Disappointed in WOW performance on ATI HD 4670 (studio xps 16)

I've been saying for awhile that WoW is very CPU dependent, especially with player data. As Malignant and I have found out, upgrading to an i7 really helped. I just happen to stumble onto it in a sense with a D900F laptop with a i7-975 CPU and was amazed at the increase in performance in congested areas. I now use an i7-920 @ 3.8ghz, QPI set @ extreme and the gameplay is great. The 4870x2, like my SLI GTX280's are pretty much wasted on WoW, since it isn't Xfire/SLI optimized. I play @ 2560x1600 native res on my 30" Apple.

Phyx182, you will have a pretty decent gaming experience because of the resolution (1366x768). That really helps take the load off the middle of the pack GPU which is the 4600 series.

A combination of an i7 (desktop or mobile), and 1600x900 panel or lower for true native resolution gaming is the sweet spot for WoW IMHO.

I was using the native sound on my ASRock x58, but I put my old Audigy 4 back in because the itunes playback was full of noise and feedback and unacceptable. This went away with the Audigy 4. The plus side was a noticeable increase in fps (IE, less chunk) during Onyia AoE fest during P2.

Cailey, you could try a CPU upgrade, but even with a T9900 in a Studio 17 w/ 3650, my boy had to lower his native RGBLED res to 1440x900 to get what was still mediocre performance IMHO. The 4670 is a decent upgrade, but still something to keep in mind.

 

do you think pretty decent gaming experience in raids? cause topic starter said he has all max out or on high every except the raid,so i expect the same. my system is very similar to his.

 

not sure if this has been asked... but are you playing in windowed mode?
tremendous difference in playing full screen versus windowed mode...

 

Just a quick note. You might wanna try using the mobility modder made by http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php . Dell usual limits your graphics drivers to a certain limit. But by using the mobility modder it adjusts your graphic card setting to enchance performance. After i used this i noticed a massive improvement about 5-10fps difference.

Download the new drivers from the ATI website then used the mobility modder to adjust the driver then install theres instructions on the site.

 

Hello everybody.

I dont post here often, and im sorry if this is against the rules to bump an old thread. I am having the same exact issues as this poster. In fact, if i had to make a rant post, i probably would have written the above post word for word!!

I am still just so very pissed at myself for doing research, and not realizing i was buying myself a laptop which (firstly) cant handle the one game i play and is the reason im buying the laptop, and (seocondly) even if i had extra money to upgrade the video card i cant do it anyway because its onboard.

This is the processor i have, i think i upgraded to this not sure:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (3MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
Edge-to-Edge HD Widescreen 16.0 inch WLED LCD (1366x768)
ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 3670 - 512MB

Is it possible to upgrade my motherboard with newer, more powerful equipment if i call Dell and pay them to do it?

Or am i just SOL now?

 

Not read the stickied threads about GPU upgrading yet? Please do so and then repost if the sticky hasn't already answered your question.

 

I already knew it wasnt possible to upgrade the vidcard, since its attached to the motherboard or something

but i was wondering if its a clean swap to just buy an upgraded motherboard?

I have no idea about this stuff, but i am very disappointing and left feeling hopeless

 

I find it satisfying that most of you agree with, what I thought, was causing my own lag in large cities and 25-mans. I get the same problem, and just assumed that it's my mediocre cpu (c2d p7450). Now I pretty much know for sure =)

It makes sense and all, when the game runs like a charm when I'm soloing/5-manning/whatever, and then gets destroyed in dalaran and even org, basically anytime there's a lot of players.

 

Like the videocard, motherboards for the vast majority of laptops including yours can't be swapped out for something "better". Only way you can do this is with Clevo/Sager laptops (possibility).

 

Motherboards are made to comply with certain laptop chassis's in regards to part placement and everything. Therefore, you'd need to get a motherboard which is compatible with your Dell Studio XPS. This means that basically you'd need to contact Dell and see what they could do because only they would have the parts, tools and processes(in terms of application) needed to vent such an upgrade. Considering the Studio XPS comes with 2 GPUs(HD3670 and HD4670) as well as 3 CPU families(Core 2 Duo, Core i7 and Core i5), there are probably multiple motherboards compatible with the Studio XPS chassis, it's just a question of asking Dell if they're willing to swap it out for you. IMO it's going to cost you a lot though if they accept because you're basically buying a new laptop save the chassis.

Other than that you could maybe upgrade the CPU yourself(to something more powerful like a T9600) and add an external graphics card to boost your performance.

 

Couple of hints on determining that it is indeed your cpu and not your gpu that is slowing wow. I am assuming you have already tried minimizing the video resolution/effects and still don't have the performance you want

(1) if you use addons such as recount, try turning them off. On my old system "/recount pause" which stops recount collecting data improved my frame rates significantly in 25 man raids. You can type this mid raid. Does your framerate go up? Good. It's not your gpu.

(2) start your favourite browser. Navigate to "www.cnbc.com". Start wow. Go to dalaran and maximise wow. Look at your frame rate. Close your browser and remaximise wow. Has your frame rate gone up? Good. It's not your gpu.

(3) get an overclocking tool for your gpu. I am not going to tell you to harm anything don't panic. Go sit in Dalaran and check your framerate. Now UNDERclock your gpu 25%. Is your framerate unaltered? Good. It's still not your gpu.

Couple rules of thumb on whether your cpu is fast enough. Are you using DDR memory? It's not fast enough. Is it single core? It's not fast enough. Is it dual core but operating below 2.5Ghz? It's not fast enough. Your mileage may vary.


To the person who mentions an HD4670 is rubbish. Well, maybe. But it gives me 40-60fps in WOW at 1600x1200, now that my cpu is fast enough.

 

Very good post! Thank you.

As for this line "it gives me 40-60fps in WOW at 1600x1200, now that my cpu is fast enough."

is this on a studio xps? Mind posting the specs?

 

Apparently the Combat Log (and Recount, to a degree) will bring low end systems to a grinding halt. I run a laptop with a Core2Duo T7500 @ 2.20GHz with an nVidia 8600M and 25mans are unplayable if I don't turn the Combat Log off. Here's some handy macros for turning the CL off/on:

Disable combat log
/run COMBATLOG:UnregisterEvent("COMBAT_LOG_EVENT")

Enable Combat Log
/run COMBATLOG:RegisterEvent("COMBAT_LOG_EVENT")

You can make these hotkeys on your button bar too. There won't be any message indicating that you've turned the CL off or on, but you can verify by opening your CL and fighting a mob with it turned on and off.