Average FPS

[ryan11d7]

Good afternoon guys, I am not the most knowledgeable on computer. However I am just wondering with my current set up what is the average FPS I should be getting on setting 3-4 at 1920/1080. I know its not possible to perfectly say but a guestimation would work. I am also wondering if you guys think I will run into alot of problems in Legion, or If I should seriously think about upgrading now.

Running Windows 10 64 Bit
Intel Core i7 CPU 870 @ 2.93ghz (I have also read some stuff on potentially turning off hyperthreading on the i7 to increase wow performance?)
8 GB Ram
Amd Radeon HD 6870

That is kind of just the basics, how outdated do you think this computer is? I am just kind of curious what FPS I Should be in the ballpark of.

Thanks for any help in advanced

[Zergin8r]

Well.... im using a Phenom 9550 2.2Ghz, 4GB RAM, and a Radeon 4870 (512 MB version), and I play at 3 with a bit of tweaking, eg high particles, and less shadows ect. Anyways Solo, I get a steady 60 fps, but its capped so it may be higher. In cities I get 40-45 with lots of ppl around, and in invasions it drops to like 5. I would think you could at least maintain 30 fps with your computer since WoW is CPU heavy.

EDIT, I just checked the system requirements and I am way below the minimum apparently ><

[ryan11d7]

In a raid I seem to hover around 30-50 at graphic setting 3ish with view distance turned down. Thought 30 seemed to be a bit to low, though I do know my computer is out of date.

[Zergin8r]

At least you can raid , I havent been able to raid with over 10 fps since Cata.... so I pretty much havn't done any raids other than 1-2 tries at LFR in MoP.

[ryan11d7]

I also found something strange, usually when you reduce the resolution of WoW your FPS should increase, however I noticed 0 performance increases and maybe perhaps a bit more chopness when lowering to 1680.

[Zergin8r]

Yeah WoW does some wierd things sometimes, I get about 20% better FPS in windowed fullscreen over just fullscreen. Also since MoP, it won't alt-tab properly in windowed mode, it's like it has a forced always in front option turned on somewhere the only way for me to see my desktop if WoW is running is to use the show desktop button on the taskbar, which is the only thing that will stay in front of the WoW window. Sometimes it gets stuck there after tabbing back so I need to restart WoW or have the taskbar blocking the bottom part of the screen.

[Pickynerd]

At least you can raid , I havent been able to raid with over 10 fps since Cata.... so I pretty much havn't done any raids other than 1-2 tries at LFR in MoP.

I been there before, not fun.

I run modified ultra (10) because I hate ground clutter. Also lowered anti aliasing because it kicks my computers ass.

..Average is probably around 45ish/50 while doing invasions, strange dips in garrison 27-29, everywhere else is 55-60 (locked at 60)

[Zergin8r]

Pretty sure ultra would melt my computer... the cards already idle between 80-90 Celsius, and 120-130ish under load.... I'm not sure how they still work after 9 years of constant use at those temps.

[ryan11d7]

I have considered potentially trying to build my own computer. But never having actually attempted it is rather overwhelming. I hear it is easy but, the whole compatibility and choosing solid parts is a little bit out of my tech saavy.

[Zergin8r]

You can ask here, there are lots of people that can help... or follow a build of the month from the front page ect. I plan on asking for help myself if I can ever save enough to buy a new computer... Living in a small town with only part time work pays for food/bills but not much else >< though now that I finally finished paying for my car I can start saving a bit every month till I can get something decent.

[Pickynerd]

I have considered potentially trying to build my own computer. But never having actually attempted it is rather overwhelming. I hear it is easy but, the whole compatibility and choosing solid parts is a little bit out of my tech saavy.

So many people here that know what they are talking about, you could get what you want, with a link to it at its lowest price.

Don't be afraid to ask, also like Zergin8r said, there are also builds on the front page once a month.

[Thunderball]

Pretty sure ultra would melt my computer... the cards already idle between 80-90 Celsius, and 120-130ish under load.... I'm not sure how they still work after 9 years of constant use at those temps.

WHAT? I dont know a single card that can survive those kind of temperatures, your thermal probe is probably broken.

