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

[oldbear 390]

@ SS9 : do you have the game ? Play it and tell us about your own experience in-game in Single and Multi-players :cool:

[gvse 10]

Hi guys,

Currently I have a phenom II x6 1055T with a slight overclock up to 3.7 in turbo mode (8 gig ram, nvidia gtx570, running the game at 1440x900 resolution), which gives me anything from 60fps in an uncluttered location on Altis in SP and down to 20 fps when I engage AI in towns and when aircraft start flying (usually upsmon script running).

Can anybody tell me what kind of boost I should expect with the the switch to an i5 4670K on ASROCK-Z87-Extreme4? I primarily play SP and what I am after is steady fps in urban locations with engagements between up to 50 ai.

I'd appreciate your input as the switch is quite pricey and I'd like to see some tangible improvement.

[tlafntn 10]

I have been playing ARMA 2 on my crap laptop and now it it time to treat myself to a gaming computer for ARMA 3. I have read a lot and tried to pick the best for the price range I am trying to stay in. I would like to run on Ultra settings and not sure what kind of guts I would need for that. Currently I am looking at this build pcpartpicker.com/p/1XWD0[/url]

CPU

Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor $199.99

CPU Cooler

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $29.99

Motherboard

Asus B85-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $99.99

Memory

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $74.99

Storage

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $69.99

Video Card

Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card $309.99

Case

Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case $109.99

Power Supply

LEPA MaxBron 1000W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $129.99 (I know its more then what is needed but over time thinking of adding another R9 280X and future upgrades)

Optical Drive

Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $19.99

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $99.99

Monitor

Acer V246HLbd 60Hz 24.0" Monitor $146.99 $146.99

Keyboard

Rosewill RK-8100 Wired Gaming Keyboard $29.99

Mouse

Perixx MX-1000 Wired Optical Mouse $20

[tlafntn 10]

I have been playing ARMA 2 on my crap laptop and now it it time to treat myself to a gaming computer for ARMA 3. I have read a lot and tried to pick the best for the price range I am trying to stay in. I would like to run on Ultra settings and not sure what kind of guts I would need for that. Currently I am looking at this build http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1XWD0

CPU

Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor $199.99

CPU Cooler

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $29.99

Motherboard

Asus B85-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $99.99

Memory

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $74.99

Storage

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $69.99

Video Card

Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card $309.99

Case

Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case $109.99

Power Supply

LEPA MaxBron 1000W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $129.99 (I know its more then what is needed but over time thinking of adding another R9 280X and future upgrades)

Optical Drive

Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $19.99

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $99.99

Monitor

Acer V246HLbd 60Hz 24.0" Monitor $146.99 $146.99

Keyboard

Rosewill RK-8100 Wired Gaming Keyboard $29.99

Mouse

Perixx MX-1000 Wired Optical Mouse $20

[Doomfarer 10]

Please use this thread for all Arma 3 hardware/specifications discussion. :)

For general hardware discussion we have a thread here.

AMD FX-4350 Vishera 4.2GHz

G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB)

2 x HIS IceQ H785QT4G2M Radeon HD 7850 4GB

Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SSD

2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST3000DM001 3TB

[oldbear 390]

@ GvsE : such a question is difficult to answer so I will give you 2 hints :

- benchmarks : here some test related to Arma2 of course but RV4 is not so different from RV3 ... http://www.hardware.fr/articles/897-21/cpu-jeux-3d-crysis-2-arma-ii-oa.html

(beware French language, open at your own risk!)

- in-game : in purpose, I build a 40 FIA vs 40 Green+5 Strider test mission in Pyrgos using UPS and FAR_revive on my "i7 3770/ GTX 670 OC / 8 Go/Dedicated A3 SSD" rig + 1680x1050 Iiyama 22", video settings on "Ultra" quality, 2500 m "Global Visibility", in AA& PP section : disabled Bloom and Blurs, "FXAA Ultra + 2X FSAA.

Alone in Pyrgos, I am getting 40/45 FPS. In mission, I am getting 35 FPS at start, 25 FPS when general intense firefight start with an occasional 20 FPS slip, then back to 35/40 FPS in the end.

