Improving FPS and Lag; Dual Video Cards. Questions.

Arkanius · February 28, 2008, 01:00 PM

So my current set up is:

NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800 GT 512 MB
AMD ATHLON PHENOM QUAD core 2.3 GHZ
4gb DDR2 RAM
Dual monitors: Samsung 22", Dell 17" Regular

My motherboard is a gaming motherboard than can handle another card of similar quality.

Oddly, before I upgraded I had a DUAL CORE AMD ATHLON process at 2.0 GHZ, and only 2gb Ram. I've more than doubled my power. Yet, on FUBAR it shows my fps is at best 60, and my latency is 50ms to 300ms, normally in raids. Last night I experienced quite a few "LAGS" or "SPIKES", and I'm wondering what to do now?

Should I go out and splurge on a second card?
Did the extra power actually HURT my setup?

FPS and PERF previously: 50-150, Non Raids. 10-20, Raids.

FPS and PERF currently: 60ish, Non Raids. About 15-25, Raids, with lag spikes.

I'm trying everything just to get a smooth setup in raids:

-Shutting down my 2nd monitor while raiding.
-Connecting directly to the Cable Modem (comcast provided).
-WTF folders are clean.
-No programs, aside from Mcafee are enabled. Not even music, like ITUNES.
-Running defrags weekly, not visiting malicious websites, and scanning for spyware and viruses nightly.

I don't get why my FPS is junk and why I can get better fps elsewhere. I LOVE raiding, but I'm tired of huge lag spikes or shotty performance when my system clearly outpaces what WoW requires. Even before the upgrade, I had a reasonable system, and 2gb RAM, never ran anything while playing and had the NVIDIA card.

Any tech people able to help?

I know some techie raiders who have 6 monitors, stacked in 2 rows by 3 columns. They run many machines, and nearly 6 Video Cards and multiple processors and 8gb+ of ram. But that's overkill, just to get decent, non-laggy FPS.

Is this the reality of WOW, that lag spikes and low FPS are the order of the day in raids, or is there something I'm missing and/or doing/not doing? I love my comp, love gaming, but its pretty nuts how effective a basic console system works vs a somewhat overpowered PC can do for a game that doesn't even utilize sophisticated hardware.

===========================

Lastly, depending on your responses, would a second, equal or less VG card help? I have the slot, the $, and power to put it in, but I won't if I don't see an appreciable increase.

Thanks.

Jeeper44 · February 28, 2008, 03:16 PM

One thing to keep in mind is Latency refers to how long it takes information to get from your computer to Blizzard's server and vice versa. There is a lot of equipment involved that you have no control over. I have 3 different computers here of varying performance. The better systems show better FPS, but they all run about the same latency, which unfortunately in my case averages around 250-300ms.

Purson · February 28, 2008, 04:26 PM

The only things that really affect lag are the distance, router load, and connections/wires. Make sure your connectors and cables aren't crushed, but replacing them wouldn't change latency if there's no visibile evidence of damage or corrosion.

As for FPS, the first thing I notice is quad core. I'm not aware of any application outside of the OS that can really utilize it. Dual core systems will run your games the same as a comparable quad core. You didn't gain much going from 2.0 to 2.3 Mhz since WoW will only use 2 of the cores anyhow.

The 8800 has some solid drivers. Ensure the NVIDEA control panel is set for single display performance mode. It defaults to mulitiple monitors for some unknown reason, even though 2 monitors work fine in single mode (my current setup).

Also, keep in mind your motherboards chipset and the old AMD issues with 4GB of memory. I think it's cleared up now, but could be something to search the internet about.

Xyndra · February 28, 2008, 05:29 PM

Latency doesn't sound like a system issue. If you posted on the Blizzard tech forums, they would say to remove all your addons etc.

Try updating video card drivers.
Start checking your internet. Run a speed test on something like Speakeasy - Speed Test
Are you running wirelessly? Could be things to check there.

But, I would say your system is more than fine for WoW. My guess is that it's your internet.

Swoop · February 28, 2008, 10:33 PM

Wow is capped at 60fps, so there's nothing wrong with that. The latency issue, as others have said, is pretty much out of your control. Your machine is fine to run WoW graphically, unfortunately there's very little you can do to increase internet performance / Blizz server performance.

0ni · March 04, 2008, 11:09 AM

make sure your VSYNC is OFF, this way you can go more than 60fps, dont make too much diference, but, its really better trying with out VSYNC ON

About Lag.. well, be happy , Here in brazil im aways on 650ms+. But this is Traffic Shapping problem with my internet host

Edit: BTW, your FPS is capped with your Monitor Frequency. so , if you want more FPS , you must high that value to 75/100hrtz. And a 8800 is REALLY more than enough to Run Wow. I run in a Pentium D 2.8 1GB ram GF7600GS

Delenia · March 04, 2008, 12:28 PM

Like Swoop said there's not much that can be done about lag or server issues, but you can try playing around with your in-game video setting. Go under "Video" when you bring up the game menu with Esc and try playing around with it; lowering weather effects or draw distance and such. That way you lower the strain on your vid card and might squeeze a few extra FPS out of it.

