Performence is horrible =(

[Crazyramzi]

Well I was so excited about ARMA 2 and all so I bought the German version (while I'm in Canada =p)(digital).

I set it up and all and I was experiencing a lot of lag but I was like "oh, i just have to set the graphics options first" so I did but still...

I will get around 10 fps with no scripts or anything just me in the editor with these settings:

Blah means using advanced settings or useless to know.

Visibility: 1600

Quality:blah

Fillrate:88%

Resolution:1600x1050

Texture detail:low

Terrain detail:low

pp effects:low

Video memory:very high

objects detail:very low

AF=off

Shadows detail:low

Now before I bought this game I thought my computer could handle this at medium high to medium low which are decent to me.
I can even run games like Crysis or Farcry 2 on medium high to high with no problem so I don't know what's going on here.

Anyways here are my comp specs (laptop) Acer 8920g

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5550 @<hidden> 1.83GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.8GHz
3Gb RAM
Vista home premium 32bit
NVIDIA Geforce 9500m GS
Directx 10 supported

I have no junk whatsoever on my comp, I only use it for games and it's practically empty.

Anyone know why this is happening?

[Maddmatt]

That graphics card seems very weak. Is that an onboard one by any chance? The '500' type Nvidia cards really aren't good for gaming.

[MulleDK19]

Crysis isn't that demanding.
That rig is pretty weak, overall.


Minimal PC Requirements
CPU: Dual Core Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz / Intel Core 2.0 GHz / AMD Athlon 3200+ or faster
RAM: 1 GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7800 / ATI Radeon 1800 with Shader Model 3 and 256 MB VRAM or faster
OS: Windows XP

Optimal PC Requirements
CPU: Intel Core 2.8 GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or faster
RAM: 2 GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT / ATI Radeon 4850 with Shader Model 3 and 512 MB VRAM or faster
OS: Windows XP or Vista

[joethe33]

Alright. Something you have to understand about laptops and gaming. Where you have them positioned for starters, matters. If it's not propped up to where it can "breath" underneath, your parts are going to overheat. Laptops get hot. Especially gaming laptops. Or if you use it for gaming etc. I would never ever ever recommend buying a lap top solely for gaming. If you're using a laptop for school, buy a cheap one. One that has decent specs and a decent sized HD, CPU, RAM. Heck, even having a dedicated video card improves the overall performance. Better quality when using it for media as well. Putting over 1000 dollars down on a laptop is a waste of money. Let's face it. For the specs you get, spending 3000 Dollars on a gaming laptop, especially for what specs you get, is a complete waste of money. Also, you have to lug it around with you to class, as well as books. I don't know about you, but more than 5lbs for a laptop is far too much.
(^^ I know your laptop isn't a gaming one from just looking at it. Making a point)

What maddmatt said is correct. Your laptop's video card is a stripped down version of even the desktop equivalent 9000 series. It's not a very good card, even for a game like this. Expect your performance to be low. As I said before. It's a good idea to not put your laptop on a flat surface. Let it breath. The best thing for you to get is one of those laptop fans. As seen here, for an example: http://tinyurl.com/obagql (Not a virus, links to newegg.com) Again, heat = overheating = low performance.

TL: DR = Laptops are bad gaming computers. Price/Power ratio is unreasonable compared to a PC. Laptops overheat while playing games. Buy a laptop cooler.

[Crazyramzi]

My card is integrated so that's not good =(

If I upgrade to 4gb ram would that increase fps? If so by how much?
I might do that since I have 4 slots.

oh man I was so dumb when I bought this laptop =( I was planning on returning it back to get a desktop when I bought it but I went on a vacation and my warranty expired... omfg

[MulleDK19]

Your laptop's video card is a stripped down version of even the desktop equivalent 9000 series.

The GeForce 9500 GT is pretty much the GeForce 8600 GT yet made under a smaller 65nm fab, but cheaper. I guess GS is not far from.

[garack666]

lol sry but yout system is horrible.

arma uses 1.5 gb max you must buy a new pc not ram.

