Better FPS for games

[Jonny Tight Lips]

Well I've been playing WoW for a while and my fps are really really bad. I mean so bad I could probably draw faster then it will show up sometimes. Max is like 20fps lowest I've seen in 0.1fps. I just have the base model of an HP a220 or something along that lines. Has some crappy video card build into the motherboard and a ADM proccessor. So what I was thinking was whether getting a new graphics card will increase my fps or do I need more ram( have 512) or a better proccessor. Or do I need all of the above. Well any opinoins would be nice. Just remember I don't have much money do I can be buying a high end stuff. Thx

[Hikaru79]

512 MB of ram isn't glorious, but its not as bad as to cause what you're describing. Processor has very little to do with video performance. Your video card is 90% of the problem. Definitely get a new card, and make sure you have the latest drivers for whatever card you've currently got in there now.

[Mazer]

Turn down all the settings too
Crappy graphics builds character!

[cycro1234]

Or you can get Guild Wars, which isn't so computer-intensive but just as awsome

[Notoroge]

cycro1234 wrote:

Or you can get Guild Wars, which isn't so computer-intensive but just as awsome

Ew.

[codemage]

Heh. You can get GW with the money you save from no monthly fees.

WoW clones feel they need to constantly put down GW in order to justify their investment.

[[Gandalf]]

You know what? They both suck. IMO

Higher fps can be reached by optimizing the game settings. Often you can do such things as take out the rain/snow/etc, dust/etc, and things like that which cause much of the lag.

[1of42]

Jonny Tight Lips wrote:

Well I've been playing WoW for a while and my fps are really really bad. I mean so bad I could probably draw faster then it will show up sometimes. Max is like 20fps lowest I've seen in 0.1fps. I just have the base model of an HP a220 or something along that lines. Has some crappy video card build into the motherboard and a ADM proccessor. So what I was thinking was whether getting a new graphics card will increase my fps or do I need more ram( have 512) or a better proccessor. Or do I need all of the above. Well any opinoins would be nice. Just remember I don't have much money do I can be buying a high end stuff. Thx

Do you have a laptop? If so you're out of luck. Kinda soudns like you're out of luck anyways, if you've got an integrated graphics card - not likely many upgrade possiblities for that computer.

[lyam_kaskade]

Johnny Tight Lips wrote:

Well I've been playing WoW for a while and my fps are really really bad. I mean so bad I could probably draw faster then it will show up sometimes. Max is like 20fps lowest I've seen in 0.1fps. I just have the base model of an HP a220 or something along that lines. Has some crappy video card build into the motherboard and a ADM proccessor. So what I was thinking was whether getting a new graphics card will increase my fps or do I need more ram( have 512) or a better proccessor. Or do I need all of the above. Well any opinoins would be nice. Just remember I don't have much money do I can be buying a high end stuff. Thx

Probably a new graphics card.

1of42 wrote:

Do you have a laptop? If so you're out of luck. Kinda soudns like you're out of luck anyways, if you've got an integrated graphics card - not likely many upgrade possiblities for that computer.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the motherboard has a switch that tells it to use the onboard GPU or a seperate one.

Of course, a new graphics card can set you back $250+. You almost might as well wait for the PS3.

[Notoroge]

codemage wrote:

WoW clones feel they need to constantly put down GW in order to justify their investment.

Did I say I play WoW? No. And I still think Guild-Wars sucks.

[codemage]

No. Did I accuse you of playing WoW?

It's just typical that anyone who "ews" GW is a WoW addict (and vice versa, and the inverse).

[1of42]

lyam_kaskade wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the motherboard has a switch that tells it to use the onboard GPU or a seperate one.

Of course, a new graphics card can set you back $250+. You almost might as well wait for the PS3.

No, you're right, but give that he has an integrated card, one of the following 2 things is true:

1) He has a laptop - no upgrade possibilities here unless he gets a new one

2) He has a crappy desktop - maybe slightly more possibilities, but unlikely, since the kind of desktops that have integrated cards tend not to have new expansion slots (PCIe) etc.

[timmytheturtle]

1of42 wrote:

since the kind of desktops that have integrated cards tend not to have new expansion slots (PCIe) etc.

That's true, My computer has intergrated graphics and doesn't come with a n AGP slot. Only 3 PCI slot's which are all taken up.

[Jonny Tight Lips]

I have a desk top and it does have an AGP slot and a PCI slot still open. Only thing I'm worried about now is if my power supply will support a new card. Its only a 250W and I saw on some site that a 300W is recommended. But graphics card it is then. Thx for all the input.

[codemage]

I also have a MB with an integrated card & AGP slot.

You can most certainly add a new card, and turn off your onboard one in your BIOS setup menu.

250W is almost certainly not enough power, and don't believe salespeople if they tell you differently. 300 is about the minimum I'd recommend. I tried doing my own (similar) setup with 280W, and the system would black out whenever the graphics card was stressed (lots of stuff on screen / level loading).

Don't put your system through that. It's really hard on everything.