Can you Say Upgrade?
(with WoW running it spikes at 99% cpu usage. The down arrow indicates shutting off WoW)
So, I've been struggling since WoTLK to balance performance and graphics. I've had to turn down all of my graphic settings to low except Distance which I kept at medium. If you know anything about WoW graphics this is the WORST way to play and enjoy the game. There is just so much detailing and distance terrain you need to take in for context.
I bought this machine 3.5 yrs ago to play WoW and back then it was the king cheese of economical gaming PCs. However, with only a single core processor and an Nvidia graphics card that goes back nearly four years, it's screaming, "WORD PROCESSING ONLY PLEASE!"
I really want 8 gigs of ram because of all the graphic and audio stuff I like to edit while simultaneously running three other misc programs. However, in order to do so, I'd have to upgrade to an OS that supports 64bit and I refuse to use Vista. So I'd have to get my hands on a new Windows XP or Windows 7 (which I'm pretty sure isn't released to the public yet).
In any case, it means more money during hard-economic times etc. And with my job security on the line (aka 5 people got laid off from my work last week), it might not be a good time to splurge.
WHICH SUCKS! lol. I need to be able to enjoy WoTLK to it's fullest potential.
(and yes, I tried shutting off the 'elephant on goat' porn downloads before playing WoW, it's still crappy! hehe)
5 comments:
I've run into the same problem. I've leveled my Death Knight to 73, but I can't stand the way the graphics look, so I've quit until I upgrade. It's a pain =/
Have you tried shutting off the 'elephant on goat' porn downlo...
...wait, nevermind
Avoid 64-bit XP. The driver support is horrible and won't get any better. I suggest a moderate video card upgrade (not top-of-the-line) and increase your current RAM to 3 or 4 gigs (if latter, only about 3.5 will be used), then wait a year or so. Probably will only cost you about $200 this way.
@Nigel Thanks for the great info!
I too have hit the upgrade wall as have a number of people in my guild. I'm just about ok if I play on all low settings other than spell detail (sometimes you can't see boss aoe effects if it's turned down.) So yes I have missed much of the majesty of Northrend.
I'm a mac user so I am holding out for any announcements at the big mac event in January before I take any plunges, but I guess it gives me time to save up. I am going to be trying raiding this week so I can see if things start to get even more creaky. Instances seem fine so far but I think the extra people are going to begin to slow me right down.
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