WoW, a Dual 2.0 G5 and graphics to upgrade

[Chrispy]

Hey all. I have the graphics config as seen in the pic below. I play WoW and right now if I use windowed mode at a lower resolution it run ok with everything turned down. I have 512MB of RAM and the video card as seen below. What would speed it up the most? More RAM or a newer vid card? Also, is there anything I can find for the G5 to give the video a good boost for games for under $250? Thanks

The card is the stock card for the Dual 2.0s in the current revision.

 

[Sogo]

I would tell you to get more Ram. A new vid card would be nice, but if i had to choose one, i would go with ram. Get a nice 1gigger and you will be happy.

 

[unfaded]

I'll echo that. My 1.25 GHZ G4 eMac feels faster than both of my roommates' iMac G5's, and the only possible explanation is I have a gig of RAM and they have 512. Absolutely and totally worth it in every respect.

 

[cc bcc]

People, he is asking if extra RAM will be good for WOW, not for OS X in general...

Extra RAM will do nothing for your framerate, unless you're affected by heavy paging, which causes stuttering every now and then and does not slow framerates in general.
You need more horsepower, getting a better graphics card may help. Also, I found reducing the drawing distance in WOW helps your fps a lot. Ctrl-R to check your fps in WOW.

edit: Extra RAM is always nice, just not in this case.

 

[JasonL]

Well, I've played WoW with 512MB, 1GB, and 1.5GB or RAM. I can honestly say that the upgrade from 512MB->1GB is definitely worth it, and the difference very noticeable. Not so much of a difference going from 1-1.5 GB, though. That is also a pretty inexpensive option, though personally I'd add at least 1GB to your system (which can be done for about $100).

Yeah, a better GPU would make a difference, too, but the cost of that would be significantly higher. Try more RAM first.

 

[Chrispy]

Hey all thanks for the advice. Given I have a budget I will probably upgrade the RAM first since it will benefit the entire operating experience when not playing the game as well. I am planning to add two 512 sticks to ride along with the two 256 installed factory. That will give me to an ice 1.5GB of RAM. Is there even a graphics card that can be had for less than $250 for MAC that would be better than the card in there already? Thanks

 

[Mord]

remember g4 users can use 9600's so you can sell it on ebay to recoup some money spent.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=25449&item=5200193103&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

 

[Chrispy]

I just placed an order for two sticks of 512 MB RAM from crucial.com. Total with 2 day shipping was just over $100. I am excited to get those babies installed

 

[Sogo]

People, he is asking if extra RAM will be good for WOW, not for OS X in general...

Extra RAM will do nothing for your framerate, unless you're affected by heavy paging, which causes stuttering every now and then and does not slow framerates in general.
You need more horsepower, getting a better graphics card may help. Also, I found reducing the drawing distance in WOW helps your fps a lot. Ctrl-R to check your fps in WOW.

edit: Extra RAM is always nice, just not in this case.

Hmm...Well I will have to dissagree to some extent. The 9600 is a decent card and can run well with everything on; depending on the resolution. To increase framrate you need to get a better card as you have stated. But since his bottelneck is ram, then it would be best to get it. What he probably gets is that stuttering because WOW is accessing the hardive and moving data. This reduces the frame per second drastically, thus the studdering. For gameplay to be smooth, the framrate needs to be steady. let it be 35ish or 78ish FPS but as long as its not a drop from 60 to 20 then you wont feel anything unless you have really good eyes. what he will get with ram is he will be walking around and lose 5 frames per second, due to the hardrive, but he wont feel it because the hardrive doesnt have to load as much data anymore. Think of it this way---> before ram the hardrive would have to load big chunks of data...but with ram the hardive doenset have to do as much work..it still does work but it wont hurt as much anymore.

Sigh...off to class...