5 replies to this topic

[Pastor Priest]

I tried to post this in the Work Around forum, but it doesn't seem to be getting a lot of interest. Besides, my questions are more hardware related anyway.

Long story short: FPS dropped from mid 20s to low 10s and single digits after the April 2nd patch. I fiddled around with user.cfg and got it back into the mid 20s. However, things slowly went downhill with each patch, until the bottom fell at with the one last Tuesday. I dropped from the low 20s to the low 10s and again into single digits. My user.cfg isn't working anymore, it seems. Here's my setup:

AMD A6-3650 quad core APU with Radeon 6530D integrated graphics. 2.6Ghz processor.
Windows 7 64bit
8 Gig DDR3 RAM
Connection: 12 down, 1 up (yes, it's slow, but I'll be changing it soon).

Here is what I've done so far to try to correct the issue.

Cleared shaders
Run MWO repair tool
Restarted comp
Completely reinstalled. Put User.cfg file back in with no effect.


I'm not a big tech guy and need some help figuring out the bottleneck. The graphics chip is my first thought, but I'm hearing this game is CPU intensive, so I'm wondering if the processor needs an upgrade. It is below the minimum just barely, but I'm seeing other people run it just fine with a slower processor than mine.

Also, is it possible to overclock my graphics and/or processor with the stock cooling and power? Would it be enough to get me to a playable level, do you think? I'm just looking to see what I can do with the stock hardware, even if it's just to limp me along until I get the upgrades needed. I'm typically not a big gamer and didn't buy this computer for games, but at the time, I was unaware of MWO. I have a soft spot for the MW and Heavy Gear games, so I'll make an exception for them.

[spoony4]

I found that by turning shadows to low the frame rate went up considerably. There are clearly other issues with the code because frame rates drop to 1/2 on some occasions for absolutely no apparent reason. Restarting computer seems to fix these. Not much help I know but my ping is 270-320 and frame rate usually is 30-60

[Narcissistic Martyr]

I'd say a discrete GPU would help a lot. The a6 wasn't a particularly fast processor compared to the a8 3870k but it's quad core so it should be fine.

[Pastor Priest]

I had guessed the GPU was the most likely culprit. Thanks for helping me firm that up. I guess I'll be getting a 6670 or 7750 (nearly same price and power supply requirements) in the next couple of months.

In the mean time, is there anything I can do to get it back to a playable level with my existing hardware? Would overclocking work? If so, could my stock cooling and power supply (300W) handle it?

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Faster RAM helps but the a6 isn't unlocked so you can only get minimal benefits from overclocking the APU. You could try overclocking your RAM if you'd like which would help some while on the iGPU. I still don't think the iGPU will do the job but it's worth a try.

Now the CPU portion is only equivalent to a phenom ii x4 810 or a high clocked athlon ii x4 but it'll do the job just fine unless you get a 7970 or better.

Also, I suggest you hold on and save up for a 7790 or 650 Ti for the GPU rather than buy a 7750 or 6670. In addition, you're going to have to upgrade your PSU if you add a discrete GPU.

Edited by Narcissistic Martyr, 27 May 2013 - 08:00 PM.

[Pastor Priest]

Well, crap...the only thing I can change is CPU clock speed. Nothing else. Looks like I'll be in the market for a new GPU. Might be a bit.