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

[oldbear 390]

Extracts from : Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 & 2080 Ti Review

"The Future of Computer Graphics Is (Almost) Here"

Source : https://www.techspot.com/review/1701-geforce-rtx-2080/

[Groove_C 267]

Have bought an Asus ROG Strix GTX 1070 Ti Advanced (480 € @ amazon.de) to get some more fps @ 1440p vs. my Asus ROG Strix GTX 1060 OC (330 € @ amazon.de).
~10 fps and ~4 fps difference in Altis Benchmark and YAAB @ ultra.

 

Here is a video (https://youtu.be/3FDfG1wHF40), where the guy had to go for 1440p instead of 1080p and lower the view distance to only 600m, to put max load on GPUs he was comparing in order to compare them as fairly as possible, using an i7-7700K @ 4.4 GHz with 16 GB 3000 MHz C16 RAM
 
P.S. - I'm usually playing with 6000m view distance in multi-player.

[HaseDesTodes 62]

1 hour ago, Groove_C said:

Because I've seen a video, where the guy had to go for 1440p instead of 1080p and lower the view distance to only 600m, to put max load on GPUs he was comparing in order to compare them as fairly as possible.

 

i don't think you should use settings that are so far away from usual settings, just to force GPUs into a max-load state.

if you wan't to find out what GPU is better, there are better ways than Arma3 benchmarks.

and if you want to see how well a GPU performs in Arma3 you should use more realistic settings, because at the end of the day, that's how it will be used anyways.

sure, increasing the display (or rendering resolution) for benchmarks can be interesting for people that own those monitors, but 600m view distance. i guess that's more for users with weaker CPUs playing in cities.

[Groove_C 267]

@HaseDesTodes I've always played at ultra, as the fps was always good with my GTX 1060. and I'm used to play with 4-6 km view distance. Moved from 1080p to 1440p in January/February, without changing the GPU. have done it today.

[HaseDesTodes 62]

3 minutes ago, Groove_C said:

@HaseDesTodes I've always played at ultra, as the fps was always good with my GTX 1060. and I'm used to play with 4-6 km view distance. Moved from 1080p to 1440p in January/February, without changing the GPU. have done it today and no benefits.

 

that's what i meant.

what point does it have to change the settings, so that you can actually see differences, if it's all the same with normal settings.

benchmarks with different resolutions make some sense, in order to help people see what performance they can expect with different monitors/resolutions with the respective GPU.

[Groove_C 267]

Guys I haven't updated my nVidia drivers more than a year and a half when swapping the 1060 with the 1070 Ti today.
Please see my initial post. I have edited it.
So there is ~10 fps and ~4 fps difference @ ultra @ 1440p in Altis Benchmark and YAAB.

[Groove_C 267]

Have switched from:

16 GB (4x4) DDR3 2133 MHz 9-11-10-27

to:

32 GB (4x8) DDR3 2400 MHz 10-12-12-31

and have gained 2-3 fps average vs no fps gains with oc of my GTX 1070 Ti from 1898/8000 MHz to 2063/9600 MHz - ArmA )))

[Groove_C 267]

Speaking about 8 GB RAM is enough.

[matiasl 0]

I will have a system with 8700k i7 and only plays arma. What is the best gpu in that case? 

[Valken 621]

9 minutes ago, matiasl said:

I will have a system with 8700k i7 and only plays arma. What is the best gpu in that case? 

 

Depending on your resolution, a 1060 or faster GTX will suffice:

 

[matiasl 0]

Ok only playing 1080p so a 1060 6GB will be ok then? 

[oldbear 390]

Yes, I am playing  a i7-7700K/GTX 1060 6Go rig on an Iiyama G-master in 1920x1080 and it's quite good.

 

Edited November 21, 2018 by oldbear
English is not my maternal language, but you already know that

[Groove_C 267]

@matiasl a GTX 1070 would have been a better choise (if you can afford it) because of 8 GB vRAM and more power. A GPU is the most expensive part of a PC and generally people tend to keep it for a while. If you were to buy a GTX 1070, it would most certainly be sufficient even for ArmA 4 with Enfusion engine when it comes out.

@ 1080p there is 0 FPS increase (in ArmA) if you were to buy anything higher than a GTX 1070.

[oldbear 390]

I am sorry to say, I disagree on this point, for the equally expensive part is the CPU/MoBo combo you will use for an extended time.

I strongly suggest the GTX 1060 6GB because it's a GPU allowing to play Arma3 on a high level without limitation.

From my own experience, you will change your GPU twice before you change your CPU/MoBo.

