Will my PC Run this? What CPU/GPU to get? What settings? System Specifications.

[echo1 0]

I'm afraid nobody really knows anything until the game has been released. It has been said a few times that ArmA 2 will probably be CPU intensive as opposed to GPU intensive. I think the best idea would be to wait until it comes out (or until the demo shows up) before you make your mind. That said, a decent upper-midrange spec (Phenom II X4, HD4870, 4GB RAM) should cover all eventualities.

Incidentally, there are several quite clearly marked computer specs open near the top of the page. No need to start yet another one. :p

Edited April 19, 2009 by echo1

[Alex72 1]

Well from the latest info we got (Tiscali) unless they are morons we see that to play ARMA2 with the same beauty as in the screenshots from BIS you need a powerful machine. Tiscali tested with a C2D 3Ghz, 4GB RAM, NVIDIA GTX 260 800+ VRAM (dont remember exact VRAM on that one). And ARMA2 was set to high on the quick option for quality wich changes all options in a certain way. We all know that is not the best way to get best performance. Best way is to set all options individually. In ARMA1 anyway.

But at HIGH with that hardware they said it ran at 20FPS and that it was poor gameplay (laggy i guess). When they turned down some details and VD it got a bit better.

What i remember from some video however was that BIS showed ARMA2 and it looked awesome and chop-free, and when someone asked what kind of hardware it was they said "nothing special, just a normal computer of today standards like 3ghz dual core, 2GB ram and a fairly new video card (maybe 8800GTX or 9800GTX). But it ran very good and looked awesome. Maybe there were very little AI around - i dont know, but that gave me hope. Tiscali crapped on that hope a bit for me. Hoping they are what i said first though.

But yeah, if you got the money then go for some latest intel quad with GTX280 video card plus 4GB high performance ram. If you cant spend the top dollar there are another choice. Go for the Intel C2D E8600 wich can be overclocked a lot. And 2-4GB RAM together with maybe a GTX260 or ATI HD4870 1GB wich is cheaper but packs a lot of power. Even cheaper is AMD Athlon 6000+/6400+ dual cores running at 3.1ghz. Bit faster for the 6400+. And couple it with 2-4GB RAM plus the ATI HD4870 1GB.

There are some choices.

[walker 0]

Hi all

As Suma has pointed out processor is the biggest bottle neck in ArmA.

BIS Official SPECS recommendation

A Fast dual core or medium Quad core you can see the recommended and minimum specs

here.

Projected Minimal PC System Requirements

Dual Core CPU

512 MB RAM

GPU with Shader Model 3 and 256 MB RAM

Windows XP or Windows Vista

Projected Optimal PC System Requirements

Quad Core CPU

1 GB RAM

Fast GPU (8800GT level) with Shader Model 3 and 512 or more MB RAM

Windows XP or Windows Vista

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA_2

Read some of what Suma said here

http://forums.bistudio.com/showpost.php?p=1213104&postcount=1

And here

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=71983&page=2

Kind Regards walker

Edited April 19, 2009 by walker

[sparks50 0]

I hope my C2D E6850 3.0ghz wont be too much of a bottle neck with the 275GTX GFX card.

[echo1 0]

72;1272285'] Even cheaper is AMD Athlon 6000+/6400+ dual cores running at 3.1ghz. Bit faster for the 6400+.

Wouldn't bother with those CPUs. They're damn slow and don't really overclock all that well. Bottom end choice would be a dual core like the E7300. Up from that is the Phenom II x3 720 or E8400. Then an X4 955. Then probably the Core i7 920.

@Sparks: What sort of dual core have you got?

[sparks50 0]

Intel Core 2 Duo

[MehMan 0]

Amiga.

[stanko 10]

In the next week, I'll probably buy E8400, HD4870 1GB, 4 gigabytes OCZ 1066 Mhz, EP45 DS3 motherboard. I hope that I'll be able to play ArmA 2 (and GTA4) on high details :)

[CarlGustaffa 4]

Something quad core:

1. One core for ArmA basics

2. One core for ArmA AI

3. One core for the operating system

4. And one core for the stuff the operating system does that you did not tell it to do.

[remoteplayer1 10]

a perfect computer is one you don't have to upgrade

[Steakslim 1]

a perfect computer is one you don't have to upgrade

Where's the fun in that?

