Looking for a new CPU mostly for MMOs

[Bryf50]

Regardless, the OP's fps woes are not confined to Orgrimmar at all. It's kind of silly to say that his problem is that a Phenom II X4 3.0 is just too slow to play an Aion or WoW battle without losing half of his frames. (not that you're saying that necessarily).

That is exactly what I'm saying because I've tried it. My Q6600@3ghz was maybe a tad slower then a 3ghz Phenom II and it would bottleneck me in WoW. Not that it was unplayable but it was far from pegged at 60fps. Switching to my 2500k and suddenly my frames were in the 50-60 range even sitting in a crowded city or during a boss fight.

I've tried playing with my AA settings and going from 1x to 8x AA didn't change anything(With Vsync On) because WoW is generally not GPU bottle-necked.

One thing you definitely should do if your playing WoW is drop the shadows from Ultra to High. At High your getting the same quality shadows but only on things nearby. At Ultra you get the highest quality shadows on everything on the screen. This even maybe my 560ti buckle a little bit.

 

[Blue Shift]

Blech. Am I really going to have to download Aion on my crappy DSL connection and run benchmarks for you all?

In regards to WoW: WoW ran just fine for me in 2004 with my Athlon 64 3200+. It's grown bloated and inefficient over the years, and now people spend hundreds upgrading their rigs for it? It still looks like a 2004 game (half of the armor, including all breastplates and greaves, is painted directly onto the character models) and it still plays like a 2004 game, so it should damned well run like a 2004 game. To see anything else speaks of pure laziness and greed on the part of Blizzard. Other MMOs run just fine on modern hardware, and WoW is different why?

Aion is a tricky devil. It runs on a heavily modified and optimized CryEngine, supposedly fit for an MMO. It's been a while since I've played it, and I've not played it at all with my current CPU.


OP: Grant me a trial reactivation (if one exists), and I'll test your bloody game. Allow at least a week for the download to finish.

 

[soccerballtux]

Because a lot of people ran tests. WoW is very CPU pegged, like every other MMO. Go read this. My good sir, you don't have to take my word for it. But hey, don't let facts get in the way of your blathering about how the Phenom II is God's gift to WoW players.


I can't talk for him, for me, when the number of people goes up in a relatively small area (BGs, Raids, capital cities), my FPS takes a nosedive. I know, I know ... it must be some other thing like the color of the PCB of my motherboard or some planetary alignment that causes the lag.


Too slow to play? No, too slow with maximum settings? In some cases yes.

Your rabid fanboism makes us AMD fans look like idiots. The only difference between you and Nemesis1 is that I can actually understand your posts.

the tom's hardware "bench" is a joke I can't believe people still link it. Going from 3 cores to 5 nets no extra performance but 5 to 6 does???? here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793-10.html
Lol, and TH didn't even mention it just said "YUP INTEL RUNS BETTER YESSIR" lol. I even registered to make a post pointing this out and they deleted it. I'm fairly certain 1. Toms takes bribes from Intel and 2. So does Blizzard to do stupid silly things like this. There's no reason a quad or hex core CPU should be at 50% load and the game be CPU limited. They just need to figure out a way to parallelize whatever CPU character rendering calculations are bogging things down.

I have a mind to set up a Virtual Machine that can run games and give it 8 cores on my logical 4 and see what happens to the FPS. It wouldn't surprise me if Blizzard had "optimized" by only running things on cores 7 and 8 if they are there. Nothing else explains why a quad core does more than a dual core even though the dual is only 45% loaded.

 

[Bryf50]

Im still not trying to say WoW has great graphics or anything but they have gotten much better since 2004.

The water and lighting were the big upgrade of the latest expansion.

 

[soccerballtux]

Im still not trying to say WoW has great graphics or anything but they have gotten much better since 2004.

The water and lighting were the big upgrade of the latest expansion.

yeah that's like dx9 stuff though. The main performance drag is all the peeps running around I believe.

