Cheapest possible system for PR and Arma2

[JohnnyTheIED]

Sup people,

Im starting to look around for a new machine and I was wondering what was the lowest I could go to still be able to play PR and Arma2 on high settings (maybe medium for arma2). Ive been far away from all the new technologies since my last build up in 2004, so Ive restarted doing alot of reading and checking out benchmarks but Id still love to hear the community input.

My idea is to keep the costs to a minimum while still maintaining a good quality system. Id love to keep it around the 500$ mark.

So far Ive came up with this:

CPU : Phenom 2 955 x4 3.2ghz 8mb Black Edition...................154$
MOBO : M4A89GTD - PRO - USB 3.........................................164$
RAM : DDR3 1066mhz / 4 gig................................................110$
GFX : ASUS EAH5770 1 gig...................................................176$

Total is around 600$ CAD, but I think this baby could handle Pr and Arma2 pretty good. Especially after 8 gigs of RAM.

Later on I was thinking of getting a nice strong PSU and a Antec 3 hundred Case. Right now I got a brand new 500w PSU and a SATA 80gb HD in my old sonata Case. (with a dead AGP mobo lol) So thats why Im only talking big 4 here, CPU, mobo, RAM and GFX.

Any suggestions? Ive really been away from Video card benchmarks for so long, Im pretty sure theres gotta be a really good one out there with a ridiculous price for the quality.

Tips welcome as well

Thanks guys

[NyteMyre]

Been a long time since I build my own computer.
So i can't really tell.

But 600$ for medium ArmA sounds reasonable

[BloodBane611]

I just picked up an M4A89GTD PRO USB 3 for my current build, I'm definitely liking it so far. It's got more heatsinks than the navy's railgun, looks a bit ridiculous really

I also bought an AMD phenom 2, but I got the 3.0 ghz deneb. The Phenom IIs are a real nice midpoint on cost/quality - all the reviews I've read say they're solid, but they're still not bankbreaker, and it should last you a couple good gaming years at a minimum.

As far as GPU goes, I've heard nothing but rave reviews of the 5770 as far as price/quality goes, everyone I ask highly recommends it.

For memory, you can probably pick up some 1333 mghz RAM for the same price or a slight amount more. I don't know how much that will affect performance, but it certainly won't hurt (and is mobo supported)


Also, I moved this to the correct section

[Cassius]

You should probably up that to 8 gigs for ramdisk. Also does it have to be DDR3 1033? I think DDR2 800 is much cheaper. Would you even notice a difference?

[BloodBane611]

That mobo doesn't support DDR2 (most AM3 socket mobos don't), so yes, he would notice the difference

[JohnnyTheIED]

So basicly Blood Bane youre telling me I did my homeworks correctly? lol I came up with that stuff after like a week end of reading reviews and benchmarks for all that my intuition told me might be a good bargain while looking at my compute stores pricelists.

Yes the M4A89GTD USB3 definitely looks solid for OCin and high bandwidth SATA\RAM. My intuition tells me the heatsinks are probably for that, and the integrated graphics for those looking for media centers. Not to mention that those USB 3 are gonna come in really handy in the future, just like the DDR3 when Ill get to 16 gigs of ram loll

As for the Phenom II, Same here. Heard nothing but praises. Its my first time going for AMD over intel but the price difference is really starting to be felt now when comparing capabilities. Id litterally pay twice as much to get the same quality in INTEL me thinks. Might as well wait a few years and switch all the DDR3 ram to an intel i7 platform when the prices litteraly fall down. That i7 980x priced at 1000+$ will be worth 150-200$ in 4 yrs. Switching my system to intel at that time will cost less then the $ saved!

As for the ATI 5770, Yep I figured its the best compromise between a 5870 and a NVIDIA GT. In my first build I had the Radeon 9500 pro, Served my very well. Then came NVIDIA and their supremacy over gaming. But apparentely ATI is back on top with the HD5000 series. All the reviews and benchmark place the ATI HD5000 series untop of their nvidia counterparts.

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To answer you Cassius, the reason I chose DDR3 is pretty simple, its the same reason I chose to go with AM3 platform. Easier to upgrade in the future. If I had the money I would have gone with a i7 platform (socket 1366) as they are obviously the next main platform for intel in the future.

Also, DDR3 runs in lower voltage, hence, less heat and power consumption The price difference is virtually non existent, I pay 2$ more for 4 gigs of DDR 3 over DDR2.


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P.S: Sorry for misposting this in wrong section, had no idea we had a section just for that stuff Makes sense obviously. lol

Oh and Bane, For the 1066 memory I was told to be certain to not under-use the memory if I went for something a little less then the 1333 limit the AM3 platforms have. My first idea was to go top notch 1333 gold sinks

[CommunistComma]

I had written a massive rant but I'll stick with this because the rant was stupid.
My motherboard has a feature of integrated core unlocker. That means you press 4 in the boot screen and any locked cores become unlocked. My mobo's an M4A785. Shit compared to that one. Just get a tri core insteada the quad you're looking at, and you'll save a few bucks. Like $20 or something.

[boom50cal]

Or you could look at an Athlon II x4. Lacks L3 cache, the 630 is just about on par with an unlocked 550 or 555 Phenom II x2 that runs at quad. I own the 630, works great. $60-70 less than that Phenom II x4, too.

[Cossack]

Everything is about what you want. For high quality more cash you will spend. And yes, the 600$ is good to go. I am Intel and Nvidia fan. Radeon have muscle, but Nvidia quality. But its up to you, what kind components you want for reasonable price.

[Dev1200]

Systems Requirements Lab, creator of Instant Expert Analysis

Look for ARMA2 OA (If it's there, otherwise just ARMA2 should be fine) and than look at minimum.


Base your system off that. Buy the parts from newegg and built it yourself.

[JohnnyTheIED]

Systems Requirements Lab, creator of Instant Expert Analysis

Look for ARMA2 OA (If it's there, otherwise just ARMA2 should be fine) and than look at minimum.


Base your system off that. Buy the parts from newegg and built it yourself.

Yes Im definitely building it myself like my old one, the money saved is just rediculous when going for quality components.

I was shocked to see the low prices they get in the states, like litteraly hundreds of dollars off on CPUs and stuff. Cant remember the name exactly but it was Computer something, some kind of a superstore for computers in the states. Kinda like the wal mart of computer parts.

Does Newegg have a canadian division? I dont wanna end up paying shitload of taxes and fees at the customs. I used to deal with a site called Dangeo which was based in alberta (half tax) but it seems they closed now (was 5 yrs ago).

I could be wrong tho I never made big orders to the states. Like one time I bought a 35mm camera on e-bay and had it shipped as a gift to avoid that.

Edit: nevermind the newegg silly question, seems they got good prices too