Benchmark Results - Need Guidance - New To FFXIV

[Faewyn]

Hiyas all! So, I just purchased the digital download, installed, and tried to play last night. The game played HORRIBLY. My initial thought is that it is my video card as it is an onboard. I have a card I can install, but need a bigger power supply to support said video card.

I downloaded and ran the benchmark tool. Could someone please take a gander at my system as well as the benchmark and tell me if it is just a video card issue? I can play WoW on mid settings with no issues. Diablo III as well. So I don't think it is my system as a whole (at least I pray to the gaming gods that it is not)

System
System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Model CM1730/CM1830
Total amount of system memory 4.00 GB RAM
System type 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 689 GB
Disk partition (C 557 GB Free (689 GB Total)

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics
Total available graphics memory 1919 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 256 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 1663 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.863.0.0
Primary monitor resolution 1366x768
DirectX version DirectX 10

Benchmark Results (HORRIBLE)
FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn Official Benchmark (Character Creation)
Tested on:9/19/2013 12:56:39 PM
Score:768
Average Framerate:6.344
Performance:Insufficient
-Does not meet specifications for running the game.

Screen Size: 1280x720
Screen Mode: Windowed
Graphics Presets: Custom
General
-Enable HDR rendering and improve overall graphic quality. : Disabled
-Disable rendering of objects when not visible. (Occlusion Culling) : Disabled
-Use low-detail models on distant objects. (LOD) : Disabled
-Cache LOD data only when necessary. (LOD Streaming) : Disabled
-Real-time Reflections : Off
-Edge Smoothing (Anti-aliasing) : Off
-Transparent Lighting Quality : Normal
-Grass Quality : Off
Shadows
-Self : Hide
-Other NPCs : Hide
Shadow Quality
-Use low-detail models on shadows. (LOD) : Disabled
-Shadow Resolution : Low - 512p
-Shadow Cascading : Off
-Shadow Softening : Weak
Texture Detail
-Texture Filtering : Bilinear
-Anisotropic Filtering : x4
Movement Physics
-Self : Off
-Other NPCs : Off
Effects
-Naturally darken the edges of the screen. (Limb Darkening) : Disabled
-Blur the graphics around an object in motion. (Radial Blur) : Disabled
-Screen Space Ambient Occlusion : Off
-Glare : Off
Cinematic Cutscenes
-Enable depth of field. : Disabled

System:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.130801-1533)
AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 220 Processor
3839.176MB
ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics(VRAM 1916 MB) 8.17.0010.1083

Benchmark results do not provide any guarantee FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn will run on your system.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn Official Website http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com
(C) 2010-2013 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.

Tweet
http://sqex.to/ffxiv_bench_na #FFXIV Score:768 1280x720 Custom AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 220 Processor ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics

Please no BS or troll responses. Thank you so much, in advance, for any and all help

[Aure]

My initial thought is that it is my video card as it is an onboard.

This is your answer from what I see.

[Solitear]

You need a video card... while you're in there swap said factory power supply to support new video card.

[OffbeatShinigami]

Make sure to check the minimum system requirements for FFXIV ARR and compare your own specs to that, to get a general idea of what you need. There won't be much point installing the new card if it still isn't up to snuff.

The graphics card I myself use is an AMD Radeon HD 6450. It was not expensive at all, as far as video cards go, and the 550W power supply that I bought to support it was also fairly inexpensive. Total, I think everything cost me MAYBE 150-200$. My computer runs smoothly with them and my benchmark score was 2132.

[Zarabeth]

You need a better video card and more ram and probably a better processor. Basically you need a decent gaming computer to run FFXIV.

Benchmark Results (HORRIBLE)
FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn Official Benchmark (Character Creation)
Tested on:9/19/2013 12:56:39 PM
Score:768
Average Framerate:6.344
Performance:Insufficient
-Does not meet specifications for running the game.

You need a computer that meets the specifications. It's not just your video card.

