Help with my fps and game performance please.

[DekarSisk]

Thanks for the help ring and others. So the power supply could actually be slowing me down? I do plan on returning this card and im hoping that by switching to a new card and installing a new power unit gameplay will improve. On my system index score the lowest score is 5.9 and that is my hard disk with my processor being the second lowest at 6.6. The other three scores are all over 7.0. Before i upgraded to this graphics card my lowest score was that at 3.9. I thought id see some type of improvement since my index changed so much but no such luck.

[Kytea]

Your 4GB ram is pretty low. Id say 6gigs is the minimum to run this game smoothly.

 

I have 4GB on my Q6700 + GTX 275, playing PVE smoothly at 1900 x 1200 (low settings)

 

I kept an eye on my Windows 7 performance monitor, and I alway have 0.5-1.0 GB RAM free while playing.

 

I had been thinking to upgrade to 8GB, but since I always have free RAM at 4GB, I assume 8GB would yield no improvement.

 

Is my assumption correct?

[Ringzero]

I have 4GB on my Q6700 + GTX 275, playing PVE smoothly at 1900 x 1200 (low settings)

 

I kept an eye on my Windows 7 performance monitor, and I alway have 0.5-1.0 GB RAM free while playing.

 

I had been thinking to upgrade to 8GB, but since I always have free RAM at 4GB, I assume 8GB would yield no improvement.

 

Is my assumption correct?

 

There's only one way to find out for sure! But I would be extremely surprised if it helped at all.

[DekarSisk]

Could my screen resolution effect game play? How can I tell what the optimal resolution is?

[Jujjan]

I just restarted the game as I was trying another solution. Right now my cpu commit is 3900 of 8100. My fps in game is green and always around 10 even when im just playing normally. The lag and poor performance gets particularly bad in warzones but is playable for pve to this point.

 

 

You said that task manager says it comits 3900mb of 8100mb?

And you had 4 gig of ram installed?

 

If thats the case then you will run into trouble since windows will start using your pagefiles after your 4 gigs are used.

 

At that point you will have entered the world of huuuuge laaaaaag.

Windows is trying to compensate the lack of RAM.

Thus trying to do so with the help of your pagefiles that are located on the hard drive.

 

Do you understand what im saying?

Do you know what page files are?

Edited January 10, 2012 by Jujjan

[Ringzero]

Thanks for the help ring and others. So the power supply could actually be slowing me down? I do plan on returning this card and im hoping that by switching to a new card and installing a new power unit gameplay will improve. On my system index score the lowest score is 5.9 and that is my hard disk with my processor being the second lowest at 6.6. The other three scores are all over 7.0. Before i upgraded to this graphics card my lowest score was that at 3.9. I thought id see some type of improvement since my index changed so much but no such luck.

 

There are so many factors involved in a computer's performance, especially with gaming, that it's kind of a trial and error process. No guarantee any of the advice you're receiving will solve the problem. But you have to start somewhere ;-)

 

A better power supply should not solve your performance problem. However, the PSU is the backbone of any computer. Even with your current build you're right on the cusp of not having enough power. If you upgrade anything, like a GPU or CPU, it might put you over the edge, then you'll get error screens and random shutdowns.

 

I can't tell you to go spend your hard-earned cash on anything and that it will fix your problems. But if I were you, I'd buy a new power supply, a new CPU like this:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894

 

and an AMD Radeon 6870 graphics card. These are budget-minded components. If you have more money to spend, there are much better components available.

 

Keep in mind, as others are saying, SWTOR is a demanding MMO, for better or worse. And not across the board. It changes based on a variety of in-game factors. You will ALWAYS have FPS drops moving into different areas and circumstances. The trick is to equip your rig so that it never drops below 30 FPS.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it, it might be worthwhile to just build a new system. You could probably put together a decent machine for under $600 if you're able to use your current monitor and hard drive. Then you can be sure you're getting the latest motherboard and RAM technology and even switch to an Intel system if you want.

 

A couple of other things to consider:

 

Make sure you don't have any demanding processes running at the same time as the game (like anti-virus). This really shouldn't be an issue with a multi-core CPU, but you never know.

 

Download HWMonitor and check your computer temperatures. Always a good idea that everything is being cooled adequately.

