Processor upgrade performance?

I currently have an old compaq presario s5200nx that I am trying to play world of warcraft on. I upgraded the ram to 760mb and installed a pci Radeon 9250 256mb. I'm still not getting the performance I'd like, the game doesn't run above 20 or so fps. The pc has a 2.7ghz celeron processor which runs at 100% capacity the entire time I'm playing the game. I don't think ram is the answer, as another 256 meets the maximum allowed by my mobo, and 760 meets the requirements to play the game. My specs seem to all be above the required to play the game. The problem isn't background programs, because I have restored the pc. It literally has only windows, the game, and the latest video card driver installed on it. Getting a new PC is not an option at my current salary. So here is my question: Would upgrading from a celeron to it's equivalent ghz pentium 4 processor, (which it seems my asus p4g533 mobo will support), give me a significant performance increase, or is my bottleneck problem more likely related to the fact that I have to use PCI video cards? (no agp slot).

Any input would be much much appreciated!

 

I don't think it's your processor or your ram, I think it's your video card. A good test would be to set the graphics in the game lower and see if that helps any. Also could be your connection, how fast is your internet?

 

No matter what I change on the in game or out of game video settings, the framerate stays fairly consistent. Everything is turned down right now. My internet connection is easily fast enough to play the game, a cable modem on which we used to run the game on 4 different pcs silmultaneously via a router. (Now it's just mine)

 

hmmmm.........is anything else running slow? Try putting a load on the processor by doing an anti virus and anti spyware scan at the same time. If it ends up crashing then yes I'd say it's your processor. Also you might want to try finding a program called process explorer. It lets you drill down into your processes and see what's causing them to utilize so much of the cpu. I'll keep looking for something and doing a little more research.

 

Pretty much everything runs slow. The cpu usage has been known to spike to 100% during web browsing and software installation. Everything seems to run great when the cpu usage isn't at 100%, but every time it hits 100% it gets very slow. It never crashes, just seems very "bogged down" if that makes any sense. I really appreciate the help btw.

 

Well then, can you see what process is hogging up all the cpu?

 

Give me about 20-30 minutes to get home and I'll see if we can figure this out.

 

the game is by far the highest ranging from 250 to 300k next is svchost.exe at 18k and explorer.exe at 16k. All other apps are at 10k or less.

 

bump

 

When was the last time you ran a virus scan and spyware scan? With the proc running at %100 it very well could be a virus.

 

I formatted and reinstalled windows, then ran a virus scan and deleted THAT so it wouldn't run in the background. Nothing.

 

Munkeywrench: Might want to look into buying that upgraded cpu after all. Those are normal ranges so I don't know what's causing it to run at 100% all the time. Might just be crapping out. You said you could get a P4 for it right?

 

Yeah, the equivalent ghz p4. Thanks for the help!

 

All CPUs under Windows run at 100% in games. That is by design.

The exception is dual core CPUs, of course.

That said..its the video card. PCI is a HORRIBLE interface, and the card itself is a poor performer. While WoW is dated, it still requires some video oomph. Not as much as other MMORPGs, but you gotta get a better card to be able to get better framerates.

Also, 768mb of ram is not enough for this game. While soloing, with not alot of mobs around, its fine. In an instance, a city, or worse, a raid...you will choke.

Here is a point of reference for you.

My machine specs:

AMD 64 X2 4400+
2gb PC3500 Corsair DDR
200gb Sata 3.0gb/s hard drive
256mb XFX 7800GTXOC

Now I run max details, at 1680x1050, w/ FSAA and AF. So that does eat up my frame rates a bit.

I max about 80fps in the old world. In Shattrath city, I hit 29fps. In a lot of other places in outlands, I cannot get over 40fps. So video does play a part here.