ArmA 2 I/O analysis results

[gonk 0]

Currently I find the game runs smoother with the ram drive... I set aside a little over 3 gig... and copied across what I think the game would constantly access...

ie..

buildings, buildings2, chernarus, chernarus_data, chernarus_data_layers, misc,misc2,misc3,plants2,roads2,rocks2,signs2,structures,tracked,tracked2..

would be nice to get a list of most used to least used... so I can tweak my list instead of guessing... but thanks for the hints...

[Alex72 1]

Gonk: There is a list made by Qwertz in this thread or his other one wich is linked in the first page. Sorry dont have time to look for it now. Just thaught i give you a heads up about it. ;)

[MavericK96 0]

Maverick:

I use 4GB for RAMDRIVE and i moved the files up recommended earlier in this thread. Buildings, Plants etc. Sorry im at work atm so i dont have time to find that page.

The difference is that when i move around there is no popping of objects. However i did have 2 BSOD's wich must been related to RAMDRIVE, and i also 2 times had an error say "Corrupted data" on ARMA start so i had to move up the files again. No crashes so far though.

Reading your other posts before ive seen you do have crashes pretty often. and maybe thats because you go too hard on the settings? I run 2500-3000VD and all settings on HIGH except terrain detail wich is on NORMAL, and post processing effects on LOW (still effects but less FPS chew). When i go above this i can also get CTD's. The games specs are a bit weird i know, and it takes time to find the sweet spot for your HW. ;)

If you're using 4 out of 6 GB for a RAMdrive, I can guess why you're getting BSODs and errors. ArmA2 alone uses up to ~1.7 GB of RAM, and that's not including Windows. Seems a little large to me, I dunno.

Seems like then you need to allocate at least 3-4 GB for a RAMdrive to see any improvement, since I did 2 GB max and it wasn't any different for me.

[PogMoThoin 10]

I've a 4Gb ramdisk in which I've got @Isla Duala, @Pantera and the @Ramdisk folder with these .pbo's (in pic), they from Quertz list Alex72 was talking about, tested as being the most used .pbo's.

Further to a ramdisk, I've also created a 10GB partion for all my addons on another drive (I've got the advantage of 5 hd's in this pc as I use it as my media server). I've called it addons and I just put all the mods and addons in this partion seperately and make a symbolic link to each individual @folder in the Arma 2 game folder. This way they work as normal and don't make my game folder bulky, my game folder stays vanilla size. The Yoma updates as normal as it sees the symbolic links as folders and I launch them with the launcher same as I always did.

Edited May 3, 2010 by PogMoThoin

[Alex72 1]

Maverick:

Yeah sorry i wasnt clear. The BSOD's happened at RAMDRIVE start and not while playing. So RAMDRIVE encountered some problems when it tried to create itself in memory.

[MavericK96 0]

I just tried a ~2.5 GB RAMdisk with my most-accessed files from the I/O Analysis (done by flying low over Chernogorsk a few times, a spot where I have the most lag/stutter), and did some tests in the Counterattack SP mission.

Overall, the improvement of a RAMdisk over my SSD was minimal at best. Texture load times may have been a little better (i.e. less LOD swap delay), but stutter was not minimized at all (though it's not super-high for me, anyway) and there was no increase in framerate performance or "smoothness", subjectively.

I guess I'd have to get another 6 GB RAM and try a larger RAMdisk, but currently for me it doesn't seem worth it to even use one.

[Alex72 1]

Its not worth it because you use too little of the heavy PBO´s im sure. Qwertz did a good job showing that this works. ;)

[MavericK96 0]

Its not worth it because you use too little of the heavy PBO´s im sure. Qwertz did a good job showing that this works. ;)

Oh, I'm not saying it doesn't work at all, but for me in my test there was a negligible difference.

By "heavy PBOs", do you mean the larger ones, or do you mean the ones that are most accessed? Because I did the analysis over an area where I get the most stutter, bar none, and used those files that were by far the most accessed, and it still didn't make much difference.

I suspect that I just need a larger RAMdisk to put almost all the PBOs on in order to see any real change.

[mcpxxl 2]

i use eboostr instead of a ram disk and work with a mix out of sytem memory and fast usb sticks. no need of copying files into the ramdisk.

MCPXXL

[gonk 0]

Thx ALex72 and PogMoThoin... I have tweaked the ram drive to match the suggested list.

[liquidpinky 11]

Oh, I'm not saying it doesn't work at all, but for me in my test there was a negligible difference.

By "heavy PBOs", do you mean the larger ones, or do you mean the ones that are most accessed? Because I did the analysis over an area where I get the most stutter, bar none, and used those files that were by far the most accessed, and it still didn't make much difference.

