UI Update Recommendations?Follow

Well, I've finally started becoming tired of the cluttered look of my current UI. I want to update to something that doesn't use up almost all the space on my screen. :/

However, I'm not the most computer savvy person around. I've tried x-perl, and can see how it can be beneficial...but it's confusing just trying to set it up. I'd like to get something clean to look at, easy to set up/understand, and something that doesn't use up a lot of memory or, more to the point, doesn't add to the lag I already get. (Yeah, I know...I need to update my computer. But until I can save enough money for the upgrades, I'm stuck with what I have.)

Does anyone have any good recommendations, please?

ps~ Yes, I'm looking at options at wowinterface and other similar sites, but I would like to hear what Alla posters recommend. :)

I've found that AG Unit Frames is a nice alternative to X-Perl. I've used X-Perl for a long time, but I made the switch thanks to X-Perl not providing rune info for DK's.

AG along with Grid for raids is my set up.

As far as other essentials; Sexy Minimap is a decent one, Bartender 4 for your action bars. I tried Autobar, but I can't really stand the damn thing at all. I belive Titan Panel is a lighter on memory than Fubar.

Well I'll be able to help you better if I knew what you are looking for. Are you a minimalist or do you want all the information on your screen? Do you play your main exclusively or jump from alt to alt depending on the day of the week? Do you want a small UI footprint or do you not care if it's a bit bloated?

The UI I'm using right now is ArkiveUI. But if you are new to mods I really wouldn't recommend it as it has a few steps outside the game that need to be done.

The last one I used before that one was SpartanUI. It started having some issues with the newest patches but those may have been fixed.

If you like pretty looks with max amount of screen space the new spartanUI is out and looks great. Comes with bartender and puts everything you need at the bottom of the screen to free up lots of space. Just add in a few class/roll specific addons and it will look somthing like this http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/darkhybridx/Immortaltitle.jpg

Also decreasing the opacity and increasing the spacing help open up the visible areas.

Bongos can also put conditionals such as [combat] on your bars, making them vanish in combat. Useful as you typically don't use tradeskills then or certain other abilities.

After lowering the UI scale, you can still bring up the font size of the text boxes.

With a lower end system, you're going to want to go fairly minimal. Grab the key addons that change the look and feel and leave it at that. You can start adding bells and whistles once you have your stuff setup, but be prepared to drop the unneeded ones if they start affecting your system.

Unit Frames - I use Pitbull, but there's a plethora out there. AG Unit Frames, Perl Classic, XPerl are all good options. Try a few and find one you like.

Action Bars - Dominos or Bartender4 are pretty standard. Try changing the scale of individual bars and hiding unneeded ones when you don't need them.

Raid Warnings - BigWigs or Deadly Boss Mods, both do the same thing. I prefer BigWigs, but in essence, they are the same.

Threat Meter - Omen

Damage Meter - Recount is pretty much standard now a days. However, this can add quite a load on your resources, so I'd suggest not using it at first, and then adding it and configuring it to take up as little memory as possible. (Track only Boss Fights, possibly track only your damage, don't track out of group, etc)

After that, it's all bells and whistles as each addon will increase the amount of memory used.

A bigger part of what you're looking for is also proper setup. You can have only a few addons installed, but if not properly setup they will still clutter your screen. If you search around (or ask nicely), Theo has made some great posts about his own UI. It would be the epitome of "uncluttered" if it still remains how I remember it. I have also uncluttered a lot of my UI, and while I do run with quite a few addons (that would make a low end system cry), the time I took to set it up made sure I could still see what I'm doing. (I still have some opportunities to unclutter more, but I do a lot of button swapping as I play, so I have several "storage" bars to make that easier).

Mine.

It is pretty much a SpartanUI copy. I liked the way it looked, but some of the features didn't work for me, so I used other addons to get the same look.

Dominos: for my Action Bars

Simple Mini-map: to move my map and set the map up the way it is.

Xperl: I use this JUST for my icon, my pet and my target. The rest I turn off.

Recount: to know my DPS/over all damage. HAs pretty much any info you would want to recall (healing, deaths, etc.)

Prat 3.0: This is my Chat mod, I like what it does.

Titan Bar: the bar at the top. I like having that info at a glance.

I also have:

Carbonite for my Map Mod and Quest Helper.

And this thing called MoveAnything!, it lets you move any of the screen/frames/pretty much anything that can be seen on screen or poped up (spell book, paper doll, AH, etc.)

I play on dial-up and on a comp from 04. The only time i really have any issues is when I go to Dalaran. I have to turn off all my addons to go there T.T

For the life of me (and short of doing a complete copy of the WoW folder on the machine in question), I absolutely can not find any information (if there is, it's buried in 115+ pages of forums at 25 posts a page) on what the bars to the left and right of my mage are. I would like to play around with that addon, or an equivalent, on a machine I play on much more frequently (aka my own).

Edit: I have found out that it is XPerl_HUD. Eventually I have overlooked that addon several times when comparing installed addons.

Edited, Feb 20th 2009 5:19am by soggymaster