Is the video card the bottleneck or CPU?

[BeerHunter 0]

Relevant system specs:

Windows XP SP2

AMD Athalon 64 4G CPU at 2.41 Mhz

2 GiG RAM

nVidia 7600GT 256M Video Card

I searched and found that apparently this card should run the game OK but most had dual core CPU's,so I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading the card or not.

Presently , with everything on low , and resolution set to something like 640 I can get about 25 FPS max.

Wondering if upgrading the video card would be worth it.

[odjob 0]

Relevant system specs:

Windows XP SP2

AMD Athalon 64 4G CPU at 2.41 Mhz

2 GiG RAM

nVidia 7600GT 256M Video Card

I searched and found that apparently this card should run the game OK but most had dual core CPU's,so I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading the card or not.

Presently , with everything on low , and resolution set to something like 640 I can get about 25 FPS max.

Wondering if upgrading the video card would be worth it.

I uppgraded from a X1950pro to a 8800gts and got a huge improvement, from everything low/normal (20-40fps) to everything very high (40-60fps). So for me the change of card was a BIG boost even tho i have a core2duo E6600.

Note. Im on a TFT Widescreen and seems to be caped at 60fps.

XP SP2

E6600

2Gb RAM

8800GTS

[NeMeSiS 11]

Relevant system specs:

Windows XP SP2

AMD Athalon 64 4G CPU at 2.41 Mhz

2 GiG RAM

nVidia 7600GT 256M Video Card

I searched and found that apparently this card should run the game OK but most had dual core CPU's,so I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading the card or not.

Presently , with everything on low , and resolution set to something like 640 I can get about 25 FPS max.

Wondering if upgrading the video card would be worth it.

Well, i have a x1600xt which isnt that much faster (AFAIK it has more pixel shaders which is nice for the bushes but it doesnt have enough to render fast enough anyway, but its more or less the same as a 7600), but i run everything at medium with +-25FPS, i do have a dual core (x2 4200+ @2,5ghz) but i have less ram (1gb+0.5gb), and i play the game at 1024×768. (I do have tweaked grass though, but at 800×600 my FPS would still be above 22 in the northern part).

Are you sure your system is completely optimized? The CPU wouldnt matter that much as ArmA isnt optimized for dual cores anyway.

[killerwhale 1]

I uppgraded from a X1950pro to a 8800gts and got a huge improvement, from everything low/normal (20-40fps) to everything very high (40-60fps). So for me the change of card was a BIG boost even tho i have a core2duo E6600.

How big was the memory of your video? I am using X1950 card also with 512 Video Memory. I play everything set High and sometimes even Highest.

[ArmaVidz 0]

I just upgraded again while selling of my new uber fast Athlon6000+/7950GT KO to finally put this baby to bed about performance. New specs:

<span style='color:green'>eVGA 680i motherboard

eVGA 8800 GTS 640MB

Intel Core2Duo 6600 @ 2.4Ghz

Buffalo Firestix PC2-8000 DDR-1000 5-5-5-15 1.85v

Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS

w/ WD Raptor 74GB

w/ WD Raptor 36GB

w/ WD 250GB (Frap Capping)

Noctua 120mm Rear Exhaust Fan

OCZ GameXStream 600 Watt</span>

It ran the same under the 1.07Beta.    I've run the cleaners to remove the old Nvidia drivers from WindowsXP, installed the new drivers and the same thing, still getting dips down to 6-7 with MAX settings and 8000ft view distance. 5000ft view is still the same. Low, low dips and unplayability. I shouldn't have to throttle back anything with this hardware. It's clearly the top of the top while being just under the cream of the crop! LOL.

I'm just reinstalling the OS and reinstalling the game tonight. I know you can take massive performance hits by not reinstalling the OS upon chipset changes soooo.....we'll see soon. If it don't run better with this loadout of hardware, I'll officially deem ArmA to run like crap because of its crappy coding. (To all who care lol)

I hope my rant gave you some insight into the issue at hand, and the choices you have.

 

[odjob 0]

I uppgraded from a X1950pro to a 8800gts and got a huge improvement, from everything low/normal (20-40fps) to everything very high (40-60fps). So for me the change of card was a BIG boost even tho i have a core2duo E6600.

How big was the memory of your video? I am using X1950 card also with 512 Video Memory. I play everything set High and sometimes even Highest.

I had a 256Mb version, maybe Arma likes video-mem. My 8800 has 640Mb.

[NeMeSiS 11]

I'm just reinstalling the OS and reinstalling the game tonight. I know you can take massive performance hits by not reinstalling the OS upon chipset changes soooo.....we'll see soon. If it don't run better with this loadout of hardware, I'll officially deem ArmA to run like crap because of its crappy coding. (To all who care lol)

Can i have your PC?

[OFPDude 0]

the video card causes bottlenecks in framerates and the cpu will cause bottlnecks for the AI. For best performance you should have at least a 256bit/256mb video card (7900,8800). The 7600GT can run ArmA reasonably well (i have one) but the 128bit memory interface struggles to process the intense graphics.

I would'nt expect more than a couple of fps increase with a dual-core processor but a much bigger boost in AI/loading etc..

download the new drivers from nvidia and make sure you enable the Threaded optimization in the Performance and Quality settings.

[imustkill 0]

I would recommend the 7950GT for the best bang out of your buck, you can find it pretty cheap and it is a great card in my opinion.

[sickboy 14]

...