[Orophin]

Yeah, your system is pretty low spec. Most systems these days have a minimum of 6-8gb of RAM. A 3000 series card is really old. The game won't even run reasonably well without a midrange 4800 series card. (4850, 4870) This game can take advantage of 4 cores when you only have 2.

Basically you either need to buy a new PC, or the cheaper route would be if you have a PS3 you could buy that version.

[Kittra]

Most important facts I've noticed about your setup:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 220 @ 2.8ghz (factory listed speed)
Memory: 4.0GB (speed unknown)
Video Card: ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics (integrated graphics)

Just looking at your CPU I can tell you're sitting at right about the bare minimum "CPU" requirements, not to mention all the other things you're missing.

Your Memory is fine, don't listen to people saying you need above 4GB to play the game. Your system would only benefit with more memory (for gaming) if you first had a stronger CPU.

Integrated graphics are a definite out for this game, you need a dedicated Video Card before you even start to think about running it.


What you can do:

• Your CPU is fine, just at the bare minimum.
• You need to get a dedicated Video Card with at least 1 GB of video memory (recommend something in the $150-$200 range for best results).
• If you have a 300-450 watt power supply, you'll need to upgrade it to at least a 500 watt one, just to be safe.

Even after all this, don't expect a huge improvement.

Your CPU will prevent you from seeing any "large" improvements, but I think you could benchmark at least in the 2000-3500 range, which is enough to run the game smoothly at a resolution of 1280x720.

*Thoughts*
Looking up your PC model number, ASUS lists it as coming with a FAR more powerful CPU at bare minimum and I can't find any website that lists it as coming with that AMD Athalon II x2 220 as stock.

Did you perhaps build the PC on ASUS's website or did you get it at a retailer?

If you got it from a retailer for $500-600 you should feel taken advantage of. That PC model lists it as coming with a AMD Phenom II 1065T @2.9ghz, a far superior CPU with 6 physical cores.
(I have a PC with a AMD Phenom II X6 1090T, which is just a step above that. It benchmarks the game at 8000...)

[OffbeatShinigami]

I will say, for what it's worth, until yesterday I was running off of 4gb of RAM fine. I upped it to 7GB and didn't see a noticeable different in anything, really. And my CPU isn't much off from that one, either. AMD Athlon II X2 250 @ 3.0ghz My game runs smoothly on desktop standard without having to adjust graphics further than that. My load screens are a tad bit long, for sure, but otherwise, everything else is fine.

The biggest hindrance is going to be that graphics card. It's really way obsolete for any type of modern MMO these days.

On a last note, I will also say that I have to play in the lower populated servers because the congestion tends to crash my game, so and overall overhaul couldn't hurt. To be the most economic, start a little at a time and adjust where needed. Graphics card & power supply should be at the top of the list, followed by CPU upgrade, then RAM.

(PS Looking into eventually upgrading to a solid-state drive from your current hard drive might also warrant a large improvement, or even just tacking it on to your current hard drive.)

[Faewyn]

Most important facts I've noticed about your setup:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 220 @ 2.8ghz (factory listed speed)
Memory: 4.0GB (speed unknown)
Video Card: ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics (integrated graphics)

Just looking at your CPU I can tell you're sitting at right about the bare minimum "CPU" requirements, not to mention all the other things you're missing.

Your Memory is fine, don't listen to people saying you need above 4GB to play the game. Your system would only benefit with more memory (for gaming) if you first had a stronger CPU.

Integrated graphics are a definite out for this game, you need a dedicated Video Card before you even start to think about running it.


What you can do:

• Your CPU is fine, just at the bare minimum.
• You need to get a dedicated Video Card with at least 1 GB of video memory (recommend something in the $150-$200 range for best results).
• If you have a 300-450 watt power supply, you'll need to upgrade it to at least a 500 watt one, just to be safe.

Even after all this, don't expect a huge improvement.

Your CPU will prevent you from seeing any "large" improvements, but I think you could benchmark at least in the 2000-3500 range, which is enough to run the game smoothly at a resolution of 1280x720.

