What GFX card for ARMA II?

[razorseal 10]

I was about to get a 4000 series ATI gfx card, but then I realized a ton of people are having problems with the game.... should I get a 4000 or 5000 series? I've been gone from cont US for a while, so I'm behind on the times, but apparently ATI is the superior choice now compared to Nvidia... Right now I have a 8800GTS 320mb so anything will be an improvement, but I'd like to stick with ATI this time... I also kind of wanted the 5000 series because of DX11. I think DX11 will be a winner due to tesselation alone sooo yeah :)

[cm. 10]

5850 should do you well and will be a huge huge boost over your 8800GTS. posting quickly before it's locked (there is a thread for this already) :)

[razorseal 10]

ahhh... I searched around and the only one that helped me ot was the problem with 4000 series... I'll be getting a 5770 though, not 58xx those are too much $$$ :)

[cm. 10]

5770 is about the same as a 4890 but w/ lower power, DX11 (not relevent with arma) etc. A good choice :)

[Binkowski 26]

I've been needing a new video card, I'd like to get one under 200$. I currently have an 8800GT, also I'd like to stick with NVIDIA. Any suggestions?

[S7_Mega 10]

5770 is about the same as a 4890 but w/ lower power, DX11 (not relevent with arma) etc. A good choice :)

More like the 4870.

[[frl]myke 14]

@Binkowski

bad time for buying nVidia right now. The actual HD5000 series beats nVidia (compared inside same price segment). Sadly the launch of nVidias new Fermi architecture is delayed. Rumours guess them available not before 2nd Q 2010.

My advice, if you prefer to stick with nVidia: wait until Fermi is launched and available. Then todays available cards will probably drop in price. Depending on the performance of Fermi, even ATI may drop theyr prices and maybe you'll find a HD5000 series that will suit your needs.

@razorseal

What i can say, i own a HD5870 and i've maxed out all GPU-related graphic settings @1680x1050, also 200% 3D-resolution.

I can switch everything down and back up, FPS stays steady. Only when i start to switch CPU-depending settings (viewdistance, terraindetail and object detail) there will be differences in FPS. So at my side, only CPU is limiting to max absolutely everything out.

[AnimalMother92 10]

I've been needing a new video card, I'd like to get one under 200$. I currently have an 8800GT, also I'd like to stick with NVIDIA. Any suggestions?

Bink, I had an 8800GT when Arma 2 came out, and I upgraded to a GTX 285. I'm happy with it, but as others pointed out, you should probably wait for the new nVidia cards.

[jw custom 56]

Bink, I had an 8800GT when Arma 2 came out, and I upgraded to a GTX 285. I'm happy with it, but as others pointed out, you should probably wait for the new nVidia cards.

I have a GTX285 aswell and i'm really happy with it, i'm also sticking to nvidia in future no matter who got the lead :)

[AnimalMother92 10]

I have a GTX285 aswell and i'm really happy with it, i'm also sticking to nvidia in future no matter who got the lead :)

Agreed, I have an nVidia bias too :rolleyes:

My GTX 285 really hasn't let me down, things only struggle when it's CPU related it seems.

On a slightly related note, if you want to see a smoother Arma 2 experience, grab a good solid state drive. Santa brought me one and it makes the game way better.

[bangtail 0]

@Binkowski

bad time for buying nVidia right now. The actual HD5000 series beats nVidia (compared inside same price segment). Sadly the launch of nVidias new Fermi architecture is delayed. Rumours guess them available not before 2nd Q 2010.

My advice, if you prefer to stick with nVidia: wait until Fermi is launched and available. Then todays available cards will probably drop in price. Depending on the performance of Fermi, even ATI may drop theyr prices and maybe you'll find a HD5000 series that will suit your needs.

@razorseal

What i can say, i own a HD5870 and i've maxed out all GPU-related graphic settings @1680x1050, also 200% 3D-resolution.

I can switch everything down and back up, FPS stays steady. Only when i start to switch CPU-depending settings (viewdistance, terraindetail and object detail) there will be differences in FPS. So at my side, only CPU is limiting to max absolutely everything out.

Please link me to your "evidence" that Fermi is coming in Q2 2010 (Anything written by Demirijian should be dismissed out of hand).

So many people making up crap concerning Fermi and then plastering it all over the web (not you, just in general).

ATI's 5 series cards are ok (I'm not really that impressesd and I've had 2 x 5870 and a 5970).

The 5970 was barely beating 2 x 280 and falling behind in some cases. That's pretty weak when the Nvidia technology is over 16 months old.

My advice, if you can wait, give it a little while before making a decision. ATI is having QC problems at the moment with many cards arriving DOA.

I'm not on either side of the fence, I buy what's best. I have ATI and Nvidia cards (although at this point in time, I am happier with my experiences on Nvidia hardware).

Edited December 26, 2009 by BangTail

[[frl]myke 14]

@Bangtail

read my post again, i said "rumours". There are benchmarks around the web for the Fermi architecture but no one knows if they're real or fake.

I can't say if they'll be good or bad, no one can these days. Might be a masterpiece or a epic fail. Or something ibetween. We will know when they're here.

