My computer is four years old, and what I can find about what it is: AMD Phenom II X4 Quad-Core Desktop, 4GB Ram, 750GB SATA HDD, and Vista Premium.
AT&T doesn't provide download information, the reason being is that it varies so greatly depending on where you are. I find it to be a crock of crap, but...I don't know enough to call them on it. And that's the answer I got both times I inquired, once via phone and once via email to their tech support.
Try switching to Windows 7 and see what that does for you before you drop a chunk of change on a new machine. More RAM would also be a good move, but I'd try just the OS first.
Considering you're basically in the situation I'm in, I'd go with it being your graphics card over your connection. In my experience with AT&T internet, it's pretty damn good and doesn't give me many game issues. The big decider would be to check your latency however. If you're getting big latency of 500 and above regularly (predicting soon: Ha ha, you think that's high?! I live in *insert island nation*!!!) then it's probably your connection or your addons bogging you down. If it's graphical intensity that's kicking your butt than it's likely your graphics card. (Like say, you walk into Nagrand and your frame rate drops because PRETTY)
I go insanely slow in Diablo 3 with the piece of crap in my laptop.
My fiance went from the same laptop as me (with his horrid internet connection) to a beautiful gaming pc and hasn't had the low fps or massive lag spikes sans his internet dying. And it's fairly obvious when his net is dying vs graphical issue.
When I just checked my latency, I'm at 400 or so in the middle of Stormwind. My highest addon on this toon is arkinventory at 7.61, followed by Recount which I don't even use on this guy since I don't run him for anything other than farming.
Hmmm...now that you mention it, I've never done any investigation in regards to what's huge for an addon.
HRM. 400 seems high to me on AT&T wireless. But not terrible and not quite massive lag spike level. I'm not sure, I'm not terribly computer literate but it still sounds like more of a graphics card issues than connection. It could be a mix of the two.
What about games not connected to the internet? Amnesia kicked me in the face for even daring to try to load it with my unworthy graphics card. Are you getting lag and need severely cut graphics to play other games?
>.> I don't play other games. Well, other than Plants vs. Zombies, and I just run that on default.
And I checked my latency again now, and I'm down to 70. If it matters, I was at 400 when I first logged on. And that usually happens a lot. Like, the lat spike. If I'm on for a while though, it hovers around 70 - 80.
*Watches thread with interest* Probably going to look at new comp myself tomorrow or sometime this week, and I hadn't even considered my problems might be due to the internet connection (atleast in part). I should find one of those sites that check your connection speed... Anyone know a realiable one that won't virus me up or steal my cookies? I have about the same performance as you in WoW (don't play Diablo), although everything except view distance is on low for me and raids ARE horrible for me. :/
I've always heard that my area is HORRIBLE for all the things (old wires, edge of the city, old everything), so I'm not really sure. But like I said, before I plop down the bucks, I want to be sure I'll see some type of improvement.
Ah, that sucks. :/ I think my area is pretty good, it's a small town but I'm right at the center of it and they did something with our cable/internet a couple of years ago. But yeah it's best to cover all bases, buying a new computer is scary.
This one is a pretty reliable one with several different options. It gives me pretty much exactly the results I am supposed to get on days that my internet is running properly.
That's almost certainly the problem. That's a very very underpowered chipset -- you'll want, at a minimum, something in the Radeon (6|7)7XX HD class. (I tend to use ATI cards, and I know their nomenclature system reasonably well; the first digit being 6 or 7 means that it can use DirectX 11, which can make for some very pretty stuff, especially the water effects introduced in Cata, and the second digit being 7 or higher places it into the actually-good-for-gaming group.)
Also, make sure you've got RAM to spare. Blizzard games tend to lean more heavily on system RAM than a lot of other PC games (as opposed to GPU RAM).
I had the same problem on my old computer with an older graphics card, with Diablo 3 laggage. At least WoW lets you turn down some of the stuff to help a bit, but any time I'd get in a D3 zone where water was on the ground, I'd be skippin' along while my bf zoomed across the dungeon. hahah
Speaking of, my bf got a new rig from Doghouse Systems, but I looked 'em up and their lowest is starting at $1200. :( But he won't need a new computer or even an upgrade for years (*crosses fingers* I HOPE) so it was worth shelling out the money... and then I got his old compy. ^_^ Wee!
