Tips on improving graphics/FPS?

[Berabouman]

So I just upgraded to a new graphics card but my FPS is even lower than before for some reason.

I doubt I can run it at max specs in any case, I am using this to help me tweak things (http://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/commen...ystem_for_arr/) but I'm still getting low FPS.

In any case, here are my specs :

Nvidia Geforce 730
BIOS: IBA GE Slot 00C8 v1365 PXE 2.1 B
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.1GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 4074MB RAM

On max settings I get about 10-15 FPS everywhere, with the tweaks above I get anywhere from 15-25+ FPS. I still feel it could do better though.

Do I have to tweak the refresh rate or something? Sorry, not really good with computer/graphics stuff (hence the post) If I need to overclock it I would too, but I have no idea how to go about doing that either.

[Sonomaa]

what video card did you have before, the 730 is a pretty low tier card

[Izzy]

The number one thing is to disable shadows of any kind. The next could be to lower the amount of models displayed at once.

[Azull]

Make sure you have removed any old drivers for your old card and that you are as up to date as possible with your new card.

[Gulkeeva]

If your looking to get better fps, probably want to go medium (or even low) settings at 1024x768 res. With those kind of low system specs you could probably get near 40fps in crowded area's (fallguard float in NA prime time). low settings should auto reduce shadow effects/ people on screen/view range etc etc

If your wanting to do maximum graphics at 60fps at say 1920x1080, you'll want a i7-860/920/2600/3820/3770/4770 (I had a 920 personally) a radeon 5870 equivalent (was my old previous video card) a video card around $100 ranges should be good enough. for example a GeForce GTX 650 Ti which is about $110.

Couldn't locate a "Geforce 730" only a Geforce GT 730 (about $40-50). and there seems to be several models, so not sure which you have but they all seem very low end.

A side note, if you got a 64bit OS, you should go for 8GB ram, it'll help also just a little.

[Cutriss]

Definitely get more RAM, definitely get a better video card. On GeForce, the first digit indicates generation, the second/third digits indicate performance tier, generally topping out at 80.

What you can afford will definitely dictate your options.

If you're not running 64-bit Windows, look forward to reinstalling. Basically nobody should be running a 32-bit Windows anymore.

[Berabouman]

My previous video card was a Geforce 275, so it was even lower-tier. If I wanted to get anything better than what I have right now I would need to upgrade my power supply and RAM, in which case I might as well just have bought a new computer, which I wasn't prepared to do at the time. (Now that I think about it I should have, though...)

Yeah all old drivers are gone, new drivers installed for both motherboard and card. I do use 64-bit Windows.

I managed to get it to about 30 FPS in most areas by switching to Laptop Standard settings and then moving up from there, with most settings on "Normal" if possible (including AA and shadows) TBH it doesn't look that bad to me, I can't really tell the difference between that and maximum settings myself! I guess it's an OCD-ish tendency of mine to try to "get the most out of" whatever I'm using at the time.

[Modoru]

275 was a good card. Not great, but decent..

730, however, is "give it to your grandma" status. I don't quite recommend you use that one, and would actually tell you to get anything 50 or higher if you're really in a tight budget, and would really recommend a 760 in the lowest if you can spare the money.

[Berabouman]

Well it's a bit too late for regrets now, since I've already bought it. If I were to get anything better, I would have had to upgrade the power supply as well, which would have put it into "might as well get a new computer" range...which is probably what I should have done, but like I said, too late now.

[The Stig]

What's your screen resolution?

Assuming 1080p...

FFXIV is terrible in that regards. If you play at full screen, it will run as if it's set to 1920x1080, massively slowing things down even at average settings if GPU

What I do is set it to 1280x720p (fake HD) and play it Windowed, but as I have a slightly larger screen resolution (1440p) I tend to put a video/webpage up on the other half of the screen. I don't mind it not being full screen although I understand some like to have it completely full. But if my described scenario matches yours (1080p full screen) it's probably why it's slower than usual.

[Cutriss]

FFXIV is terrible in that regards. If you play at full screen, it will run as if it's set to 1920x1080, massively slowing things down even at average settings if GPU

This is not entirely accurate. My screens are both 1920x1080, but if I select Fullscreen (instead of Fullscreen Windowed, which is what I use now), then it forces 1280x720. I really don't understand why.

[The Stig]

Oh, perhaps it's my PC then. I have a buddy with the same issue as me, but yeh you can tell it struggles even at "low" settings at full screen for us, but we use GeForce 640m which is only mid tier in terms of performance. Still, different setups I guess.

[Izzy]

If you set "fullscreen windowed", it sets it full screen to your current desktop resolution. If you play it "fullscreen" you can adjust the resolution in the settings.

[Berabouman]

I use a 1280x720 resolution all the time, experimented with 1920x1080 but I didn't really like it.

Yeah they don't allow you to adjust borderless window settings in game. It was a right royal pain trying to set it up to get it working the first time. I didn't know it automatically set itself to your desktop resolution. Once again BG came through for me though.

[Berabouman]

Oh yeah, would additional RAM help any? That's what someone else I know suggested.

[Icarian]

4GB should be plenty to run the game unless you're running several applications on the background. Your main problem here is the GPU, it's not a gaming GPU, you don't want to go lower than a x50 if you're planning to game on that computer, a 730 is a office/HTPC GPU.

[Berabouman]

I guess someone should have told me that before I bought the chip, huh.

Is there a general rule to remember when buying graphics cards in the future? Like a numbering system for reference or something? (like ending in -50 is a gaming chip etc) As you can see I'm terrible at this...FF14 is the only game I actually play on my PC, I use my PS3 for all other games.

[Prothescar]

GT cards are trash, don't buy anything below GTX for a gaming rig. some exceptions exist; GTX750ti is a pretty low power card, but it's also very economic when it comes to power consumption and heat output so it's a tradeoff.

[Cutriss]

Is there a general rule to remember when buying graphics cards in the future? Like a numbering system for reference or something? (like ending in -50 is a gaming chip etc)

-

On GeForce, the first digit indicates generation, the second/third digits indicate performance tier, generally topping out at 80.

[Berabouman]

On GeForce, the first digit indicates generation, the second/third digits indicate performance tier, generally topping out at 80.

So this is true for every Geforce that was ever made (and will be made, I guess?)

Is there a similar numbering system for AMD cards?