NVIDIA video card(s) owners read here!

[Drasta 10]

So I need quad core to run this game? LOL well... so long ArmA 2.

[omega99 10]

Installed 190.38 driver (full not beta) for GTX 295

Arma 2 graphics turned to crap no matter what settings I tried all single plane objects - no textures?

All otherprograms/games were fine.

Re-Installed 186.18 and all back to normal?

Is their something in the 190.38 driver that I do not know about?

The 190.38 driver gives me more option settings with Arma 2 but still could not get working right and went back to 186.18.

Is their a 186.50?

HELP!!

Try running game from command prompt with the -winxp switch eg." arma2.exe -winxp" The problem is your 12 gigs of ram. I hope they fix this soon.

Also those who run a system with dual gtx 295 in quad you will get better results if you disable quad sli. Hopefully the game gets optimized for quad latter.

Edited July 29, 2009 by omega99
additions

[kylania 567]

Try running game from command prompt with the -winxp switch eg." arma2.exe -winxp" The problem is your 12 gigs of ram. I hope they fix this soon.

Also those who run a system with dual gtx 295 in quad you will get better results if you disable quad sli. Hopefully the game gets optimized for quad latter.

I run an iCore7 w/6GB with -winxp and -maxmem=2047 and it's unplayable. *shrug* HT on, off, doesn't matter. Nvidia tweaked, not tweaked, OC'd, not OC'd, old drivers, new drivers, SLI, single card, 8800, 260, 260s... nothing works.

[skypine27 0]

skypine27, I'll bet your issue is RAM. Try taking out 4gb and see if Arma works better.

Yes, the issue is with having 8GB of ram. but Im not going to take out 4GB just to play this game :-)

The -winxp command mostly solves the problem, though for some reason, the "whites" in the game are too bright and sorta seem to glow (when I use this command)

[apollo4war 10]

Yes, the issue is with having 8GB of ram. but Im not going to take out 4GB just to play this game :-)

The -winxp command mostly solves the problem, though for some reason, the "whites" in the game are too bright and sorta seem to glow (when I use this command)

It looks like there is no other way until BI releases a patch.

In Windows Vista/Win7 you can simply remove 4GB from Windows without removing them from Mainboard.

Start command prompt (with Administrator rights) and type:

bcdedit /set removememory 4096 && shutdown /r /t 0

System restarts immediatly with 4GB removed.

To restore default configuration use the following command:

bcdedit /set removememory && shutdown /r /t 0

System restarts immediatly with full memory.

Try to start ArmA2 without any parameters.

Note: 4096 means size of memory to remove, not to keep! For 6GB systems you must use 2048 instead of 4096! 12GB systems 8096...

[wooly-back-jack 10]

So I need quad core to run this game? LOL well... so long ArmA 2.

look at my system in sig. No you don't.

[BDG 10]

Hi,

I was told I have a fast computer. It is a qx9650 processor and I use a gtx285 video board running os xp 32bits with 8gb memory. My questions are as follows for anyone who can explain.

1. The game offers detail settings for anistropic and antialiasing and many others. My confusion is what do I set in the game and what do I set at the control panel level. I was told by my son that some things should be set at the control panel level, but I am not sure which ones.

I read in the forum to set verticle sync to off and also disable the phyx option which I have done.

Any help from you smart guys and gals out there would be very much appreciated.

I have done a little basic training in the game and I am having a ball, but I know I still need to optimize this game.

Regards

Bob

[wooly-back-jack 10]

you really need to have a 64bit operating system to utilise what you have there mate.

Download the trial of windows 7 64bit (free until march next year at least).

8 gig of ram is pointless in XP 32bit, at least 5 gig is sat there laughing at you.

[atr8472 10]

Hi,

Am due to order a new base unit to replace my old one, however I am looking for a recommended graphics card specifically to play ArmA2.

Can anyone advise? Any tips?

I'm on a budget - can't really afford to pay more than around £100 uk sterling for a graphics card.

I've previously always used an Nvidia gaming card - so would prefer to stick with Nvidia - just not too sure what to go for.

New system will be Dell Vostro 420 - have gone a 2.6 quad cpu with 4gb memory, have opted to go for a basic card then get a decent graphics card from a local reseller - as they are cheaper, usually used ccl nr leeds as they do a good range.

Anyone suggest anything? - don't normally do much gaming these days - loved the old flashpoint - did all three campaigns and they are memorable.

Played Armed Assault last year and had to get a new pc to play the new game!

