Observation of FPS

Before I start I would just like to show my computers specifactions and say a few other things so you know where I am coming from on this (If you do not know anything about dual core please do not complain about my CPU speed)

Processor:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory:
1024MB RAM
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT

As you can see I more then surpass the reccomended settings for the game and other games that are far more demanding such as Battlefield 2142, Now my computer Is spyware/virus free and I regulary defragment the harddrive; I know what every single process that is running is doing and I have no problems with FPS in any games, Except GuildWars that is.

Now I understand that GW is rendering more onscreen then any other games so the average FPS is going to be slightly lower then to say CS:S but what gets me is when my frames go down to around the 10-20 mark in an empty outpost then back up to a constant 60 in LA District 1.

Now for the past few weeks my average frames while running on maxed out settings and screen resolution (1280x1024) has been around 20-30, I assumed this was just me and that my PSU was a bit weak (New computer). After spending a week at my parents house over the holidays I noticed that my kid brothers computer was also having the same problem so this got me thinking it was more somthing to do with the game.

After doing a few tests I found that for the first 10 minutes of gamplay (Whilst not fighting any mobs) was at a very nice 100 FPS constant. After engaging a mob the FPS would decrease to a very low 20-30 and would stay the same untill I restarted the game.

I also noticed that mapping from one town to another did not affect frames. Neither did going from one continent to another. After the few recent updates done to the game this issue seems to have been resovled as myself and my brother are both getting constant 60s.

I would like to know if anyone else has noticed this fluxuation over the past month and if there was anything that they done to fix/prevent the decrease of FPS during gameplay.

One thing that I found out is that my FPS increased if I set Guild Wars' FSAA to 'Application Controlled' in the Nvidia control panel and just used the 4x from within the game. At higher resolutions (1280x960 and above) 4x FSAA is more than enough to eliminate visible jaggies.

It now fluctuates between 100 in populated areas and 250 odd in empty or sparsely populated ones.

That is possibly one solution, Another being rename the GW.exe - Nvidia has the horrible habbit like an annoying teacher that they think they know best and that is why many people are unable to play F.E.A.R unless they rename the .exe

I don't think you have to rename the .exe. The name of the .exe is telling the profiler in the driver which profile to use...all you have to do is edit the profile.

Intel processor is gg to gaming ^_^...

but enough of that...
I have the same set up except I have a
NForce 570 Mobo with built in Audio and minor video Processing to take audio processing load of CPU.
2 GB of DDR2 667mhz Ram
7600GT 256DDR3
AMD 64 X2 4200+ @ 2GHz clock

never goes below 61 FPS in PvE even in LA AD1.
Only time it slows down is if im recording gameplay via game cam because of its on the fly encoding and compression of video.

F.E.A.R. never even slows down for a second. Guild wars seems more demanding than F.E.A.R. but it may just be lag ^_^

What I meant was; By renaming the .exe it will not be using a preset profile and use the default one instead. On some cards the profile for some games actualy decreases performance.

So saying at a later date you were to upgrade, the preset for that game is unchanged and all that you would need to do is rename the .exe to it's default to get the best performance out of that game.

F.E.A.R is WAAAAAAY more demanding of resources than Guild Wars is. You must be experiencing network latency (a.k.a., "lag").

To the OP:
I don't think your system is a problem for GW...have you tried a different set of video drivers? Also, what kind of internet connection do you have and how do you connect to it? (i.e., directly via ethernet, WiFi, PNA, HomePlug, etc.)

I know older drivers for the nvidia series are more stable but the latest ones from the nvidia site are fine as far as I can tell, I'm currently at my parents house and it's WiFi here although this would not interfer with frames per second? I Would assume that would only affect latency?

Hmmmm....since you mentioned having the problem in certain areas I was thinking that perhaps the version of the drivers you're using could be bugged rendering a certain graphical effect in those areas...just something to test. I know that changing drivers is a hassle, but...

Spotty or slow network performance can indeed affect FPS. Keep in mind that your PC is exchanging information about the positions and activities of other players, and NPCs to a lesser extent. This will normally manifest as a sudden "jumping" or "skipping" effect with regards to your position on a map and the positions of the other actors around you, but under certain circumstances it can affect your framerate.

I think you fail to understand that it was a joke. I have built my system on my own ... and I am a Microsoft Certified Network Professional...

yes i know it is the in game network lag that causes the slow downs... and no I have the latest drivers. Btw I have 5MBps connection.

Sorry for the confusion....

Heh, I was addressing the OP. I wasn't trying to "talk down" to you. Sorry if it sounded like it.

