Computer Build - Need Advice

[HeadClot]

Hey everyone,

I am currently Planning a build for an new computer which I should be ordering very soon. I am putting this build together for games like ARMA 2, Operation Arrowhead, ARMA 3, Iron Front Liberation 1944 and other CPU Intensive Games.

Now I could use some help with this build mainly Video Card - Should I allocate extra money to the build and Go Nvidia or Stay Radeon?

Current Budget - 615.00 USD

Here is what i got so far -

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1333

Motherboard: Biostar TZ77B LGA 1155 Intel Z77

Power supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Hard Drives: 2x Western Digital Caviar Green 750 GB 7200 RPM (Re-using from my current Computer.)

Video Card: XFX HD 6750 1 GB 128 Bit

Other Parts:

1x Cooler master 140mm Case fan
1x Cooler master 4 Pack of 120 Case Fans

Any words advice on computer parts is very much appreciated

 

[fiftyone]

The build looks good.

Just get ride of that AMD crap and throw a real GPU in there .

I do prefer Nvidia but if I had to buy a new card in that price range I would be hard put to recommend something.
I have a gtx 460 and from what I read, to get any real performance boost I'm looking at double the price that you have.

Looks good.

 

[LordSteve]

Guy the videocard is too weak, buy instead the hd 6870 1gb 256. Its a realy good card (140 Euro). Dont forget, it doesn't excist a pc that can arma handle in maxed out settings. It is the worst optimized game ever developed.

 

[Oldih]

You definitely need better GPU. Up to you what do you want Radeon or GeForce, but at least my Radeon 6870 runs A2 1920x1080 with ~med details, high lightning, some (don't remember exactly how much) AF and AA and 7km viewdistance smooth bar occasional zooming in thick foliage or forests, then the FPS can take notable dive around 20 and slightly below but beyond that it's smooth.

 

[tixhal]

the 6870 will struggle with arma2. i know it will be well playable but 35fps in a 2009 title... i don't know... i'd recommend at least a 6950 or 6970 to squeeze some more fps out of arma2 (it seems to be equally cpu and gpu dependent).
if you look at benchmarks

Spoiler!

, the 3550 isn't much better than the smallest ivy. i'd recommend either the 3450 or the 3570k, depending on your budget. the turbo of non-k versions can be overclocked up to 4 steps + some bclk if you dare.

 

[Oldih]

6970 will also struggle with A2 if you ramp up details past ~med and even then (that is, around ~med overall details) ACOG\some other scopes\manual zoom will kill your FPS w/ 6970 in foliage like it does with 6870 from time to time. Sure it's slightly more smooth overall but that's really up to drivers and\or common sense how much you adjust stuff, like 7km viewdistance in multiplayer is practically impossible sight unless you have dynamic viewdistance script applied by the mission maker.

 

[fiftyone]

This is the card that I have.

[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125412[/URL]

Defiantly not the newest on the block but there again still a good card and within the price range. I'm not going to recommend it, simply because there is newer and better on the market.

You are lucky, very rare in

 

[Raquel]

Guy the videocard is too weak, buy instead the hd 6870 1gb 256. Its a realy good card (140 Euro). Dont forget, it doesn't excist a pc that can arma handle in maxed out settings. It is the worst optimized game ever developed.

^this, and get 3570k instead of 3570

dont listen to the nvidia fanboy, hes clueless, 6870 is the best card you can get in that price range and its better than 460, if you really want nvidia get a 560ti

 

[tixhal]

Dont forget, it doesn't excist a pc that can arma handle in maxed out settings. It is the worst optimized game ever developed.

i could imagine a sandy bridge @ 5ghz and a decent sli or crossfire with good cards can do pretty well now, three years after the games' release.
opflash had the same problem, unplayable on decent rigs when it was released, finally great performance with dualcore and better graphics cards.
i sure hope arma3 won't be as demanding, but i guess it will be the same. rage about bad performance, upgrade pc few years later, finally play the game as intended.

 

[Raquel]

i've been playing arma 2 for 3 years with a e8400... you dont need 10k view distance, thats what hurts performance the most, i5 + 6870 will run great with decent settings.

 

[tixhal]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 save some money, get the 3450

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1333 8gb should be sufficient at the moment, invest the savings in a better graphics card, arma2 doesn't use more than 2gb anyway

Motherboard: Biostar TZ77B LGA 1155 Intel Z77

Power supply: SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Hard Drives: 2x Western Digital Caviar Green 750 GB 7200 RPM (Re-using from my current Computer.)

Video Card: XFX HD 6750 1 GB 128 Bit invest above savings in a gfx card in the $200 area (geforce 560 or ati 6870), that way the pc will be better balanced (the gpu still being weaker than the cpu)

that way it should be within your budget.
i was bored so i stuffed something in the shopping cart:

Spoiler!

i have the asus 6870, it's very quiet and running smoothly at 940mhz. a 560 would be the nvidia option, but costs more and is a bit slower. i'm pretty sure you can find a cheaper 8gb kit, especially if you choose 1333.

 

[fiftyone]

^this, and get 3570k instead of 3570

dont listen to the nvidia fanboy, hes clueless, 6870 is the best card you can get in that price range and its better than 460, if you really want nvidia get a 560ti

Read the post, garlic eater .

 

[Flogger23m]

If you have the money go for a GTX670. Only 4% slower than the GTX680 with OC models being faster than the stock 680.

Here is an ArmA 2 benchmark with a lot of cards:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/05/10/nvidia-geforce-gtx-670-2gb-review/4

 

[Comrade Kaizer]

Since you're on such a tight budget I'd ditch the extra 8 gigs of ram and go with two sticks of 4GB (8GB total) for now.

I got the G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series, darn good memory. Quality memory and the 30-40 extra bucks you save can be put into a better mobo (Like a Biostar XE3) or videocard choice then the one you have there.

If you're going with the 6000 series then I wouldn't go with anything lower then a 6870.