Guild Wars 2

I’m in the process of building my very first gaming pc and while I’m excited, I’m also a little hesitant on the parts I need to buy. Currently this is my running shopping list that my friend helped me put together (he doesn’t play the game) but I’m also aware that this game was said to be more CPU based then GPU. My question: will what I have in the provided list run GW2 at average 60 fps and run max (or very nearly) settings? Thanks a bunch for any input! Also due to my lack of knowledge on this matter I just copy/pasted the entire list of components even if most are not pertinent to the concern at hand.
• DIYPC Skyline-07-G Black / Green SECC ATX Full Tower Gaming USB 3.0 Computer Case w/ 7 × 120mm Green fans
• WD Blue 1TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive – 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch – WD10EZEX – OEM
• GIGABYTE GA-AB350-GAMING 3 (rev. 1.0) AM4 AMD B350 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
• EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SSC GAMING ACX 3.0, 04G-P4-6255-KR, 4GB GDDR5, DX12 OSD Support (PXOC)
• EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 120-G1-0650-XR 80+ GOLD 650W Fully Modular Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply
• G.SKILL Flare X Series 16GB (2 × 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) AMD X370 / B350 Memory (Desktop Memory)
• AMD RYZEN 5 1600X 6-Core 3.6 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo) Socket AM4 95W YD160XBCAEWOF Desktop Processor
• LG 12X Blu-Ray Disc Drive M-DISC Support Model UH12NS40 – OEM

You dont have to worry much. gw2 can run on a toaster on max settings. It use DX9 and the engine is ancient (its only a modified gw1 engine) so really the system specs for this game are for a 10+ year old game.

Yep, I figured as much but I live out in the sticks and the only PC’s I’ve ever really had were supermarket pieces of junk. The one that I currently have only runs the game with an average of 20 FPS, and that’s if I’m in an open field with no one around me lol. I can just hang it up when it comes to WvW. I’ve seen how the game can truly shine thanks to YouTube videos and want to get that same experience. Been playing since beta and I know the game is a very beautiful world but it can be so much more if I just take the time.

You want an intel CPU, game can utilize intel cpu’s way better than amd.

There are certain areas where you just wont get good fps.. Just too much load on ANY CPU available.

I can run it stable at 40 FPS on my Dell XPS 13 with Intel Iris GPU even in WvW. Min settings but v-sync and fxaa.

On my 5 years old PC it runs at 120 FPS at almost max settings (I don’t like max shaders, they’re strange, so I keep them medium by choice) and supersample. It’s an OC i7 4th gen and a gtx 970.
It would cost less than 300$ now.

A current gen i5 and a 1060 would probably do way better even with no OC.

Keep in mind that “stable” is used improperly when talking about gw2. The Devs did a great job, but some areas and some game modes will have spikes that can drop the fps on any CPU.

I’d recommend OP stick with Ryzen. It’s only slightly slower in single threaded performance than a current gen Intel, but much faster for multithreaded.

In terms for future proofing, Ryzen is the way to go. Intel themselves will make higher core count consumer CPUs in their next gen, so the trend is inevitable.

Also consider getting a solid state drive if your budget allows. You’d be surprised how much more responsive it’ll make your PC feel.

Don’t go AMD, you might get it cheaper but the quality you get out of it is just as cheap.
Always go intel, i know it’s a few bucks more but it keeps your pc allot more stable and the chance of overheating is miles less likely then with a AMD.
also, with nvidia i have a personal law, any version with 50 (or 500 in the early years) are nice for movies and text but that’s all you can do, anything above that and it’s a gaming GPU.

i had a 770gtx and could run games that the 950 could not (not as fast at least), now i have the 1080 and just steamroll any game i want.

Excelsior.

Sorudo above me probably slept the last half year, but with Ryzen, AMD kicks intel’s kitten . People and (trustworthy) magazines are very satisfied with the Ryzen. The previous models (Bulldozer and all the FX chips were indeed terrible). Intel played the monopolist and kept the prices of any hexa- and octacore artificially high. Then Ryzen came, boom. Many compilers also screw over AMD CPUs by leaving out instructions for AMD CPU, which is not a fault. Several companies already announced Ryzen support incoming.

I have a Ryzen 7 1700X and a GTX1080. I run the game on high setting, except for anti aliasing, because I enjoy the crisp look. Also, if you want much bang for your buck, go Ryzen 7, no matter which one. You will LOVE it. If you are 100% into gaming, go Intel, because games often use Single core / less threads and the turo boost of the Intel CPU are very good, but then, I rather have slightly slower cores, but twice the amount, because properly programmed programs will profit heavily from the 16 threads. I speak out of own experience. Rendering videos while doing other CPU intensive task with no problems – Ryzen. Also, about “overheating”, no, Surodo, that’s also wrong. The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a Ryzen is spot-on (Germany’s renowned tech magazine “c’t” even said that, even their Threadripper CPU are great in that department). So please, stop talking nonsense. :-)

Full load (100% CPU usage, 8 cores revved up) on my Ryzen is 65°C (with a beQuiet Dark Rock CPU cooler).

