cmndr_andi

The laptop (depending on the graphics chip chip it uses) may technically be able to "run" the game (turn all the graphics to lowest, drop resolution), but I'd say it isn't the best way to introduce someone to this very unforgiving game/mod. Therefore, I would recommend sticking with the desktop and doing a small graphics card upgrade to it - which will allow him to run it much better. Is that a core 2 Duo Optiplex 745 he is running? If so, then buying a cheap, relatively high-performing second-hand graphics card like a HD 4670, 8800GT, 9800GT, GTS 250, HD 4850 would only cost him ~$40 *though he may also need a PSU upgrade, depending what the PC currently has) and allow him to play DayZ/ARMA2 pretty well and will also allow him to run most other recent PC games pretty well too. If the PSU is pretty low end (~300W) then he could instead consider upgrading to a cutting edge low-power usage gaming graphics card like the HD 7750. It is more expensive than the other graphics cards I mentioned, but it means he won't need a PSU upgrade, comes with full warranty and performs a bit better overall.

+1 to machoman's recommendations. ARMA2 is a very CPU heavy game, so make sure your current CPU is up to snuff before you spend a lot of money on a new graphics card. If you aren't sure what your CPU is, then you can run CPU-Z to check ( http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html ). As for the graphics card, the HD 7850 2GB as recommended is the one I would go for. It is a fast card, good value (in terms of performance per $), lots of video memory, quiet and power efficient. Here is the HD 7850 for sale ( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419 ). If you don't want to spend so much money then the HD 6850 1GB is a solid card and will allow you to play ARMA2/DayZ very nicely too ( http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353 ). However, before you buy a shiny new graphics card make sure that your PSU is up to the job. To do this you will need to take off the side of your case and check what it says on the sticker on the side/top of the PSU. Make note of the make, model number and maximum currents for the different rails. Also, you should make sure that your case has enough room to fit a dual-slot PCI-E graphics card of around 9 inches long.

If its an Athlon II X2 then yes - you should be fine for the CPU requirement. Obviously, it won't be able to rival an i5 in the CPU stakes, but it will run the game well enough - so long as you tweak your settings. Now you just need to check your PSU is good enough for a proper graphics card. The GTS 450 isn't a bad card, but it tends to cost about the same as a HD 5770 or 6770 (these two cards are basically the same, but with different names) but performs worse (see here http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/538?vs=609 ). Therefore, I would recommend the AMD cards over the GTS 450.

Hi there, May I ask what make and model number CPU, PSU and motherboard you are using? You can check the CPU and motherboard using CPU-Z (http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html), to find out the PSU info you will need to take the side off your case and look for the rating/information sticker on the unit. A new graphics card is a good start for getting your PC able to play ARMA2/DayZ, however you will also need to have a half-decent CPU to get the game running acceptably and your PSU needs to be good enough to run the more power-hungry graphics card. As for a graphics card to fit in that budget, I'm not sure what hardware prices are like in NZ, but based on currency conversion I would be looking at a graphics card like an AMD HD 5750, HD 5770, HD 6750, HD 6770, HD 6850 and HD 7770. If you can find one a Nvidia GTX 460 would be a great card to get in this price range.

I would pretty much agree with the PC spec suggested by frogbones, nice PC all round. That said, I would suggest a few small changes/updates to an otherwise excellent spec. - Go for the newer Antec 100 case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129183 ) Its a good sized case, well designed and at a relatively low price for a good quality PC case. - Use the Ivy Bridge i5 3570K CPU( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504 ) - this CPU is not much more powerful than the 2500K, but it is a bit faster and uses a bit less power - so for a CPU hungry game like ARMA2 (and presumably ARMA3) I would spend the extra $10. i7 CPUs are available (3770 series), however these chips are almost identical to the i5 3570K apart from a tiny bump in the stock clockspeed (3.4GHz vs 3.5GHz), 2MB more L3 cache (really doesn't make any performance benefit in games, and hyperthreading (a technology which allows the each core to run two virtual threads) which is only beneficial to highly threaded, CPU-heavy applications- it offers no performance benefit to games. Therefore, it really isn't worth going for an i7 CPU if you are building a PC mainly for gaming. - The stock intel CPU cooler is OK, though it tends to be a bit noisy and really doesn't allow you to overclock too far. So if you want to have a quieter computer and/or some overclocking headroom then I would recommend an aftermarket CPU cooler, like this nice Gelid Tranquillo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835426023&Tpk=gelid%20tranquillo ) this will also fit happily in both the Antec 100 and 300 cases. - For the RAM you should be able to get a 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz kit from a good brand for ~$40 , for example this kit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570 ). Faster/lower-latency RAM is available, but for gaming the performance benefit is negligible. - The Antec 750W PSU, is a nice one and gives you loads of headroom - so running a second graphics card is an option (so long as your motherboard supports it). However, if you are pretty sure you will be sticking to single graphics cards then you may want to go for a 550W-650W unit of similar quality (like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371059 ) or go for a unit like this which uses modular cables (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031 ). - For the motherboard, I would go with the full-ATX size version of the board suggested (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543 ), or this board if you want the ability to run a second graphics card at full speed in the future (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128546 ). - The GTX 560Ti graphics card suggested is a very nice option and you won't go far wrong with it, though for a similar price you can get the new HD 7850 2GB which is a good deal faster and has double the video memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419 ). If you want to spend a bit less then this excellent Gigabyte HD 6850 is a great option for $150 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353 ). - I would also recommend you consider also opting for an SSD as a boot drive - a 120/128GB SSD would be large enough to fit your windows install, all your main applications and a few games (including ARMA2/DayZ). This drive would provide a big performance benefit in all tasks than rely on storage drive speed. This drive for example is a firm favourite and pretty good value considering its performance (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148525 ). - You will also need a storage hard disk. If you already have a sizable external hard drive then this may not be needed. If you do need an extra disk for the larger files then something like this would be my recommendation (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245 ). - Finally, you will need a copy of windows. I would recommend Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM version (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 ). Hopefully that will be of some help.

Looking at my steam folder, ARMA2 and ARMA2: Operation arrowhead (together these two games are reffered to as ARMA2: Combined Operations) are 17.2GB in size. This includes the DayZ files which are only 315MB (with 1.7.1.5) and the BAF folder (470MB). The beta patches (which are not implemented by steam) tend to be ~10MB. The best place to buy the game from at the moment seems to be the bohemia store (the store of the developers of the game and the company Rocket works for) https://store.bistudio.com/. They sell a version of ARMA2: CO that activates on steam (so after telling steam the key, it treats it like any other steam game) and it is cheaper than buying it through steam. In my country (UK) the Bohemia store has a 25%-off sale running, so the game only costs £15, while on steam it is still at the standard price of £25. If downloading the game is too much for your ISP download limit then you can buy the game in disk form (or enlist the help of a nearby friend with a better internet service).