 

[Bryf50]

yeah that's like dx9 stuff though. The main performance drag is all the peeps running around I believe.

Yup. And that's all on the CPU.

 

[chihlidog]

Im still not trying to say WoW has great graphics or anything but they have gotten much better since 2004.

The water and lighting were the big upgrade of the latest expansion.

Almost makes me want to try WoW again. Love the atmosphere of that first photo.

 

[Betatest]

Blech. Am I really going to have to download Aion on my crappy DSL connection and run benchmarks for you all?

In regards to WoW: WoW ran just fine for me in 2004 with my Athlon 64 3200+. It's grown bloated and inefficient over the years, and now people spend hundreds upgrading their rigs for it? It still looks like a 2004 game (half of the armor, including all breastplates and grieves, is painted directly onto the character models) and it still plays like a 2004 game, so it should damned well run like a 2004 game. To see anything else speaks of pure laziness and greed on the part of Blizzard. Other MMOs run just fine on modern hardware, and WoW is different why?

Aion is a tricky devil. It runs on a heavily modified and optimized CryEngine, supposedly fit for an MMO. It's been a while since I've played it, and I've not played it at all with my current CPU.


OP: Grant me a trial reactivation (if one exists), and I'll test your bloody game. Allow at least a week for the download to finish.

I am afraid there is not a trial reactivation.

I also downloaded Everquest II just to see how well it runs and I was stunned, I set shadows off, set all my settings to balanced and I still could not get more then 50-60 FPS, I mean, it is somewhat fine, but the game is so old, I was expecting a little more to be honest.

 

[Bryf50]

I am afraid there is not a trial reactivation.

I also downloaded Everquest II just to see how well it runs and I was stunned, I set shadows off, set all my settings to balanced and I still could not get more then 50-60 FPS, I mean, it is somewhat fine, but the game is so old, I was expecting a little more to be honest.

If you mean for WoW, there is. All Trial accounts now have an infinite amount of time. Just locked at level 20.

 

[Betatest]

I believe he was talking about Aion trial reactivation.

 

[Blue Shift]

Yeah. They send me emails occasionally with reactivation weekends and such, but there's nothing I can activate now that would let me test it for you. Try turning down spell effects.

 

[Betatest]

I think they are releasing a new patch (2.6) in a week or so. And I believe they send out reactivations with their huge patches.

Edit: There is an option, to turn all the spell/melee effects completely (so you basically see nothing only people swinging their axes with no sound effects) and frankly, it does not add much.

Anyway, over the last few days, I tried many games - Starcraft II, Heroes of Newerth, League of Legends, Aion. And in every single game I mentioned I got huge FPS drops whenever huge fight is going on.

Starcraft II - High settings, Low shadows (can not be turned down) - Building my own base, macroing up a lil bit my FPS is usually at 60 (vsync on) even a small fight drops my fps to 30

Starcraft II - Low Settings (everything on low) - 60 FPS all the time, but fights, when a fight occurs, my FPS drops again to around 30.

HoN - Farming (last hitting, poking the other lane and whatnot) - 60+ fps constant a small fight occurs, my FPS is down again)

League of Legends - The exact same thing as in HoN.

Lord of the rings online - 150+ fps being alone, 60-70 fps in the biggest town. Settings are on High, with Shadows on High and DX10/11 settings on. I can not try intense situations with all the spells going on because I do not have a high level character.

I take it as the games are heavily cpu dependant or am I wrong and something fishy is going on with my cpu/system or whatever?

 

[soccerballtux]

Yup. And that's all on the CPU.

Yes, but mmy point is WoW (and SC2) are very poorly optimized for multicore.

OP I think the subset of games you are interested in is simply rather CPU dependent.

 

[GaiaHunter]

I think they are releasing a new patch (2.6) in a week or so. And I believe they send out reactivations with their huge patches.

