Budget Arma 3 PC?

Delaware01

Honorable
Jan 25, 2013
11
0
10,520
I was wondering how I could build a PC that can run decent (medium/high) on Arma 3 for around $700 w/o OS.

Here are the specs for Arma 3:

OS – Windows 7 / Vista
CPU – Intel Core i5 or AMD Athlon Phenom X4 or faster
GPU – Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 5770, shader Model 3 and 896 MB VRAM, or faster
RAM – 2 GB
HDD – 15 GB free space
DVD – Dual Layer compatible
DirectX® – 10
( pasted from http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/117772-13-arma-spec-computer )

I don't know too much about computers but I could hold a conversation pretty well. Here's some specs I was looking at:

CPU - Intel i5 (AMD looks good to so suggestions please!)
GPU - limited knowledge (7770 AMD or 680 nVidia maybe?)
Ram - 4 to 8 GB
HDD - 500 GB or 1 TB, idk (I've been told an HDD/SDD combo can make running games faster so some insight would be appreciated.)


Otherwise, I'm lost, I don't know what's all important and what I can cut back in in price. It will be a mainly gaming computer and won't be multitasking too much so i think the i5 or AMD equivalent will be suffice.

Also: Is buying off of internet or in store better? There is a microcenter in the area and I've loved my visits there the few times I've gone, but i've also been told online is cheaper.

Thanks a lot for whatever help you can provide and feel free to give any suggestions, my budget isn'y locked in stone but I definitely cannot go over $1000.
 

sscultima

Honorable
Jun 5, 2012
460
1
10,810
i would suggest getting the i5 rather than an AMD, but if you were to go with AMD get the 8350FX. as for video card, 7770 and 680 are none comparable, the 680 is much faster, you would be good with either or, but you could save come cash if you get something like the 7850, 7870, 7950 or 7970, all great cards and would run the game well, that is not to say nvidia is out of the question, the 680 is a great card and nvidia does have better driver support, so it a toss up if you wanna save some cash, you can also look at getting a 660Ti which are also very nice for the price point.

if you are getting a new OS if you dont already have one, windows 7 is getting harder to find with computer shops migrating to Win8 (well in the computer shops around me they dont carry many copies anymore), and getting expensive. I would just purchase windows 8 and if you have any gripe about the start menu just install Start8 or similar program and voila a better more updated win7.

Ram is dirt cheap now, so might as well pick up 8gb in a kit, i would personally get a set of either corsair or G.Skill.

If you plan on getting a SSD/HDD combo you may just need only 500gb if the computer will be mostly for gaming, it takes a while to fill that much space with just games, then get a 120gb SSD for main games you play as well as OS and programs. you can pick up an ssd of that size for around $60-$80 depending on brand and if they might be on sale.

personally i like the interaction at retail shops, they can also give you advice on things sometimes, (personally i never take their purchasing advice since almost every shop i go to they try to sell me old stock), it also allows you to see the items before you buy them, and hey why wait for them to shipped to you :p