Try the following:

[*] Viewdistance between 3000-6000 METERS (it aint feet :P)

[*] All settings on High, while Anti Aliasing on low or normal

[*] Crank up ur CPU from 2x 2.4Ghz to 3.3ghz, it's wonderful this way, I can tell yah

[*] -maxmem=512 or 256 , very dependent on if you have CTD's

[*] 160.x videocard drivers, NO profile settings, simply vanilla

[*] latest chipset drivers

Quote[/b] ]I would recommend the 7950GT for the best bang out of your buck, you can find it pretty cheap and it is a great card in my opinion.

Disagreed. There is no better card for low price, than an ATI Radeon X1950Pro or XT, rather 512mb...

I have an Nvidia card myself, so don't call me an ATI fanboy :-)

[ArmaVidz 0]

...

Try the following:

[*] Viewdistance between 3000-6000 METERS (it aint feet :P)

[*] All settings on High, while Anti Aliasing on low or normal

[*] Crank up ur CPU from 2x 2.4Ghz to 3.3ghz, it's wonderful this way, I can tell yah

[*] -maxmem=512      or 256    , very dependent on if you have CTD's

[*] 160.x videocard drivers, NO profile settings, simply vanilla

[*] latest chipset drivers

@ofpforum

LOL man, if I could deliver an awesome comp to every person who wanted one...I'm CANADIAN OF COURSE I WOULD!  

@SickBoy

Thanks for the input! I had intended to overclock the snot outta it!

The CPU i received was one of those ones made in Malaysia aka not so great OC'ers but quite to the contrary:

3.02Ghz OC @ 1.31v and Orthos 10+minute test @ 62 degrees full load at 10+ minutes. I'm plenty happy.

Buffalo Firestix @ 1067Mhz for now, at tight timings of 4-4-4-14 @ 2.12v. (Rated 5-5-5-15 stock @ 1.85v) Did not OC the 8800 GTS  

<span style='color:blue'>Now, in ArmA:

Settings:

1280x1024 @ 75Hz

View Distance: 3316meters (lol yeah yeah not ft! )

Very High Settings: All

High Settings: Anti-aliasing & Blood

Addons/Mods: Modwar (MW_v0.155_SO_RC2)/SixTracers v.01RC6</span>

Engaged 24 T-72's, with 14 Harriers (4 GBU) on Sahrani near Corazol, and the FPS was ~35, highs of 75 and lows of 23.

Engaged 16 SU-34's w/16 Harriers in the same location, FPS never hit lower (as best I can tell both visually and by FRAPS) than 30.

Engaged 120 Opfor Soldiers Advancing Across Desert in:

A-10/A-6/On-Foot while using FRAPS = 25 Min, 75 max. (?) You 'd think more soldiers would cause a slowdown further than above...

At normal 2.4Ghz settings on the C2D6600, the FPS was not so enjoyable. Dips went oh so 14'ish. Not so great.

Conslusion on hardware/drivers: You need to OC the C2D to near 3.0Ghz to see awesome results in ArmA. If you are upgrading hardware, you <span style='color:red'>must</span> do a fresh install of the operating system and use the latest drivers.

That's a bonified "     " IMO!

Driver versions:

Video: 162.15

Chipset/Motherboard: 9.53 Nforce

Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS Driver: WBUP2_LB_2_09_0016 (had sound glitches without it)

Without even touching any other settings in the Nvidia CPL other than AA and AF "Controlled by Application" from what I can tell I can crank up the res to 1400x1050 (native for my monitor) and turn off AA/AF or lower them, and get even better FPS while maintaining a good picture.

PS: When you call the Microsoft Activation Phone number and it says it needs to ask you a few questions to verify your criminality *cough* usage details, ALWAYS say <span style='color:red'>no</span> to: "Have you changed your motherboard?" !!! You can say "yes" to the other questions!

[NeMeSiS 11]

PS: When you call the Microsoft Activation Phone number and it says it needs to ask you a few questions to verify your criminality *cough* usage details, ALWAYS say <span style='color:red'>no</span> to: "Have you changed your motherboard?" !!! You can say "yes" to the other questions!

Those people are usually retarded, even when you want to do something thats legal they can be annoying as hell so just act like you dont know shit about PCs or whats going on and they usually give you your activation code

[ArmaVidz 0]

I actually called a long time ago and spoke with a CSR directly. Now, you have to understand that I work with "alot" of MS products for "alot" of people/companies LOL.

The CSR asked me the usual questions repeatedly and then made long pauses throughout the conversation and finally asked me a third time "Are you sure you have only installed this copy of WindowsXP on one computer?" So I promptly replied: "Yeah it's only on one computer, listen you're wasting my damn time. I already told you twice I only installed it on one computer , why don't you open your ears instead of being glued to that mentally-deficient on-screen manual and get me my activation code instead of assuming I'm a criminal?"

I hate being stern and scolding these people, but they signed up for it, customer service isn't a nice industry to be in especially if you don't know what you are doing!  

[Dwarden 1126]

ArmAvidz , set orthos to use max memory possible and let it run at least 24hrs to be sure ...

[ArmaVidz 0]

ArmAvidz , set orthos to use max memory possible and let it run at least 24hrs to be sure ...

Did that over the weekend. Well, 10hrs of Orthos anyway. I used HotCPU to burn in the CPU before doing any OC'ing.

I also ran 3DMark06 for 8hrs looping, Prime95 for 6hrs, so I'm pretty sure it's stable where I am at. The temps when up to 66 after the Orthos tests, prime95 was about 65degrees. I would say it's stable, good enough for gaming anyhow!

Running a Folding Client for 5 days on the other hand...

Again, the results were a bonified " " with this hardware loadout...woo hoo!

Now back to ->