Edited January 10, 2012 by Ringzero

[Ringzero]

Could my screen resolution effect game play? How can I tell what the optimal resolution is?

 

The optimal resolution is the one that provides the most acceptable performance on your system ;-)

 

If you're running at 1920x1080 (or whatever resolution you're currently using in the game), try turning down the resolution in the game preferences and see if you get back some frames.

Edited January 10, 2012 by Ringzero

[Kytea]

Could my screen resolution effect game play? How can I tell what the optimal resolution is?

 

The "optimal resolution" (or video settings in general) is obtained by lowering the settings, then the resolution, until you get a smooth playing experience. you have then reached the "optimal resolution" of your system.

 

Examples:

You're playing at 1900 x 1200 with high settings and you're seeing fps always low (10-30 fps) using ctrl-shift-f. That is too demanding.

 

You lower the settings to "low" and turn off shadows. Now you're getting 20-40 fps. Still slightly above "optimal".

 

You pick a lower resolution and you're getting 40-60 fps most of the times, with a brief occasional dip at 25-30 fps. That's probably optimal for your system. You can try putting some settings back to "medium" ... it's a trial-error process. Keep monitoring your fps after each change to see their impact

 

Note that fps can be high in "quiet" situations such as standing still in the cantina.

You want to run your tests in battle, which is where fps matters. It's hard to fight mobs if the display is choppy and can't keep up.

[Erlioth]

hi im gonna try not to sound like a jerk while i post this, and this is just to help you.

 

pentium 4s were at 3.06ghz speed back in 2002. your 64 bit windows can utilize all 4 cores of your operating system, and maybe swtor is programmed to use all 4 also, but you bought one with 4 1.8ghz processors in it. the minimum system requirements on SRTEST.com listed for this game says a dual core with at least 2ghz processing speeds. just because you have 4 cores doesnt mean any of them are fast enough to run this very complicated game

 

if you look at task manager while running this game in windows 7 with nothing else running, the game can use up to 2.3gigs of memory, then its second process up to another 350megs, that combined with windows 7 at the prettiest settings and maybe 1 other application open and youll be hitching and freezing up in game as its not enough memory

 

that video card was 150$ because you probly bought it at a walmart or office depot or circuit city or best buy where they charge whatever they want because computer illiterate people walk in and pay whatever as a band aid fix for their computers to go from non gaming machine to gaming machine. they dont even sell anything that weak in that generation of geforce card on newegg.com

 

im not kidding about any of this

 

one of my pcs has a radeon 5770 (100$ over a year ago on newegg.com) 8gigs of system ram, and a 3.2ghz quadcore (as well as other parts that i wont list because they wont change how this game runs) and it runs at 50+ fps everywhere, with no hitching (where the game pauses for a second because its out of memory as you run around the gameworld) or major slowdowns at all. the other is the same but it has 4ghz of memory and if i turn windows visual settings to performance, making it look like windows 95 again, and dont even run google chrome in the background, it does alright but still hitches and hangs occasionally due to low memory. 4gigs of memory is enough for alot of games, but not swtor

Edited January 10, 2012 by Erlioth

[DekarSisk]

You said that task manager says it comits 3900mb of 8100mb?

And you had 4 gig of ram installed?

 

If thats the case then you will run into trouble since windows will start using your pagefiles after your 4 gigs are used.

 

At that point you will have entered the world of huuuuge laaaaaag.

Windows is trying to compensate the lack of RAM.

Thus trying to do so with the help of your pagefiles that are located on the hard drive.

 

Do you understand what im saying?

Do you know what page files are?

 

I dont know what page files are no. My computer never seems to get more than 20 fps at any time in game. I am usually around 10fps. I never run any other programs during gameplay with the exception of chrome.

[Erlioth]

I dont know what page files are no. My computer never seems to get more than 20 fps at any time in game. I am usually around 10fps. I never run any other programs during gameplay with the exception of chrome.

 

dont worry about any of what theyre saying. your computers main processing parts for running games just arent enough. page files are used when you run out of system memory as virtual memory so that the computer doesnt simply crash, it uses hard drive space as memory while it reallocates information. to fix this, and never use page files, put more memory into your pc. to really fix this, have a computer literate friend do it, because if you slap in more memory and you dont know what youre doing, it wont help. your video card was overpriced im guessing at a retail store. it is not gaming worthy. the processing speed of each core of your processor is too low for the system requirements of this game

[Daedricshots]

I'll reiterate what i said before since a lot of people are posting their opinions instead of the facts.

