skytrek

Do you guys think a Q9550 with an ATI HD4890 1GB (I can't find someone with a 2GB model in stock) will be good enough? This can be had for around $661 AUD ($515 USD). The other option is to go for the nVidia GTX 285 2GB with a Q9550 for $910 AUD ($708 USD). I know this is a much better card, and the larger memory will help with my resolution, but it's large difference in price and I know DirectX 11 cards are due out end of the year. I guess my question is simply, is the price difference worth it (for my purposes)? edit: also does anyone know of any benchmarks which put a Q9550 against a Q9650 at stock speeds? It's only $50AUD more..

^ hmm I think I agree. Ok 2GB 285 it is then. Now I just have to find one in stock...

After some investigation I've found the multi-gpu graphics cards dont perform so well in Arma 2. So here's my current thoughts: CPU upgrade to Q9550 (Everyone here seems to agree that Q9650 isn't worth it?) GPU upgrade to GTX 285 2GB But I'm not too sure about the 2GB version of the 285... It's an extra $85 AUD ($67 USD) more than the 1GB version, will it be worth it? And if not the 2GB 285, should I consider the very cheap ATI 4890, which seems to benchmark around the same as the faster GPUs in Arma 2 when the cpu becomes the bottleneck... Any suggestions? edit: I just ordered a Track IR Ultra so I already feel sick about how much money I've spent, but I do look forward to the most awesome gaming experience ever ;)

My current system is: Intel Core2Duo E8400 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P(rev 2.0) m/b 4x 2GB DDR 2 RAM (total 8GB) Gigabyte 8800GTS 512mb graphics card. I have a 30" monitor, so I'd prefer to play at 2560x1600 and am looking for the best upgrade I can get for Arma 2. My motherboard seems to support all the latest CPUs apart from the I7: http://www.gigabyte.com.au/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_List.aspx?ProductID=2625 So my question is, what's the first thing I should upgrade? Can I get away with just upgrading my graphics card to something like a GTX 285, GTX 295 or HD4870X2 or will my cpu still slow me down? Should I upgrade the CPU first to something like a Q9650? Is it better to buy GTX295/HD4870X2 and leave the CPU or maybe get something like a 4890 and a Q9550? Thanks.