Feb 19, 2008
Holy World of Warcraft Batman – 64-Bit WoW!!
World of Warcraft is a pretty hot topic around this blog. I haven’t written anything about it in awhile, but as I just put together a new gaming system and decided to take the plunge into the world of 64-bit Vista, I thought it was high time I do an update about playing World of Warcraft on Vista.
For starters I didn’t “install” World of Warcraft, so I can’t comment on how it installs on 64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate. I copied the entire “World of Warcraft” folder from the Program Files folder on another machine into the “Program Files (x86)” folder on the the new machine and added a shortcut to “launcher.exe” to the games folder to start it.
I wanted to get the most of this new video card so I changed the settings to as follows:
- Resolution 1920×1200
- Vertical Sync Un-Checked
- Hardware Cursor Checked
- 60Hz Refresh
- 24-bit color, 24-bit depth, 8x multisampling
- Use Desktop Gamma checked
- Terrain Distance: Far
- Terrain Detail: High
- Spell Detail: High
- Environment Detail: Far
- Ground Clutter Density: High
- Ground Clutter Radius: Far
- Texture Resolution: High
- Texture Filtering: High
- Weather Intensity: High
- Specular Lighting Checked
- Full-Screen Glow Effect Checked
- Character Shadows Checked
These settings result is slamming out over 130 frames per second. Not to shabby! The game just looks absolutely gorgeous. I could be smitten with the 24″ LCD, the color is incredible, but it runs amazing. I flew around from a few places, went to Orgrimmar to the auction, rode the horse, engaged in combat and not one single second of stutter.
If you are wondering wether you are ready for World of Warcraft on Vista 64-bit edition, I say YES!
Disclaimer: This is being ran on a 2.66Ghz Core 2 Duo, 4 GB Ram, 512 MB GeForce 8800 GT @ 1920×1200 resolution.
Its not the operating system, its the video card. Vista x64 is slower than XP x64 and WOW is a 32 bit game so it isn’t taking advantage of your x64 bit hardware. The “program files (x86)” is where you stick 32 bit programs. It is true that when you have the x64 operating system installed that the operating system is running in 64 bit. That does speed things up.
Roger Jones » I totally agree Roger. If you followed the blog you would have seen that last year there was a post that generated a great deal of traffic about serious performance problems running WoW in Vista in general. I thought it was fantastic that it ran so well on Vista 64-bit. It appears to me that WoW navitely supports 64-bit, and the performance is fantastic, but I do not disount the beefy video card, I know that’s where the raw frame rates are coming from. Thanks!
You bet the game doesn’t just look gorgeous but it’s absolutely fantastic. But I don’t really have to worry about the vista issues because I’m still stuck my XP.
Hello there.
I am expereincing some serious fps rate issues on my new PC which has Windows Vista Home Premium 64 in it.
Along with this I have a 1024MB Nvidia 8800GT graphics card.
When I stand in the Aldor Bank in Shattrath city I get 30 – 40 fps, when I walk around it drops to around and average of 25.
My system set up is:
Processor: AMD PHENOM™ X4 9600 (2.3GHz) 4 x 512K L2 Cache (Socket AM2+)
Memory: 4GB Corsair XMS2 800MHz (2×2GB)
Operating System: 64 BIT VISTA Home Premium
Hard Disk: 320GB With 8MB Cache (7200rpm)
Graphics Card: 1024MB GeForce 8800GT PCI Express, DVI, TV-OUT
Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy SE
Power Supply, Case Cooling, Processor Cooling:
500W Dual Rail PSU with 120mm Case Fan & ASUS Pure Copper Ultra Cooler
I cannot get either Nvidia or Blizzard to give me an answer as to what is wrong, but soemthing must be.
Any ideas?
umm your running vista which is crap anyway if you want 64 bit system go to xp 64 bit its a lot better or you could wait for windows seven to come out.
@Akima: Could not disagree more, I played Wow on 64-bit vista just fine.
The obvious answers would be to look up any hot-fixes for the hardware you have. Try all the manufacturers’ websites for any updates, be it firmware, BIOS or just a normal driver fix. If you are unsure about the plethora of motherboard drives you can always use a site like driver agent to scan your PC for you and let you know what drivers you need.
The obvious answers would be to look up any hotfixes for the hardware you have. Try all the manufacturers’ websites for any updates, be it firmware, BIOS or just a normal driver fix. If you are unsure about the plethora of motherboard drives you can always use a site like driveragent to scan your PC for you and let you know what drivers you need.
