Are high res out of the game because of the PC heat issues?

[EATtheDEAD]

i play skyrim on ultra settings and the game runs just fine.

 

i play on medium with vysnc turned off on swtor and my cores run at low to mid 50s with my gpu running at 78 at the highest.

[fendergibson]

This thread got overfilled with elitist PC cooling nerds comparing celsius numbers now, as if it was the inch of their ...

 

The problem is meant for those who doesnt spend 500$+ just on cooling, but play on an average comp with subpar cooling, or bought a PC on bestbuy etc. This is what the majority actually does, and they are the ones having the issues.

[iResist]

It's funny how you keep mentioning, "But it doesn't heat up that much in Skyrim or Battlefield 3!".

 

You do realize those games were created with consoles in mind?

 

Plus those games have very little in the way of the number of players for multiplayer as SWTOR.

 

 

SWTOR may very well not be up to snuff yet in the optimization department, but even if your CPU's/GPU are running under more of a load, your cooling needs to handle it. Even if your CPU/GPU's run under 100%, your cooling should be able to handle it. If it can't, then you are just asking for trouble.

[Zorvan]

People with cooling sinks reporting problems does not have problems with OVERHEATING, but problems with SWtor causing much more heat then any other game. There's a difference between those two.

I have good cooling as well, and my comp doesnt overheat, but the fans kick in much more then in other more graphic intense games, which = badly optimized.

And with Vsync turned off, the fans kick in the most, because there is no built in FPS limiter, and constantly put 100% GPU stress. Most of the other games HAS a FPS limiter, while SWtor does not, which causes the problem to occur for more people.

 

That is the problem, along with a lot of people who doesnt spend their salary on cooling for their PC who actually does suffer from overheating in SWtor compared to other games.

And the majority of the casual players who play SWtor does in fact have crappy cooling in their Bestbuy comps.

 

And now you answered the question. If they have crappy cooling, what do they expect? If they bought their PC off the shelf, they should be lucky they can even game.

 

And with v-sync off I can also tell you that cutscenes are not FPS unlimited, another contention you've made.

 

In beta, they had an issue at the character select screen where the FPS was left uncapped. When I'd go into character select, the FPS meter would stay flickering at 120+ FPS. People WERE having heat issues from that if they stayed on the character select screen too long. That issue was fixed. So I do know what an uncapped FPS issue in SWToR looks like.

 

In cutscenes, my FPS stays at 60fps with v-sync off. There are no uncapped FPS issues in cutscenes.

Edited January 7, 2012 by Zorvan

[iResist]

The OP is already playing with an uncapped FPS by having V-sync off. His GPU better be able to handle 100% load.

[Skoobie]

Something else that's obvious, but all too often overlooked is:

 

Room temperature.

 

It's the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere....how warm is the room with the computer in it?

 

Is it near any heaters or heat vents?

 

Is it under-the-desk in an enclosed area, or does it have room to breathe?

 

There's many factors when it comes to keeping your computer cool. Not everyone is going to have the tech know-how to build a super cool machine, but there are some simple things that anyone can do in order to maximize cooling efficiency.

 

Like I said, I'm a temp freak. I have a thermometer right next to my pc, so I know what my room temp is, and weigh my computer temps accordingly. If I notice my comp getting warm...then I notice my room is 80F....then yea, I know what's causing it.

Edited January 7, 2012 by Skoobie

[Skoobie]

I live on top of a mountain in Colorado. It gets down right cold!

 

Sometimes....I'll open my windows and shut my door...just to get the room as cool as I can to test my computer temps...lol.

 

Then I'll leave for hours until it warms back up...lol.

[Lundli]

A computer that can't cool itself when at 100% load and not being mishandled / mismanaged is something I would consider defective.

[Catch_TwentyTwo]

Edit: The overheat problem is meant for those who doesnt spend 500$+ just on PC cooling, but play on an average comp with subpar cooling, or bought a PC on bestbuy etc. This is what the majority actually does, and they are the ones having the issues with SWtor. Dont expect an average guy to install heatsinks just to make SWtor run like BF 3 does without a heatsinks.

 

My comp doesnt overheat, but then again i built it myself with good cooling, and i notice SWtor stress the comp more then other games.

 

There are a very widespread problem with SWtor atm.

 

OK, I'm going to say this.

 

1. What "widespread problem with SWtor"; this is the first I have heard of this.

2. What Overheating issues???

3. My PC doesn't have special cooling systems, yet runs perfectly, with all graphics settings on high

4. Did Blizzard pay you to post this?

[fendergibson]

And now you answered the question. If they have crappy cooling, what do they expect? If they bought their PC off the shelf, they should be lucky they can even game.

