How good is my PC for wow?

[Lestrang]

My pc is 2-4 years old, i dont remember exactly, am wondering what is the best i can expect out of it, since i have been having lags lately during my 25man raid encounters in Firelands, and am running everything on low.

Processor: Intel core 2 quad cpu Q6600 @2.40 GHZ 2.40 GHz
Installed memory(ram): 4 GB.
System type: 64-bit Operating sytem.
Graphic Card: Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT.


Is something wrong with my PC and should it preform better or is it outdated and i need to upgrade some parts? and if so please give me some cheap options to improve performance.

[Kärmä]

The processor is fine, RAM is fine, the biggest upgrade would be the GPU in my opinion. And please define "cheap", give us a budget.

[Lestrang]

The processor is fine, RAM is fine, the biggest upgrade would be the GPU in my opinion. And please define "cheap", give us a budget.

Thanks for the response, GPU would be the graphic card i assume? okay. so is my current not strong enough to even support fights at lowest setting possible without lag? and what is a good alternative, something that can get me working fine at high-ultra, but doesn't cost THAT much.

[Kärmä]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102908 $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130591 $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130623 $240 (this one is much better than the other 2)

The 6850 scores higher than the 460 on some benchmarks however I've never owned an AMD card. The GTX 460 should be able to handle 25 man raids.

[Deleted]

The 460 will run it fine. Just make sure your PSU is large enough to power it

[Skarsguard]

the 560 is overkill for wow and would get bottlenecked by the processor i would go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121442 if your on a budget or a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130625 if you prefer Nvidia over ATI. Nvidia tends to do a bit better with wow then ATI and I'm more of a ATI fan.

[Kärmä]

the 560 is overkill for wow and would get bottlenecked by the processor i would go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121442 if your on a budget or a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130625 if you prefer Nvidia over ATI. Nvidia tends to do a bit better with wow then ATI and I'm more of a ATI fan.

I would not recommend the 550 TI, it has a terrible price for performance ratio. The 460 is better than it and is only $15-$25 more

[Skelly]

Your computer should have no problem playing WoW on low or even good. My laptop has similar specs and plays with decent fps on good.

[Asmekiel]

Your computer should have no problem playing WoW on low or even good. My laptop has similar specs and plays with decent fps on good.

It all depends on the resolution you play with. If you're running at a lower reso, you'll see higher numbers on the FPS-counter. But since nobody said anything about that, I'll just assume we all use 1920x1080. In which case getting a better GPU and overclocking the CPU should do the trick.

[Lestrang]

It all depends on the resolution you play with. If you're running at a lower reso, you'll see higher numbers on the FPS-counter. But since nobody said anything about that, I'll just assume we all use 1920x1080. In which case getting a better GPU and overclocking the CPU should do the trick.

Am playing in 1600x900 which is the max for my screen i think? And i don't know what overclocking the CPU is, can i do that with my current PC to improve its performance? (untill i get a new graphic card.)

[Poinen]

I would suggest you look at a 470GTX - best price/performance ratio ! rest of your computer seems fine... although i can't understand you are experiencing lag with your current setup unless you got shadows set to max. Having shadows on everything in that game really slow down your computer.

---------- Post added 2011-08-02 at 12:36 AM ----------

Your setup should be able to run it fine... might be a solution to turn the "shadows" down or completely off.

PS: Check out Gigabyte 470GTX Super Overclocked , bought one last week and it handles everything i throw at it a lot better then my old Geforce 260GTX.

---------- Post added 2011-08-02 at 12:39 AM ----------

Am playing in 1600x900 which is the max for my screen i think? And i don't know what overclocking the CPU is, can i do that with my current PC to improve its performance? (untill i get a new graphic card.)

Wouldn't recommend OC at all - if you decide to OC then you might want to buy a new fan so it can support the now increased cooling required.

