What computer muscle best suited for AT?

[explorer2]

My 8 year old Dell is having all sorts of problems and I need to replace it.
I want whatever I get to be able to run AT as best as possible. I know, I know, get the best computer you can afford.
BUT, I want to maximize my dollar with whatever aspect of the computer helps AT the most.
Does anyone know if AT relies mostly on raw CPU, RAM, hard drive, or graphics chip/memory? What helps speed AT the most? (I prefer playing the big games like WaW right now)
Any info would be GREATLY appreciated.
Maybe only Vic knows?

[Joshuatree]

My 2 cents, as far as I know AT is only CPU related. So buy the fastest CPU with a 24" monitor and you'll be fine [;)]
Having said that, a decent GPU will be handy too for if you want to play Panzer Command Kharkov once in a while. There's a whole new bunch of graphic cards due to be released very soon, ATI has some quite well performing cards... and cheaper than NVidia too.

[Vic]

2 pieces of advice for your request
 
1) buy a computer with a single processor core. AT uses only 1 thread and thus only 1 core.
 
2) dont install a Nivida 8800 card or higher. There seems to be some driver related problems.
 
kind regards,
Vic

[explorer2]

ORIGINAL: Vic

2 pieces of advice for your request

1) buy a computer with a single processor core. AT uses only 1 thread and thus only 1 core.

2) dont install a Nivida 8800 card or higher. There seems to be some driver related problems.

kind regards,
Vic

Thanks Vic. Any thoughts on which AT needs most in large WaW like games: CPU power, fast hard drive, or lots of RAM?

[Tac2i]

If you are buying a new PC, regardless of whether AT uses only one core, I highly recommend your get a dual core processer and a minimum of 2GB RAM (4GB is better). A new PC will most likely come equipped with Windows Vista. The more RAM the better. Fast hard drive is always good too.
 
Also, even with a super powerful PC, when playing AT on a large map against the AI, the AI turns are going to take anywhere from 10-20 minutes to play per round.

[sabre1]

+1  for Webizen. 

[explorer2]

Thanks all.  Super powerful computer and still 10-20 minutes between turns?  Wow!
 
Has anybody actually noticed a difference in AT between having 2 or 4 gigs of RAM?
Anybody seen a difference between XP and Vista (I'm sure it will come with Vista, should I consider installing my current XP?

[emcgman]

What existing scenario is considered a large map?
 
I haven't experienced anything over approx 5 minutes.

[rowdied1]

A few questions you need to ask yourself;
1. Is it just for AT or do/will you play other games?
2. Are you willing to build it yourself? It's alot easier than you think.
3. How much do you want to spend?

I would recommend an
intel E8400cpu can be had for less than $200
at least 3 gigs of GOOD ram less than $100
a cheap MB asus Pk5 se less than $100-has pcie express
an 8800gt or an ati 4850 both had for less than $200
and a decent HD 200 gig for less than $80
Use your existing case and a very good machine for less than a $1000, and can play all the current games reasonably well and won't break your bank account.
This is what I use and disregard what Vic said, the 8800gt is a good card with very minimal driver problems nowadays.
For the record, I have 7 computers in my house that I lan with for Arma, R6V1 & 2, and GRAW1 & 2. Four of them use 8800gts with zero problems. Trust me, get the above or close to it and you'll be a happy camper.

I've never gone over 5 mins for a turn either and I also play Dominions3 which can be even more CPU dependent than AT.
Oblivion runs beautiful also.

[seille]

ORIGINAL: Vic

2 pieces of advice for your request

1) buy a computer with a single processor core. AT uses only 1 thread and thus only 1 core.

2) dont install a Nivida 8800 card or higher. There seems to be some driver related problems.

kind regards,
Vic

Upps...

I use a
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
Nvidia Gforce 8800 GTS 320MB

Except with Peoples Republic on bigger maps i had never problems with AT.
But to be honest i would never optimize my PC for a single game. For a game like
AT this is simply not needed. Just get a modern PC system and you shouldn´t have any problems with AT.

PS: I like rowdied´s machine. Imho a good configuration.
I would go for dual or quadcore in case you want to use this PC for some years again and not play AT only.