 

1. You have 4 cores but that doesnt make any difference because 1.8 ghz is BAD and it wont run SWTOR the way it needs to be run. Consider getting a new cpu or OC it but i wouldnt recommend oc'ing if you dont know what you're doing. There's also no guarantee oc'ing will fix any of the problems you're experiencing.

2. Get a 750w power supply if you plan on getting a geforce 550/560/570, radeon or any mid to high end graphics card. Let me make this next sentence perfectly clear. UNDERPOWERING YOUR SYSTEM IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO TO IT.

3. Get more ram. I dont care what the "recommended" amount is (which is 4). Its not enough. 4 gigs of ram is what was the standard in 2006. You need at least 8-16 now. Newer Motherboards are shipping now that are capable of 32 gigs and higher so that gives you an idea of how far behind the times your computer is.

4. You dont need to run everything on max settings. I dont and the graphics are just fine for me. Realize that warzones an d high activity areas WILL LAG YOUR MACHINE. Even the best comps are losing fps because of BAD CODING IN THE GAME. Its not the computer all the time its how the software is utilizing your CPU/GPU. SWTOR is notorious for not using 100% of your GPU's potential. Its something that will hopefully be address in the near future.

 

Thats what i have to say but focus on these things and see which ones you can and can not fix at this point in time.

[DekarSisk]

Thanks for the info Erlioth. I did indeed purchase the card at best buy and was aware id be paying more for less but did it as I was eager to spend my time off from work playing. After that fix didnt work I ended up on here trying to figure out how to improve my performance. I was aware my pc didnt meet the recommended requirements but as ive been able to make other games work on the lowest levels i thought i could make this work. Anyway, I am going to do this the right way and order a new card, ram, and power supply online. Eventually I will also upgrade the proc.

 

I just hope after all of this I havnt wasted my money on a game that ends up failing due to its lack of accessibility to your average computer gamer. I was naive to think an MMO would actually be playable by a massive audience. I wonder how many of the record sales numbers will stick around after purchasing the game and not being able to run it.

[Ringzero]

I'll reiterate what i said before since a lot of people are posting their opinions instead of the facts.

 

1. You have 4 cores but that doesnt make any difference because 1.8 ghz is BAD and it wont run SWTOR the way it needs to be run. Consider getting a new cpu or OC it but i wouldnt recommend oc'ing if you dont know what you're doing. There's also no guarantee oc'ing will fix any of the problems you're experiencing.

2. Get a 750w power supply if you plan on getting a geforce 550/560/570, radeon or any mid to high end graphics card. Let me make this next sentence perfectly clear. UNDERPOWERING YOUR SYSTEM IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO TO IT.

3. Get more ram. I dont care what the "recommended" amount is (which is 4). Its not enough. 4 gigs of ram is what was the standard in 2006. You need at least 8-16 now. Newer Motherboards are shipping now that are capable of 32 gigs and higher so that gives you an idea of how far behind the times your computer is.

4. You dont need to run everything on max settings. I dont and the graphics are just fine for me. Realize that warzones an d high activity areas WILL LAG YOUR MACHINE. Even the best comps are losing fps because of BAD CODING IN THE GAME. Its not the computer all the time its how the software is utilizing your CPU/GPU. SWTOR is notorious for not using 100% of your GPU's potential. Its something that will hopefully be address in the near future.

 

Thats what i have to say but focus on these things and see which ones you can and can not fix at this point in time.

 

Yes, just like Daedric says, completely disregard recommended settings and just buy the maximum on every single component in your system. You'll be in debt, but you'll run SWTOR as smoothly as currently possible.

 

ps. you do not need more than 4 GB of RAM. If you'll lose sleep over it, buy another 4 for a total of 8, but for god's sake, don't waste money on 16 and definitely not 32.

Edited January 10, 2012 by Ringzero

[Daedricshots]

Yes, just like Daedric says, completely disregard recommended settings and just buy the maximum on every single component in your system. You'll be in debt, but you'll run SWTOR as smoothly as currently possible.

 

ps. you do not need more than 4 GB of RAM. If you'll lose sleep over it, buy another 4 for a total of 8, but for god's sake, don't waste money on 16 and definitely not 32.