[MulleDK19]

My card is integrated so that's not good =(

If I upgrade to 4gb ram would that increase fps? If so by how much?
I might do that since I have 4 slots.

Perhaps 0.000000001 fps.

You need a much stronger CPU and GPU.

[joethe33]

It would, very slightly. When I say slightly, it's nothing noticeable.

If you want my honest opinion. Save up and build a computer. I can give you some resources for help if you need it. I would spend ~1000 USD for one that plays this game extremely well and others.

[koroush47]

My card is integrated so that's not good =(

If I upgrade to 4gb ram would that increase fps? If so by how much?
I might do that since I have 4 slots.

RAM doesn't increase FPS.


Your CPU and Video cards do.

Plus the optimal ram is 2 GB anyways... and you have 3.

Your best bet would be to save some $ up and build a 600-700 dollar gaming rig... Then play ArmA 2.

NEVER BUY, ALWAYS BUILD.

[joethe33]

The GeForce 9500 GT is pretty much the GeForce 8600 GT yet made under a smaller 65nm fab, but cheaper. I guess GS is not far from. Most of the 8000 series and 9000 series are the same CHIP. Different board and cooling ups the efficiency of the 9000 series. Same card though, you're right.

Still, "M" as in, Mobile Graphics cards are inferior to even their desktop counterparts.

[MulleDK19]

RAM doesn't increase FPS.


Your CPU and Video cards do.

Plus the optimal ram is 2 GB anyways... and you have 3.

Your best bet would be to save some $ up and build a 600-700 dollar gaming rig... Then play ArmA 2.

NEVER BUY, ALWAYS BUILD.

Pretty hard to build without buying some hardware. Unless you're really really 1337 :P

[Crazyramzi]

well never built a comp before but there's a first for everything.
Anyways thanks for the info guys.

lol my friend made a bet with me if I lose 60 pounds(I'm a bit overweight =/) he will give me 500$ but if I don't than I'll have to give him 500$ which I can use for my save up money. =(

Better go to the gym soon lol.

[joethe33]

For you crazy. If you're clueless about technology. (Most people are) Then here is some help to move you along. Building computers is actually pretty simple. Also, don't take offense to the above comment, but I can only assume because of your situation. Aside from the fact that I don't know you at all.

Browse here for some help.
http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/building/

Most people will also recommend, www.newegg.com for the cheapest hardware.

If you need help in the future when you obtain the money, send me a PM and I'll help you.

[Crazyramzi]

Well I can't buy from newegg because that's American and I would have to pay a border fee for the shipping since I'm in Canada. But would you recommend tiger direct?

[pclipse]

well never built a comp before but there's a first for everything.
Anyways thanks for the info guys.

lol my friend made a bet with me if I lose 60 pounds(I'm a bit overweight =/) he will give me 500$ but if I don't than I'll have to give him 500$ which I can use for my save up money. =(

Better go to the gym soon lol.

If you're overweight. I wouldn't be looking into ArmA2 my friend. But to the track in the neighbourhood ;)

Clogged Arteries = Bad = No ladies = no real fun in life = depression = death.

So at the end of the day. Don't worry about your PC, and get outside ;)

[joethe33]

It's about the same, so yes. They are both very competitive with each other.

[Crazyramzi]

Clogged Arteries = Bad = No ladies = no real fun in life = depression = death.
;)

Not exactly, trust me ;)

[Call_911]

AMD Anthalon 4600+ 2.4 ghz Dual Core 64x2 upgraded from 2 to 4 gig, upgraded from Nvidia 7900OS to Nvidia 9800 GT 1gig ddr3 went from really crappy fps (below 20's) on Low an very low to consistant 250-30..spikes to 40ish with new components on normal. view distance lower 2000+

[m5holmez]

AMD Anthalon 4600+ 2.4 ghz Dual Core 64x2 upgraded from 2 to 4 gig, upgraded from Nvidia 7900OS to Nvidia 9800 GT 1gig ddr3 went from really crappy fps (below 20's) on Low an very low to consistant 250-30..spikes to 40ish with new components on normal. view distance lower 2000+


Its funny though, I ran arma 2 on my old machine which is a P4 3.0ghz single core OC to 3.6ghz, 2GB ram, 9600GT 512mb Asus, 500watt PSU running Vista 32bit and on medium to high settings i can run it with almost little to no lag. Apart from some very annoying bugs it ran fine. :confused:

[berowe]

I have a T7700 with an 8700m and I'd consider it the bare minimum for enjoyably playing on a laptop... take the advice and build a desktop smart!