Hi
I have read alot, I mean really alot about windows running 64bit. To find out if it was any better than the 32bit version.
I think your problem is as follows. All older programs especially programs running 32bit like WoW, are not created to take asvantage of dual cores or quad core, since the program has to prgogrammed to use one core of one task, and a second core for another task.
Running WoW at a dual or quad core most likely don´t get much benefit from the ekstra cores, but rather benefit from the clock rate, in your case the 2,3GHz, which as a single core processor, would be a little low for WoW.
So I think that´s your problem for now, maybe if blizzard or microsoft make some sort of patch, that can chance this?
I read a benchmark test of the Intel Dual Core 2 E8400 3,0GHz VS. Intel Core 2 Quad 2,4GHz, where the dual core at 3,0Ghz actually made better result, due to the fact that few or no programs take advantage of the ekstra cores yet.
Hope that clears thing for you.
Hi
I have read alot, I mean really alot about windows running 64bit. To find out if it was any better than the 32bit version.
I think your problem is as follows. All older programs especially programs running 32bit like WoW, are not created to take asvantage of dual cores or quad core, since the program has to prgogrammed to use one core of one task, and a second core for another task.
Running WoW at a dual or quad core most likely don´t get much benefit from the ekstra cores, but rather benefit from the clock rate, in your case the 2,3GHz, which as a single core processor, would be a little low for WoW.
So I think that´s your problem for now, maybe if blizzard or microsoft make some sort of patch, that can chance this?
I read a benchmark test of the Intel Dual Core 2 E8400 3,0GHz VS. Intel Core 2 Quad 2,4GHz, where the dual core at 3,0Ghz actually made better result, due to the fact that few or no programs take advantage of the ekstra cores yet.
Hope that clears thing for you.
Sorry accidently pressed two times.
I’m running on Vista 64-bit with a 2.66GHZ Quad 45NM chip. 4GB RAM and the Geforce 8800 GTS and I’m getting problems just installing the game.I never had these problems with 32-bit vista. When I install patch 1.12.0 I get errors telling me to repair my WoW because it cannot rename certin files, I’ve been doing it by hand and there is just so many.
Blizzard has been patching World of Warcraft to utilize multicore processors. Mine has been evenly distributing the load between both cores since patch 2.3 in January.
@ RFV
World Of Warcraft has been updated for multi-core CPU’s, as Matthew already stated, as of patch 2.3
But, not going into detail, routing the sound to another core isn’t going to give that much of a difference in fps since that is what they basicly did. I do believe that the raw Ghz of the CPU is still the main factor for playing WoW with as high FPS possible. I even dare to say that having the latest state-of-the-art videocard isn’t going to help you. Why do I think that? Well, I’ve got a single-core Intel P4 3.0Ghz with 2GB memory installed and an ‘old’ Geforce 6800GT. I play on the european ’stormrage’ server and my FPS is always between 90 and 70 FPS…not bad for an old configuration hé!
Don’t rely on World Of Warcraft to judge your system. Too many outside variables are influencing the performance (internet connection, server-load) and most of the stuff is being done by the CPU.
Now, I’m also considering a new system. Vista 64b is ofcourse the one I would like to go for since the new configuration will have 4GB of memory installed. But i’m not sure how the compatibility is going to be with the stuff I would like to buy
* Asus Rampage Formula X48 chipset = mainboard
* Intel E8500 Core 2 Duo 3.16Hgz = CPU
* Corsair Dominator 2x 2GB 1066Mhz TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF = Mem
* Asus 9800GX2 = Graphic Card
* Samsung 750GB Spinpoint F1 / 32MB cache / 7200RPM = HDD
* Intel Pro / 1000PT = network card
Any issues known on this system?
[...] of Warcraft get’s fantastic speed, graphics and stability on Windows vista Ultimate 64-bit edition.http://www.philoking.com/2008/02/19/holy-world-of-warcraft-batman-64-bit-wow/Nvidia to blame for many early Vista crashes Beyond Binary – A …Mar 28, 2008 … Among the nuggets [...]
My system is a Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz
8GB DDR2 800 (4 X 2GB)
Ati Radeon HD 4870 (single core edition)
and I get a massive 265FPS with everything maxed out
Gunther
In case you havent resolved this yet. I had the exact same issue with both 32 and 64 bit vista. The fix was to turn off UAC (user access control)
THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!
Disabling UAC stopped the choppyness, works great now!! YAY!!!
