New PC Time

[xI_Yoda_Ix]

I play PR exclusively and intend to start playing PR version of ARMA.
This means a new PC is in order and I would like some help with it's specification.
If some of you would be so kind to suggest CPU, MB, video card(s).
Budget is a bit of concern but I am looking for a system that will standup for a few years before needing upgrades without going over the top.
Say $2k just for the box.
Thanks

[=VG= BLuDKLoT]

try www.cyberpowerpc.com and tell them VG sent you!

[sgt-barclay]

clafag mpmte ull love it

[=VG= poffadder]

If you are looking to assemble a PC yourself with $2k, you can build something pretty epic. If I had that much I would go for:

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600k

Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme (high end) or MSI P67A-GD53 (mid-range)

RAM: Anything at 1600 or 1800 MHz (I like the 8 GB Corsair Vengeance kit at 1600 MHz because its cheap,cool and fast)
If you are concerned about CAS latency in the cheaper kits they have versions with tighter timings that cost a bit more. With modern DDR3, timing is less detrimental to game performance as even the cheap kits have decent timings.

Super high end GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB (Brand new and super fast but super expensive.)

Best bang for buck GPU: A non-generic GeForce GTX 570 (Very powerful card and so many to choose from.)

Value GPU: Geforce GTX 560ti 1 GB (fast and cheap)

PSU: Corsair HX 650W

[=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty)]

^ what he said plus an SSD drive if you are playing Arma

[xI_Yoda_Ix]

Thanks for the advice guys!
I'm off to the computer store to see how this prices up here in Australia.

[=VG= Murderface0151]

let us know how you go mate

[xI_Yoda_Ix]

Will this run ARMA PR?
# Intel Core i5 2400 CPU - 3.1GHz
# Gigabyte / Asus Z68 MotherBoard
# 8G (2x4G) DDR3-1600MHz RAM
# 500G SATA3 7200RPM Hard Disk
# 22X DVD Burner
# ATI HD7750 1GB PCI-e Graphics Card
# Thermaltake V4 Mid Black Tower Case with 500w PSU

[=VG= Murderface0151]

yes, that will definitely run Arma PR, but i'd maybe get a bigger case to have enough room for upgrades and a bigger power supply, atleast a decent quality 650 such as the one Poffadder suggested above.

is this a deal and ready built? or are you building yourself?

[Guest AirborneAlways]

I have played ARMA on ASUS G51VX laptop, can get choppy at times but then it wasn't completely up to spec for the game.

Windows Operating system Windows XP or higher
Hard drive space 9 GB of free space

Minimum
CPU Intel Core 2.4 GHz or AMD Dual-Core Athlon 2.5 GHz
Memory 1 GB
Graphics hardware Nvidia Geforce 8600GT or ATI Radeon 3650 or faster with Shader Model 3 and 512 MB VRAM

Recommended
CPU Intel Core i5 or AMD Athlon Phenom X4 or faster
Memory 2 GB
Graphics hardware Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 5770 or faster with Shader Model 3 and 896 MB VRAM


Just to give you an idea of what I use for ARMA (as well as other FPS and Flight Sims)

My current system:
Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1090T Processor (6 CPUs), ~3.2GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Hard Drive: 1 TB
Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

[=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty)]

CPU clock speed and hard drive are the two most important things in Arma. I'd highly recommend getting an SSD drive if you can (even a small one just for Arma), and going with the i7

[=VG= SemlerPDX]

[EDIT: Yes. It will run Arma. Will you also find yourself asking, "Why do I still see this game running poorly at times?".
Yes. This is why all the tips on pushing one particular setup, or part - such as the CPU, PSU, or Hard Drive.]

i7 all the way, bro. Price difference is nothing compared to longivity. Arma by itself pushes hardware, but then you add mods that further push certain things, sometimes graphically as in Blast Core Visuals or JTD Fire and Smoke, and you have that much more overhead.

Arma PR is way cool, the few servers I tried, I chose populated ones - over 40 players all in different vehicles or whatever - A battlefield with a lot going on. It pushed my system to where I had to manipulate my view/draw distance in Video Settings to get my desired frame rate.
In Arma I'm used to keeping my view distance at around 5000 meters, 10,000 is max (fyi). If I have ~50 FPS, I call Arma very playable, with max everything - shadows, etc.
It's the dip you want to avoid, don't want that dropping below 30FPS ever.

That means an over-capable CPU, Motherboard, and RAM pairing. Poffadder has led several discussions on this very topic, and as a 2nd year PC Science/Engineering student, I will go with the exact configurations he recommends, or would use himself, as his knowledge is so very current and backed by a proper education in the field right now.
We all know Arma streams data off the Hard Drive like mad when playing, that's why we all suggest running Arma off it's own SSD on a separate SATA channel on said Motherboard. 60-80GB should be fine for most Arma players. For enthusiasts hoping to DL tons of mods (kiwirambob, I'm lookin at you!) you want to get a 120GB at least. Either way, well worth it. This option, you can upgrade to as well. It is no difficult thing to re-install Arma at a later date to see this improvement.

Figure ~30GB for Arma
and ~20GB for a couple extra maps and mods like PR
ALWAYS have a little breathing room on hard drives, i.e. empty space.

[=VG= Murderface0151]

lol @ your statement about free hard drive space Semler, i have 13gb of free space out of a total of 450 :)