RAM / Graphics Card Question.

[Hayden272]

So im pretty noobish when it comes to getting the right shit for my pc, the graphics cards, the brands etc comparing to those and all that, so i thought i'd toss a question or two out and see if someone more in the know could give me a hand.

my pc overall is pretty good Intel Core i5-2500 CPU @ 3.3GHz but from what i've been told my graphics card and ram is letting me down a bit which is whats causing me to lag a bit, i raid 25s in wow, and in fights like Yor where a lot of graphics is going on and sometimes a crap load of adds + aoe it begins to lag me a bit and cause me 2-3 sec delay which isn't exactly good, and it just annoys me so i want to get it fixed.

at the moment i have 4gb of ram, i don't know specifically what brand the ram chips are i don't know if that makes a difference or not though i never really see people mention the brand names of their ram only the ammount. Anyway besides that what im asking is, 4gb enough ram? or should i change it up to something like 8? i saw 2x4gb sticks on ebay for only 60$. or possibly even 16?

and my Graphics Card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT430 i really don't know how it compares to whats out now because i got this computer about a year or so ago now and shit gets updated every month these days, but basically im looking to upgrade it for a reasonable price, not wanting to buy top of the line 400$ shit but enough to make a decent difference on my game play.

Also i don't know if its helps or not but i've heard that some brands of PC equipment interact with wow and other games better, and i have a ASRock motherboard, don't know if they work well if WoW or not.

Anyway thanks for reading my extremely long and incredibly nooby post most likely any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Mogitech]

Hi Hayden272!

I have a little experience with this.
As i can see there is nothing wrong with your RAM. I have 4gb ram myself and i dont lag at all. But your Graphic card can cause the problem.
I have looked around myself and AMD Radeaon graphic cards are (I say some don't) the best on the market.
Try and look at this: shop.amd.com/uk/gaming/Detail/GraphicCard/AX6990%204GBD5-WM4D?SearchFacets=category%3AGraphic%20Card
Its a little expensive but im sure you can find a cheaper one!

Regards Mogitech

[Sandraudiga]

Take everything I say with a grain of salt because other posters on this forum know insanely more than me, but I'm learning.

One thing I do know for certain is 4 gigs of ram is more than enough for Wow, as it doesn't let you use more than 2 unless you use the new 64 bit version in beta, or add in a large memory tag that is technically against the rules to add. Some bits of the ram do matter, like 1333 vs 1600 ram, and the timings which will be a 4 digit code like 9-9-9-24. Lower on those being better. I don't think 1333 to 1600 would give you a difference that's noticeable for the average user, but not too sure about the timings. Doubt ram issues are causing lag.

Also, the graphics card you are using is far better than mine, and allows you to use DX11. You can enable DX11 inside wow with a console command, and maybe an addition to a text file in your wow folder, but off the top of my head I can't remember what it is. Depending on how much you would be willing to pay a 560ti or even a 580 would be cards to look at, but pretty sure they are overkill for wow. I think you can get the AMD equivalents for a bit cheaper and equal performance, but would take someone who knew more than me to list those.

Everything I've read suggests wow is harder on the CPU than the GPU, and you have a pretty good CPU.

I am using 4 gigs of crap no name ram, a gtx 260, and a fairly old i7 at 2.8, all of which are worse than you have and I get zero graphical lag inside a 25m. I run it with most things at ultra, expect for minimal shadows.

The lag your getting, is it a 2-3 second lag in your abilities going off, or graphic stuttering and 2-3 second freezes?

[traen]

my pc overall is pretty good Intel Core i5-2500 CPU @ 3.3GHz
...
at the moment i have 4gb of ram
...
and my Graphics Card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT430

You have AMAZING, BiS CPU for wow. You can't get better one even if you wanted.

4 GBs of memory is more than enough. Wow usually uses 1-1.5Gb of memory, so there is absolutely no reason to have more than 4Gb. If you use 32-bit OS, you can't even use more than 3Gbs of memory.

GeForce GT430 is the worst part of your hardware. Most likely it is the real bottleneck of your system. But its not bad at all. Wow should run fine with it.

[Sandraudiga]

Anyone else notice this topics quick detour to the sports and fitness section, or have I finally gone completely insane?