I am about to buy a new PC and as an avid wower wanted to benefit from your experience. From what I hav e read my CPU looks a little low. And just to give you a laugh 10 FPS is a good day for my current PC – somewhere between 4 and 12 is normal and Shattrath is a disaster.
My proposed spec
1 x 500 GB SATA HDD UDMA 300 7200 16MB
1 x Black & Silver ATX Tower Case
1 x 4 X USB 2.0 Ports
1 x Motherboard Integrated 5.1 Sound
1 x Motherboard Integrated Ethernet Lan (Broadband Ready)
1 x 4GB DDR2 PC-6400 800 MHZ (4 x 1 GB 800)
1 x Speeze QuadroFlow VIII – Low Noise
1 x Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-BIT (Genuine DVD & COA Included)
1 x Logitech Ultra-X Premium Keyboard
1 x 17″ Widescreen TFT Black/Silver – 8MS
1 x Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse
1 x Logitech 2.1 S-220 Black Speakers
1 x Samsung 16x DVD-ROM Black (IDE)
1 x 450W PSU
1 x INTEL PENTIUM DUAL CORE E2200 800FSB SKT-775
1 x OpenOffice 2.3.1
1 x ASUS P5Q 1600FSB (Intel P45)
1 x Standard Operating System Backup
1 x Built & Tested
1 x NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT – 1 GB – VGA/DVI (XpertVision) – OverClocked
Thanks
Hi there, You might want to consider getting 4 gb as 2 gig sticks. and if you could afford say a 5200 or a 7200 cpu . Shoot if you can afford it get a 8400 wolfdale!
I just went thru the anguish of configuring both my wife’s box and mine for over 2k . Granted i plan to use then over 5 years from now lols.
I went with q6600’s because we will do a bit more than just games. And cant wait to see how the wotlk beta is with my new boxes.
RFV. learn to spell and write in general you ignorant bastard. Other than the fact that you cant spell you are obviously unaware of the fact that inerrantly a dual or quad core processor running 64-bit xp will in fact run pretty much every single program and game that would typically run on a 32-bit platform better because of the fact the system load is technically half of what it would be on a single 32-bit os.
Now Michael. It actually looks as if you have quite an efficient set up in mind to run any 64-bit OS without problems. The fact that you are actually getting such a low fps could possibly be network latency at any rate unless your current desktop is running under a gig of ram and your hard drive speed is low, front side bus is low, and graphics card is under 128 mb and 128-bit. You could be running a goddamn super computer with 16 gig of ram, the most up to date and most overclocked processor and graphics card that are running at efficient temperatures and still have issues if your network latency is extremely high. I would assume that might possibly be your bottleneck. If you get a chance, you should try pinging the WoW server that you play on. I would recommend running the command [ping -t {ip address of server}] for a few minutes and just look at the latency. Test for fluctuations and make sure they are low i.e. 100ms hopefully.
Jim, what are you talking about? latency has absolutely NO effect on fps performance of the game. If he has extremely high latency he would see things jumping from one end to another, getting weird msgs like out of range etc end generally be ghosting around. but his FPS would still be trough the roof with a powerful computer. i guess you have no idea how things work, so stop spreading crap.
if you have such low fps on a proper computer (michael, your computer seems ok, although someone really screwed you when they sold you that CPU with that computer, this CPU is definitely your bottleneck, never buy the cheapest CPU you can find) you should update drivers for your graphic card and chipset.
And dont forget, in Shattrath everyone gets low fps because of the huge number of ppl and tons of textures to load because of them, so this is nothing new..
Tael – I was just wondering what you get with just 4Gb of memory. 265 is huge but does wow use enough swap file to make use of more then 4 gb under load?
I am building a
2.66 Q6600 Intel CPU (i will oc to 3ghz)
4GB fast OCZ momory
30GB OCZ SSD drive for OS, Office and WOW.
ATI 4850 graphics card
Will going from XP32 (4GB) to Vista64 (8GB) actually make any difference to my frame rates.
correction the cpu is 2.4 which I will push to 3Ghz
BS… Almost identical system, but better CPU, and WOW runs at half the frame rate it does on a 32 bit (xp32) system…. on lmoderate settings.
Jim, dude you need to chill out. First off you can’t badger someone about spelling when you use “inerrantly” in the second sentence of your post. That is absolutely hilarious. None of us spell perfectly and none of us really care (unless someone types in Pig-Latin, lol). Chill with the rude language too, no need for all that. ALT is pretty much right on, but keep in mind that latency WILL affect most of us, and it may be a combination of the issues that makes the game play worse. I always suggest new people to put everything at the lowest settings, and turn them up a little at a time until you hit the point where the game lags, or your FPS gets bad/choppy. I amazed that anyone really has issues with WoW as it is so low on the graphics front in comparison to virtually any game out in the last 2-3 years. Good luck to all, keep it real and be nice!