So, as the i5 4670K, is a powerful CPU, you can expect a nice jump in performances, but don't expect a miracle :)

From my point of view, it's a good move, next one will be to get a SSD ,even a small one dedicated to Arma3 and further one a GPU upgrade for this game is "GPU demanding" as well as "CPU dependent".

[gvse 10]

Thanks Old Bear!

This is actually a bit worrying. Granted, I have fewer AI in my mission but the dips down to 20fps on that cpu is a major disappointment and puts a big question mark over my upgrade. I thought such slowdowns were to be expected only in MP. Would you mind uploading that particular mission so I can see exactly how it runs on my current pc?

[nikiforos 450]

@ GvsE : such a question is difficult to answer so I will give you 2 hints :

-

From my point of view, it's a good move, next one will be to get a SSD ,even a small one dedicated to Arma3 and further one a GPU upgrade for this game is "GPU demanding" as well as "CPU dependent".

Sorry I have to disagree about the GPU. I have a GTX 570 and I run the game with medium to high settings. I had the 680 for a week and I was dissapointed to see the tiny difference in performance and that's why I returned the card. The game is CPU dependent and if you buy the game to fight wars and not for sightseeing then put all your money in a CPU and SSD.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Nikiforos

[SteveJA 12]

Hello Mr err tlafntn?:p

First off, I'm not going to pretend to know all there is about computers. In fact in the not too distance future i shall probably be posting here with a planned build. However over the last month I also have been researching for a new PC, so i thought id add a couple of points I've recently learned.

I like the look of your system, partly because it is similar to my own planned spec. The only thing i would perhaps suggest was the addition of a SSD hard drive, purely from the multiple sources holding them in high regard. With regards to how the spec will run ARMA3, i'm far from qualified to offer much advice. But saying that, your spec seems well thought out and, in comparison to other specs, up there in terms of performance. I'd expect it to run Very high setting across the board but i hope someone else will confirm this since, as said before, i'm far from qualified.

[oldbear 390]

@ Nikiforos : In the near future, I think I will show you the proof, that on "low end" rig -I mean 'low end' Arma wise- some better GPU can make the difference between playable and un-playable.

I have tested many configurations in the past, build/rebuild 6/7 PCs and I am testing "minimum" configs limits at the moment.

Of course, Arma* games are totally "CPU dependent" but what's new with Arma3 is that now the game is also "GPU demanding". On this point, have a look at HardOcp review.

[jumpinghubert 48]

Sorry I have to disagree about the GPU. I have a GTX 570 and I run the game with medium to high settings. I had the 680 for a week and I was dissapointed to see the tiny difference in performance and that's why I returned the card. The game is CPU dependent and if you buy the game to fight wars and not for sightseeing then put all your money in a CPU and SSD.

plus fast ram :)

@OldBear

for me the hardocp shows only if you want to play in 2500x.... with fullAA you need a titan instead of a GTX670 or HD7970.

[oldbear 390]

@JumpingHubert : you must read the full review to have a look at the point "... ARMA III has extremely demanding graphics settings ... "

Gameplay Summary

We have found that ARMA III has extremely demanding graphics settings, thanks in large part to the customizable visibility and object rendering ranges. In our highest playable settings testing only the GeForce GTX 780 SLI and Radeon HD 7970 GE CF were capable of playing at 2560x1600 with 8X FSAA, FXAA Ultra, and ultra quality settings enabled.

None of our single GPU video cards had the juice necessary to play at 2560x1600 with ultra quality settings, while utilizing some level of FSAA. We had to lower the GeForce GTX TITAN to very high overall quality settings with 4X FSAA before it was playable. The GeForce GTX 780 was only playable at 2560x1600 when reducing the overall quality to "high," but was also able to pick up 8X FSAA when dropping to the lower quality.

The GeForce GTX 770 and Radeon HD 7970 GE had roughly identical performances at 2560x1600 with high settings at 4X FSAA. The GeForce GTX 760 required us to reduce the resolution to 1920x1080, but was still only able to play with overall settings at very high, and a reduced visibility range. The Radeon HD 7950 Boost matched these settings, and despite being slightly slower provided an identical gameplay experience.

