Computer Spec's

[Red Badger 0]

Hey Guys,

I really want to play this game but my computer cannot handle it right now. I am wondering if I can just upgrade my ram and grpahics card or do I need to upgrade everything.

Here are my specs: HP Pavilion A6220N

1. Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor E4500

• 2.20 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz Front Side Bus

2. 3gb PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM

3. Gefore 8400 gs :( (it sucks)

4. 22inch widescreen

I am hoping to just upgrade the memory to 8 gb and change out the video card for something better but I understand if I have to change to something better.

Here is a website that give me some clues on what budget motherboard, CPU, RAM to get.

http://www.informatics-tech.com/build-a-cheap-400-dollar-gaming-computer-2012.html

I understand even with that set up I would have to upgrade the graphics card as well.

I have searched and searched to no avail on exactly what to get, I am looking to play the game smooth with decent graphics (med-High) , any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

I am on a budget.

[legrandmawak 3]

this game is harsh on Com Specs, try my tips given in another thread

Ok so there is a LOT of thread on

- my game is slow

- my PC woN't load the game

- FPS very low

So there is a kind of workaround - and There it is :

http://pastebin.com/F7Q8Ne2i

Hope it helps out.

I got a good new PC and the game was still pretty laggy, but after I made those change the game rolls just sweet, aroung 60FPS country side, 30 FPS in cities.

ENJOI !

[BigRig 3]

It could probably run Day Z if you upgraded your video card but I would try getting more RAM first. See if you can get a friend to lend you some because if it doesn't help you might just have to get a new motherboard which would take ddr3 instead of ddr2 ram.

You won't be playing it on medium to high graphics though.

Edited August 23, 2012 by BigRig

[bobstefanio 24]

Hi Red Badger

Firstly your rig is a little outdated more ram wont make much of an effect 2GB is enough to run the game pretty well I am using 4gb of around the same speed ram but the game only takes a little over 2gb at any time. The graphics card is underpowered you would want at least an 8800gt and 2.8 ghz dual core to run decently while the minimum specs say a 3.0 GHZ single core will run the game with dayz heavy use of scripts it probably wont be enough. I would suggest updating the whole machine you can build a decent pc for around 600 euro that would run any game to date or if you are willing to buy second hand or find a site that sales slightly outdated parts like 9800's you could build the machine for cheaper provided you have a standard case and your power supply is decent you could get a new motherboard processor and ram.

If you really are strapped for cash then getting a more powerful graphics card would allow you to run the game far better then you can right now but again it wont be fantastic but it will be playable.

[BobDole (DayZ) 129]

your processor is alittle poopy and that graphics card is really bad i would upgrade gfx card before ram.

[thetamsen 57]

I would recommend getting a completely new, up-to-date PC. You can get them for around ~$500 or €300, but if you want a little gaming quality, don't hesitate to threw in a few hundred more.

As an alternative, upgrade both CPU, Graphics card and RAM. I doubt it'll be a much better experience compared to a brand new PC, but it sure will help on it.

Priority: Processor, gfx, RAM (I would place the RAM as second, as it's cheap as f*ck nowadays, but that gfx is really screaming out loud to get switched out...)

[bloodofthedragon 35]

HI Badger,

My comp is only a bit more powerfull than yours and I run it just fine. 3.0ghz dual core, 2 gigs ram, HDradeon 4890.

The thing that might screw you is the power requirments for better CPU's/cards I had to dish out over 90$ for a good 800watt supply that could run my card. And you may not be able to squeez a full size ATX PSU into your case.

Choose carefully, you don't want to sink your limited budget into parts that don't play well together.

[redsh1rt 24]

I'd just save up and buy a whole new system to be honest. Everything is 4 or 5 years old and upgrading 1 aspect of your system may make the game playable, but it wouldn't be what I would call fun.

Oh, and when you do buy a new system - stay away from the HP's and Dell's of the world. Remember, you get what you pay for. If you buy a budget computer you'll probably have to update it in a year's time. I've had my I7 920 (now overclocked) for years now, and it's as good as almost any CPU out there (before overclocking!).

I'm sure there are some websites that do barebone deals in the US (I'm guessing that's where you're from), you may find a bargain or 2 to be had on those sites - but it will probably cost a little more than $400.

If you want a good experience you'll have to pay $200-300 just for a graphics card. It's expensive, but if it's a hobby if yours then you have to decide whether it's worth the investment.

[BobDole (DayZ) 129]

HI Badger,

My comp is only a bit more powerfull than yours and I run it just fine. 3.0ghz dual core, 2 gigs ram, HDradeon 4890.

The thing that might screw you is the power requirments for better CPU's/cards I had to dish out over 90$ for a good 800watt supply that could run my card. And you may not be able to squeez a full size ATX PSU into your case.