I’m running WoW on Vista 64 Ultimate and, regardless of the fact the ssytem is imo, well beyond the spec required (here are the essentials):
ASUS PB5 MOBO
E6400 Intel Dual core CPU
ASUS NVidia 1Gb 9800GT GFX
3Gb OCX RAM
… I get frame rates of between 15 – 45 fps in game, shocking given the system spec. All drivers are bang up to date too. I also suffer from frequent WoW crashes.
I’ve noticed that the graphics going straight are fine, problems seems to occur mainly when rotating my character, it goes all juddery.
Out of interest the same system plays WoW under XP Pro 32 bit, really sweet.
So, any ideas?
The Mighty Balcore (Thunderhorn-EU)
Mighty, you stumbled upon a relevant fact that no one else in this forum could realize. 32 bit applications such as WoW run best natively on a 32 bit platform. Vista and XP 64 Bit run 32 bit apps through an emulator. In laymen’s terms, this means that WoW doesn’t get direct access to your hardware in Vista the same way it does in XP.
Take my word for it, I’m an electronics engineer.
Also, Jim you’re quite obviously a stupid liar. Go back to preschool. Running a 64 bit OS doesn’t mean your system is twice as powerful! 64 Bit means the OS addresses memory 64 bits at a time, moron. 64 bit apps will run better if written properly and given the proper system resources than a 32 bit app will under the same test conditions, but ultimately IA64 and AMD64 architectures were designed to harness the memory capacities of today’s and tomorrow’s computers. Even with a 64-bit app, the performance difference is often nominal. There’s a good reason why most systems ship with 32 bit vista or XP, and for gaming I’d highly recommend using just that unless of course you have a 64 bit game or something (which you don’t).
Some folk are making blanket FALSE statements about Vista and WoW performance. I run XP 32 bit, XP64 and Vista 64 for various reasons, and vista64 is by far, and I mean FAR, the best performer. Maybe you just need to learn how to setup your computers properly. Or stop using Vista, pre-SP1. Funny that I currently pull 60FPS in Dalaran with 4GB of RAM on a 320MB 8800GTS at 1900×1200.
Yes, graphical detail is cranked up.
Next someone is going to say you cant do SLI with WoW
Haha… well I for one know it does work with WoW.
I used to run a dual nVidia SLI setup a couple of years ago. I remember on the mainboard I had a little plastic clip holding the pcb which enabled you to use normal/sli… the plastic clip kept coming loose (until I superglued it)… a few times the PCB came loose during play… all it did was scramble one half of the screen and the top half was still running…
Haha..
Pretty lucky not to damage anything.
network engineer here
from what i have read, WoW measures its FPS by a calculation of both your actual video frames per second and your network latency to get ‘actual’ FPS, sort of a “what you see” measurement. The FPS is also isnt always accurate as well. WoW samples it at intervals and gives you an average from the sample during that timeframe. You have to use a real benchmarking tool to get the true FPS of your system. Even with that measurement, thats not taking latency into effect because the benchmarking utiltiy is only monitoring your video FPS. What seems to make sense to me, since WoW is such a huge game, all of the scenery, maps, UI, etc. are kept on your system, not on the server. The server is just sending you coordinates, specs, actions, reactions, etc…
My system:
AMD A64X2 5000+ windsor (stock)
PNY 8800GT 512MB (stock)
4gig OCZ Dual channel DDR2 (5-5-5-15 timings, 4X1Gb)
Asus M2N-SLI mobo (modded to compensate for lack of fan on northbridge)
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
XP Pro SP3 x32
Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX CPU Cooler, running wide open at all times
Acer 2ms 20″ LCD
Logitech G15 Keyboard
Logitech G5 Mouse, custom weighted
10k WD velociraptor sata2 HDD
I run an average of 130ms ping to the wow servers (bloodhoof) and an average of 30 fps on medium-high graphics, around 15 in dalaran if i’m lucky. The nic isnt failing, ive tried both of the onboard nics and a intel pro 1k and a cisco 100meg with no difference in performance.
