World of Warcraft Performance Guide
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 23, 2005 12:17 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
WoW CPU Performance
A fast CPU is just as important to WoW as a fast GPU, which is generally the case in any modern day 3D game. We looked at performance across 18 CPUs on a X800 XT at 1024 x 768, using the same settings as our GPU comparison.
Intel is remarkably competitive here; while they normally get completely demolished by AMD in gaming performance, the margins are much closer this time around. At higher resolutions, the AMD-Intel gap would effectively disappear between most competitors. Our recommendation here is to focus on getting a good video card and picking the platform that is more affordable and better suited to your needs.
The Athlon XP is clearly behind the times here, but given its age, it is not too surprising to see it at the bottom of the charts. Athlon XP owners will probably want to upgrade to an Athlon 64 or Pentium 4 before seeking out a faster video card in order to maximize their upgrade dollars.
There is one interesting phenomenon that we noticed when looking at Intel's WoW performance - the Pentium 4 600 series first performs poorer, clock for clock, than the 500 series, but at higher clock speeds, it actually outperforms the 500 series. Given that the Pentium 4 600 has a 17% higher latency L2 cache, that added cache latency is more pronounced at lower clock speeds. Once again, the difference in performance (clock for clock) isn't large enough to sway our recommendation either way. We'd still suggest the 600 series over the 500 simply because of the added features.
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trs80m1 - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
Great article, though I was disappointed to see that the ATI 9600XT (my card, of course) got left off. Hope you get a chance to add that, since I'd like to keep that card when I build a new A64 system soon.Two other requests: City of Heroes performance review, and how does the Internet connection affect framerate? i.e. Cable vs DSL vs Dial-up
Thanks again!
segagenesis - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
I dont think WoW even supports AA, at least on my card (read above). I force enable it outside and it works up to the character selection screen, but in game it goes away (back to jaggies). What gives?Glayde - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
Hey I want to say thanks for doing comparisons on a game I play, it's hard to compare other benchmarks to actual results i'd get in game.One thing I'd like to ask about though, none of your tests were with AA enabeled? (since AA isn't changed in-game in WoW, you need to do it out of game).
cHodAXUK - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
Nice article, how about a look at EQ2 and DAoC Catacombs as well? The later has just had a major DX9 engine upgrade and all the old art/textures/models have been overhauled.Gholam - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
Heh, approaching Orgrimmar auction house/bank area in prime time really puts the stress on any system :) I have a Winchester running at 2.6GHz and a 6800GT PCIe at 420/1200, and it's still a little choppy there, especially on initial approach, although I suspect that is due to bunches of textures being loaded.Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
For this particular test LOD didn't dramatically influence performance, but you all right, if it does annoy you turning the option off definitely helps.sbuckler
That comment was made for lower clocked Northwoods, I've made the appropriate clarification in the review.
Illissius
The big difference ends up being in overall smoothness of gameplay, which is determined by minimum frame rates as well as averages. Unfortunately due to the nature of the test being non deterministic not all of the minimum frame rates make total sense, thus we left those statistics out.
Take care,
Anand
WooDaddy - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
My favorite part about the review is on the last page:"And as always we found that the Extreme Edition is a waste of money"
I think anyone who is BUILDING a computer who uses a Intel processor for GAMING is nucking futz! I mean how many AT reviews do you have to read until you get it in your think skull that Intel is absolutely not the best way to go for gaming!?!</rant off>
Sorry about that... Seriously, though. Good review. Time to upgrade the Ti4200 128Mb. I've been waiting for a review like this.
Illissius - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
The 6600GT is only 15% slower than the 6800GT? That seems rather very odd...OrSin - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
Alittle off subject can we get beachmarks with some RTS games too. Thier was time when they were all 2d games, but now alot of them are 3d now. Kohan 2, and Axis and Allies both use the Grybo engine. This engine is used in quite a few RTS games. Most games have in game films so you can re-run the film to test thier game play.Thanks.
EODetroit - Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - link
Interesting, I might have to try that some time, thanks for the quick reply on resolutions... might let me see a wider FoV, useful for PvP.