6950 Performance

[Capita]

you NEED you processor past 3.4ghz or have a SSD with ffxiv on it cuz it loads a tons of crap video card helps alittle but its mainly how fast you system can load to your ram. SSD you will get beyond 60fps

My Q6600 @ stock 2.4GHz runs this game just as well as my i7 920 @ 4.0GHz, both under GTX 480's and SSD (never drops below 60 FPS outside of town, and never drops below 50 FPS in town). Overclocking my Q6600 to 3.2GHz makes maybe a 3-5 FPS difference. Not even worth the extra CPU temps as it doesn't even go past 60% usage stock.

So no, you don't NEED to run your CPU past 3.4GHz. You do NEED at least a Quad Core if you're using a GTX 460 or better GPU. You also do need an SSD if you don't want to stutter around town, so I'll agree with that. That was actually probably my biggest upgrade. From a 7200 RPM HDD to an SSD is like day and night in terms of game performance, and gave the absolute largest performance gain by far.

-- First system --

Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz
4GB G.Skill DDR2
GTX 480
1TB 7200 RPM HDD

FPS min-max: 40-60, with periodic stutter to around 15 FPS in Ul'dah.
With SSD: 51-60, no stutter.

-- Second system --

i7 920 @ 4.0 GHz
8GB G.Skill DDR3
GTX 480
1TB 7200 RPM HDD

FPS min-max: 45-60, with periodic stutters to around 15 FPS in Ul'dah.
With SSD: 53-60, no stutter.