The Radeon HD 7870 and GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost required us to reduce FSAA to 2X at 1080p, while still only using the "high" overall quality setting. The GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost needed a reduction on visibility range as well. The Radeon HD 7790 at the bottom of the performance chain couldn't handle FSAA at 1080p. We had to settle for only FXAA ultra with "high" overall quality.

[gvse 10]

Thanks for the file. On my system this mission starts at 25fps and dips down to 15 when the firefight begins. So yes, looks like I should get considerable boost with that cpu.

@ GvsE : such a question is difficult to answer so I will give you 2 hints :

- benchmarks : here some test related to Arma2 of course but RV4 is not so different from RV3 ... http://www.hardware.fr/articles/897-21/cpu-jeux-3d-crysis-2-arma-ii-oa.html

(beware French language, open at your own risk!)

- in-game : in purpose, I build a 40 FIA vs 40 Green+5 Strider test mission in Pyrgos using UPS and FAR_revive on my "i7 3770/ GTX 670 OC / 8 Go/Dedicated A3 SSD" rig + 1680x1050 Iiyama 22", video settings on "Ultra" quality, 2500 m "Global Visibility", in AA& PP section : disabled Bloom and Blurs, "FXAA Ultra + 2X FSAA.

Alone in Pyrgos, I am getting 40/45 FPS. In mission, I am getting 35 FPS at start, 25 FPS when general intense firefight start with an occasional 20 FPS slip, then back to 35/40 FPS in the end.

So, as the i5 4670K, is a powerful CPU, you can expect a nice jump in performances, but don't expect a miracle :)

From my point of view, it's a good move, next one will be to get a SSD ,even a small one dedicated to Arma3 and further one a GPU upgrade for this game is "GPU demanding" as well as "CPU dependent".

[oldbear 390]

@ Doomfarer : from my point of view the AMD FX-4350 is not a good move Arma* wise. As previously said games from the Arma* family are "CPU dependent" so you need the fastest most effective CPU. It looks that the FX from AMD are working well on multi-threaded applications but not so well on games, have a look here [i know it's about A2, but it can give you a hint] Source.

So Arma* wise it will be a better move to spend most of the budget for an i5 than buying an HD 7850 cross fire and an Xtra 3To HDD. An i5, even a i5-4430, will probably give you better game experience than the AMD FX-4350 or the AMD FX-8350 even with a lone HD 7850 GPU.

@ tlafntn : the "i5-4570/R9 280X/8GB/Windows7(64-bit)" combo looks good, but I will add a SSD, even a small one just to host Arma3 ... or a larger one if you want OS also on it. Well, you need fastest disk access in-game to enhance Arma3 playability, you start Windows only once ;)

Edited November 9, 2013 by Old Bear

[becario 1]

I have this rig right now:

Phenom x4 9650 CPU

4gb RAM (3 as I am currently using a 32 b OS)

crappy RADEON HD 3650 512mb GPU

I'm getting some 20+ FPS in most singleplayer scenarios with almost everything on low and disabled and a VD of 1500, and more than 30+ FPS in official campaign and scenarios.

and next month i'm upgrading my GPU to a GTX 650 ASUS-E 2 GB, and I will change my OS to a 64bit one. How will that affect my performance? would I be able to put more view distance? will i get more FPS, and with better graphic options?

I know that it will improve, as my present GPU is quite crappy and it does not meet the minimum requirements (although I can play anyways), but I don't know how it will affect my game.

Edited November 12, 2013 by becario

[oldbear 390]

It seems that your whole rig tends to run on the borders of minimum requirements. I have always been wondering what a guy having the crappy ATI Radeon HD 3830 from the minimal official requirements can get on his screen. Let's have a look at "MINIMUM" :

CPU : Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz / AMD Dual-Core Athlon 2.5 GHz

GPU : Nvidia GeForce 8800GT / ATI Radeon HD 3830 / Intel HD Graphics 4000 - 512 MB

DirectX® : 10

RAM : 2 GB

It seems that despite the fact this Phenom x4 9650 is a 1st generation quad core @ 2.3 Ghz on AM2+ socket, the sturdy old thing is pulling the whole rig out of water, a fantastic achievement from my point of view!

