Guild Wars 2

I’m trying to get a build together for my husband’s birthday present, and I’m trying to decide what build to get. I’d like the computer to run near maximum. My computer runs it at medium-high, and it’s a three year old Qosmio X857. (RAM: 12gb, CPU: I7-3610QM 2.30GHz, Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 670M.)

The builds I’m looking at are:
Extra Case Fans: Maximum 120MM Color Case Cooling Fans
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4690 3.50 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1150
CPU / Processor Cooling Fan: Asetek 550LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler – Extreme Cooling Performance (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull))
Motherboard: MSI B85M-E45 mATX w/ Military Class 4, GbLAN, 1 Gen3 PCIe x16, 1
RAM / System Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: EVGA Superclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 (Maxwell) (Single Card)
Power Supply: 600 Watts – EVGA 600B 80 PLUS BRONZE Power Supply
Hard Drive: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive)
Internal Wireless Network Card: GIGABYTE GC-WB867D-I 802.11AC Wi-Fi up to 867 Mbps + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo w/ Dual Antenna PCI-E Adapter
(2TB hard drive was a free upgrade, so it’s not costing me anything. This computer build is from cyberpowerpc.com. It would cost me $981.)

Extra Case Fans: 3x [Blue] 120mm LED Case Fan
CPU: AMD A10-6800K APU (4x 4.10GHZ/4MB L2 Cache)
CPU / Processor Cooling Fan: Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (Copper plate for best cooling performance) (ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4 — 2x PCIe x16, 6x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
RAM / System Memory: 8 GB [4 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 – 2GB – EVGA SuperSC ACX 2.0+Single Card
Power Supply: 600 Watt – Standard
Hard Drive: 1 TB HARD DRIVE — 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s
Internal Wireless Network Card: 802.11AC Wireless Dual Band Module
(This computer is from ibuypower.com. I would cost me $1046.)

Does anyone have any recommendations? From what I’ve been reading, for GW2 an i7 processor would be unnecessary as an i5 would be more than enough for the way GW2 runs the game, and anything over 8gb RAM is also unnecessary. My main concern is the GPU and the cooling. My Qosmio runs very hot, and it significantly decreases the performance. I’d like to get him a computer equivalent of mine, or better.

Thanks.

The first one should do fine. I’d strongly recommend against ibuypower and cyberpowerpc, though, and I’d suggest that you actually build the computer yourself. You’re paying quite a bit to have the competer put together for you. You could either build the same thing for a lot less or get a much better computer for the same amount of money.

That second one is a massively overpriced piece of junk, though.

Make sure u have fast ram to load player models otherwise
u will have to settle for 10-20fps.

Fermi.2409:

The first one should do fine. I’d strongly recommend against ibuypower and cyberpowerpc, though, and I’d suggest that you actually build the computer yourself. You’re paying quite a bit to have the competer put together for you. You could either build the same thing for a lot less or get a much better computer for the same amount of money.

I’ve never built a computer, though I think I’d be capable of it with some reading. If I did that, would it be reasonable to use that build, but order and put together the parts myself?

Fermi.2409:

That second one is a massively overpriced piece of junk,though.

Thanks. I was thinking that might be the case.

Extreme.8350:

Make sure u have fast ram to load player models otherwise
u will have to settle for 10-20fps.

Both setups have DD3-1600 RAMs so he’ll be fine about memory.

I also suggest the i5 setup (the 1st one), it will run GW2 smoothly on high~ultra , obviously really high populated encounters will lower the FPS, but there is not setup in the world that would stop that

I’d recommend going with something like: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JHzJXL with a copy of Windows from reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap, but the one you picked out should do fine. You don’t need an aftermarket CPU cooler if you’re not overclocking, but if you really want one just get a Hyper 212 Evo instead of some fancy water cooling unit.

Newegg has some excellent video guides as well. Look up “Newegg how to build a PC” on youtube and it should turn up; iirc part 2 involves actually putting stuff together.