*Thoughts*
Looking up your PC model number, ASUS lists it as coming with a FAR more powerful CPU at bare minimum and I can't find any website that lists it as coming with that AMD Athalon II x2 220 as stock.

Did you perhaps build the PC on ASUS's website or did you get it at a retailer?

If you got it from a retailer for $500-600 you should feel taken advantage of. That PC model lists it as coming with a AMD Phenom II 1065T @2.9ghz, a far superior CPU with 6 physical cores.
(I have a PC with a AMD Phenom II X6 1090T, which is just a step above that. It benchmarks the game at 8000...)

Thank you for your input. I have a video card waiting to be put in. It is a Radeon HD 6750, I will be purchasing a new PSU off newegg-found a great deal for a 650w. I purchased my CPU brand new, in the box, from Best Buy for $427 the beginning of 2012.

To answer your question about speed, etc...here is the report... I just ran CPU-Z (CPUID)
CPU-Z TXT Report
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Binaries
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPU-Z version 1.66.1.x64

Processors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 2

APICs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 0
-- Core 0
-- Thread 0 0
-- Core 1
-- Thread 0 1

Timers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACPI timer 3.580 MHz
HPET timer 14.318 MHz
Perf timer 14.318 MHz
Sys timer 1.000 KHz
BCLK timer 200.90 MHz


Processors Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 2 (max 2)
Number of threads 2 (max 2)
Name AMD Athlon II X2 220
Codename Regor
Specification AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 220 Processor
Package Socket AM3 (938)
CPUID F.6.3
Extended CPUID 10.6
Brand ID 12
Core Stepping DA-C3
Technology 45 nm
TDP Limit 64 Watts
Core Speed 803.6 MHz
Multiplier x Bus Speed 4.0 x 200.9 MHz
HT Link speed 2009.0 MHz
Stock frequency 2800 MHz
Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, x86-64, AMD-V
L1 Data cache 2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 2 x 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
FID range 4.0x - 14.0x
Max VID 1.400 V
# of P-States 4
P-State FID 0xC - VID 0x0C - IDD 28 (14.00x - 1.400 V)
P-State FID 0x5 - VID 0x18 - IDD 27 (10.50x - 1.250 V)
P-State FID 0x0 - VID 0x20 - IDD 25 (8.00x - 1.150 V)
P-State FID 0x100 - VID 0x30 - IDD 17 (4.00x - 0.950 V)
In all honesty, I don't know what very much of this means, but figured some computer geek ( I use that term lovingly) would be able to decipher and explain.

Thanks!

[KisaiTenshi]

Just looking at your CPU I can tell you're sitting at right about the bare minimum "CPU" requirements, not to mention all the other things you're missing.
Your Memory is fine, don't listen to people saying you need above 4GB to play the game. Your system would only benefit with more memory (for gaming) if you first had a stronger CPU.
Integrated graphics are a definite out for this game, you need a dedicated Video Card before you even start to think about running it.[/LIST]

I'll disagree. Games continue to be designed around a single-core.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html Shows the CPU has having a passmark rating of 947
If you check the requirements page, It simply says "Intel Core 2 Duo", without defining which model (Laptop models will be around 1.5Ghz and certainly insufficient, but the single thread of the x220 is 'better' than the first Core 2 Quad Core Intel chip) So it may be sufficient, history has proven that "minimum" requirements are meaningless, and only means that it will run, not run well.

The Video card on the other hand is substantially below minimum requirements.
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/mi...ange_gpus.html
Radeon 3000 has a score of 106
The minimum requirements of a HD 4770 (which is a mid-range card of that family) which has a passmark rating of 1,068 ( http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html )
So you need something that is as capable or better.
I can tell you right now that the current mid-range card, the 7770 (which is twice as fast as the 4770), can run the game at maximum settings and get around 24fps.

If I didn't know better I'd say that it sounds like your PC is a frankenbox that someone slapped different parts into. When I check 3DMark's benchmarks, there is in fact a combination matching your configuration.