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  1. #1

    SWTOR - processor dependant?

    In short , I did upgrade GPU from nvidia 9600GT to ATI 6870, but im still not satisfied with swtor performance.
    As former wow player, i know that wow was more CPU dependant due to simple (outdated) game graphic engine, but i dont know about TOR.

    Atm, i got core2duo 2.4ghz socket 775 (cant overclock it due to mobo bugging), so would it help buying second-hand 3.16ghz core2duo for 70euro?
    And is it a problem if i got 800mhz ddr2 memory sticks and that 3.16ghz cpu with 1333mhz fsb?

    Or just go for new solution like new i3 or i5 and new mobo and new memory for about 300euro?

    Thnx

  2. #2
    Stood in the Fire Linaver's Avatar
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    I get a feeling processor (CPU) is all SWTOR depends on. I'm fairly certain it barely even tries to load my GPU.

  3. #3
    The Insane Glorious Leader's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Linaver View Post
    I get a feeling processor (CPU) is all SWTOR depends on. I'm fairly certain it barely even tries to load my GPU.
    Currently in Ord Mantell space dock SWTOR has my GPu at 61% activity according to CCC. IN other zones I've seen it as high as 90%. With temps reaching up to 70+ degrees. Sapphire Toxic HD RADEON 6850

  4. #4
    Mechagnome Auralian's Avatar
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    It's your CPU dude, anything less than 2.5ghz is pushing it for settings in the medium to high range. If you can't O.C then you really need to look into scaling back the settings. On of my systems is a Athlon O.C to 2.5ghz and although it was playable you see stuttering and the fps spikes.

    You would get more life out of a Upgraded MB/CPU/Ram combo since you already have a decent GPU but can you fit it in the budget? 300 euros sounds like a tight fit unless you use a crappy H61 board -.-
    Last edited by Auralian; 2012-01-28 at 08:35 PM.

  5. #5
    Not particularly.

    There are performance advantages (in terms of FPS spikes) to having a quad-core system above 3ghz, but beyond that, the CPU dependency is limited. The issue for most performance is actually hard drive speed. Two of the caches used by the game are on your hard drive, so there is a significant FPS "smoothness" advantage to having a fast SSD on a modern SATA controller over an older system with a traditional HDD on an older SATA controller.

    The reason the players on the high-end i7 systems are having better FPS isn't their i7 sandy bridge OC'd water-cooled blah blah blah... it's the fact that those players also are running on the newest generation of SSDs and have high-end mobos with quality sata controllers.

  6. #6
    The Insane Glorious Leader's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by subrosian View Post
    Not particularly.

    There are performance advantages (in terms of FPS spikes) to having a quad-core system above 3ghz, but beyond that, the CPU dependency is limited. The issue for most performance is actually hard drive speed. Two of the caches used by the game are on your hard drive, so there is a significant FPS "smoothness" advantage to having a fast SSD on a modern SATA controller over an older system with a traditional HDD on an older SATA controller.

    The reason the players on the high-end i7 systems are having better FPS isn't their i7 sandy bridge OC'd water-cooled blah blah blah... it's the fact that those players also are running on the newest generation of SSDs and have high-end mobos with quality sata controllers.
    I knew I felt a performance increase when I installed this SSD. Always brushed it off to a placebo effect.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Maniac2 View Post
    Or just go for new solution like new i3 or i5 and new mobo and new memory for about 300euro?

    Thnx
    It would be worthwhile for you to go with an i5, I wouldn't waste your money on a C2D as a slight clockspeed gain will not give you a significant performance difference in SWTOR. The performance difference between a C2D and a sandy bridge i5 is huge, because SWTOR does make use of a quad-core processor, you'll see a huge smoothness and responsiveness difference in warzones.

    I would also look at moving to an SSD when you can.

  8. #8

  9. #9
    Herald of the Titans Will's Avatar
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    This game really does heat my processor up like crazy. It reaches nearly 40 Celsius.
    My graphics card while playing, meanwhile, hardly exceeds 25 Celsius.

    It is, of course, normal for the processor to run hotter under general circumstances, and I won't overlook the fact that my GTX580 is MSI Twin Frozr and therefore has brilliant cooling. However to this day no other game I've touched has driven my CPU fan up to full RPM.

  10. #10
    I got a Core2 2.5 Ghz CPU myself and plan to eventually upgrade to an i7. From what I caught from someone in general chat in the game some weeks ago, enable your FPS in SWTOR (ctrl+shift+F if I recall). If the numbers are:
    Green - your CPU needs to be upgraded
    Red - your graphics card needs to be upgraded
    Yellow - you're fine
    Rather odd that green isn't the okay color, but whatever. I run green myself, and I knew my CPU was my bottleneck for my system even before I enabled FPS. Can't really upgrade it any further without buying a new motherboard. No point in me upgrading my graphics card if my CPU is the issue. Got the Radeon HD 3870 video card which I really want to upgrade, too.

    With everything on high (shadows off or on low since they're jagged and pixelated anyway), I run 20-35 FPS depending on the area. I can run some areas with everything on high, but the shadows just bug me, even with anti-aliasing. Exception appears to be Taris and Balmorra where my FPS drops to like 2 unless I run low settings on everything. Then I run 30-40 FPS.