[Uncutshadow]

When i upgraded my system i was using 1 of the first phenoms, but my gpu was a 9800gtx+ (before cata) i couldn't believe how much the 9800gtx was standing up to it . Although alot of people will be quick to quote me to say "wow is more cpu based than gpu" . I say go for a new video card because there's only so much that processor can do. I would recommend the 460 gtx MSI cyclone, can be overclocked nicely and it is great value for money got mine for around £140

[Poinen]

Exactly, the CPU doesn't do much of the work... try run a Futuremark 3D Benchmark and notice the CPU test. Cpu handles all the smaller things that needs rendering while the graphicscard does most. CPu test usualy runs at 1-9 fps while the graphicscard usualy runs at 100+fps.

[Lestrang]

Okay, thanks for all the helping posts.

I am going to buy an "EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI
Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card".

I have a stupid question tho, can this one stack with the one am currently using?

[Buttfear]

Have you tried over-clocking your CPU, that could make a big difference in frame rate since WoW is mostly CPU dependent.

[glo]

I think you guys are missing the fact that a core 2 quad + a 9600gt should be able to produce acceptable frame rates.

@OP: If you're experiencing lockups or extremely low fps (under 20) in 25s when you have your shadows turned to medium/off, there's definitely something else at play.

[Lestrang]

I think you guys are missing the fact that a core 2 quad + a 9600gt should be able to produce acceptable frame rates.

@OP: If you're experiencing lockups or extremely low fps (under 20) in 25s when you have your shadows turned to medium/off, there's definitely something else at play.

Shadow quality is low.
Am experiencing yes, lockups, most lock ups experienced were at adds at ragnaros, adds blow up while we all stacks and it just goes terrible..
I have EVERYTHING on as low as it can possibly be, which is annoying, because i remember i used to raid 10 man on high like no problem, so much less details annoy me now.
I removed vSync and am at around 77~80 FPS in org atm.

---------- Post added 2011-08-02 at 03:21 PM ----------

Have you tried over-clocking your CPU, that could make a big difference in frame rate since WoW is mostly CPU dependent.

Not sure if you are being serious or trolling me, since many people said wow is not CPU dependent, but then again, no i have not tried over clocking my CPU because i don't know how, if people would recommend it, i would love to get a link for a guide to how to.

[Asera]

Am experiencing yes, lockups, most lock ups experienced were at adds at ragnaros, adds blow up while we all stacks and it just goes terrible..

That part of the Ragnaros encounter will slow down just about every system. I dip to 25fps for about 3 seconds on that part of the fight, on the system in my signature. As for guildmates... one on an i7 940 reported insane slowdown on that phase, another with an old overclocked E8400 gets slowdown and locks up for about 1 second, and our poor GM on an ancient AMD K8 dual core just freezes up entirely for about 6 seconds and can barely do the encounter.

So judging by your Q6600 that isn't overclocked, I'd say if you dip to 15 fps and lock up for 2 seconds, you're doing fine in that part of the encounter.

Blizzard really needs to pay attention to the limitations of their game engine when they design these encounters, seriously.

[Relive]

Operating System:
Windows 2.5.1.2600 (Service Pack 3)
CPU Type:
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6400
CPU Speed (GHz):
3.23
System Memory (GB):
3.25
Video Card Model:
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512
Video Card Driver:
nv4_disp.dll
Desktop Resolution:
1680x1050

And i cant play 25 man anymore. And i used to fraps 25 mans up to ICC. And i always play on high and shadows on low.
My computer is 3-4 years old.

[Poinen]

Okay, thanks for all the helping posts.

I am going to buy an "EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI
Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card".

I have a stupid question tho, can this one stack with the one am currently using?

Congrats on buying the new card. On to your question which is far from stupid.

The need to use 2 cards with completely identical bios has disappears, it is even possible to combine 2 cards with different frequencies as a 6800 GT with a 6800 Ultra .... but despite these flexibility from nvidia , Ati is a step ahead because it system can combine 2 different cards.