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

[dvolk 10]

I have no idea why some people get such piss poor performance in Arma 2 with rigs that trump mine into pieces.For me Arma 2 exceeded my expectations by tenfold in the optimization department, I can finally buy the game without hesitations.

I`m also excited to imagine what I could be getting in a month or so with a performance optimized Arma 2 patch,OC-ing my CPU some safe 300 mhz to 2,1 ghz and new ATI drivers.

The demo benchmark is not representative of the full game. I get 53fps in the benchmark, but 15-20fps in later parts of the campaign.

[maddogx 13]

My cpu temps are only around 20-25 idle and 30-40 under load..

im going to try to increase my vcore, and see if it works

Good idea. But seriously, try Prime95 to test it. It's the best tool for checking if your CPU overclock is stable. I've seen so many people overclock their CPUs without stress testing, then wonder why it crashes in some games. Arma2 is more demanding on the CPU than many other games, so an unstable overclock can cause a lot of trouble.

[=Spetsnaz= 0]

Good idea. But seriously, try Prime95 to test it. It's the best tool for checking if your CPU overclock is stable. I've seen so many people overclock their CPUs without stress testing, then wonder why it crashes in some games. Arma2 is more demanding on the CPU than many other games, so an unstable overclock can cause a lot of trouble.

ok i will try that thanks, i increased my cpu voltage from 1.4500 to 1.4750. Ill see how it runs :)

[Stealth2555 0]

Would you guys say that the gtx 260 and the hd 4870 are reliable cards? split between the two since there is so many graphic problems in the troubleshooting forum and im worried i'll be wasting my money if i get problems with them...

[=Spetsnaz= 0]

Good idea. But seriously, try Prime95 to test it. It's the best tool for checking if your CPU overclock is stable. I've seen so many people overclock their CPUs without stress testing, then wonder why it crashes in some games. Arma2 is more demanding on the CPU than many other games, so an unstable overclock can cause a lot of trouble.

ok so far ever since i OCed my cpu voltage the game has been stable. Cheers ill hope it stays that way :)

[norsu 180]

It seems I have to upgrade my computer after a 2 year pause. My current vital specs are:

C2D E6600 @3,2GHz

2GB DDR2 RAM

GeForce 8800GT 512MB

Windows XP 32bit

This runs the game at playable levels on 1280x1024 with most settings on normal and shadows and post processing turned off. However I would like to turn both shadows and textures to high with 1280x1024 - 1600x1200 resolution. Any idea if only a new graphics card would do the trick or should I invest more money?

I've been left out of the hardware loop lately :).

[Stealth2555 0]

Whats your budget? You can get a GTX 260 216 Core and a HD4780 for a good price and they will run the game very well.

Edited June 26, 2009 by Stealth2555

[GunnDawg09 10]

So I just ditched vista 64bit and reinstalled XP SP3. With these specs could you guys put together a list of which things to put on low/med/high/vhigh, I cant seem to find a good balance between graphics/performance.

CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 2.30GHz Quad-Core.

RAM: 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2 800MHz

VID: Nvidia 9800GTX+

OS: Windows XP (Service Pack 3)

Thanks in advanced guys.

[ste4lth004 10]

I wouldnt upgrade, unless you are gonna upgrade cpu and card m8, me and my brother both got gtx285, but hes got a e6600 oc 3ghz and ive got i7920, and theres a world of diffrence between both, so theres a major bottleneck if you only upgrade one item, he gets about 4200 with e6600/gtx285, and i get about 5500 with my i7920/gtx285 in benches.

[Bigtnaples 10]

So I just ditched vista 64bit and reinstalled XP SP3. With these specs could you guys put together a list of which things to put on low/med/high/vhigh, I cant seem to find a good balance between graphics/performance.

CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 2.30GHz Quad-Core.

RAM: 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2 800MHz

VID: Nvidia 9800GTX+

OS: Windows XP (Service Pack 3)

Thanks in advanced guys.

Why would you do that. Now half your ram is useless and you have an inferior OS and it may or may not ammount to a couple frames in 1 game. Most game and programs will now run worse because you rendered your ram useless.

[ste4lth004 10]

Im not sure if this is a bug, But try this to get few more frames, when ingame goto graphic options menu,advance, and change the Postproc Effects, from low to disabled, or from disabled to low and back to disabled to make the graphics go sharp and gain a few frames,

for some reason the game doesnt start up with the sharpness and few extra frames, i always got to change ingame settings when playing for the settings to change, even starting game up with Postproc Effects disabled they still look blured until you make change ingame. then sharpness comes back and gain 2-4fps.