I did some quick checks, and it looks like you'd be able to get a gtx 560Ti for $200-250 or so. Depending on your country and currency of course.

I think turning down some settings would be easier, not to mention cheaper. Shadows is the biggest culprit in my experience with wow, I usually have that on lowest settings in a raid environment for an easy 10 or so fps gain.

[Hayden272]

Take everything I say with a grain of salt because other posters on this forum know insanely more than me, but I'm learning.

One thing I do know for certain is 4 gigs of ram is more than enough for Wow, as it doesn't let you use more than 2 unless you use the new 64 bit version in beta, or add in a large memory tag that is technically against the rules to add. Some bits of the ram do matter, like 1333 vs 1600 ram, and the timings which will be a 4 digit code like 9-9-9-24. Lower on those being better. I don't think 1333 to 1600 would give you a difference that's noticeable for the average user, but not too sure about the timings. Doubt ram issues are causing lag.

Also, the graphics card you are using is far better than mine, and allows you to use DX11. You can enable DX11 inside wow with a console command, and maybe an addition to a text file in your wow folder, but off the top of my head I can't remember what it is. Depending on how much you would be willing to pay a 560ti or even a 580 would be cards to look at, but pretty sure they are overkill for wow. I think you can get the AMD equivalents for a bit cheaper and equal performance, but would take someone who knew more than me to list those.

Everything I've read suggests wow is harder on the CPU than the GPU, and you have a pretty good CPU.

I am using 4 gigs of crap no name ram, a gtx 260, and a fairly old i7 at 2.8, all of which are worse than you have and I get zero graphical lag inside a 25m. I run it with most things at ultra, expect for minimal shadows.

The lag your getting, is it a 2-3 second lag in your abilities going off, or graphic stuttering and 2-3 second freezes?

Its mainly ability lag, i don't know if its just my internet in general that is affecting the situation as well thought it hasn't given me much problem before im usually only at 200 ms, GG Australian servers please? but i mean i went from heroic rag fair bit of shit going on in that fight aoe on the molten seed adds etc, and it was clean as hell i mean it didn't change a bit and even phase 4 with all the extra fire on the floor nothing, not a thing, but i don't know when i stepped into DS and got into heavy fights like Yor with adds and the floor all black etc it just went to shit. But yes my lag isn't usually the game freezing, but i do get some lag on my abilities the 2-3 where i have them almost que'd up and sometimes i get disconnected if the delay goes over 7-8 seconds it drops me out, log back in insta d/c which im guessing is just from so much going on still and only just logging on. not sure though im only guessing.

---------- Post added 2012-04-14 at 05:44 PM ----------

Anyone else notice this topics quick detour to the sports and fitness section, or have I finally gone completely insane?

I did some quick checks, and it looks like you'd be able to get a gtx 560Ti for $200-250 or so. Depending on your country and currency of course.

I think turning down some settings would be easier, not to mention cheaper. Shadows is the biggest culprit in my experience with wow, I usually have that on lowest settings in a raid environment for an easy 10 or so fps gain.

yeah i always have shadows off, it just destroys FPS no matter what PC you're using i usually run basically Ultra settings and just turn shadows on Low, but even in some fights as i've been saying when i get lag, (ability lag) don't know if that makes a huge difference or not, i turn ALL my settings to the lowest possible just to get through the fight and i still get delay, but now that im saying this and its been brought up it could possibly be my shitty internet mixed with servers being so far away from me.

[Rafax]

As said above you RAM is good enough , never hurts to have more Ram but its good enough. As for graphic cards, yours is certainly outdated and it was never intended for high end gaming currently graphic cards had a little drop in price thanks to new series coming out, as said above you could go for a Nvidia GTX 560 TI the TI part is very important, or if you wanted an ati radeon alternative, you could go for something like a an Ati Radeon 7850 which is currently a very good option and can be found for around 250 dollars at times.

And ofc , your internet might be causing some kind of lag, 200 ms inst very high but its not optimal either.

[Sandraudiga]

That sounds more like an internet issue than an issue with your computer, which makes a lot more sense since your computer is pretty good. I feel your pain, I average 450 ms from east coast aus.

