FFXIV Only - Low Benchmark Score and Low FPS on decent settings. Puzzled.

[Bulwarkz]

I just recently built what I thought was a modest, modern gaming rig. I play plenty of modern Shooters and a few MMOs on nice, high settings with good FPS. FFXIV seems to be a different story.

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System Specs:
Windows 7 64bit
Intel E6700 3.2GHz Dual Core Processor
4GB DDR3 RAM Memory ( Mobo Max )
MSi R6450 1GB HD GPU ( OC'd Core Clock 725MHz; Memory Clock 815MHz )
1TB SATA Hard Drive
400W PSU
Diablotek ATX Mid Tower Diamond Case

Benchmark Score on Low: 1025
Benchmark Load Time on Low: 28708ms

My Optimal FFXIV Conig after extensive testing:
Low 20's FPS in congested areas
Mid 40's FPS in non-congested areas

1280x720 or 1600x900 ( Same results )
Fullscreen ( Windowed same results )
No AA
General Drawing Quality: 6
Background Drawing Quality: 3 ( Standard )
Shadow Detail: Standard
Ambient Occlusion: Off
Depth of Field: Off
Disable cutscreen effects: Checked
Enable hardware mouse cursor: Checked
Texture Quality: High
Texture Filtering: Low
Extended drawing: Off
Physics: Off

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I think it's kinda fishy imo because FFXIV seems to have an unneeded 'choppiness' to it and what not. Server latency causes the UI to lag and the loading of NPCs / characters take a while to pop up while the surroundings are just fine. I know my GPU isn't state of the art as it's based on entry level technology within the 6 series, but boy has it got the job done across a broad spectrum of 2009-2011 games. Any ideas?