On a side note, I work with MCSE's that can build systems that really don't know the first thing about how a computer actually works. Funny, eh? Most of the MCP certs aren't really that hard to get if you read the right books.

Im getting 60 FPS on max settings....I have a ati 1950pro 256mb, and a AMD 4200+, 2gigs of RAM...my question on top of this one is do I need to have 4x AA on? What does it do for the performance?

I have 12mbps what is your point. far to many network providers shape traffic and use QOS to priorities network traffic having the biggest pipe in the world doesn't mean a darn thing if your traffic is classified bulk. This is even worse on providers who offer VOIP and Heavily rely on VOIP QOS. However being a Certified Network professional n' all I am sure you were already aware of that right.

I'm sorry I just had to say it, I have to be a dick like that sometimes, but it is always more funny in my head then it is when it comes out.

What Dex means, is that there is a right way and a wrong way to do something, this is the wrong way. Some applications are dependent on hard coded file names and applications paths. You are better off taking 5 minutes to open up the Nvidia control Panel and locate the correct profile. You can edit it or delete it.

Nvidia GeForce 7800 GS OC 256MB (AGP)
1GB RAM
Intel Pentium 4 2.20GHz (Not dual)
WinXP Pro

Run GW on 1280x1024 fullscreen, max settings. I get 60 FPS in totally empty places, 40-55 ish in places with few people/enemies, and about 30 in towns, sometimes lower if it's real crowded. It's odd, but GW seems to like ATI cards more (I see why ATI sponsors them). It's even odder, since I can run games like Half-Life 2 and CSS on max settings 60 FPS+.

4xAA will -decrease- performance but improve image quality by reducing jagged edges on rendered diagonal lines and making them smoother. It's much easier to tell from screenshots than it is when you are moving around at a fast pace at a fast pace obviously.

I have a 7900gs, e6300 with 2gb of RAM and with the past festival in the crowded monastery, I was still hitting around 35fps if I remember correctly. I'm not currently oc'ing either the video card or the processor either. To be honest, I would have expected your machine to be getting much better FPS than what you have said even with max settings (though it is also very dependent on the resolution you are running at as well.)

True, I have a E6600, 2GB RAM and 8800GTS and on everything maxed, 1280*1024 windowed, I was getting 20-25 FPS in the area in Shing Jea where everybody was waiting for the pig and letting off their rockets, sparklers etc.
It's really funny how this system can eat Oblivion @ ultra high for breakfast, but not that good looking GW bring it down to it's knees. Or it might be the new Vista drivers, dunno...
BTW it'd be nice if people just stopped throwing around the FPS values without saying the resolution, details and most importantly, where they get it. For example, nice "benchmark place" is start of a HoH match (observer), with all 3 teams still alive and fighting around the altar in the golden mist. Try to select someone far from the altar and zoom out fully to see all the other people. I had like 20FPS there on my old 6800GT, now it's about 50.

1440 x 900 atm , and I have 2x AA on.

And to reply to the last message: not everyone has knowlege about this FPS (like me) so please bear that in mind- which would of explained why I was asking questions in the first place.

i have the 7600 gt oc and i get about same thing as the OP but i have never seen it go above 90fps (Max settings with 1240x1024 res). in towns i get 10-20 if full, and in fighting situations anywhere from 20 to 50 (depends on place).

and i have noticed if i play with the sound off i get about 10 fps better is that normal ?

I find my fps really awful and have no idea why

Same, the HoH battles really take a toll on FPS with all the teams still alive.

And yeah, you guys should post your resolution and whether you run in fullscreen or not. I recall running 1024x768 on windowed, and my FPS was a bit higher, though when I run GW in windowed mode, for some reason every few seconds there is a small lagspike or frame skip.

Fullscreen 1280x960x32 with everything maxed.



Shame about the crap pings though, and that's on a 8MB MaxDSL line too.

Damn, you guys get a high FPS rating, Mine averages at about 15-20 lol
But then again I am trying to run it on a laptop which is a complete piece of crap. It seems to run smooth at 15-20, 258 fps must be amazing
Ram-768 mb
Pentium 4 2.0 Ghz
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500
Win Xp Pro
And I run it 1024x768
It also doesn't help that the laptop is provided by my school so its loaded with all theese crap programs to prevent us from playing games and looking at porn ect..
I usually have most of them turned off though.
The Fact that I'm running off a 54mb/s wireless router on a low connection doesn't help either.

Your config is? And where was the screenshot taken?

I would love to know your set up