WoW Plus

One week into my computer experiment, means that I now have a fully functioning 64 bit Operating System with a 64 bit WoW client. Now installed as intended on my old system I can see some real improvements. My computer is probably around 3 years old now and the only improvement to its performance was an upgrade of memory to 4MB, 12 months ago.

Windows XP does not cope with memory over 3.5-4GB due to the deficiencies of the 32 bit operating and certain articles suggest that WoW 32 bit client only uses 2GB of available memory and copious amounts of CPU. Anybody who plays in Full Screen mode and then Alt + Tabs to look at a web browser will have encountered the lag before IE or Firefox are available to use. The reason for the reduced lag on the 64 bit client is that it typically uses less CPU power to run the client, with more data being cached in the larger memory available. I haven't done the statistical tests on memory and CPU but the in game response is sharper, with higher frame rates up 50% to 30 fps even in high population areas like Stormwind. One other advantage is the decrease in load times and re-logging.

I have no real empirical evidence to back it up, but I believe that this is a huge improvement for my computer

Instructions are for people who don't know what they doing.

My daughter when she was a very young child, was a big fan of Bob the Builder. In the episode "One Shot Wendy" the gang are busy making a crazy golf course. In the process of making a windmill, Bob utters the immortal lines "Instructions are for people who don't know what they doing." Bob of course comes a cropper and ends up inside the windmill unable to get out.

I have often been heard muttering the same line, and more often than not end up in a similar pickle. It would appear that I have installed the WoW Client 64 bit version wrong. The official instructions as per Wowwiki states:

Windows

• Make sure your 32-bit World of Warcraft run directory is up-to-date (build # matches 64-bit client).
• Unzip WoWLive-64-Win-15211.zip (approx. 7.6 MB) into the run directory where WoW.exe resides. It should create a WoWLive-64-Win-15211\ directory.
• Copy the following files from WoWLive-64-Win-15211\ into your World of Warcraft run directory:
  • Battle.net-64.dll
  • MovieProxy.exe
  • WoW-64.exe
• Run the Launcher, go to Options\Game Preferences and make sure "Launch 32-bit Client:" is unchecked.
• Click Play.

It would appear I have 2 distinct versions of WoW installed on my machine. This way if the 64 bit client goes pear shaped I have a backup plan. Opening the game without the launcher is just so fast anyway. I guess for now that I will just leave it as it is. There is no shortage of HDD space on my PC. Due to the number of times I rebuild my PC I keep my data separate from the Operating system. The disks are labelled as:

C:\ System
D:\ Music
E:\ Video

Both WoW installs are sat on the E:\ drive exempt from the regular use of Format C:

Is There Anybody Out There?

The last post was several days in the writing. I am still playing but not very much. To fill the gap I have recently rebuilt my PC.

My current PC originally came with Windows Vista, I tried to love this operating system as much as XP but it just didn't work between us. On the rebound I went back to my first love Windows XP. We had some lovely times together but I became obsessed with something new, it was shiny and I wanted it. The object of my affections was of course Windows 7, but it was still in beta. I had heard such good things about Windows 7 and I had to have. It was everything that Vista wasn't but oddly it shares so much with this unloved predecessor.

In the end Windows 7 Beta was a complete washout for me, I tried 32 and 64 bit version and none of them would get past the introduction page. As you can imagine, I was not in rush to buy a product that had a good chance of not working. I returned once more to Windows XP and thought no more about it.

A few months later I got involved in a Computer rollout of Windows 7, with server implementation of Server 2008. Windows 7 proved to be a joy to work with it, once you worked out were all the menus had disappeared to. Whilst on the rollout I took the opportunity to see if my computer would actually support Windows 7 now it was a proper operating system with its very own service pack.  Sure enough it worked like a dream for several months until one day it fell out of love with me. The messages it sent me got worse and worse with every passing day, and then one day the screen stopped showing the lovely scenes of the United Kingdom and everything went black.

Oddly enough the PC still worked and the updates kept rolling in. I eventually got depressed by the blackness of it all, and went off to consult the Underworld Oracle. The font of all knowledge told me I could have my Windows 7 all shiny and new again. This happened again about 6 weeks later and the process just rolled on for 4 or 5 resets then Windows 7 stopped loving me and the world went black forever. Over the black background a little message in white font was teasing me.

"Windows 7 Build 7601 This copy of windows not genuine".

Now the dilema was what to do? The install had only been a test to see if Windows 7 would install, but could I go back to Windows XP? The answer of course is no way. Then it struck me that my wife has a new laptop, and that all the new laptops are rolling out with 64 bit as you would expect. The version of Office 2010 in the house supports 3 licenses, WoW also now as a 64 bit client, so would my aging PC support Windows 7 64 bit.

The answer is a resounding Yes. Currently installed is Office 2010 and early stage 64 bit WoW client.
I do still have the 32 bit copy to hand if needed. The 64 bit WoW client is a strange beast. The installer is a very tiny 7.2MB in size and this grows to an enormous size very quickly. Currently it occupies about 27 GB but you can play almost immediately, with the proviso of a very poor framerate. I am unable to give my full impressions until it has stopped updating but the early signs are very encouraging.

Now I have Windows 7 64 bit on test for a few weeks, but what happens when it goes black again. Well there is something shiny and new just round the corner, I just need to get hold of that Windows 8 Beta software.

I am definitely not sitting Comfortably Numb.