Poor performance from a high-end build?

[Railven]

This game definitely tanks in cities, especially with all the AFK'ers and such.

ASRock Z68 Gen3Pro3
Intel i7 2600k @ 4.2Ghz
2x Sapphire Radeon HD 7970s @ 1050/1575
16Gbs Corsair Vengeance CL9 @ 1.5v
Corsair TX750
Corsair Carbide 500R
Win 8 Pro

FPS @ 1440p:
Max - 220 FPS
Min - 24 FPS
FFXIV benchmark score - 13350k

FPS @ 1080p:
Max - 250 FPS (I think the game is limited or I got CPU limited)
Min - 25 FPS
FFXIV Benchmark score -20100K

Depending on your system, overclocking is a good means to get some extra performance. Just make sure your hardware can handle it. I've upgraded all my CPUs before they've been damaged. Shoot, my i7 930 that had a 45% Overclock is now entering it's ~5th year of service and running strong.

[Lexiel]

Same problem, damn FPS drops in random areas. The game ran smooth in P2~P3. Same rig on P4~EA and FPS drops as hell randomly.

Intel i5 2500 @3.3Ghz
GTX 680 Zogis
8GB Ram Corsair
Windows 7 Ultimate

165~185 FPS that dramatically drops to around 35 FPS facing certain directions even without any player activity.

[VeeGeeTea]

I believe your bottleneck is your ram and your windows.
Myself and Railven both have Windows 8 with 16GB ram.

Same problem, damn FPS drops in random areas. The game ran smooth in P2~P3. Same rig on P4~EA and FPS drops as hell randomly.

Intel i5 2500 @3.3Ghz
GTX 680 Zogis
8GB Ram Corsair
Windows 7 Ultimate

165~185 FPS that dramatically drops to around 35 FPS facing certain directions even without any player activity.

[Cyrus-Wallace]

You don't need that much RAM either. I'm seeing that your graphic card is good, also your processor. If you're going to OC, your motherboard will allow you without problems. It's a good Z77 and they're prepared for that. You NEED to improve your cooling system, regardless if you OC or not. This game looks more GPU dependant, than CPU dependant (Judging by benchmark results), and I would aim to update your video card drivers and try to use the Nvidia Experience software. I would also check other app's running in the background (Antivirus, anti-malware, system monitor, other processes, programs) that could "stress" your hardware leading to those results. My PC has lower specs:

-Intel i7 2600K 3.4~3.8 Ghz.
-Motherboard H77M (Soon to be replaced by a Saberthoot z77)
-NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 ti (Probably soon to be replaced by a Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 ti)
-2x4GB Kingston RAM 1.666 Mhz (Even though my processor doesn't allow it to go up to 1.333 Mhz) (Total 8GB RAM)
-Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bits.

With those specs, running a high performance test, I get almost 6.000 points. So, I would see what's wrong first with your software before going after your hardware.

[Krimzin]

If you guys haven't figured it out yet... this game is very CPU intensive.
Example. My wifes old comp got a 4k score on Benchmark. I upgraded the GPU to a 4gb 760GTX card. The benchmark went up to 4800.
I took same card and upgraded the CPU to a i7-4770 and her score went up to over 13000.
All scores reflect 1920x1080 on Max. No graphics card tweaks or game tweaks.

So short story is, getting a better GPU will not help you as much as you think with FFXIV. You need good CPU and GPU.

[VeeGeeTea]

I drive a 2LT RS Camaro 2012 which is yours?
Mine is Victory Red with Black twin racing stripe on Hood and Trunk.

[TesserTheLost]

I actually have a worse GFX card, gtx 660 evo, and same ram, but i have the z87 mobo and the i5 4750, maybe its your drivers, you update? cuz i run at 80fps at ultra

[dawgma00]

Just adding this: consider using liquid cooling or a 3rd party fan/heatsink that can handle if you are thinking of overclocking. I saw boost in game performance since I replaced my old heatsink with a liquid-based unit. My rig never goes past 45 degrees running this game on max settings, and only cost me $60 and about 15 minutes to install.

[Krimzin]

I drive a 2LT RS Camaro 2012 which is yours?
Mine is Victory Red with Black twin racing stripe on Hood and Trunk.

2013 2SS/RS Stage 2 Cold Air Intake and 3" Competition Cat Back Exhaust.

[Krimzin]

I actually have a worse GFX card, gtx 660 evo, and same ram, but i have the z87 mobo and the i5 4750, maybe its your drivers, you update? cuz i run at 80fps at ultra

You run 80fps because you have a pretty good CPU the i5 4750.