11-26-2008, 06:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-26-2008, 09:35 PM by Concillian.)
After some time playing around in Warsong hold with various CPUs and under / overclocking them, I'm amending things a little.
It seems dual core = adequate performance, speed barely matters above that. It changes some, but once you have dual core, video card seems to be in the driver seat. I saw no noticeable difference at all between e5200 at stock 2.5GHz and e7200 at 3.4GHz. I had to underclock either until I saw CPU effects, and that would only barely move things below pegged at 60FPS when using the HD4850, no real affect on my 7800GT.
So those with a specific upgrade budget might consider the AMD option and spending on the video card. The intels are still better processors, but I'd be surprised if it really affects WoW significantly after this testing. Nothing wrong with more CPU power, but those looking for the cheapest upgrades, the AMD option seems adequate.
For reference, my 7800GT would dip below 20 FPS in Warsong Hold, which presumably may be into the low teens in some raids. My 4850 was pinned at 60 FPS with 12xAA, so has PLENTY of power for Wrath.
I run at 2560x1024 with the right monitor showing no real polygons (just maps and chat windows), so my actual game viewport is 1280x1024.
Even though video card is most important, WoW is not demanding compared with the current "showy" games like Crysis and Far Cry 2, so you can pick from the bottom-midrange of cards. Couple this with the fact that the bottom is completely falling out in the video card market if you're into rebates, and you have a really nice situation for people ugprading older computers. A couple weeks ago 9800GTs / HD4830 were in the $120 range, now they're occasionally under $100. HD4850 is down to as low as $130, but it's hard to beat the value of a 9800GT or HD4830 at $90-110 range. An exceptional deal and given my pegged 12xAA performance at 1280x1024, the 9800GT / 4830 is only slightly behind that in terms of power, and should be in the 30+ FPS range at 4xAA up into the 1650x or 1920x range.
I know vor_lord went for a 9600GT / 4850e / 4gig upgrade for the $200-250ish range. He runs 1920x. Perhaps he can let us know his impressions. 9600GT is also a decent value, in the $70-80 range at the low end of prices.
It seems like ~$250-300 budgeted to CPU + mobo + RAM + video card is enough for very strong WoW performance at max video options.
BTW I found that recount has an FPS graph option. It's pretty useful to just turn it on and play a while and see what gives you dips and how low. It's a lot easier to monitor after the fact than watching the FPS number while also trying to heal an instance or whatever.
It seems dual core = adequate performance, speed barely matters above that. It changes some, but once you have dual core, video card seems to be in the driver seat. I saw no noticeable difference at all between e5200 at stock 2.5GHz and e7200 at 3.4GHz. I had to underclock either until I saw CPU effects, and that would only barely move things below pegged at 60FPS when using the HD4850, no real affect on my 7800GT.
So those with a specific upgrade budget might consider the AMD option and spending on the video card. The intels are still better processors, but I'd be surprised if it really affects WoW significantly after this testing. Nothing wrong with more CPU power, but those looking for the cheapest upgrades, the AMD option seems adequate.
For reference, my 7800GT would dip below 20 FPS in Warsong Hold, which presumably may be into the low teens in some raids. My 4850 was pinned at 60 FPS with 12xAA, so has PLENTY of power for Wrath.
I run at 2560x1024 with the right monitor showing no real polygons (just maps and chat windows), so my actual game viewport is 1280x1024.
Even though video card is most important, WoW is not demanding compared with the current "showy" games like Crysis and Far Cry 2, so you can pick from the bottom-midrange of cards. Couple this with the fact that the bottom is completely falling out in the video card market if you're into rebates, and you have a really nice situation for people ugprading older computers. A couple weeks ago 9800GTs / HD4830 were in the $120 range, now they're occasionally under $100. HD4850 is down to as low as $130, but it's hard to beat the value of a 9800GT or HD4830 at $90-110 range. An exceptional deal and given my pegged 12xAA performance at 1280x1024, the 9800GT / 4830 is only slightly behind that in terms of power, and should be in the 30+ FPS range at 4xAA up into the 1650x or 1920x range.
I know vor_lord went for a 9600GT / 4850e / 4gig upgrade for the $200-250ish range. He runs 1920x. Perhaps he can let us know his impressions. 9600GT is also a decent value, in the $70-80 range at the low end of prices.
It seems like ~$250-300 budgeted to CPU + mobo + RAM + video card is enough for very strong WoW performance at max video options.
BTW I found that recount has an FPS graph option. It's pretty useful to just turn it on and play a while and see what gives you dips and how low. It's a lot easier to monitor after the fact than watching the FPS number while also trying to heal an instance or whatever.
Conc / Concillian -- Vintage player of many games. Deadly leader of the All Pally Team (or was it Death leader?)
Terenas WoW player... while we waited for Diablo III.
And it came... and it went... and I played Hearthstone longer than Diablo III.
Terenas WoW player... while we waited for Diablo III.
And it came... and it went... and I played Hearthstone longer than Diablo III.