 

So you say they shouldnt be able to play SWtor, because the devs optimized it poorly? I know several people who can play WoW maxed, skyrim maxed, and BF 3 maxed just fine, but they cant play SWtor without their comp overheating and fans screaming.

 

If you were making a product, would you aim for the minority, or the majority where the money is?

[Wazooty]

Sigh...I always have to laugh when people who don't understand computers talk like they understand computers.

 

The hottest a computer can get is both the GPU and CPU running at 100% load, more or less.

 

They are designed to work at 100% load virtually endlessly.

 

Now, different games and application use different %'s of your GPU and CPUs max. It really depends on the game. In general, both the GPU and CPU have an automatic fan scaling system, where the hotter they get, the quicker the fan spins.

 

There is no such thing as heat "issues". Unless you are not cooling it enough, heat can never ever be an issue. It just means your computer is working harder. You computer has a maximum load it can reach (100%), but it is designed to work under those conditions so...

 

 

Not "heat issues", just using your computer differently.

 

 

If you are overlocking and don't have a clue about safe temps or anything, then there are no heat issues, that is just user error. The stock cooler that comes with a CPU/GPU is designed to work under 100% load endlessly, ON STOCK SETTINGS. If it doesn't then its broken, or poorly designed and you should get a refund.

 

Or you live in a furnace.

Edited January 7, 2012 by Wazooty

[fendergibson]

OK, I'm going to say this.

 

1. What "widespread problem with SWtor"; this is the first I have heard of this.

2. What Overheating issues???

3. My PC doesn't have special cooling systems, yet runs perfectly, with all graphics settings on high

4. Did Blizzard pay you to post this?

 

With Vsync turned off, the game stresses the computer much more then it should. And this gives issues for many people, as well as fans kicking in more then it would if it was optimized better.

 

Performance of SWtor is already very poor, especially considering they havent even released high res textures yet (you are playing on medium right now, even set to high)

 

Its nice that you have no issues, but many actually do.

[Zorvan]

So you say they shouldnt be able to play SWtor, because the devs optimized it poorly? I know several people who can play WoW maxed, skyrim maxed, and BF 3 maxed just fine, but they cant play SWtor without their comp overheating and fans screaming.

 

If you were making a product, would you aim for the minority, or the majority where the money is?

 

Again, if those people are having catastrophic heat issues with ToR, they were having them with those other games as well and not mentioning it. Skyrim is another unoptimized and completely buggy game, for example. If they can run Skyrim on max settings without heat issues, then they'd be running ToR without heat issues.

 

And fans getting loud is not a game issue, but a customer preference issue. If the game puts enough heat to make your fans run as they are designed to do, then either buy better fans, turn the settings down, or live with it.

 

And please, get off the $500 supercooling propaganda. It doesn't cost much at all for enough good fans to properly cool a case.

 

There is only one issue I could think of that would cause poor interaction between the game and hardware at this point and that is card drivers. There are no drivers out yet completely compatible for SWToR because EAware hasn't gotten their asses in gear with AMD/Nvidia yet. Now driver issues CAN cause overheating and other problems, which is something many people, even "experts", tend to forget when troubleshoooting problems.

Edited January 7, 2012 by Zorvan

[fendergibson]

Sigh...I always have to laugh when people who don't understand computers talk like they understand computers.

 

The hottest a computer can get is both the GPU and CPU running at 100% load, more or less.

 

They are designed to work at 100% load virtually endlessly.

 

Now, different games and application use different %'s of your GPU and CPUs max. It really depends on the game. In general, both the GPU and CPU have an automatic fan scaling system, where the hotter they get, the quicker the fan spins.

 

There is no such thing as heat "issues". Unless you are not cooling it enough, heat can never ever be an issue. It just means your computer is working harder. You computer has a maximum load it can reach (100%), but it is designed to work under those conditions so...

 

 

Not "heat issues", just using your computer differently.

 

 

If you are overlocking and don't have a clue about safe temps or anything, then there are no heat issues, that is just user error.

 

"Sigh".....I always laugh when i see people who cant read.

 

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE POOR JOB THEY DID TO OPTIMIZE THE GAME

[Wazooty]

With Vsync turned off, the game stresses the computer much more then it should. And this gives issues for many people, as well as fans kicking in more then it would if it was optimized better.

 

Performance of SWtor is already very poor, especially considering they havent even released high res textures yet (you are playing on medium right now, even set to high)

 

Its nice that you have no issues, but many actually do.

 

My video card spins up a million times faster then it ever should for this game. I agree completely that it is terribly optimized but...

