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

[bangtail 0]

Also bangtail what do you mean by bullheaded?

Simply put, you need to give it more time and do some more experimenting before giving up.

Your system should play the game well enough.

[Litos 10]

I just realized a huge problem: I'm running dual monitors! How could I forget that. I got used to them so much I completely forgot.

Anyway, I disabled my 2nd monitor. The FPS increase was pretty good. On default high settings, I got 26 FPS before and 30 FPS after disabling the 2nd monitor.

When I tested my scene of the movie I want to make, which is view distance heavy, it was actually not bad. First, the FPS did increase greatly, despite the 7k view distance I put on, however then I realized it was because I was zooming in on the plane a lot. When I zoomed back out and a lot more of the land came into view, the FPS lowered, drastically.

However, the zooming I could keep up with, not all the time of course.

Either way I'm still not 100% satisfied; First I'm still confused about my RAM issue and if it could affect ArmA 2, second, recording still cuts my FPS in half. To be honest, with the heavy zooming I get about 20 FPS when recording, which is ok. But who knows, there may be some scenes that won't cut it... For example, I'll be using a camera script that attaches the camera to the plane when I need to follow it efficiently, but that camera script is not very good and it doesn't allow zooming in/out.

And I still didn't overclock my processor of course.

Further advice?

[forteh 11]

For me the massive fps boost was a faster processor, switching from an elderly A64x2@2.55ghz to an i3 530@4.00ghz doubled my fps and allowed me to increase all settings.

Get your processor overclocked to 3.6ghz or so and you should see a healthy increase, especially at the greater viewdistances.

[Leon86 13]

I just realized CPUZ displays my RAM as single channel. I have 4 sticks, they're slightly different (like different brands I think). I took a picture, here. Anyone know how I can make it normal, as in dual channel?

look in the motherboard manual, it'll tell you if the memory is placed right. Or maybe your ram is set to single channel in the bios.

[NAM assassin 10]

hey guys just gotta question about whether this system will run ArmA 2

Intel Core i5 Quad Core 2.66GHz (Socket LGA1156) - Multitasking CPU

Intel P55 Chipset ATX Motherboard

4GB DDR3 RAM

1000GB SATA Hard Disk Drive

22X Dual Layer DVD Writers

nVidia Geforce GT240 1GB PCI-Express Video Card

hoping for a reply

thanks

[nikiforos 450]

Hello

I have my new computer in place and I installed ARMA 2.

AMD Phenom II 965 3.4 ghz

Nvidia GTX 275 896 Core edition

4 gb RAM DDR 3

I turned V-synd oFF and i play mostly high normal (AA off)

and i get between 90 fps and minimum 24 . My view distance are at 2000 m.

Is this common or is anything wrong with the setup?

I get 24 fps when there is a lot of activity around and multiple explosions.

What can I do to improve ?

[bangtail 0]

Hello

I have my new computer in place and I installed ARMA 2.

AMD Phenom II 965 3.4 ghz

Nvidia GTX 275 896 Core edition

4 gb RAM DDR 3

I turned V-synd oFF and i play mostly high normal (AA off)

and i get between 90 fps and minimum 24 . My view distance are at 2000 m.

Is this common or is anything wrong with the setup?

I get 24 fps when there is a lot of activity around and multiple explosions.

What can I do to improve ?

Normal.

---------- Post added at 12:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 PM ----------

hey guys just gotta question about whether this system will run ArmA 2

Intel Core i5 Quad Core 2.66GHz (Socket LGA1156) - Multitasking CPU

Intel P55 Chipset ATX Motherboard

4GB DDR3 RAM

1000GB SATA Hard Disk Drive

22X Dual Layer DVD Writers

nVidia Geforce GT240 1GB PCI-Express Video Card

hoping for a reply

thanks

It will run it at medium res (1280 x 1024)/settings.

Edited April 2, 2010 by BangTail

[Litos 10]

For me the massive fps boost was a faster processor, switching from an elderly A64x2@2.55ghz to an i3 530@4.00ghz doubled my fps and allowed me to increase all settings.

Get your processor overclocked to 3.6ghz or so and you should see a healthy increase, especially at the greater viewdistances.

Well yeah, that kind of sounds like something that will fill in the gap now, after I figured out my dual monitor thing.

Don't really feel like OCing with stock fan... I don't want it to run too hot. After buying that hard drive I'm on a tighter budget now, so we'll see.

[forteh 11]

Decent air cooling depends mainly on how much fresh cool air you can get into the case and how much hot air you can exhaust, no good spending £40-50 on a decent cooler and fan if the case is like an oven inside (unless you plan on taking the side of the case off).

