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

[Firebird-B4L 51]

Everyone has some great thoughts here that make a lot of sense.  

 

My son is needing a new gaming PC and pressing me for one on a daily basis (in other words my current PC will get handed down to him as soon as I get a replacement) and I have two other sons in line behind him that will share the PC.  

 

So to get something quick, it almost sounds like the 7700k is the best go to option with only one 1080ti card in the build as opposed to two (not enough PCI lanes to take advantage).  I'm currently playing in 4k 3840 x 2160 (OLED TV) powered by a i7 4930K 4.5 overclocked and two SLI 1080 cards on a three year old plus 250Gb SSD.

Edited September 4, 2017 by romille1
spacing

[Gunter Severloh 3948]

Hey guys, putting a parts list together based on what was recommended for Arma3 on the thread here,

may have some things wrong and missing stuff so here it is:

 

CPU - Intel Core i7-7700K (i3 version) - I dont understand what is I3 version?)
GPU - GTX-1060  (why not a 1080?)
Hard drive - 1Tb SSD or 2 500gb Ssd?
Ram - 16Gb DDR4 3000

Mobo - I dont know what to get here
PSU - 1000w?
OS - Win10

=================

My current specs:

CPU - Intel Celeron G530 2.40ghz x 2
GPU - Nvidia Geforce GTX 750Ti
Hard drive - 1 Tb main drive & 500gb SD (used for backup and storage)
Ram - 8Gb

Mobo -
PSU - 850w
OS - Win 7 64bit

Monitor  - 1920 x 1080

===============

I plan to order from https://www.newegg.com/

[oldbear 390]

Whoops ... it will be a big jump!

 

CPU - Intel Core i7-7700K  (I dont know about any I3 version)
GPU - GTX-1060 6GB  -> because it's quite enough to play Ama3 in FullHD without any quality sacrifice.
Hard drive - 2x500 GB SSD (on my own rig, a Crucial 500 GB SATA on the M.2 slot (Windows+utilities) + a Samsung 500GB NVMe on an Asus PCIe 4X card (ArmA3) due to high temp issues) some Z270 MoBo have 2 x M.2 slots.
Ram - 16Gb DDR4 3000

Mobo - I dont know what to get here -> my only regret on my own gaming rig is the mobo, a Gigabyte Z170, the BIOS is not so friendly, in comparison the Asus UEFI BIOS from my Ryzen plateform is quite OK, an Asus Z270 suggested.
PSU - 1000w? -> probably an overkill go for a modular or semi-modular 750/850 is more than enough
OS - Win10 64bits !

 

[oldbear 390]

I that you are playing Arma3 using a ...

CPU - Intel Celeron G530 2.40ghz

... in order to collect more information on how the game is running on a "Minimum" requirement level rig, it would be great if you can run YAAB with bench "Standard" parameters.

So, please, run it 3 X,  get a screen and post it on the YAAB topic.

[Gunter Severloh 3948]

Will do!

Another question, about the ram a 16Gb DDR4 3000 that would be 1 stick of 16gb or is 2 sticks best?

I read somewhere on the thread here and i forget where and what was said but that Arma3 is cpu/gpu dominant and that having more then what... 16gb of ram

is not utilized by the engine, idk can you clear that up?

 

and

Why DDR4 3000 and not say DDR 4400 which from what i can see is the top or latest, i guess on Newegg.

[oldbear 390]

Having 2 RAM slots populated is allowing Dual Channel trick ..."Theoretically, dual-channel configurations double the memory bandwidth when compared to single-channel configurations...., IRL the gain is not so great in game, nevertheless it works ... more on Wikipedia

 

DDR4 3000 because I don't want to eat only pasta without olive oil for half a year ... have you get a look at the cost of the thing ?

In fact, 3000/3200Mhz seems to be the right balanced level for the CPU and MoBo we can use for playing.

With 64 bit client, 16 GB RAM usage can climb up over 60%.

While testing the Pentium G-4560/GTX 750Ti/8 GB DDR4 combo, RAM usage climb once to 99,9% in a KOH in Kavala ...

[Rhyagella 4]

Is there much of a benefit in Arma 3 (mp) if you OC your CPU? I can play offline high very high-ultra mix settings very comfortably, but unless I'm on a good server for KOTH my performance tanks to ungodly levels. Is this something entirely set by the server, or would an OC help relieve the problem some?

[oldbear 390]

No, there will be no enhancement in MP related to OC, FPS in MP depend on ... your connection, server performances, server management, missions/mods played on server ...

[Tankbuster 1733]

Don't think of it as being "set" by the server. Perhaps a better word might be "capped". KOTH and such like are very script heavy and the complexity of these types of missions limits the player's ability to maintain high FPS. Not all servers are  created equal, as you#'ve found so some might be better than others.

