Hello! I'll begin by thanking in advance everyone who takes the time to provide me with some insight to my situation.
I have a basic understanding of what the various parts that make up a computer are and some of their functionality, however I am certainly no expert.
Here are my current desktop computer's specifications:
- AMD Athlon II X4 630 Processor 2.8 GHz
- Nvidia GTS250 1GB VGA
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- 500GB SATA HDD (16 MB Cache)
- Gigabyte HT3.0 DDR3 1866 Motherboard (I'm not exactly sure of the name of my mother board, this is just what I was able to see on the component inside of my case)
- 850W Corsair TX Power Supply
- Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
- Not a computer component, but I think I have a decent internet connection. The wireless router that I purchased was about $200 and I have a good plan with my ISP. I get about 1.3 - 1.7 MB/second when downloading software updates and the like.
The computer is approximately three years old. I haven't had any problems with it. I played World of Warcraft for quite some time and never experienced any graphics lag or FPS issues, even in 25-man raids or areas like Wintergrasp or Tol Barad which had even more players in one area. No lag in any of the major cities either. I have also played SWTOR, and while I haven't raided or done any instances, I don't seem to have any graphics lag or FPS issues when I am questing. I lag a little bit on the Imperial/Republic Fleet (major city) but it isn't too bad.
However, I have recently began playing RIFT. From what I can tell, it has higher expectations of your computer than the previous two games that I mentioned. A quick google search will indicate its recommended system requirements. When questing out in the world, I have had good days and bad days. Sometimes I don't experience much lag, and sometimes I do. In the major city (Meridian for those familiar), I have also had good days and bad days. At times I get 5-10 FPS while the settings are on low, and at other times I get 18-25 FPS when the settings are on high (not quite maxed out, antialiasing off, shadows on the environment only setting). I ran a couple of instances, and while I didn't have FRAPS on, I was lagging about as worse as I was in Meridian.
I have heard that this is a CPU intensive game, and I don't think my CPU is the best.
What are your suggestions in my situation? Is there anything I can do with my current build to correct the problem? I'd rather not have to run the game on a lower setting because the graphics are quite good at the higher setting and quite poor at the lower setting. I cleaned the dust out of my computer case which seemed to help a bit, and I'm currently running a disk defragmentation. My CPU is not overclocked and I am not sure how to go about overclocking it, and what the risks/benefits are. Would someone mind touching on overclocking for me?
If I were to build/purchase a new computer, with the goal of being able to run RIFT on the "high" setting, with say at least 35-40 FPS in major cities, instances, raids, etc. and ~60 FPS while questing, could someone recommend a build? I would prefer to keep the cost under $1000. $800 would be great. Would it be possible to run RIFT at max settings with that kind of budget? If not, about how much more should I expect to spend?
Instead of buying a whole new computer, could I upgrade the GPU and RAM and experience the increased FPS that I would like to see? I was looking at purchasing a GeForce GTX 650Ti (might have the name wrong but I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about) as well as getting a new pack of 8GB RAM. That would cost me about $400 to purchase and have installed (unfortunately I don't know how to install a GPU and would rather pay $80 to have it done correctly).
Sorry for the extensive length of this post. If you can't answer every question, that is perfectly okay. Any information will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
I have a basic understanding of what the various parts that make up a computer are and some of their functionality, however I am certainly no expert.
Here are my current desktop computer's specifications:
- AMD Athlon II X4 630 Processor 2.8 GHz
- Nvidia GTS250 1GB VGA
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- 500GB SATA HDD (16 MB Cache)
- Gigabyte HT3.0 DDR3 1866 Motherboard (I'm not exactly sure of the name of my mother board, this is just what I was able to see on the component inside of my case)
- 850W Corsair TX Power Supply
- Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
- Not a computer component, but I think I have a decent internet connection. The wireless router that I purchased was about $200 and I have a good plan with my ISP. I get about 1.3 - 1.7 MB/second when downloading software updates and the like.
The computer is approximately three years old. I haven't had any problems with it. I played World of Warcraft for quite some time and never experienced any graphics lag or FPS issues, even in 25-man raids or areas like Wintergrasp or Tol Barad which had even more players in one area. No lag in any of the major cities either. I have also played SWTOR, and while I haven't raided or done any instances, I don't seem to have any graphics lag or FPS issues when I am questing. I lag a little bit on the Imperial/Republic Fleet (major city) but it isn't too bad.
However, I have recently began playing RIFT. From what I can tell, it has higher expectations of your computer than the previous two games that I mentioned. A quick google search will indicate its recommended system requirements. When questing out in the world, I have had good days and bad days. Sometimes I don't experience much lag, and sometimes I do. In the major city (Meridian for those familiar), I have also had good days and bad days. At times I get 5-10 FPS while the settings are on low, and at other times I get 18-25 FPS when the settings are on high (not quite maxed out, antialiasing off, shadows on the environment only setting). I ran a couple of instances, and while I didn't have FRAPS on, I was lagging about as worse as I was in Meridian.
I have heard that this is a CPU intensive game, and I don't think my CPU is the best.
What are your suggestions in my situation? Is there anything I can do with my current build to correct the problem? I'd rather not have to run the game on a lower setting because the graphics are quite good at the higher setting and quite poor at the lower setting. I cleaned the dust out of my computer case which seemed to help a bit, and I'm currently running a disk defragmentation. My CPU is not overclocked and I am not sure how to go about overclocking it, and what the risks/benefits are. Would someone mind touching on overclocking for me?
If I were to build/purchase a new computer, with the goal of being able to run RIFT on the "high" setting, with say at least 35-40 FPS in major cities, instances, raids, etc. and ~60 FPS while questing, could someone recommend a build? I would prefer to keep the cost under $1000. $800 would be great. Would it be possible to run RIFT at max settings with that kind of budget? If not, about how much more should I expect to spend?
Instead of buying a whole new computer, could I upgrade the GPU and RAM and experience the increased FPS that I would like to see? I was looking at purchasing a GeForce GTX 650Ti (might have the name wrong but I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about) as well as getting a new pack of 8GB RAM. That would cost me about $400 to purchase and have installed (unfortunately I don't know how to install a GPU and would rather pay $80 to have it done correctly).
Sorry for the extensive length of this post. If you can't answer every question, that is perfectly okay. Any information will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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