System potential

[BigBoss]

Hey forum,
I have a question about my computers performance in gaming.

Specs:
ATI HD 4870 HIS Iceq4 1gb GDDR5
Crosshair IV formula
AMD Phenom 1090t x6 oc'd at 3.7 GHz
4gb Ripjaw memory
1tb WD HDD 7200 RPM 32 cache

now here's the thing:
Running Red Faction Guerrilla on max video settings no AA or Vsync: I get 25-30 fps. (1920 x 1080)

GTA 4 DLC (gay tony) max video settings with view distance at 25 and no vsync: 30 fps, benchmark tells me I average 17 fps with explosions happening on screen.

In world of Warcraft running around in Dalaran in the middle of the day. 25 fps. maxed video settings. (anywhere else in the game with no one in it I get 60+)

Is this normal? Is my graphics card holding my system back from its full potential?

I'm gonna need a 5870 to utilize my hardware to its full potential, huh?
or could I just get another 4870 and Crossfire? Would I notice a big enough FPS increase?

Through out my computer building/gaming history I have always been paranoid about my system not running at its full potential.

I blame my old system with a AMD phenom 9600 2.3ghz, while using an ATI HD 3870. I was bottlenecked to hell.

 

[SteveLord]

What kind of PSU do you have?

 

[BigBoss]

What kind of PSU do you have?

darn it I knew I forgot something
It's a thermaltake 850w

 

[psionic98]

is the gfx card overclocked any? adding another 4870 would be pointless imo.. you got a near top-end amd setup with a lower/midrange gfx card running in it. If you step into the nvidia 400 line or ati 58xx line you will likely see huge increases on all mentioned games

 

[EarthDog]

GTA (rumor is poorly coded?) and WoW (net based and with more people on the screen it will slow) are terrible benchmarks for performance. I dont know about the other game. You wont get much better peformance out of those two games with newer cards really.

 

[SteveLord]

Yeah I wouldn't rely on GTA4 performance at all.....

I am personally against SLI/Crossfire because you don't get a proper ROI for it. I say go for a newer gen card if you really wanted some more performance.

 

[BigBoss]

is the gfx card overclocked any? adding another 4870 would be pointless imo.. you got a near top-end amd setup with a lower/midrange gfx card running in it. If you step into the nvidia 400 line or ati 58xx line you will likely see huge increases on all mentioned games

Nope, not over clocked at all.

and I was thinking the same thing about the crossfire. I have a friend who has to GTX 260s in his computer in SLI and my one 4870 out performs them both.

When you say I have near top-end amd setup, what would make it TOP end?

DANG is the 4870 really lower/midrange now? I need to upgrade fast.
Actually I was thinking that I would get a 58xx card when 68xx comes out, or I'll just get the 68xx.


overall, my gpu is definitely holding my system back?

 

[JonSimonzi]

Well, I wouldn't say it's holding you back, but the GPU is the weakest part of your system. But like ED said (can't comment on GTA myself), you won't get much more out of WoW even if you put a 5870 in your computer. WoW is the game I primarily play, and my FPS in Dal go from 25 up to 40ish, depending on the load. You can get a 5870, but you won't really see an improvement.

Now, you say you have all the settings on high, if you truly do have everything cranked up as far as it can go, turn the shadows down 1 notch. There is no visible difference, but it's far less taxing on a system.

 

[BigBoss]

Well, I wouldn't say it's holding you back, but the GPU is the weakest part of your system. But like ED said (can't comment on GTA myself), you won't get much more out of WoW even if you put a 5870 in your computer. WoW is the game I primarily play, and my FPS in Dal go from 25 up to 40ish, depending on the load. You can get a 5870, but you won't really see an improvement.

Now, you say you have all the settings on high, if you truly do have everything cranked up as far as it can go, turn the shadows down 1 notch. There is no visible difference, but it's far less taxing on a system.

Oh gosh, so even in dal with a 5870 your fps will still drop to as low as 25?

I figured it would have been much higher since I'm on a hex core at 3.7 ghz

Alrighty! well thanks for the replys

I might post more benchmarking results for different games or something.

I've had a past with computers and I love my new system, just gotta make sure it is running as well as it should

 

[psionic98]

You're missing SSD's and lower latency mem and and .. stuff!

Also, for wow I can get 40fps in dal with a 5770 oc'd though I don't play it much anymore.. I have no clue how to make that game play really well with the good systems out there.. there are some config settings in a file you can use to force it to use more cores of your pc, but I found that didnt help me at all =(

 

[JonSimonzi]

Oh gosh, so even in dal with a 5870 your fps will still drop to as low as 25?

I figured it would have been much higher since I'm on a hex core at 3.7 ghz

Alrighty! well thanks for the replys

I might post more benchmarking results for different games or something.

I've had a past with computers and I love my new system, just gotta make sure it is running as well as it should

Yeah, Dalaran is limited moreso by how much stuff it has to process at once, not so much a graphical thing. Here's a SS of me just sitting in Dal, 33fps. That's me chillin on Invincible

 

[BigBoss]

You're missing SSD's and lower latency mem and and .. stuff!

Also, for wow I can get 40fps in dal with a 5770 oc'd though I don't play it much anymore.. I have no clue how to make that game play really well with the good systems out there.. there are some config settings in a file you can use to force it to use more cores of your pc, but I found that didnt help me at all =(

Haha awww but SSDs are so flippin expensive!!!

Even though I have low latency memory can this make that much of an impact on my performance?

I have it running at like 1500+ mhz or so with the overclock.

I tend to have low computer esteem if that makes sense lol so I need to knowww!

Yeah, Dalaran is limited moreso by how much stuff it has to process at once, not so much a graphical thing. Here's a SS of me just sitting in Dal, 33fps. That's me chillin on Invincible

Whoa nice, your dal doesn't seem as populated as mine O.O
In mine its always packed, and some people sometimes drink something that makes then freaking huge! I mean... Game breaking unnaturally huge!

 

[JonSimonzi]

Whoa nice, your dal doesn't seem as populated as mine O.O
In mine its always packed, and some people sometimes drink something that makes then freaking huge! I mean... Game breaking unnaturally huge!

Trust me, that's a low time my Dalaran. I play on one of the highest population servers, Proudmoore, so it's generally PACKED. And yeah, I know what you're talking about, it's some bug with something you do with a drink you get in Sholazar, or something like that.

 

[BigBoss]

Trust me, that's a low time my Dalaran. I play on one of the highest population servers, Proudmoore, so it's generally PACKED. And yeah, I know what you're talking about, it's some bug with something you do with a drink you get in Sholazar, or something like that.

Oh right on!
I play Horde on Kel'thuzad and it is freaking horrible.
The Alliance to Horde ratio is 3-1. Alliance freaking own the server... and we RARELY have VOA