I suspect that I just need a larger RAMdisk to put almost all the PBOs on in order to see any real change.

Larger RAMdisk helps and putting your pagefile on it too gives a decent boost.

I was running approx 3.2GB of pbo and 1GB pagefile.

[MavericK96 0]

Well, I don't have enough RAM to try for more than about a 2.5 GB RAMdisk, but I have some results:

With no RAMdrive, Build 70100 Beta, 1920x1200, PP low, Vid Memory Default, All else Very High:

ArmAMark: 1st run = 4577.32, 2nd run = 4788.84

With 2.45 GB RAMdrive, same settings, using the files Vipera posted above, plus chernarus.pbo and chernarus_Data_Layers.pbo:

ArmAMark: 1st run = 4580 something, 2nd run = 4885.15

Subjectively, the stuttering actually seemed about the same, maybe slightly less with the RAMdrive but not a lot, barely noticeable.

However, objectively the framerate shows a fairly significant improvement, but really only in the second test run. This leads me to believe that more of the files that are needed but not in the RAMdrive are being loaded into RAM the first run, and once they are already pre-loaded for the second run, the game runs a lot better.

Conclusion, I guess I need more RAM to load all, or almost all of the stock .pbos into. :(

[jpinard 10]

Why not just have the next engine be 64bit and use all the RAM you have instead of "do this, do that, copy here, move there, read post from this or that forum, somebody said try this"?

I hope BIS will come out after Arma2:OA and tell use they are moving to a 64bit engine and will kick butt with it.

Sadly that's not economically feasible. The majority of people may have 64-bit processors, but going full-on 64-bit OS is not going to be mainstream for YEARS. http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/ 70% of the market is still running 32-bit and amazingly, some odd ducks still run 16-bit. There is no standardized push like there was going from 16-bit to 32-bit OS's so people move at their own risk/leisure.

Now BIS could potentially try to drive their market to 64-bit, but it's always risky if you don't have the money to absorb instant sales losses.

[Leon86 13]

Sadly that's not economically feasible. The majority of people may have 64-bit processors, but going full-on 64-bit OS is not going to be mainstream for YEARS. http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/ 70% of the market is still running 32-bit and amazingly, some odd ducks still run 16-bit. There is no standardized push like there was going from 16-bit to 32-bit OS's so people move at their own risk/leisure.

Now BIS could potentially try to drive their market to 64-bit, but it's always risky if you don't have the money to absorb instant sales losses.

Windows 7 x64 has more users than the 32bit. The 32bit XP users wil eventually switch to 7x64, as almost every new system has win7x64. right now 33.5% of the steamsurvey is using 7x64 or vista64, I'd call it mainstream now, if not it will be in a year.

[rekrul 7]

I agree. With the increased RAM amounts the PCs comes with now people HAVE to use 64-bits.

[Punisher5555 0]

I agree. With the increased RAM amounts the PCs comes with now people HAVE to use 64-bits.

And as stated by Microsoft: Windows 7 is the last 32 bit OS. The next OS is scheduled to hit 2012. Microsoft is telling OEMs/vendors to load Win7 x64 as the default OS unless there is a really good reason not to. (I work for a OEM).

All the Microsoft server products are now 64bit only. 2008 R2, etc, etc...

It is time BIS. Make the move. Reap the benefits!!!

Edited May 14, 2010 by Punisher5555

[MavericK96 0]

Now BIS could potentially try to drive their market to 64-bit, but it's always risky if you don't have the money to absorb instant sales losses.

But there is already a 32-bit version. All they would have to do is develop a 64-bit executable/support files and release that as well. If anything it would increase sales, IMO.

[Leon86 13]

But there is already a 32-bit version. All they would have to do is develop a 64-bit executable/support files and release that as well. If anything it would increase sales, IMO.

I doubt it would increase sales much. A 64bit game is cool but arma 2 only uses 1GB of ram now, if they were to change that to 3 with the laa flag they could still use the 32bit exe and almost everything could be run from the ram.

[Kristian 47]

Is there way to play ArmA2 with high settings without paying 1337$ for upgrades? :/

I got new GPU and PsU to power it, and ArmA2 performance really boosted.

I now run it on high/medium. Now the only problem are with cities, those buggers make my FPS go 25-30 whereas in dense forst and such my FPS is constantly 45-60. (45 is pretty rare, more like 50-60)

The problem is, I like urban combat more than long range AI rapes, but trying to use AI inside City is just... :p silly idea..

Anyways, why does the AI make such huge FPS drop sometimes? Multiple AI units on screen at same time and FPS can easilly go to half.