To get up to 3.6ghz I wouldnt imagine you should need a huge cooler, sensible use of, along the lines of a titan fenrir will stop you getting any heat problems. My core i3 is overclocked from 2.93 to 4ghz using a £15 cooler and doesnt go past 62*C full load under prime95 :)

[Litos 10]

Wow, thats very nice! I mean the fact is how cheap your cooler is.

My friend recommended me this cooler. What do you think?

[forteh 11]

Wow, thats very nice! I mean the fact is how cheap your cooler is.

My friend recommended me this cooler. What do you think?

Im not sure as to whether its a good cooler for overclocking, Ive not looked into zalman stuff for ages; always used to be good for passive silent cooling but not so much for overclocking. That said it looks ok, some research with google should give a better idea.

Personally Im a fan of thermalright coolers, when I have some spare cash I will be upgrading this cooler I have now (arctic freezer 7 rev.2*) with one and pushing my overclock further, all being well I should be able to reach 4.5ghz without too much hassle :)

*The cooler is ok, but the quality just isnt as good as on a thermalright (for example), the base of the cooler was far from flat, Ive spent over an hour lapping it in and its still not perfect - the result is one core is running 6-8*C hotter than the other.

[Whoatherefatty 10]

Decent air cooling depends mainly on how much fresh cool air you can get into the case and how much hot air you can exhaust, no good spending £40-50 on a decent cooler and fan if the case is like an oven inside (unless you plan on taking the side of the case off).

I would say definitely work on the fresh air in part then move to a cooler. My stock cooler on my system runs about 5 degrees hotter when it's dirty(which used to take about 2-3 months for enough dust to block the heat sink fins). With some filters the problem looks to be less relevent. No point in putting in a better heat sink an fan if it's just going to get caked on dust anyway.

[Tisman 10]

Hi everyone, I played ofp a lot years ago but due to not having a good enough computer i had to skip arma and the beggining of arma 2.

Finally i decided that enough is enough and that i' ll buy myself a new comp, or actually build one, but i have absolutely no experience at all in the matter. After reading a bit on the web and reading the most recent part of this thread i though that my future comp should look like this:

CPU: Intel i7 930

Motherboard: Asus p6t deluxe v2

GPU: Ati radeon hd 5850

Hard drive: Western digital caviar black 1TB

Ram: 3x 2 gb

CPU cooler: cooler master hyper 212 plus

Optical drive: Samsung SH-S223

Alimentation: Corsair 850 tx

Case: Silverstone raven 2

OS: Windows 7 premium home edition 64 bits.

Since i really don't know much about computers i based myself off this http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/2000_gaming_pc_buyers_guide_december_2009?page=0%2C0 link for components such as alimentation, case, optical drive, cpu cooler etc.

My first question is if i buy everything that i listed and build it, will i have everything to make a working computer or are there stuff missing that i should buy separetely like cables or would i need aditional fans for example? Are all the components that i have listed compatibles?

My second interrogation is about the motherboard, the choice is very vast. Since i do not know anything about computers i went with an asus for my list but some other motherboards in the same price range seem very interresting as well, so i you have a particular motherboard in the same category to recommend, please do.

My third question is about the GPU, looking at the prices for HD5850s on the net i noticed sometime big pricing differences between different brands. Do you guys have any particular brand to recommend or instead to avoid like plague?

And finally, about the ram i gathered that i should buy 3 x2gb of ddr3 in order to run them in tripple channel. Which speed should i get, and which variant? Looking at the different types of lets say, Corsair ddr3 DIMMs sold in 3x2gb packages on the net i found alot of different variations. For the most part it was because they were models running on differents speeds but i also found seemingly identical packages that were sold at differents prices on the same website. what are the differences between those?

Sorry for the stupid questions, And thanks in advance for your help guys.

Edited April 3, 2010 by Tisman

[jdmt 12]

OK, currently, my gaming PC is a desktop, and it's getting OLD, old enough that my parents think it's a better idea to buy a new PC(I don't but who cares, they are buying me a gaming laptop).

Anyways heres my current specs: http://www.xfire.com/profile/sulphurdioxide/ (On the bottom of the page)

And here's what I want: http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=027944&cid=NBK.300.645

I want to know if that will run ArmA II straight out of the box(I'm worried about the 1.6GHz CPU), and if not, where I can get something better that isn't an Alienware, and is easily available in Canada (I need something they can drive to pick up, in Ontario, they refuse to order something online(Old fashioned people)).

Edited April 4, 2010 by JDMT

[NeMeSiS 11]

To be honest i doubt that it will be much of an improvement, not really worth the price IMO.

[guttersnipe 1]

(original post p421)

Ok I finally made my choice - a 5970 Sapphire OC.

Card works well with most of the other games I'm using at the minute, definite performance gain.. . . however...

When I boot Arma2 with my regular settings (1280x1024 for both, all high, save for AF &AA @ normal & Post Process @ low (personal choice, I don't like the blur) - - I get a constant flickering/flashing which persists through the game no matter which in-game settings I alter (flickering aside there's a +15-25 fps from what I had).

