EDcase

Really, wow. What settings?

...And be prepared to spend a couple of grand..

The CPU's are OK but graphics cards are not very good. You must look for GTX260m or HD4850 AT LEAST Better would be GTX285m or HD5870 These can be found in a 15.6" laptop but are easier to find in 17" HERE is a list of mobile GPUs in order of power. Don't expect to play ARMA2 or Operation Arrowhead on a laptop with good graphics settings unless you are prepared to spend a couple of thousand.

Have you checked temperatures while gaming? It does sound like an overheat issue.

Just don't get anything driven by USB. You need a good soundcard to get the best out of a good headset. PS. I've had my Medusa for 3 years with no problems. A good headset with 6 speakers and 5 cables connected to the sound card is 5.1 and it will be better than room 5.1 as they will be properly balanced and with no distortion/reflection/reverb from the ceiling, floor or walls. Unfortunately ARMA2 5.1 is not very well implemented so I hope the "improved sound system" in OA works better.

Sorry, I can't help much with d2d version...

First off don't start blaming BIS because you have a problem with your computer. If everyone had the same problem then it might be the games fault but since most people can play without problems its obviously something to do with YOUR system. Obviously you are not the only one but considering the huge variation in computer setups there are bound to be some problems. ...And this game is more complex than any other around at the moment. Arrowhead is essentially the same but with some improvements so it may or may not be better depending on whats causing the problem for your machine. So on with the solving... I have a very similar system to you except I have the GTX285. A few things that will help discover the problem. Game version 1.05? (should try latest BETA) NVidia driver version? Addons? (does it crash without any addons?) Does it crash with no overclock?

Looks over the top to me. Just look for a few other reviews. That review says the cable from headset to volume box is too short.

Well, it is a bit extravagant if money is a problem but using ALT (as I used to) is nothing compared to the immersion with trackir ESPECIALLY while flying. If you have a webcam it would be worth trying that free face-track version... ARMA2 is the ONLY game I play ;)

I'm using Medusa 5.1 too (don't get USB version) No complaints... (well ARMA2 5.1 is not great but hopefully its improved in OA ;))

You said that a fresh install worked but when you used the addons it failed again. Are you using separate mod folders or putting them all in the addons folder? If it works fine in Vanilla then its one of the mods causing a problem. You might have to try them one at a time.

Probably because of the 8Gb ram I think. Are you on version 1.05? If not then that's the problem. Get the PATCH. I'd also suggest to use the latest BETA NOTE: Your PC is not bad but don't try an put everything on HIGH as it will not play well.

There must be damage somewhere on it even if you can't see it. Can you try on a different drive (friends)? Only solution is to get the complete package "ARMA2:Combined Operations" ;)

Just to be sure, download the latest DirectX... The latest one will be compatible with all previous versions.

Freelook is even better with TrackIR ;)

Make sure the HD is defragged (preferably with a good program like UltimateDefrag) Sorry but you will never get good fps running at 2560x1600 with an e8400 and ATI 5850 Realistically I would suggest using a resolution not higher than 1600x1024.

Haven't had a problem until the latest patch. (With different thread options) After about an hour ARMA starts to stutter REALLY badly. Like 2fps and my RPT fill up with this: Virtual memory total 2047 MB (2147352576 B) Virtual memory free 122 MB (128708608 B) Physical memory free 3799 MB (3984060416 B) Page file free 7285 MB (7639298048 B) Process working set 1065 MB (1117401088 B) Process page file used 1258 MB (1319596032 B) Runtime reserved 729 MB (764411904 B) Runtime committed 471 MB (494829568 B) Longest free VM region: 16044032 B, busy 2035900416 B, free 111517696 B Small mapped regions: 7, size 28672 B Virtual memory total 2047 MB (2147352576 B) Virtual memory free 147 MB (154857472 B) Physical memory free 3823 MB (4009041920 B) Page file free 7311 MB (7666413568 B) Process working set 1041 MB (1092583424 B) Process page file used 1233 MB (1293012992 B) Runtime reserved 729 MB (764411904 B) Runtime committed 471 MB (494440448 B) Longest free VM region: 16044032 B, busy 2009751552 B, free 137666560 B Small mapped regions: 7, size 28672 B Virtual memory total 2047 MB (2147352576 B) Virtual memory free 143 MB (150401024 B) Physical memory free 3823 MB (4008923136 B) Page file free 7303 MB (7658725376 B) Process working set 1042 MB (1093025792 B) Process page file used 1240 MB (1301241856 B) Runtime reserved 729 MB (764411904 B) Runtime committed 475 MB (498204672 B) Longest free VM region: 16044032 B, busy 2014208000 B, free 133210112 B Small mapped regions: 7, size 28672 B Virtual memory total 2047 MB (2147352576 B) Virtual memory free 143 MB (150401024 B) Physical memory free 3823 MB (4009517056 B) Page file free 7304 MB (7659671552 B) Process working set 1041 MB (1091891200 B) Process page file used 1239 MB (1300111360 B) Runtime reserved 729 MB (764411904 B) Runtime committed 474 MB (497074176 B) Longest free VM region: 16044032 B, busy 2014208000 B, free 133210112 B ...and it goes on and on. I think its out of memory but duno why or where. Any ideas? Also had a few crashes System: Windows 7 64 6Gb ram i7 920 GTX285 (1Gb)

Ya, thanks ST, I'll test that as soon as I get the chance. Strange tho as I've been using the same mods for a long time without problems. Maybe one doesn't like the Betas.

Oops, yeah. Never tried that until now. It seemed smooth enough but I get 15fps so it shows how useless it is to get an idea of actual gameplay. I've never played a mission with that much going on in one place.

Ah, no I haven't used that. I'm basing on general play. I don't like the benchmark missions because they rely too much on HD rather than CPU & GPU. Can you give me a link to Bench#2 and post result here...

I have played with 2 machines on LAN with no problem but that was not connecting to internet.

Its an old switch that helped some memory issues on early versions. Its not used now. You should have no problems. In case you haven't got em these switches are useful to speed up load time: -nosplash -world=empty

Good to hear you recovered it but its certainly not normal to have CTDs let alone BSOD. Whats your system specs/settings and ARMA version?

Haven't read all posts here but have you tried setting Nvidia Control Panel Max render ahead fames to 0. ...and make sure these lines are in your user.cfg file (in your profiles folder) GPU_MaxFramesAhead=0; GPU_DetectedFramesAhead=0; This helped my fps... One thing that really helps the smoothness is setting Texture detail to NORMAL. (It reduces the quality in the distance but closeup is the same as HIGH)

As ST said, Some missions have it preset to a certain distance which you cannot change.