What SWTOR has taught me.
Kreegson - Fri, 12/16/2011 - 22:09
in
SWTOR has taught me that my Computer is in need of upgrading. lol. Unlike when doing beta my current framerates are horrible.Making the game essentially unplayable.
So I'm coming to you all for some advice / direction on what I should be lookin to upgrade to, to be above minimum reqs for swtor but not lookin for top of the line cuz like most folks $$ not flowing like water. Would vid card be main priority for improving swtor gameplay? I have a 3 IQ when it comes to the workings of computer guts. My current system is approx 2 yrs old so I knew it was due for a fixer upper but now it must happen.
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specs on current rig?
Only matters if you have a desktop - can't really upgrade a laptop.
Yeah
Yeah its a desktop.
What are the specs of your
What are the specs of your system now? How do they compare to the minimum requirements for SWTOR? The specs are here:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core or better Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz or better
RAM: Windows XP: 1.5GB NOTE: 2GB if your computer uses on-board graphics processing. Windows Vista/Windows 7: 2GB
Video Card: ATI X1800 or better nVidia 7800 or better Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better
You should know that in the early areas, because there are a lot of people, framerates will be lower because of all the models that need to be drawn. When you're in a less populated area, are the framerates better?
Not sure ....
If this is the info you'd look at. Like I said Ive got about a 3 IQ when it comes to this stuff.
Lower pop areas
When I was in places with less people I had slightly better fr but still reall choppy.
Can't really tell from that -
Can't really tell from that - quad core looks good, so it shouldn't be CPU (although I can't really tell what it is), 8 GB RAM is nice too - so I would think it must be video card. With only 64 MB dedicated video, it's gotta a pretty low end (integrated?) video card. When you do the Windows Experience score what does that say?
hehe
processor 7.2
memory 7.2
graphics 4.4
gaming graphics 4.5
primary hard disk 5.9
definitely need a new vid
definitely need a new vid card. granted, it has a lot of memory, integrated is not the best.
Yup new vid card
You may need to upgrade powersupply as well so budget in for that. Expect around 125 for an good but not amazing video card. Either look on the powersupply itself or check manufacturer website for wattage. Check this against the requirements of the video card. Also take into account the fact that many video cards require an extra power connector which your powersupply may not have although can be added via an adaptor.
found another list...
this has power supply listed. Can you mak any suggestions as to what cards I should look into?
Maybe a top end price of $300,which would include a new PS if it's needed.
Intel G43
South Bridge:
Intel ICH7
3.5" 1TB ~ 3TB
1 x PCI-e 16x
1 x PCI-e 1x
High Definition Audio 8-channel CODEC
1 x Microphone
2 x USB 2.0
1 x DVI-D
1 x HDMI
1 x IEEE 1394 (6 PIN)
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x S/PDIF-out (Optical)
8 x USB 2.0
1 x E-SATA
13 Kg
You can use any PCI-e video
You can use any PCI-e video card and an ATX power supply. You can find some combo deals here: http://www.newegg.com/Store/ComboDeals.aspx?ComboStoreID=25&name=Video-Cards-Power-Supplies
I'd recommend getting an nVidia video card, but that's my personal preference. You really can't go wrong with any of the combos listed above. Looks like this combo will give you the most bang for your buck: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.785034
Charts on Tom's Hardware
This first link has the $100-$200 cards listed. I'd go with at least $100 card, up to that point every $10 or $20 more gets you a lot more video processing power, such that the $110 recommendation they have is probably 2-3x as stong as the $80 cards. I'd say that all of the cards under $200 are probably worth it, but once you get past $200, the dynamic changes such that a $300 card is only 25% better than a $200 card. $100-$200 generally hits the sweet spot for gaming.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fastest-graphics-card-radeon-geforce,3085-3.html
The 2nd link here is for the overall chart that they do every quarter or so. If you watch the sales you can find some great deals on last years top end cards from time to time. So in general, I'd suggest you start looking at an AMD 5770/6770 (they're the same card), but if you happen to find someone clearancing out their nVidia 460 for a similar price, that would be a better card. (the 460's used to go for about $175).
I would recommend that you stay with at least a nVidia 400/500 series card or an AMD 5000/6000 series card. Those are all DX 11 parts, everything before that is DX 10 or DX 9. DX 9 and above is probabaly "good enough", such that if you find and old AMD 4870 for under $100, I'd say go for it - but it will limit you on some games. But on the other hand, the 4870 does have more raw processing power than a 5770/6770.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fastest-graphics-card-radeon-geforce,3085-7.html
If you just don't want to mess with a new power supply, the entry level AMD 5670 or 6670 don't require any external power connectors, and they typically draw less than 50 watts, so while they would be a simple drop in addition to what you have. Keep in mind they have only 1/2 the power of a 5770/6770 and they're almost the same price - probably $80 vs $110, but it will be a big step up from where you're at now.
When it comes to buying video cards, with only very few exception, you're best off buying on-line. Newegg.com is great. Places like Best Buy will try to sell you a 6450 and tell you that it's better than a 5850, sying that 6000 series must be better than 5000 series, right? That's why things like the chart above come in very handy. You can find good prices on overstock.com, amazon.com, tigerdirect.com and some other retailers.
Finally, I should at least mention that AMD's 7000 series will be out "soon", everyone thought they were gonna try for a Christmast release - doesn't look like they'll make it now. But they probably will release a handful of cards on December 29th just to say they got them out before the end of the year. nVidia's 600 series is due out in 2-3 months. Whenever new cards come out the older cards get cheaper too. This does seem to be a decent time to buy, as both nVidia and AMD got in a bit of a price war just before the holidays - many are speculating that we're already seeing the clearance prices on their existing stuff now and prices won't drop much more later. So if you're looking at a entry-mid level card, it may not matter much at all. But if you're looking to spend $250+ on a new card, I'd suggest waiting a month as newer is always better.
