Optimizing system for WoW

[Rollin904]

Hello all, recently got a bit dissatisfied with my computer's performance in the newest expansion to World of Warcraft. I was using a Gigabyte GTX 260 R and was constantly having my fps 30 or even lower on the "good" setting in the video options. My system is as follows:

CASE ANTEC|TWELVE HUNDRED BK RT

MB ASUS P6T SE 1366 X58 RTL

PSU OCZ|OCZ700MXSP 700W RT

CPU INTEL|CORE I7 920 2.66G 45N R (recently overclocked to 3.4)

MEM 2G|CORSAIR CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 R (have 3, triple channel)

CPU COOL CORSAIR| CWCH50-1 RT

Today I went to Best Buy and got a PNY GTX 470 just to test and compare with my current card. On full ultra the gtx 470 averages 26 fps, at good it averages 35 fps. To me, this is not a substantial increase, especially after reading the article on this site pertaining to graphic settings and expected fps (the gtx 470 averaged around 100 fps in their tests). My internet is usually 35mbps dl speed, comcast cable. Latency around 100ms in-game. I have vertical sync disabled, and run dual monitors, my main which displays WoW in windowed mode is set at 1920x1080 at 1080p HD. Am I missing a vital step in all of this that is creating problems for my fps? Any settings or other suggestions? Oh and I have DirectX 11, and was using newest drivers on the GTX 260 (using what came on the disc for the GTX 470). Thanks in advance, this is frustrating!

 

[BeefBravo]

Are you "duel boxing" with your duel monitor set up?

 

[brett1042002]

Do not use the drivers on that CD for the 470. I would recommend you uninstall those drivers, run Driver Sweeper to remove any driver remnants. Then download and install the newest drivers from Nvidia's website.

You say you have DX 11. Does that mean you are using the DX11 code in the config.wtf file? If not, you should try adding this line of code to the config.wtf file in the WoW folder.

SET gxApi "d3d11"

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793-7.html

^ This benchmark shows by enabling DX11, you may increase your FPS as much as 20-30% over using DX9

Try it and let us know what happens. Cheers.

 

[Rollin904]

Nope not dual boxing, I usually use my main display for wow and my second for Internet browsing or iTunes, etc. And yes I added the line in config, also I'll try the driver trick but I actually plan to return that card after a while and get the EVGA gtx 470. It's definitely running smoother with it so I'll just try and run with that.

 

[BeefBravo]

I think that your problem is with your duel monitor setup. With the GeForce 260 you should have been able to run WoW on ultra (even at 1080P) with no FPS problems at all. You should also be running at ultra with no trouble with that GeForce 470. Why don't you try adding the DX11 config file, then try running with only 1 monitor. I run WoW on ultra with 8X multisampling on my laptop which has a C2D & GeForce 260M and I am almost always over 60FPS. Your system is way more powerfull than my laptop and should be able to run at more than playable frame rates on ultra (even with the GeForce 260). The only other thought that I have is that you only have 2GB of RAM (is that right?), that is a bit low IMO. Most gaming rigs have 4 to 8 GBs. Maybe this is causing the issue (especially with the duel monitor/multi program setup you're running).

 

[khubani]

yerp..guaranteed if you took out a monitor it'd run peachy

 

[Rollin904]

Just getting onto the computer tonight, I'm running 6 gigs triple channel (x58 mb). I'll try both suggestions and post results momentarily.

 

[brett1042002]

I run WoW on a Dual 24" monitor setup at 1920x1080, in Windowed Mode every time, with no issues like this. I would suspect something else. Drivers, software, etc...

 

[Rollin904]

Yea it's 26fps with fresh drivers in, dual screened. Mind you this is in Orgrimmar so it's higher outside, but still not quite what I expected.

 

[BeefBravo]

Any updates on this issue?

 

[Rollin904]

No big improvements but I did turn down shadows one notch and gained over 10fps

 

[BeefBravo]

Shadows are a big performance killer. I run mine on "good" with everything else maxed. Still counts as ultra settings.

 

[BeefBravo]

I'm not too terribly familiar with the newer Intel Core CPUs (I use C2D at work & home), but isn't there special settings in the bios that control CPU "throtteling" or something to that effect? Maybe this is the issue? WoW is very CPU dependant, if your i7 was staying underclocked it could be causing this issue. I play alliance not horde, but in crowded SW I am always over 60 FPS. I would think that this should be the same with Ogrimar.

 

[brett1042002]

The only time I notice a performance hit on my rig is when i'm part of a huge City PvP Raid where their are hundreds of characters on the screen at one time. But if I drop my settings from Ultra to High, issue resolved. Honestly, I cannot tell a huge difference in graphical "prettiness" going from Ultra to High in WoW. Some subtle differences, imo. But it still looks great to me though .

As mentioned above, dropping just the Shadow settings can yield improved performance. As well as turning off Dynamic lighting, lowering Anti-Aliasing and/or Anisoscopic Filtering.

 

[VABuckeye]

FYI,

WoW throttles fps to your refresh rate. I'm running a 2600k w/8 gigs of RAM on a SSD drive with a Radeon 6950 and I'm limited to 60 fps because that's my max refresh rate at 1080p. You can get better to a point but WoW is going to limit your fps maximum.

 

[brett1042002]

FYI,

WoW throttles fps to your refresh rate. I'm running a 2600k w/8 gigs of RAM on a SSD drive with a Radeon 6950 and I'm limited to 60 fps because that's my max refresh rate at 1080p. You can get better to a point but WoW is going to limit your fps maximum.

This is probably due to V-Synv being enabled. It will limit your FPS to your monitor refresh rate (60hz). Disabling it will "uncap" your FPS, but you may experience tearing on the screen. Disabling V-Sync still may not improve the minimum FPS though.

I, for one, leave V-Sync enabled because I can notice screen tearing. It is subtle, but still noticeable to me.

 

[T_T]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but the topic and discussion are exactly what I was looking for, so, in an effort not to reinvent the wheel, here's my scenario:

Specs:
Biostar TA-790GXE
P2X4 945, OC @ 3.8
Titan Fenrir CPU cooler
G Skill 2x2GB 5-5-5-15 2T @ 533MHz, anything higher is unstable with my OC
PNY GTS 250 1GB
Acer 22" w/ a native res of 1680 x 1250
WoW FPS average of 25 standing in SW with everything, and I do mean everything, maxed out.

I think that my monitor is holding me back, but I'm curious to know if there is anything else from my list of parts that are poisoning my FPS? I do recall a time, maybe back when Ulduar was all the rage, I was exceeding 60 PFS with current hardware, standing in Dalaran.