Hello Tom's Hardware Forum,
I consider myself to be somewhat tech-savy but I've been really struggling with inconsistent FPS while in Windowed Mode (Fullscreen) in World of Warcraft. I am aware that this is taxing for my framerates, and I often raid in Fullscreen mode to minimize FPS dips. When I'm flying around/doing PVP/alt raids/etc it's nice to have the functionality of using my fourth monitor for Interweb/Twitch/VLC/iTunes/etc.
Short Version: Sometimes my Windowed mode gives me 80-90 FPS in the world and 120-140 in raids. Compare with 120-130 world and 160-180 raids in Fullscreen mode. However, occasionally my Windowed Mode FPS performs drastically worse at 25-35 FPS, which is a different experience altogether. It's not a dip while playing, and it seems to be high frames one day and low the next. This leads me to believe my build is capable of performing at playable (60+) fps at my resolutions and in Windowed Mode, but that there is something preventing my system from consistently doing so. I'm here for your thoughts and opinions. Thanks in advance!
Some History: My last build was air cooled and featured an i7-2600k and dual HD6970s in CF. I play on 6044x1200 (including bezel adjustments) with three 24" IPS panels and a fourth above the center monitor (1 over 3). Obviously, I required Full Screen mode to utilize my CF, and when I decided it was time for a new build (more hobby than necessity at this point) I was hopeful that with a strong single GPU build I would be able to play in Windowed Mode more consistently.
My Current Build: I have a fully water-cooled build that I put together last January.
Major components include:
CPU: Intel i5 4670k @ 4.3 GHz boost, it's not the greatest chip in the world but temperatures are quite low with my WC loop. It's not stable at 4.5 GHz, even at 1.3V+. I'm stable at 4.4 GHz but I backed it down to 4.3 GHz for day-to-day. CPU frequency is inconsistent in Windowed Mode (from CPU-Z) and is one of my theories, but I'll touch on this below.
GPU: GTX 780 Ti with EK water block, OC to 1250 MHz boost. Again, temps are quite low with my loop. I added application specific Maximum Performance settings to my nVid control panel and can confirm GPU frequency does step up to 1250 MHz even in Windowed Mode (from GPU-Z).
PSU: Corsair AX860i
Cooling: Full custom water loop with two rads (480 and 280) in my Enthoo Primo. Build details and pics are here: http://www.dazmode.com/_forum/showthread.php?974-Spirillum-s-Build&p=21584&viewfull=1#post21584
I keep my drivers up to date.
I noticed recently in CPU-Z when I'm in Windowed Mode that my multiplier on my first core fluctuates from 32 to 43. Should I expect to see a fixed 43x multiplier when I'm in a game, even in Windowed? It's my current theory that WoW isn't consistently pulling all of my CPU's resources and that this is causing the performance gradient that I see from day to day with my game. I could be way off base, and make no claims that I'm an expert here.
If there's any additional information required, please let me know and I'll try and respond quickly (<1 day).
If you've made it this far, thanks again for taking the time to review my thread. If you're a fellow WoW player I'd be happy to return the favour in a flex raid or PvP. My armory hasn't worked since our server was merged but if you look around I'm sure you'll be able to find my mage without too much trouble.
Cheers,
Spirillum
I consider myself to be somewhat tech-savy but I've been really struggling with inconsistent FPS while in Windowed Mode (Fullscreen) in World of Warcraft. I am aware that this is taxing for my framerates, and I often raid in Fullscreen mode to minimize FPS dips. When I'm flying around/doing PVP/alt raids/etc it's nice to have the functionality of using my fourth monitor for Interweb/Twitch/VLC/iTunes/etc.
Short Version: Sometimes my Windowed mode gives me 80-90 FPS in the world and 120-140 in raids. Compare with 120-130 world and 160-180 raids in Fullscreen mode. However, occasionally my Windowed Mode FPS performs drastically worse at 25-35 FPS, which is a different experience altogether. It's not a dip while playing, and it seems to be high frames one day and low the next. This leads me to believe my build is capable of performing at playable (60+) fps at my resolutions and in Windowed Mode, but that there is something preventing my system from consistently doing so. I'm here for your thoughts and opinions. Thanks in advance!
Some History: My last build was air cooled and featured an i7-2600k and dual HD6970s in CF. I play on 6044x1200 (including bezel adjustments) with three 24" IPS panels and a fourth above the center monitor (1 over 3). Obviously, I required Full Screen mode to utilize my CF, and when I decided it was time for a new build (more hobby than necessity at this point) I was hopeful that with a strong single GPU build I would be able to play in Windowed Mode more consistently.
My Current Build: I have a fully water-cooled build that I put together last January.
Major components include:
CPU: Intel i5 4670k @ 4.3 GHz boost, it's not the greatest chip in the world but temperatures are quite low with my WC loop. It's not stable at 4.5 GHz, even at 1.3V+. I'm stable at 4.4 GHz but I backed it down to 4.3 GHz for day-to-day. CPU frequency is inconsistent in Windowed Mode (from CPU-Z) and is one of my theories, but I'll touch on this below.
GPU: GTX 780 Ti with EK water block, OC to 1250 MHz boost. Again, temps are quite low with my loop. I added application specific Maximum Performance settings to my nVid control panel and can confirm GPU frequency does step up to 1250 MHz even in Windowed Mode (from GPU-Z).
PSU: Corsair AX860i
Cooling: Full custom water loop with two rads (480 and 280) in my Enthoo Primo. Build details and pics are here: http://www.dazmode.com/_forum/showthread.php?974-Spirillum-s-Build&p=21584&viewfull=1#post21584
I keep my drivers up to date.
I noticed recently in CPU-Z when I'm in Windowed Mode that my multiplier on my first core fluctuates from 32 to 43. Should I expect to see a fixed 43x multiplier when I'm in a game, even in Windowed? It's my current theory that WoW isn't consistently pulling all of my CPU's resources and that this is causing the performance gradient that I see from day to day with my game. I could be way off base, and make no claims that I'm an expert here.
If there's any additional information required, please let me know and I'll try and respond quickly (<1 day).
If you've made it this far, thanks again for taking the time to review my thread. If you're a fellow WoW player I'd be happy to return the favour in a flex raid or PvP. My armory hasn't worked since our server was merged but if you look around I'm sure you'll be able to find my mage without too much trouble.
Cheers,
Spirillum
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