Nvidia Geforce 285 GTX, low FPS

[warmanlord]

A month ago I bought a BFG Nvidia 285 GTX card for my system. I put the card in with a new power supply and didn't see any change in FPS while playing World of Warcraft. I talked to BFG and they had me send the card back to them and they sent me a new one. Well come to find out my old motherboard didnt have a 2.0 Pci xpress 16 slot it was a 1.0. So this past weekend I bought a new motherboard here are the specs.

Gigabyte S-series Motherboard: Model MA74GM-S2
MB Name: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.GA-MA74GM-S2
BIOS version: AMD RS740 BIOS for GA-MA74GM-S2 FB
CPU Name: AMD Phenom(tm) 9500 Quad-Core Processor 2.20 gig processor
Memory information: 4 Gigs of DDR2
OS information: Windows Vista Home Premium
Graphics: Nvidia Geforce 285 gtx
Power: 700 watts


I installed the drivers and got everything running. I made sure to run a driver sweeper after installing all the new drivers. I am still running at horrible frames while playing the game. The system ain't the best in the world but it should be atleast kicking some butt. In towns I am recieving 40 FPS, but when I got to the major city(dalaran) I get about 20. While in raid I get like 7 to 11 FPS and don't know why. I am running Vistia and I have tweaked the graphics card setting. I also am running all setting at the lowest while playing the game. Resolution is 1280 by 1020. Anyone have any idea's what might be causing this low FPS. Let me know if you need more information. THanks in advance.

 

[daedalus685]

WOW is bottelnecked by the CPU and memory, not the GPU. The most powerful GPU in teh world won't increase your fps in wow very much. Overclcok your CPU if you want to see improvement.

Also, PCIe 1.1 was fine, no card is hampered by x8 (aka PCI x16 1.1).

You are playing at a rediculously cpu bound resoluton in a rediculously cpu bound game. You should not have wasted your money on a gtx285 given you play at such a rediculously low resolution. Buy a new display and you will get very much teh same performance as you are capped by the CPU currently.

 

[warmanlord]

Would this CPU make a difference.


Product Specifications
Features AMD64, Enhanced Virus Protection, Cool'n'Quiet 3.0
3D and Multimedia Instructions 3DNow! Professional technology, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Processor Phenom II X4 940
Operating Frequency 3.0GHz
Number of Cores Quad-Core
Level 1 Cache 128KB
Level 2 Cache 512KB (per core)
Level 3 Cache 6MB
CPU Voltage 0.875V - 1.5V
Thermal Power 125W
Process Architecture 45nm SOI
Processor Data Width 32-Bit/64-Bit
Socket Required Socket AM2+
HyperTransport Technology 1800MHz (3600MT/s)
HyperTransport I/O Bandwidth Up to 16GB/s
Included Accessories AMD® Designed Thermal Solution (Fan, Heatsink, Clip Assembly)
Manufacturer Warranty 3 Year Limited Warranty

 

[daedalus685]

You are playing at a CPU limited resolution, any improvement to teh cpu will increase performacne, overclock or otherwise. That cpu you list there isn't enough better to warrant replacing the motherboard and everything else along with it..


You are just not using the graphics card much, it is wasted at that resolution regardless of CPU. If you want an upgrade that is worth while buy a better display.

If you insist on using that resolution, then the only way to improve fps in wow is to upgrade or overclock the cpu... You could probably play at 1920*1200 without losing any fps you are so cpu limited atm. (in woww at least, wow is also dictated by the network as well, obviously)

 

[warmanlord]

Well my monitor is only a 19 inch, nothing I can really do about that. I guess upgrading the CPU is good, but I am just wondering if this will improve the FPS. The resolution is not to big of a priority right now as to the FPS that I am getting while playing.

 

[daedalus685]

Yes, you need a new cpu to get higher fps at that low reolution.

However, it is a blatent waste of cash to purchase a new CPU/MB given the one you have is perfectly fine. It woudl perform a bit faster if overclocked. Also, it would certainly be rather lame to buy a new cpu only to find the fps is predominately from your internet connection.

You spent an unbelievable amount of money on the 285 considering what you are using it for. If you want to make that purchase worth anything at all you owe it to yourself to buy a larger display. Otherwise you should sell the 285 and buy something like a 9600/4670. Owning a 285 to play wow on a 19" display is entirely without point.

WOW is not at all optimized for wuad cores, which is why a fast dual will play it far bettr than what you have. However, they are adding new support for quad cores in teh coming patch, so don't go blowing money just yet. Also, check in task manager the CPU load, you can always change the core affinity if it is overloading two and not using the others.

 

[warmanlord]

Thanks for the replies, I will get the upgraded CPU, the monitor will come in time it still works fine and don't need to replace it just yet. Maybe I can just use my flat screen TV it has all the inputs it is 32 inch

 

[meodowla]

TV's won't be better than monitors..

