Does ARMA2 actually utilise graphics cards??

[Zepboy 10]

HI All,

Recent rig.....Core i7 920 on an ASUS P6T mobo, 3Gb RAM, with a pair of GTX275s in SLI. SLI works really nicely in most games (literally doubles the performance in Crysis).

INstalled ARMA2 and updated to 1.02. I regaulary monitor all temps (CPU, GFX cards etc) via the LCD screen on my keyboard. The GFX cards idle at 43-48C and most games push the GFX cards to 70-80C. And they're stable. With ARMA2, neither card rises above 55C.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?? Is most of the processing in ARMA2 being performed by the CPU?? I've also noticed significant Harddrive thrashing (textures loading??). Can anyone definitively say that ARMA2 makes much use of modern GFX cards?? I find thi baffling.......................

[neurojazz 10]

Yep, only supports Cray super computers and Voodoo chipsets according to the 9875897487535734 other threads and even stickied at the top of this forum for nvidia users.

[nyran125 10]

It would be more helpful to consumers if the developers actually got rid of the recommended specs on games and designed a new formula. That formula should just have recommended for mid range users and developers, the developers specs. What they actually made the game on. Then you would know that anything under the developers specs will run like sht.

[whopper_with_cheese 0]

That formula should just have recommended for mid range users and developers, the developers specs.

absolutely, state what they tested it on and more importantly: what was used to make the demo movies on. (thats what we judge our purchases on)

I dont care if the specs are 5x better than what i have, at least i have a realistic idea of where my PC isnt up to scratch.

My arma2 runs like a bag of sh1te after downgrading to a quad core (i7 920 @2.66) from a dual core at 4Ghz.

No surprises that 'sim' games (FSX, x-plane, black shark) all have taken a massive performance hit, but 'game' games like crysis run superb.

No point having 4 cores if each of them is slower,game isn't using them all and the CPU therefore cant tell the vid card what to draw quick enough.

Having said that, after going through the pain of triple booting my PC with clean builds of XPHome32sp3, VistaHomePremx64,Windows 7600x64...XP is by far the quickest for arma2 on my pc (evga295coop,6gb ddr3).

No jerky texture loading that is experienced at start of level under vista and windows7.

[Murklor 10]

Yep, only supports Cray super computers and Voodoo chipsets according to the 9875897487535734 other threads and even stickied at the top of this forum for nvidia users.

F**k no, you dont need that kind of fancy pants extravanganza.

MMX accelerated graphics is teh shiznits!

[kremator 1065]

My arma2 runs like a bag of sh1te after downgrading to a quad core (i7 920 @2.66) from a dual core at 4Ghz.

Your i7 2.66GHz will VERY easily OC to 3.9GHz in air.

That's what I'm doing without ANY problems at all.

Get OCing mate.

[whopper_with_cheese 0]

Your i7 2.66GHz will VERY easily OC to 3.9GHz in air.

That's what I'm doing without ANY problems at all.

Get OCing mate.

i know i know :) just commenting on the core clock speed observations relative to the game performance.

ive put a V8 cooler in today, and just letting the thermal compound settle for a couple of days before trying to crank it up to 4ghz or so.

when u say air @ 3.9, was that with stock cooler or aftermarket ?

[datter 0]

ArmA2 definitely does not utilize graphics cards. I have no graphics card in my system, and no onboard graphics solution either and despite that I get 600fps at all times, even when it's not running. Also, for each mission in the campaign I beat I get one free virgin. I have three saved up so far, although the last one is a dude... but you know how buggy the campaign can be.

[stratman 10]

Datter, you are one funny guy, best laugh I've had since trying to play Arma 2. Nice one mate!

[von_paulus 0]

ArmA2 definitely does not utilize graphics cards. I have no graphics card in my system, and no onboard graphics solution either and despite that I get 600fps at all times, even when it's not running. Also, for each mission in the campaign I beat I get one free virgin. I have three saved up so far, although the last one is a dude... but you know how buggy the campaign can be.

Eheheheh!

[archsceptic. 10]

In a future patch (sometime shortly after the singularity) the OFP/ArmA1/ArmA2 game engine will be optimized to fully utilize pc's with operating systems greater than windows 98.

There will be no fix for oscillating textures for ati gamers however - as it is easier and better for BI and ati to pass the buck.

[Yapab 10]

The game is mainly CPU limited... a fast GPU does make a difference however there seems to be a problem where the CPU gets maxed out when you put some of the Video settings up high.

Hopefully fixed in a patch or two!

Yapa

[Kenjineering 10]

For those who don't know.. this is the computer the devs use for their Developer Diary Series:

"As requested in previous comments please find the HW configuration of the PC on which we are capturing the Dev Diaries:

Intel® Core2 Duo CPU, E8600 @ 3.33GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.3GHz

2046MB RAM

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 "

[Akilez 10]

I think the game was developed on Vista x64 as well.

Whop avec fermage you can get any i7 to 4 Ghz if you can get the heat away from it. That V8 should do it...with that said I throttled mine back to 3.6 Ghz for a 24/7 daily driver and A2 runs fine on very high (295)...good luck.

[whopper_with_cheese 0]

yep, been playing it all day on 4ghz and zero probs. Bugs and scripted cr@p aside, this game is pretty slick.

[kklownboy 43]

i know i know :) just commenting on the core clock speed observations relative to the game performance.

ive put a V8 cooler in today, and just letting the thermal compound settle for a couple of days before trying to crank it up to 4ghz or so.

when u say air @ 3.9, was that with stock cooler or aftermarket ?

i run 4gz on stock cooler(i965) ,with 2x 4870x2's. i could bake cookies, but its all about the airflow, and no i do not ever have heat issues, just some fan noise.