This is probably a stupid question...but... (FFXI Client)

[Akucaen]

I've never been able to figure it out on my own, I figure it's worth a shot.

I hear of people with very moderate systems (mid-range GPUs, single-core CPUs) running insane background resolutions in FFXI... and my system grinds to a damn-near halt on anything above 1280x1280. (I'm not talking extremes either. I notice a big FPS drop jumping to 1600. I'll remain at 25+ staring at a wall or if only my character is on screen but if there are more than three... eugh.)

Now, my system isn't completely out of date. It's a Athlon 64 x2 4200+, GF6 6800GT, NF4 Ultra, SB X-Fi, Vista Home-Pro, etc. I set windower and FFXI to my LCD's native resolution and have at it-1280x1024 for the LCD, 1280x1280 for XI-background. It runs smooth, usually 25+ unless in whitegate or if an army of bards are near me.

With that said, I cannot fathom how people with lesser systems are getting better FPS on higher background resolutions than I am. ._.; Can someone possibly throw out an explanation?

And before anyone says it's Vista, this was a problem in XP32 and XP-64 as well. (Otherwise I'd blame Vista too. -_-; ) With that said, can anyone help me understand?

Sub-question:
Since I've gotten my dual-core CPU, I've set my G15 to performance monitoring. When POL is active, it's split evenly (~5% difference) between the cores, but it never, ever goes above 50% (or 100% on a 'single' core) and I'll lag a bit FPS-wise. Obviously the work is being split, but is there some reason it won't break past 50% usage on both cores when POL... is doing something? (It's my belief the client is mostly garbage anyway. I chuckled writing that POL does anything.)

[Cephius]

Now, my system isn't completely out of date. It's a Athlon 64 x2 4200+, GF6 6800GT, NF4 Ultra, SB X-Fi, Vista Home-Pro, etc. I set windower and FFXI to my LCD's native resolution and have at it-1280x1024 for the LCD, 1280x1280 for XI-background. It runs smooth, usually 25+ unless in whitegate or if an army of bards are near me.

I know you said Vista isn't your problem, but sorry to say, Nvidia+Vista=no. It's a common problem (there's even a sticky in this forum about it) that Nvidia cards and FFXI just don't mix, adding vista into the equation just makes the problem worse. Try a different video card if you have one available.

[Akucaen]

And before anyone says it's Vista, this was a problem in XP32 and XP-64 as well. (Otherwise I'd blame Vista too. -_-; )

I do appreciate the response, don't get me wrong. But I'm well aware of nVidia's problem with Vista+XI. Fortunately for me I haven't had any of the problems I heard about; however, like I said in the quote, this was something that plagued me in XP-32 & XP-64. If this was Vista only, I'd gladly chalk it up to that since I still have a legit xp64 I can install.

[Cephius]

And before anyone says it's Vista, this was a problem in XP32 and XP-64 as well. (Otherwise I'd blame Vista too. -_-; )

I do appreciate the response, don't get me wrong. But I'm well aware of nVidia's problem with Vista+XI. Fortunately for me I haven't had any of the problems I heard about; however, like I said in the quote, this was something that plagued me in XP-32 & XP-64. If this was Vista only, I'd gladly chalk it up to that since I still have a legit xp64 I can install.

Unfortunately it's mostly due to Nvidia cards. Nvidia historically refuses to update drivers because it has a majority on the market or because they're just lazy. Vista certainly doesn't help because FFXI has a difficult time (or at least used to) running on that alone. That being said, I have a 6800 and FFXI runs fine for me in 1600x1050 widescreen. My buddy has the same card and has had tons of fps problems. Like you said, specs aren't the problem, your hardware is not defective, just by process of elimination it has to be something with the card since you say you can eliminate Vista as the root of the problem. The only way to eliminate the card as the problem is regrettably to try a different card. That or just live with 1280 resolution.

[Don Katsu]

What kind of Ram are you using?

[Akucaen]

I keep straying away from the card because it shows no problems whatsoever in *anything* else. I am listening, don't get me wrong. Just... i don't know. I have a hard time believing that only one program can set the card off in such a bad way. I'd much sooner believe it's a driver issue with my combined hardware, since the only hardware that's changed since that XP32 install was the X2 and the X-Fi. *More in a sec*

As for my ram? It's a 2x1Gb GEiL set. Very lax timings, but I was looking for an upgrade at the time. Don't ask the timings... it is a bit... embarrassing knowing just how well Athlons do with tight-timings.

One thing though? Oddly? I have a new PSU coming in today (OCZ). It was a dying Antec NeoPower 480w. I knew it was dying because it's a common-knowledge thing (over at ABit) that dying Antec PSU+Most Abit mainboards=PC that never shuts down unless you kill the power manually. An amusing error really; however, that's not the point.
Final Fantasy would routinely crash for no reason... in fact, it was the only program that would. It would always be a nVidia driver error in the D3D portion (duh) in the drivers. My first guess in diagnosing this problem was the idea the GF6 was on it's way out. I popped in a GF7 7900GS and the error returned over and over.

While the GF7 is a clever GF6 with more pockets and whizzy things, it's a new chip altogether. It even draws less power! That's not the point though. The point is, is that my theory on the GF6 not being the *per se* root cause is just. While my FPS did improve over the board, it dipped just like the GF6 in the same spots. I never bothered to up the background resolution because I was using it to help diagnose the problem further.

In other words, the GF7 did provide a bit of FPS gain, but it suffered the same performance 'issues' my GF6 did in the same spots, just not as bad. By extension, (and I'm not a betting man), I'd bet I would've gotten the same performance drop had I bothered to play with the background resolution. I sent it back though, so I won't... really know now. :\ (Until I get my goddamn refund check. -_- )

I've had weirder things affect components/software. /shrug

Yes, I did stupidly forget to mention that. Hence my bit of determination earlier. This goes cross software/hardware.

[Akucaen]

Mm. I know this is... bad, but I did 2 things together. I installed the new PSU, and without logging in XI, got the new nvidia drivers. I figured what the hell and upped the background to 1600x1600 and... FPS are... quite nice still.

Yes, I know it would've been proper to do one at a time, but I don't care. Higher resolution and high FPS (for XI) wheeeee! :D