    It's actually better, if you're going to upgrade your CPU anyway, to get an i5 CPU or better. The Core2s, at least in the USA, aren't really worth it anymore with the i5s and i7s out. The Core2 processor is the minimum requirement for the game so just upgrading to a faster Core2 won't really help you much and won't last you very long. I tend to think long term with my upgrades. What will last me 3-5 years? I prefer to upgrade every 3-5 years and avoid upgrading yearly if I can help it. Gets too costly to upgrade constantly.

  11. #11
    The Lightbringer Azerox's Avatar
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    I think the stutter ur experiencing is game based .. i have a i7 and 580gtx 8gb ram and swtor on a SSD .. still it sometimes stutters.
    That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange Aeons even Death may die.

  12. #12
    A quick lesson:

    GPU-bound: The GPU's job in relation to framerate is to render the display as a frame many times per second. A GPU-bound framerate happens when the video card cannot render frames fast enough to keep up with real-time.

    CPU-bound: The CPU's job in relation to framerate is to take the rendered frames from the GPU, then sort and send them to the monitor back through the video card's vga/dvi/hdmi adapter.



    There's a way to tell if your framerate is currently CPU or GPU bound in SWTOR:

    Press ctrl-shift-f to bring up your framerate. If the number is green that means that your current framerate is GPU-bound. If the number is red that means that you are currently CPU-bound.

    Ideally, a good card with a slow CPU will mean a red number. A bad card with a fast CPU will mean a green number. Good card and fast CPU will probably be green. Bad card and slow CPU will probably frequently be both.

  13. #13
    I am Murloc! Mister K's Avatar
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    Majority of MMOs are CPU dependant. Some even heavy RAM dependant *cough* APB:Reloaded ...
    -K

  14. #14
    Dreadlord Rife's Avatar
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    I run 6950's flashed to 6970's in Crossfire for my GPU's. 12.1 preview drivers with an i5-2500k not overclocked at the moment even though it's on water.

    I found the fleet and PvP actually uses my CPU a fair bit, not max though and that on planets/questing my GPU's usually sit at 80-90% with my CPU barely breaking 30%.

    I'd say SWTOR is dependant on both in different areas/doing different things. General rule of thumb is that your performance will only be as good as your weakest link in the RAM/CPU/GPU triangle.

    If you have not already though, get 12.1 preivew drivers and create a profile for SWTOR. Make your Crossfire mode = Optimize 1x1.

  15. #15
    Herald of the Titans Roxinius's Avatar
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    idk my comp isnt the best and im not haing too many problems with the game

  16. #16
    Ctrl+alt+f
    A little indicator should show up in the bottom left, i heard somewhere that if the number is red, your CPU is bottlenecking, if its green your GPU is

  17. #17
    I think SWTOR has some memory issues, apparently quite a few people have difficulty getting it to function without removing a stick or RAM. I am able to run the game, and while it is running performance is fine, however it is not stable since I get random crashes and occasional blue screens.
    Most people would rather die than think, and most people do. -Bertrand Russell
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  18. #18
    Scarab Lord
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maniac2 View Post
    In short , I did upgrade GPU from nvidia 9600GT to ATI 6870, but im still not satisfied with swtor performance.
    As former wow player, i know that wow was more CPU dependant due to simple (outdated) game graphic engine, but i dont know about TOR.

    Atm, i got core2duo 2.4ghz socket 775 (cant overclock it due to mobo bugging), so would it help buying second-hand 3.16ghz core2duo for 70euro?
    And is it a problem if i got 800mhz ddr2 memory sticks and that 3.16ghz cpu with 1333mhz fsb?

    Or just go for new solution like new i3 or i5 and new mobo and new memory for about 300euro?

    Thnx
    Your best bet is the new i3 or i5 system. Here is a couple of configurations for ya.

    Config 1
    i3 2120 3.3Ghz Dual Core £95.01
    AsRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 Socket 1155 Motherboard £94.99
    8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz Kit £38.33
    Config 1 Total = £228.33

    Config 2
    i5 2400 3.1Ghz Quad Core Socket 1155 £148.22
    AsRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 Socket 1155 Motherboard £94.99
    8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz Kit £38.33
    Config 2 Total = £281.54

    I'd personally choose config 2 if you have the budget.

  19. #19
    My i5 2500k is completely underused while my graphics card does crazy ammounts of work in swtor.

  20. #20
    OP here.
    Saw few contradicting things here about color of my fps counter - my counter is green and since i have slow cpu, it would mean green is when you have bad cpu, not gpu. Also going for i7 is really overkill for me, even i5+mobo+ram would be over 400euro and i was never buying such expensive stuff. So, choice is faster 2nd hand core2duo or i3. Oh, i forgot to say i already have SSD (good one with sandforce controller). dont know what to do atm, maybe just get 600mhz faster C2Duo, just to see how its doing, 50 euro isnt much for experiment. If only this stupid mobo of mine isnt stuborn, it just wont let me overclock (when i set higher FSB is BIOS, when i boot windows its still original FSB there and therefore original freq, instead of increased).
    Thanks for advices

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