 

What "issues" are you referring to? Fans spinning up are not issues so much as just a simple fact of life. More GPU usage = more fan usage. It's not an issue, it's how it works. If you think that might hurt your system, then you have no clue how computers work.

[MrTijger]

A computer that can't cool itself when at 100% load and not being mishandled / mismanaged is something I would consider defective.

 

Or just downright clogged with dirt/ dust specifically the coolers. No issues for me or my wife's computers.

[Ceasaigh]

This thread got overfilled with elitist PC cooling nerds comparing celsius numbers now, as if it was the inch of their ...

 

The problem is meant for those who doesnt spend 500$+ just on cooling, but play on an average comp with subpar cooling, or bought a PC on bestbuy etc. This is what the majority actually does, and they are the ones having the issues.

 

But that's just it.

 

It's like having a Ford Festiva and running said Ford Festiva at 130mph for 36 hours straight. Some thing in that car is going to break down because it simply wasn't designed to run at max speed for a long time.

 

 

Computers are the same way. If you play a graphics intensive game on max settings (Skyrim SWTOR Crysis ect) for long periods, say more than 4 or 5 hours straight you're going to build up heat. If your computer isn't designed to dissipate and deal with the heat then things are going to start to break down.

 

 

This is not a function of the game, but of the length of time spent playing the game on max settings.

 

SWTOR doesn't cause more heat output than Skyrim. That's stupid. The longer you play, the longer you keep your CPU and GPU under load the more heat you build up. The more heat you build up the more your computer has to work to keep cool. If you don't have adequate cooling, your system falls behind and things start to go bad.

 

Thats why "gaming rigs" are designed to play games on max settings for long periods. It's not all about CPU speed and GPU speed. It's also dealing with heat build up and keeping the rig cool.

Edited January 7, 2012 by Ceasaigh

[fendergibson]

My video card spins up a million times faster then it ever should for this game. I agree completely that it is terribly optimized but...

 

What "issues" are you referring to? Fans spinning up are not issues so much as just a simple fact of life. More GPU usage = more fan usage. It's not an issue, it's how it works. If you think that might hurt your system, then you have no clue how computers work.

 

Yes, but its poor optimization.

[rafter]

With Vsync turned off, the game stresses the computer much more then it should. And this gives issues for many people, as well as fans kicking in more then it would if it was optimized better.

 

Performance of SWtor is already very poor, especially considering they havent even released high res textures yet (you are playing on medium right now, even set to high)

 

Its nice that you have no issues, but many actually do.

 

There is nothing wrong with the performance of this game. Feel free to log into WoW, in a city with every turned as high as it will go, I guarantee you will have lower fps than you do here. Same goes for Rift or EQ2, or any number of older MMOs.

 

Furthermore, high rez textures will have zero impact on the performance or temp of your computer as long as your video card has enough memory to handle them.

 

Finally, you do realize that if the game were better optimized and you got higher fps your temps would actually go up, right? That's the entire reason you are seeing higher temps with Vsync off than with it on...the higher fps.

[Sorasil]

Yes, but the majority isnt a computer scientist They dont know how to buy a proper "built" pc, and they dont even spend nearly 1000$ on a stationairy comp, and 2000$ for a laptop comp that isnt even portable and obsolete in 1-2 years is way too much imo.

I went the 1000$ stationairy built route myself, and im happy i did, but i know that most people i know think thats a lot for a comp, because they rather spend their money on more important things, which i can totally agree on.

 

Again, its not just me seeing the issue with SWtor heating up more than other games. And it doesnt help that YOU have a 2000+$ alienware rig with modified cooling either, because only 1% is so stupid that they pay that amount for a laptop that works as a gimped stationary.

 

You dont need to have a masters at Computer science to know these things. I do have one but that dosnt mean i were ignorant before i graduated.

 

The problem with "people" (hello generalisations) and computer purchases is that they buy a kickass computer, run the latest games and are blown away by how well it runs and how good it looks etc. However the latest games at the time of the release of a high end computer wont tax that computer to even near 100% and thus not its cooling.

 

Now if there is a problem with the computers design, its cooling components or its manufacturing, then they will notice it when it does go to 100%, wich is when the Starcraft 2 or SWTOR of the day eventualy release wich may be as much as a year down the line. Then when their GPU melts they blaim the game when it was their computer all along. Common sense is to stress test your computer when you get it. if it fails, replace it on warranty as thats the fault of the manufacturer.

 

This is probably what happened to the OP.

 

Now to your claims about gaming laptops. A 17" or 18" gaming laptop isnt what everyone expects, because they had the wrong expectations to begin with. In reality i would classify them as a "Desktop Replacement". You can toss that ugly tincan and have a sleek and extremely powerful laptop on your desk instead wich is easily removed to a shelve or the like if you need to use the space for something else. Theres less cords and more open space. Also they draw far less power than desktops wich adds up down the line with todays power prices in some countries.