I was thinking of getting new CPU this summer, but when I look at the price I need to pay in order to play a game my computer was supposed to run according to BIS System requirement specs and stuff. Most retarded thing is, I can run ArmA1 maxed out and WITH plenty of AI with small FPS drop, and its sorta fun, but I miss small things like reload while walking and headbob.

Hope this stuff is sorted in OA :(

[rekrul 7]

And as stated by Microsoft: Windows 7 is the last 32 bit OS. The next OS is scheduled to hit 2012. Microsoft is telling OEMs/vendors to load Win7 x64 as the default OS unless there is a really good reason not to. (I work for a OEM).

All the Microsoft server products are now 64bit only. 2008 R2, etc, etc...

It is time BIS. Make the move. Reap the benefits!!!

While we're at it, we might as well start asking for a x128 version as well so we get it before 2020. ;)

[Protegimus 0]

I was asked in another thread about which files I copy to the Ramdrive, so here are the details:

9GB Ramdrive (drive R:)

I created three text files listing the .pbo and .bisign files, the result of two hours I/O profile monitoring using Sysinternals Process Monitor.

ArmA2_filelist.txt

----------------

structures.pbo
structures.pbo.bi.bisign
characters2.pbo
characters2.pbo.bi.bisign
anims.pbo
anims.pbo.bi.bisign
weapons.pbo
weapons.pbo.bi.bisign
sounds.pbo
sounds.pbo.bi.bisign
buildings2.pbo
buildings2.pbo.bi.bisign
plants2_Tree.pbo
plants2_Tree.pbo.bi.bisign
wheeled2.pbo
wheeled2.pbo.bi.bisign
air2.pbo
air2.pbo.bi.bisign
buildings.pbo
buildings.pbo.bi.bisign
characters.pbo
characters.pbo.bi.bisign
wheeled.pbo
wheeled.pbo.bi.bisign
misc.pbo
misc.pbo.bi.bisign
chernarus_Data_Layers.pbo
chernarus_Data_Layers.pbo.bi.bisign
tracked2.pbo
tracked2.pbo.bi.bisign
Roads2.pbo
Roads2.pbo.bi.bisign
misc3.pbo
misc3.pbo.bi.bisign
Ca.pbo
Ca.pbo.bi.bisign
air.pbo
air.pbo.bi.bisign
water2.pbo
water2.pbo.bi.bisign
tracked.pbo
tracked.pbo.bi.bisign
chernarus.pbo
chernarus.pbo.bi.bisign
plants2_Bush.pbo
plants2_Bush.pbo.bi.bisign
animals2.pbo
animals2.pbo.bi.bisign
music.pbo
music.pbo.bi.bisign
buildings2_Ind_CementWorks.pbo
buildings2_Ind_CementWorks.pbo.bi.bisign
chernarus_Data.pbo
chernarus_Data.pbo.bi.bisign
utes.pbo
utes.pbo.bi.bisign
misc2.pbo
misc2.pbo.bi.bisign
soundmissions.pbo
soundmissions.pbo.bi.bisign
signs2.pbo
signs2.pbo.bi.bisign
missions.pbo
missions.pbo.bi.bisign
rocks2.pbo
rocks2.pbo.bi.bisign
plants2_Clutter.pbo
plants2_Clutter.pbo.bi.bisign
Air3.pbo
Air3.pbo.bi.bisign
plants2_misc.pbo
plants2_misc.pbo.bi.bisign
UIFonts.pbo
UIFonts.pbo.bi.bisign
ah64.pbo
ah64.pbo.bi.bisign
weapons2.pbo
weapons2.pbo.bi.bisign
plants2_Plant.pbo
plants2_Plant.pbo.bi.bisign
a10.pbo
a10.pbo.bi.bisign
water.pbo
water.pbo.bi.bisign
animals.pbo
animals.pbo.bi.bisign
languagemissions.pbo
languagemissions.pbo.bi.bisign
wheeled3.pbo
wheeled3.pbo.bi.bisign
language.pbo
language.pbo.bi.bisign
modules.pbo
modules.pbo.bi.bisign

ACEX_filelist.txt

---------------

acex_t_men_usarmy.pbo
acex_t_men_usarmy.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_t_men_insurgents.pbo
acex_t_men_insurgents.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_t_wep_m16.pbo
acex_t_wep_m16.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_t_men_sfor.pbo
acex_t_men_sfor.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_t_veh_t72.pbo
acex_t_veh_t72.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_t_veh_M2.pbo
acex_t_veh_M2.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_s_veh_ah1.pbo
acex_s_veh_ah1.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_s_veh_mah6.pbo
acex_s_veh_mah6.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_m_wep_m16.pbo
acex_m_wep_m16.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_m_men_sfor.pbo
acex_m_men_sfor.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_m_men_usarmy.pbo
acex_m_men_usarmy.pbo.acex_*.bisign
acex_t_veh_mah6.pbo
acex_t_veh_mah6.pbo.acex_*.bisign

I also use CSM2, so I have that loaded on the ramdrive too.

