Tips to improve your game frame rate / benchmark Score.

[xEthan]

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping to be able to help you improve your game performance with a few simple and not so simple steps. While the boost will vary depending on person. Please let me know in the comments if it helped.

List can be done in no particular order, or in an individual basis:

#1 - Run your anti-virus and Malwarebytes-Anti Malware to make sure you have no virus and malware on the PC.

#2 - Remove programs you have no intention of using. The less stuff clogging your hard drive the easier time it has reading data. Recommend you remove any program that says toolbar on its name as well. Bonus: Use Ccleaner for uninstalling programs, cleaning internet browsers, and finding out your computer specs.

#3 - Update your operating system! get all the latest update EXCEPT Microsoft Silverlight | Microsoft Essentials. While they won't have deep impact on the game performance I'm just saying they not as essential as they claim to be.

#4 - Update your graphic card drivers! This one has a increase in performance raging from 5% to 30%. For Nvidia use Gforce 326.80 if compatible with your PC. For AMD use 13.8 if compatible with your PC. They are both beta and came out this week, tuned to increase FFXIV performance. If you don't know what graphic card you using, Ccleaner tells you on the upper left corner.

#5 - Disable Windows Media Player Share Network. Is a feature almost no one uses and it eats up CPU pointlessly.

#6 - Remove as many possible programs from start up as you can without affecting the system. I personally disable them all except for the anti-virus. Go to run/search > msconfig > Start Up > Open task manager > Disable all none essential programs.

#7 - Lastly the most time consuming of them all and best left for last. Disk Defragment your hard drive. Warning: Do not Disk Defragment Solid State Drive (SSD).

I'll add more if I remember or if anyone suggest good ones. Hope this help someone, enjoy Final Fantasy XIV and hopefully much more clean/tuned PC.

[Ojebuss]

Just an FYI. Not to many people use the Hybrid Power tec unless you have an older card. But in 326.80:
Support for Hybrid Power, a Hybrid SLI technology, is discontinued and not available
with this driver.

[Envision]

DO NOT use step #7 if you are using a SOLID STATE DRIVE.

Just thought I'd add that. Other than that, great list. =)

Also in Step #6 have them use CCleaner to disable startup programs.

[Inosaska]

Never ever use a registry cleaner as they do not work most of the time and have a chance of damaging critical files in the process because some programs will for some odd reason link themselves to them because of dumb DRM that exists in this day and age and even after removing the game the DRM can still remain and cause majors issues at fixing the computer if these critical files are accidentally damaged or deleted. The only way of fixing these most of the time is completely wiping the computers hard drive and reinstalling windows.

[xEthan]

DO NOT use step #7 if you are using a SOLID STATE DRIVE.
Also in Step #6 have them use CCleaner to disable startup programs.

Added the SSD warning, thanks. Intentionally did not say to use CCleaner to disable start up because the way CCleaner show start up programs is confusing to people. While on task manager it says exactly what the program is.

Never ever use a registry cleaner as they do not work most of the time and have a chance of damaging critical files in the process.

Changed it because I do agree that the cleaning of registry benefit do not outweigh the risks. Although I do clean my registry.

Also disabling your Anti Virus (if you're willing) will help, it eats up a LOT of system memory. And obviously closing all applications that aren't the game. Installing the game on a SSD if you have one.
That's all I can think of for now

I don't recommend disabling Anti-virus. If you intend to disable Anti-virus, you better off playing Full Screen mode which disables most anti-virus anyway. The risk don't outweigh the benefits of stable protection. Only do this if you ABSOLUTELY will not attempt to use internet browser or download any programs.

SSD is about as much improvement as a new cpu or a new graphic card. They not really tips to improve existing hardware.

[FrionielHope]

Changed it because I do agree that the cleaning of registry benefit do not outweigh the risks. Although I do clean my registry.



I don't recommend disabling Anti-virus. If you intend to disable Anti-virus, you better off playing Full Screen mode which disables most anti-virus anyway. The risk don't outweigh the benefits of stable protection. Only do this if you ABSOLUTELY will not attempt to use internet browser or download any programs.

SSD is about as much improvement as a new cpu or a new graphic card. They not really tips to improve existing hardware.

Just depends how serious you are with such things. I never use AV except every few months to do a scan and clean and I've always been fine, you just have to be smart when you're browsing. Again AV are HUGE cpu hogs so disabling them could make a small difference and AV isn't going to help if you don't have a browser up which you shouldn't anyway

[xEthan]

That is true.

[Cherie]

I just wanted to bump your thread. I found it very helpful!

'Did everything you suggested and it brought my score up by 1200points!

Is 12515 on max pretty good for a new single GPU system or could I possibly do a little more to it? It was just put together in the last two months solely for playing this game mostly... Looking to do what I can with it, maybe aside from overclocking, but I haven't totally put that out of the options.

[FrionielHope]

Also disabling your Anti Virus (if you're willing) will help, it eats up a LOT of system memory. And obviously closing all applications that aren't the game. Installing the game on a SSD if you have one.

Theres some way to allocate more ram to a game but I'm not sure if that works for server based games

You can overclock your cpu or gpu but you have to make sure they keep cool

That's all I can think of for now

[FutanXIV]

Adjusting the settings of the game itself will have the best results of course. Disabling Anti-Aliasing is usually a good start. Real-time Reflections, and Shadows are also common FPS hogs. So lowering their quality will help. Or simply just notch down the presets(Maximum, High(Desktop), etc.) until you find something that works well for you.