Choose carefully, you don't want to sink your limited budget into parts that don't play well together.

i highly doubt you needed 800watt psu for that build that sounds like a 500

you should use a psu calculator before blowing alot of money on a powerful psu unless you have plans to buy another gfx card

http://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/index.html

Edited August 23, 2012 by BobDole

[puppetworx 474]

The bottlenecks here are in order:

1. Graphics card
   
2. CPU
   

Your RAM is fine, a little slow but not as big a problem as the above.

According to this page you have a G33 Express motherboard, (you should confirm this by running Speccy or something similiar before upgrading). That means the CPU that you'd need would be a Socket 775 type manufactured on 45nm+ process so realistically you're looking at a Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad. Now Intel doesn't make processors for these sockets or with that process size anymore so you are looking at buying one second-hand (new-ones would be incredibly overpriced if anyone actually had them in stock). If you are going to do the upgrade make it the quad core, there is no point half-assing an upgrade. So you want a Core 2 Quad - either a Q6600 2.4GHz, Q8300 2.5GHz, Q8400 2.66GHz, Q9400/Q9450 2.66GHz, Q9500/9550 2.83GHz (higher the model number/frequency the bettter). These are great chips, great overclockers but that HP motherboard won't allow you to do any of that so these chips will still limit you a little bit. You can find multitudes of them on ebay for between £/$50 and $150, they were extremely popular chips so readily available (make sure you get one with a heatsink and fan as the one you have for a dual-core will not be sufficient). Ok, so that's the hard part out of the way.

Graphics card wise I'd go new. It depends on your budget but you should be looking at a AMD Radeon HD 7770 with 1GB of memory at least, that's about £/$100.

So you should be able to upgrade significantly for under £/$250. The lowest you would want to spend on a new build would be about £/$500, something like this, and that would give you maybe another 10-15 frames per second on top of the upgrade I outlined. For £/$1000 dollars you could get another 20 on top of that.

This game is really demanding so if I was you I'd go for the most expensive that you can afford to do. The upgrade will make the game a lot more playable then your current system, but it's all going to be on the lowest settings. Whereas the new systems will allow you to get something that's closer to really aesthetically pleasing experience.

If you need any help further with the upgrade or building a system let me know.

Edited August 23, 2012 by puppetworx

[Red Badger 0]

The bottlenecks here are in order:

1. Graphics card
   
2. CPU
   

Your RAM is fine, a little slow but not as big a problem as the above.

According to this page you have a G33 Express motherboard, (you should confirm this by running Speccy or something similiar before upgrading). That means the CPU that you'd need would be a Socket 775 type manufactured on 45nm+ process so realistically you're looking at a Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad. Now Intel doesn't make processors for these sockets or with that process size anymore so you are looking at buying one second-hand (new-ones would be incredibly overpriced if anyone actually had them in stock). If you are going to do the upgrade make it the quad core, there is no point half-assing an upgrade. So you want a Core 2 Quad - either a Q6600 2.4GHz, Q8300 2.5GHz, Q8400 2.66GHz, Q9400/Q9450 2.66GHz, Q9500/9550 2.83GHz (higher the model number/frequency the bettter). These are great chips, great overclockers but that HP motherboard won't allow you to do any of that so these chips will still limit you a little bit. You can find multitudes of them on ebay for between £/$50 and $150, they were extremely popular chips so readily available (make sure you get one with a heatsink and fan as the one you have for a dual-core will not be sufficient). Ok, so that's the hard part out of the way.

Graphics card wise I'd go new. It depends on your budget but you should be looking at a AMD Radeon HD 7770 with 1GB of memory at least, that's about £/$100.

So you should be able to upgrade significantly for under £/$250. The lowest you would want to spend on a new build would be about £/$500, something like this, and that would give you maybe another 10-15 frames per second on top of the upgrade I outlined. For £/$1000 dollars you could get another 20 on top of that.

This game is really demanding so if I was you I'd go for the most expensive that you can afford to do. The upgrade will make the game a lot more playable then your current system, but it's all going to be on the lowest settings. Whereas the new systems will allow you to get something that's closer to really aesthetically pleasing experience.

If you need any help further with the upgrade or building a system let me know.

Dude, You're a badass........Thank you.

did you happen to take a look at the link? if so what do you think about their recomendations for motherboard and cpu?

[bloodofthedragon 35]

i highly doubt you needed 800watt psu for that build that sounds like a 500

you should use a psu calculator before blowing alot of money on a powerful psu unless you have plans to buy another gfx card

http://images10.newe...calc/index.html

My PSU has the dedicated high amp rails required for both my CPU and GPU and besides that I was futureproofing.

[Red Badger 0]

is this a good cpu for Dayz?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103889&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-19-103-889-_-Product

[BobDole (DayZ) 129]

is this a good cpu for Dayz?

http://www.newegg.co...3-889-_-Product

no, its amd..get an i7 9xx and you will be alot better off

[tockeR 16]

Honestly? Don't bother upgrading. or at least don't bother doing so just for this game.

I run an i7, 16gigs of ram and a HD7970 and struggle with FPS issues in towns with everything on high.

It's the engine. Not your pc.

edit: Also other contributing factors like server quality effect your FPS.

