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Tshi

Looking to upgrade processor, ram and motherboard, need recommendations

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So I'm thinking of upgrading my PC soon and I need a recommendation. My current specs are at the bottom. I'm thinking of upgrading my CPU which will probably require me upgrading my motherboard. Doing some research I found that the i7 7700k and 8700k seem like solid processors for Arma. Is the increased price of the 8th gen worth it or should I just go for the 7700k or is there another option that will be better. I currently have (motherboard), will I need to upgrade this for the 7700k and for the 8700k what would be a good value motherboard.

I also have 8gb of DDR() ram, and want to upgrade this because when I have task manager open while playing Arma it's consistently >90% usage. Is 16gb necessary, and would it be better to get a new 16gb of better ram or just an extra 8gb and is ddr4 worth it?

Finally if someone has a price scale for how much this upgrade will cost will be much appreciated.

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You have a GOOD CPU. Now if you can only Overclock it to 4.5 to even 5 GHZ, you won't need a new processor for ARMA 3 unless you run a ton of AI.

 

If your main game is ARMA, then you can consider:

 

You do need more RAM, my personal opinion, because ARMA in 64 bit will use about 12-13 GB on Tanoa streaming all the assets.

 

If you can just upgrade those 2 things, I think you would be OK.

 

BUT if you have the funds and the itch to really upgrade, I would recommend at the last the following:

 

6700K, 7700K, 7740K or 8700K CPU but find the one that can OC to about  5 GHZ or as close as possible. These CPU are technically the same except for the 8700K which has more cores that ARMA does not use, but get the one that can OC as high as possible. 

 

You can optionally take one step back down to 6600K, or 7600K which does not have HyperThreading, but ARMA kinda uses it. It makes like 2-3 FPS at best but other games and programs will use HT if it is available so if is like less than 50 USD difference, it may be worth it.

 

RAM - get 16 GB of the fastest RAM you can buy, ideally ~ DDR4 3000 or faster. ARMA loves fast RAM and if you buy a new system, might as well go for it.

 

Next, get an SSD and move ARMA from the Steam client to it. It will help stream the game so much better.

 

I personally recommend a 400+ GB or up to 1 TB SSD due to all the mods you might install.

 

Last would be to consider the GPU. ARMA is the only other game, next to GLDOOM or GLDUKE3D, that I recommend to buy the fastest CPU and ram you can afford first. All other games should be GPU first.

 

Note this is ONLY for ARMA 2 and 3.

 

ARMA 4 engine hopefully and should be fully multithreaded by the time it comes out so more cores and threads can help a lot there, hopefully, which would mean a more modern  CPU with 6+ cores. This would be same for OTHER modern games. GPU first, SSD second, CPU + RAM last.

 

 

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If you can just upgrade those 2 things, I think you would be OK.

By that do you mean overclocking my current CPU and then getting 16gb of DDR4 3000?

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3 hours ago, Tshi said:

Doing some research I found that the i7 7700k and 8700k seem like solid processors for Arma.

https://techreport.com/review/31179/intel-core-i7-7700k-kaby-lake-cpu-reviewed/11

 

Check out my specs in my signature, i just built that end of September:

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

Recommended by Old Bear, and a good friend of mine who is a computer tech and big supporter of Nvidia and EVGA.

With these specs im getting 80+FPS with everything maxed, give or take some maps/towns like in Tanoa  it drops to 40fps but every where else its 80-200, its crazy!

What i found was according to the review i linked, and what old Bear was talking about here

https://forums.bohemia.net/forums/topic/187603-will-my-pc-run-arma3-what-cpugpu-to-get-what-settings-what-system-specifications/

 

 

ideally i700k, or better is best for arma3,

with min of 16gb DDR4 ram at 3000+ frequency

at least a gtx1050

and SSD

 

What Valken said too.

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6 hours ago, Tshi said:

By that do you mean overclocking my current CPU and then getting 16gb of DDR4 3000?

 

yes to overclock your existing CPU if possible (might need to consider the cost of a better heatsink and cooler combo) and I mean get another 8 GB of RAM if you can fit it into your current motherboard.

 

 I think your system is currently only using DDR3, not DDR4. 

 

If you buy a new CPU and RAM, you have to also at the very least get a new compatible motherboard as well such as any of the 100, or 200 series .. eg 170Z, 270Z, etc... 

 

The Z motherboards supposedly allow overclocking while the cheaper H are for office use and don't allow much if any overclocking.

 

For ARMA 2 and 3, you have to overclock a little to get the max out of it due to the engine requirements.

 

Also read Old Bear's links. He has a lot of experience on building fast systems for ARMA.

 

 

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Ok here is a bit of a hint you can have a lower fps like me but if your computer is slow still just try lowering your screen size till It is reasonable to play and you should be good.

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8 hours ago, PinkLemonaide said:

lowering your screen size till It is reasonable

Ya that would work too, however your settling for less to just play, unless of course funds are an issue to upgrade or the gameplay performance is the most important to you.

 

i tell you what after playing on a duel core, with 8gb of ram, for a few yrs, and then on a computer worse then that both which i built but with limited funds,

i had enough of just doing enough to play, i was used to 30-35fps if i was lucky. Shit gets old.

 

   So i saved for 2 months, $2500 later, i built my machine and now I'm not only playing arma3 maxed out, but any other game i get my hands on too, the beauty of a game of course

the gameplay no doubt, but gameplay is best when its immersive, and what makes it immersive?

 

Its when aside the perfect performance, that you can take in the what the game has to offer in terms of the graphics, Arma3 is a beautiful game, some times i just like

to get in a car and drive the country side, or fly too, or even just cruise around on a boat and take in the scenery, maybe even pick an area in the editor, set the sun at dawn, and watch the sun go down,

this is what a high performance machine allows you to do, render the game to the point that you can seriously enjoy it and not settle for what your computer can give you.

 

Imo if one is serious about a game like arma, then its a good investment to have a good machine that will do what

you are looking to do and more, arma has alot to offer.

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