Arma 3 Server – What Hardware Do I Need?

Quick answer: This guide walks you through the topic step by step with practical examples and configuration tips.

This overview helps you choose the right hardware for your Arma 3 server – depending on player count, AI units and whether you use mods. Arma 3 is extremely CPU-hungry, so choosing the right hardware is crucial.

Without Mods (Vanilla Arma 3)

Vanilla refers to a pure Arma 3 server without mods – only the content provided by the game. Rare, but sometimes sufficient for small private servers or pure PvP servers without AI.

Players	RAM	CPU
1–10	8 GB	4 cores at 3.5 GHz+
10–32	12–16 GB	4–6 cores at 4.0 GHz+
32–64	16–24 GB	6 cores at 4.5 GHz+
64+	24 GB+	6–8 cores at 4.8 GHz+

Important: Arma 3 primarily runs on a single thread. Anything over 4 cores brings little benefit, but high clock speed brings a lot. A modern i5 at 4.5 GHz beats an old 16-core Xeon by far.

With Mods (Community Servers with ACE, RHS, CUP and more)

Most servers use mods. Even small clans usually have ACE, TFAR and a few vehicle mods. Large communities often run 50–100 mods. Mods drastically increase RAM usage and loading times, CPU load increases more moderately.

Players	RAM	CPU
1–10	12–16 GB	4 cores at 4.0 GHz+
10–32	16–24 GB	4–6 cores at 4.2 GHz+
32–64	24–32 GB	6 cores at 4.5 GHz+
64+	32 GB+	6–8 cores at 4.8 GHz+

Rule of thumb for mods:

Small modpacks (10–20 mods): +4 GB RAM
Medium modpacks (20–50 mods like ACE, RHS, TFAR): +8 GB RAM
Large modpacks (50–100+ mods): +12 GB RAM or more
RHS or CUP alone need 2–4 GB extra when loading

With or without AI?

AI units are the biggest CPU eater in Arma 3. A server with 64 players and 200 AI units needs more CPU power than a server with 100 players without AI.

Without AI (pure PvP): CPU requirements as in the tables above
Few AI (50–100): Plan +20% CPU power or use a headless client
Many AI (100–300): +50% CPU or distribute across multiple headless clients

Storage

Vanilla: 50 GB
With mods: 100–200 GB (depending on modpack – RHS alone is 20 GB)
In general: NVMe SSD is mandatory – mods take several minutes to load on HDD

Network

Plan about 1–2 Mbps upload per player
From 32 players, at least 50 Mbps upload recommended
UDP ports 2302–2306 must be open

Summary: How to choose the right hardware

Estimate player count: How many people do you expect simultaneously?
Mods yes/no: With typical community mods, go two tiers higher on RAM
Plan for AI: Heavy AI = headless clients or stronger CPU
CPU: Highest single-core performance you can afford. 4.5 GHz+ recommended
RAM: 16 GB minimum for mod servers, better 24–32 GB
Storage: NVMe SSD, no HDD – otherwise mods take forever to load

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