 

Noone was telling him to buy 32gigs of ram i was saying thats slowly becoming the standard. Please dont post if all you're going to do is parrot what has already been said with subtle hues of sarcasm thrown in as a flaccid insult.

[Ringzero]

Noone was telling him to buy 32gigs of ram i was saying thats slowly becoming the standard. Please dont post if all you're going to do is parrot what has already been said with subtle hues of sarcasm thrown in as a flaccid insult.

 

I'm sorry if I hurt you. However, saying he should have "at least 8-16" insinuates that those are on the very lower end of performance and that 32 really should be the target. You might need 16 at most if you're doing vast amounts of video editing.

[Daedricshots]

I'm sorry if I hurt you. However, saying he should have "at least 8-16" insinuates that those are on the very lower end of performance and that 32 really should be the target. You might need 16 at most if you're doing vast amounts of video editing.

 

Ram is dirt cheap and is a more sensible upgrade when compared to a new video card which more than likely would also require a new power supply.

[Ringzero]

Ram is dirt cheap and is a more sensible upgrade when compared to a new video card which more than likely would also require a new power supply.

 

If your only goal is to make a number higher in your system specs without actually improving performance, then I agree, it's far more sensible.

[Dasffion]

Ram is dirt cheap and is a more sensible upgrade when compared to a new video card which more than likely would also require a new power supply.

 

Even if MOBOs are shipping with the capability of 32 GB of RAM there's nothing out there on the market that would require anything close to that amount. "Ram is dirt cheap" is not a reason to throw away money. Also throwing RAM at it is not a solution. If the game doesn't use more than 4 GB of ram having 16 GB isn't going to do anything for you.

[HowToEnglish]

Hi all, ive posted about this issue in customer service and havnt heard anything so I will try here. Im recently upgraded my graphics card with hope that it would improve my ability to run swor but it hasnt seemed to help at all. I am running the game on all low settings and windowed with shadows off and my fps drops to 10-20 in warzones. The game is playable for pve at the moment but i have yet to reach any large instances. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can improve performance for this game? The new card cost me 150 and seems like a waste as I only needed it for this. Im shamefully bad with technology so please be patient if I havnt provided all the necessary info for a fair computer assessment

 

 

AMD Phenom 9150 quad core proc 1.80ghz

Geforce gt 545 (just purchased)

4 gm ram

64 bit windows 7 op

 

my comps windows index score is 5.9 with the lowest scoring area being my hd at 5.9

everyone else is about 6.5.

 

 

Thanks in advance for any help or tips on how to improve gameplay!

 

Your RAM is fine (on the lower end, but it's still the standard amount), you need to upgrade your processor. It's bottlenecking your graphics card. What's your PSU? You probably should get ~500W if you upgrade your processor. I'd recommend going with Intel. The 2500K is probably the best bang for your buck.

 

RAM is the easiest and cheapest method of a performance gain, but it's not the solution to everything.

Edited January 10, 2012 by HowToEnglish

[Daedricshots]

Even if MOBOs are shipping with the capability of 32 GB of RAM there's nothing out there on the market that would require anything close to that amount. "Ram is dirt cheap" is not a reason to throw away money. Also throwing RAM at it is not a solution. If the game doesn't use more than 4 GB of ram having 16 GB isn't going to do anything for you.

 

Never said ram was the end-all solution but it would help.

[Daedricshots]

If your only goal is to make a number higher in your system specs without actually improving performance, then I agree, it's far more sensible.

 

Its obvious you have no idea what you're talking about. Ram always will improve performance.

[Dasffion]

Never said ram was the end-all solution but it would help.

 

I've seen at least 2 threads where you've said that 4 GB is low ram when 4 GB is more than enough to run this game.

[Daedricshots]

I've seen at least 2 threads where you've said that 4 GB is low ram when 4 GB is more than enough to run this game.

 

I guess if you have a walmart comp its just fine, i like having a comp that exceed the minimums.

[Dasffion]

I guess if you have a walmart comp its just fine, i like having a comp that exceed the minimums.

 

The minimum is 2 GB. 4 GB exceeds the minimums. Monitor your computer sometime, SWTOR won't use all that 4 GB, having more won't solve anything.

Edited January 10, 2012 by Dasffion