Belzebu.3912:

Both setups have DD3-1600 RAMs so he’ll be fine about memory.

*She’ll. Haha.
….Or he if you are referring to my husband. Now I’ve confused myself. XD

Belzebu.3912:

I also suggest the i5 setup (the 1st one), it will run GW2 smoothly on high~ultra , obviously really high populated encounters will lower the FPS, but there is not setup in the world that would stop that

That’s a relief to hear. Good to know.

Fermi.2409:

I’d recommend going with something like: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JHzJXL with a copy of Windows from reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap, but the one you picked out should do fine. You don’t need an aftermarket CPU cooler if you’re not overclocking, but if you really want one just get a Hyper 212 Evo instead of some fancy water cooling unit.

Newegg has some excellent video guides as well. Look up “Newegg how to build a PC” on youtube and it should turn up; iirc part 2 involves actually putting stuff together.

The prospect is a little terrifying, but I will investigate it for sure. Thank you.

Does anyone have an suggestion as to a better GPU? If I’m going to build it myself, I might be able to get a better one. Is the Radeon R9 280x better than an overclocked Nvidia 960?

From what I understood a while back when the performance and FPS threads were cool and hip was that for GW2 what matters most is your CPU and not GPU.

I run it on an i7 and it works pretty kitten well.
Not sure if this is actually the case but if it is you might look at something like an i7 or better.

You should be able to get a 290X/970 assuming a budget of $1000. I’d personally opt for a 290X, since they’re a decent kitteneaper- $280-300 or so for a nice one.

Even if building a computer seems scary, it’s honestly super easy. Everything goes in one place and as long as you’re careful you’ll be fine.

Harper.4173:

From what I understood a while back when the performance and FPS threads were cool and hip was that for GW2 what matters most is your CPU and not GPU.

I run it on an i7 and it works pretty kitten well.
Not sure if this is actually the case but if it is you might look at something like an i7 or better.

From what I know, the number of cores is not the issue, so it must be the GHz that makes a difference? I’m also under the impression that the jump from i5 to i7 is not very significant. Maybe that impression is wrong.

id get the i7 just so when you decide to play something that does utilize multiple threads that the PC can handle it.

I personally would also stay away from AMD for GW2. This was from a year ago when I built my current gaming rig: The AMD got half the performance of a slower i7 on a laptop I have. My current rig maxes out settings.

Intel i7 3770k, NVIDIA GTX 760, 8gb ram (corsair i think), 2x Sold state drives: one for the OS and one for games, and a 3tb normal hard drive.

The SSDs are amazing for both the OS and the games. The OS one could have been bigger though.

This is what I got last year when I rebuilt my desktop computer: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/artanis00/saved/fnpp99

I already had a lot of parts from the old computer that were still fine, so you’ll need to pick a case, hdd, power supply, etc. Didn’t get an ssd at the time, but one of my friends doesn’t see loading screens with his.

It runs GW2 at max settings no problem. Lot of other games, too.

Clockspeed is completely irrelevant unless you’re comparing CPUs with the same architecture; if you have two of the same type of CPU, like an i5-3570k, and one is at 3 GHz while the other is at 4, the 4 GHz one will have ~33% higher performance then the one at 3 GHz. However, if you have two entirely different CPUs, like an i5-3570k and an FX-8350, you can’t just compare their clockspeed, since they’re completely different architectures; even if the 8350 is at 5 GHz and the 3570k is at 3, the 3570k will have higher single-core performance.

When it comes to GW2 and similar games, single core performance is an important metric, as well as number of cores. However, the number of cores will only matter if you don’t have enough. An i7 only has slightly better single core performance then an i5, but it has hyperthreading (basically, 2 threads per core; it’s acting a bit like an 8 core, although the 4 “real” cores will be a bit better then the “virtual ones”. Essentially, it’s going to be much better when you can take advantage of all 8 threads). So, because the performance increase isn’t from higher performance per core per clock, and an i5 has plenty of cores/ability to handle GW2, going to an i7 isn’t worth the price increase.

