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

[Whoatherefatty 10]

Ok guys, due to an investment from a family member, my budget is now $1500 (or 1,100 euros). Any additions/modifications to this list:

i5-750

asus p7h57d-v evo motherboard

http://tinyurl.com/yj89jx5 for hardrive

looking for a good case

don't know about memory, but DDR3 obviously

I also need help picking a cooling system, because i intend to overclock.

Other components yet to be decided.

Any recommendations appreciated, thanks

Just my 2 cents, you can get an AMD phenom 965 processor for the same price and it's a quad 3.4 stock. Honestly I think you can get the performance you want for half that price, otherwise it looks like you'll end up with 8 gigs of ram and/or $500 GPU if you wanted to spend your whole budget.

[echo1 0]

The Core i7 will be faster than the Phenom... but there's no point in getting the 950 model... get the 920 and overclock.

[Leon86 13]

Ok guys, due to an investment from a family member, my budget is now $1500 (or 1,100 euros). Any additions/modifications to this list:

i5-750

asus p7h57d-v evo motherboard

http://tinyurl.com/yj89jx5 for hardrive

looking for a good case

don't know about memory, but DDR3 obviously

I also need help picking a cooling system, because i intend to overclock.

Other components yet to be decided.

Any recommendations appreciated, thanks

If you want to be able to use sli/crossfire you should get a motherboard with a p55 chipset (this one has a h57 chipset, it only has pci-e x16, p55 has 2 modes, x16 and 2 times x8) but if you dont plan on crossfire this should be fine.

The i5-750 is basically an i7-920 but without hyperthreading, since you should kill hyperthreading anyway for arma2 there is no real point of a getting a faster processor, you'll just pay 70 euro's for a 5% higher standard clock.

When you pick memory you should go to the asus site, look for your motherboard an then look for the QVL (qualified vendor list), there you can see all the memory asus has succesfully tested with their motherboards. PC3-12800 (aka ddr3-1600) should be fast enough for any overclock, ddr3-1333 will probably be fast enough as well. Make sure its low voltage memory (1.65v, that's the max for intel systems)

Now that you have a large budget you could get a faster videocard, like the ati 5850 or 5870 (that's the fastest single gpu right now).

If you're going to overclock get a decent PSU first, 650W with an 80+ efficiency rating should be good, dont cheap out on this, good PSU's cost quite a bit but it's not worth saving on.

The scythe mugen 2 rev. B is a great cooler and doesn't cost a lot. But I guess any aftermarket cooler will do, just make sure it fits on socket 1156. If your case has mounting points for extra 120mm fans get some of those too, no point having a good cooler if the air just keeps circulating in the case.

[Wire 0]

Heya mates,

Im very new to Arma2, let alone gaming computers, and would love ur guys feedback. Ive owned a comp and laptop before, and ran games like arma, opfla, kotor farcry 2, jedi academy, counter strike, assasins creed etc etc etc, but due to the comp being mum's, ive always had to deal with 20fps average which really stinks.

Now that ive finally got some money flowing back into the account (student life sucks) I wanted to invest in a very good gaming computer.

Im looking to run Arma2 in pretty much high level on all scales, and achieve an FPS of atleast 30-35fps minimum, on a low to moderate 'density of combat'. I dont want to just run games, if u know what i mean. I want to actually play the game without worry.

So yeah, i snooped about and someone suggested this comp config. I wantd to hear from u lot about whether this would be able to achieve what i set out for.

Cheers a bunch lads

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1156

CPU COOLING: Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler LGA1366 LGA775 w/ Fan w/Bracket

MOTHERBOARD:ASUS P7P55 LX Intel P55 Core i7/i5 PCI-E DDR3 LGA1156 ATX

MEMORY: Kingston HyperX 2x2GB DDR3-1600 Kit CL8

VIDEO ADAPTER: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5850 GDDR5 1GB PCI-E

p.s. side question. Is it possible to change out the CPU if it becomes obsolete in the future?

p.p.s. forgive me if that question seems real newb =.=

[fireballs619 10]

Okay, I have finally decided on these specs;

Intel Core i7-930 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 Quad Core

Geforce GTX 260 896MB

ASUS P6T

Corsair XMS 6GB (Should i get more?)

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200 RPM

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX

LG WH10LS30K 10X Blu-ray burner

ARTIC COOLING Frezzer 7 Pro

Total comes out to $1300, which is pretty good. Any other thoughts, although I am happy with these specs, I have never run ARMA, and therefore do not know how it would work. Any idea on the settings I would expect, while keeping a good frame rate? Thanks to all who helped in my search, especially Leon86

Edited March 6, 2010 by fireballs619

[Azza FHI 50]

@WIRE, that should play the game just fine. just tweak the settings to find the sweet spot, i would suggest everything on high and anti aliasing on normal or low.

as for upgrading the cpu later, it depends on how many more processors they release on that LGA socket, there should be a few more to come i guess. but if u overclock it which i gather u will be doing, u wont need an upgrade anytime soon.