 

Also contrary to what you claim, they are portable. Its not a computer you have on one knee in your livingroom with your remote in the other but you can easily pack it up and into the messenger bag in under a minute, accessories and all, and be on your way to work or wherever you want to use it.

 

A gaming laptop of this caliber is a computer you move between power outlets. Its not something you run on battery.

 

Thats its obsolete in 1-2 years is a myth. I have two gaming laptops at the moment in the 17" size range. The older one is 3.5 years old and still kick *** in current games.

 

They do cost more than a desktop but the differance isnt as astronomical as it used to be. Thats also a myth. Instead you get what you payed for.

 

So its far superior to a dekstop in whats important when it comes to computers.

 

Also for the OP, cooling is even more important for laptops due to the smaller chassis. Not all manufacturers tend to design well for high load, so people who got heat problems have not done enough research before purchasing their laptop and should go for a refund and get a laptop with proper cooling wich can take 100% load without throttling or worse.

 

Its the same here as for desktops, if you get a laptop for 300$ dont expect quality components or design that allows for higher temperatures. Unfortunately people tend to believe laptops has to be cheap as they are secondary computers to their desktops.

 

You get what you pay for people.

Edited January 7, 2012 by Sorasil

[fendergibson]

SWTOR doesn't cause more heat output than Skyrim. That's stupid. The longer you play, the longer you keep your CPU and GPU under load the more heat you build up. The more heat you build up the more your computer has to work to keep cool. If you don't have adequate cooling, your system falls behind and things start to go bad.

 

The thing is, and thats what ALL THIS IS ABOUT, SWtor actually DOES stress the computer much more then skyrim, BF 3, Rift etc.

 

It all comes down to poor optimization. That has been my point all along. I dont suffer from overheating myself, like people think the "op" is, even if it says over and over in the first post that i dont (amazing how people cant read). but the SWtor stresses the PC much more then more graphic intense games. Again, problem is: Poor optimization.

[rafter]

The thing is, and thats what ALL THIS IS ABOUT, SWtor actually DOES stress the computer much more then skyrim, BF 3, Rift etc.

 

It all comes down to poor optimization. That has been my point all along. I dont suffer from overheating myself, like people think the "op" is, even if it says over and over in the first post that i dont (amazing how people cant read). but the SWtor stresses the PC much more then more graphic intense games. Again, problem is: Poor optimization.

 

I've still yet to see a shred of proof that this is the case. I have all of those games, this game doesn't run any hotter than any of the ones you keep mentioning.

[Zorvan]

Yes, but its poor optimization.

 

Yes, we all agree ToR is poorly optimized.

 

What you're not getting is that those being affected by this so-called widespread problem are those who either:

 

a.) have subpar cooling, as you yourself admit

 

or

 

b.) are complaining because their fans are doing their job and therefore getting louder which bothers them.

 

The answer to a.) is to get better cooling. Have you seen the cases on most off the shelf comps? They are not exactly designed for proper long term ventilation when it comes to long sessions of gaming.

 

The answer to b.) is simply to suck it up and be happy your hardware is doing its job. If the fans are too loud, replace them with quieter fans ( which would probably also be better fans for cooling than "stock" fans ). Fans too loud are a personal preference issue, not a game issue.

 

And again, everyone will see at least some performance improvement once proper drivers start coming out of AMD and Nvidia.

Edited January 7, 2012 by Zorvan

[Boefje]

Just because some people don't have any problems, it doesn't mean other ppl's pc's are having it because of cooling problems.

 

I have the same issue and all other 37 guildies of mine. Run a temp check program and you will have it too, in fact NONE of those who posted that are clean aren't. It is a common issue on this game to increase the temps by 20-30%.

On top of that I have tested the game with 2 different cards running on stock gpu cooler and both behaved the same way.

[TostitoBandito]

The thing is, and thats what ALL THIS IS ABOUT, SWtor actually DOES stress the computer much more then skyrim, BF 3, Rift etc.

 

It all comes down to poor optimization. That has been my point all along. I dont suffer from overheating myself, like people think the "op" is, even if it says over and over in the first post that i dont (amazing how people cant read). but the SWtor stresses the PC much more then more graphic intense games. Again, problem is: Poor optimization.

 

The issue is that the title of the thread along with many of the posts in this thread are referencing some mythical "heat issue" with this game. Nobody here will disagree with you about the optimization issues, but what you just said is contradictory to the title of the thread and generalizations made on the first page. That is why people are reacting the way they are.