World Of Warcraft: Attempt To Improve Frame Rates

By Josh | November 8, 2007

So, as you may know, I have an off and on addiction to World of Warcraft, and lately I had been having trouble with bad FPS. I have an NVIDIA 7900GT, 1.25 gig’s of RAM, and an AMD 64 Athlon processor 3500+, 2.2 GHz. My computer is a medium level computer, and I have always had very good frame rates on World of Warcraft since it really isn’t that graphic heavy. However, lately I had been constantly getting 10-15 FPS outside, while getting 5-10 FPS while in big cities, such as Shattrath.

I thought that maybe this had something to do with me being on Vista, but when I used to play back in the Spring, I didn’t remember having this problem. I searched around for an answer on the internet, but mostly all I found were people telling other people to buy better hardware. I knew that my system could perform fine without me buying better hardware. So I ended up doing a few things that finally got my frame rate back to normal.

I first deleted my WTF folder in my World of Warcraft folder. Mine was located in C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft.
Then, since I am on Vista, I right clicked on the World of Warcraft shortcut and clicked “Run as administrator.” I’m not really sure if this makes any difference, but it doesn’t really hurt.
Once World of Warcraft started, I launched the Task Manager, which you can get to by pushing CTRL+ALT+DEL, or in Vista you can right click on the Taskbar and click on Task Manager (might be able to do this in XP too, but I’m not sure).
When in the Task Manager, right click on Wow.exe and set the priority to “Above normal.”
Then go back into World of Warcraft.

After doing all of this, my frame rates were back to normal. I then set my video settings back to the way I had them before, and now everything works the way I wanted it to. I’m not sure if this will work for everyone, but I thought I’d put my experience out there for anybody to see. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Topics: Entertainment, Gaming, Software, Windows | 270Comments2007-11-08+19%3A00%3A29Josh

270Comments2007-11-08+19%3A00%3A29Josh | Add One

Varild - 05/26/2008 at 4:56 am
i tryed what you put up and i did not work but i am working on a lap top and i have been doing the same as you if you or any one elas should come up with a way to fix FPS plz let me no asap i would be most happy
tmack - 06/9/2008 at 7:34 am
This might sound stupid.. but just do it. before you run world of warcraft go ahead and open up windows media player.. Leave it running and your fps should be higher
Moglar - 09/23/2008 at 5:44 pm
How about cramming your fingers down your throat and spew half digested vomit on your keyboard you filthy n0oB! You have no Idea what your talking about!
MaxCarnage - 10/27/2008 at 12:08 pm
I agree with Moglar %100. Most WOW Nooblets already have a ton of garbage programs on their computer that runs in the background. Weather widgets and a host of other junk. This eats up system recourses big time. Then the precious Nooblets snivel and whimper about how slow their computer runs. That right by precious sniveling Nooblets, go and buy a bargain basement value cheap crackerbox computer to play WOW…..then have the nerve to cry and whine on the forums about why the game plays so bad. You deserve it! I would rather pour a gallon of jet fuel on my head…light it on fire…and then beat it out with a sledgehammer before I buy a crakerbox computer!! The video cards that you posted are pure low end trash. While we are on the subject of a video card do you know what type of video card you need? For that matter do you know anything about a video card? You probably don’t because you are a Nooblet. The best thing you can do is accept the fact that you are a Nooblet. Now that this is done take your computer, pour boiling salt water in it, beat it with a rusty ax, pour gasoline on it and set it on fire. Now go a professional gamer to help you get the right gear for you. Here is What I suggest for my precious Nooblets.

CybertronPC Armor ARMV2QX965BK Gaming PC

Specifications
• Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 3.00 GHz Quad Core Processor
• EVGA 132-CK-NF78_A1 Motherboard
• 8192 MB (8GB) DDR II 800MHz PC6400 Memory
• Dual 74GB SATA Raptor 7,200 RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drives Raid 0 (Striped)
• 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA2 16MB Cache Hard Drive
• 20X DVD±RW Burner Dual Layer Drive
• Triple NVIDIA GTX 280 1GB PCI-E x16 Video Graphics Cards in SLI Configuration
• 8 Channel High Definition onboard sound
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Network Interface
• Thermaltake Armor Tower with 1000Watt Power Supply
• Logitech Keyboard and Optical Scroll Mouse
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition
• Front Ports : (2) USB 2.0
• Rear Ports : (6) USB 2.0,(2) PS2 Ports, (2) IEEE1394a (1 by header), (1) Serial header, Audio I/O Panel, (2) RJ45
• Expansion Slots: (3) X16 PCI-E, (1) X1 PCI-E, (2) PCI
Nuff said……………..
Josh - 10/27/2008 at 4:34 pm
I agree with Moglar that the comment above him is completely stupid. Don’t anybody try it, because it is just going to use more RAM and CPU and won’t help out at all with framerates. However, I think it’s funny how people like you can instantly go onto a site and start insulting people who try to help others.