Hi Zedek,

In addition to what you’ve said, if anyone was adamant to have an Intel, I’d actually recommend them to hold off until next gen.

Intel’s current gen consumer chips aren’t much of an upgrade from thier last gen AND thier next gen is reportedly going to feature more than 4 cores / 8 threads.

Competition is a wonderful thing

Excelsior One vs. The World,

also, the socket generation (AM4) is just starting while any affordable Intel CPU (which is most likely “just” a Quad Core) uses the 1151 socket – almost obsolete already. I’ve read so deep into the topic it made my head spin.

Yes, Intel CPU revv their cores up to 4.5 GHz (stock core), and yes, GW2 profits from that. Or my favourite freeware PhotoEditor. Also, many games, but that is actually the fault of the developers, and, as said, many already announced future AMD, octacore and Ryzen support.

About future intel CPU, yes, the previous generation i7s are good CPU indeed, but I’d be worried if every new i7 has only synthetic (read as: everday’s life users see no difference) benefits, yet cost twice the amount? For the next good octacore, you pay €1.000. Sorry, no. The c’t magazine I was mentioning before also said the Threadripper rips Intel apart, they even put it as cover story. If it’s “just another CPU from AMD”, they would not do that. Competition has begun again indeed, my last real and beloved AMD was in 1999, the AMD K6-2 (350 MHz) and later an Athlon. Since then, AMD failed a lot, but they did it yet again and raised from the ashes.

Right now it’s like this:
Intel i7 consumer chips:
Gaming: Very good! Programs/Productivity/Workstation: Okay

AMD Ryzen 7 consumer chips:
Gaming: Good! Programs/Productivity/Workstation: Very good!

As said, if you do just gaming, there is no way around an intel CPU (and no need for anything else). For me, as hobby filmer and video editor, there was not even a question.

I love my Ryzen, I can do video rendering, playing GW2, Demuxing a Let’s Play playlist in jDownloader all at the same time. 80% CPU load, no micro stutter, no performance issues. I was almost going for a i7 7700K, but THANK GOD, the store I was about to order it from screwed up and we had no business together. Then THANK GOD again, I read about the Ryzen.

The Ryzen with its 8 cores and (basically any) GTX 1080 are 2 great power houses working together. The NVENC (nVidia encoder) and the sheer power for any graphic/video related tasks and the CPU which is the first time of my life not bottlenecking.

In short: If you like raw power, there is no reason NOT to choose the Ryzen as your CPU. If you want to save a bit of money, you can try the Ryzen 1700 and overclock it to 3.8 GHz. You lose warranty though, that’s why I went for the “official” 3.8 GHz and bought the “X” (1700X).

I can render a full HD video in Magix Video Deluxe, have the browser with flash plugins open, record the whole thing meanwhile in OBS, have League of Legends open and GW2 at the same time (Window mode eats ressources, but usually I just get like 40 fps there, not just 30fps like in Window mode) and still, the CPU is at 55°C and 77.3% usage. And all of those programs just run like they are the only task open.

A turbo mode’d i7 and their 4 cores would already be out of competetion. Yes, there is a 6-core out there which is on par, but the price twice as much for the same result, also way hotter due to TDP issues. Some other guy also said that AMD pushed the (current) possibilities very hard with the Ryzen series, comparably low wattage (and thus heat) while sporting such power.

EDIT: Oh, I wondered why the Charakters often had blurred outfits. I just saw on the screenshot I have High-Res textures unchecked… ^^

Hi.

Because you said gaming PC, and not just a Gw2 PC, it’s a little diffrent. Namely, new games benefit more from having a GPU and less so for having a good CPU, while Gw2 prefers a better CPU with high single core speed but not much of a GPU. The current PC would be good for Gw2, but if you intend to play other games, I would consider dropping down to a 1500x or 1600 and getting a gtx 1060 6 GB.

Also, SSDs I think are mandatory for a modern gaming rig. SSDs greatly speed up load times and Windows usage. Probably aim for at least 200+ GB SSD.

Personally, I’d drop the HDD in favour of an SSD – preferably an M2 device if you can run to it. That’s where I have my OS and GW2.

What exactly is your budget range? If you plan on using the desktop for gaming all around and not just GW2 then something around the level of the 6GB 1060 would be better than a 1050Ti. The reason I say this is because the 1050 line is meant for older games or recent esport games. They’re games like LoL, Dota, etc that don’t require much to stay above a constant 60/120+ fps. Games above that would benefit more from the 1060 along with allowing you to not worry as much about future games too. I also suggest getting an SSD even if it has very limited capacity to be used as you boot drive and for 1~2 games that you have as the current primary. An SSD makes a very big difference when it comes to the responsiveness of even just Windows itself. DOn’t drop the HDD though, you would use your HDD for general storage and your SSD would be used only for Windows and what ever game you play often that benefits from the SSD.

These two upgrades would add an additional ~200$.

game is cpu bound, i ran 38-27 fps in teq with 6700k 4.7ghz and gtx 1080ti 2050mhz tho im in 3440×1440 and ultra settings forced MSAA in nVidiaInspector too

Check this https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

Get at least 4 cores and above.