 

So while an overclock might help, though I suspect, not by much in the case of your Xeon, if you want high FPS, stay off the mod/script heavy missions. I can get 800 FPS in the main menu, but its replayability is limited.

[Rhyagella 4]

6 hours ago, oldbear said:

No, there will be no enhancement in MP related to OC, FPS in MP depend on ... your connection, server performances, server management, missions/mods played on server ...

 

4 hours ago, Tankbuster said:

Don't think of it as being "set" by the server. Perhaps a better word might be "capped". KOTH and such like are very script heavy and the complexity of these types of missions limits the player's ability to maintain high FPS. Not all servers are  created equal, as you#'ve found so some might be better than others.

 

So while an overclock might help, though I suspect, not by much in the case of your Xeon, if you want high FPS, stay off the mod/script heavy missions. I can get 800 FPS in the main menu, but its replayability is limited.

 

Thank you both for the replies, I appreciate it! It saved me the hassle of OC'ing my CPU and going through the stability tests. Boy is that annoying!

Good thing CodeFourGaming's servers are always great! Thanks again! :)

[kuba999 0]

My dream ARMA system is looking like this:

 

7740x delidded (currently with silicon lottery)

 

3200 corsair ddr4 16 gb (Purchased)

 

samsung evo 500gig m2 (Purchased)

 

1080ti ftw (already in system)

 

Asus rampage apex x299 VI (not ordered yet)

 

850 corsair AX (already in system)

 

Have seen a few more coffee lake benchmarks and it really does look like kabylake ipc with 2 more cores.   Hopefully will be able to upgrade CPU in 2 or 3 years to 6 core if there is a need on socket 2066.

 

Now I just need to find something else to blame other than system performance when missing shots.

 

 

 

 

 

[oldbear 390]

Why trying to destroy your CPU ?

And why not waiting for the "i7-8700k+z370" combo ?

If your aim is gaming, the path to Coffe Lake path is probably better than road 2066.

[3D_vet 29]

I agree... 6 cores are going to be really important. I mean, more cores, in general. Is difficult to see it now, but I am detecting many movements (to be sincere, more than I expected, this soon) in that direction, both in games and (very specially) in applications. Plus, a new platform has quite several benefits over using an old one. Not only in raw performance (although these advantages are often left aside, incorrectly, when estimating performance). People think is a bad thing that is just the same IPC per core, and just 2 more cores. I don't see it like that : I am amazed that they can maintain that very high ipc per core and also have more cores. Global performance of your machine in general use is a very important factor. Sooner or later you will miss being able to have some tsr running besides your game (screen corder/streaming, antivirus, online music, some download, whatever it is), even if you totally, exclusively use the PC for gaming (I don't remember a single time in my life doing so, not even in my a bit younger years, when I was crazy about the "new" genre, the FPS games (quake, counter strike, ut...)). 

 

PD: I only blame the PC when I skip an entire bunch of frames, image frozen (after a lot of hours of playing , not Arma3, it happened just ONCE) and then appears the screen of having been fragged, in whatever the game .Only then I say is the cpu/gpu fault (or the connection, or the crappy HD... )... as anything else has a trick/technique  ;D . I'm doing quite well in other game , which is definitely lighter in its cpu needs than Arma3 , but I can play both of 'em with some low settings, and mostly setting the CPU priority as "low" for the game (in both cases), and I know much better the other game (Planetside 2), in which I am sort of skilled ...so.... being this an utter crap 1st gen i7, I do know there's a lot you can do before blaming the machine.... :D :D :D :D. I'd rather have an overall great workhorse machine for any use for some years (and yeah, they can last, this one is still kicking and is from 2009 ), than the ultimate gaming machine for a specific single core game, but that is just me, probably...

 

 

[kuba999 0]

I suppose its what you use your PC for.  I do zero content creation.  Really I am amazed at how good my 3570k is for nearly everything that I do.  Would not be upgrading my rig if it were not for Arma.

 

Sold my 2 gtx 970s for AUD700 and used that money to buy a gtx 1080 ti.  The card is amazing and for the first time I can have everything on ultra at 1440p.  

 

Unfortunately I am bottle necked by the 3570k so based on what i have read here a 7700k or 7740x is the way to go.  Arma 3 will not use 6 cores so I see no point in waiting for coffee lake.  Having said that I would like to keep the rig for 5 years and see the z370 as a dead end with no upgrade path.  

 

People are already saying that Intel is planning a 8 core coffee lake to go with the z390 chipset 2h 2018.  There are no guarantees but socket 2066 seems like the safe bet if I need the extra cores in the future.

 

I am betting the future 2066 cpu releases will include coffee lake X and hopefully Ice lake X which should be better for gaming than the current skylake x offerings .  Intel seem to keep the  HEDT sockets alive for much longer.  The x299 chipset will most likely die when PCIE gen 4 comes round.