[Pyronick 21]

In the next week, I'll probably buy E8400, HD4870 1GB, 4 gigabytes OCZ 1066 Mhz, EP45 DS3 motherboard. I hope that I'll be able to play ArmA 2 (and GTA4) on high details :)

I can only give you this advice: Postpone upgrading plans until after ArmA 2 is released. ;)

GTA IV won't run that good on that computer. My Q9650 @ 3 GHz, HD4870 1GB, 4 GB DDR3-1600 CL6 doesn't even run GTA IV properly.

Somewhere in August I should have enough dough for the new RV870 2GB (40nm, DX11), a Westmere-shrunk i7 (or perhaps i5) and 12GB XMP DDR3.

Edited April 20, 2009 by SgtH3nry3

[echo1 0]

I can only give you this advice: Postpone upgrading plans until after ArmA 2 is released. ;)

GTA IV won't run that good on that computer. My Q9650 @ 3 GHz, HD4870 1GB, 4 GB DDR3-1600 CL6 doesn't even run GTA IV properly.

My computer is about half as powerful as yours, and it runs GTA4 at good visual quality at 1600x1200 with little to no hiccups. Sure you have it patched up properly?

[boomar. 10]

I guess OFP:DR and Arma2 will have similar requirements. May be worth noting the community dude at codies said he has an 8800GTX nvidia card and said it ran the game fine. Although he noted you wouldnt be able to have all the eye candy turned up (obivously).

[stanko 10]

I can only give you this advice: Postpone upgrading plans until after ArmA 2 is released. ;)

GTA IV won't run that good on that computer. My Q9650 @ 3 GHz, HD4870 1GB, 4 GB DDR3-1600 CL6 doesn't even run GTA IV properly.

Somewhere in August I should have enough dough for the new RV870 2GB (40nm, DX11), a Westmere-shrunk i7 (or perhaps i5) and 12GB XMP DDR3.

Thanks for advice, but my budget is limited to mentioned configuration, I can't afford i7. Now I have this ancient PC (1.7 ghz, 512 SDRAM 100Mhz) - LOL, I can't even play Far Cry 1 properly, so I desperately need a new one. Also, I saw on youtube people playing GTA4 and other new games on high settings on E8400 and HD4870.

[Pyronick 21]

Thanks for advice, but my budget is limited to mentioned configuration, I can't afford i7. Now I have this ancient PC (1.7 ghz, 512 SDRAM 100Mhz) - LOL, I can't even play Far Cry 1 properly, so I desperately need a new one. Also, I saw on youtube people playing GTA4 and other new games on high settings on E8400 and HD4870.

That's the difference between now and then.

I can't afford Core i7 atm either, not because my salary isn't deposited but because it's only 6 months on the market.

Core i7 is only in it's first stage, it's more a showcasing of Nehalem architecture for early adaptors.

Once it's in the range of the first tick iteration, it will go down in price. Probably lower than Core 2 Duo atm and we're only talking about 2-3 months.

The problem you will be facing with buying a C2D/C2Q or Phenom II now, is that it gets outdated very quickly.

My computer is about half as powerful as yours, and it runs GTA4 at good visual quality at 1600x1200 with little to no hiccups. Sure you have it patched up properly?

Dunno, it performs the same on my Windows XP (Catalyst 9.4) boot as it does on my Windows 7 (Catalyst 9.4) boot. Edited April 20, 2009 by SgtH3nry3

[stanko 10]

That's the difference between now and then.

I can't afford Core i7 atm either, not because my salary isn't deposited but because it's only 6 months on the market.

Core i7 is only in it's first stage, it's more a showcasing of Nehalem architecture for early adaptors.

Once it's in the range of the first tick iteration, it will go down in price. Probably lower than Core 2 Duo atm and we're only talking about 2-3 months.