[norsu 180]

Post processing starts always at high even if I disable it and restart the game. I'm sure BIS will fix that soon.

And thanks for hints on hardware, I was afraid my cpu is a bottleneck. My budget isn't very limited but I really don't have much need for a brand new computer other than ArmA2 of course. Guess I'll wait for a bit longer.

[mithandra 10]

Hi guys,

Well I have just ordered the New Dell 3008wfp 30" monitor which can take a resolution of 2560 x 1600, along with the Gainward Nvidia GTX 295 1796mb video card.

Can anyone tell me if this game can support running in a resolution of 2560 x 1600?

Thanks Mithandra

[maddogx 13]

Im not sure if this is a bug, But try this to get few more frames, when ingame goto graphic options menu,advance, and change the Postproc Effects, from low to disabled, or from disabled to low and back to disabled to make the graphics go sharp and gain a few frames,

for some reason the game doesnt start up with the sharpness and few extra frames, i always got to change ingame settings when playing for the settings to change, even starting game up with Postproc Effects disabled they still look blured until you make change ingame. then sharpness comes back and gain 2-4fps.

You can also try editing your Arma2.sqf file and setting HDRPrecision to 32. This works for me. No more blurriness on startup.

[maddogx 13]

Yes, absolutely. But be aware that your GTX295 might not be fully supported, i.e. both GPUs may not be used.

[Thermal 0]

All results are from the ARMA 2 demo benchmark, running the latest June 19 Nvidia drivers, WinXP, 3Gb RAM, SB X-Fi and a TrackIR4 connceted.

Using the default "very high" quality settings, 1920x1200, 10000m draw distance.

Core2Duo E8400 @3Ghz, Nvidia 8800GTS 320Mb RAM - Avg FPS : 12

Core2Duo E8400 @3.6Ghz, Nvidia 8800GTS 320Mb RAM - Avg FPS : 14

So got a 2fps gain from the overclock.

Core2Duo E8400 @3.6Ghz, Nvidia GTX285 - Avg FPS : 27

Thats a pretty big difference :)

Just messing around with the mission editor, its pretty playable around the village. Zooming in with the sniper scope - its jerky (low fps) for a couple of seconds and then settles down. Not sure if this is "realism"/design or it having trouble loading textures.

But damn, its a pretty game. And the motion blur is so cool.

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

Yes, this is the 1st game I've installed that defaulted to my 2560x1600.

Other games default to 1600x1200 or lower.

[Binary 0]

Yep. If you're running Win7 or Vista - you may need to use "-winxp" in your game-shortcut

-winxp supposedly enables multi-GPU support for Win7 / Vista

[GunnDawg09 10]

Why would you do that. Now half your ram is useless and you have an inferior OS and it may or may not ammount to a couple frames in 1 game. Most game and programs will now run worse because you rendered your ram useless.

Good point, however now that I am on XP, the game seems to be able to run much (and I do mean much) better than it did on Vista 64bit. Maybe I should go to Vista 32bit?

Think that would make it go even better?

[ste4lth004 10]

You can also try editing your Arma2.sqf file and setting HDRPrecision to 32. This works for me. No more blurriness on startup.

Thx for the tip m8.:)

---------- Post added at 01:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:47 PM ----------

Yes, absolutely. But be aware that your GTX295 might not be fully supported, i.e. both GPUs may not be used.

Yer, thats why i went for 285, not 4870x2.

[echo1 0]

SLI isn't totally reliable with ArmA II, so it depends on how well your card decides to work with it.

[ste4lth004 10]

Try this little gem of a mod, i gained 6fps went from 52 to 58, i tested it with

Terrain Detail and Objects Detail both maxed to see the 6fps diffrence.:)

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=75873

---------- Post added at 02:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:58 PM ----------

SLI isn't totally reliable with ArmA II, so it depends on how well your card decides to work with it.

True, theres always a solution :)

[Therealjoe 10]

Anyone know how to make the objects clearer like trees and grass because anti aliasing doesnt affect them.

[WhoCares 0]

Download the just updated 1.02 patch and try again (see Arma2 News sub-forum). ;)

Though I am not sure whether it actually helps with your problem :o

[Bigtnaples 10]

Good point, however now that I am on XP, the game seems to be able to run much (and I do mean much) better than it did on Vista 64bit. Maybe I should go to Vista 32bit?

Think that would make it go even better?

32 bit operating systems can only use 3gb total.

So if you have 4gb of ram and say a 1gb graphics card, your only utilizing 3 out of 5 gigs.