In fact you have not much room for enhancements, for Arma 3 is "CPU dependent" and you will need a better CPU to achieve better results. As it looks you are on a budget, I will suggest you not to fall in the low price AMD APU/FX traps, save your money for a better Intel CPU, unless you can get hold of a good but not so old AMD Phenom II X4 940.

Having a better GPU will lessen the CPU render load, so it will be good FPS wise, getting a DX11 videocard will change all the lighting effects helping to have a more enjoyable game even in low settings, but with a better GPU the game will probably be playable on "Standard". The GTX 650 is not a bad item, but I tend to prefer HD 7770/7790.

The 64bit OS and the 8 Go Ram are good moves

But overall, I will say, don't expect a miracle, the main issues coming from Multi-Players, I am still wondering how your enhanced under-powered rig will do in MP.

I am myself exploring the minimum specs border with an Xperimental rig , you can have a look at my 1st report on Armed Assault.info, so it will be great you tell us about your in-game experiences.

[becario 1]

Thank you for your feedback, much appreciated. I didn't expect much of an improvement graphic-wise, but I did expect some more FPS. I don't mind a lot about graphics so playing on low/standard is not a problem for me. But I did want more FPS.

Yes, I am in a bit of a budget right now, as I need to change my PSU and GPU (the GPU fan went caput some months ago and it's living on borrowed time and the PSU is quite bad, so I have to change it to change the GPU). My budget is 150€ for both of them.

I plan on getting a new rigif I pass my probation on my new job, so I don't want to spend too much in this one, just enough to get it working for some more years as a media centre, and some casual gaming.

I though about a 7790, but all I have seen are 2-slot, and I only have 1 slot for it. Plus they require extra power from the PSU and I would want one that only feeds from the PCI-E port (like the one I've chosen).

About my experience... as I told, I get acceptable FPS in SP mode in Arma III, and for MP, as you know, depends on the server, mission, and so on. On some of them I get an unplayable 10- FPS, and I don't even bother playing on them (plus they are usually "life" and "wasteland" and I really don't like those missions). On most of the servers I get 15-20 FPS, not good, but still playable. On some of them (very few) I do get 20+ up to 30 FPS. All this talking about Altis, as in Stratis I have better FPS.

[oldbear 390]

I have just upgraded my "Xperimental rig" based upon "Athlon II x2 250/GA-880GM-UD2H AM3 Socket" :

- Added 8 Go Ram Kingston DDR3 1866MHz

- Change MSI GTS 450 1 Mb DDR3 for MSI HD 7770 1Mb DDR5

On this rig, not built for gaming, I have added a re-used Intel 80Go SSD for the game, and I am using a FlashCard for ReadyBoost.

First results are surprisingly good Quality and FPS wise in Single Player.

Switching to 8 Go Ram has given a rather small enhancement difficult to determine in the 3/5 FPS range, more or less lost in other benchmarks variations

The main changes came with the HD 7770 :cool:

Edit : ... but in MP, I am getting the same issues on heavily loaded severs, low FPS, low GPU (why?) load resulting in ugly unplayable Mp missions :(

Edited November 12, 2013 by Old Bear

[rami 2]

Hi!

I know it might be to much to ask from a laptop but I'd like to know if this laptop could handle warfare BE (32players atleast) and wasteland 55-64 players? Warfare is extremely demanding on my current laptop (down to ~8fps) and wasteland is usually really bad aswell .

ASUS G750JX-T4035H

Intel® Core™ i7-4700HQ Processor (Max turbo 3,40 GHz)

8GB DDR3 1600Mhz

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M 3GB

Currently playing arma3 on a Qosmio x770-124 laptop

Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor (2,40/3,00 Turbo GHz)

4GB DDR3 1333Mhz

GeForce® GTX 560M (1,5GB ram (i think)..)

I included my current laptop specs aswell as I'd like to ask another question, is it a big step up? (big diffrence between them) If I was to buy this Asus laptop?