[ryan11d7]

What resolution do most of you play on?

[Master Guns]

Pretty sure ultra would melt my computer... the cards already idle between 80-90 Celsius, and 120-130ish under load.... I'm not sure how they still work after 9 years of constant use at those temps.

There is absolutely no way that is correct. It would have failed within a year or less at temps like that. You'd have fried it.

[SoulForge]

There is absolutely no way that is correct. It would have failed within a year or less at temps like that. You'd have fried it.

FAR Less than a year. Jesus.

I have cards at my workplace that are breaking down due to being the cheap ones that start idling around 90 and going any higher causes a hard reset.

[Alindra]

I also found something strange, usually when you reduce the resolution of WoW your FPS should increase, however I noticed 0 performance increases and maybe perhaps a bit more chopness when lowering to 1680.

This isn't uncommon, and has to do with both your hardware and how the engine (in this case, WoW) is written.

Think of it this way, you have two independent processors in your computer (CPU and GPU). Your CPU does GPU does certainly calculations (namely crunches all that polygons and pixel data) while your CPU does others (updates position data, handles IO, networking, UI updates, etc) - most notably telling the GPU what to draw. Unlike other tasks, the last one (telling the GPU what to draw) can only happen in serial on a single thread.

What you're seeing is either a) your CPU taking more time to tell the GPU what to draw than the GPU takes to draw it (it's twiddling its thumbs with nothing to do) or b) the CPU is taking more time to do all the other necessary calculations before it can move on to the next frame. In either case, your GPU is starved, and you're GPU bound. You can freely turn up the graphics detail for better image quality and fill in the GPU's dead time.
NOTE: Not all graphical effects are the same. Increasing the resolution/render scale is simply adding more work. Other graphical effects (shadows, ground clutter, view distance, etc) require additional work from the CPU as well.

There reverse is also possible, that is being GPU limited. This is more likely the case in more modern games by pushing more work onto the GPU and parallelizing as much work on the CPU as possible. In this case, the CPU tells the GPU what to render and does all its' calculations then needs to wait for the GPU to actually finishing executing all commands in its buffer before the CPU can move on to the next frame.


By the way, in the case of WoW, you'll likely see both of these scenarios. When you're out in the world in a remote location without a lot of other people around, you'll be GPU bound. There isn't a lot for the CPU to calculate or tell the GPU to render, so it finishes pretty quick. In other situations - namely raids, capital cities, etc - the game will become CPU bound. There the work for the CPU (player positions, spell effects, fuller combat log, more complicated addons like DBM,e tc) scales up a lot faster than GPU's. This is why people suggest getting a CPU with a high IPC as possible for WoW - the cases where you'll be CPU bound is where you really want to have the maximum performance


Okay, I think that's enough rambling. I hope it helped explain what you were seeing.

[Zergin8r]

WHAT? I dont know a single card that can survive those kind of temperatures, your thermal probe is probably broken.

I'ts done that since the day I got it, and the temps are correct or very close to it because if you touch the vents on the back you can burn yourself pretty badly. Also I can turn the heater off in my room and it stays around 35 Celsius in the winter.... when its -20 outside.

[Lathais]

WHAT? I dont know a single card that can survive those kind of temperatures, your thermal probe is probably broken.

My old 6870 used to run at those temps quite frequently. According to AMD I believe the Max Temp on that card was 104C. Well, some say 85 is max safe temp, others say 95, yet others say 110. Just google "6870 Max Temps" and you'll see temps like that for that card were quite normal. What I do know for sure is 100C is when it shuts down the PC, because I would reach that sometime playing Diablo 3.

[Thunderball]

My old 6870 used to run at those temps quite frequently. According to AMD I believe the Max Temp on that card was 104C. Well, some say 85 is max safe temp, others say 95, yet others say 110. Just google "6870 Max Temps" and you'll see temps like that for that card were quite normal. What I do know for sure is 100C is when it shuts down the PC, because I would reach that sometime playing Diablo 3.

OP said he had 80-90 IDLE.

[Master Guns]

And 120 under load. I don't buy it. Your meter must be off or broken