Basic Hardware Help

[Titanic3 16]

For those who are computer illiterate and/or do not understand the basics of computer performance, I've decided to write this guide for them. Hoping it will be stickies as well as to prevent further threads about such topics.

There are 3 main components in a computer that will affect games in particular. They are called a Graphics Card (GPU - graphics processing unit), Processor (Central Processing Unit - CPU), and RAM (Random Access Memory).

You cannot have one top end part and expect it to work with two low end parts. Likewise, two top end parts will not be fully utilized if there is one low end part. When looking for a gaming PC or building your own, you must balance the components. When a high end part is prevented from doing its job by a low end part, it is called bottle necking. In every system, there is bottlenecking, your goal is trying to reduce it to a minimum.

DayZ/Arma 2 is a very demanding game (especially at max settings), but there is no need to run at max settings for "high" settings looks almost exactly the same but without the major performance hit. Anti Aliasing and Post Processing should always be off, for they are extremely "heavy" settings and will tax your system but the visual loss without them is almost non existent.

Perhaps the most important of the 3 main components is the Graphics Card (GPU) for it does everything that is related with graphics, textures, and pixels.

There are two types of graphics card, made by two different companies, nVidia and AMD/Radeon. Both companies name their GPU based on their performance. For example:

A GTX 560 is faster than a GTX 550 but is slower than a GTX 570.

A Radeon 6770 is faster than a Radeon 6570 but is slower than a 6870.

A GTX 560 is slower than a GTX 560 Ti.

A Radeon 6870 is faster than a Radeon 6850, but a 6850 is still faster than a 6770.

The first number in both types of graphics card is the "generation". The second and third number is the "speed". So for example:

A GTX 480 is faster than a GTX 560 even though it is one generation older.

A Radeon 5970 is faster than a Radeon 6870 even though it is one generation older.

There are a couple of exceptions (a 5870 is actually faster than a 6870) but usually, the newer generations have new features integrated into them (better cooling, less power consumption, utilizes new technology, or can do certain things faster than their old generation counterpart, etc etc).

The second most important component is the CPU (Processor). A top end graphics card is bottlenecked by a low end CPU and vice versa.

There are two types of CPUs by two companies, Intel and AMD. Generally, Intel is almost always better than its AMD counterpart. A CPU can have multiple cores, each core doing work, up to 8. However, very few games and programs utilizes more than 4 and most only uses 2. So be careful about purchasing a $1000 8-core CPU if all you do is play games that uses only 2. Cores can variate in speed from 1.6Ghz to 4.0Ghz (there are higher but generally, those are out of the average person's budget and accessibility). A decent CPU should be at least 2.8Ghz. The best ones currently are the Intel i5 and i7 series.

The third component is RAM. This helps you load faster in games, boot faster, and avoid memory problems in games that require it. They range from 512MB all the way to 32GB and sometimes even 64GB (but again, that is generally out of most consumer's reach). 512MB is pretty much obsolete for gaming, 2GB is mediocre but is acceptable. 4GB is good, 8GB is great and 16GB is perfect. RAM can either be separated into two or four sticks or a single stick.

For example:

With 8GB of RAM, you can either have

TWO 4GB sticks

ONE 8GB stick

FOUR 2GB sticks.

Most motherboards (place where the all computer components are attached to) have 2x RAM slots.

BEWARE: if your operating system is 32bit, it can only use 4GB of RAM maximum, regardless of how many you have. 64bit operating systems can use as much as you can put into it.

As a general guide to shoppers:

(For Radeon Cards)

A x5xxx card is very weak for gaming, but it will run old games (2007 and previous) perfectly.

A x6xx card is ok for entry games, it will run current games on low or medium.

A x7xx card is decent for current gaming, it will run current games on medium no problem.

A x8xx card is very good for current gaming, it will run current games on high no problems.

A x9xx card is extremely good for games, it will run just about everything on maximum settings, (including triple monitor setups).

(for nVidia cards)

A x2x is extremely weak.

A x3x is weak. Will not run current games, older games will be no problem (2007 and previous).

A x4x is ok, will run most games on very low to low.

A x5x will run most on medium.

A x6x will run most on medium-high.

A x7x will run most on high.

A x8x will run all on high.

A x9x will run all at maximum settings.

This a very generalized guide, there are exceptions but I will not list them all, for they are too complicated to go into detail and explain.

If you have any questions or comments or additional help, please add it below. I will try to answer them as much as possible.

[Kray (DayZ) 0]

Thanks for the detailed explanation, very useful indeed. I have been out of the PC gaming scene for quite some time, and I'm thinking of purchasing a new (budget) gaming laptop just to play this game. This is one of my shortlisted laptop:

Lenovo Y580 intel core i7 3610QM 2.3GHz (Ivy Bridge)

Display: 14.0-inch LED backlit display with 1366 x 768 resolution

CPU: Intel Core i7-3610QM 2.3GHz Quad-Core processor (Ivy Bridge)

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 2 GB

Memory: 4GB of DDR3 memo

Storage: 500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

Ports: Two USB 2.0, Two USB 3.0 ports, 6-in-1 media card reader, Ethernet RJ-45 port, headphone out, microphone in, monitor out VGA port, HDMI port

Optical Drive: DVD Super Multi-Burne

Wireless: 802.11b/g/n Wireless Networking, Bluetooth 4.0

Based on your guide above, I'm guessing that the laptop's graphic card can run DayZ only at medium settings? Would this specs be good to play DayZ at high settings?

[Titanic3 16]

I doubt it, at low-medium settings maybe. Laptop graphics card and desktop graphics card are completely different. Companies have to reduce the size and power of a desktop GPU to fit it into a laptop (to prevent overheating and reduce size, some GPUs are as long as a laptop is wide). The "M" you see behind your graphics card stands for "mobile". Your CPU is rather weak, decent, but not strong enough to run Arma at high settings. Arma is especially a CPU hog since it has to calculate every single bullet, every single AI path, and every single player movement on your screen, and much more.

But also, a laptop is never good for gaming. Even those branded as "gaming laptops". They weigh a lot, they overheat like crazy, and are not as mobile as you think they are. Playing games without being connected to a charger drains the battery so fast, it wouldn't last more than 1 hour max, so you're stuck to the nearest electrical plug. You also can't update a laptop like a desktop can. After 3-4 years, a gaming laptop becomes obsolete and is unable to catch up with technology. In a desktop, you can keep adding new parts every 2-3 years, in a laptop, you're stuck with what you have. Remember, 5 years ago, the top GPU was a 8800GT that cost $500. Today, a GTX 560 Ti is twice as fast and half the price at $200.

[Kray (DayZ) 0]

Low-medium is not very encouraging. I'll look for better rigs. Thanks.

[FrankFisher 46]

Damn are you sure a i7 3610 won't run it well, and what's better a GTX 670M OR Radeon HD 7970

[Titanic3 16]

Sorry guys, I haven't been on in a while. Hope I didn't answer too late, but yes, an i7 3610 is a very goodCPU. And a 7970 is one of the fastest cards out there. It's actually two GPU combined into one. So if you buy two 7970s, you literally have the power of FOUR GPUs. But of course, the thing costs over $500 or $600 last I looked. So yes, a 7970 is faster than a 670M :).

Edited September 5, 2012 by Titanic3