[bangtail 0]

@Bangtail

read my post again, i said "rumours". There are benchmarks around the web for the Fermi architecture but no one knows if they're real or fake.

I can't say if they'll be good or bad, no one can these days. Might be a masterpiece or a epic fail. Or something ibetween. We will know when they're here.

No need to read your post again, I understood it the first time :)

I've never seen anything about Q2 2010. All my info points to March 2010 (or earlier).

I didn't ask you to speculate on the quality of the card, I asked you to link me to where you saw something that indicated a Q2 2010 release.

[blockarma 10]

Definitely stick with nVidia. I've got the GTX 260 Core 216 (216 processing cores compared to 192). The 216 fills the gap between the GTX 275 and the 280. It hasn't let me down one bit yet. It will run ArmA II beautifully.

Another plus: you can find the 216 for under $200 at most retailers. Just look around.

Edited December 26, 2009 by blockarma

[[frl]myke 14]

Lets continue with Fermi. We were led to believe that it will come in November, then December and early Q1 time. Now its quite obvious that this card won't come before the end of Q1 2010. The way things looks from this perspective, we would be surprised to see serious volumes of Fermi on the market before Q2 2010. At that time ATI might have a counter card, a refreshed Evergreen series but we don’t think that this can beat Fermi, of course if we ever seen Fermi launch.

Source: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/16988/1/

Also here, but in german (from where i got it initially): http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/user-news/82900-ati-gewinnt-fermi-die-enttaeuschung-des-jahres.html

You may say that fudzilla might not be the most trustable source but the guys over at pcgh.de have the same expectations.

:EDITH:

@blockarma

GTX260-216 and HD5770 are comparable in price and performance, last depending on app/game you're testing it. Besides this, let's compare them:

Memory:

GTX260 = 896MB

HD5770 = 1024MB

DirectX:

GTX260 = 10.1

HD5770 = 11

Power consumption 2D (complete system):

GTX260 = 111W

HD5770 = 98W

Power consumption 3D (complete system):

GTX260 = 255W

HD5770 = 207W

Source: www.tomshardware.com

Would you please ellaborate why the GTX260 is still better than HD5770?

Edited December 26, 2009 by [FRL]Myke

[bangtail 0]

Source: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/16988/1/

Also here, but in german (from where i got it initially): http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/user-news/82900-ati-gewinnt-fermi-die-enttaeuschung-des-jahres.html

You may say that fudzilla might not be the most trustable source but the guys over at pcgh.de have the same expectations.

Fudzilla is FOS but all I wanted was the link because I hadn't seen any articles that made that assertion (that the Fermi would release in Q2 2010).

Nvidia cannot afford to release that late at this point, March is the absolute latest and if the Fermi tanks, they probably won't have an answer until late 2010 at the earliest.

It has happened before with the Nvidia 5xxx series of cards and it could happen again. We'll just have to wait and see. If there are delays past March 2010, Nvidia would be better served taking all the time they need to get it right, even if that means another 6-12 months of delays.

If Fermi sucks, I'll switch to multiple 5870's/5970's (or a newer revision if they are out by then). I just wish someone would make an nHancer equivalent for ATI cards as the lack of such an app is a major reason that I stay with Nvidia in the main box.

At any rate, thanks for linking the article :)

---------- Post added at 05:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:37 PM ----------

Source: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/16988/1/

Also here, but in german (from where i got it initially): http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/user-news/82900-ati-gewinnt-fermi-die-enttaeuschung-des-jahres.html

You may say that fudzilla might not be the most trustable source but the guys over at pcgh.de have the same expectations.

:EDITH:

@blockarma

GTX260-216 and HD5770 are comparable in price and performance, last depending on app/game you're testing it. Besides this, let's compare them:

Memory:

GTX260 = 896MB

HD5770 = 1024MB

DirectX:

GTX260 = 10.1

HD5770 = 11

Power consumption 2D (complete system):

GTX260 = 111W

HD5770 = 98W

Source: www.tomshardware.com

Would you please ellaborate why the GTX260 is still better than HD5770?

Power consumption 3D (complete system):

GTX260 = 255W

HD5770 = 207W

Horrible comparison, you are comparing almost 2 year old technology with 2 month old technology.

When you use that as a benchmark, the ATI part is simply not very impressive.

Again, Old Nvidia tech keeps up with new ATI tech for the most part, sure the new ATI stuff is faster in most cases but not by very much, leaving the only real advantages being DX11 (which is moot as there is only one or two games that use it at present) and Eyefinity.

Edited December 26, 2009 by BangTail

[[frl]myke 14]

Horrible comparison, you are comparing almost 2 year old technology with 2 month old technology.

Why horrible comparison? Go to a PC dealer of your choice and that is what you'll find for the similar price. When i have 2 products to choose from and they're equal on the most important factors (price and performance) i make a closer comparement. I don't care that one is 2 year old tech while the other brand new. I don't say nVidia GPU's are bad but in this special case (GTX260 vs HD5770) i don't see the point to favorise nVidia. This may turn on Fermi launch but actually you wont find them at your PC dealer.

