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    Inspiron 5150 Graphics Problem with WoW

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by bpatters69, May 30, 2006.

  1. bpatters69

    bpatters69 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am getting horrible FPS on World of Warcraft. On a good day, I average 15 - 20 but it is not uncommon for me to get sub 10FPS or 8, 9 FPS. I am running the game on a non-hyperthreaded P4 Dell 5150.

    The specs on my machine are:

    Dell 5150 with Windows XP Home SP2
    PROCESSOR, 80532, 3.06G, 512K
    1.2GB of RAM
    ATI Mobility 9000 Video Card with 64MB of RAM
    All the latest drivers from Dell for the video card and hardware
    Latest DirectX

    I have tried reinstalling everything including re-installing the Operating system. I have run the tests under DxDiag and I have not found any problems. Concidentally, I also run the game off a 5 year old P4, 1.3Ghz with 768MB of RAM and the game runs fine. The FPS is usually above 25 and often in the 30 to 40 range or higher. The only difference between the two computers is that the 5 year old PC is a Desktop and the video card in the Desktop is only 2 or 3 yeards old. I think it is a GeoForce NVIDIA.

    I have seen threads talking about heat build-up on the 5150. I have had the PC for a couple of years and never used compressed air to clean out the dust. I will try that when I get home. Does anyone else have any ideas?

    Is there a way to see how hot a computer is running?

    Thanks, Bill
     
    bpatters69, May 30, 2006
    #1
  2. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    Dell's driver selection is outdated; go to www.omegadrivers.net and get theirs. They will work with your card and should provide some performance boost. The MR9000 isn't a strong card but it should be able to play WoW better than that. What are your settings?

    For heat control, getting canned air and blowing out the vents is always good; also consider getting a cooling pad. There's a thread on them in the Accessories forum.
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, May 30, 2006
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  3. bpatters69

    bpatters69 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Will do. Thanks for the replies.

    BTW, I cleaned out the fan and vents and the game consistently ran at 15FPS or higher. 15FPS is not the greatest but definitely playable. I will also try the Omega drivers. I can set a restore point on my PC in case something goes wrong.

    I have my settings set pretty low. Any setting that says if you disable "this", performance might increase, I disabled.
     
    bpatters69, Jun 1, 2006
    #3