PC Discussion Thread II - All PC related discussion goes here.

[Shadow NX 1]

I have a old 7800GTX somwhere but it was in the PC when i had a similar problem before ( before i swapped as good as all hardware ) so it may not be trusthworthy.

However what makes me think it may not be the card is that as soon as windows is loaded i get a picture and can play as usual.

I dont have a picture signal when the motherboard is booting so i cant acess the BIOS offcourse.

---

Noticed something, was digging out one of my beloved classic games "Vampire the Masquerade - Redemption" and now i noticed that the game movies like the intro and such wont show up or if they do then with green borders and flickering green stripes in it... hmmm

ArmA2 on the other hand runs normal as far as i can see.

---EDIT---

As far as i can see i think i solved the problem.

Not sure but maybe it was related to damaged prefetch files, at least thats what a entry in TuneUpUtillities suggested as it was listed as found problem, anyway uninstalled all ATI drivers and installed the new drivers again which seemed to have solved the problem.

Thinking of it i had the problem that the PC didnt properly shut down the day before so i had to switch it off, guess that caused the problem in the first place.

My only new problem is that i wanted to update the BIOS with the newest version and the Gigabyte page offers no infos at all about how to install it right, used their tool @BIOS then but there i always get a crash of the tool if i want to install the BIOS from their update server, if i try to do it froma already downloaded file its the same result... any ideas?

Edited November 1, 2009 by Shadow NX

[echo1 0]

Hi,

First off, because of the risks, I wouldn't update the BIOS unless you are having problems. If your problems have actually gone away, I wouldn't bother tinkering with it.

Secondly, never update BIOS tools using Windows tools. They have a reputation for screwing up (I had one such experience myself, fortunately the people at the store didn't ask too many questions when I told them that the motherboard 'suddenly died in the middle of nowhere'). Download the BIOS update manually from the website (should be on their page about your model) stick it onto a USB stick, reboot, go into the BIOS settings, hit F8 and use that tool.

[Shadow NX 1]

Thanks, helpfull as usual :)

Idea behind update was to make sure i can upgrade to the latest listed Phenom in the supported cpu list on their website.

But that wont happen too soon so i guess i keep it as it is now that it runs ok again.

[MehMan 0]

+1

And like Sertraline says, in 3ds max and oxygen it rocks.

explain

[welshdude 10]

Hey guys.

Just tested my system spec's on "can you run it?" and i failed on the graphics card so im looking for a new card do you think a NVIDIA GEFORCE 9500GT 1GB 1024MB GRAPHICS CARD PCI-EX is any good?

Thanks.

[slimSpencer 10]

no, definitely not!

Go for an ATI HD 4870 - it should be availible for around 110 bucks and is MUCH! faster than an 9500GT.

Btw. - whats the rest of your system?

regards

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

I cant answer your question, but I can give you a link to GPU performance comparisons from PCgameshardware.com done in May 09.

It doesn't even benchmark the 9500, it only goes as low as the 9600, and that is bottom of the barrel.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,685770/Armed-Assault-2-Graphics-card-benchmarks-and-visual-quality-compared/Practice/

hope this helps

[welshdude 10]

hmmm i seen the card i mentioned on ebay for 45 pounds could i get a better one for around the same price?

As for the rest of my system im not sure im on my laptop at the moment so i cant get the details up

Edited November 3, 2009 by welshdude

[froggyluv 2136]

Been messing with Ram Disk Plus and had good results with Arma2 even with measly 4gb ram.

Question: I've got 4 slots for memory on my MB and currently have 2x2gb sticks of 800. Is it ok to install 2x4gb sticks of 800, for a total of 12gb, into the other two empty slots or will that throw sh*t off?

[kklownboy 43]

Been messing with Ram Disk Plus and had good results with Arma2 even with measly 4gb ram.

Question: I've got 4 slots for memory on my MB and currently have 2x2gb sticks of 800. Is it ok to install 2x4gb sticks of 800, for a total of 12gb, into the other two empty slots or will that throw sh*t off?

4GB sticks are very very expensive, and you would have to chk your MBs specs for that big of a stick, i would hazard a guess and say no. Also when you fill all slots on a MB , there can be changes to the ram speed/timings, voltages, and what is allowed.

What MB do you have?