February 28, 2008, 01:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
Arkanius Lurker Character Info Arkanius 70 Human Warlock Fenris US PvE Guild: Inversion Talent Spec: 46/0/15	Improving FPS and Lag; Dual Video Cards. Questions. So my current set up is: NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800 GT 512 MB AMD ATHLON PHENOM QUAD core 2.3 GHZ 4gb DDR2 RAM Dual monitors: Samsung 22", Dell 17" Regular My motherboard is a gaming motherboard than can handle another card of similar quality. Oddly, before I upgraded I had a DUAL CORE AMD ATHLON process at 2.0 GHZ, and only 2gb Ram. I've more than doubled my power. Yet, on FUBAR it shows my fps is at best 60, and my latency is 50ms to 300ms, normally in raids. Last night I experienced quite a few "LAGS" or "SPIKES", and I'm wondering what to do now? Should I go out and splurge on a second card? Did the extra power actually HURT my setup? FPS and PERF previously: 50-150, Non Raids. 10-20, Raids. FPS and PERF currently: 60ish, Non Raids. About 15-25, Raids, with lag spikes. I'm trying everything just to get a smooth setup in raids: -Shutting down my 2nd monitor while raiding. -Connecting directly to the Cable Modem (comcast provided). -WTF folders are clean. -No programs, aside from Mcafee are enabled. Not even music, like ITUNES. -Running defrags weekly, not visiting malicious websites, and scanning for spyware and viruses nightly. I don't get why my FPS is junk and why I can get better fps elsewhere. I LOVE raiding, but I'm tired of huge lag spikes or shotty performance when my system clearly outpaces what WoW requires. Even before the upgrade, I had a reasonable system, and 2gb RAM, never ran anything while playing and had the NVIDIA card. Any tech people able to help? I know some techie raiders who have 6 monitors, stacked in 2 rows by 3 columns. They run many machines, and nearly 6 Video Cards and multiple processors and 8gb+ of ram. But that's overkill, just to get decent, non-laggy FPS. Is this the reality of WOW, that lag spikes and low FPS are the order of the day in raids, or is there something I'm missing and/or doing/not doing? I love my comp, love gaming, but its pretty nuts how effective a basic console system works vs a somewhat overpowered PC can do for a game that doesn't even utilize sophisticated hardware. =========================== Lastly, depending on your responses, would a second, equal or less VG card help? I have the slot, the $, and power to put it in, but I won't if I don't see an appreciable increase. Thanks.

February 28, 2008, 03:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jeeper44 Member Character Info Geepah 70 Gnome Warlock Dalaran US PvE Profile: Blizzard Armory	Re: Improving FPS and Lag; Dual Video Cards. Questions. One thing to keep in mind is Latency refers to how long it takes information to get from your computer to Blizzard's server and vice versa. There is a lot of equipment involved that you have no control over. I have 3 different computers here of varying performance. The better systems show better FPS, but they all run about the same latency, which unfortunately in my case averages around 250-300ms.

February 28, 2008, 04:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
Purson DoT hugger Character Info Purson 70 Human Warlock Runetotem US PvE Guild: The Defias Brotherhood Talent Spec: 0/21/40	Re: Improving FPS and Lag; Dual Video Cards. Questions. The only things that really affect lag are the distance, router load, and connections/wires. Make sure your connectors and cables aren't crushed, but replacing them wouldn't change latency if there's no visibile evidence of damage or corrosion. As for FPS, the first thing I notice is quad core. I'm not aware of any application outside of the OS that can really utilize it. Dual core systems will run your games the same as a comparable quad core. You didn't gain much going from 2.0 to 2.3 Mhz since WoW will only use 2 of the cores anyhow. The 8800 has some solid drivers. Ensure the NVIDEA control panel is set for single display performance mode. It defaults to mulitiple monitors for some unknown reason, even though 2 monitors work fine in single mode (my current setup). Also, keep in mind your motherboards chipset and the old AMD issues with 4GB of memory. I think it's cleared up now, but could be something to search the internet about.

February 28, 2008, 05:29 PM	#4 (permalink)
Xyndra Member Character Info Xyndra 70 Human Warlock Malfurion US PvE Guild: Neoteric Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 44/0/17	Re: Improving FPS and Lag; Dual Video Cards. Questions. Latency doesn't sound like a system issue. If you posted on the Blizzard tech forums, they would say to remove all your addons etc. Try updating video card drivers. Start checking your internet. Run a speed test on something like Speakeasy - Speed Test Are you running wirelessly? Could be things to check there. But, I would say your system is more than fine for WoW. My guess is that it's your internet.

February 28, 2008, 10:33 PM	#5 (permalink)
Swoop Member Character Info Crest 70 Undead Warlock Aman'thul Oceania PvE Profile: Blizzard Armory	Re: Improving FPS and Lag; Dual Video Cards. Questions. Wow is capped at 60fps, so there's nothing wrong with that. The latency issue, as others have said, is pretty much out of your control. Your machine is fine to run WoW graphically, unfortunately there's very little you can do to increase internet performance / Blizz server performance.

March 04, 2008, 11:09 AM	#6 (permalink)
0ni Lurker Character Info Øni 16 Blood Elf Warlock Ner'zhul US PvP	Re: Improving FPS and Lag; Dual Video Cards. Questions. make sure your VSYNC is OFF, this way you can go more than 60fps, dont make too much diference, but, its really better trying with out VSYNC ON About Lag.. well, be happy , Here in brazil im aways on 650ms+. But this is Traffic Shapping problem with my internet host Edit: BTW, your FPS is capped with your Monitor Frequency. so , if you want more FPS , you must high that value to 75/100hrtz. And a 8800 is REALLY more than enough to Run Wow. I run in a Pentium D 2.8 1GB ram GF7600GS Last edited by 0ni; March 04, 2008 at 11:12 AM.

March 04, 2008, 12:28 PM	#7 (permalink)
Delenia Lurker Character Info Delenia Warlock	Re: Improving FPS and Lag; Dual Video Cards. Questions. Like Swoop said there's not much that can be done about lag or server issues, but you can try playing around with your in-game video setting. Go under "Video" when you bring up the game menu with Esc and try playing around with it; lowering weather effects or draw distance and such. That way you lower the strain on your vid card and might squeeze a few extra FPS out of it.