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07-17-10, 09:05 AM   #1
sdbrian2
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AMD or Intel?

I'm having a AMD Athlon X2 3,00 Ghz Duo core now, but have bad FPS issues(I got a 9800 GT video card, should be 60 FPS)

I've heard much bad comments on AMD processors, i could try to upgrade to a Intel processor(and a other not very old motherboard) but it would get 2,40 Ghz Duo core.

Would this speed up WoW?
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07-17-10, 09:26 AM   #2
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It also depends a lot on how much RAM you have and how fast it is. I would also consider upgrading the video card, before upgrading the CPU. Besides of that, a faster CPU might be an upgrade, but the Intel one you have seems to be more of a downgrade.
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07-17-10, 09:33 AM   #3
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To add onto Dawn's mention of RAM.

Depending on your operating system, your computer may not recognize (and utilize) all the RAM you may have physically installed on your motherboard.

sdbrian2, I did not see you list an operating system, but I thought I'd toss in this bit of information.

I have installed 4GB of RAM, but Windows XP 32bit (sigh) only recognizes 3.25GB of RAM.

What FPS are you currently getting, and when does your FPS drop if it does fluctuate at all?
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07-17-10, 10:12 AM   #4
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Download CPU-Z and run it. On the bottom of the window click on the Validate button. Choose the top area for Online Mode. Share the browser link that it gives you so we can see exactly what type of setup you have.

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
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07-17-10, 11:42 AM   #5
MidgetMage55
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If it helps i run an AMD processor (phenom x3) with the same vid card and i get about 50 fps in Dalaran at peak hours, 120 fps in Ironforge at the same times, and on raids about 85 fps during fights.

Most of the "bad" comments i hear about AMD tend yo be from die-hard intel groupies. In the end its a simple matter of overall power and speed. Intel currently has the fastest processors. My wife has a core i7 in her computer with basically the same stats every where else and we get near identical performance. She is running a 64 bit OS with 6gb of ram so she does edge me out a little bit.
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07-17-10, 11:51 AM   #6
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MidgetMage55, out of curiosity, are your graphic settings for WoW closer to the high/max end or low/min with the FPS values you've given?
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07-17-10, 12:44 PM   #7
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Definitely more toward the high side but i haven't changed them in ages so ill go take a quick look.

Texture resolution is 100%.
View distance 80%
Environmental detail 50%
Terrain Blending 100%
Texture Filtering 50%
Particle density 90%
Weather effects 100%
Player Textures 100%
shadows off (never really liked them to begin with)
All ground effects at minimal (clutter radius and density same for shadows never liked the look)

Specular lighting is on, rest of the check boxes are off. They didn't fit well with the HDR mod.

So id say closer to high on most settings. I tested with shadows on at max and my FPS will drop about 20% in the same areas. Since i felt the shadows only really worked well max i opted to kill them all together.
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07-17-10, 01:45 PM   #8
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Damn Midge, we run with about the same settings! Here's my setup.

I've found that the View Distance is a big factor in my FPS in Dalaran, and the Particle Density is another huge one in raids. With them set down a bit, my FPS is extremely good.
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07-17-10, 02:55 PM   #9
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Yeah view distance is a major factor. I had set these settings up before LFD came around so i liked to see the world as I was flying to my destination for heroics. I may tweak that down a bit and see if I can squeeze some additional frames out of it.

Ground clutter and its density can make a notable difference depending on the zone. I cranked them both up in crystal song and dropped about 15 fps just standing idle. Went from 120 or so to about 100. Might have been just a momentary spike as the engine made adjustments however since I didn't leave it that way for more than about 15 seconds.
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07-17-10, 04:36 PM   #10
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My current pc specs. My frame rates are nothing wonderful but they are solid. At about 1/2 settings on all the graphic effects i run at roughly 40 fps. If i lower the view distance then it will go up slightly to about 48 fps. More then enough for traveling the world as well as raiding.

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1300891


And now a question inside of a question.

Do you think i would get more performance if i ran windows 64 bit?

Last edited by Nobgul : 07-17-10 at 05:04 PM.
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07-17-10, 04:56 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by MidgetMage55 View Post
If it helps i run an AMD processor (phenom x3) with the same vid card and i get about 50 fps in Dalaran at peak hours, 120 fps in Ironforge at the same times, and on raids about 85 fps during fights.
About what I get with my setup give or take a few frames in a couple spots.

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 B50 Processor 3.0GHz
Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600mhz 7-8-7-16
Hard Drive: 750GB Western Digital Caviar Black
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD4650
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Note, some settings may be a bit off, as I play with TweakWoW enabled.

View Distance/Farclip: 1450/1600 (default max is 1277)
Texture Resolution: 100%
Texture Filtering: ~80%
Particle Density: 100%
Shadow Quality: Off (I've tried max, and anywhere inbetween and find it makes very little difference in how the game looks, but does effect framerates quite a bit)
Ground Effects: About 20%
Environmental Detail: Almost maxed out
Player Textures: 100%
Weather Intensity: 100%
Terrain Blending: 100%


I keep VSync on, so can't see the max frames, but it rarely ever goes below 60 FPS at any given time, except some BGs/Raids.


Originally Posted by MidgetMage55 View Post
Most of the "bad" comments i hear about AMD tend yo be from die-hard intel groupies. In the end its a simple matter of overall power and speed. Intel currently has the fastest processors.
Agreed.

