What to Upgrade for WoW?

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neueziel

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
66
Hey guys I'm addicted to this game and I really wanna raid. The problem now is that when I go on a raid frames skip badly, and bodies appear from one corner and two seconds later they are somewhere else. I beleive the problem is my video card but I'm not sure. Currently I'm also running at low settings , but I can also run high settings as long as im not in a raid. So maybe you guys can help. I was thinking of getting either a 9800 Pro, 6600GT, or 6800 depending on what I feel like spending.

My system specs are:

AMD 2400 @ 2800
1 Gig of ram, 1 is PC2300 the other is PC3200 I'm running it at 166
Leadtek 5900XT.
80gb WD w/8 mb buffer
80gb IBM Deskstar w/2mb buffer
Asus A7N8X-Deluxe

So you guys think a video card would give me better frame rates? Or should I upgrade the CPU and mobo. Thanks!
 
Hm, I'd say pair that 3200 with another 3200 RAM. That why you can get the default speed out of the thing.

Next, if you want to keep your mobo/cpu either card will due you a large amount of justice. As a Nvidia guy I say the 6600. But the 9800PRO has been nothing but great for many.

If you wanted to upgrade to a 6800 I would say you would "Have" to upgrade the CPU/Mobo.
 
I'm gonna say your more cpu limited, I mean. The FX's are bad but WoW really isn't that picky on cards. If you want a new CPU then go Nforce4 and Athlon 64, of course then you'll need a new videocard as well...
 
neueziel said:
Aren't Nforce chipsets more reliable?
Click to expand...

I'd say they are better than VIA Chipsets, but that can obviously be arugued.

I came from a VIA chipset, and have nothing but problems with it. Took me 4 days to get the correct drivers, and set it up, to get my onboard sound working for my old computer. Also, VIA-ARENA is just a horrible site. They un-support old chipsets rather fast, and make it a PAIN in the ass to find.

Whereas NVIDIA, its nicley laid out and even if they stop supporting drivers, there are sites like guru3d.com that will have them for you.
 
Oh ya I forgot to mention my budget is only 200 bux! Is it possible to get a A64+Motherboard for that price and that will make a difference.
 
neueziel said:
Oh ya I forgot to mention my budget is only 200 bux! Is it possible to get a A64+Motherboard for that price and that will make a difference.
Click to expand...

Very doubtful.
 
Save about 100 more dollars, it will make you more flexible. 300 will net you either an A64 / mobo upgrade or a video upgrade coupled with replacing the slower memory module.

I'd go A64 before upgrading the video card. After that, video then memory.

Tsumari
 
Do not upgrade, I got the game. I went from 9800pro to x800xt (saw no performence increase) and went from my 2ndary comp from 9600pro to 9800 pro little to no increase I saw.

Best I can say get new cpu. My main has p4 2.8 C and my 2nd has p4 2.0 A and my 2nd has little lower frame rates even with the new graphic card.

Just get a new cpu thats all.
 
You can get a socket 754 mobo and a 2800+ for less than 200$, afaik. Could probably do it with socket 939 as well, since some mobos go for like 70$, and 2800+'s usually go for 120$. That would probably be a good step up for you, though you'd have a barebones motherboard.

1gb ram
2800+ socket 754
decent mobo
6800 with unlocked pipes

Would be a good upgrade

I'm not sure what the 6800nu's still go for, but I haven't seen their price go down too much. A 6600gt for 170$ wouldn't be bad, while a 6800nu for 250$ would be pretty pricey for the performance you might(if it unlocks, which it proll will) get out of it.

My advice is save up a bit, lower settings before raids. I find lowering terrain distance to the min, or one up from the min, helps a lot. Lower when you see objects as well, since they aren't really necessary. And then lower terrain textures if you have to, and maybe resolution by 1 notch. Or drop AF all the way.



What settings do you play at btw?
 
Currently I play at low settings, been too lazy to put it back at high settings @ 1280*1024 after the recent raid. I get around 20-30fps when not raiding at that resolution and at high settings. When you guys say 2800 you mean A64 right? BTW how overclockable is a 2800 New Castle. Thanks
 
Not too sure. Pm eclipse. Again though, if you can live with your settings now, wait until you can upgrade & buy everything at once. Prices will have come down, and you'll get more instant gratification going from an old setup to a sparkling new one overnight :D


Btw, from what I remember(since my hdd failed and I can't play WoW sadly) with my 6600gt, 3000+ winnie, cheapo mobo, and 512mb of decent ram, I played at:

1024x768
AF 2-3 notches below highest
AA at 2x blah
Terrain distance at 2-3 above min
Object viewing distance at max
Terrain textures max
Model textures max

And got playable framerates in most situations. IF killed my comp, so I lowered terrain distance, model textures, and object distance to min, and it ran much smoother. If I went to IF in the early morning or late night, it was usually pretty smooth. My cpu is stock atm, b/c I don't want to risk an oc on stock cooling during Summer. My video card is oc'd by a little bit, maybe enough to gain 7% or so more performance than stock.

If you wait and get something like an x800xl, or a 6600gt, and a 2800+ with an aftermarket cooler, then 1gb of ram and you oc the cpu by 400mhz or so(probably have to use a divider), then the comp should work pretty well I'd think.
 
Andrew - you really need 1gig of RAM for Iron Forge. it makes all the difference. I started with 512 like you, then upgraded... holy crap did it make a difference. I get the slightest of hiccups in IF during "rush hour", but nothing compared to what it used to be. And that's with a mere 2.8 Ghz p4 and x300SE video card. Ram is everything to WoW.

Processor Speed probably is second. Video.. bah, my x300SE worked fine at 1024x768. Don't even know what the other settings are at, fairly low. It still looked awesome.

As you can see from my sig... I recently upgraded... holy crap is the 6800GT insane! I'm playing at 2048x1536 with everything maxed (except only 2x antialiasing... 4x made my screen flicker weirdly) and it's butter smooth. I'm in heaven.

Anyway, for the OP, I think a processor is the way to go (and trading out the crap 2300 RAM)

-Nate
 
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