Low FPS in WoW.

[Paulten]

Hey everyone,

First of all, thanks for taking the time to read my post. Ill give you my system specs first and foremost.

Processor: 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400
Memory: 4GB RAM
Storage: 500GB hard drive
Screen: 15.6 inches
Graphics: Intel 4500MHD (128MB)
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)

Alright, now to explain. I don't know much about computers but I know whats happening. Whenever I play world of warcraft my FPS is always at 2 - 4 in big cities along with 25m raids. I understand that it is a laptop, and the system specs are far from ideal for playing any type of game. However, I'm hoping to do one of the two options. Either find a temporary fix for this computer to up the FPS to suitable, or replace some of the parts in the laptop to find a permanent fix. I don't have the money right now to replace an entire computer, and I know some of you out there might have experience with upping FPS in general, or knowledge about what graphic cards can be replaced in my laptop (seeing as how I have a very limited options of what I can actually replace).

In summary, anyone who can explain to me how to improve my FPS, major or minor fixes is very much appreciated. Along with that, if anyone knows of any hardware upgrades that can actually work with my laptop I would be willing to buy those and bring it to a specialist.

Like I said, I need the help and I really appreciate anyone who is willing to help me out.

Thanks again,
Chris.

 

[pojih]

Its an old game but...

Turn all of your video settings to low, all of them. Turn off everything that says "hint" turn off for performance. Lower your resolution

Load only the addons you need (especially when raiding - you don't need map addons, damage counters, etc

Also... playing with a 4500mhd .. isn't going to ward spectacular results - ever. Can't upgrade anything.

But you could spend ~ 400ish on a desktop (sans input/display) that would work wonders in wow

 

[Paulten]

Thanks for your input. I forgot to mention also, I do play at everything low settings in wow. Along with that, whenever I go into a 25m raid, most ICC, I turn my resolution down to the lowest possible.

If its possible (and not a huge waist of your time), could you send me a pre-made or even a setup of a 400ish computer build that would run wow fantastic. Just to entertain the idea... assuming that there are no other fixes for my laptop.

 

[pojih]

I'd be happy to show you a link to a website with a 410 build, that should work more than fine if WoW is your only concern.

http://www.hardware-revolution.com/400-gaming-pc/

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz
MOBO: ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Video Card: XFX HD 5450
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 160gb
Optical: Samsung 24x blah blah, gets the job done
Case PS: Rosewill TU-155 II 500 Black

That should all add up

apparently my coding for html is horrible, but hey, all of those parts add up to ~ 450 iirc

 

[RickyT23]

Make sure your laptop has all of the power saving features turned off.

 

[khubani]

Hi,

I understand your budget is ~400ish, but I believe I've found you a suitable desktop that has a great chance at giving you what you need. Now, the graphics card in here are integrated, but I've found an upgrade (make sure the card I link here is infact, compatible with this computer's motherboard - not so sure if I got the right one) as far as the graphics, and it can run WoW very well. Let me know what you think.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113125 <---CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162022 <---GPU

GL!

 

[drchuck59]

Chris,

I have EXACTLY the same problem. I'm running:
AMD Athalon X2 64 4400+
4Gb RAM
GeoForce 8800
Acer 1920 monitor
500Gb SATA drive

I did some simple testing and was surprised to see that my graphics card was humming with no stress whatsoever...

BUT, my CPU was going to 50-75% in Dalaran and above 90% in 25M raids. The other posts are quite correct -- WoW is CPU intensive - not GPU - for graphics. This is why removing addons, which occupy program RAM space, helps a little bit. (I can improve 5-7 fps, but that's it). BTW, if I "ping" the meter on my CPU, I disconnect entirely -- WoW server thinks I logged out!

The rumor that WoW does not use multiple cores is false; this was changed in patch 3.3. I suspect Cataclysm will involve some major upgrades to the software architecture as well (there is a reason classic and BC are being rewritten in their entirety other than storyline).

So, I'm looking for an i7 bundle that will let me keep my graphics card (for now). I'm TigerDirect has several for a few hundred bucks in ATX form factor. While it's nearly impossible to "build for the future", I'm still going to try! I don't overclock, so I don't need the top-end motherboard.

Don't waste too much on your graphics card, other than mainstream "above average."

Good luck!
Nylanmage of Greymane