The problem you will be facing with buying a C2D/C2Q or Phenom II now, is that it gets outdated very quickly.Dunno, it performs the same on my Windows XP (Catalyst 9.4) boot as it does on my Windows 7 (Catalyst 9.4) boot.

This is google translation from that german preview (http://armed-assault.de/artikel/arma-2-ersteindruck.html

"The used test system relied on a 3GHz dual core Intel CPU, 4GB Ram and a Geforce GTX 280 graphics card. The graphics settings were high to very high and in full HD resolution. The visibility was mostly 4000m, the maximum is still at 10 kilometers.

Jan assured us that on his home computer with "only" a Geforce 8800GT graphics settings were playable. Also on AMD and ATI hardware, the game should work better this time, a presentation last year was only on AMD hardware have been carried out."

This is almost the same configuration as I mentioned (E8400 3.0 Ghz, 4 GB Ram, HD4870 1 Gb) - graphics accelerator is the only difference, and they also say that it works even better on ATI - settings high to very high, visibility 4 km. I like this a lot :D

Edited April 20, 2009 by stanko

[Placebo 29]

Ok so obviously we're getting more any more "What CPU?" "Best PC?" etc. etc. so we shall try for now putting everything in the one thread and seeing how that goes, I will endeavour to update the first post with the most pertinent official information.

[Baff1 0]

It will certainly run at very high settings, AFAIK no computer could run either OFP or ArmA on "highest settings". Let's hope they've optimized it more this time...

CPUs don't go out of date in 2-3 months Have you overclocked it?

I hope they continue offering the very hopeful options.

It's sort of like Crysis etc.

I actually enjoy going back to these kinds of titles and seeing what difference my new hardware makes to them.

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

I know my pc will handle ArmA II,

what I do not know (and is pertinent to me),

will it be able to host a dedicated private server, while playing, since ArmA II will use all 4 cores?

[PuFu 4600]

would be good to know what were the specs of PCs used in GC BIS presentations. Is that information available, allowed to be forwarded?

I for once will be waiting for the game to be released before i go changing my CPU (from my aging e6600 @3ghz) to a newer one, or adding another 260 on top of the existing one.

[Placebo 29]

Not sure if Dslyecxi posted his system specs anywhere with his recent pics, but I'll see about knocking up some screenshots as well along with the ingame settings used, my system specs are:

+ Ati 4870 with 512mb

I haven't installed a recent Win7 build for a while but eventually I'll get around to that and may do some comparisons between XP64 and Win7 64 if time and inclination permits :)

[sparks50 0]

would be good to know what were the specs of PCs used in GC BIS presentations. Is that information available, allowed to be forwarded?

I for once will be waiting for the game to be released before i go changing my CPU (from my aging e6600 @3ghz) to a newer one, or adding another 260 on top of the existing one.

This is the rig they used to showcase Arma 2 to journalists in Arma2 boot camp:

#GIGABYTE MA790GP-DS4H

#AMD Phenom 9650 X4 Quad-Core, 2.3GHz

#4GB (KIT 2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz PC8500 CL5-5-5-18 OCZ Platinum Edition XTC

#SAPPHIRE HD 4850 Toxic, 512MB DDR3

#SEAGATE Barracuda 7200.11 500GB

Not a very impressive computer, only a quadcore 2.3ghz. I would say its average gaming PC. Since they used it show off Arma 2, It must have been able to handle high graphics with a consistently high frame rate.

The Info is from interview translated by Deadfast.

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=71759

Edited April 20, 2009 by sparks50

[7 0]

Hm, Dslyecxi, what are your computer specifications?

[Barely-injured 0]

Not sure if Dslyecxi posted his system specs anywhere with his recent pics, but I'll see about knocking up some screenshots as well along with the ingame settings used, my system specs are:

I haven't installed a recent Win7 build for a while but eventually I'll get around to that and may do some comparisons between XP64 and Win7 64 if time and inclination permits :)

That would be much appreciated Placebo :icon_w00t:

Just so that we know, what build of ArmA II are you using, Is it the same preview versions that was sent to those websites (February ?). Also how does it run on your system ?

sorry I am getting too excited. :pet11: