Benchmarks for World of Warcraft?

[Vanditz]

My friend is looking for a new vid card. He mainly plays WOW. I have searched the net and cannot find anything up to date. Is there any benches that exist? He has a $500 budget. I told him 7950 GX2 as he has an SLI noard. I recently bought a X1900XTX. Would this be better?

 

[robkas]

a $500 BUDGET GPU for WoW...that made me giggle

WoW isn't to GPU intensive. I'd say just get the x1900xt

 

[Rangoric]

Or look at the 7900GTOs upforum. He might be able to afford 2 of them (he has an SLI board) and if they perform as well as people in there are saying it might work out well for him.

 

[MechaSheeba]

What's he using as a display? What are the rest of his system specs? No point in spending $500 if he doesn't have to.

 

[Vanditz]

He is getting the 30 inch dell monitor. He has a AMD 64 3200

 

[josh6079]

Originally posted by: Vanditz
He is getting the 30 inch dell monitor. He has a AMD 64 3200

The 7950GX2? Forget that. The 7900GTO's are probably the best deal right now due to most users having nF4 chipsets making the possibility of adding a second one. They are basically a 7900GTX and when you add another into the mix you have all of the power you need to play on a 30" Dell at its native resolution plus--if they're EVGA ones--a step-up option for G80.

If he has the money for a 7950GX2, two 7900GTO's in SLI would walk all over that for roughly the same price.

 

[akshayt]

From what I know World of Warcraft is CPU intensive, quite a lot, right? I don't exactly know hot GPU intensive WoW is.

You might wanna buy a single 1900XT 512/7900GTO 512 paired with a Core 2 Duo upgrade and 2GB RAM. You should get something from selling your current stuff, add that to 500$ and you may be able to make it. If Core 2 Duo is out of reach, consider X2 3800 + 2GB if WoW gets benefited by dual core.

 

[Raptor45]

Originally posted by: akshayt
From what I know World of Warcraft is CPU intensive, quite a lot, right? I don't exactly know hot GPU intensive WoW is.

You might wanna buy a single 1900XT 512/7900GTO 512 paired with a Core 2 Duo upgrade and 2GB RAM. You should get something from selling your current stuff, add that to 500$ and you may be able to make it. If Core 2 Duo is out of reach, consider X2 3800 + 2GB if WoW gets benefited by dual core.

Stop spreading lies. If my 3000+ can take WoW maxed without a hitch, a 3200+ is even better off. Especially running at a 30 inch resolution, its all about the GPU with modern gaming.

 

[Pete]

IMO it's not worth buying a 7950GX2 this close to Nvidia's next gen, especially as it's rumored to be faster than a GX2. No, I'd suggest either a $250 7900GTO 512MB or a $280 X1900XT 512MB (check PriceGrabber for the Asus CrossFire Edition). I'd probably lean toward the GTO b/c it draws less power thus outputs less heat and has a virtually silent cooler, and b/c any GPU in this price range is overkill for WoW.

But it's possible the GTO's 8x AA might make for nicer IQ than ATI's HQ AF and 6x AA. Anyone have experience with WoW and both cards?

 

[buzzsaw13]

Originally posted by: akshayt
From what I know World of Warcraft is CPU intensive, quite a lot, right? I don't exactly know hot GPU intensive WoW is.

You might wanna buy a single 1900XT 512/7900GTO 512 paired with a Core 2 Duo upgrade and 2GB RAM. You should get something from selling your current stuff, add that to 500$ and you may be able to make it. If Core 2 Duo is out of reach, consider X2 3800 + 2GB if WoW gets benefited by dual core.

WoW is not CPU intensive, I can play it on my friend's old junky Dell with a P4 2.4ghz and a Ti4200. Stop spreading your garbage.

Just go for the 7900GTO from ZZF or Mwave if all he plays is WoW.

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

Keep in mind that WoW is a pretty old game (over 2 years at this point). Also keep in mind that connection lag will probably cause stuttering no matter how fast your computer and video solution is (but lag does not happen all the time).

I play on an A64 3200+ with an X800XL running 1600x1200 resolution. The game is very smooth most of the time.

I would have a hard time recommending something higher than a 7900GT to play the game.

Here's a link to an old Anandtech review.
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2381&p=1

-D'oh!

 

[motoxpress]

A 7900GT would be an excellent option as well. Then your friend could put the savings towards the monthly rent for the game

-mx

 

[Vortex22]

I run WoW at 1680x1050 with all settings maxed and it stays at 60FPS (vsync) all the time. I haven't seen it drop in about a weeks playing time since I built my new system with a x1950pro.

 

[Aikouka]

World of Warcraft doesn't necessarily tax any portion of the system under normal use. However, if you're in a large raid group, AoE a flyin' around you (I've always found Molten Core to be the worst place for raid slowdown)... you're gunna see a whole new side of WoW's graphic requirement. Walking around the ever-filled city of Ironforge in the area known as "The Commons"... you're gunna see why Ironforge got the nickname "Lagforge".

I'd say just go with a decently priced $200-250 solution with whatever company makes you happy and you won't go wrong. Oh and there's nothing better than playing WoW at high resolutions .

 

[FiLeZz]

I have the 30" dell display and I can tell you this. Get all the horse power you can to drive the display. I have a 7950 gx2 and it is not enough to do 2650x1600 with aa and af on in all games.

My recomendation is if he is going to spend $1400+ on a monitor that will last years you better get a graphics card that can run everything with aa and af turned on.
Get a 8800GTX..

 

[Zbox]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13

WoW is not CPU intensive, I can play it on my friend's old junky Dell with a P4 2.4ghz and a Ti4200. Stop spreading your garbage.

Just go for the 7900GTO from ZZF or Mwave if all he plays is WoW.

never been to BWL suppression room have you?

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Zbox
never been to BWL suppression room have you?

Haha, I almost forgot about that room... look away from the gasses and mass AoE on the whelps! God, that room was my worst nightmare as a rogue... so boring :/.

EDIT: Removed inner quote.

 

[Vortex22]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: Zbox
never been to BWL suppression room have you?

Haha, I almost forgot about that room... look away from the gasses and mass AoE on the whelps! God, that room was my worst nightmare as a rogue... so boring :/.

EDIT: Removed inner quote.

The first few pulls in Naxx spider wing cause even more slowdown. It turned into a slideshow on my old system, but the x1950pro handled it at 60fps like everything else in the game so far. I don't know about a 30'' though, I would probably go for xfire/SLI if you plan on playing other games at that res.

 

[nitromullet]

Between the GX2 and the XTX...

The GX2 can run WoW so smoothly that you can use 16xAA (at least at 1680x1050) which looks fantastic. However, SLI (and GX2) has issues with WoW that pevent v-sync from working properly. It's not a deal killer by any means, but I prefer to run with v-sync when I can. The XTX on the other hand will allow you to run at max 6xAA, but have no v-sync issues.

my thread on v-sync and other SLI issues with WoW:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=18970

...honestly though, if he's thinking about spending that kind of money on a video card, he should wait until Wednesday to see how well the new 8-series from NV performs and how much they will sell for. For ~$500 I think the 8800GTS is going to be the best card available in that price range... I wouldn't buy a high end card until then....

 

[beggerking]

Originally posted by: akshayt
From what I know World of Warcraft is CPU intensive, quite a lot, right? I don't exactly know hot GPU intensive WoW is.

You might wanna buy a single 1900XT 512/7900GTO 512 paired with a Core 2 Duo upgrade and 2GB RAM. You should get something from selling your current stuff, add that to 500$ and you may be able to make it. If Core 2 Duo is out of reach, consider X2 3800 + 2GB if WoW gets benefited by dual core.

WOW is memory intensive.. requiring >512mb of system memory and a good internet connection.

Even a small upgrade of 128mb in my old system improved performance quite a bit. 1gig is ideal.

 

[Narse]

Originally posted by: FiLeZz
I have the 30" dell display and I can tell you this. Get all the horse power you can to drive the display. I have a 7950 gx2 and it is not enough to do 2650x1600 with aa and af on in all games.