:EDITH:

I just wish someone would make an nHancer equivalent for ATI cards as the lack of such an app is a major reason that I stay with Nvidia in the main box.

I don't know nHancer so i can't say if Rivatuner and/or ATI tray Tools are something similar, i don't use them, just regular ATI Driver and CCC.

Edited December 26, 2009 by [FRL]Myke

[bangtail 0]

Why horrible comparison? Go to a PC dealer of your choice and that is what you'll find for the similar price. When i have 2 products to choose from and they're equal on the most important factors (price and performance) i make a closer comparement. I don't care that one is 2 year old tech while the other brand new. I don't say nVidia GPU's are bad but in this special case (GTX260 vs HD5770) i don't see the point to favorise nVidia. This may turn on Fermi launch but actually you wont find them at your PC dealer.

There are reasons, in my case nHancer is one reason and PhysX would be another. I also find gameplay is "smoother" on Nvidia cards.

You could make your choice on the basis of power consumption or DX11 but neither of these are particularly relevant at this point in time.

I just don't find ATI's latest offerings to be very impressive and all that remains to be seen is if Nvidia's upcoming offerings manage to surpass them or fall woefully short.

Time will tell :)

---------- Post added at 06:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:02 PM ----------

Why horrible comparison? Go to a PC dealer of your choice and that is what you'll find for the similar price. When i have 2 products to choose from and they're equal on the most important factors (price and performance) i make a closer comparement. I don't care that one is 2 year old tech while the other brand new. I don't say nVidia GPU's are bad but in this special case (GTX260 vs HD5770) i don't see the point to favorise nVidia. This may turn on Fermi launch but actually you wont find them at your PC dealer.

:EDITH:

I don't know nHancer so i can't say if Rivatuner and/or ATI tray Tools are something similar, i don't use them, just regular ATI Driver and CCC.

There is no ATI equivalent for nHancer unfortunately :(

[[frl]myke 14]

You could make your choice on the basis of power consumption or DX11 but neither of these are particularly relevant at this point in time.

Agree, fully. I do not own a HD5770 but a HD5870. Personally i would also have waited until Fermi release, choosing best option at this time. Sadly the failure of my graphic card and the repeated delay messages for Fermi didn't left me with much to choose from. I was lucky that i had the money that i could spend on that overprized piece of hardware (yes, i know it myself) but hey, once in my life i do something good for myself. ;)

For me the important points (besides performance) were loudness (in idle a HD5870 is not "ultrasilent" but much better than anything else in high-end segment) and idle power consumption since i have to pay the bills for power myself, so it is an argument to me.

To recap:

i do not advice to get an ATI and nothing else. My advice is that at this moment, ATI has the more attractive products than nVidia. If one can wait, i would advice to wait until Fermi is released and then recompare everything available.

[bangtail 0]

Agree, fully. I do not own a HD5770 but a HD5870. Personally i would also have waited until Fermi release, choosing best option at this time. Sadly the failure of my graphic card and the repeated delay messages for Fermi didn't left me with much to choose from. I was lucky that i had the money that i could spend on that overprized piece of hardware (yes, i know it myself) but hey, once in my life i do something good for myself. ;)

For me the important points (besides performance) were loudness (in idle a HD5870 is not "ultrasilent" but much better than anything else in high-end segment) and idle power consumption since i have to pay the bills for power myself, so it is an argument to me.

To recap:

i do not advice to get an ATI and nothing else. My advice is that at this moment, ATI has the more attractive products than nVidia. If one can wait, i would advice to wait until Fermi is released and then recompare everything available.

Yep, I wish Fermi was here already. I don't want to move in either direction until I can compare them in a "hands on" situation.

Guess we'll just have to wait ;)

Cheers

[razorseal 10]

great discussion here guys...

I ended up just getting a 4890. few reasons

I'm leaving for a bit (Ft Benning, for training) and wanted to get something asap since if I order it online, it'll come days before I leave.

4890 beats 5770, and right now there are no DX11 games that I'm looking forward to anyways...

I looked at the nvidia stuff, but decided to jump ship to ATI. maybe next years when I'm back from Iraq, Fermi will be out

[Binkowski 26]

great discussion here guys...

I ended up just getting a 4890. few reasons

I'm leaving for a bit (Ft Benning, for training) and wanted to get something asap since if I order it online, it'll come days before I leave.

4890 beats 5770, and right now there are no DX11 games that I'm looking forward to anyways...

I looked at the nvidia stuff, but decided to jump ship to ATI. maybe next years when I'm back from Iraq, Fermi will be out

Yeah, I might be heading to Afghanistan in a few months. Not sure yet, we'll see. Glad to hear you got it all sorted out, Fermi might be out when I come home to. If I leave in the first place of course.

[razorseal 10]

fawk, just found out 5000 series have HDMI... 4890 doesn't :(

am I missing anything?

Bink, what are ya? I'm ARNG, 11B

[Binkowski 26]

No shit razor! I'm ARNG as well, 68W. Indiana.

[razorseal 10]

No shit razor! I'm ARNG as well, 68W. Indiana.

haha sweet! we got 1.5 grunts! (you're almost a grunt :p)

jk man, good stuff! :)