Artanis.4963:

This is what I got last year when I rebuilt my desktop computer: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/artanis00/saved/fnpp99

Holy overpriced RAM Batman. Also, these days spending a little more for a 270x instead of getting a 750ti is wise thing to do. Definitely not a bad setup, you can just do better these days for the same price.

lioka qiao.8734:

Intel i7 3770k, NVIDIA GTX 760, 8gb ram (corsair i think), 2x Sold state drives: one for the OS and one for games, and a 3tb normal hard drive.

The SSDs are amazing for both the OS and the games. The OS one could have been bigger though.

Ah, thanks for posting your specs. That’s helpful. I’d love to put a Solid State Drive or two in there. Considering money, I don’t think I can. If I can do it, I will though.

Fermi.2409:

Clockspeed is completely irrelevant unless you’re comparing CPUs with the same architecture; if you have two of the same type of CPU, like an i5-3570k, and one is at 3 GHz while the other is at 4, the 4 GHz one will have ~33% higher performance then the one at 3 GHz. However, if you have two entirely different CPUs, like an i5-3570k and an FX-8350, you can’t just compare their clockspeed, since they’re completely different architectures; even if the 8350 is at 5 GHz and the 3570k is at 3, the 3570k will have higher single-core performance.

When it comes to GW2 and similar games, single core performance is an important metric, as well as number of cores. However, the number of cores will only matter if you don’t have enough. An i7 only has slightly better single core performance then an i5, but it has hyperthreading (basically, 2 threads per core; it’s acting a bit like an 8 core, although the 4 “real” cores will be a bit better then the “virtual ones”. Essentially, it’s going to be much better when you can take advantage of all 8 threads). So, because the performance increase isn’t from higher performance per core per clock, and an i5 has plenty of cores/ability to handle GW2, going to an i7 isn’t worth the price increase.

Whoa, that’s a lot of great info! Definitely going to remember that.

The plan you had with the i5 would work out for you then but I’d still go with the i7. That would let you play other games that take advantage of the hyperthreading for longer than the i5 would.

If the game is using multi threading and optimized for intel you’ll see a 100% boost in performance with the i7 compared to the i5. I know this because for my work I have a program that uses heavy multi threading and had to test the performance for different intel CPUs for it. It’s a biometric scanner that scans irises. An i7 and an i5 at the same clock speed were tested and the i7 matched in half the time.

You might not notice the difference between the i5 and i7 in Guildwars as it’s fairly single-threaded. Other games may get the boost.

I’m not expecting to replace my gaming PC’s CPU for at least another 3 years.

Very, very few games are heavily multithreaded these days, though. It’s why AMD is so far behind when it comes to gaming. It may seem more future proof, and you will be getting a performance increase when you take advantage of all of the cores, but I really don’t see i5s having performance issues any time soon.

Also, TC, if you build yourself you’ll have more then enough room in your budget for an SSD.

lioka qiao.8734:

The plan you had with the i5 would work out for you then but I’d still go with the i7. That would let you play other games that take advantage of the hyperthreading for longer than the i5 would.

If the game is using multi threading and optimized for intel you’ll see a 100% boost in performance with the i7 compared to the i5. I know this because for my work I have a program that uses heavy multi threading and had to test the performance for different intel CPUs for it. It’s a biometric scanner that scans irises. An i7 and an i5 at the same clock speed were tested and the i7 matched in half the time.

You might not notice the difference between the i5 and i7 in Guildwars as it’s fairly single-threaded. Other games may get the boost.

I’m not expecting to replace my gaming PC’s CPU for at least another 3 years.

The only reason I may stick with the i5 is because GW2 is the only game we both really like, thus the only game we play. But if I have a few extra dollars and/or decide we might play a different game in the future that uses multiple threads, I’ll definitely spring for the i7.

Fermi.2409:

Also, TC, if you build yourself you’ll have more then enough room in your budget for an SSD.

