Requesting help - screenshots

[sunglass]

I'm most likely making the plunge and building a new computer in the next couple of months. I've never done it before but some of my friends are helping me out, and I'm trying to decide how high-end I want to go - mainly which processor and graphics I'm going to get

Comments

[riotlounge]

I'm a little too drunk to cobble together my comparision shots (which I always maxed out some of the "prettifying" sliders for screenshots, so it wouldn't help much), but I will say that spending a little extra on CPU/video card will also cut down on things like low FPS, lag, and general things like that, not just aesthetics. Anything that helps your computer run more efficiently is better. I put together a box for 1200 or so from Newegg, I have an NVIDIA GTX470 (you can go 460 even and cut a lot of costs), Intel quad-core i7 930 (i5 series is decent as well and a lot less money), plus 8GBs ram.

Here is old screenshot:

[chapeauxchick]

Ultra:

[sunglass]

Thank you so much! Since I've actually never played on either high or ultra settings (love my stone age computer), I'd like to ask, would you say that there is a noticeable difference between the two when you're actually in motion? What about in 25 man raids?

Since money is a huge factor in my decision, I'm trying to figure out how high end of a GFX I want. At first I really wanted something that could run WoW on ultra settings (with 40+ fps in 25 mans) but after speaking to a couple friends they said that it might not be worth it for me to go so high end (as I primarily want to upgrade to just improve my WoW gaming).

[chapeauxchick]

I always play on ultra but with shadows turned down a little and I get about 35-40 fps in raids and like 80-100 fps outside of them.

In raids it's not going to make a huge difference whether you play on high or ultra though. Most of the difference on Ultra is things like draw distance and how far away you can see details and those things aren't really going to be apparent in a raid situation. I'm sure you'd be happy enough playing on High and just turning it to Ultra for occasional landscape screenshots.

[penguinsane]

I took some comparison pictures and then a couple fun ones with the settings on ultra. For reference, I have an overclocked Nvidia GTX 460 SE - which the ladies here recommended to me! :)

Low Settings:

[sunglass]

Omg, thank you for those ultra screenies! Screenshots like that really motivate me to get started on building a new comp. I've really been missing out on the full experience of WoW, lol!

[penguinsane]

The Cataclysm zones especially, and since the overall revamp of areas, things have been absolutely gooooorgeous. I had a decent card before, but I'm so glad I got a new card for Cataclysm to make it even more beautiful.

[sunglass]

Do you normally play on ultra? Including 25 man raids?

[dareva]

Wow, these are gorgeous!