Edit: There is an option, to turn all the spell/melee effects completely (so you basically see nothing only people swinging their axes with no sound effects) and frankly, it does not add much.

Anyway, over the last few days, I tried many games - Starcraft II, Heroes of Newerth, League of Legends, Aion. And in every single game I mentioned I got huge FPS drops whenever huge fight is going on.

Starcraft II - High settings, Low shadows (can not be turned down) - Building my own base, macroing up a lil bit my FPS is usually at 60 (vsync on) even a small fight drops my fps to 30

Starcraft II - Low Settings (everything on low) - 60 FPS all the time, but fights, when a fight occurs, my FPS drops again to around 30.

HoN - Farming (last hitting, poking the other lane and whatnot) - 60+ fps constant a small fight occurs, my FPS is down again)

League of Legends - The exact same thing as in HoN.

Lord of the rings online - 150+ fps being alone, 60-70 fps in the biggest town. Settings are on High, with Shadows on High and DX10/11 settings on. I can not try intense situations with all the spells going on because I do not have a high level character.

I take it as the games are heavily cpu dependant or am I wrong and something fishy is going on with my cpu/system or whatever?

I don't have a problem with SC2 (SP, 1vs1 and replay watch) with a Phenom II X4 Ultra settings.

 

[Betatest]

What kind of fps are you talking about in a fight 100 food vs 100 food (on ultra)?

 

[GaiaHunter]

What kind of fps are you talking about in a fight 100 food vs 100 food (on ultra)?

I'm pretty sure it stays around 45+ @1680x1050 with a 6850. I'm not using AA.

I'm at my parent's place atm so I can't test just now.

 

[chiggz]

Hmmm I'm gonna try an stay outta this as much as possible lol, will say that I havent played Aion in about 6 months, but had zero problems running with my Q6700@3 3gigs ram and a 8800GTS 512 Oc'd to 750/2000/1025 and had no problems running it pretty much maxed and rarely, if ever below tbh. Thats on my older CRT at 16x12@85hz and not much diff. at 1920/1080@75hz.
Still play City of Hero's which has been updated to a newer model with Enhanced GFX/Ultra mode, and with the same system NEVER drop below 60 either, for reference.
And for the ones that were wondering/looking for any Aion Trials, you can try this site, my brother used it recently with no problems in order to get a trial
hxxp://www.aiontrial.com/ Anyways...actually just used it and might give it a go myself for the helluva it, if I do, ill post back with any results an screenies. Cheers

 

[EliteRetard]

I think this can all be summed up by saying get a new CPU cooler. Its about 30$ to answer all your questions.

Pretty sure everyone in here can agree that its a cheap effective upgrade not only for your current computer, but your possible new system as well (you mentioned 2500K).

If your CPU is overheating and throttling a new cooler will fix it.
If not, new HS/F will allow you to see if your CPU is a bottleneck with a noticeable OC.
If a new cooler and overclocking makes no difference then your problem is not the CPU.

If it does help, then you can either decide the increased performance is enough, or that it is not, and then you can plan a new rig accordingly (and have a nice new cooler to keep your nice new CPU all cool and quiet).

With some overclocking experience on your PhenomII you should be able to apply that to a 2500K and get a free mild/moderate speed boost from there as well (simple multiplier adjustments as well).

 

[Stuka87]

In my experience older games like WoW (and most MMO's) are very poorly optimized for multicore CPU's. And typically only use two, and the second one is only handling audio and such. So higher clocks can make a pretty big difference.

And yeah, the stock AMD coolers suck. Very happy I got rid of mine. Was only 30 bucks for my Xigmatek, and it cools very well, and is very quiet. You should be able to get to 3.4-3.5 without too many issues with a proper cooler.

 

[Betatest]

Wouldnt be my "crappy" MOBO problem here with OCing (MA770-UD3)? And is installing a new cooler on the cpu any hard or should it be easy? I watched some videos on youtube and it looked fairly easy.