[wooly-back-jack 10]

GTX 260's can be had from scan for £114.99

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/896MB-XFX-GTX260-PCI-E-20(x16)-2000MHz-GDDR3-GPU-576MHz-216-Cores-2x-DL-DVI-I-HDTV-plus-FarCry-2

or a ATI 4870 for £102.90

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB-XFX-ATI-Radeon-HD-4870-775M-DDR5-DUAL-DVI-XXX-EDITION

or even a top dog card like the 4890 for £143.73 and that has 1GB memory

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-XFX-HD-4890-PCI-E-20(x16)-3900MHz-GDDR5-GPU-850MHz-800-Cores-2x-DL-DVI-I-HDTV-HDCP-Ready

you wanna make sure Dell do not supply the PC with a weak PSU though with you opting for a cheap GFX card, you will need a good wattage PSU for the above

[Poppis 10]

1. The game offers detail settings for anistropic and antialiasing and many others. My confusion is what do I set in the game and what do I set at the control panel level. I was told by my son that some things should be set at the control panel level, but I am not sure which ones.

Personally the only thing I've changed in the Nvidia Control Panel for ARMA is Vertical sync, which cant be turned off from the game options.

I recommend reading through this guide: http://www.tweakguides.com/NVFORCE_1.html

It explains the different control panel options pretty well.

PS. 32bit windows cant make use of all that RAM. You should get a 64 bit OS.

Edited July 30, 2009 by Poppis

[shataan 1]

I am waiting for Win 7 to upgrade to 64 bit.

[droezelke 10]

I am waiting for Win 7 to upgrade to 64 bit.

It is available already as RC. You probably knew this, but I don't see why you shouldn't try it as it works great, except for Arma 2

[datter 0]

I have Win7 64bit RTM installed now and it's brilliant, yes even with ArmA2.

[Fiya 10]

Arma 2 runs well enough in singleplayer 29-50 FPS, depending on the complexity of the mission. Razor Two runs at 25-36 FPS. My big problem though is that after playing for awhile i start getting crazy, quick moving large (Performance eating) triangle-ish artifacts, which will cause Arma 2 to crash (No error message, windows looking for solution dialog comes up) if I do not 'alt-tab' out and back into game.

I cannot find any .rft files after the crashes either. Where exactly would the Arma2.rft be? It seems after the crashes occasionally I can still see Arma2 process running in the task manager. No application running though.

I'm not sure why, maybe a texture/memory issue? Alt-tabbing out and back in fixes it though, (No crash at least) until it happens again.

My system specs:

~Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit with SP2

~Intel Nehalem "Bloomfield" quadcore i7 920 CPU 2.66 @ 3.0 (I've had it from 2.8-3.6 for Arma2)

~EVGA GTX 285 1GBG GPU, currently at stock clocks. (I've had it overclocked for Arma2 aswell)

~G.SKILL 3x2GB (6GB) DDR3 1333+ RAM @1500ish with faster that stock timings. (I've also had this stock clocked for Arma2.)

~GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Motherboard

~Corsair 650W Powersupply

~Antec 300 ATX Midsized Case. (Wish I would have gotten a bigger one now.. A 200 series cooler won't fit inside... Good cooling though.)

~Western Digital Caviar 640GB, 7200RPM Harddrive.

The system runs extremely stable in over other game. GTA4, Crysis, Warhead, etc. No crashes. Arma 2 also taxes the system most. It will crash while stability and performance tests will not.

I'm using the 190.38 WHQL Nvidia drivers, with Phsx uninstalled, Vsync off. Single Display mode, pre-rendered frames: 8, scene complexity on 400,000, using Nhancer, and a few other tweaks and optimizations. (Such as -winxp -maxmem=2047... Hyperthreading off...)

I keep my system defragged with 'Smart Defrag' and use a few optimization/performance programs aswell.

I also have the Steam version of Arma, but thought that is most likely irrelevant to this. Either way I'm going to 'verify cache integrity'.

I am also going to go back to stock clocks with everything, (I doubt it is an OC issue... Alt-tabbing shouldn't fix that. Could be heat perhaps...) I'll try rolling back to the drivers that the game was developed with: 185.81... Then try the tweaked version of those. I may experiment with my pagefile aswell. (9 GB) I have other things I want to try also, but any opinions and/or recommendations would be appreciated.

Its late and I may have forgot some things. I'll try and get some screenshots in the next few days. I haven't read about this before. Although once I read about someone alt-tabbing out and back in to fix his crashing, but I cannot find it again.

Thanks for any help,

Fiya

Very enjoyable game. Thanks BIS, I look forward to enjoying it even moreso.

[Tintee 10]

It is available already as RC. You probably knew this, but I don't see why you shouldn't try it as it works great, except for Arma 2

Erm, actually it runs better than great.Win7 RC 64bit gives me a near 30% increase in frames per second over xp 32bit in every game i have tried, including Arma 2.

[rwin 0]

My system:

p5n32e-sli

Q6600@ 2800 mhz

4 gb of kingston 667 ram dual setup

2x 8800gt in SLI

on vista64 i get around 17-19 fps on default high setting (most options are still set to normal) On win 7 i get 18-22 fps.

I've tried all tips mentioned here and on other forums. It has gained me zero performance increase.

strange thing is, if u run the game on one 8800gt, i get the same fps...

