WoW GeForce 1080, 1070, Low FPS fix and G-sync stuttering and crashing fix.

[EpIckFa1LJoN]

I just loaded up WoW for the first time in ages. I have a GTX 1080 and have this issue. I was able to fix it with one setting change. I changed from Full Screen to Borderless Window (Fullscreen) mode. I was only able to achieve 55 fps even at quality 1 until I did that. Now I lock at my refresh rate of 85hz (using Gsync and VSync) with Max Quality, MSAA x8 and a resolution of 3440x1440. If I turn off Vsync I sit at about 100fps.

I also run Windowed (Borderless) I just forgot to update this. That is a well known problem with WoW and is not exclusive to 10 series cards.

What zone and server did you do this testing in?
And what are your system specs?

Those play HUGE factors.

With my settings at 1440p I still can't break 45 fps in Stormwind on Stormrage which is arguably the most active alliance WoW server.

But I can also get 200+ fps with vsync off in EN during fights.

But I hover around 60-70 in Suramar.

Zone and server play huge roles since the more players aroundthe more work the GPU has to do.

The zone I tested in initially was Feralas with nobody around. Couldn'the break 60fps at 3440x1440. I switched to full screen window and my frame rate doubled. No reason I should have been in the 50s in Feralas with nobody around.

I7-4790k
32 GB
GTX 1080

That's my point though. When you do get into more populated zones your fps is going to drop like a bomb, especially if you are on a highly populated server. When I am in Suramar and I turn AA up I drop to 30 almost immediately, and it stays there. I also use vsync because the game tears horribly without it, you have a very high end monitor I am assuming since you have Gsync and UWQHD, so the gsync would help as well.

 

[Joshua_155]

I just loaded up WoW for the first time in ages. I have a GTX 1080 and have this issue. I was able to fix it with one setting change. I changed from Full Screen to Borderless Window (Fullscreen) mode. I was only able to achieve 55 fps even at quality 1 until I did that. Now I lock at my refresh rate of 85hz (using Gsync and VSync) with Max Quality, MSAA x8 and a resolution of 3440x1440. If I turn off Vsync I sit at about 100fps.

I also run Windowed (Borderless) I just forgot to update this. That is a well known problem with WoW and is not exclusive to 10 series cards.

What zone and server did you do this testing in?
And what are your system specs?

Those play HUGE factors.

With my settings at 1440p I still can't break 45 fps in Stormwind on Stormrage which is arguably the most active alliance WoW server.

But I can also get 200+ fps with vsync off in EN during fights.

But I hover around 60-70 in Suramar.

Zone and server play huge roles since the more players aroundthe more work the GPU has to do.

The zone I tested in initially was Feralas with nobody around. Couldn'the break 60fps at 3440x1440. I switched to full screen window and my frame rate doubled. No reason I should have been in the 50s in Feralas with nobody around.

I7-4790k
32 GB
GTX 1080

That's my point though. When you do get into more populated zones your fps is going to drop like a bomb, especially if you are on a highly populated server. When I am in Suramar and I turn AA up I drop to 30 almost immediately, and it stays there. I also use vsync because the game tears horribly without it, you have a very high end monitor I am assuming since you have Gsync and UWQHD, so the gsync would help as well.

I get what you are saying, but my system is clearly underperforming in all circumstances when it comes to WoW. Other games run really good.

I decided to boot up my other system and it smokes what I am getting on this one. Same settings on my older PC and I get about 140 FPS in Feralas vs 100.

My older system has the following specs:
i7-2600
32 GB
GTX 1070
3440x1080

Not sure what is going on here, but I am leaning towards playing WoW on my older system because the performance is so much better.

 

[EpIckFa1LJoN]

2 things. The older system is running at 1080p that will by itself give a huge boost to fps. in some cases about 100fps, and yes in all other games it will run completely fine.

 

[Joshua_155]

2 things. The older system is running at 1080p, and yes in all other games it will run completely fine.

The older system is running at the same resolution. 3440x1440. I have ultrawides for both computers.

 

[EpIckFa1LJoN]

My older system has the following specs:
i7-2600
32 GB
GTX 1070
3440x1080

Alright you must have made a typo but that is very strange.

Would the 1070 happen to be a reference card or non-overclocked version, and the 1080 an overclocked version?

Or is there another typo and it is not a 1070?

 

[EpIckFa1LJoN]

I have since updated this, I have learned A LOT in the past few months and have also changed a few parts of my system and I believe I have a much firmer grasp on this issue than I did previously. The original post is here:
This problem had been plaguing me for almost a month.

It's not ideal for everyone but I have gotten my game to stay at 60fps almost at all times even in heavy activity combat, in Suramar.

It requires a bit of compromise down from ultra settings but I think most of you will find it is still adequate.

Firstly my system specs:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/RKYGJV

Now what I did to get stable 60fps:

UPDATE: The game has since given me more trouble since writing this (I am also on Stormrage, an incredibly highly populated realm) I have had to turn off all AA (about three different settings) Not everyone may need to do this but it definitely helps.
Firstly I scaled back Render quality (under Advanced) down from 200% to 100% and I could not tell a difference in quality but it did increase fps by about 2-10.
Second I capped foreground FR at 60 as to not strain my GPU, since it was throttling before giving me as low as 25 fps in Suramar in combat.
Thirdly I had to scale down the Environment sliders to 7 (down from 10). This gave the biggest performance increase but was not enough by itself.
I also scaled down Particle density to Good instead of High, which helps in fights with a lot of effects.
Now all my settings on the graphics page are maxed (AA is off), V-sync is on, and all settings on Advanced are off, except Triple Buffering and I am using Bicubic instead of Bilinear.

UPDATE 2.0: You must be running in Windowed (Borderless) mode. This is a KNOWN issue with WoW not exclusive to 10 series cards, but it is worth mentioning.

WARNING: DO NOT mess with the graphics API, and whatever you do DON'T RESET AFTER YOU DO IT. I messed up my game by switching it and I had to delete my Interface/WTF folders, redownload ALL my add ons and redo all my interface settings.

Game looks great and is holding at 60fps not budging a bit (it does when a lot of people are on in my realm now never drops below 50 though).

GPU utilization hovers between 35% and 75% depending on how much activity is going on (WAY down from 99%)
GPU temp was considerably cooler (I had to increase fan speed to keep it under 60C I think my realm became more popular)
GPU Clock was actually UP at 2061 (from 2012) EDIT: My GPU clock is crazy wild now again depending on how many people are around from the base clock of 1771 all the way up to 2052 stable, changes a lot too, especially in raid.

I'm happy with this. I am getting the best performance at a very slightly diminished graphics quality.

Hopefully I can help a few people with these incredibly expensive cards achieve the graphics and the performance that should come with a powerful GTX 10 Series card.