[Dimmis80]

The game Crashes to desktop all the time.Every 10-20 minutes when i play it crashes.Some times with a message about it needs more memory on KB or something.My system is a Core 2 Quad 6600,4 GB DDR 2 1066,2 Radeon 3870 512 MB each on Crossfire and i play the games on a 22" 1680x1050.I have the latest drivers, patch 1.1,Service pack 2 on vista.It says Out of memory (requested 1708 KB) Reserved 294212 KB Total Free 10397 KB Free Blocks 139,Max Free size 1595 KB when crashes..Anyone knows a solution to that.!??

[Maruk]

With very slow graphics card (as is the case with all on board cards) these are the two settings that are probably most important

Fillrate:88%
Resolution:1600x1050

With native resolution 1680x1050 (which is best for the UI etc.) I would say you should lower the fillrate to 50%. Other option is to lower resolution but in that case you will not only make the game resolution lowered but also all UI will be low res.

[Steinfisch]

Have the same problem as Dimmis80. If I play singleplayer or host a multiplayer coop game for 2 players, the game crashes very often. Somtimes without error messages, sometimes there is not enough mem, sometimes "cannot commit" if it trys to make a savegame. The most crashes are in the singleplayer campaign. Less in multiplayer maps like "Supermächte". Sometime it chashes even if the pc is idle (me => wc).

My system: Core 2 Quad Q9300, GTX 280, Asus Rampage Extreme (not overclocked), 4GB Ram, Windows Vista 64 Bit Ultim.

[Potatomasher]

Its funny though, I ran arma 2 on my old machine which is a P4 3.0ghz single core OC to 3.6ghz, 2GB ram, 9600GT 512mb Asus, 500watt PSU running Vista 32bit and on medium to high settings i can run it with almost little to no lag. Apart from some very annoying bugs it ran fine. :confused:

Please tell me what's your secret of optimizing the PC setup in a way that gives such a good performance on low end CPU like yours ? :D

I'm really struggling here trying everything i know and best so far is normal details 1280 x 1024 running with average 10-20 fps. Empty game world run at 40-70 fps, but with AI in it really stutters.

[koroush47]

Pretty hard to build without buying some hardware. Unless you're really really 1337 :P

Is that suppose to be some kinda clever answer or something?

[rowdied]

Resolution:1600x1050


Video memory:very high




Turn down your resolution and video memory.

Also try Kegety's fix here http://www.armaholic.com/ for no blur no bloom effect. It might increase your frames somewhat.

[m5holmez]

Please tell me what's your secret of optimizing the PC setup in a way that gives such a good performance on low end CPU like yours ? :D

I'm really struggling here trying everything i know and best so far is normal details 1280 x 1024 running with average 10-20 fps. Empty game world run at 40-70 fps, but with AI in it really stutters.

What system are you running? First of all have a read of this it really helped although i ran a higher fillrate http://www.armaholic.com/forums.php?m=posts&p=54369#54369

Then try this disable motion blur and bloom http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=5851

Also if your running a single core CPU with at least 3.0ghz if its a good one try overclocking it will defintely help, just make sure you have suitable cooling and dont go overboard.

[Potatomasher]

What system are you running? First of all have a read of this it really helped although i ran a higher fillrate http://www.armaholic.com/forums.php?m=posts&p=54369#54369

Then try this disable motion blur and bloom http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=5851

Also if your running a single core CPU with at least 3.0ghz if its a good one try overclocking it will defintely help, just make sure you have suitable cooling and dont go overboard.

My specs are in my sig.

I wrote this to the other thread, but i think this is very important fact to notice by BIS so i put it here aswell.

