Planning for a new rig...compatibility concerns?

[Casper1]

Howdy AH Hardware gurus -

I am planning to build a new rig as my current 6 year old setup is starting to get too far behind times, plus I am having way too many game crashes with AH but not with America's Army...hmmm... (I believe it's a temperature problem on my GPU or CPU, but whatever)

I recall there being some hardware considerations to make regarding compatibility with Aces High, so I figured a post before I get to work would be a good point, as I play AH primarily, but also want to play America's Army 3 when its released in a few months.  AA3's  recommended setup will be met and probably exceeded with my new rig.

Are there any concerns with GPU architectures or drivers?  I know my current ATi card cannot support the game if I update the driver, according to Skuzzy.  Do i need to stick with nVidia cards for GPU?? 

I recall hearing about some AH issues with Crossfire or SLI setups, and I am not sure I want to do that, but it may be worth investigating. 

How about multi-core CPUs?  Issues?  Benefits of going one way or the other?

Are there any major core updates for AH planned in the next few years that would possibly render my system insufficient or less than ideal should I choose some particular architecture or setup?

DDR2 versus DDR3 RAM issues?

I will likely be going the Intel P45 route, but that may change depending on how the market advances in the coming months.  I will surely be sticking with Windows XP.

Appreciate any pointers on these topics you all can provide before I start laying my rig out and buying!

[AirFlyer]

Lets see if I can help ya out a bit

I've always been a Nvidia man when it comes to games and GPU's. Although ATI makes some nice cards, Nvidia seems to have better driver support across the spectrum and doesn't have all the bloat-ware ATI comes with.

Honestly, if your building a new comp, you probably shouldn't be thinking about SLI or Crossfire. IMO these things are meant to be upgrades and when your first building your comp. your best off just getting a single strong GPU instead of two weaker ones which will likely cost you more anyways.

Multi-Core CPU's are mainstream these days, infact it would likely be hard to find to many comps without them that have been built within the last 3 - 4 years. Your best call for price/performance is one of Intel Duo's, I've heard particularly good things about the E8400 but I'll let those who own them elaborate on that if they wish.

So long as you build a strong computer now for about 600 - 800 dollars you'll run AHII just fine even after the new terrain update.

I have no experience with DDR3 but I do know it's going to cost you a lot more then DDR2 for the memory and a Mobo that supports it. As far as I recall the P45 Intel chip set doesn't support DDR3. DDR2 right now is dirt-cheap($35 for 4GB PC2-6400), I use it and it works great, just get your CPU and RAM in a 1:1 ratio and you'll be fine.

I like the nForce boards from EVGA myself but I'm not calling Intel's mobo chip-sets bad, in fact I've never used them but I've heard there a great buy as well.

Hope this helps.

[BaldEagl]

I recall there being some hardware considerations to make regarding compatibility with Aces High, so I figured a post before I get to work would be a good point, as I play AH primarily, but also want to play America's Army 3 when its released in a few months.  AA3's  recommended setup will be met and probably exceeded with my new rig.

There is a spinning clipboard issue with the AMD dual core CPU's.  There is a patch for it that, IIRC, simply shuts down one core.

Are there any concerns with GPU architectures or drivers?  I know my current ATi card cannot support the game if I update the driver, according to Skuzzy.  Do i need to stick with nVidia cards for GPU?? 

ATI and Nvidia will both run this and other games just fine but the driver support for Nvidia cards is much better.  Regardless of what type of budget you have if you're going Nvidia stick with the G92 chipset or better (9600 GT up).

I recall hearing about some AH issues with Crossfire or SLI setups, and I am not sure I want to do that, but it may be worth investigating. 

I'd stick with one good card and upgrade it later if you need to.   Aside from needing more power for two cards in SLI or crossfire there can be other issues with certain set-ups.  I know this from experience.

How about multi-core CPUs?  Issues?  Benefits of going one way or the other?

Dual cores and up are the current standards.  You really don't need a quad core unless you're doing professional graphic or video editing although they will generally run spreadsheets, virus scanners, etc. faster than a dual core.  On the other hand they generally run games slightly slower.

Are there any major core updates for AH planned in the next few years that would possibly render my system insufficient or less than ideal should I choose some particular architecture or setup?

It's doubtfull as long as you're building a decent system.  AH tries to accomodate the low end user.

DDR2 versus DDR3 RAM issues?

No issues other than money.

I will likely be going the Intel P45 route, but that may change depending on how the market advances in the coming months.  I will surely be sticking with Windows XP.

Don't discount the Nvidia 700 chipsets.  They are very stable with a lot of overclocking and other flexibility.

Hope that helps.

[Skuzzy]

ATI and NVidia both have thier fair share of driver issues.  If running ATI, stay away from the Catalyst Control Center.  Use Ray Adams ATI Tray Tools instead.

For NVidia, it is a crap shoot.  One driver will work great, then next one will suck.  Generally speaking, when they come out with a new architecture, they no longer optimize for the older architecture.  But it has been a while since they actually produced a new GPU.  They have been relabeling GPU's since the 8000 series.

Both work fine with the game.


On CPU's, do yourself a favor and steer clear of the AMD dual core CPU's.  No reason to consider them actually as they are pretty slow, compared to the Intel Core2 family.  Not a fan of the NVidia chipsets for Intel CPU's.  They seem rough around the edges.  Nice for experts.

[Casper1]

Good stuff.  Glad to hear my options are generally wide open!!!

[Skuzzy]

For Aces High II, I would not consider SLI a viable solution either.  Last time I checked, you could not enable vertical sync with SLI, or the profile for Aces High II, NVidia supplies, keeps it disabled.  Whatever the reason, you do not ever want to run this game with vertical sync disabled, unless it is strictly for performance comparison testing.

[Casper1]

Gotcha.  I wasnt planning on SLI or Crossfire, but wasnt ready to completely dismiss the notion.  I think I will avoid it for a variety of reasons, mainly the one you stated Skuzzy...

[Getback]

I'm fan of ATI. That's just a personal preference. I've had no compatibility issues with either my 3850 or my 3870. I have had issues with a gt8600.

If you go AMD build with a quad core. However, I would look at Intel e8500 or e8400 for two very good reasons" One is performance and another is heat. Intel duo cores run cooler.

I would suggest using a PC Power & cooling Power Supply. Then at least the 750w quad. Definitely stay away from any modular power supplies. There you have double connections to deal with and more sources of resistance.

I would recommend OCZ for the ram.

Other than the Nvidia gt9600 and an AMD duo core I have never had a compatibility issue. The AMD quad cores don't have the same issue as their duo cores.

Good luck!

[BaldEagl]

Last time I checked, you could not enable vertical sync with SLI, or the profile for Aces High II, NVidia supplies, keeps it disabled.  Whatever the reason, you do not ever want to run this game with vertical sync disabled, unless it is strictly for performance comparison testing.

Precisely the reason I pulled the second card out of my machine and RMA'd it.  The screen tearing without vsync enabled was awful.

[Zazen13]

Precisely the reason I pulled the second card out of my machine and RMA'd it.  The screen tearing without vsync enabled was awful.

After all of my research for my new build I came to the conclusion that SLI is a waste of time and money. The latest/greatest cards have dual GPU's built into a single card anyway. Running SLI is a lot of extra money/PS needs/heat and case space for marginal performance gains and a lot of compatibility issues and often glitchy freezing symptoms in games that aren't specifically programmed to support it. The NVidia GTX2xx series of cards, especially the 280+ ones, are so incredibly strong it's almost never going to be the video card that's bottle-necking your performance. It would more likely be low and/or slow memory or a bogged down CPU.