Amazing system, FFXIV taking FPS hit. Why?

[Archadius]

Ok, so I'm pretty baffled by this. I'm sure there are a number of you who are WAY more well-versed in the ways of graphics cards, etc, so I thought I would provide my information and maybe someone here could come up with some solutions. Any feedback you have is greatly appreciated!

System Specs:
- iMac Summer 2011 Model
- Intel 3.4GHz Quad-Core i7 Processor
- 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
- AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5
- Running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit through Bootcamp

This is a pretty powerful piece of equipment, so in theory, this system should be running FFXIV on max settings as smooth as a baby's bottom. It doesn't.

Tried on max settings for FFXIV and the lag was horrendous. So I dropped "General Drawing Quality" from 10 to 9, and turned off "Ambient Occlusion". Now the FPS hit is tolerable, but still not optimal. All other settings are being run at maximum and I run the game windowed at my screen's max resolution, 2560x1440. I haven't tested with Fraps yet, but I'm sure my FPS are sitting at 30 or less. What am I doing wrong?

Things I've considered trying:
- Overclocking using Sapphire TriXX (I am not experienced with this but am willing to learn)
- Installing ATI Catalyst Control Centre "Bootcamp" drivers package for Windows 7 64-bit
- Installing ATI Catalyst Mobility Utility for Windows 7 64-bit (My GPU is considered part of the mobility chipset family)
- Reducing screen resolution to the next step down (1920x1080)

Some additional notes:
- Running the game fullscreen is out of the question, I need freedom of running multiple applications (at the very least, a browser and temperature monitoring program)
- I feel as though this system should be able to handle max FFXIV settings, so I'd like to avoid reducing settings wherever possible
- If graphic reductions are the only option, I'd like to pick the ones that will take the least visual effect hit with the best fps return (for example, turning off Ambient Occlusion)

EDIT: Here are some links to the drivers I thought were relevant and was going to install
- Driver 1: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownloa...camp-win7.aspx
- Driver 2: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownloa...-Bit%20Edition

I'll update this page with more information as needed. I am quite determined to find a solution to this, there were only two reasons I bought this upgraded machine, and one of them is FFXIV. Thank you for your assistance!

[Coldfire]

Put general drawing quality to 8. For 9 or higher you need multiple GPUs. Instead increase FSAA.

[Archadius]

Put general drawing quality to 8. For 9 or higher you need multiple GPUs. Instead increase FSAA.

From what I understood, I'm running dual GPUs, two 1GB HD6970M cards. At least that's how it looks on the Apple "Build your own iMac" site: http://store.apple.com/ca/configure/...co=MjIwNTQ2NzM

Also, what is FSAA and how do I increase it?

Thanks!

[Coldfire]

It's MSAA in the config but can be manually set in the amd control center. Though it seems that change doesn't always get applied.
And afaik the HD6970 is a single chip gpu. The 2GB on the website is just extra memory(For $100 extra you won't get another gpu).

edit:
Gawd for that money I could get a tri-sli system ò.Ó

[Archadius]

It's MSAA in the config but can be manually set in the amd control center. Though it seems that change doesn't always get applied.
And afaik the HD6970 is a single chip gpu. The 2GB on the website is just extra memory(For $100 extra you won't get another gpu).

edit:
Gawd for that money I could get a tri-sli system ò.Ó

Oooooh Ok, well I guess I will have to install the drivers first for that. Any idea if I need both or if they are really the same, or if one is necessary over the other? I think currently (via game settings) I max MSAA at 8x.

Gotcha (like I said I'm not very well-versed in GPUs lol)

What's a Tri-Sli system? Haha

(On a side note, I need iMac because it's versatile, my line of work demands Mac OS, but I'm a gamer too! I also require the portability the iMac provides, it's a big box, but easier to pack up and take places than a desktop PC case plus a monitor)

[Eunys]

What's a Tri-Sli system? Haha

nVidia GPU + nVidia GPU + nVidia GPU linked together = 3x SLI. Pretty much overkill but you get to brag.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/t...s/IMG_0354.jpg

There is a picture of what one looks like with 3x 580's.

[origamikitsune]

General Draw Quality to 8, Ambient Occlusion off, other settings on/max is about the best you can do. You will not get 60FPS on that system; its just not going to happen with a mobility. You should hover between 35-40 in a city I am guessing, and 45-50 outside of a city with the specs that you are listing.

[Archadius]

nVidia GPU + nVidia GPU + nVidia GPU linked together = 3x SLI. Pretty much overkill but you get to brag.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/t...s/IMG_0354.jpg

There is a picture of what one looks like with 3x 580's.

Cool! Looks... Clunky lol

[Archadius]

General Draw Quality to 8, Ambient Occlusion off, other settings on/max is about the best you can do. You will not get 60FPS on that system; its just not going to happen with a mobility. You should hover between 35-40 in a city I am guessing, and 45-50 outside of a city with the specs that you are listing.

Seriously? That's just a shame. Would my FPS improve drastically if I reduced the resolution to 1920x1080 or whatever (currently 2560x1440)? Although, running consistently at 40-45 FPS might be a grossly noticeable difference for me, since even on my old system I was running close to max settings and averaged around 20 FPS (and it wasn't that bad).

Thanks!

[origamikitsune]

Lowering the resolution to 1080p will probably help. The game is more or less designed for that resolution anyhow. However, I doubt you will see much more improvement; you certainly aren't going to see 60fps on a mobility.