 

[daedalus685]

TV's won't be better than monitors..

Not true, if the TV supports 1080p it would have a higher resolution... Other aspects such as contrast, responce time, etc. would depend on the model. Though "better" is pretty subjective.. I'd rather use a monitor to a TV most of the time as well.

 

[warmanlord]

Well, I sweat talked my ole mother into buying me a new monitor and she will mail it to me. Isn't she just so nice 24 inch, I hope that helps.

 

[Helltech]

You are being bottlenecked by your CPU and RAM, but I heard you say you tweaked with the graphics in Vista? Did you mean in the Nvidia control panal? I did the same thing (setting the settings up high and such), and even with my rig I lagged in WoW, when I changed all the settigns in Nvidia control panal back to the default I didn't lag in anything, and havn't had problems in any other games.

Just a thought, before you go spending to much money.

 

[makotech222]

Theres no such thing as a cpu bottleneck resolution. Getting a bigger monitor will not increase your fps at all, it would stay the same if your cpu is the bottleneck.

All you really need to do is OC the cpu a bit, probably up to 2.6 or 3.0 and you'll be fine.

 

[daedalus685]

"Processor Phenom II X4 940 "
Are you effing kidding me? WOW runs perfect on an old single core you dont need to upgrade your CPU at ALL. Something else is to fault, could be your ram, but its Definitely not the cpu or gpu or monitor. youre getting bad advice.

Theres no such thing as a cpu bottleneck resolution. Getting a bigger monitor will not increase your fps at all, it would stay the same if your cpu is the bottleneck.

You are a moron, and you need to learn how to read before you open your mouth.

First, Wow has changed a lot over the years. What used to run it on high no longer does the job. A slow single core with an old GPU will not run the game on high settings any more. The game is also more CPU dependant than GPU.

Here is some data regarding that:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/mainstream-cards-mmorpg.html

Second, you have no understanding of the concept of bottlenecking at all. No, it is impossible to get "more" fps by upgrading the display. No one ever said you could do that. But you better believe there is such a thig as a CPU limited resolution. Just read any single GPU review in teh last 5 years if you want proof.

A GPU renders the picture of what you see. It makes this picture based on instructons from the CPU. These instructions are things like AI, particle effects, position of characters, weather variables, what textures to use ect. These varriables are resolution independant. Regardless of what resolution you play at they MUST be computed. Certain games alllow you to change some settings to reduce the load of these variables, but most do not as they result in a fundamental change to the gameplay.

The GPU is merely given these variables and asked to produce a picture that fits. Almost no "gameplay" proceessing is done by the GPU (though some games can use it for some physics). However, the GPU is ENTIRELY dependant on resolution. How many pictures it has to draw, how high quality of textures to use, what lighting effects, etc.

Thus, we get what is called a bottleneck. The CPU is producing teh instruction set for each frame as fast as it can. What is displayed by teh GPU is the rendering of each fram as fast as it can.

The CPU is chugging along, not caring whatresolution the game is set at. The time it takes the GPU to render a frame is entriely independant (for simplicities sake) of the CPU. If teh resolution is low, the GPU can produce a frame far quicker than the CPU can ask for it. Thus the FPS is almsot entirely dictated by the CPU. At larger resolutions the GPU takes longer to create a frame than it takes teh CPU to ask for it. Thus the FPS is dictated by how quick the GPU can draw what is asked for.

It is far more complicated than that, as the CPU and GPU do share some tasks.. but that is the quick and dirty..

Thus, If you play at what we call a CPU limited resolution you are not using the power of teh GPU and regardless of how fast the GPU is made it cannot increase FPS becasue it is bottlenecked severely by the CPU. In a severe situation like this it is possible to increase resolution and NOT lose any performance. Which is what we are talking about here.

There is no such thing as free FPS, but there is sure such a thing as wasting power..

 

[daedalus685]

As far as teh OP is concerned, you have teh following issues you should address.

You want more FPS in WOW - This can only be done by increasing CPU power at the resoluton you play at, you might lso consider checking your network

You are using a GTX285 - The resolution you play at is extremely CPU limited. You would be able to increase your resolution without losing much FPS in most games. WOW does tend to be more cpu limited than other games though, but with that GPU you should be able to play with almost no lossin FPS from what you ahve now up to 22' native resolutions.

You should either purchase a larger display, or sell the GTX285. There is no point in having anything more poweful than a 4670 or 9600gt(gso) for that resolution. You can buy a new cpu/mb with the money you save replcing the 285. If you want to keep the 285 you need to increase your resolution, or crank the AA to the roof in order to use anywhere close to the potential of it.