Some CPU advice for WoW

GeordieLife

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Jul 7, 2008
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Hi folks

Sorry for being a "needy" first post. Not sure where to post it either. So here will do for now!

Currently running Asus P5Q Deluxe, Intel Q6600, 8GB DDR2 PC6400 Ram and a brand, spanking new ATi 5870. Two 22" monitors at 1680x1050 or something.

Still get *** frame rate in Dalaran. Something has to be up. I put the new card in, still crap. I put another 4GB ram in (was only running 4GB), still crap. Hmmm. Currently looking like processor is maxing out (according to Task Manager etc). So, the question is, what do I do next?

As I'm running a P45 Motherboard, my best option is a Q9650. Which would be a good upgrade, and cost about £250 (plus maybe a better cooler).

My second option is to go for a new i7 type CPU. Probably the i7 920. At about £220. However, would need a new motherboard and some DDR3 ram. Cost of Mobo £210. Cost of ram £160ish. Cost of cooler £50.

Obviously, option 2 is best. But it's also approx £620 vs £250. Hmmm. Is it worth it, PC is mainly used for WoW?

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html (rough guide, I'd never take it as gospel)

Any geeky answer appreciated!
 

GeordieLife

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Sorry, running Windows 7 (MSDN subscriber). Reinstalled on Saturday.

It could also be the fact that it's a brand new graphics card. ATi drivers aren't renowned for being brilliant at release. But CPU is running like 50%ish when WoW.exe is running (all WoW.exe).

Might is be worth overclocking to see if I can get more out of the CPU?

Thanks
 

hallowed_dragon

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I get crappy framerate in Dalaran too, 20-30 FPS. I play at 1680x1050 with almost full details and Dalaran is the only place that does that. The rest of the time I have 40+ or even 60. I dont necessarly think it has to do with the graphics card, but with the CPU (we have the same CPU). Try a simple OC to 3 GHz, the only setting to modify is the FSB, from 266 to 333 and maybe the memory : cpu fsb ratio to 2 (for effective memory clock of 667). For now my CPU is at stock, but I had it OCed a while back and noticed some good improvements in other games (didnt had WoW at the moment). Try that and post the new results. :)
 

GeordieLife

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I don't even know where to start with OC. So I'll have to do some reading! Any links to anything useful?

Yeah, I just get the impression that the CPU is "holding me back" so to speak.
 

hallowed_dragon

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I also run Windows 7 Proffesional (advantages of having a student girlfriend) with 9.8 drivers. When I ran Wow on Vista i usually lagged a bit in Dalaran, but now with W7 it is playable. Hmm, with your hardware you should have at least 40+ frames in Dalaran with full details at 16x10.
 

jonpaul37

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Hey, here is another something to try... When in Dalaran, adjust the shadows setting to the setting just before maxed out.

I have an E4500 OC'd to 3.0 and an ATI 4850 and i have EVERYTHING maxed at the same resolution Except for that one shadow setting, it's almost maxxed, but not quite... i have never dipped below 35FPS in Dalaran and usually running 45-50 FPS in Dala rest of the game i'll never go below 45FPS
 

mognet

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I think you'll find that you are hitting a cpu barrier. I'm only running 4770 and I barely see it hit over 50% load while playing WoW. My memory usage never going above about 3GB even with other stuff running in the background.

Are you looking at a single figure for cpu usage? WoW only ultilises up to 2 cores on a multi core proccessor so a higher clock speed is really to only way to go.

Honestly though getting a shitty fps in dalaran is just something people deal with in wow, as long as you are getting good fps while outside soloing or in instances is spending more money really improving your game experience to try and eek out a few extra fps in a city?

Try going to shat or IF/org these days and all the old lag is gone. Its largely a population issue
 

daship

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You Pc should not lag in Dalaran at all. Crappy hard drive maybe. You should get 40+ in Dalaran all day.

Run a HDD speed test with HDD tune. I suspect your HDD is holdong you back in some way.
 

GeordieLife

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I tried OCing to 9x333. Still not much better. I ordered a Q9550 anyway, got an exceptional deal as part of a larger deal through a contract I'm working on. Sooo, that should be here today with a Corsair H50. Will see how that goes.

Then...I may look at SSD. Any suggestions? Cheap vs Speed vs Reliable.
 

GeordieLife

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Also, WoW is currently on my SpinPoint F1 and my OS is on my Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (WD1001FALS).

Am I doing that wrong?