I am playing a basic plain 2 fans Gainward GTX 1060 6GB since July 2016 and as said it's OK, if you are only playing Arma3 and intend to play it for the 2 incoming years.

You can use the extra budget in order to buy a 250/500 GB NMVe M.2 SSD dedicated to Arma in order to get rid of any stuttering you can get [no FPS gain to be expected!].

 

 

Edited November 22, 2018 by oldbear
for I am really an old bear

[Groove_C 267]

A GTX 1060 (6 GB!) allows you to play A3 @ ultra settings @ 1080p - sure. Have used one as well for almost 2 years.

Sure, CPU/mobo combo is generally used for like 4-6 years. But GPUs are also used by majority of players for not less than 2 years. By this time A4 could come out. Enfusion engine is very well optimized and I'm confident that it will have better graphics and will use more vRAM, but graphics won't be like in Metro or similar games for sure. So why buy now A GTX 1060 and buy a new GPU by 2020 if one can buy a GTX 1070 and use it even longer.

So it's up to you, of course.

[Valken 621]

18 hours ago, matiasl said:

Ok only playing 1080p so a 1060 6GB will be ok then? 

 

Yes, as everyone is saying a 1060 6 GB GTX @ 1080p is good enough, even for Ultra.

 

I am playing with a 4970K @ 4.5 GHZ with a 1060 3GB GTX on Ultra. I only play ARMA, Brutal Doom, maybe Black Mesa, OpenXcom, or some old game. I don't play any new game and it should be good until ARMA 4 or another game BETTER than ARMA 3 and needs some crazy fast GPU, I'm going to keep my Game PC as is. I played over 4000 hours in ARMA 3 alone!!!

 

For ARMA, you made a good choice with a fast cpu. If you can OC it safely, then you get more out of it for ARMA. You can see the chart above, any cpu after a Haswell is pretty good for ARMA, though make sure you have FAST RAM for it also. I am using the same RAM as Groove C above, 32 GB of 2400 CL10. For your CPU, you should get a fast ram as you can afford.

 

For other games, you will probably need a faster GPU like a 1070 but plan ahead to get the most out of your $.

[domokun 515]

@matiasl

To bring objectivity and prevent misunderstanding, let's focus the discussions by establishing some parameters:

• Scope: Arma 3 with latest patches, i.e. performance in other games isn't a MAJOR consideration
• Satisfactory quality: High or Ultra
• Satisfactory performance: 60+ fps
• CPU: i7-8700k (probably the most powerful CPU for gaming, especially if overclocked)

Based on these definitions, I think that it's fair to say that these cards will provide satisfactory gaming (see definitions for quality & performance above) at the following resolutions:

• 1080p: GTX 1060 6GB (not the 3GB) / RX 580
• 1440p: GTX 1070 / Vega 56/64
• 4k: GTX 1080 Ti

Source: playing Arma, reading benchmarks & building PCs for many years

[Maxz85 11]

Hi everyone, I'm building a PC right now and hope to get 40-60fps in modded Arma 3 at tweaked settings (to get the best looks to performance ratio)

 

My specs are:

Ryzen 2600 (will overclock it to around 4GHz sometime later)

GTX 1060 6GB

Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3000MHz CL15 (hopefully it will run at rated speeds, I will try to overclock it to 3200MHz CL14, I heard Arma likes low latency + high RAM speeds)

 

So, stable arma is even possible on the latest Ryzen CPUs?

[oldbear 390]

Welcome !

 

Well, I am still testing Ryzen 3 2200G, now with a RX 460 4GB on 1080p ...

I have previously tested Ryzen 1300 X and Ryzen 3 2200G/RX 550 2 GB on 720p.*

I have done extensive endurance 24hrs tests on both config on standard an mild OC configurations.

Arma3 is stable on these AMD Ryzen builds in the 30FPS range, 25/50 FPS expected in game.

 

You can get other experiences results on this topic : We need AMD Ryzen Benchmarks! Share your toughts!

 

Back your question.

- Arma* is CPU demanding, a Ryzen 2600X will be better [better speed out of the box],

- 8 GB of DDR4 3000 MHz is enough, fastest RAM is probably better, but Ryzen is quite touchy about RAM specs, so use only certified RAM for the MoBo you use have a look at the AGESA list related to last Bios you are using.

-GTX 1060 6GB is OK for Arma3 on 1080p.

 

There is a missing item on your list ... the SSD.

In order to get rid of any texture clipping and stuttering in game, you need to get a SSD to host both Windows and Arma3 Steam Library, a 250/256 GB is a minimum -> REQUIREMENTS

RECOMMENDED

HARD DRIVE25 GB free space, SSD / Hybrid HDD / SSHD storage

 

* Beware! : links to French CanardPC Forums ... French language involved, take care, but pics not a problem for your sight!