Are you using wireless? Do you notice a ms jump into the red when you get the 2-3 second to 7-8 second lag spikes? Sharing the net connection with others who stream or download while you play?

I noticed that a fair bit, when I got my lag spikes my ms would go into the red, and i'd start getting ability lag between 1 and 10 seconds. Sometimes ping would hit 2.5k or so for extended periods, and at times even hit 10k plus which usually ended up as a crash to the log in screen.

[Hayden272]

As said above you RAM is good enough , never hurts to have more Ram but its good enough. As for graphic cards, yours is certainly outdated and it was never intended for high end gaming currently graphic cards had a little drop in price thanks to new series coming out, as said above you could go for a Nvidia GTX 560 TI the TI part is very important, or if you wanted an ati radeon alternative, you could go for something like a an Ati Radeon 7850 which is currently a very good option and can be found for around 250 dollars at times.

just curious you said the TI part is important whats so important about it, might as well turn this into a little bit of class for me so i know for the future haha

---------- Post added 2012-04-14 at 05:50 PM ----------

That sounds more like an internet issue than an issue with your computer, which makes a lot more sense since your computer is pretty good. I feel your pain, I average 450 ms from east coast aus.

Are you using wireless? Do you notice a ms jump into the red when you get the 2-3 second to 7-8 second lag spikes? Sharing the net connection with others who stream or download while you play?

I noticed that a fair bit, when I got my lag spikes my ms would go into the red, and i'd start getting ability lag between 1 and 10 seconds. Sometimes ping would hit 2.5k or so for extended periods, and at times even hit 10k plus which usually ended up as a crash to the log in screen.

its not that bad and no i don't share the net with anyone else really, and its not on wireless, its only ADSL +1 though /sigh so not the fastest out there, sometimes the latency does shoot into the red its never gone really past 500 though, thought i don't exactly monitor it all the time so it may of, i think i'ii replace the graphics card grab some extra ram while im at it and see what happens from there, there isn't much more that i can do due to my location and the limitations on internet, let alone the location of those damn servers.

[Rafax]

There are 2 versions of the Gtx 560 priced closely to each other I believe, the main difference is that the TI version is much better performance wise, the normal 560 is just a rebranded 460 while the gtx 560 ti is actually new stuff.

[Sandraudiga]

As far as I know the letters Ti just stand for titanium and don't mean anything in particular. I'll quote a post from the nvidia forums to answer, because I asked that question not too long ago lol.

"The GTX 560 Ti has more shader processors (384 vs 336) and more texture mapping units (64 vs 56) than the non-Ti version. This means that the Ti version is roughly 15% faster"

[Rafax]

What i meant by saying make sure you get the TI version is that thats where the money is at in terms of price/performance relation.

Look at this per example http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html, take a carefull look at the difference between the normal 560 and the TI version ...

[Hayden272]

What i meant by saying make sure you get the TI version is that thats where the money is at in terms of price/performance relation.

Look at this per example http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html, take a carefull look at the difference between the normal 560 and the TI version ...

ahhh i completely understand you now, haha 30$ difference 15% more performance roughly, that's a no brainer.

[Sandraudiga]

I agree with Rafax, I only just recently looked at getting a GPU, and 560 Ti seems like a solid card.

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...ducts_id=19908

That would be a good buy imo. As far as Ram goes, I went for this set:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...ducts_id=17729

or you could save a little bit and go for this:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...ducts_id=16930

[Rafax]

If you want to save money you could go for something like an Ati Radeon 6850, its roughly 10 % better than the 560GTX but its obviously not as fast as the 560 TI the advantage is , its 70 dollars cheaper most of the time.

[Sandraudiga]

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...ducts_id=18594

For the Ati Radeon 6850, $139 AUD compared to the 560 Ti's $225 AUD. Save you $86.

http://www.pccasegear.com
http://www.scorptec.com.au
http://www.mwave.com.au
http://www.computeralliance.com.au

Four good sites for computer parts in Aus. Have gotten parts from pccasegear, and a laptop + prebuilt computer from computer alliance, nothing but good things to say about them. Scoprtec and mwave are both also solid sites. Mwave in particular has daily specials that are worth browsing if your thinking about getting something, never know when it can save you some cash.