Here's the batch file I use to complete the copy operation. It parses the above text files and xcopies the files:

if exist R:\@ArmA2\a2done.txt goto done
@echo 1 > R:\@ArmA2\a2done.txt
cd /d D:\Bohemia Interactive Source

if not exist R:\@ArmA2 md R:\@ArmA2
if not exist R:\@ArmA2\Addons md R:\@ArmA2\Addons

if not exist R:\@CSM2 md R:\@CSM2
if not exist R:\@CSM2\Addons md R:\@CSM2\Addons

if not exist R:\@ACEX md R:\@ACEX
if not exist R:\@ACEX\Addons md R:\@ACEX\Addons


for /F %%p in (ArmA2_filelist.txt) do xcopy "D:\Program Files\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\Addons\"%%p R:\@ArmA2\Addons
for /F %%p in (CSM2_filelist.txt) do xcopy "D:\Program Files\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\@CSM2\Addons\"%%p R:\@CSM2\Addons
for /F %%p in (ACEX_filelist.txt) do xcopy "D:\Program Files\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\@ACEX\Addons\"%%p R:\@ACEX\Addons
attrib -a R:\@ArmA2\Addons\*.*
attrib -a R:\@CSM2\Addons\*.*
attrib -a R:\@ACEX\Addons\*.*
@goto end

:done
@echo.
@echo Files already copied to ramdrive!
@echo.

:end

Finally, the modified shortcut. I'm using XP Pro, so modfolders to override the default Addons:

"D:\Program Files\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\beta\arma2.exe" -nosplash -mod=beta;R:\@ArmA2;@CBA2;@GDT;@Islands;@ScopeFix;@Fixes;@CSM2;R:\@CSM2 -exThreads=3 -maxmem=2047

Hope that is useful for someone setting this up, especially the ACE2 filelist.

Protegimus

[Alex72 1]

Thanks for the list Protegimus. Time consuming work so hat off.

I see you use "-mod=beta;R:\@ArmA2" for the RAMDRIVE. Do you have the files right under @ARMA2 or is there the usual Addons folder as well? Im asking because i have to use the full path when i run RAMDRIVE. Got an error when i tried without so mine is: -mod=beta;J:\@ArmA2\Addons. Im using the free Dataram program.

[jpinard 10]

Is there way to play ArmA2 with high settings without paying 1337$ for upgrades? :/

Anyways, why does the AI make such huge FPS drop sometimes? Multiple AI units on screen at same time and FPS can easilly go to half.

I was thinking of getting new CPU this summer, but when I look at the price I need to pay in order to play a game my computer was supposed to run according to BIS System requirement specs and stuff. Most retarded thing is, I can run ArmA1 maxed out and WITH plenty of AI with small FPS drop, and its sorta fun, but I miss small things like reload while walking and headbob.

I just went through this myself and the thing that will make the game sing is a quad core processor overclocked. For every couple MHz you add is another AI the game can handle. The difference between 3.1 GHz Dual-core vs. 4.1 GHz Quad-core is mammoth. The game is a simulator that does a lot. The AI is much smarrter and more capable than in Arma1 - they're doing more, it's calculating more, so it's going to use more processing power.

[bangtail 0]

Just wanted to chime in (and Qwertz will be happy ;) ). I recently bought some OCZ Agility 2 200GB SSDs and put them in RAID0. I've noticed a difference between them and any of the numerous SSDs I've owned previously. The Sandforce controller definitely seems to provide some real world advantages over other drives.

Having said that, we are talking about $1400.00 worth of SSDs for what amounts to a negligible difference, nevertheless, I can definitely see a performance advantage so in the interests of being objective, there you have it.

Edited May 16, 2010 by BangTail

[old_painless 183]

Thanks for the list Protegimus. Time consuming work so hat off.

I see you use "-mod=beta;R:\@ArmA2" for the RAMDRIVE. Do you have the files right under @ARMA2 or is there the usual Addons folder as well? Im asking because i have to use the full path when i run RAMDRIVE. Got an error when i tried without so mine is: -mod=beta;J:\@ArmA2\Addons. Im using the free Dataram program.

I am just going through the same procedure, and read this thread for inspiration. As for your question, you can tell from the paths in Protegimus code that he has all the Arma2_filelist files under R:\@Arma2\Addons

-OP