view a 250GB SSB will be soon overcrowded by OS + games and ... a lot of Mods and Addons for Arma3 so I will suggest to go to 500GB..

Look for a Z170 MoBo hosting a M.2 slot for SSD, and ... look for a SSD in the M.2 form factor.

[note : for my next build, I will go for a NVMe SSD M.2]

I also agree that a GTX 1060 6GB is a balanced pick for Arma3 and will not bottleneck the i5-6600K OCed or not

[fendog 10]

I'm getting a computer upgrade in a few days and was wondering what spec to upgrade in order to get the best results when playing Arma 3 and 2! Any ideas?

My current specs are:

 

CPU : FX-6300

GPU: R9 280

RAM: 8GB

Windows 8.1

 

Thank you :)

[veles-zv 176]

did you try researching yourself before making a thread about what my build should have for arma3?... there are more then a hundred of these type of topics made on this forum. use google... and those specs are not great for arma btw and what does 8 gb of ram mean? arma does not even use 8gb of ram and its not the specs of it either, clockspeed and cas timings as well as the generation of ram is what you need to know. 

[ErinMT 1]

Went back and adjusted a few bits to up the capabilities of the CPU and speed overall. Thoughts?

Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory

SAMSUNG 960 PRO M.2 512GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V6P512BW

MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card

Corsair C70 Military Green (Green) ATX Mid Tower Case

SeaSonic 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer

Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit

Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan

Samsung S32D850T 32.0" 60Hz Monitor

Corsair STRAFE MX Silent Wired Gaming Keyboard

Corsair M65 Wired Laser Mouse

Corsair VOID 7.1 Channel Headset

[3D_vet 29]

srry, double post

[3D_vet 29]

Dat machine.... You people are rich.  /joking/ ...gotta leave this whole freelancing thing to get back to purchase serious stuff... Me am just hoping to be able to buy a z170 motherboard and a g4500 so to replace a bit later on with a 6700k. I do see that pc perfect for the purpose. Only thing... Is memory speed that important? I've seen several tests where the real life scenario difference was extremely small. I mean, if there's a significant difference  -when I checked in my area, there was- in pricing, I would save bucks there to put 'em somewhere else. I've read from a famous brand (I believe it was Pudget Systems, but totally unsure  now) that they prefer not to use anything higher than 2330 -I believe it was- as in their experience higher was less stable. But i mean, if there's a big difference in price, I'd maybe stay on the 2400 range (but definitely ddr4). Probably the power supply would be enough with a 600W one, too. On the monitor not gonna say anything, as as an artist, am super freak with those, but my requirements are of no need for any hardcore gamer... (which I'm not either, anyway...). If anything, that I don't know if people is aware that a huge screen must be positioned farther from you, for obvious ergonomic reasons, and a lot of people do not have desktop tables that deep.  One another thing that's also maybe more due to the freelancer matter, than the gamer, I always prefer to buy Windows (for me or my relatives/friends/neighbors) full version, that I can port to other machines. Unsure right now as MS did a nice job messing up with the naming, and some are confusing, and changed constantly, so at the day when am forced to buy one, I just check the matter in depth to be sure is one I can install in whatever the machine. Also, I swap machines from time to tine. I believe OEM was the type you can only install in the first machine. (unsure if they still call them oem). And one point I'd like to know about is if laser mices are faster (for fast reflex based reaction) than optical. And if they are more accurate (mainly for graphic design matters...still, dunno how anything could react faster than my optical...).

 

Gotta be sweet to render GPU only in Blender Cycles with that beast of a card. Also, in 8GB will fit quite some big scenes, less need to fall back to cpu render...

[ceeeb 147]

Only thing... Is memory speed that important? I've seen several tests where the real life scenario difference was extremely small.

For Arma, yes! I have a very similar system to the one ErinMT posted, and switching my RAM from 2400MHz to 3200MHz DDR4 increases FPS by around 10% to 15% (tested with YAAB benchmark mission). RAM is cheap these days, 16GB of fast DDR4 is less than 10% price of the system.

ErinMT,

I have an Samsung 950 Pro, and it's the only component I wish I hadn't spent the money on. The first one died within a couple of weeks, it has thermal issues meaning it throttles down to SATA speed under full load anyway, and it doesn't make any noticeable difference in everyday use to justify the cost (Windows 10 loads slower on the new machine than it does on my last system from 2010 with an 850 EVO upgrade).

[ErinMT 1]

It will take a while for me to set this much money aside. I forgot I put that one the list as a place holder. I'm looking at using this instead. Will it be more stable and durable? I'll edit the last post with the correct SSD I'm thinking of.

https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16820147596&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-Mobile-_-pla-_-Solid+State+Disk-_-N82E16820147596&gclid=CJvurq6QldACFZSMaQodnvkB8w&gclsrc=aw.ds

[oldbear 390]

@ 3D_vet :  you will not gain a huge FPS amount from using the fastest RAM your bank account can allow, but  yes, memory speed is definitely that important :

https://www.reddit.com/r/arma/comments/4qgxll/a_short_cpuram_speed_impact_analysis_in_arma_3/

 

@ ceeb : yes, those SSDs tend to throttle under heavy load, that why you can look for cooling solutions such as the one from Alphacool or by using an PCIe adapter  :

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9856/angelbird-wings-px1-m2-adapter-review-do-ssds-need-heatsinks