 

Not willing to wait any longer but I would like an upgrade path.  z270 is EOF.  z370 will have very little life. z390 is the one to get but wait is too long. The 7740x will be on par with the 8700k in arma performance and from what I read over-clocks like a champ.  People are running those chips at 5.4 stable.  No way will a 6 core coffee lake do that.

 

Single thread performance is what ARMA likes and for what I need today the 7740x will provide.  If i need a 8 core chip in the future then socket 2066 will provide that.

 

Going with a  delidded cpu  based on the apex mother board review. Skip to 16:30.  Not really worried as silicon lottery offer a 1 year warranty and the CPU cost me USD309.  

 

 

Really I don't know anything about hardware and am just blurting out stuff that I have read, trying to find the best solution for my needs.  When arma finally supports more cores then I will jump ship and get more cores.  I just don't see the need at the moment.

[evilmedic 0]

The 8700k will do very well in ARMA3 due to the following:

- Increase in turbo clock speed from 4500 to 4700 MhZ

- Increase in L2 cache from 8MB  to 12 MB

- Increase from 4 cores to 6 cores.

I would think the 8700k will do better than 7700k and 7840k due to the 50% increase in Cache. 

 

 

As for the current HEDT platform / processor performance in Arma 3, It should not too far behind 7700k / 7740k provided you know what to tweak. Here is how it looks when CPU is at 4.8GHz.,  Memory settings does some difference. 

 

 

 

 

[JeremyBonanno 1]

Intel i7 2600 @ 3.40GHz (keep in mind that this CPU is at least 4-5 years old)

NVIDIA GeForce GT 530

8GB of RAM 

which one should i upgrade? 

[oldbear 390]

Even if the i7 2600 is 6 years old, it's still a good CPU.

Of course performance wise, it can't compete with today i7/i5.

Nevertheless, it's still "Arma3 playable".

 

So, you can set aside total replacement idea and think about upgrades.

 

* First thing to upgrade is the graphic card.

Since Arma3 Visual Upgrade [april 2016] the game is much more GPU demanding.

Getting a entry level gaming graphic card such as the RX 550 or GTX 1050 will allow a high visual quality.

 

* 2nd to update is your HDD.

Since APEX, a SSD or SSHD usage is recommended.

A 256 Go SSD is the minimum in order to host both Windows10 64bits and Arma3.

[teabagginpeople 398]

6 hours ago, JeremyBonanno said:

Intel i7 2600 @ 3.40GHz (keep in mind that this CPU is at least 4-5 years old)

NVIDIA GeForce GT 530

8GB of RAM 

which one should i upgrade? 

 

100% the gpu is not able to cut  it. Youtube- arma 3 your cpu and you should see someone has an upgraded gpu with that. look at performance my guess is will be looking nothing like you currently see when playing or trying to play. 

 

Now I'm not sure what your set up is.  If it is a custom build or some dell/ acer type.

 

So you'll need to check your psu meets the power requirements for a better card and the proper pci express connections.

 

Make sure you have enough space in your case to house a new card. Again I don't know if it is custom case or what.

 

[oldbear 390]

@ teabagginpeople : Please do not use YouTube as a reference for Arma3 !

 

Here we are speaking about upgrade and not complete replacement.

In this case, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 530 is not a GPU for gaming.

This graphic card is a rebranded GT 430 for OEM, with 2 Go DDR3.

It means playing on "Low" level with all the wrong consequences on visual quality of course but also on CPU performances.

 

Using a real gaming card, even an entry level GPU will allow to get a playable Arma3 rig on a budget ...

 

[JeremyBonanno 1]

4 hours ago, teabagginpeople said:

 

100% the gpu is not able to cut  it. Youtube- arma 3 your cpu and you should see someone has an upgraded gpu with that. look at performance my guess is will be looking nothing like you currently see when playing or trying to play. 

 

Now I'm not sure what your set up is.  If it is a custom build or some dell/ acer type.

 

So you'll need to check your psu meets the power requirements for a better card and the proper pci express connections.

 

Make sure you have enough space in your case to house a new card. Again I don't know if it is custom case or what.

 

i have a Dell Vostro 460 Desktop,

 

So old bear do you think that if i upgrade my current graphics card would be good and i wont have to upgrade the CPU? because i have been told its an alright CPU its just the GPU is weighing me down.  

 

[oldbear 390]

Yes, that's what I mean

 

Of course, you can't expect a miracle but getting a real gaming card will help to get a playable rig at an i3-7100 or a Ryzen 1300X level.

Some rendering tasks must be supported by the processor because of its weakness, so a GT 430 is a burden for the CPU.

 

This i7-2600 is allowing  you to play in the 30/35 FPS range.