The only way I can stop this is to go into CCC and set the Cat. A.I to 'disable' -when I do this the game loads normally & without flicker (albeit with a very much reduced frame rate).

Having read around a few posts I gather this means that I'm only using one of my GPU's?

Is this a driver fault or an Arma 2 one ?

Using XP, DX 9, Sapphire 10.3 driver suite (tried using ati tool tray but it crashes my system (v.1.5.9.1294). Xp & DX up to date.

Anyone with a 5970 have a similar problem & managed to solve it? (@Bangtail - you seemed to have both your GPU's working in game ?)

Need a little help here as performance isn't up to much, esp for an upgrade :(

[Alex72 1]

Tisman:

CPU: Intel i7 930

Motherboard: Asus p6t deluxe v2

GPU: Ati radeon hd 5850

Hard drive: Western digital caviar black 1TB

Ram: 3x 2 gb

CPU cooler: cooler master hyper 212 plus

Optical drive: Samsung SH-S223

Alimentation: Corsair 850 tx

Case: Silverstone raven 2

OS: Windows 7 premium home edition 64 bits.

Im getting a similar setup. Same CPU and same MOBO. I picked that MOBO because it looked great for the price and it has the X58 chip so i think its pretty good gear. I baught a GTX275 wich i play on HIGH with atm and as long as there isnt much AI it kinda rocks. However im buying a 5870 as well as i want the extra power. The 5850 i think is better than the 275 so i think it will be good. You can always go higher later when prices drop but that card will definatelly run A2 well enough.

Im going for WD Blacks as well. This time im making sure i put everything separate however thinking of ARMA2 working a lot due to streaming world. That means Windows on 1 HDD and ARMA2 on 1 HDD and the pagefile on my old 80GB 7200RPM i have now. This way they all can work separately without having the mechanical needle jumping wild at all times. Im thinking however of going 2xWD Black 500GB in Raid0 for ARMA2 (and what other game i will get) and see if that wont speed things up regarding A2 streaming. Should help some and with the prices being rather low on the 500GB it seems like a smart thing to test. I will prolly go small SSD little later for the OS as well to speed that up but its not relevant here.

The case i checked out Fractal Design Define R2 (again stuff i have in the shop here). For air cooling it has 7 slots (under, front, back, side, top) wich should give nice flow during summer. It also has sound proof material all over. The sliding HDD slots have mounts for SSD as well wich is nice. But i might go with ACE EDGE 990 wich is a swedish case with 7 fan slots as well. Not sure. But the Fractal Design is not that expensive and yet seems pretty decent.

I baught the Corsair TX650W and for the stuff im getting its enough. I think it even handles SLI or crossfire with the gear im getting. I chose the OCZ Gold 6GB 1600mhz ram on top of it all and a BULK X-Fi fatality EAX 5.0 soundcard wich had decent price and should deliver nice sound.

So in the end im going with basically what your thinking of buying and seeing how A2 runs for me now apart from when too much AI i think it will be good enough to make you happy. :)

[Leon86 13]

OK, currently, my gaming PC is a desktop, and it's getting OLD, old enough that my parents think it's a better idea to buy a new PC(I don't but who cares, they are buying me a gaming laptop).

Anyways heres my current specs: http://www.xfire.com/profile/sulphurdioxide/ (On the bottom of the page)

And here's what I want: http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=027944&cid=NBK.300.645

I want to know if that will run ArmA II straight out of the box(I'm worried about the 1.6GHz CPU), and if not, where I can get something better that isn't an Alienware, and is easily available in Canada (I need something they can drive to pick up, in Ontario, they refuse to order something online(Old fashioned people)).

The videochip in that laptop is actually slower then the one in your desktop. If you want to spend that much money it'll be better to buy a new motherboard+cpu+memory and windows7 and get a cheap(er) light notebook so you have the best of both worlds.

[Tisman 10]

Thanks for your reply Alex72.

So about the hard drive, you suggest buying 2 500go Western digital black caviars instead of one 1tb black caviar? And a stupid question, what is the pagefile?

Yes i believe that a tx650 would be enough too but i think that i' ll buy the 850 anyway to have some margin in case i want to upgrade to a better gpu later for example.

About the ram, if i search on a french internet price comparator for 3x 2gb pc 12800-1600 mhz ram packages of corsair brand, (i believe that this is the frequency that i need?) i get several results:

=215518&f_648[]=18888&f_644[]=18814&f_652[]=&f_646[]=18870&x=55&y=13"]http://www.prixdunet.com/composants-informatique/memoire-pc.htm?t=2&i=1&p_min=&p_max=&f_2[]=215518&f_648[]=18888&f_644[]=18814&f_652[]=&f_646[]=18870&x=55&y=13

Some of those products look really similar to each others, like these two for example:

http://www.prixdunet.com/composants-informatique/memoire-pc/corsair-tr3x6g1600c8.htm

http://www.prixdunet.com/composants-informatique/memoire-pc/corsair-cmx6gx3m3a1600c9.htm

Do you know which one of those products i should buy?