My recomendation is if he is going to spend $1400+ on a monitor that will last years you better get a graphics card that can run everything with aa and af turned on.
Get a 8800GTX..

QFT

Also Filezz can tell you that on my PC, C2D E6300 @ 2.73ghz, 2gb RAM and a x1950xtx I still drop to about 35fps in intensive raid encouters like Thaddius and Gothik. Throw in some fraps and I get 25fps. Mind you this is at 1920x1200 6xAA and full AF and every setting in WoW maxed. The game is not at all intensive until you get 65 adds on the screen or 40 debuffs etc going off at once.

With my x1800 I would drop below 10 all the time so you get what you pay for.

Filezz I need to raid on your 30" some time :-D

 

[Makaveli]

I think your friends build is all backwards. 30 inch display yet a single core 3200+. and he is gonna need more than $500 dollars in videopower to drive that display. And if u guys go back and read the reviews when it came out, it was cpu limited at the time. Now is a different story. Also don't forget to mention wow has that Dual core 60fps cap bug.

Based on the setup so far, and how he is going about the build. I would suggest he put as much money as he can into the videocards(yes he is gonna need SLI or Crossfire). Overclock the crap out of that cpu. And if he just purchased the monitor take it back for the 24` model. Where a single GPU can push 1900x1200 these days without major issues.

 

[Makaveli]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13

Originally posted by: akshayt
From what I know World of Warcraft is CPU intensive, quite a lot, right? I don't exactly know hot GPU intensive WoW is.

You might wanna buy a single 1900XT 512/7900GTO 512 paired with a Core 2 Duo upgrade and 2GB RAM. You should get something from selling your current stuff, add that to 500$ and you may be able to make it. If Core 2 Duo is out of reach, consider X2 3800 + 2GB if WoW gets benefited by dual core.

WoW is not CPU intensive, I can play it on my friend's old junky Dell with a P4 2.4ghz and a Ti4200. Stop spreading your garbage.

Just go for the 7900GTO from ZZF or Mwave if all he plays is WoW.

LOL that is because your playing WOW in Direct X 8 Mode. And u didn't mention what res or what the in game settings are at.

I can play wow on a 1.5ghz p4 on a Geforce 2mx 64mb. at like 800x600 doesn't mean its gonna be enjoyable. What is playable to u might not be playable to someone else.

 

[supaidaaman]

my system in my sig run WoW pretty decent, excpet in naxx or bwl spider wing i see drops into 20fps with most settings turned down. Although many people in my guild report around 10fps (i dont see how they can even play)

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Makaveli

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13

Originally posted by: akshayt
From what I know World of Warcraft is CPU intensive, quite a lot, right? I don't exactly know hot GPU intensive WoW is.

You might wanna buy a single 1900XT 512/7900GTO 512 paired with a Core 2 Duo upgrade and 2GB RAM. You should get something from selling your current stuff, add that to 500$ and you may be able to make it. If Core 2 Duo is out of reach, consider X2 3800 + 2GB if WoW gets benefited by dual core.

WoW is not CPU intensive, I can play it on my friend's old junky Dell with a P4 2.4ghz and a Ti4200. Stop spreading your garbage.

Just go for the 7900GTO from ZZF or Mwave if all he plays is WoW.

LOL that is because your playing WOW in Direct X 8 Mode. And u didn't mention what res or what the in game settings are at.

I can play wow on a 1.5ghz p4 on a Geforce 2mx 64mb. at like 800x600 doesn't mean its gonna be enjoyable. What is playable to u might not be playable to someone else.

That is true, but a P4 2.4 is plently for WoW. You can play WoW very nicely on a pretty cheap machine. While I'm waiting for the GeForce 8-series cards to come out, I've been playing on a rig consisting of an MSI KN8GM-V motherboard, a Socket 754 Sempron64 3000+, an AIW X800XL, and 1GB RAM (single channel), and it runs WoW very well at 1680x1050 4xAA/16xAF all eye candy turned up. I decided that while I was sans video card(s) in my main rig, I would go ahead and start working on a HTPC, and I'm pretty damn impressed at how a ~$400 rig plays WoW.