That alone almost makes building it myself worth it.

Is there a site that you can make mock up builds? Obviously compatibility is the heart and soul of building yourself. The research will work, but a mock up site might be faster and/or less worrisome. Also, how do warranties come into play? Does, say, a Nvidia GPU come with it’s own warranty, or if you build yourself are you just out of any type of warranties, period?

Each part has its own warranty from the manufacturer. For example, if my GPU died I’d talk to Sapphire about getting a replacement. If something is DOA you’ll want to contact the place you bought it from, but during the warranty period it’s the manufacturer.

Pcpartpicker.com is the place to go to put together builds.

You might have a MicroCenter near you or something similar. I bought parts for the pc from there for about $800 if i recall. It’s worth looking into.

Hi! I’m new here, but I figured I’d offer my two cents.

I’m also looking to build a PC for my boyfriend— there are nice ladies out here! I would highly recommend you gather the parts and build it together as a project. It’s cheaper, quite easy, fun, and will give you a great sense of accomplishment. It also makes it easier to maintain, repair, and upgrade your PC if you had experience building it in the first place. I built my first PC 3 years ago and it’s still running strong. The motherboard and case had adequate instructions, which I followed along with tips on the internet— about as easy as assembling Ikea furniture these days.

The first build looks great to me (I don’t have experience with AMD). I’m running a stock i5-3570k @ 3.4 GHz and an EVGA factory SC GTX 660. I haven’t done anything intensive, just leveling, but I can run the game at max settings at 60 FPS, sometimes dipping to 55. I’ve heard WvW and bigger PvE fights cause FPS issues for most people, so I assume I’ll have to turn down the settings for that. But I’ve been surprised at how undemanding this game is. That 960 looks amazing for the price. I’d love to pick one up one day. I’m not sure if you’ll even need liquid cooling with that build. I’ve had no trouble keeping everything below 70 degrees with an aftermarket CPU fan and two case fans.

I would also recommend MicroCenter. My nearest one is a bit less than 2 hours away, but I saved $200 with their bundle deals. Their staff seems to know their stuff, too. Very helpful.

you are kind of going overboard really

i have a GTX 770 and i5- 2500k overclocked and I can run max settings and avg about 70fps….i avg about 20-30 in zergs

this game isn’t graphics heavy, you could prob run max with a 500 series card from nvidia, it’s the ram and processor that get destroyed when in zerg areas

Kyuss.1803:

That 960 looks amazing for the price. I’d love to pick one up one day.

An R9 285 is better for the same price, though. Even an R9 280 would be better.

I am running at 60 fps without slowdown and no antilasing on.

AMD FX 6300 3.50 GHz
8 GB Ram
GTX 960 2GB Superclocked
600 Watt
Windows 8

529$ for the PC
30$ for the power supply
200$ for the video card

What resolution display will you be using? That can certainly affect the video performance. The more pixels that need to be updated the more work the graphics adapter has to do.

bob.5680:

What resolution display will you be using? That can certainly affect the video performance. The more pixels that need to be updated the more work the graphics adapter has to do.

1920×1080. The screen it will be on is a 49" TV (that’s what my Qosmio is currently hooked up to). Not sure if that affects anything.

Fermi.2409:

An R9 285 is better for the same price, though. Even an R9 280 would be better.

I’m definitely setting my sights on one of those.

I guess AMD doesn’t fall down on the job for GPUs like they do with CPUs?

ForgottenGold.2306:

Fermi.2409:

An R9 285 is better for the same price, though. Even an R9 280 would be better.

I’m definitely setting my sights on one of those.

I guess AMD doesn’t fall down on the job for GPUs like they do with CPUs?

That’s because AMD bought out ATI, and ATI has been a very good vid card maker for years. The R9 280 and 285 are wonderful video cards, and great bang for the buck.

And AMD cpus aren’t bad, it is just that their single core performance isn’t as good as intel. Older AMD cpus still do very good with the game….I have an older AMD 940 BE oc’ed to 3400 with an ATI 7850 vid card, and it runs the game quite nicely for my needs.

