# WoW: Low FPS With nVidia 9800 GT 1GB



## Cynikiss (Oct 17, 2008)

Hi there,

I just purchased and installed an nVidia 9800 GT 1gb graphics card, and I'm experiencing a much lower frame rate in World of Warcraft than I was told could be expected from this card, and I'm not sure why. The drivers were successfully installed, though I haven't done any other tweaking to the system yet.

Here are my system specs:
OS: Windows Vista (32-bit)
CPU: 3.0GHz dual-core Pentium D
RAM: 4GB
Graphics: nVidia 9800 GT 1gb PCIe 2.0

I'm not sure what wattage my power supply is. The sticker that would've told me is underneath it, and I can't see it without removing my CPU fan, which I would rather avoid if possible.

I'm getting about 30-50fps depending on where I am, and I was under the impression that I could reasonably expect closer to 100fps from this card. I did a Google search looking for tips to improve frame rate, but most of the resources I encountered said "Buy a better card", which I don't think I should need to do at this point, rather than explaining ways to tweak and improve the performance of the card I've already got.

Any tips any of you could provide would be greatly appreciated.


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## br1ng3r (Jul 1, 2008)

Have you tried using the Nvidia control panel, from within the Windows Control panel? Theres a section in there that allows you to tweak between Performance and appearance, and the resolutions.


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## Cynikiss (Oct 17, 2008)

Yes, I have adjusted settings within the nVidia control panel. No noticeable improvement, unfortunately.


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## br1ng3r (Jul 1, 2008)

Im starting to think your card is underpowered? Is there anyway to find your PSU wattage, in particular what the Amps are off the 12v rail? Perhaps you can slide a small mirror in to see what it says on the sticker. Other than that it could only be a case of removing your CPU fan (which i appreciate you don't want to do). I'm not sure if there's any other way of finding that info out...Unless any of the other Guys or Gals know?


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## Cynikiss (Oct 17, 2008)

I was afraid that might be the case.

The power supply I have is, I believe, a 300w power supply. (My knowledge in this regard is limited, so I'm not sure if I'm reading the label correctly.) The values for +12v and -12v are 15A and 0.8A respectively.


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## br1ng3r (Jul 1, 2008)

Now im afraid that your afraid.....That IS the case. Firstly a daft question, but have you got the 6-pin supplimentary power cable attached? next iv'e had a look around and everything iv'e seen tells me that your card has a 105w draw, thus needing a minimum system power of 400w. Also you only have 15A of the 12V rail but for the card you need 26A. So sorry to say but it looks like a new PSU.


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## Cynikiss (Oct 17, 2008)

I do have the power cables from the video card attached. But, as you said, if the power supply I have isn't sufficient, then that's obviously the problem. Or at least part of it.

I happened to have another system sitting around the house that wasn't being used that had another, more robust, power supply in it that I'm hoping will do the trick. (That was the delay in my response--I was swapping the PSUs.) The "new" PSU is 430w with 20A on the 12v rail, which you said would be insufficient, but I had hoped would at least improve the performance somewhat. (I was wrong, heh.)

Thanks very much for your help, though. I now know exactly what needs to change to get better results from my new card, which was what I had hoped for.


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

Another $.02 
Since the patch almost everything was reset. Be sure V-Sync is off in the WoW video settings. This will allow your fps to go over 60. 
Also, since the patch there are more people on the last few days. All trying out the new spells and looking at the new items. So many people on will slow things down. Even on killer computers.

Remember, the video card, CPU and internet connection need to draw and keep track of all those people with unique gear running around. Takes allot to keep up.


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## Cynikiss (Oct 17, 2008)

My in-game settings are as they should be as well. I suspect the PSU is really the bottleneck, and hopefully that'll be resolved soon when I get a new one. Thanks for the tip, though.


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## br1ng3r (Jul 1, 2008)

I agree with Super-D, all those other factors will also cause a hit on your performance. But a good boost from the PSU and a few more AMPS will make a world of difference. One thing i (and everyone else) will say is make sure you get a good PSU like Antec, Thermaltake coolermaster. A chepie now will save you a few pounds (dollars)!!!, but in the run it could easily cost you your entire system. Good luck with it anyway. br1ng3r.


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## sup2a (Oct 9, 2007)

yea running an underpowered computer can cause a lot of problems, its dangerous to components sometimes too, just looking through the first post and looking at your specs your processor is a Pentium D, not the fastest, you should be able to get decent fps out of the computer as a whole but the processor would no doubt be your limiting factor now


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## shannon08 (Jul 30, 2008)

Super-D-38 said:


> Another $.02
> Since the patch almost everything was reset. Be sure V-Sync is off in the WoW video settings. This will allow your fps to go over 60.
> Also, since the patch there are more people on the last few days. All trying out the new spells and looking at the new items. So many people on will slow things down. Even on killer computers.
> 
> Remember, the video card, CPU and internet connection need to draw and keep track of all those people with unique gear running around. Takes allot to keep up.


I agree with you.:up:


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## Cynikiss (Oct 17, 2008)

Okay, so after purchasing a new PSU, my frame rate is worse than ever. 

I have a 550w PSU with 30A on the 12v rail, which is a distinct improvement over the one I had previously, and now I'm getting ~12fps instead of the 30fps I was getting before.

Yes, I realize that the game is busier now than it has been in the past, but this is a card that is allegedly supposed to be getting ~150fps regardless of server traffic, and my system specs are not exactly embarassing.

I've gone through the nVidia control panel, following the guide I found here, and tweaked my settings to attempt to improve performance, and this hasn't helped.

I'm at a complete loss as to what the heck is going on and why I'm seeing such atrocious performance from a brand new card. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm quite literally at my wit's end and getting extremely frustrated after pouring so much money into this already only to see worse performance than before.


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## Super-D-38 (Apr 25, 2002)

Are the low FPS just in WoW?
Have, or can you try another "high demand" game?

One of the log in notices for wow has been high latency and lag issues. Even they know about it and are trying to figure it out. Why would that affect fps? No idea. 

You can try 3dMark see if everything is good.
Free basic edition here: http://www.download.com/3DMark06-Basic-Edition/3000-2121_4-10492454.html
Not sure how much info the basic will give you.

Also a slim chance the card is bad and needs to be replaced.


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## Woodham (Jun 13, 2008)

Yuh, the servers a getting flooded like theres no tommorow... waited 3 hours for instance servers to come back up to raid kara.... then cleared it in less than 2, ohwell hopefully they will be upgrading servers sometime soon. they need to stop wasting money on doughnuts and plastic swords.


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## Cynikiss (Oct 17, 2008)

WoW is the only game I've played in ages. I can reinstall Guild Wars, and was thinking about picking up Warhammer, so I could test my framerate in those games. I'll also check out the link provided and see what information that provides as well.

If things still aren't working the way they should be, then I guess it's likely the card is bad after all. I can't think what else could be the problem.

Thanks very much for the suggestions.


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