@fireballs,that pc should be sweet too jst find the right ingame settings, nvidia cards are more friendly when it comes to anti aliasing. it looks like ur overclocking too, so i would suggust a slightly powerful PSU, maybe 650 or somin(do some research on ur hardware, u might be fine with 500 but i would rather be safe than sorry). also i had a brief look at that arctic cooler, are u aware its for 775 socket? maybe theyve got a conversion kit for 1366 socket but i would just get a thermalright ultra 120

can anyone gimme some updated (patch 1.05) advice on the state of crossfire in arma 2. any benchmarks around? i have a 5970

[fireballs619 10]

also i had a brief look at that arctic cooler, are u aware its for 775 socket? maybe theyve got a conversion kit for 1366 socket but i would just get a thermalright ultra 120

Thanks on that one, you saved me there. And i forgot to mention i was getting a 650W PSU. Thanks.

EDIT: I just checked and it is actually compatible with the 1366 socket, I just had to look under specs. Thanks for looking though. Also after checking I found that my motherboard does not support 6 GB/s on the hard drive, so i switched to a 1TB 32MB 3 GB/s one. I also switche dmy memory to a better deal with the corsair xms3 6GB. The two switches canceled out and i am now only $10 higher than i originally was.

Edited March 7, 2010 by fireballs619
Fact checking

[Wire 0]

what is overclocking, and how do u do it? :S

again, sorry for seemingly no-brainer noob questions

[Azza FHI 50]

lol nah its cool, maybe u wont be overclocking then... its basically making ur cpu run faster than stock speeds. it is by far the best thing u can do for armas performance, because of the mass data it has to process with its large landscapes, its really relys on cpu power the most, i dont think any other game works like this.

why are u getting the megahalem cpu cooler then??cpus come with stock coolers u know. my advice, buy the megahalems cooler and learn how to overclock ur cpu, it will take a bit of reading but when u get the gist it is really easy to achieve a mild overclock, it only gets complex when people try and push the boundaries. dunno what the 750 is capable of but i guess it should hit 4ghz which will be a world of difference than 2.66ghz

sign up on OCAU forums and learn how to OC!

[das attorney 858]

All the answers to your questions can be found here ;)

EDIT: response to Wire

[jeza 5416]

I suggest you take alook at that link , its helped many of my fellow players out.

[drumr04 10]

Hey I would like to know if my system will run Arma2 on decent settings. I'm not looking to max anything out but just keep it playable.

CPU: AMD Athalon 64 X2 5800+ 3.0GHz

RAM: 4GB DDR2-Dual Channel 800MHz

GPU: 2 x HD3870 512MB GDDR4

HDD: WD Caviar Green 1TB

OS: Windows 7 Home premium 64bit

[Leon86 13]

Hey I would like to know if my system will run Arma2 on decent settings. I'm not looking to max anything out but just keep it playable.

CPU: AMD Athalon 64 X2 5800+ 3.0GHz

RAM: 4GB DDR2-Dual Channel 800MHz

GPU: 2 x HD3870 512MB GDDR4

HDD: WD Caviar Green 1TB

OS: Windows 7 Home premium 64bit

there's a demo you know?

performance of full with patch 1.05 is a bit better, but nothing drastic. Try to put cpu intensive settings like viewdistance and model/terrain detail on below average.

[MRLEGEND 10]

hey gang, after more reseach I found that Arma 2 has/had a problem with rigs that have over 2gb RAM. Is this true, false? Was it and they fixed it or is it a still a problem...

Asking because I have 6GB tri-channel

thanks

[Alex72 1]

Wanted some feedback on a new pc im building. Im getting a little cheaper videocard for starters and will put it in my older pc when i buy the newer one the month after. But im thinking something like this (im not going for the most expensive - trying to get some balance but decent gear):

-Intel Core i7 930 2,8GHz / 8MB / 4,8GT/s Socket 1366 (Boxed)

-Asus - Socket 1366 - uATX. Chip Intel X58 (Rampage II Gene) - Tri Channel DDR3 / 2xPCI-E / HD Audio / eSATA

-Gigabyte Geforce GTX 260+ Super OC UDV 896MB DDR3 (GPU - GeForce GTX 275 Super OC UDV - Core 680 MHz - Mem 896MB 2500 MHz GDDR3 - 448-bit)

-OCZ Platinum 4096MB DDR3 PC3-10666 1333MHz (7-7-7-20) (2x2048MB)

-Western Digital VelociRaptor 74GB (10000RPM / 16MB Cache / SATA II / NCQ)

-Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional

-Fractal Design Newton R2, 650W, modular, 80 PLUS (50A 12V)

The HD is for ARMA2 only so im getting another bigger one for OS and rest. Just not sure whats absolutelly best when it comes to this. Like the best combo for virtual memory (page file)? Only thing i know is that i want A2 alone with addons on 1 drive so i thaught that would be good. I probably will get 8GB RAM to RAMDISK it later or get an SSD. But thaught i start off like this and then move some parts to my older PC and use it as dedi A2-OA server for my mates. I might go ATI 5XXX something when i get the new videocard. I will get a rather good one.

