Final Fantasy XIV on an ASUS GTX 560

I'm sure this issue has been addressed by many before but I've yet to find a good thread on it.

I'm running FF XIV on a Phenom II X4 955 BE overclocked to 3.8GHz, an ASUS GTX 560 and 8GB of RAM. Despite my more than adequate setup, FF XIV just does not want to run smoothly when set to high and highest settings. Even with low to medium settings, I can only get around 24-32 FPS. I also experience random, massive dips in frame rate while playing.

I just find this issue odd because I have absolutely no problem running BF3 and Skyrim on high to highest settings with more than acceptable frame rates.

Am I missing something or is the coding of the game itself really that bad?

I've read about version 2.0 and I understand that it's a massive overhaul but I didn't see anything pertaining specifically to frame rate issues.

If anyone has a similar setup and found a fix or a good balance of settings, let me know.

I'm actually new to Final Fantasy XIV and I've liked what I've seen so far. I'm not really a graphics snob but Final Fantasy landscapes are SO MUCH better when they look great, graphically.

P.S. I got the collector's edition for $30.00 at GameStop! Inb4 version 2.0 and price hike.

UPDATE: I'm running it on my TV now (1360 x 768) instead of my monitor (1920 x 1080). Could it be that the game just does not do well with 1080? I am getting 40 - 55 FPS now.

I am running on a core i7 930, GTX 560 Ti Hawk and 6gb of ram, and using mostly standard settings with AO and DoF turned off, and that's enough to keep me in 30/60 most of the time (depending on frame rate limit). You can push couple settings a bit higher here and there if you dont mind some lag here and there.

As for being able to run skyrim and BF3 on highest, it really just doesnt compare. FFXIV is very heavy game for the moment, and you need one hell of a machine to be able to max it. 2.0 will lower the requirements too with completely rehauled engine. But for now, going with mostly-standard settings is the way to go, the game looks awesome even with those settings.

EDIT: Oh and I'm running on 1680x1050 resolution, going with 1080p you might want to stay on standard. Best way to find the sweet spot for your machine is to put everything to standard detail, AO/DoF off, and start moving things up one step at a time.

I know the problem, as I've dealt with it plenty of times. In your FFXIV Config, under the Video Settings tab, General Drawing Quality must be set to Standard (8) Max. If you go any further, your gaming will be severely hindered.

Edit: Also, FFXIV can hardly push your GTX 560 that much, the problem is not what you are running in your system, but the bug within the General Drawing Quality settings. My system, running in SLI, doesn't work for that setting beyond Standard (8).

Also, I run on three monitors, all 1080, though with the lacking Multi-Monitor support, I tend to just run on a single 1080 screen, whilst my other two screens are used for this and that.

I figured it wasn't a problem on my end. Thanks for conforming that for me, guys. Hopefully I'll be able to max things once the new engine has been instated. Maybe we'll see DX10 and DX11 support. I'd also like to see more graphical options. I love fine tuning my gaming experience.

I just thought it was odd that Final Fantasy XIV couldn't max on a card that was manufactured 2+ years after the game was released.

I think after the version 2.0 presentation at E3, we should rally together and convince Nvidia and AMD to release updated drivers that include optimization for Final fantasy XIV.