Edited November 5, 2009 by kklownboy

[Juro 10]

Hi,

I want to change my hardware for Arma2, could you tell me what should I change? I need to make it possibly lowest cost

My killing machine:

Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD4670 or ASUS Radeon EAH3850

Processor: AMD ATHLON64 X2 5200+

RAM : 4GB - 2x1GB Patriot 800Mhz CL5 and 2x1GB Some Kingston I dont renember and I dont have receipt..

Motherboard : ASUS M2N-E

Operating System Windows 7 x64

[riffleman 20]

Modern games look very hard for me to play or instal.

[no use for a name 0]

what settings can you run now? Do you want better graphics, or faster FPS in AI-intensive missions? Or do you just want something that can run the game with average settings (which your current setup should be able to do). We need more info...

Also just note that it's not a good idea to mix different brands of RAM as it could cause issues; but if you've been running it like that for a while w/o problems then you're probably OK

[Juro 10]

I'd rather like better graphic. Im running almost all on Average except Posteffects and Shadows, playing on 1440x900 and same 3D. I was thinking abou buying :

-AMD Phenom II X2 545 BOX (3.0GHz, Dual Core, 7MB[1+6], 80W, AM3)

-Asus M4A77TD PRO 770 DDR3, SATA2, RAID, GBLAN, ATX, AM3

-DDR3 2GB 1333MHz Kingston (2x1GB, DualDDR, CL9)

[no use for a name 0]

well you're probably going to need a new vid card for better graphics; the ATI 48xx & 5xxx series and/or nvidia GTX 275 (or better) should be able to crank out max video settings; but good luck finding the top-of-the-line cards as supplies are short.

[Juro 10]

OK, thanks then, one more thing - what do you think about stuff i posted in my last post? Its preety cheap in my country - 777 PLN what is 277,5 USD right now...

[no use for a name 0]

it looks pretty decent...I've never used AMD myself so I can't base off that; but maybe someone who has a similar setup can comment. You might also get more RAM, especially if you have a 64bit OS. 3GB should be minimum even tho Arma2 won't use all of it, but it's nice to have a little overhead for extra processes

[skypine27 0]

well you're probably going to need a new vid card for better graphics; the ATI 48xx & 5xxx series and/or nvidia GTX 275 (or better) should be able to crank out max video settings; but good luck finding the top-of-the-line cards as supplies are short.

Nothing cranks out max settings. I can't run max settings on my ultra-high end rig (see sig).

To play max settings with decent draw distance 4K+, you need future hardware.

[cas 41]

I will soon have a new computer (i7 860@4GHZ + ATI HD 5870) and I have to decide for a new monitor too (my first LCD)

I am not sure if a 24´is to big but I think the 1920x1200 resolution would be nice... or does the 1680 x 1050 Pixel on a 22´ have a similar clear picture?

What about 1920 x 1080 on a 21,5´? Does the wider display make sense in ARMA 2?

[Colt45_GTO 10]

my monitor is actualy my 32" HDTV it looks fine at that res.

[Beagle 684]

I don't know what you want, but I'm happy with a new but older Model made by Samsung. SyncMaster T220, 22", 16:10, 2ms.

The field of view is much better compared to my old Samsung 19" 5:4. In facht it seems as if ArmA II ist somewhat optimised für 16:10 or 16:9 aspects.

[Praelium 0]

I have this monitor, and Arma II looks awesome on it. The details in the plants make the game look so crisp.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005125&Tpk=lg%20w2353v

[[GLT] Legislator 66]

I used a Samsung Syncmaster 2693HM (26 inch) for a couple of months and ArmA II on it was great! Especially inside of choppers you'll get a new feeling. If I'll have to describe it I would say you feel a little bit more ingame than on smaller displays. Well, the 2693HM is lost because of a warranty issue. Now I preordered a Syncmaster 2770H (27 inch) display. I want this feeling back! And I can only recommend it! Just have a look how detailed ArmA II can be. The screenshot is from an older ArmA II version (Antialiasing wasn't included at the moment I took the screenshot).

Of course there are always space issues on the table ... and those huge displays are really expensive. But well, almost every current game will get improvements with it and you'll have a lot of more space on your windows desktop :D

Decide on you own :)

[polecat.uk 11]

It looks good on 3 monitors at 5040x1050 :)

[cas 41]

Thanks for the comments, it seems ARMA works fine with big widescreen monitors!

Anyone knows the Samsung SyncMaster 2493HM 24"???