Gaming on a microPC
October 24, 2012 6:02 AM Subscribe
Will this computer run Armed Assault 2 so I can play Day-Z?
Also, how do I install windows on a machine with no CD Drive? I don't have a working PC.
Also, how do I install windows on a machine with no CD Drive? I don't have a working PC.
Best answer: Short answer: No.
Long answer:
Minimum specs for ARMA 2:
Dual Core (Intel Pentium D 3.0 GHz, Intel Core 2.0 GHz, AMD Athlon 3200+ or faster)
Memory 1 GB RAM
Hard drive space 10 GB
Graphics hardware Nvidia Geforce 7800, ATI Radeon 1800 or faster (with Shader Model 3 and 256 MB VRAM)
Your machine's specs:
AMD E450 Dual core 1.65GHz APU*
Chipset AMD A45 FCH
Memory Supported 1x SO-DIMM Socket Support DDR3 1333 up to 4GB
VGA Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6320
* - So even the CPU isn't up to snuff for the game, let alone the graphics card.
posted by Grither at 6:28 AM on October 24, 2012
Long answer:
Minimum specs for ARMA 2:
Dual Core (Intel Pentium D 3.0 GHz, Intel Core 2.0 GHz, AMD Athlon 3200+ or faster)
Memory 1 GB RAM
Hard drive space 10 GB
Graphics hardware Nvidia Geforce 7800, ATI Radeon 1800 or faster (with Shader Model 3 and 256 MB VRAM)
Your machine's specs:
AMD E450 Dual core 1.65GHz APU*
Chipset AMD A45 FCH
Memory Supported 1x SO-DIMM Socket Support DDR3 1333 up to 4GB
VGA Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6320
* - So even the CPU isn't up to snuff for the game, let alone the graphics card.
posted by Grither at 6:28 AM on October 24, 2012
Best answer: Yeah, I don't think that AMD Radeon HD 6320 is going to pull Arma2/DayZ. Recommended spec for Day Z is an ATI Radeon 3650:
"The 3D performance of the HD 6320 should be only minimally faster than a 6310 and therefore only low demanding or older games should run fluently (e.g. Call of Duty 4, Sims 3, Left 4 Dead 2, Fifa 11)."
Source.
posted by griphus at 6:28 AM on October 24, 2012
"The 3D performance of the HD 6320 should be only minimally faster than a 6310 and therefore only low demanding or older games should run fluently (e.g. Call of Duty 4, Sims 3, Left 4 Dead 2, Fifa 11)."
Source.
posted by griphus at 6:28 AM on October 24, 2012
(Also keep in mind that the specs for Day Z are higher than the specs for Arma 2)
posted by griphus at 6:29 AM on October 24, 2012
posted by griphus at 6:29 AM on October 24, 2012
Oh hell no, that's a CPU/GPU integrated unit that's designed for 2D web browsing. You'll be lucky if it plays 1080p video in Windows 7 with the latest drivers installed. It might be OK for 3D games from seven years ago...
posted by thewalrus at 7:00 AM on October 24, 2012
posted by thewalrus at 7:00 AM on October 24, 2012
That PC is really weak for gaming, and ArmA 2 has pretty steep system requirements. For reference, my old gaming PC (AMD Athlon 64x2 3 GHz) choked pretty hard on ArmA2/DayZ, and it ran most other games just fine. (And in fact, my new PC with a much heftier Intel i5 processor runs it much more smoothly with the exact same video card.)
ArmA 2 is a) a "military simulation", and b) not released for consoles, so it's not shy about burning up a lot of CPU. It's one of the more system-intensive games out there. This goes double for DayZ since it's not terribly well optimized.
posted by neckro23 at 7:08 AM on October 24, 2012
ArmA 2 is a) a "military simulation", and b) not released for consoles, so it's not shy about burning up a lot of CPU. It's one of the more system-intensive games out there. This goes double for DayZ since it's not terribly well optimized.
posted by neckro23 at 7:08 AM on October 24, 2012
Best answer: I'd wait before I bought anything to play Day Z on, as what's out now is basically an Alpha, and the standalone version seems to be borrowing some tech from the (upcoming) ARMA 3, so it's extremely likely the system requirements will go up.
posted by Oktober at 7:19 AM on October 24, 2012
posted by Oktober at 7:19 AM on October 24, 2012
To answer the other question, you'll need to find a working PC to use, either download Windows 7 from the Microsoft store or buy a disc, then use the USB key installer software on the other machine to make a bootable USB key for the install. This should work fine on any modern machine. Microsoft has an explanation here.
posted by selfnoise at 7:25 AM on October 24, 2012
posted by selfnoise at 7:25 AM on October 24, 2012
You might want to try this site, which runs a Java applet in the browser to detect whether you can run a game.
I've no idea how accurate it is, but I've seen it recommended in the various gaming subreddits.
posted by cuetip at 9:53 AM on October 24, 2012
I've no idea how accurate it is, but I've seen it recommended in the various gaming subreddits.
posted by cuetip at 9:53 AM on October 24, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your answers.
What is the cheapest way to play Arma 2/Day Z?
posted by OldReliable at 2:30 PM on October 24, 2012
What is the cheapest way to play Arma 2/Day Z?
posted by OldReliable at 2:30 PM on October 24, 2012
The cheapest way would be to build your own PC that's on-spec with the recommended requirements, but I'm not sure that's what you meant. Are you looking for the most inexpensive manufacturer from whom to buy a PC that hits the specs?
posted by griphus at 2:41 PM on October 24, 2012
posted by griphus at 2:41 PM on October 24, 2012
Response by poster: I'll build my own if that's a significant savings. Put it this way: I am willing to pay a premium for convenience, I don't want to pay a premium for convenience at a hit to quality.
posted by OldReliable at 2:46 PM on October 24, 2012
posted by OldReliable at 2:46 PM on October 24, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by anaximander at 6:25 AM on October 24, 2012