What is WoW most dependent on?

[Runt]

I have an older computer that plays WoW OK, but I was wondering if I could get a little more playability with an upgrade or two.

The computer in question has an Athlon XP 2100+, GeForce 6200 (AGP), and 1 gig of RAM.

I know that with an older system like this, its probably better to just build a new one, but my wife (who plays on this computer) doesn't see the need for it. I, on the other hand, fell a little sorry and guilty when I watch her play on it as I play on my new computer in all of its 24" widescreen, solid 60 FPS glory. :smiley:

So the question ... what is the most logical upgrade, CPU, graphics, RAM, or is it really not worth it?

Thanks for any information and opinions.

[rottentomato]

what seems to be the issue? what kind of FPS is she running?

[Runt]

I think she gets, on average FPS in the mid 20's to low 30's ... occasional 40's and sub 20's.

I do have to admit that its getting a bit nitpicky and its all relative since compared to my computer it looks a little jerky and stuff, but recently, i had to go play on an even older computer temporarily, and in that situaton, hers looked so smooth. :grin:

But yeah, anyway I guess I was seeing if I could up her FPS a bit for smoother game play. I'm kind of thinking that given the age of the computer, it may ultimately not be worth it, but then again, I'll never know until I ask to see what others think.

[kcma]

graphic. a new vid card will have the most significant impact. wow use alot of RAM but doesnt need to be the screaming fast DDR2... AXP is plenty fast to run WOW and since it's AXP, it's most likely running decent speed RAM anyway, DDR266 at least...

that vid card would definitely be the bottleneck. but you should sitll get playable framerate with good amount of detail @ 1024x768.

[rottentomato]

at 1280x1024 i pull 20fps commonly and sometimes dip into 10fps....but thats with a 5500 nvidia card...when i had my old one, i ran the same size with 40-50fps... try to get a 7600 should make a huge difference

[Kalos]

The AGP card linked on the "Recommended Hardware thread" should be a significant upgrade over the 6200. It's in the second post, a 7600 GT.

[Runt]

Thanks for the reply everyone. So the consensus would be the vid card. I'll go check out newegg for a 7600. :grin:

Thanks again!!! :thumbsup:

[Kalos]

Thanks for the reply everyone. So the consensus would be the vid card. I'll go check out newegg for a 7600. :grin:

Thanks again!!! :thumbsup:
Make sure it's the GT, not the cheaper GS. The speeds are much higher on the GT. Infact, there's already a Newegg link in the "RH" stick mentioned to one of the only 7600 GT cards in AGP made.

Without going into huge technicalities, some manufacturers are bad. Nvidia make all the processing chips but the cards are kitbashed together by a whole host of people like XFX, Gainward, BFG, Chaintec. There's some really cheap cards with the same 7600 moniker, meaning they have the same driving chip. However, all the other parts could be substandard and save the manufacturer a bundle, while delivering performance subpar to other manufacturers.

If you don't stick with the stickied one, could you post the link to the actual card you're thinking of buying. A 7600 GS from a good maker will beat a 7600 GT from a poor quality slapped together with third rate junk manufacturer who cut corners. Normally, a 7600 GT wins hands down, but when a graphics card is done awefully, there's no point buying it at all. Avoid companies like Sparkle.

At all costs, don't just pick a card with the name "7600" and because it's cheap. It might be unstable, burn out, or just be slower than what it should be according to Nvidia's reference designs. It's why I created the list instead of sending people looking for the numbered name, because it's too easy to fall for the bad ones when you don't know enough and you're just being guided by a number.

Links:
More expensive but significantly better parts used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150210

The cheaper 7600 GS brother:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125039

[Runt]

Thanks Kalos. That's the 7600 GT I was looking at. :smiley:

[Sithra]

<snip> Ignore me

[Runt]

Yay! I finally ordered the 7600GT and installed it. I downloaded the latest drivers (94.24 I think) but there was no improvement in WoW. :cry: Any other suggestions? :smiley:

[Kalos]

Really weird. Did you run Driver Cleaner after the removal of the old drivers and before the installation of new ones? It's a slightly more obscure direction, but fragments are often unable to be removed properly, and the system keeps using the older material over the old. Driver Cleaner does a good job of wiping what wasn't removed by the Add/remove programs.

[Runt]

Hi Kalos,

Actually, I was mistaken and a little too eager. Out and about, there is a big improvement and it is noticeably smoother with fps in the 40's - 50's. When I first tried it, I was in cities (IF and Shat) and was getting low 20's and below. After I posted I flew out to Zangamarsh and noticed a jump in fps. :grin: I guess cities must tax more than the video card.

Thanks for your help in this. I really appreciate your time and suggestions. I am happy with the card, but more importantly, my wife is happy (even though she didn't notice a difference until I asked her about it :shocked: )

[Kalos]

That's good then, I was worried I had wasted your time. Traditionally, there is a great leap in technical ability and capability from the 6200 to the 7600, it's a great deal faster in some ways. At least it's working well and most importantly, you can see an improvement. If you want, you can go into the graphics options and see if any can be turned up further, it should be possible to gain better effects with the extra power now around.

In cities unfortunantly, the graphics card has to slow down because of the CPU and the Ram. If you really wanted, you could buy more ram to put into the computer to bring it up to two gig, but the CPU is a critical part of memory efficiency anyway, with a Celeron I doubt it'll have even as much of a boost as the graphics card did, and as such probably not worth it.

I hope the upgrade has bought the computer a few more years of high quality gaming performance. I really ought to overhaul my sister's PC in the same way, but she doesn't care, so I'm not spending any money on a matter that the owner couldn't give a toss about. :grin:

[Wintrow]

When I play on my laptop I'm used to an fps of 7 to 13 at 1024x768. A far cry from the solid 50 fps at 1280x1024 on my 'big pc', but it's doable for healing, dps and some light tanking. I wouldn't try heavy tanking though.

And one can't complain if it means the missus joins in on the gaming session :grin:.