[vooshoo]

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
System Model 622510U
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 1 GenuineIntel ~3391 Mhz
Total Physical Memory 2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.11 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB

NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB Graphic Card



I'm trying to play world of warcraft, in 1024x728 I need to put my settings to the lowest possible to play 15 fps when I'm raiding. (Playing with 24 other people).

I was wondering, is that the best my system has to offer me or should it be doing better?

If no, which graphic card or system upgrades do you think I should get?

Thanks a lot for your help!

[Masta Squidge]

wow is network and processor heavy.

Especially when raiding. If you have a slacker of a CPU, you can have major problems with your framerate. Your system is more than adequate to play wow, however that appears to be a single core processor correct?

That is your weakness. The best video card in the world wont get you much higher framerates in a raid setting if the processor cant keep up. To show you this, try turning up your settings a bit. The game will look better and I doubt your fps will drop very much.

My old PC had that problem. I was able to run at 1440x900 at all low except texture and spell effects (maxed out on those) and regardless of whether i turned them up or down in a raid my fps didnt change very much.

Same problem that you no doubt have in cities.

[peck1234]

No doubt the main problem here is your gpu. WOW is a very CPU dependant game, but your 3.2ghz processor is more than enough.

As you can see on the site below the developers reccomend a 7600GT or better...

(Even though you have a 8400GT the 7600 way outperforms your card. (Nvidia's tricky market scheme)

When people today see the minimum requirements for a game they look at the required video card model number and then compare their's. Little do they know that previous High End Legacy Cards (last gen) will outperform the low end new cards...

For example....

Your 8400GT currently has a memory bandwidth of 6.2GB/S

The 7600GT has a memory bandwidth of 22.4GB/S

That means your current gpu is 3 times slower compared to the recommended requirements of a last gen video card.... : )

In short, no you are not getting the best out of your system and its time for a video card upgrade. >>>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143066




http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/...onid=EF6839D3C





1000th Post Woot, had to make it a good one!

[Masta Squidge]

Meh, I dont know about that...

I was running wow on a 1.8ghz dual core, with a geforce FX 5500 and would get 20+fps in raids....

[peck1234]

Originally Posted by Masta Squidge

Meh, I dont know about that...

I was running wow on a 1.8ghz dual core, with a geforce FX 5500 and would get 20+fps in raids....

I dont doubt you, your FX 5500 was actually .2Gt/s faster then his 8400GT. I'll give ya the extra 5fps....

[Masta Squidge]

which certainly does NOT account for the difference. Considering I was running at a far higher resolution, with higher settings.

In nearly every case i have seen, raiding with a single core, though meeting minimum requirements, still sucks.

Even having hyperthreading helps a great deal. I get 15+ fps in 5 man groups on this netbook I am replying to this thread with. Intel GMA950 graphics and 1.66hz cpu no less. Havent bothered to try raiding yet since my main account is unpaid and inactive at the moment.

Just because the memory bandwidth is faster, doesnt mean it is a better performing card. Having higher or faster memory really only improves things in the area of texture rendering, and only when the textures are already larger than what the memory can hold.

There is much, much more to it than just vram bandwidth. The 8400GT is better in performance than the 5500 i owned.