Which one do you consider is best? Graphics aside.
Im thinking of buying ArmA here since its only 6 or 10 bucks (with or without expansion.)
Is ArmA II worth the price? I remember playing it when it came out and was just full of bugs.
Im guessing the patches fixed most of those so far?
Which one is more polished to this date?
I heard Bohemia stopped making patches for ArmA since they released the second one.

ArmA II is definitely superior in every way. The latest patches fixed every bug and increased performance. It's more polished than ArmA I.

Arma is worth getting here. It's a very beautiful game, a very, very, very )@($*)@($#* hard game, and one with tons of replay value, especially with excellent mods like FDF. I don't think BI has released any patches for it in a while, but the bugs are pretty well patched. The GOG version includes the Queen's Gambit expansion pack.

...that said, Arma II is superior in every way, and definitely worth the price. It was bug hell when first released, but they've mostly fixed it. The SP campaign is much less frustrating - almost relaxing in many parts - and tells a nice story about recognizable and likeable characters, not just a series of battles. The expansion packs' SP campaigns are less relaxing - more firefights, fewer long drives through beautiful countryside - but have progressively better stories about progressively more interesting people. (If Brian Frost isn't quite Victor Troska, he's close.) And then there's Eagle Wing, which I won't spoil, because its 'oh sh------' moment is one of the best gaming moments ever made, something they should teach in schools as an example of Good Game Design. Arma II also looks and sounds even better than Arma, and has a first-rate soundtrack. If you like OFP-type 'military simulators', Arma II, with its expansion packs, is the best $50 you'll spend this year.

Thanks for the great reply.

I'll have to try the demo before i buy it. I remember trying Operation Arrowhead and my computer could barely run it above 30 fps but i heard OA had more demanding graphics if im not mistaken?

If i decided to get ArmA 1 instead, would you say the expansion worth it?

as far as I knew BI still make patches for just about every game they ever made...they still patch and update ArmA cold war assault (operation flashpoint) and that game is over 10 years old (thats part of the reason bi games have such a huge following and last so long)

You may as well get Arma Gold from gog purely for the reson that its DRM free and you can just download it onto a flashdrive or whatever...thats why i like gog games....I own ArmA 2 and arrowhed on steam but having to download for every install is nowhere near as convenient as popping a flashdrive and just installing. id almost play Arma gold over Arma 2 for that reason alone.

Actually, OA's performance is slightly better than stock Arma 2's, using identical settings, though OA adds some more optional eye candy, especially of the postprocessing sort. That said, it still requires an absolute beast of a machine, and even my 4.5 GHz OC'd Core i7 2700k + GTX 580, which doesn't even break a sweat running Witcher 2, gets about 30 fps in 'Manhattan' with 4000m visibility and all the graphics options on very high - and not much better with them on low. It does better with lower visibility, and 4000m is definitely on the very high end - but you should still be ready to see much lower fps in Arma 2 than most other games.

as for expansions: did you mean Arma 2? GOG's Arma comes with Queen's Gambit, the only expansion pack released for that game; I'm not sure you can get Arma anywhere without QG now. If you meant Arma 2, yes, get all the expansions. They sell A2+OA in a pack called 'Combined Operations', and BAF+PMC in one called 'Reinforcements'. OA is absolutely essential: BAF, PMC, and most of the good mods require it. BAF and PMC are excellent, much closer to the old OFP than anything BI has released since, and are proof that BI has heard the cries for better writing and voice acting.

How does ArmA 1 run on Win 7 x64? Just tried the demo but that didnt work at all.
But I think every game on GOG is compatible on win 7, right?

I haven't had any problems with Arma on Win 7 x64. If your hardware can handle it, the OS shouldn't be a problem.

ARMAII is the better game.

In terms of production value alone, ArmA II is clearly the victor. But personally, ArmA/OPFPCWC stays relevant and above it's direct/spiritual sequel - mostly due to fond reflections of gamer days gone by. So I guess the main point I'd drive here is that it boils down to preference and speculations.

and don't forget the best part for future ...

if You have own titles, then you can play even Arma 1, Arma 2, Arma 2: OA and Take On Helicopters content within Arma 3 ;)

all You need is the AiA mod (All in Arma) ... ofcourse due to game being Alpha and the mod being Alpha, it's quite buggy :)

Any word on finalizing the beta patches for ArmA2?

WIP, and too busy with first Arma 3 betas ;) so maybe after it

The Opration Flashpoint and Red Hammer campaigns have been redone for ARMA II as a community project. So you could play the ARMA I story with the engine of ARMA II. They work very well as long as you don't use too many other mods. http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=14568