If GW2 used the multi cores of the newer AMD cpus, then that cpu would work just fine for the game. As it is, the I5 and above from intel runs it better. And I would go with the I5, as others here have mentioned, the increase in price for the I7 just doesn’t justify the slight increase in speed over the I5.

Best of luck on your new build, and I would wait on the ssd…it will reduce your cost, and it is not needed to run the game fast. You can always add an ssd later on.(when prices drop even more for larger capacity ssds)

Teon.5168:

That’s because AMD bought out ATI, and ATI has been a very good vid card maker for years. The R9 280 and 285 are wonderful video cards, and great bang for the buck.

And AMD cpus aren’t bad, it is just that their single core performance isn’t as good as intel. Older AMD cpus still do very good with the game….I have an older AMD 940 BE oc’ed to 3400 with an ATI 7850 vid card, and it runs the game quite nicely for my needs.

If GW2 used the multi cores of the newer AMD cpus, then that cpu would work just fine for the game.

That’s good to know. Thanks Teon!

Short answer NO.

Long answer, the game engine is poorly implemented and it wastes resources tremendously. There is a problem with the player cap for rendering, the same scene will plummet your FPS if you set the your player cap to high REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT IS RENDING 1 OR 100 PLAYERS. I am sure there are many more problems with it, but this is one that with no technical background you can easily test yourself.

Further problems come from the fact that newer cards are designed for multiple core processing and optimized for it, directx12 is taking this even further. Sadly there is no hint that GW2 will be optimized for it, which leads me to believe it wont.

This ends up making it cheaper, maybe by $100, $150-$175 after shipping. Though I would prefer the NZXT Guardian 921 RB ATX if it will work with the components.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GNKzxr

I also have to make sure that all these components will work in the case (especially if I get the NZXT Guardian) and with the motherboard. Unless pcpartpicker is that good that I don’t have to double check. I’m going to keep playing around with it for a few days.

Apolo.5942:

Short answer NO.

Long answer, the game engine is poorly implemented and it wastes resources tremendously. There is a problem with the player cap for rendering, the same scene will plummet your FPS if you set the your player cap to high REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT IS RENDING 1 OR 100 PLAYERS. I am sure there are many more problems with it, but this is one that with no technical background you can easily test yourself.

Further problems come from the fact that newer cards are designed for multiple core processing and optimized for it, directx12 is taking this even further. Sadly there is no hint that GW2 will be optimized for it, which leads me to believe it wont.

Sorry, I lost you somewhere in that. What are we talking about specifically?

The game is poorly written, it does not matter what you put under the hood, if you crank it up, high player count scenes will kill your FPS. It not a matter of the hardware its a matter of the software, to the point where changing your settings will affect your FPS significantly regardless of what is actually being rendered.

If you step into the support forum you will see this has been reported since day one.

Apolo.5942:

The game is poorly written, it does not matter what you put under the wood, if you crank it up, high player count scenes will kill your FPS. It not a matter of the hardware its a matter of the software.

Oh, to a degree, yeah. I almost wish it were a matter of just software – then the Mac we are currently using would do 40fps instead of 14…or 1 in WvW! XD But yeah, I get your meaning. He isn’t in love with WvW, so lower performance there isn’t earth shattering. If the computer maxes in dungeons, I think he’d be ecstatic. After that, a drop in fps seems guaranteed, like you said, regardless of hardware.

ForgottenGold.2306:

This ends up making it cheaper, maybe by $100, $150-$175 after shipping. Though I would prefer the NZXT Guardian 921 RB ATX if it will work with the components.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GNKzxr

I also have to make sure that all these components will work in the case (especially if I get the NZXT Guardian) and with the motherboard. Unless pcpartpicker is that good that I don’t have to double check. I’m going to keep playing around with it for a few days.

