Arma Reforger – Which CPU/GPU to run it and play? What settings?

[oldbear 390]

Hi!

As an OFP veteran and still an armavangelist, I ask the question, "what is it really necessary to have as hardware to not only run the game but also to be able to enjoy it?"

 

The Minimum and Recommended specifications were published when Arma Reforger was released:

 

Minimum PC requirements

- CPU : Intel Core i5-4460 / AMD FX-4300

- RAM :  8 GB RAM

- GPU : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 or similar - DX 12 mandatory

 

Recommended PC requirements

- CPU : Intel Core i7-6700 or AMD equivalent

- RAM : 16 GB RAM

- GPU : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti or AMD equivalent - DX 12 mandatory

- OS Windows 10 64-bit

 

I would like to open here the discussion on what is absolutely necessary as hardware to play, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of different settings.

 

 

[Kris.. 10]

I have Ryzen 5 3600. 16GB DDR4 RAM and a GTX 970.

Having similar experience when arma 3 launched. some 30 fps at times, tough it does seem to run better, after I turned most lightning and draw distance to around 3km is ok.

I do look in the distance sometimes and think "Ohh that must look pretty on decent GPU" 

But overall still playable around 40 - 60 fps

 

Any suggestions what GPU I could get? im in UK. would prefer used from ebay but better with budget around 300 pounds. 

 

Edit: Kind of went and searched the options and I think I will try to snipe a gtx 1080 ti below 300 pounds.

 

[oldbear 390]

Hi!

From what I have seen on my own tests, the GTX 970 is not bad, just at the minimum playable level.

It needs to be confirmed by doing in-game tests, an R5 3600 / RX 6600 (XT) combination should give good results.

[KNlGHT 5]

CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X

GPU: GeForce 3080

RAM: 16 GB DDR4

Settings:

Resolution: 2k

Quality: Ultra

FPS: 60-80

[pescadorrr 17]

CPU: ryzen 7 5800x

GPU: rtx 2070 

Ram: 32 GB DDR4 3600

Drives: Samsung 970 Evo plus 500 GB ( windows 11) + Samsung 980 Pro 1 GB ( Arma III + DCS + Reforger)

 

Settings:

Resolution: 4k

Quality: medium- high

FPS: 35-40

 

100% usage GPU always. (I can't believe it 😂)

Load 5 GB of 8 gb gpu

[PuFu 4600]

CPU: Ryzen 9 5950x

GPU: RTX 3080

RAM: 128GB DDR4 3600

SSD: Gen4 Kingston KC3000 2TB - Win10 drive & Gen4 WD Black SN850 2TB -  game drive

Settings: 

Resolution: 5k_ish (5120x1440 - super ultrawide)
Quality - High-Ultra

FPS: 60+

 

 

[oldbear 390]

For my part, I tested the limits of the Minimum configuration. Since I don't have "10-year-old" processors like the i5-4460 (2014) or the FX-4300 (2012), I used a Ryzen 3 1300X, and for the graphics card, in the same area performance than the GTX 1650, the only one in my collection is a GTX 970.

 

I tested the Ryzen 3 1300X/ GTX 970 / 16 GB 3200MHz C16 configuration at 1080p in Game Master gaming mode in SP on a circuit that I reproduced on each test, it gives…

- Low: 60 FPS, clutters "mottled" display, building interior display flickers through windows

- Medium: 40/50 FPS, display of textures and clutter acceptable, still windows lighting flickering.

- High: 30/40 FPS, more beautiful but less smooth. GPU core and memory usage at 100%.

- Ultra: 20/30 FPS, choppy display, 100% GPU core and memory usage. Lower CPU core frequencies.

In my opinion, with a Minimum configuration, in 1080p, in SP, settings in Medium, the game is completely playable.

 

Obviously, Enfusion shows a break in the distribution of roles between the CPU and the GPU.

Unlike the previous Arma, completely CPU dependent, with Reforger, it's the graphics card that makes the difference.

I checked this by mounting an RX 550 2 GB, I confirm that it is not playable even in Low at 15/20 FPS.

A GTX 1650 level card is therefore mandatory, for the "AMD equivalent" one would have to test with an RX 570 and/or an RX 6400,  a graphic card in the same performance zone, DX 12 compatible and having at least 4 GB of memory.

[Valken 622]

My old system - 4790K, DDR3-2400CL10, 1060GTX, SSD - Reforger gets ~ 40 -60 FPS if I turn down the shadows and grass to low. Those kill my system and I do not know if that is GPU or CPU scaling since this old workhorse does not have enough room to test it further.

 

 

[oldbear 390]

On my own main gaming rig [R5 5600X / RX 5700 /32 GB 3600 C16] Reforger gets ~40/60 FPS  mainly on High with 3200 m Draw distance in 1080P.

I'm looking for settings that decrease in-game blur, it seems much more difficult with Reforge than it was with Arma3.

ATM testing those ...

Nearby depth of field  > No

Depth of field Quality > None

Foliage smoothing > Grass

What I find worrying is that the GPU usage jumps to 100% as soon as the game is opened, the card heats up a lot in the 90°/100° range.

[Wolven_Fin 0]

19 hours ago, oldbear said:

What I find worrying is that the GPU usage jumps to 100% as soon as the game is opened, the card heats up a lot in the 90°/100° range.

 

This is more of a 'feature' of the RX 5700 and the wattage it draws, but for my 3060 I managed to get it to keep lower temps by capping frames to 60 so it doesn't try to render at 200+ fps in menus etc. when there's less strain. I had the same issue in Divinity 2 Original Sin, to the point of overheating the card to emergency shutdown. 

 

Trying to drop settings to where you can get GPU utilization to stay under 100% seems to help a lot, as well as dropping draw distance and especially foliage draw distance.

 

There seem to be multiple optimization issues still for both AMD and NVidia card, but that's to be expected at this stage IMO. Personally I'm just happy it's not hitting a single core on my i5-6600K so hard anymore. 

[SouthernHorror 0]

Check here. Arma Reforger System Requirements

This page lists the minimum and maximum system requirements of Arma Reforger, and you can select CPU and GPU to see if the hardware meets the game's requirements. I hope this helps you further when choosing new hardware, or to see if your current hardware has the requirements.

[oldbear 390]

Based on my own tests of Arma Reforger, I can say that the official Minimum configuration seems to be at the right level.

A minimum configuration based on a Ryzen 3 1300X, roughly at the level of the i5-4460 associated with an RX 6400 close to the GTX 1650 reference, allows playing at more than 35 FPS in High and around 50 FPS in Medium in SP in Game Master mode.

On the other hand, to be able to play a graphics card at the level of the GTX 1650 is mandatory.

Regardless of the processor, a less efficient graphics card will give a low FPS level associated with stuttering.

 

Personally, because I am an OFP veteran, the most surprising thing is the inversion of the hierarchy between the CPU and the GPU.

From this point of view, Arma Reforger has become a game like other current games.

 

What bothers me most about the game is that it's hard to get rid of the blur.

I understand the technical constraint for the display of distant objects, but I would like to have an image with better sharpness nearby.

So I'm looking for settings that oppose the "bokeh" tendency of the game display.

[mr_centipede 31]

22 hours ago, oldbear said:

...

Personally, because I am an OFP veteran, the most surprising thing is the inversion of the hierarchy between the CPU and the GPU.

From this point of view, Arma Reforger has become a game like other current games.

...

 

I think that probably because the AI is almost non existent yet, or simply bare bones. Or maybe I'm just wrong 😄