In forests or fields where there are no buildings near i got 20+ fps even with very high/high settings, but as soon as there is buildings near my fps drops to unplayable. 5-15 fps. Even when i put everything to low i got similar fps under 20

I have now tried everything from the day i bought Arma2 and now i'm pretty sure the game needs optimizing a lot. Otherwise low details should have impact on performance. Now it doesn't.

[m5holmez]

My specs are in my sig.

I wrote this to the other thread, but i think this is very important fact to notice by BIS so i put it here aswell.

In forests or fields where there are no buildings near i got 20+ fps even with very high/high settings, but as soon as there is buildings near my fps drops to unplayable. 5-15 fps. Even when i put everything to low i got similar fps under 20

I have now tried everything from the day i bought Arma2 and now i'm pretty sure the game needs optimizing a lot. Otherwise low details should have impact on performance. Now it doesn't.


Well even in the cities i have a playable framerate, it does drop but not to the extent that its unplayable. Your system should be running it fine maybe its windows 7 but i doubt it. Then i again i only tested it breifly on my old machine it was a saved game in the campaign near gorka, i went into town and it was stable even after a few chedaki's engaged us :)

Hopefully the patch coming with the 505 version will fix most issues.

[Heatseeker]

Some dude somewhere around here said he doubled his frame rate when he upgraded his OS from W7 to XP...

[ryan80]

i'm on vista 32bit - Athlon 64 X2 4200+ , 2gb ram, ATI HD3870 512MB

in the manhatten mission i could only get an average FPS of around 10-12
is that normal?

i don't think my system is that bad.

[Potatomasher]

i'm on vista 32bit - Athlon dual core 4200 , 2gb ram, ATI HD3780 512MB

in the manhatten mission i could only get an average FPS of around 10-12
is that normal?

i don't think my system is that bad.

It's normal.
Try the Armoury and load some vehicle in chernogorsk and drive around. Surprise! Your fps is stable 20+ all the time.

Something in AI kills the framerate totally in this game. Hard to believe that calculating the AI movement is so much CPU killer...
At first i thought that in the mission where you assault the Chernogorsk capital it is the town which affects the fps, but after playing with the editor and armoury i think it's the AI.

[ryan80]

It's normal.
Try the Armoury and load some vehicle in chernogorsk and drive around. Surprise! Your fps is stable 20+ all the time.

Something in AI kills the framerate totally in this game. Hard to believe that calculating the AI movement is so much CPU killer...
At first i thought that in the mission where you assault the Chernogorsk capital it is the town which affects the fps, but after playing with the editor and armoury i think it's the AI.

yes i just tried that. my fps was much better in Armory mode.

[brit~XR]

Well I was so excited about ARMA 2 and all so I bought the German version (while I'm in Canada =p)(digital).

I set it up and all and I was experiencing a lot of lag but I was like "oh, i just have to set the graphics options first" so I did but still...

I will get around 10 fps with no scripts or anything just me in the editor with these settings:

Blah means using advanced settings or useless to know.

Visibility: 1600

Quality:blah

Fillrate:88%

Resolution:1600x1050

Texture detail:low

Terrain detail:low

pp effects:low

Video memory:very high

objects detail:very low

AF=off

Shadows detail:low

Now before I bought this game I thought my computer could handle this at medium high to medium low which are decent to me.
I can even run games like Crysis or Farcry 2 on medium high to high with no problem so I don't know what's going on here.

Anyways here are my comp specs (laptop) Acer 8920g

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5550 @<hidden> 1.83GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.8GHz
3Gb RAM
Vista home premium 32bit
NVIDIA Geforce 9500m GS
Directx 10 supported

I have no junk whatsoever on my comp, I only use it for games and it's practically empty.

Anyone know why this is happening?

Your system is crap to be honest. Atleast for a game like arma2. Was gonna say it sounds like you using laptop then i noticed you had laptop acer 8920 above. I have asus g50 t4750 @<hidden> 2.0ghz and 9700, gt and would never think about runing arma 2 on it

Im using core i7 920 with gtx 275 for arma 2 and even tho it runs fine on most settings it could be alot better so i either get 2nd gtx 275 sometime or wait for the new dx11 cards to come out