Thanks.

Edited April 5, 2010 by Tisman

[Leon86 13]

Thanks for your reply Alex72.

So about the hard drive, you suggest buying 2 500go Western digital black caviars instead of one 1tb black caviar? And a stupid question, what is the pagefile?

Yes i believe that a tx650 would be enough too but i think that i' ll buy the 850 anyway to have some margin in case i want to upgrade to a better gpu later for example.

About the ram, if i search on a french internet price comparator for 3x 2gb pc 12800-1600 mhz ram packages of corsair brand, (i believe that this is the frequency that i need?) i get several results:

=215518&f_648[]=18888&f_644[]=18814&f_652[]=&f_646[]=18870&x=55&y=13"]http://www.prixdunet.com/composants-informatique/memoire-pc.htm?t=2&i=1&p_min=&p_max=&f_2[]=215518&f_648[]=18888&f_644[]=18814&f_652[]=&f_646[]=18870&x=55&y=13

Some of those products look really similar to each others, like these two for example:

http://www.prixdunet.com/composants-informatique/memoire-pc/corsair-tr3x6g1600c8.htm

http://www.prixdunet.com/composants-informatique/memoire-pc/corsair-cmx6gx3m3a1600c9.htm

Do you know which one of those products i should buy?

Thanks.

Just get the cheaper ram, make sure it's on the QVL of the motherboard manufacturer.

Harddisk-wise I think you should be fine with the single 1TB disk. 2x500 in raid will be a bit faster but if you aren't going to put them in raid the single 1TB will be faster then the single 500GB because of higher data density.

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:50 PM ----------

*The cooler is ok, but the quality just isnt as good as on a thermalright (for example), the base of the cooler was far from flat, Ive spent over an hour lapping it in and its still not perfect - the result is one core is running 6-8*C hotter than the other.

Did you lap your cpu as well?

[Tisman 10]

Thanks for your answer Leon86.

After looking at the qvl of the motherboard that i' m planning to buy, the only compatible packages present on the site that i previously linked are these 2:

http://www.prixdunet.com/composants-informatique/memoire-pc/corsair-tr3x6g1600c8d.htm

http://www.prixdunet.com/composants-informatique/memoire-pc/corsair-tr3x6g1600c9.htm

Is the higher price of the first package worth it or should i just do as you said and go for the cheaper package? I don't think that the qvl is up to date though.

About the hard disk,from what i understood running 2 hard drives in raid0 make it more risky when it come to data loss/more difficult to perform a data recovery? If so i think that i' ll probably go with a single 1tb caviar black.

[Leon86 13]

Just go for the cheaper one, the only difference is the latency c8 vs c9, wheter you get acces in 8 cycles or 9 doesn't really matter imo. Also the c9 (cheaper) could very well be able to run on c8. The cheaper of your 2 sets already allows for crazy overclocks (ddr3-1600 is pretty fast), so I woudn't worry.

[Tisman 10]

Okay, i' ll go for the cheaper one, thanks.

[Litos 10]

You know right now I actually bumped my playing FPS to a pretty good amount. I recently realized that my FPS now lowers dramatically mostly when recording, and it doesn't go much about 22-25. So it's like something is limiting fraps specifically.

A friend told me it's my CPU speed, which is 2.83 GHz. Is that true? If I overclock to 3.6-4.0 GHz, would it increase my FPS?

I'm also getting similar problems in Crysis. Playing FPS is good, sometimes great, but the recording is just about as low.

[SeaVee 10]

Wow, thats very nice! I mean the fact is how cheap your cooler is.

My friend recommended me this cooler. What do you think?

I have a Zalman9700 CPU cooler and it works great. I am overclocked on my i-7 920 to 3.8GHZ and its rock-solid. Temps never get above 43-44C even in intense prolonged periods of Arma2 agaming. In "regular" non-gaming PC use (web browsing, etc.) it sits around 37 to 39 degrees C. I do have plenty of cooling fans in the case however, in addition to the Zalman. This is the second CPU I have that uses a Zalman (the older PC is using the Zalman 9500 - a little older version).

Zalman is excellent for air cooling solutions (ggogle it or look at the many positive newegg reviews on these). Make sure to follow the instructions carefully (as with any aftermarket CPU cooler) when attaching the cooler mounting bracket to the back of the motherboard and the cooler itself to the CPU. Also pay attention to the the proper application of thermal compound on the CPU - do NOT overdo it.

Edited April 6, 2010 by SeaVee