 

 

Edited November 28, 2018 by oldbear
English is not my maternal language, but you already know that

[Maxz85 11]

1 hour ago, oldbear said:

Welcome !

 

Well, I am still testing Ryzen 3 2200G, now with a RX 460 4GB on 1080p ...

I have previously tested Ryzen 1300 X and Ryzen 3 2200G/RX 550 2 GB on 720p.*

I have done extensive endurance 24hrs tests on both config on standard an mild OC configurations.

Arma3 is stable on these AMD Ryzen builds in the 30FPS range, 25/50 FPS expected in game.

 

You can get other experiences results on this topic : We need AMD Ryzen Benchmarks! Share your toughts!

 

Back your question.

- Arma* is CPU demanding, a Ryzen 2600X will be better [better speed out of the box],

- 8 GB of DDR4 3000 MHz is enough, fastest RAM is probably better, but Ryzen is quite touchy about RAM specs, so use only certified RAM for the MoBo you use have a look at the AGESA list related to last Bios you are using.

-GTX 1060 6GB is OK for Arma3 on 1080p.

 

There is a missing item on your list ... the SSD.

In order to get rid of any texture clipping and stuttering in game, you need to get a SSD to host both Windows and Arma3 Steam Library, a 250/256 GB is a minimum -> REQUIREMENTS

RECOMMENDED

HARD DRIVE25 GB free space, SSD / Hybrid HDD / SSHD storage

 

* Beware! : links to French CanardPC Forums ... French language involved, take care, but pics not a problem for your sight!

 

 

Thanks!

 

I'm already brought 2600 non-x so it's too late, but no problems since I can overclock it (brought Arctic Freezer 33 TR cooler specially for that task, 2600 + better CPU cooler is a better combo than 2600x + stock wraith cooler, and it's cheaper)

 

I'm buying 16gb for futureproofing because it's steadily becomes the new norm. Kingston HX430C15PB3K2/16 RAM that is on my QVL (Mobo is ASRock B450 Pro4, btw) is becoming very expensive, so I will probably buy the CMK16GX4M2B3000C15R from Corsair cause it's the cheapest 3000mhz cl15 ram in my country, maybe I will wait some time till the price on Kingston drops to not lose on performance in Arma and my system overall, also some guys on reddit are saying that new ryzens (2000 series) have better ram compatibility than 1st gen, so maybe it worth a shot?

 

And I already brought an SSD, it's Crucial MX500 250GB M.2 SATA

 

Even if I get about 35 fps with no frequent dips I'd be very happy, i played arma 2 in the old days on athlon x2 6400+, 9500gt 512mb, 3gb ddr2 with arma on 500gb 5400rpm hdd

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cZMYtg - my full build, parts that are marked "purchased" is waiting on my table for me to start finally build my pc

Edited November 28, 2018 by maxz85
Added a link to my full pc build, if it helps improving my build for arma. English is also not mine native language, I'm from eastern Europe

[oldbear 390]

I have also tested -a bit by accident-  a 16 GB (2x8GB) CMK16GX4M2B3000C15R kit from Corsair while benching the Ryzen 3 CPUs, it works quite well.

Yes, it's right that with latest AM4 Mobo / BIOS the list of RAM compatibility is extended.

[Maxz85 11]

I have yet another question, how RX 580 behaves in Arma 3? Since prices on 1060 6GB spiked in my country (310$ cheapest with decent cooler, while 580 8GB Pulse is 249$)

 

I recently watched Hardware Unboxed 2018 retesting of 1060 vs 580 and they show exact same performance in Arma.

 

Needs someone's opinion on this

[Valken 621]

Depending on the resolution you are playing, it should be fine with the 580. When I was shopping for my 1060 GTX 3 GB, I was upgrading from AMD 6950 CFX unlocked. The only reason I did that was that I only had 2 GB of video ram and was running out at 1080p, and CANNOT find any AMD 480 or 580 series at the time. It was completely sold out!!!

 

Buy the one that has the be value in terms of price. They are nearly equal for ARMA. If you have  higher resolution monitor, buy a faster GPU though as per the graph  I posted above earlier.

[oldbear 390]

Well, it's not too easy to answer for we haven't seen a RX 580 for years.

From my own experience a GTX 1060 3 GB is running well on 1080p.

The RX 580 8 GB performances are probably in the middle of the range and OK for Arma3 gaming.

[Horus 83]

Right now 580 8GB is better then 1060 6GB in Arma