Based on my own experience in "building" gaming rigs, a RX550 will be on the right spot to play on "Very High".

A GTX 1050Ti 4Go will be better, in order to go for "Very High".

Do not plan to upgrade to a mid/high end graphic card because, then you will be CPU limited.

Arma3 is still a CPU dependent game and you can't expect high FPS level just with GPU update.

If you want to get high level performances, reach 50 FPS level, you must get a high level combo ... at a cost !

 

But getting a real card is not the only thing to do.

It is important not to underestimate the importance of the hard drive in the gaming experience with Arma3.

Arma3 engine is " HDD hungry " .  There is a high level continuous flow of data loaded from the disk.

So you need a fast HD, and the best for this purpose ATM is a SSD.

You can't get any FPS gain from a SSD, but treating the stuttering and texture clipping issue helps to get a better gaming experience.

 

The last thing that can burden you rig is the RAM, but due to the cost ... it can wait a bit.

[Gunter Severloh 3948]

Hi Oldbear, I want to thank you and the many others here on this thread for your and their insights and help for what parts to get.

From my previous post at the beginning of September i was gathering parts, and information for a new gaming build, i just finished a new build this past week

Total cost for the build was about $1800

 

My current & new specs:

CPU - Intel Core i7-7700K Kaby Lake Quad-Core 4.2 GHz
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC2 GAMING iCX
Hard drive - 500gb WD SSD for the OS, 1 WD SSD for games, and a 1Tb Segate HDD drive ( for backup and storage)
Ram -  G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (Freq - 3600)

Mobo - EVGA Z270 FTW – K
PSU - EVGA SuperNOVA 1000w
OS - Win 10 64bit

Monitor  - 1920 x 1080

Case - Rosewill THOR V2 Gaming ATX Full Tower

====================

My previous specs:

CPU - Intel Celeron G530 2.40ghz x 2
GPU - Nvidia Geforce GTX 750Ti
Hard drive - 1 Tb HDD & 500gb ssd (used for backup and storage)
Ram - 8Gb

Mobo -
PSU - 850w
OS - Win 7 64bit

Monitor  - 1920 x 1080

Case - RAIDMAX Vampire ATX Full tower

=============

Once i got everything setup, and finally got ingame,  on average with my previous specs i was getting between 20-35fps

with all settings at low, lowest, or disabled.

The new computer, i'm now getting well over 70fps! with everything at ultra, max settings, view distance i set to 2000 its an OMG moment after i stepped in the game!

After all these years with a single core back in the arma1 days, to a duel core up til last week, i been sitting on low specs for a long ass time, so i saved for a good 2 months,

and now im finally able to enjoy arma3 at its best!   Thanks everyone!

[Tankbuster 1733]

51 minutes ago, Gunter Severloh said:

Hi Oldbear, I want to thank you and the many others here on this thread for your and their insights and help for what parts to get.

From my previous post at the beginning of September i was gathering parts, and information for a new gaming build, i just finished a new build this past week

Total cost for the build was about $1800

 

My current & new specs:

CPU - Intel Core i7-7700K Kaby Lake Quad-Core 4.2 GHz
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC2 GAMING iCX
Hard drive - 500gb WD SSD for the OS, 1 WD SSD for games, and a 1Tb Segate HDD drive ( for backup and storage)
Ram -  G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (Freq - 3600)

Mobo - EVGA Z270 FTW – K
PSU - EVGA SuperNOVA 1000w
OS - Win 10 64bit

Monitor  - 1920 x 1080

Case - Rosewill THOR V2 Gaming ATX Full Tower

 

5

 

Just my personal opinion - If the motherboard has the words "RGB" or "Gaming" in its name, then it's probably overpriced. I suspect we could add "FTW" to that list. :)

[oldbear 390]

@ Gunter Severloh : whaou! It's looking like a good war machine.

I'm happy to have helped, that's how things must work

[breech99 47]

A lot of the closed loop cooler companies now warranty that if it damages components due to a leak, they do replace components. The 5.0Ghz is no longer the Unicorn, it's now the workhorse. Kaby Lake is pretty good to upgrade to from an older platform. Get a product that's actually designed for your use. Don't need high premium but above entry level mid range is usually in where the label Gaming board lies, gaming boards usually have more IO, better audio and onboard silicon for 4k streaming. The high high end like Asus rog series is for enthusiasts are over priced for most folks.  In the end there is no single answer, it's not that simple.  In my experience, any one company can make a winner or a total dud.  Use consumer reviews from verified owners like newegg or amazon. Determine the features that are meaningful to you.  Understand that spending more doesn't necessarily yield benefit.  Hope you all get something cool and have fun with arma that the rest of us have been having with some newer equipment. Keep saving those pennies!

 

Wendell with Level One Techs has a review an info about kaby lakes.