Arma 3 performance upgrade

[Oracle255 2]

Hello everyone this is my first post in bi forum.

I would like an advice for my computer upgrade.

 

Question-

Should i change my ram / gpu

Recommend ram / gpu

 

My current budget - $130

 

My current spec

-------------------------

- Processor
Intel(R) i3-3240 Cpu @ 3.40GHz
Core - 2
Thread - 4

-Gpu
ATI Radeon HD 5600 series
(2789 mb)

-Ram
Team-Elite 1333 DDR 3 2GB (x2)

"Dram Frequency = 665.1 MHz"
"Channel - dual"

-Main board
Asus H61M-A Rev X.0xx

--------

 

[fycj 9]

Upgrade your ram or cpu if you get low framerates on firefights

 

upgrade your gpu if the game runs slow when nothing is happening in vanilla

 

arma 3 is limited by cpu

[Oracle255 2]

I still get decent fps on arma 3 with low setting 3k view distance, and over +30 mods installed.

However when im running script heavy mission (ex. Wla/dynamic domination)

My fps drop drastically,

Does upgrading ram will fix it ?

 

 

[Flinty 454]

In my understanding, RAM and CPU are what makes a difference with Arma. Now yes, graphics speaking, if you want to run of full ultra/high settings, you're going to need a beefy GPU to match. As for script heavy missions, my understanding is that the better the CPU, the better the frames (due to processing times etc). RAM does play a part in this, but no where near as much. (More experienced guys, feel free to correct me!)

[Dedmen 2714]

10 hours ago, Flinty said:

RAM does play a part in this, but no where near as much.

RAM speed is extremely important for Arma and especially scripts. (<technical bla bla> vtables bla bla https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_method_table#Efficiency)

Same as CPU cache size.

[Oracle255 2]

9 hours ago, Dedmen said:

RAM speed is extremely important for Arma and especially scripts. (<technical bla bla> vtables bla bla https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_method_table#Efficiency)

Same as CPU cache size.

So, what do you think should i change my ram or cpu ?.

I know that intel i-3 is pretty low standard for modern games like arma.

[discororo 14]

In my experience CPU made the most difference. My last hardware upgrade was a huge CPU cooler.

My I5750 @2.67GHz just wasn't cutting it so I overclocked it to 3.99GHz. That made it run too hot but there 

was room in the case for a massive air cooler which keeps temps down to what they were before the overclock.

Average frames in ARMA 3 went up from around 18-21 to 28-30. It can be as good as 50+ depending on AI and building density.

My previous upgrade was to purchase a second GTX 960 4GB card and put it in SLI with my existing one.

That got me no perceptible increase in FPS but, i can run much better quality settings without losing frames.

 

Basically, I went out and spent nearly $500 AUD on the GTX960 hoping to get better frames and was gutted

when that appeared to make no difference. So with my budget blown I did some research into how to get 

better performance. It took me a few hours tinkering, reading, googling and about 100 bucks on the cooler to get what I was looking for.

Been running this config for over 12 months now without a meltdown or heat related crash.

 

Buying the second GTX 960 wasn't a waste of money as it cranks the hell out of just about every other 

game that I own. Deus Ex, BF4 and ME3 are beautiful to look at on near full settings at 60FPS, and after overclocking my 

CPU ARMA 3 looks amazing whilst being playable.

 

That's just how it went for me. Maybe i will get a couple more sticks of RAM soon to see how that goes.

I will definitely be making my next big spend on a new overclockable I7 with as many cores as I can afford.

Unfortunately for me that will have to include a new motherboard as well so might be a while yet. Fortunately I already have

8GB of good quality RAM and a huge cooler that works. I started this system in 2011 with a GTS 250, Windows 7 and the current CPU and

motherboard so it's pretty old now but with a little tinkering here and there it's hung in and should go a little longer yet.

Hopefully at least until ARMA 4 by which time there will probably be a newer version of Windows to deal with.

 

So to sum up, If your budget is tight, plan your purchases and get the best spec CPU you can. Make sure your motherboard will allow

you to benefit from from spending money on everything else like good RAM, SSD etc.

 

Good luck, enjoy and let us know how you go.

 

My specs:

 

I5 750 @2.76GHz OC'd 3.99GHz

Gigabyte P55A-UD4P Socket 1156 LGA

2 x 4GB Corsair XM53 DDR3 3200 RAM

Coolermaster Hyper 612

850 EVO Samsung 500GB SSD

WD 1TB Black Caviar

2 x Gigabyte GTX 960 G1 Gaming 4GB in SLI

Antec HCG-850M 850w Modular PSU

Windows 10 Home 64bit

 

Edit: Keep one eye on your power usage. I had to upgrade my power supply for the second 960.

Luckily that left enough headroom for the overclock.

 

 

 

[nikiforos 450]

Really you shouldn't upgrade for Arma 3 , the game is old. You should aim upgrading for the future and possible for Arma 4.

[Oracle255 2]

3 hours ago, discororo said:

In my experience CPU made the most difference. My last hardware upgrade was a huge CPU cooler.

My I5750 @2.67GHz just wasn't cutting it so I overclocked it to 3.99GHz. That made it run too hot but there 

was room in the case for a massive air cooler which keeps temps down to what they were before the overclock.