That case should be fine. It’s an ATX case for an ATX motherboard, so there shouldn’t be any problems. In any case, that build works great as well. I think it’s worth noting that that build has a better CPU+mobo then the prebuilt one, so the price gap won’t be quite as big as it could’ve been, but it’s a great build overall.

Keep in mind that you might need to remove some of the drive cages on that case to fit that video card.(I looked at the dimensions on the case and on the card) Certainly not a big issue, unless you start mounting more than a couple hard drives. The mid cases are fine, but sometimes you need to be aware of the video card length/size with them.

Fermi.2409:

ForgottenGold.2306:

This ends up making it cheaper, maybe by $100, $150-$175 after shipping. Though I would prefer the NZXT Guardian 921 RB ATX if it will work with the components.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GNKzxr

I also have to make sure that all these components will work in the case (especially if I get the NZXT Guardian) and with the motherboard. Unless pcpartpicker is that good that I don’t have to double check. I’m going to keep playing around with it for a few days.

That case should be fine. It’s an ATX case for an ATX motherboard, so there shouldn’t be any problems. In any case, that build works great as well. I think it’s worth noting that that build has a better CPU+mobo then the prebuilt one, so the price gap won’t be quite as big as it could’ve been, but it’s a great build overall.

Yeah, I added the K version of the 4690. I might remove it as I think its only worth the extra price if I’m going to overclock it.

Teon.5168:

Keep in mind that you might need to remove some of the drive cages on that case to fit that video card.(I looked at the dimensions on the case and on the card) Certainly not a big issue, unless you start mounting more than a couple hard drives. The mid cases are fine, but sometimes you need to be aware of the video card length/size with them.

Okay, yeah, I’ll make sure it will positively work before I order it.

…If I build it myself. I’m still juggling the idea. Part of me says it’s too risky. The most I’ve put electronic parts together (the part of this I’m most scared of) was a new keyboard for a laptop, and removing and replacing keys on Mac keyboards. I’m not sure that and research is enough. We’ll see.

ForgottenGold.2306:

Yeah, I added the K version of the 4690. I might remove it as I think its only worth the extra price if I’m going to overclock it.

Remember that you can get a much cheaper mobo and you don’t need the CPU cooler if you drop down, so you can save quite a bit more TV.

ForgottenGold.2306:

…If I build it myself. I’m still juggling the idea. Part of me says it’s too risky. The most I’ve put electronic parts together (the part of this I’m most scared of) was a new keyboard for a laptop, and removing and replacing keys on Mac keyboards. I’m not sure that and research is enough. We’ll see.

Honestly, I didn’t even do that much when I had built my computer. It’s basically an easier version of legos as long as you’re careful.

ForgottenGold.2306:

Fermi.2409:

ForgottenGold.2306:

This ends up making it cheaper, maybe by $100, $150-$175 after shipping. Though I would prefer the NZXT Guardian 921 RB ATX if it will work with the components.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GNKzxr

I also have to make sure that all these components will work in the case (especially if I get the NZXT Guardian) and with the motherboard. Unless pcpartpicker is that good that I don’t have to double check. I’m going to keep playing around with it for a few days.

That case should be fine. It’s an ATX case for an ATX motherboard, so there shouldn’t be any problems. In any case, that build works great as well. I think it’s worth noting that that build has a better CPU+mobo then the prebuilt one, so the price gap won’t be quite as big as it could’ve been, but it’s a great build overall.

Yeah, I added the K version of the 4690. I might remove it as I think its only worth the extra price if I’m going to overclock it.

Teon.5168:

Keep in mind that you might need to remove some of the drive cages on that case to fit that video card.(I looked at the dimensions on the case and on the card) Certainly not a big issue, unless you start mounting more than a couple hard drives. The mid cases are fine, but sometimes you need to be aware of the video card length/size with them.

Okay, yeah, I’ll make sure it will positively work before I order it.