Sadly I have only room for a laptop, can't even put a table or tv in my current "home" :(

[oldbear 390]

@ Rami : I think your current laptop is quite OK to play Arma3, tell us how you can play Showcases and Campaign aswell.

Of course, the "ASUS G750JX-T4035H" you are targeting is a better rig. You will probably enjoy Arma3 at a higher level on SinglePlayer, SP missions, Showcases and Campaign, but most of the issues you are getting in MP are not related to your hardware.

Some of the issues are related to the game itself :

- because of the very special way it manages MP, not being in the current "client/server" scheme (making you loose 5/10 FPS)

- some weird issues [cause unknown] causing FPS loss

Some of the issues are related to the server you are playing on :

- playing on a professional hosted/well managed server will be OK

- playing on a makeshift server made by a guy on an old PC will be a FPS black hole.

Some of the issues are related to the missions you are playing on the server :

- a well build mission, using well engineered scripts and features will run smoothly

- a incompetent hand tweaked mission with crappy scripts will be crap!

[call_911 10]

Anybody got this... INTEL QUAD CORE I5-4670K 3.4GHZ 6MB 1150

How does it perform..looking as an upgrade for my crap AMD FX611 6core.

[kiske1 10]

Hello!

I'm new to the ArmA world, but I've spent many nights in Operation Flashpoint...:)

I'm writing here because next week I'll get a new NB from Samsung, wich is the Ativ book 6, with this specs:

CPU: Core i7 3635QM

8Gb DDR 1600Mhz

VGA Radeon HD8870M 2Gb DDR5

LCD 1366x768

How far can I push quality settings on ArmA, playing at 720p?

Thanks in advance!

[oldbear 390]

@ Call_911 : I will remember you it can't be just a CPU upgrade, you must also get a socket 1150 MoBo ... , nevertheless, be ready to play an other game :cool:

@kiske1 : is this Ativ book 6 model really featuring a HD8870M ? I am asking because it seems that current Ativ book 6 is featuring HD8570M, not too good an asset game wise.

Edited November 15, 2013 by Old Bear

[LvGuardian 10]

Hi every one here. I need your advice, what i need upgread to my pc for good gaming ARMA 3.

My PC AMD Athlon II x3 425 2,7 GHz, 4 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX660 , Windows 7 Ultimate.

I bought game and play campaning on ultra setings i have 27-30 FPS on medium about 40 FPS, but i bought this game to play in multyplayer and there i have verry bad gaming, Multyplayer with ultra i have about 10-15 FPS and low setings about 20 -30 FPS

But game is slow and that is not normal.

My question is what i need change to have good game? processor?? what i need choose? please give your advices

[oldbear 390]

@ LvGuardian : have a look at my thoughts about 'Minimum Requirements' here and about MP issues just some posts ago, here

ATM, my opinion is that the only real way to get a playable game in MP is to go for a rig more in compliance with 'Recommended Requirements' : "Intel Core i5-2300 / AMD Phenom II X4 940".

This means a better CPU, a really better one. In order to get it, skip all the AMD APU and FX products for after the AMD Phenom II X4, nothing performing well in Arma3 has been produced by AMD, only the AMD FX-8350 shows as an exception but at a price ! So I strongly suggest to go for an Intel i5 based rig [and the Mobo going with it], 8 Go Ram [and Windows 7 SP1 64 bits, if you don't have it already], a decent GPU [bIS tends to underestimate the graphic needs in Arma3] and a SSD [a 256 Go for System&Arma3 or a 128Go for Arma3, you can throw all the other programs paraphernalia on a standard HDD]

So here are 'Minimum Old Bear MP Requirements' .... :cool:

- OS : Windows 7 SP1 64 bits

- PROCESSOR : Intel Core i5-3300 / AMD FX-8350

- GRAPHICS : Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost / HD 7790 - R9 260X

- GPU MEMORY: 1 GB

- DirectX® : 11

- RAM : 8 GB

Optional :

- SDD : 256 Go or 128 Go [dedicated to Arma3]

Edited November 15, 2013 by Old Bear