[serg3d1]

IMO dual core is considerably  better for single player. You can start AI turn and surf the web or do something else while AI turn is going - it can take some minutes or more for bigger scenarios.
About 4Gb - I have two and it's never raise above 1500Mb while playing AT. Anyway no existing PC motherboard can use 4Gb in 32 bit (and some users report even in 64bit) mode. Maximum usable is around 3.4Gb(or less) . It's caused by defect in Intel architecture - videomemory is mapped into RAM and that area of RAM is becoming unusable.

[explorer2]

Thanks all for the info. Especially helpful about AT is 32 bit so only use 2GB max, and 8800 cards seeming to work OK now.

[Herode_2]

1) buy a computer with a single processor core. AT uses only 1 thread and thus only 1 core.

Sure, but a standard computer often has other threads/programs running [;)]
BTW, my old computer was a single core 2.34 GHz XP/Intel and my new one id a dual core 2.66 GHz Vista/Intel. And the new one computes AT turns at a very fast rate (about 5-10 seconds) when the old one sometimes took several minutes to achieve the same job.


Although I would definitely not recommend Vista against XP, the dual core thing proves much better than the single one.

[explorer2]

ORIGINAL: Herode2

1)
Although I would definitely not recommend Vista against XP, the dual core thing proves much better than the single one.

Do you have to use Vista to get the advantages of dual core? (My old box - best at the time - is single core 1.2 ghz, 1gb RAM)
Since I won't be able to get anything without Vista as of June 30, does AT have problems with Vista?
Thanks.

[Tac2i]

Re AT on Vista: I run AT on my Vista notebook PC without any problems.

[Herode_2]

@explorer2 : no, dual core (and more) also run under other OS.
The problems I have with Vista do not concern AT, this one runs fine here too. [8D]

[george1972]

Driver related problems with NVidia 8800? Ah, that explains why my super-duper laptop cannot scroll the map smoothly in 1920x1200 resolution. I always thought that the graphics in AT weren't hardware accelerated (i.e. no DirectDraw), because scrolling is slower in higher resolutions. Fortunately Armed Assault does run smooth enough

[mcv]

ORIGINAL: Vic

1) buy a computer with a single processor core. AT uses only 1 thread and thus only 1 core.

Even for battlesims? Running 200 test battles should be trivial to multithread, and that's on of the most time consuming parts of the game. (The AI turn is worse ofcourse, but I have no idea how that's implemented.)

Even so, a dual core is ever a bad idea; if you're running Windows and have other processes running in the background, it's nice to have a single core dedicated to AT. A quad core is probably a waste of money. For CPUs, Intel is best at the moment, so I'd suggest a 8200 or better. Memory is cheap at the moment, so go nuts. Get at least 2 GB. Video card isn't much of an issue with AT, so you can probably use a cheap budget card or go with onboard graphics. If you do want a good videocard, ATI is pretty good these days, and their HD38x0 cards don't eat 100 Watts for merely drawing a desktop (or an AT screen), like some nVidia cards do.

[explorer2]

ORIGINAL: mcv

Even so, a dual core is ever a bad idea; if you're running Windows and have other processes running in the background, it's nice to have a single core dedicated to AT. A quad core is probably a waste of money. For CPUs, Intel is best at the moment, so I'd suggest a 8200 or better. Memory is cheap at the moment, so go nuts. Get at least 2 GB. Video card isn't much of an issue with AT, so you can probably use a cheap budget card or go with onboard graphics. If you do want a good videocard, ATI is pretty good these days, and their HD38x0 cards don't eat 100 Watts for merely drawing a desktop (or an AT screen), like some nVidia cards do.

Great info mcv. Thanks. do you have any info on how quiet/loud the fans on the ATI HD38x0 cards are?

[mcv]

ORIGINAL: explorer2

Great info mcv. Thanks. do you have any info on how quiet/loud the fans on the ATI HD38x0 cards are?

Not first hand. I bought a dirt cheap Peak HD3850 (reputed to have a badly fitted cooler), and replaced the cooler with an Accelero S1, a huge passive heatsink which cools better than some active coolers (as long as you have at least a bit of airflow in your case), so no noise from the GPU for me. But I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about the noise from their HD3850, unlike some of those high powered nVidia cards.

But I'm not a hardware expert. If you want to know more, check out anandtech.com or silentpcreview.com.