Edited August 24, 2012 by tockeR

[Red Badger 0]

Honestly? Don't bother upgrading. or at least don't bother doing so just for this game.

I run an i7, 16gigs of ram and a HD7970 and struggle with FPS issues in towns with everything on high.

It's the engine. Not your pc.

edit: Also other contributing factors like server quality effect your FPS.

I'm upgrading to have a system to play other games as well, but I need advice on what I would need to play the game smoothly with medium to med-high graphics on a 21inch screen.

Nothing fancy I just want it to work well everytime and enjoy the experiance

[deathstrike616 32]

Hey I've got a Core 2 Quad, Windows VISTA x64, 4GB of RAM, and a 9800GT with 512MB of memory...

And I can run this game on -ultra-.

[deathstrike616 32]

I'm upgrading to have a system to play other games as well, but I need advice on what I would need to play the game smoothly with medium to med-high graphics on a 21inch screen.

Nothing fancy I just want it to work well everytime and enjoy the experiance

Look at the specs above. That's all you need. And I have a 23 inch with a 9800GT from July 2008 and it runs PERFECTLY on ultra. :D

[kradluk 6]

You will get the most bang for your buck by upgrading the video card. The CPU will hold you back from getting a non budget card, but it doesn't seem like you are in the market for more than that. Also consider your stock PSU (300w) that is in your current computer can only put out so much power. You are limited unless you want to upgrade your PSU as well, which really isn't recommended at this point. I would say pick up a GTX 550ti http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625 which should match your system nicely, not tax your PSU to the point of death, and will handidly outperform your 8400. The GTX 550ti is roughly on par with two 9800GTs in tandem (SLI), and while its a budget card, you really cannot put a more powerful card into your system without blowing your PSU or being bottlenecked by your CPU. Like pupperworx stated, the 7770 is also a good option, which is just about on par with the GTX 550ti. Really just depends if you prefer Nvidia or ATI.

Like many people here have stated, there is really no point in dumping additional funds to overhaul a computer that really should be replaced. With that said, you can drop $100 on a video card and get some decent life out of it until you upgrade.

Edited August 24, 2012 by kradluk

[puppetworx 474]

did you happen to take a look at the link? if so what do you think about their recomendations for motherboard and cpu?

The link in the first post? That's no good, it's maybe two years old now. You really want to go Intel here's why.

This is a really good PC. Now if you want to go cheaper you can look for cheaper alternatives to the case, motherboard, smaller hard drive and re-use your old DVD drive and it will come in a little over $400. It will also outperform the crap out of that one you linked too.

Graphics card wise you want something with the following naming convention AMD: 6770 or 7770, NVIDIA: 560 Ti or 660Ti minimum. Anything below that isn't even designated as a gaming graphics card, it's categorised as a 'multimedia' card so just forget about anything you see with that(the 8400GS that you have in your current PC, that's a 'multimedia' card). The AMD is the better value at the moment so I'd go that route.

[kradluk 6]

The link in the first post? That's no good, it's maybe two years old now. You really want to go Intel here's why.

This is a really good PC. Now if you want to go cheaper you can look for cheaper alternatives to the case, motherboard, smaller hard drive and re-use your old DVD drive and it will come in a little over $400. It will also outperform the crap out of that one you linked too.

Graphics card wise you want something with the following naming convention AMD: 6770 or 7770, NVIDIA: 560 Ti or 660Ti minimum. Anything below that isn't even designated as a gaming graphics card, it's categorised as a 'multimedia' card so just forget about anything you see with that(the 8400GS that you have in your current PC, that's a 'multimedia' card). The AMD is the better value at the moment so I'd go that route.

The 6770 is not worth buying, the 7770 will fit nicely, and the 560ti or 660ti will blow the PSU. The 7770 and the GTX 550Ti i mentioned above are pretty much at the limits of the current PSU.

Edited August 24, 2012 by kradluk

[puppetworx 474]

The 6770 is not worth buying, the 7770 will fit nicely, and the 560ti or 660ti will blow the PSU. The 7770 and the GTX 550Ti i mentioned above are pretty much at the limits of the current PSU.

I agree. You'd need a different PSU if you went NVIDIA something like this so going NVIDIA increases the cost on two fronts. I wouldn't recommend it for a budget build.

[Red Badger 0]

GeForce GTX 280 what about this g-card? any good?

[puppetworx 474]

It's a few years old and power hungry, make sure it has at least 1GB and don't pay a lot for it. A $120 AMD Radeon HD 7770 will be slightly faster then it (5-10% ?)and will have DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.2 support for the future (versus DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1 of the GTX280). It will also use less then half the power (80 watts) of a GTX 280 (200+ watts), if you're putting a GTX 280 in your current PC it's highly likely that your power supply isn't powerful enough for it which will lead to crashes and/or the computer blowing. It's not really a good choice, unless it's very cheap and you can afford a better power supply to go with it.

[Red Badger 0]

what about the 550 ti femi 1gb? same price and newer?