Most of the people who talk crap about AMD products don't really know what they're talking about. Sure, their stuff isn't as fast as Intel's more expensive CPUs, but typically, within the price range of most of AMD's offerings, you can't get a better Intel (there are a few exceptions, though).

The original Phenom line was a joke. Not even worth it for any hardcore gaming rig. Their Phenom II line is pretty much what the original Phenoms should have been, but they came too late to really put much of a hold against Intel's Core 2 series.
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07-17-10, 05:22 PM   #12
Zergreth
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To keep it short and simple:
Intel processors have more power in general, but AMD ones tend to have better price/performance ratios, and they got enough power for gaming needs. Running on an AMD Phenom II X4 @ 3.0 GHz per core myself.
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07-17-10, 07:20 PM   #13
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Thanks for the insight, MidgetMage55!

I'm running a GeForce 8200 (onboard) and have been attempting to keep an eye on graphic cards and their prices. I'd like to upgrade my video card but that currently seems to be something on the far horizon.

I'm currently looking at a GeForce GTS 250; hopefully the price of comparable video cards will drop as the months go by (and we get closer to the release of Cataclysm). As for exact card, here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133266

nobgul, I think your video card might be one of the first things you should look to upgrade. If I'm reading that information correctly, you're using a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (I see no mention of other video card). I know I have FPS issues using a 8200 - with all settings on low - so I imagine you're getting not so great FPS as well. Beyond that, I can't really comment on anything else, sorry!
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07-17-10, 07:36 PM   #14
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125277

Here is a video card about 10x better than pretty much -any- onboard card. for 70 bucks from "the egg"

Originally Posted by Sec View Post
Thanks for the insight, MidgetMage55!

I'm running a GeForce 8200 (onboard) and have been attempting to keep an eye on graphic cards and their prices. I'd like to upgrade my video card but that currently seems to be something on the far horizon.

I'm currently looking at a GeForce GTS 250; hopefully the price of comparable video cards will drop as the months go by (and we get closer to the release of Cataclysm). As for exact card, here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133266

nobgul, I think your video card might be one of the first things you should look to upgrade. If I'm reading that information correctly, you're using a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 (I see no mention of other video card). I know I have FPS issues using a 8200 - with all settings on low - so I imagine you're getting not so great FPS as well. Beyond that, I can't really comment on anything else, sorry!
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07-17-10, 08:25 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by nobgul View Post

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1300891


And now a question inside of a question.

Do you think i would get more performance if i ran windows 64 bit?
A lot of things factor in when you think about better performance. In my opinion, I think you would be better off upgrading your video card. Not high end because you don't want to bottleneck, but definitely something better than what you have. Maybe drop some cash on some high end gaming ram, too (G.Skill, OCZ etcetera).
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07-17-10, 08:34 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by nobgul View Post
And now a question inside of a question.

Do you think i would get more performance if i ran windows 64 bit?
Remember WoW is only a 32 bit app, so upgrading windows will have some, but not much improvment.

If looking to upgrade video, you might want to look at the new Nvidia card that juat came out, GTX 460 or 465 (768MB, 1GB).
Here is a review
GTX 460
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07-17-10, 09:04 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by break19 View Post
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125277

Here is a video card about 10x better than pretty much -any- onboard card. for 70 bucks from "the egg"
Thanks for the link, break19! I certainly don't like having to use my onboard, but it's lasted me rather well and this motherboard is almost a year old! I was hoping to have upgraded the card by now but that's just how life goes. ^^' I will definitely keep tabs on the one you've suggested, too, in the unlikely event I get some money to throw at Newegg soonish. XD
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07-17-10, 09:21 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by break19 View Post
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125277

Here is a video card about 10x better than pretty much -any- onboard card. for 70 bucks from "the egg"
Should probably read the customer reviews... not a very good card.
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07-18-10, 06:24 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by Petrah View Post
Maybe drop some cash on some high end gaming ram, too (G.Skill, OCZ etcetera).
If you're not gonna overclock don't waste money on gaming/overclocking RAM that are tested to run in higher frequencies and or lower timings.
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08-02-10, 06:34 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by v6o View Post
If you're not gonna overclock don't waste money on gaming/overclocking RAM that are tested to run in higher frequencies and or lower timings.
I never planned on overclocking.. But, I have 1600mhz DDR3 ram.. so I upped memory clock multiplier to allow for running at full speed..

And, I was bored one saturday afternoon, and decided to fiddle around with my RadeonHD 4650, in catalyst, I just kept increasing GPU speed and running furmark..

I set it to the highest freq I could (800mhz, it's a 600mhz gpu) and it ran stable like that for 3 hours running furmark..

So. I then decided "hrm, if my GPU can max out, I wonder how high I can get the VRAM to go?" Wound up only gaining 150mhz, went from 700mhz to 850mhz.. 855mhz made my system reset, but 850 is stable.

While playing wow, the hottest my GPU gets is 73C, and the fan is only spinning at 35%. If I run furmark, and turn the fan to manual, and 100%, (besides being loud as hell) it peaks around 80C - according to tech sheets, the GPU's max operating temp is 105C.. So we're good.. I played it like that for a bit, and noticed a slight improvement in FPS, and figured "if it burns up the card I've already gotten my 50 bucks out of it"

PhenomIIx2 550 Callisto 3.1Ghz dual core at stock speeds
4G OCZ SpecOps low-voltage RAM @ 1600mhz
and then this little 4650HD.. yea. I got a GPU bottleneck. but it works, and I get 100+fps in most places, 40ish in dalaran.
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WoWInterface » General Discussion » Tech Chat » AMD or Intel?

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