Edit: Or are some of the coolers harder/easier to install if so, which one would you recommend, Freezer 7/13 or CoolerMaster Hyper 212+?

Edit: Just for the hack of it I tried Left 4 Dead 2 and according to this http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...PU-benchmarks-Phenom-II-very-strong/Practice/ I should have minimum of 70 fps, I was nowhere near that, my fps was dropping even under 40 in some situations, but nothing major, I take that as the processor is really overheating and slowing down to not damage anything.

Another Edit: I just tried Minecraft and what on earth, even there I got drops to 50-60, its most of the time at 300-400, but then all of a sudden, 50 then back up at 300.

 

[chiggz]

Wouldnt be my "crappy" MOBO problem here with OCing (MA770-UD3)? And is installing a new cooler on the cpu any hard or should it be easy? I watched some videos on youtube and it looked fairly easy.

Edit: Or are some of the coolers harder/easier to install if so, which one would you recommend, Freezer 7/13 or CoolerMaster Hyper 212+?

Edit: Just for the hack of it I tried Left 4 Dead 2 and according to this http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...PU-benchmarks-Phenom-II-very-strong/Practice/ I should have minimum of 70 fps, I was nowhere near that, my fps was dropping even under 40 in some situations, but nothing major, I take that as the processor is really overheating and slowing down to not damage anything.

Another Edit: I just tried Minecraft and what on earth, even there I got drops to 50-60, its most of the time at 300-400, but then all of a sudden, 50 then back up at 300.

Definitely sounds like a Throttling Issue, Ive had the same thing happen on the Wifes comp, was a E6300 with a stock HSF that turned out to be defective an would only spin 1/4 of the proper speed, thank god never shut off the EIST/Therm. Management in the BIOS like normally do, or probably would have fried it.
You can fire up CPUZ or the like an any game an it should show if it is dropping the multi/voltage down and verify, Speedfan might even show if the fans are not running right and ramping up when there supposed too, could be wrong on that as dont use Speedfan enough to know for sure. Either way, Cheers, hope get it sorted!

Edit. Just thought of this as well, Perhaps your PSU is on its way out and is dropping voltage on the Rails(12v) Perhaps?? Not sure if that could cause it for sure however, someone else probably knows for sure what effect(s) exaclty faulty PSU's could/can give in games.

 

[Betatest]

If it was the overheating, wouldnt I be getting like over 70 on the cpu and cores, they are all at 62 max while playing. I have Fusion Bulk 550W PSU, I have heard it is not the best PSU, but should be able to power my system. My computer is running perfectly fine, no BSODs, no blackscreens or anything like that, it is just the lowish fps in games.

Is there any way how can I check if my PSU is going out? Also, since my PSU does not have enough cables for my PC or something, the guy that completed my computer had to use a reduction from the PSU to my components, could this be an issue? I really do not know.

 

[cebalrai]

If it was the overheating, wouldnt I be getting like over 70 on the cpu and cores, they are all at 62 max while playing. I have Fusion Bulk 550W PSU, I have heard it is not the best PSU, but should be able to power my system. My computer is running perfectly fine, no BSODs, no blackscreens or anything like that, it is just the lowish fps in games.

Is there any way how can I check if my PSU is going out? Also, since my PSU does not have enough cables for my PC or something, the guy that completed my computer had to use a reduction from the PSU to my components, could this be an issue? I really do not know.

Did you ever update your BIOS? After all, if you're running any one of the first five BIOS' listed on your manufacturer's website, your CPU isn't even supported.

 

[Betatest]

I checked the version of BIOS via CPU-Z and it said that I have the first version that supports Phenoms II.

Edit: I have the FD version.

 

[sm625]

Can you download and run the free trial of passmark? If you can, then run the full battery of tests and upload your results as Betatest072011. We can compare those results to other systems to see if your memory or cache could be contributing to the problem.