Average frames in ARMA 3 went up from around 18-21 to 28-30. It can be as good as 50+ depending on AI and building density.

My previous upgrade was to purchase a second GTX 960 4GB card and put it in SLI with my existing one.

That got me no perceptible increase in FPS but, i can run much better quality settings without losing frames.

 

Basically, I went out and spent nearly $500 AUD on the GTX960 hoping to get better frames and was gutted

when that appeared to make no difference. So with my budget blown I did some research into how to get 

better performance. It took me a few hours tinkering, reading, googling and about 100 bucks on the cooler to get what I was looking for.

Been running this config for over 12 months now without a meltdown or heat related crash.

 

Buying the second GTX 960 wasn't a waste of money as it cranks the hell out of just about every other 

game that I own. Deus Ex, BF4 and ME3 are beautiful to look at on near full settings at 60FPS, and after overclocking my 

CPU ARMA 3 looks amazing whilst being playable.

 

That's just how it went for me. Maybe i will get a couple more sticks of RAM soon to see how that goes.

I will definitely be making my next big spend on a new overclockable I7 with as many cores as I can afford.

Unfortunately for me that will have to include a new motherboard as well so might be a while yet. Fortunately I already have

8GB of good quality RAM and a huge cooler that works. I started this system in 2011 with a GTS 250, Windows 7 and the current CPU and

motherboard so it's pretty old now but with a little tinkering here and there it's hung in and should go a little longer yet.

Hopefully at least until ARMA 4 by which time there will probably be a newer version of Windows to deal with.

 

So to sum up, If your budget is tight, plan your purchases and get the best spec CPU you can. Make sure your motherboard will allow

you to benefit from from spending money on everything else like good RAM, SSD etc.

 

Good luck, enjoy and let us know how you go.

 

My specs:

 

I5 750 @2.76GHz OC'd 3.99GHz

Gigabyte P55A-UD4P Socket 1156 LGA

2 x 4GB Corsair XM53 DDR3 3200 RAM

Coolermaster Hyper 612

850 EVO Samsung 500GB SSD

WD 1TB Black Caviar

2 x Gigabyte GTX 960 G1 Gaming 4GB in SLI

Antec HCG-850M 850w Modular PSU

Windows 10 Home 64bit

 

Edit: Keep one eye on your power usage. I had to upgrade my power supply for the second 960.

Luckily that left enough headroom for the overclock.

 

 

 

9

Thank you for replying.

after some consideration, I'm planning to change my Cpu. hopefully, it will fix my lag issue.

; btw how do I check if my new CPU will fit in my motherboard?

[discororo 14]

Socket type determines whether the CPU will fit the board.

Look up the motherboard specs online.

Intel currently have 5 different socket types on the market.

Hopefully your motherboard isn't as old as mine or you'll need 

to buy second hand or purchase a new board.

 

There are other compatibility concerns as far as finding the optimal match

but in general if the CPU physically fits in the board it will work.

Pays to do some homework before blowing the pesos though. 

[Gunter Severloh 4063]

20 hours ago, Oracle255 said:

So, what do you think should i change my ram or cpu ?.

Both!!!!!!!!!!!

CPu as high as you can get it, Ram as high as you can afford, min of 16gb and no lower then 3000 freq, put the game on an SSD and your golden!

Review this it will give you an idea of what kind of tests where done with a quad core and ram and what FPS the testers were getting.

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

[discororo 14]

I just had a quick look at your motherboard specs and I reckon ebay will be your friend.

Assuming your budget is $130 USD you could be looking at something like an

i7 2600k and 8GB of DDR3 1600 RAM based on some of the prices i saw.

The 2600k can be overclocked and potentially the Ram as well.

If you can find reasonable quality 16GB 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM whithin your budget, go for it!

Not much point in going higher than 1600Mhz though as the motherboard probably won't use it 

and also the cost. Better to have more GB than max MHz.

If the ram is overclockable there's every chance you'll hit the limit of the board with 1600MHz sticks.

 

I am no expert and I may not be 100% correct so do your research (google) before  you commit.

 

28 minutes ago, Gunter Severloh said:

Both!!!!!!!!!!!

CPu as high as you can get it, Ram as high as you can afford, min of 16gb and no lower then 3000 freq, put the game on an SSD and your golden!

Review this it will give you an idea of what kind of tests where done with a quad core and ram and what FPS the testers were getting.

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

Thanks Gunther. I agree. That link is quite helpful and enlightening. Sadly some of us don't have budgets that generous.

[Oracle255 2]

thank you discororo for your recommendation " after searching online I have found a local dealer that sells Intel I-7 2600k for about $ 200,

Spoiler

https://www.bukalapak.com/p/komputer/hardware/processor/8ahnqr-jual-core-i7-2600k-box?from=list-product&product_owner=normal_seller&search[keywords]=i7 2600k

 

unfortunately, my budget is still not sufficient after some thought I decided to save more money to buy it, I'll tell you later about the performance of the CPU, once I have it

[discororo 14]

Try ebay? US dollars?

[Oracle255 2]

unfortunately, I live in Indonesia and I am not familiar with how to buy imports from eBay