What do you think?

Thanks. :)

Edited March 9, 2010 by Alex72

[rikibitta 10]

hi alex,

great rig complients.

only a little remark,optimum setting for coreI7 platform

is triple channel(3x2gb)

bye!

[Alex72 1]

hi alex,

great rig complients.

only a little remark,optimum setting for coreI7 platform

is triple channel(3x2gb)

bye!

Ok thanks! :) Was looking at them and thaught naaah cause of ARMA2's 2GB only use. And later thinking of 8gb for RAMDISK. But ill go for the 6GB from start.

Added the 150GB VelociRaptor instead plus the Acer 24" LED flatscreen plus a G9X Logitech mouse. Also a 500GB 32mb cache SeaGate Barracuda HD to store OS and the rest of the junk. Oh plus a new case with good air. Had 2xTop fans (exhausts) and bottom fans plus HDD (intake front fan) and back (exhaust). Seemed nice as summer is coming fast and it gets damn hot in here. The case have VGA WIND as well. Dont know how good or bad that is but it encase the videocard completelly not affecting the CPU with heat.

Oh well ill slap it together and see what happens. :D

[fireballs619 10]

Does anyone know how the EVGA 121-BL-E756-TR mobo is? I'm thinking of getting it instead of the ASUS P6T. Link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188051

[Leon86 13]

@fireballs

Seems like an ok basic m-atx board, if m-atx isn't important because you have a big case anyway I would suggest the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R, it has sata-600, usb 3.0, and all the usual crap you get with most x58 boards like e-sata and firewire. Gigabyte has a reputation for making very reliable boards but I dont think there's any statistical evidence to recommend any manufacturer over another.

[fireballs619 10]

@fireballs

Seems like an ok basic m-atx board, if m-atx isn't important because you have a big case anyway I would suggest the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R, it has sata-600, usb 3.0, and all the usual crap you get with most x58 boards like e-sata and firewire. Gigabyte has a reputation for making very reliable boards but I dont think there's any statistical evidence to recommend any manufacturer over another.

It does indeed look like a very good mother board, i must admit. What memory are you using with this; DDR3 2200, 1600 or what

[Leon86 13]

It does indeed look like a very good mother board, i must admit. What memory are you using with this; DDR3 2200, 1600 or what

doesn't really matter as long as it is on the QVL, and if it's not it will probably work fine, only why bother taking the risk if you can get some that is tested. Faster memory is only needed for overclocks. You overclock the i7's by raising the blck frequency (default 133). processor speed is blck x multiplier, the multiplier has a maximum value (20 in the i7-920?) so if you want 3.6 Ghz you put the blck on 180 to run at 180x20=3600. Memory speed is also tied to the blck. The slowest memory you can get is ddr3-800 this corresponds with the memory multiplier (you can choose 6 or 8) 133 x 6 = 800 Mhz for ddr3-800. If you want to hit 4 Ghz you need at least 200 x 6 = DDR3-1200, I've never seen memory with this rating so you'll have to get at least DDR3-1333. If you want to run with multiplier 8 (for whatever reason) you'll need DDR3-1600. Now this of course is only if you want to run your memory on-spec. Who knows your cheap slower rated memory might run at much higher speeds as well.

If it was up to me, I'd get 1333, fast enough for all sane overclocks and still in the lowest pricerange.

p.s. I dont own an x58 system, if I got something wrong here plz correct

Edited March 10, 2010 by Leon86

[Tom1 10]

1500 aussie dollars will buyt a decent pc that can run arma 2 yea? i was going to buy my mates pc but he forgot to tell me it was a special price and i was very dissapointe when i tried to buy a 3000 dollar pc with 1200 on the spot. im not looking for decent graphics, but a fps that beats that of ofp: elites because that sucked in large battles. i was also thinkingof getting arma 1 and playing that for a bit if my pcisn't good enough. Any thoughts or advice to a new pc gamer, (well soon to be, by the end of the year). and it's a bit off topic but im selling a bit on ebay to afford this new pc but was wondering if it is legal to sell a modded xbox (original) and if i could sell a 10 year old pc on ebay and make decent profit? (mostly from xbox i dont expect more than 20 for the pc and another 20 for mouse, keyboard and screen but i dontknow if im able to sell modded stuff on ebay) Thanks in advance

[Whoatherefatty 10]

hey gang, after more reseach i found that arma 2 has/had a problem with rigs that have over 2gb ram. Is this true, false? Was it and they fixed it or is it a still a problem...

Asking because i have 6gb tri-channel

thanks

lol!!

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

lol!!

Not really a laughing matter.

What he mentions is true, except it was an ArmA1 + Nvidia drivers issue.

Yes, it was cured 2+ years ago.

Edited March 10, 2010 by SWAT_BigBear

[Star Four One 10]

Hi guys new here.

Can someone help me out on where to find specifications on a Windows Vista laptop.

Thanks,

S41