Will my PC Run this? What CPU/GPU to get? What settings? System Specifications.

[Leon86]

even low settings are a challenge for that gpu, it's barely on minimum system requirements. sure, the cpu is really slow as well, if budget allows the best thing is upgrade both.

Testing what's the bottleneck is pretty straightforward. Run the benchmark mission with and without anti-aliasing. If the one with is significantly slower your gpu is probably bottlenecking.

[CJ]

im having a little trouble as of late with performance (seems to be better on Taki than Cherna) and im thinking of upgrading my rig with of budget of around £400 but im not overly sure on what i should upgrade for biggest perfomance.

my specs are
asus p5k-se (i think so anyway - either way not very good)
intel core 2 duo e4400 (2.0ghz)
nvidia 285gtx (dont think this will need changing)
2gb ram

if anyone has any ideas i would really appreciate it

[cjph]

Hi
Does anyone have any experience/advice on using the on-board ATI sound function on their GPUs ? Compared to something like Creative Audigy boards.

[Leon86]

im having a little trouble as of late with performance (seems to be better on Taki than Cherna) and im thinking of upgrading my rig with of budget of around £400 but im not overly sure on what i should upgrade for biggest perfomance.

my specs are
asus p5k-se (i think so anyway - either way not very good)
intel core 2 duo e4400 (2.0ghz)
nvidia 285gtx (dont think this will need changing)
2gb ram

if anyone has any ideas i would really appreciate it

yeah, the gpu is quite fast compared to the cpu. I'd recommend an i5-2500K with a sli-capable 2x 8 Pci-e lanes (never know if you'll find a cheap secondhand 285) motherboard and 4 or 8GB ram. Ram is pretty cheap so even 8GB will probably fit within budget.

The sandy bridge (socket 1155) motherboads have a little bug in the sata300 ports that made them wear out faster. The B3 stepping of the chipset doesn't have this problem, although it wasn't that much of a problem to begin with.

If you want the stuff now I'd recommend the "bugged" sandy brige P67 boards with i5-2500K over anything phenomII, as it's much faster. You can just use the 2 (sometimes more) sata600 ports for your harddisks, optical drive doesnt use the sata port that much, it can go on 300.
If you can wait for a B3 motherboard I'd do that. Might want to check out bulldozer (new amd cpu's) as well as it might be out when the B3 stepping motherboard will be sold.

[CJ]

good lad ,thats given me a big insight into what i want to be lookin for. i have been considering the i5 for a while now and ive heard good things about the 2500k - is the i7 much better ? and could u do us a big favour and browse some mobos for me as i dont want to pick something incompatible and screw myself over ! i had a look at the p67 boards but theres a billion of them on overclockers.co.uk so im a bit wary over which would be best for the price.

remember im on around £400 budget ,may even go to £500 if its worth it. looks like im goin to have to get a 64bit OS aswell now !!

[Leon86]

does this link work? It should be a list with the sli-capable asus and gigabyte motherboards. I have mosty asus boards myself, never had real problems. Gigabyte has a good reputation as well. One advantage of asus is you have case fan control even on the less expensive boards. The Gigabyte UD4 for example doesn't have that, only cpu fan control.

[CJ]

brilliant stuff mate cheers for the effort. may get them on order come payday ! last couple of questions - whats a good make of ram, im thinkin of ordering 8gb worth. and will this rig require a decent cooling system or will the stocks do ?

edit : ok maybe a cheeky 3rd aswel, will a 550w psu handle the new tech ?

[Leon86]

I'd just go with the kingston valueram 1333 8GB kit (2 dimms). That's the most common ram so no compatibility or availability issues.

If you want to overclock (and 2500K clock very well) I'd get an aftermarket cooler (the intel cooler is tiny to save money), almost any will do since these chips dont need that much power, even on 4.2-ish Ghz.
If you want to go for a heavy overclock, like 4.8Ghz or more something I suggest a more highend cooler like a mugen 2.

And the psu is plenty. If you dont overclock too insanely your new setup will use less power than the old.

[Hiikeri]

whats a good make of ram, im thinkin of ordering 8gb worth.

Arma2 engine usable max memory is limited to 2Gb, so 4Gb Main memory > 8Gb doesnt give you a single frame more, or not a smoother gaming. 4Gb is enough, Max 2Gb for game (ever that size?) and 1-1.5Gb for Windows+backround programs.

Arma2/OA uses only 850-900Mb Display Adapter memory at normal playing situations, even at Very High details + 1920x1080 resolution > 1Gb card is enough.

SSD is one and great answer to get a smoother playing experience, even at slow fps. Buy a cheap, ~30Gb SSD and install Arma/OA that drive only.

If you have Steam version, install games normally (C:\) and after that move your Arma2 + OA to the that drive (SSD) using SteamMover program.

[CJ]

legends ,looks like ive got myself a decent rig on the setup ! When it comes thru ill make a reply showing the difference in fps and quality. Nice one for all the help lads ,nice to see theres still decent fellas in the community