Witcher 2 woes

[disappoint]

So Witcher2 is running slow on this machine. E8400 4GB DDR2 with an ATI 5850. Should I get a second 5850 and crossfire them? will it improve framerates much? Or get a single card either Ati or Nvidia? Whats the fastest card I can use without becoming CPU limited?

 

[thilanliyan]

So Witcher2 is running slow on this machine. E8400 4GB DDR2 with an ATI 5850. Should I get a second 5850 and crossfire them? will it improve framerates much? Or get a single card either Ati or Nvidia? Whats the fastest card I can use without becoming CPU limited?

It's the dual core CPU that's the problem maybe?
http://www.techspot.com/review/405-the-witcher-2-performance/page8.html

"We saw roughly a 25% decrease in performance when going from four to two cores."

 

[notty22]

From the gist of this review, Witcher 2 likes cpu cores, in your case, going crossfire without o/c or upgrading to a higher clocked quad, things won't get appreciably better.

http://www.techspot.com/review/405-the-witcher-2-performance/page8.html

The Witcher 2 is one of those games that might actually benefit from 4GHz+ overclocks, as we found an 8% performance increase when bumping our Core i7-920 from 3.2GHz to 3.8GHz. Increasing the operating frequency by 90% from 2.0GHz to 3.8GHz resulted in a 58% performance gain.

The processor's significant role in The Witcher 2 is further evidenced when comparing the results of various Intel and AMD chips. The game plays considerably better when running on a Core i5 or i7 processor, as the i5-2600K achieved 78fps versus the Phenom II X4 980's 54fps. We were also surprised by the speed difference between the LGA1155 and LGA1156 platforms, as well as the Athlon II and Phenom II parts.
During testing, we noticed that the game isn't particularly dual-core-friendly. We saw roughly a 25% decrease in performance when going from four to two cores.

edit: review link

 

[disappoint]

Thanks! My cpu is already overclocked so I'll look into cpu/mem/mobo now.

 

[Subyman]

Wow, good charts. GTA4 is about the same way.

I'm running max settings on the Witcher 2 with my computer (sig) at 1680x1050 and there is not any noticeable stuttering. The is some slow down when loading between areas, but not much. My CPU is O/Ced to 4.2Ghz, so that is probably the reason for the smooth gameplay. The graphics are amazing in this game.

BTW, I went from a set up similiar to yours, I had a e8500 with the 470gtx. The sandy bridge was a ridiculous upgrade and well worth it. I put mine together with 2500k, mobo, and 8GB of ram for around 380. Newegg has a great deal on a Biostar TZ68A+ combo with a 2500k for 299. That's what I went with and couldn't be happier.

 

[JSt0rm]

2500k no overclock with my 4890 1gb on high settings and maxed AA. Everything runs great. No video card issues here @ 1680x1050

 

[PrayForDeath]

OP how slow is your game running?

I run it maxed out (minus ubersampling) at 1920x1200 on my 9800 GT & Phenom II X4 @3.6Ghz and it runs around 15-25 FPS.

So your card should be able to do far better than that, and as others have said, your CPU is holding you back. Don't even think about crossfire before you upgrade your CPU.

 

[MangoX]

^ He already is looking for a new CPU.

I would suggest a 2500K build. There's no point building anything AMD at this point.

 

[disappoint]

Newegg has a great deal on a Biostar TZ68A+ combo with a 2500k for 299. That's what I went with and couldn't be happier.

Sweet! Thanks for the deal at the 'egg. I'll look into it. Looks like 2500k is the sweet spot right now.

OP how slow is your game running?

I run it maxed out (minus ubersampling) at 1920x1200 on my 9800 GT & Phenom II X4 @3.6Ghz and it runs around 15-25 FPS.

So your card should be able to do far better than that, and as others have said, your CPU is holding you back. Don't even think about crossfire before you upgrade your CPU.

Well there is noticeable input lag. I move the mouse and a second later the view reflects the change. Pretty much unplayable unless I turn down the graphical settings more than I'd like to.

 

[JimmiG]

Game runs fine on my setup at the highest settings except for the "Ubersampling" which basically renders the whole scene multiple times in order to blur it.

 

[JSt0rm]

I think we are finally seeing games with real uses for a quadcore cpu. I have that biostar board. Its been running fine. A little light on features but it does exactly what its supposed to do and I dont need quad nics and firewire ports.

 

[Termie]

BTW, I went from a set up similiar to yours, I had a e8500 with the 470gtx. The sandy bridge was a ridiculous upgrade and well worth it. I put mine together with 2500k, mobo, and 8GB of ram for around 380. Newegg has a great deal on a Biostar TZ68A+ combo with a 2500k for 299. That's what I went with and couldn't be happier.

Link to deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.676009

Looks like it's $319 now. Still a good deal.

Can save $5 by going with this MSI P67 deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.660723.

OP - yes, it's definitely time for a quad!

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

It's definetly the CPU. I have the same GPU and I get playable framerates.

 

[digitaldurandal]

Are you using ubersampling?

 

[disappoint]

Are you using ubersampling?

No. I turned down settings but I'm still going to need a faster cpu than this C2D.