[datter 0]

My system:

p5n32e-sli

Q6600@ 2800 mhz

4 gb of kingston 667 ram dual setup

2x 8800gt in SLI

on vista64 i get around 17-19 fps on default high setting (most options are still set to normal) On win 7 i get 18-22 fps.

I've tried all tips mentioned here and on other forums. It has gained me zero performance increase.

strange thing is, if u run the game on one 8800gt, i get the same fps...

We have very similar systems, right down to the motherboard (specs in sig, click "spoiler").

1) Maybe it's Vista causing your issues? I had better FPS in XP 32bit than you, and up into the 40's playing single missions on Win7 64bit.

2) You should really look into overclocking that processor a bit more. Mine is running at 3.7ghz and it's a rather nice improvement, though it took some work to get there. 3.3ghz was much easier mind you.

[kklownboy 43]

We have very similar systems, right down to the motherboard (specs in sig, click "spoiler").

...

2) You should really look into overclocking that processor a bit more. Mine is running at 3.7ghz and it's a rather nice improvement, though it took some work to get there. 3.3ghz was much easier mind you.

yeah i find the game really improves at 3.6 and up, also his resolution isnt in his Kit? he maybe at 1940/1420, or some such.

[rwin 0]

We have very similar systems, right down to the motherboard (specs in sig, click "spoiler").

1) Maybe it's Vista causing your issues? I had better FPS in XP 32bit than you, and up into the 40's playing single missions on Win7 64bit.

2) You should really look into overclocking that processor a bit more. Mine is running at 3.7ghz and it's a rather nice improvement, though it took some work to get there. 3.3ghz was much easier mind you.

I do get a few more fps on win 7 (i have vista and win 7 in dual boot config) so vista performs worse in this case but not much.

And i would love to run my CPU higher and tired it but my system halted on boot @ 3.0 ghz (i had set it up in bios like this: multiplier 9 x333 fsb so it would be 1:1 with full memory speed(667mhz) but it refused to boot so i kept it like this and to gain some more oc knowledge first. i see u have a newer bios version so i look into that fist.

I think my memory is whats halted my system, but im not sure. I did not mess with voltages yet except setting the vcore locked at 1.3. btw what are your core temps @ 3.7? and any thoughts on how i could get it to 3.6? should i overclock memory also so it stay's 1:1?

BTW my resolution is 1680x1050

Edited August 2, 2009 by rwin

[niQ® 0]

anisoFilter=4;

TexQuality=2;

TexMemory=2;

useWBuffer=0;

shadingQuality=10;

shadowQuality=3;

soundEnableEAX=1;

sceneComplexity=200000; 200000

terrainGrid=25; 25

3D_Performance=100000;

Resolution_Bpp=32;

Resolution_W=1920;

Resolution_H=1080;

refresh=60;

Render_W=1920;

Render_H=1080;

FSAA=2;

postFX=1;

HDRPrecision=8;

lastDeviceId="";

localVRAM=927325952;

nonlocalVRAM=527433727;

so try.....i play well now ......viewdistance 1600 :p

[wizbomb 10]

how do you run in windowed mode?

[niQ® 0]

how do you run in windowed mode?

you write -window

"C:\Program files\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\arma2.exe" -nosplash -window

[NexusPhase 10]

Hey guys this is my first post on the forums.... I came here looking to get ARMA II to run better (constant 60fps) but after reading through this thread I can see that I shouldn't be mad AT ALL (see rig in sig)....90% of the time I am at 60fps 2048x1152 rez(forced Vsync&triple buff&8 pre rendered frames) The only real issue for me is the single player (Razor mission) were I drop down to 30-45FPS.

After reading through this epic thread I am sure we can't do much to fix our FPS until BI patches it....the reason I belive this is because in that same Razor mission(the one after you Laze the targets on the beach) I tryed all very low video options and got the same FPS.... It's a game issue not a hardware issue....

This game has so much potential that it angers me that it is so poorly optimized,, In fact when it runs nice and smooth I can't think of a game that I have EVER in my life had this much fun playing...... CMON BI you have an EPIC game here, one that belongs in the history books...... just don't let it become history

Settings I use--->| Rez-2048x1152| textures maxed| AF-none| video mem-default| AA-normal| view dist-4K| objects Maxed| terrain Maxed| shadows-High| post proc-low not because of slow down but because higher levs of PP look blurry|--- if i missed anything let me know..

Edited August 2, 2009 by NexusPhase

[Akilez 10]

I am growing a bit weary of frame rate counters basing their experience on those numbers! OMG only 30-45 FPS in some areas whatever will we do?? I know folks that MAX out in the 20s on a good day and play ArmA 2 most every day and are having a bang up time doing it. BTW the frame rate counters traditionally have an impact on game performance so what say we quit moaning about the most brilliant game on the planet not being 'optimized' whatever that's supposed to mean.

Give it a rest....

Rig....

Plenty

FPS Enough

Edited August 3, 2009 by Akilez
freaky typo type stuff