Good luck with whatever you decide to buy. :D Gotta love the shiny new toys!
It's hard to say what to buy because of course, we can't predict the Labor Day sales on IBP right now. I will say though, that usually to the left while "customizing" your computer, it will give you options for games and their average FPS based on your chosen hardware.
$1k is more than enough to get you something running on Ultra (shadows and all) with at least 40FPS, don't settle for anything less. You won't be stuck in the same situation, your budget WILL get you the computer you want from IBP - just keep in mind that computers aren't future-proof and you'll probably need to upgrade parts in a few years, as per any computer.
Re: your WoW vs. Diablo problem, I find that really odd. My FPS in Diablo is often much better than in WoW (both on Ultra), so I can't really say what your problem is. Go to speedtest.net - what's your speed?
Yeah, the customization bar thingie is why I prefer ibuypower.com. I have a tendency to try and add this and subtract that, and ooh, that looks interesting! I don't want to add more stuff or take away too much only to end up with something that won't even work.
I don't mind upgrading in the future, but I want something WORTH upgrading. Right now, I'd have to upgrade my OS, my video card, my processor and possibly my cooling system/fans not to mention my power supply. Parted out, it'd be 400.00 minimum (with a good chunk of that going toward the OS and the Video card). For another 350, I can get a new machine. And yes, $350.00 is a lot of money, but...I've been saving for something worth keeping around.
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AT&T doesn't provide download information, the reason being is that it varies so greatly depending on where you are. I find it to be a crock of crap, but...I don't know enough to call them on it. And that's the answer I got both times I inquired, once via phone and once via email to their tech support.
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Try switching to Windows 7 and see what that does for you before you drop a chunk of change on a new machine. More RAM would also be a good move, but I'd try just the OS first.
Reply
I go insanely slow in Diablo 3 with the piece of crap in my laptop.
My fiance went from the same laptop as me (with his horrid internet connection) to a beautiful gaming pc and hasn't had the low fps or massive lag spikes sans his internet dying. And it's fairly obvious when his net is dying vs graphical issue.
Reply
Hmmm...now that you mention it, I've never done any investigation in regards to what's huge for an addon.
Reply
What about games not connected to the internet? Amnesia kicked me in the face for even daring to try to load it with my unworthy graphics card. Are you getting lag and need severely cut graphics to play other games?
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And I checked my latency again now, and I'm down to 70. If it matters, I was at 400 when I first logged on. And that usually happens a lot. Like, the lat spike. If I'm on for a while though, it hovers around 70 - 80.
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I have about the same performance as you in WoW (don't play Diablo), although everything except view distance is on low for me and raids ARE horrible for me. :/
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OH, WAIT!!! DEVICE MANAGER!!!
ATI Radeon 3100 Graphics....
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Also, make sure you've got RAM to spare. Blizzard games tend to lean more heavily on system RAM than a lot of other PC games (as opposed to GPU RAM).
Reply
Speaking of, my bf got a new rig from Doghouse Systems, but I looked 'em up and their lowest is starting at $1200. :( But he won't need a new computer or even an upgrade for years (*crosses fingers* I HOPE) so it was worth shelling out the money... and then I got his old compy. ^_^ Wee!
Good luck with whatever you decide to buy. :D Gotta love the shiny new toys!
Reply
$1k is more than enough to get you something running on Ultra (shadows and all) with at least 40FPS, don't settle for anything less. You won't be stuck in the same situation, your budget WILL get you the computer you want from IBP - just keep in mind that computers aren't future-proof and you'll probably need to upgrade parts in a few years, as per any computer.
Re: your WoW vs. Diablo problem, I find that really odd. My FPS in Diablo is often much better than in WoW (both on Ultra), so I can't really say what your problem is. Go to speedtest.net - what's your speed?
Reply
I don't mind upgrading in the future, but I want something WORTH upgrading. Right now, I'd have to upgrade my OS, my video card, my processor and possibly my cooling system/fans not to mention my power supply. Parted out, it'd be 400.00 minimum (with a good chunk of that going toward the OS and the Video card). For another 350, I can get a new machine. And yes, $350.00 is a lot of money, but...I've been saving for something worth keeping around.
I hope some of that makes sense...lol
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