Those specs you posted for a computer are great for somebody who can afford it, but the truth is that WoW doesn’t need all of that to run on high settings. I still have almost the same setup as I did when I wrote this post except with an NVidia 8600gt and some more RAM. I run WoW on max settings, and have no trouble at all. And for you to make assumptions about somebody, and to start insulting them based on those assumptions shows no intelligence on your part. You don’t know me or anybody who has commented on this post.

This post is only here to shed some light on an issue that happened to me almost a year ago. I don’t claim that this post will work for everyone. It’s just here basically to remind me what to do just incase it happens again. I put the information up here so anybody may read it. Don’t take it as an absolute solution to the FPS problem. Of course, better hardware is the best solution, but not everybody can afford it.

Basically, what I did in my above post was to clear the cache in the WoW folder. Some addons had some old information, which was slowing down my gameplay. I hadn’t played WoW in a while, so the old information needed to be cleared out. It’s definitely not that simple for everyone, but as my title says, it’s an “attempt to improve frame rates.”

If you are trying to give advice, and you want people to take you seriously, why not try being nicer? Nobody wants to have somebody insult them, and then turn around and take their advice.

Joshs last blog post..Featured Firefox Addon: Inquisitor
MaxCarnage - 10/28/2008 at 2:50 pm
You know what. Your absolutely right. I will be nicer! Yes I am going to descend into a realm filled with teddy bear picnics and lollipop trees! I am going to have pity on my precious Nooblets. I feel so bad that I am going to snivel all over my keyboard. I just hope my teardrops don’t short it out.

Now here is my regimen for the sniveling Nooblets. First get all the trash off your computer. Run DXDIAG in your run box and check your page file. If your used page file is bigger than yout available page file you need more RAM. Plus you could be running programs in the back ground. (Set up your start up menu).
Next clean up your registry. Now here is the best part my groveling Nooblets, your bad frame rate also can be caused by bad latency. Try to run a Tracert on the Blizzard server to see how many hops you have. Bad internet speed can cause it also. (There are ways to determine if its you or your ISP service)

In other words my whimpering Nooblets…the first things you can do are literally FREE! DO these basic things first my dear Nooblets. Then I will hear your pleas for help.
MaxCarnage - 10/29/2008 at 9:39 am
Thanks for the help Max Carnage! I had no idea I had all this stuff running in the background. I got rid of most of it. I also customized my start up. Then I cleaned up my registry. There is a remarkable improvement. But it could be better. I do need a little more RAM. I am going to check my internet speed and connection next. Also I took the liberty of checking my video card. I am going to get a better one. Yup, I am one of the “nooblets” that bought a midrange computer. Its an excellent system, but the video card has much to be desired. Thanks for helping a “precious nOOblet.” I will now bow before you.
Glycondruid 345 - 10/29/2008 at 9:40 am
Thanks for the help Max Carnage! I had no idea I had all this stuff running in the background. I got rid of most of it. I also customized my start up. Then I cleaned up my registry. There is a remarkable improvement. But it could be better. I do need a little more RAM. I am going to check my internet speed and connection next. Also I took the liberty of checking my video card. I am going to get a better one. Yup, I am one of the “nooblets” that bought a midrange computer. Its an excellent system, but the video card has much to be desired. Thanks for helping a “precious nOOblet.” I will now bow before you.
MaxCarnage - 10/29/2008 at 9:56 am
You are welcome. You are now on the path to enlightenment. You have taken the first step and accepted the fact that you are a nooblet. Now you can begin your path out of noobulism.

