bottleneck performance?

[Ooshima]

When you had your friend test, did you make sure s/he was looking at the same area of MD as you, and not at the floor? As a couple others have pointed out, I'd just blame DirectX 9 being slow. It doesn't matter how fast your CPU or GPU are if the graphics API itself is a snail. I run an older i7 2600k with a GTX 970 OC, at max settings, and get anywhere from 20-30fps in the heart of Mor Dhona. S ranks ive dropped to ~15fps. Not unusual in crowded areas. I highly doubt you are bottlenecked anywhere.

I cannot stress this enough to OP. When you want to compare frame rates, you have to compared in a controlled setting. Which direction you are looking at in the comparison matters as well because both rigs compared have to render the same thing.

FYI, my FC is at Mist #6/7 area where to when I look to the North it is a long slope up all the way to House #1, while looking towards the south is the beach/sea itself. Looking towards the North will result in more details being rendered than looking at the South. When I look at the North, with a pair of 970 in SLI @ Max 1440p I get between 60-80FPS and while looking at the South I can get anywhere from 100-150FPS. Standing on the same spot, just a matter of looking towards North or South.

All in all you are unlikely to be bottlenecked. Try go elsewhere and check. Check your FPS in dungeons and instances as these things matter more.

And for your good info, ARR can no where even stress a single GTX 970 even at 1440p maximum setting. Don't even talk about bottlenecks unless it is hardware failure.