STEAM / ARMA II :: Beginner's build

Suff

Honorable
Jul 22, 2012
9
0
10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: One - Four weeks.

Budget Range: $1,000 USD. ( May even spend above $1,000 if better performance; $800 - $900 would be best, but I'm willing to spend extra for the boost.)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, and internet browsing.

Are you buying a monitor: No. (Currently have a monitor).


Parts to Upgrade: I would be starting from complete scratch.

Do you need to buy OS: No.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any.

Location: Currently in the U.S.

Overclocking: No.

SLI or Crossfire: I don't understand what this is..

Your Monitor Resolution: 1024x768

Additional Comments:

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current PC is unable to run most games smoothly.. It's very outdated.


I would like to be able to play the following games on high to maximum settings, if possible with my budget.
Sixty or higher FPS is a must. (60FPS).

I really do not play any other games aside from STEAM games, but I am looking to play ARMA II's Dayz mod, and would like to be able to play it on highest settings if possible.
This will be my first PC build. :).
Thank you! :)
 
G

Guest

Guest
this will do what you ask w/o a problem:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 PRO3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital RE2 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Compuvest)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($284.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred ATX Full Tower Case ($94.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony DDU1681S-0B DVD/CD Drive ($17.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $795.99
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-07-22 16:15 EDT-0400)
but really that is so overkill for your monitor resolution . .think about picking up a 1080 for ~$140.

Asus VH236H 23.0"
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vh236h
 
Theres no point in higher than 60 FPS just so you know, your monitor is limited to displaying 60FPS, as such the video card could send 1000FPS to it, and it wouldnt matter.

Even so, theres no reason you can't have what you're looking for at that budget, especially playing at 1024x768.

What do you think about this?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cLiF

Ideally, I would spend a little bit more and get a better video card like a 7850, however, I get the impression you're still using a VGA monitor, theres not much point in getting anything more powerful than a 6870 unless you're prepared to upgrade the monitor as well.

Sli/Crossfire, is the ability to add a 2nd video card of similar type and allow them to run in tandem. Sli is for Nvidia cards, Crossfire is for AMD cards, they both achieve the same goal however.
 

Suff

Honorable
Jul 22, 2012
9
0
10,510



Ah- Thank you. :). I like your list.
I was told that ARMA II's Dayz mod uses alot of CPU; is it possible to invest in a higher CPU than the one you listed or would this one be more than sufficient? What would you recommend? I'm willing to go the extra' mile for a CPU that is able to handle ARMA. I'd like to have high graphics, and very high FPS. I may invest in a new monitor in the future, so I'll go with the better video-card that you suggested.
Thank you. :)
 
G

Guest

Guest
i made a small boo boo with that. the i5-3450 is actually $189.99 @ Amazon, that microcenter price snuck by me, that is in store pick up only.

however i really believe that cpu will handle anything ARMA II throws at it. getting an unlock K series cpu that can overclock would be an additional $30 and the motherboard would need to be a Z77 not B75 and that could run another $30+ and also there would be a need for a cpu cooler that is $25-$30. i really don't think that additional $90 would be very cost effective with the performance increase you would see with that change unless you are willing to pay for the very best; like the difference between 60 to 75 fps @ 1080.