Knowing that windows x32 can only address approx 3.5gig TOTAL system RAM (more like about 3.2 if you’re lucky, depending on the mobo)
- minus approx 32mb for the soundcard
- minus 512 for the graphics card
- minus approx 32 for the system board
leaving approximately 2.5Gb for the system (i dont feel like doing exact math so bear with me)
why is it that a roomate of mine with a similar setup except for lower graphics card (8600GT, stock), half the memory, slower CPU (AMD X2 2.2Ghz, stock cooler, no oc), 7200RPM Seagate HDD, onboard sound, same internet connection(approx 768k upsream, 10M downstream) except for the fact that hes on wireless im on the hardline (6ft of stp gig-t cabling to 100meg switch). He gets better FPS (50+ average in dalaran) than I do, and i have far beefier hardware.
Crysis and UT3 SCREAM on my machine, online and off, anywhere between 30 and 70 ping, +/- 55fps
considering this, is it just crappy luck that wow runs like crap on my box and do you think running vista x64 would help knowing that it would open up my memory somewhat?
I would like to add that my roomate also plays on the bloodhoof server
If you have a “beefy” setup and low fps – for any OS you have running – you should check your peak commit charge after playing WoW for a bit. If you run Vista you’ll need to download Process Explorer from Microsoft’s website.
Peak commit charge (PCC) will tell you how much memory all your combined programs are asking for, . If you were to reboot your computer, check the PCC, then run WoW and see how much difference, it should at least give you some more information to help you troubleshoot whether the virtual memory is being used in RAM or as pagefile.
To me it sounds like a driver issue(chipset, video, etc.), temp issue, or WoW’s API. If the PCC looks fine, I’d assume a temp issue.
greetings^^
i’ve got a ASUS P5Q Pro Mb with 8 giggs of ram + 2×4850 in crossire mode and windows vista 64 bit. Having troubles installing the game. well to be honest i can’t it’s giving me the ol’ :
“InstallWoW.exe is not a valid Win32 application”
any ideas?
thanks!
I just bought a new computer:
Windows Vista 64bit
Intel Core i7-920 Quad-Core Processor
3BG RAM
ATI Radeon HD 4850 (w/512 MB dedicated)
750 GB Hard drive
HOWEVER, when I am on the game (Shadowsong) I see sparatic white triangles everywere. I have tried every option I can think of to fix this problem.
Can you help me please?
Ok guys, i’m going to let u in on a little secret. i will bet money on the fact that the people who are getting high FPS have their V-Sync disabled, while the people who are getting low FPS have V-Sync enabled, just disable V-Sync and enjoy your WoW in unlimited frames
DD
Gunzagerreth
Do you have a clue what you are on about?
Vertical Sync, only synchronises your framerate to your monitors refresh rate, to stop screen tearing. If theyre experiencing low fps, disabling vsync won’t do shit all… unless their monitor is actually at 40hz and less which is EXTREMELY unlikely.
VSync off = Max framerate if your pc is capable of going over the refresh limit…
Turn it on to limit it.
Simples.
Well I have taken the plunge today and ordered myself Vista 64bit.
I have used XP (sp3) flawlessly on WoW for many years and any crashes or problems have always been due to spyware/bot or hardware issues and not the OS.
I recently purchased an extra 2gb of DDR800 ram (OCZ) not knowing of the contraints of the XP system. It only shows 3.25db ram and is highly unstable. The new ram is itentical to the other 2gb I already had. I have tried the system with both 2g of the new and 2g of the original ram and it runs fine with either and after browsing the net… I did find many posts about instability with 4gb in XP.
My system currently is:
AW9D-MAX (latest bios for 1333fsb)
Intel E6600 2.4gb Dual Core Processor
4gb OCZ Platinum Dual Channel DDR800 RAM (4×1gb)
nVidia 8800 320mb GTSOC2
Audigy2 sound (built in is newer but really crap in comparison to even this old soundblaster card)
1x 75gb WD Raptor 10000rpm SATA
2x 36gb WD Raptor 10000rpm SATA
I’m hoping that the 4gb RAM… even thought its dual channel (not the new quad channel) will work well in 4×1 configuration.
As a reply to FPS posts above… take into account WHERE you are in WoW before you post astounding FSP results because the original azeroth zone is fast, burning crusade slower and northrend even slower..
With my current setup I push over 130fps even in Stormwind (not in the bank/AH area of course) and over 130fps in Elwynn Forest.
As soon as I go to Shattrath/Outland zones it drops to 90fps.
It drops again to between 40fps and 70fps for northrend depending on where I am.
I have had instances of my machine freezing completely due to the spell graphics being turned up and mass AE damage being done… ie in Naxxramas or in particular doing the Leeeeeeroy achievement.