EDIT-Nvidia Warning
Make sure yer looking at the Nvidia GTX series. They offer a GT series which I learned the hard way is useless. I got a GT 520 off the clearance rack... thought I was getting such a deal only to get something that did marginally well on wow. The GTX 460 however, played the game amazingly well.
Your issue wasn't so much the
Your issue wasn't so much the GT vs GTX thing as it was the type of card. x20 = very lowest end of video card, not intented for gaming - only useful if you don't have any video output. x60 = middle/upper end gaming card. For NVidia the 2nd number is the type of card, and the first number is the series of card. i.e. a 460 has more processing power than at 550, but a 550 is from the newer series. So a 560 is better than a 460, but not by much.
x20/x30 = low end (generally intigrated) gfx cards, not suitable for gaming.
x40/x50 = entry level gaming cards, only usable for 3D gaming at reduced resolution or minimal settings
x60 = mid-level gaming card
x70 = upper end gaming card
x80 = "enthusiast" card (often times 2x GPU's soldered to a single card).
AMD uses a similar system, but they're 4 digit numbers - also ths x900 is new with the current 600 series, for the 4000 and 5000 series, the x800 were as high as the numbering went. As such a 5850 = 6950, a 5870 = 6970, and a 4890 = 5830 = 6870
x3x0/x4x0 = low end (generally intigrated) gfx cards, not suitable for gaming.
x550/x650 = entry level gaming cards, only usable for 3D gaming at reduced resolution or minimal settings
x770/x790 = mid-level gaming card
x830/x850/x870 = upper end gaming card
x950/x970/x990 = "enthusiast" card (often times 2x GPU's soldered to a single card).
When it comes to comparing - refer to the link I posted above.
I know...
Should've done a better job with my homework.
I will never make the mistake of getting a 520 (or anything in the sub 60 range again).
My 460 in the desktop does good, but the laptop does considerably better with it's 560m (high vs. ultra). Kind of surprising considering the 460 is ranked above the 560m... but the desktop has a bit of age on it, hard drive or cpu might be bottlenecking it's performance and the mobo has a host of known issues.... hasn't fried out on me yet thou, thankfully.
Hmmm I'm actually seeing a
Hmmm I'm actually seeing a Nvidia Gefore GT220 video card in the list with a 1gig dedicated memory. Its not the most amazing video card but it should be able to run SWTOR but in the first post its showing only the intel video card. I think perhaps you have a video card in your computer that you arent using for some reason. can you take a pic of the back of your pc?
That's an old intigrated part
That's an old intigrated part - not actually a video card.
once I get a...
....new vid card,how hard is it to switch it out myself? Remember I have no real knowledge about the tech side of comps. Do these things just pop in and out easily or is there more to it than that? Im not saying Im an idiot, I can usually figure things out after staring at em for a bit. Just curious how tech savy I need to be if I wanted to avoid having to leave my tower with someone to do it at their leisure.
It's easy
Just a matter of finding the right slot on your motherboard for it (should be easy to find) and then popping it in. I'm sure a quick google search will net you any number of visual guides to help you too.
Easy-peasy
Just remember, before you do the physical swap you need to do some software work. On your desktop right-click on "My Computer" and select "manage" (windows 7 it's the second option). click on "device manager" on the left side of the window that opens. click on the little triangle next to "display adapters" to expand that menu. The device that shows up there is your current, old, video card. To make sure that your shiny-new video card works properly you need to uninstall the driver for this old one. So right click the device that shows up under display adapters and select uninstall. Follow the windows that pop up but don't let your computer automatically restart, manualy select shutdown under the windows menu. If you let the computer restart windows will be nice and helpfull and automagically re-install those drivers you are trying to get rid of!
Now that the computer is shutdown it's time for the install
One the physical install is complete remember to go to the video-card manufacturers website and download the latest drivers for your hardware. The drivers that ship on the CD's that came with your hardware are AT LEAST 6 months out of date, if not more. The websites are:
NVIDIA: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
AMD: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx
so it appears...
that no matter what vid card I go with I'm gonna have to up my PS too. Im currently equipped with a 400w and the 6770 asks for 450 heheh. So does a new PS add to the difficulty of doing the swap out myself? Should I just hand it off to a techy person to do for me?
If your current case can hold
If your current case can hold the new power supply generally replacing a video card and power supply is fairly easy. If I remember right you would only need to replace the various power hookups (cords run fron the power supply to motherboard, hard drives, dvd drives etc). If you take a little time and care (you should be able to find vids on the internet explaining it) I would think you could do it yourself and save a little money :)
new card will be...
Nvidia GeForce GTX 560Ti. Hope that'll solve my epic 12fps issue. Had to get a new PS to go with.
This is what I've got now
Or at least the mobile version (which isn't as powerful) and I haven't dipped below 50 fps running the game on ultra at max res... I'm typically in the high sixties in Ogri during peak hours. You're going to be VERY pleased *nods*
Woot!!!!
Well, I'm not a complete idiot. I managed to install both my new Video Card and Power Supply on my own and nothig exploded. SWTOR is running amazingly now. Running 75+ fps now.
Thanks to everyone who sounded off here and pointed me in the right direction. Once again you guys rock.
Gratz!
Yeah, it's not to hard - bit intimidating if you've never done anything like it, but not too bad. Now that you've done an upgrade, next time you're in the market for a new PC you can consider building one yourself.