Inconsistent FPS in WOW with an 8800GT

[DangerAardvark]

My system is almost the same and I get similar issues. But DK spells REALLY rape my framerate.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Xavier434
Why do people have vsync turned on? I read why once but I forgot.

i should have added "on an LCD" to my other post

Vsync locks the in game framerate with whatever the refresh rate of the moniter is (60 for LCDs) it reduces graphicial teraing

 

[SergeC]

Turn off vsync.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

So after playing around with some settings last night, I came up with some observations.

1. The new shadow system introduced in WotLK is brutal. Turning it all the way off is pretty much guaranteed to drastically improve your frame rate.

2. Terrain Distance exacts a heavy toll as well, and provides marginal (if any) benefit above half-way or so.

3. Turning off V-Sync did nothing for me. There was no change in the frame rate, good or bad.

4. Spell Detail can cause quite a hit if you are in a town with lots of folks, or in a dungeon with lots of spells flying. However, turning it down can cause problems, such as a Paladin not being able to see Consecrate.

5. Turning down the amount of Ground Clutter is good, since that means less polygons the game has to render and less objects to calculate shadows for.

I still can't get a consistent 60 FPS across the board (and really I should, I mean, it is freaking WOW), but messing with those settings has helped with some of the more drastic dips.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
So after playing around with some settings last night, I came up with some observations.

1. The new shadow system introduced in WotLK is brutal. Turning it all the way off is pretty much guaranteed to drastically improve your frame rate.

2. Terrain Distance exacts a heavy toll as well, and provides marginal (if any) benefit above half-way or so.

3. Turning off V-Sync did nothing for me. There was no change in the frame rate, good or bad.

4. Spell Detail can cause quite a hit if you are in a town with lots of folks, or in a dungeon with lots of spells flying. However, turning it down can cause problems, such as a Paladin not being able to see Consecrate.

5. Turning down the amount of Ground Clutter is good, since that means less polygons the game has to render and less objects to calculate shadows for.

I still can't get a consistent 60 FPS across the board (and really I should, I mean, it is freaking WOW), but messing with those settings has helped with some of the more drastic dips.

This is pretty much my situation as of last night too, but with one exception. When I turned V-Sync off it made a difference. For example, if I was looking at the snow in Storm Peaks before I would get something like 55-60 FPS since there was little to look at. With V-Sync off I am getting 110-120 FPS. I noticed an FPS increase in Naxx too after turning V-Sync off. I also noticed big differences while flying up high around certain places. However, what I have yet to test is the impact that turning V-Sync off has done in both Grizzly Hills and Howling Fjord while riding around on my ground mount. That is where I experienced the worst of my FPS issues with exception of Dalaran which unfortunately is still pretty bad.

I also wanted to thank those who recommended turning V-Sync off. I appreciate your help.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
So after playing around with some settings last night, I came up with some observations.

1. The new shadow system introduced in WotLK is brutal. Turning it all the way off is pretty much guaranteed to drastically improve your frame rate.

2. Terrain Distance exacts a heavy toll as well, and provides marginal (if any) benefit above half-way or so.

3. Turning off V-Sync did nothing for me. There was no change in the frame rate, good or bad.

4. Spell Detail can cause quite a hit if you are in a town with lots of folks, or in a dungeon with lots of spells flying. However, turning it down can cause problems, such as a Paladin not being able to see Consecrate.

5. Turning down the amount of Ground Clutter is good, since that means less polygons the game has to render and less objects to calculate shadows for.

I still can't get a consistent 60 FPS across the board (and really I should, I mean, it is freaking WOW), but messing with those settings has helped with some of the more drastic dips.

This is pretty much my situation as of last night too, but with one exception. When I turned V-Sync off it made a difference. For example, if I was looking at the snow in Storm Peaks before I would get something like 55-60 FPS since there was little to look at. With V-Sync off I am getting 110-120 FPS. I noticed an FPS increase in Naxx too after turning V-Sync off. I also noticed big differences while flying up high around certain places. However, what I have yet to test is the impact that turning V-Sync off has done in both Grizzly Hills and Howling Fjord while riding around on my ground mount. That is where I experienced the worst of my FPS issues with exception of Dalaran which unfortunately is still pretty bad.

I also wanted to thank those who recommended turning V-Sync off. I appreciate your help.

I will have to check the V-Sync settings of my graphic drivers then. I didn't notice any difference with V-Sync disabled. Maybe the driver is overriding WOW's setting.

 

[Dravic]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
So after playing around with some settings last night, I came up with some observations.

1. The new shadow system introduced in WotLK is brutal. Turning it all the way off is pretty much guaranteed to drastically improve your frame rate.

2. Terrain Distance exacts a heavy toll as well, and provides marginal (if any) benefit above half-way or so.

3. Turning off V-Sync did nothing for me. There was no change in the frame rate, good or bad.

4. Spell Detail can cause quite a hit if you are in a town with lots of folks, or in a dungeon with lots of spells flying. However, turning it down can cause problems, such as a Paladin not being able to see Consecrate.

5. Turning down the amount of Ground Clutter is good, since that means less polygons the game has to render and less objects to calculate shadows for.

I still can't get a consistent 60 FPS across the board (and really I should, I mean, it is freaking WOW), but messing with those settings has helped with some of the more drastic dips.

doh... i'll have to push the spell detail back up a bit, thought the Consecrate issue was terrain related.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
So after playing around with some settings last night, I came up with some observations.

1. The new shadow system introduced in WotLK is brutal. Turning it all the way off is pretty much guaranteed to drastically improve your frame rate.

2. Terrain Distance exacts a heavy toll as well, and provides marginal (if any) benefit above half-way or so.

3. Turning off V-Sync did nothing for me. There was no change in the frame rate, good or bad.

4. Spell Detail can cause quite a hit if you are in a town with lots of folks, or in a dungeon with lots of spells flying. However, turning it down can cause problems, such as a Paladin not being able to see Consecrate.

5. Turning down the amount of Ground Clutter is good, since that means less polygons the game has to render and less objects to calculate shadows for.

I still can't get a consistent 60 FPS across the board (and really I should, I mean, it is freaking WOW), but messing with those settings has helped with some of the more drastic dips.

This is pretty much my situation as of last night too, but with one exception. When I turned V-Sync off it made a difference. For example, if I was looking at the snow in Storm Peaks before I would get something like 55-60 FPS since there was little to look at. With V-Sync off I am getting 110-120 FPS. I noticed an FPS increase in Naxx too after turning V-Sync off. I also noticed big differences while flying up high around certain places. However, what I have yet to test is the impact that turning V-Sync off has done in both Grizzly Hills and Howling Fjord while riding around on my ground mount. That is where I experienced the worst of my FPS issues with exception of Dalaran which unfortunately is still pretty bad.

I also wanted to thank those who recommended turning V-Sync off. I appreciate your help.

I will have to check the V-Sync settings of my graphic drivers then. I didn't notice any difference with V-Sync disabled. Maybe the driver is overriding WOW's setting.

IIRC the Nvidia driver set Vsync to always on or some crap

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
I will have to check the V-Sync settings of my graphic drivers then. I didn't notice any difference with V-Sync disabled. Maybe the driver is overriding WOW's setting.

IIRC the Nvidia driver set Vsync to always on or some crap

Not on my Nvidia driver's default settings. I also have an 8800 and the latest driver. Still worth checking though.