The second lesson my precious nooblet is not to buy computer parts, software, memory, video cards etc from retailers. The price mark up is insane. Not to mention that you will get drilled with sales tax. Buy from sites such as Tiger Direct.com and Newegg.Com. They have the best prices and customer support. Most of these sites offer great online tutorials for most common computer parts. (Tiger Direct is great for this and will explain things in simple terms for fledgling N00Blets) With this in mind make sure you do some reading and research.

Know why you want to change something, Know the expected outcome of the change, Know how to proceed and complete the change properly. Now my precious nOOblet go forth and begin your journey out of noobulism! If you need another audience with me I will hear your pleas for help.
Pisslips - 11/5/2008 at 9:46 pm
It seems you failed a bit there Maxy boy.
MaxCarnage - 11/9/2008 at 1:00 pm
Actually I did fail. I failed to school my precious NooBlets properly. I will take the opportunity to remedy this now my friend.

Ok….now it is time for me to school my precious nOoBlets. It has become painfully obvious that my No0Blets are in dire need of information regarding lag in wow. Here is the main problem with wow framerates.

Blizzards own servers and internet connections. You could have the fastest connection in the world, but if Blizzard is only pumping out 10Kbps to you, thats all you’re gonna get.

Now here is a dose of reality that you have to accept. The bottom line with wow is based on the fact that your trying to literally render 80+ people in a large open space. When you crank special effects it adds magical glows, animations onto each of those 80+ people which will beat on any card. That is the bottom line my sniveling No0Blets.

I can get 99 FPS staring at a wall in game, but in situations where there are multiple groups of players the frame rate starts to tank. The lack of a difference in performance between the low video and high video settings makes me think it is sync’ed on the network activity. In other words it might not be you. You don’t need to have my computer that I posted above necessarily. In fact getting a new video card might not even help. The key is having globally a decent system to run the game. Even run of the mill desk top computers can run wow decent if you don’t bog the system down with a lot of junk, and lower some of the wow video options. Now my precious nOOblets….scamper off to play wow with the knowledge I gave you.
Nooblet - 11/11/2008 at 1:57 am
I always have less than 20 fps but above 8 fps. I play on the most shittiest quality WoW can run. I average at about 12 FPS.
MaxCarnage - 11/16/2008 at 12:46 pm
I am convinced it is a server side sync issue. After the release of the Lich King last week the majority of the players were in the new area “North Rend” with the new character.

I took this opportunity to run around Undercity and other locations which had minimal player activity. (everyone was playing in North Rend or in the Outlands trying to level the Death Knight lol)

Anyway my Frame rate is Undercity and Silver Pine forest was about 55! Then when I went to shat my frame rate tanked to 20. This just confirms what I already stated in my previous post.
Rolleyes - 01/14/2009 at 1:34 am
That’s pretty epic. MaxCarnage posting a reply to himself singing his own praises. Epic Fail. Although the advice might be valid, the tone of Max’s posts smack of insecurity and narcissism. Max is so much better and of higher class than his Nooblets. What are you, 12 years old and pretending to be king of the internets?
Thumpernovember - 03/6/2009 at 7:46 pm
Haha, pretty funny how Max tried to act like he knew a thing at all :P

Everyone knows you can improve wow performance with new hardware. Did you seriously think that telling people to run MSconfig was some sort of revelation?

http://www.wowinsider.com/2007/12/19/media-player-boosts-wow-performance/3

Who’s the noob?

Who’s the noob?

Who’s the noob Maxie!!!

Epic Fail!!!!!
MaxCarnage - 05/18/2009 at 5:49 pm
Yes….please continue to spew your bile! There is no Phail here. Soon you will be groveling before the great MaxCarnage for more advice. Everything that I have posted is true. You can either accept it……or you can ignore it. It is your chioce my merry band of nooBlets.

Now for the second dose of Max. I did NOT tell people to run MSCONFIG. Once again we have an epic example of what happens when mommy and daddy leave their computrs on for junior to play with. I have already helped more than a dozen of people improve their wow performance. Unfortunatly there were some that could not be helped also due to their machine being horrible form the begining. In any event….please feel free to continue to spout. :-)

PS Max luvs ya anyway :-)
Nooblet - 05/20/2009 at 4:07 pm
Max you're fucking retarded go get laid.
Noobletsex - 06/22/2009 at 4:41 pm
Z0mGz0r i luv Maxx he'zzz da bomb i laffed so harttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HE'zzzz z0w kuuwl :D

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