…If I build it myself. I’m still juggling the idea. Part of me says it’s too risky. The most I’ve put electronic parts together (the part of this I’m most scared of) was a new keyboard for a laptop, and removing and replacing keys on Mac keyboards. I’m not sure that and research is enough. We’ll see.

If you’re too worried about putting it together yourself, you could always order the parts and then check with a reputable local computer shop to see how much they would charge you to put it together.

Guild Wars 2 is very unoptimized for AMD CPUs. Avoid them like the plague.

The build with the CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4690 3.50 GHz is better, despite the very meh motherboard and the GTX 960, which is fine for 1080p, but it’s 128bits memory bus and 2GB memory are not take good for resolutions above of it. (Nvidia kitten it so that they can release an unkitten GTX960ti when AMD will release their new cards.)

Fermi.2409:

Remember that you can get a much cheaper mobo and you don’t need the CPU cooler if you drop down, so you can save quite a bit more TV.

Yeah, I’ll swap out the mobo. I’ll might pick an MSI of a Gigabyte. Maybe a lower priced Asus.

Teon.5168:

If you’re too worried about putting it together yourself, you could always order the parts and then check with a reputable local computer shop to see how much they would charge you to put it together.

Good suggestion.

My main hesitation aside from being afraid I’ll break things while putting them together is not having the 3 year warranty…but it’s only for labor aside from the one year warranty on parts. I cryptically discussed building a computer with him this evening. I was surprised to hear him say it generally seems too risky. O__o He’s fairly good at troubleshooting, and I’m not wickedly awful, myself….

If you are swapping out the mobo, check for Asus Z97-Pro (AC version if it is your thing), Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H (pricier), or a MSI Z97 GAMING 5.

Lévis.5489:

If you are swapping out the mobo, check for Asus Z97-Pro (AC version if it is your thing), Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H (pricier), or a MSI Z97 GAMING 5.

Both of those are way higher end then is needed with a non-overclocking CPU. ~$60 will buy a decent ATX/mATX motherboard for a non-K CPU.

Fermi.2409:

Both of those are way higher end then is needed with a non-overclocking CPU. ~$60 will buy a decent ATX/mATX motherboard for a non-K CPU.

Is there any reason to go with an overclocked CPU (or GPU for that matter) for GW2?

An overclocked CPU is definitely a good idea since the game is so CPU bottlenecked; Intel CPUs see linear gains from overclocking, so getting to 4.2-4.4 GHz on a 4690k will give you ~25-30% better performance then you would get by leaving them stock.

An overclocked GPU can help, but it’s usually not the thing holding you back so it’s not quite as necessary.

Fermi.2409:

An overclocked CPU is definitely a good idea since the game is so CPU bottlenecked; Intel CPUs see linear gains from overclocking, so getting to 4.2-4.4 GHz on a 4690k will give you ~25-30% better performance then you would get by leaving them stock.

An overclocked GPU can help, but it’s usually not the thing holding you back so it’s not quite as necessary.

Yikes, you’re full of good information! Thanks!

ForgottenGold.2306:

This ends up making it cheaper, maybe by $100, $150-$175 after shipping. Though I would prefer the NZXT Guardian 921 RB ATX if it will work with the components.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GNKzxr

I also have to make sure that all these components will work in the case (especially if I get the NZXT Guardian) and with the motherboard. Unless pcpartpicker is that good that I don’t have to double check. I’m going to keep playing around with it for a few days.

Few things. Raidmax is not known for quality, I would shy away from them. NZXT is fine although that Guardian case is a bit dated…..does not have usb 3.0 for example.

Here’s a thread to check out for that psu : http://www.overclock.net/t/1500086/why-you-should-not-buy-an-evga-430-500-500b-600b-psu

If you are anywhere near a micro center they have cpu/mobo combos that’ll save you at least $40 over buying most anywhere else.

For the gpu decent prices for the 280x are around $180-200. At $210-240 price you are in r9 290 territory. 280 for $149 and 280x for $189

Like someone else noted….check out reddit softwareswap for windows.

Dvd writers shouldn’t cost more than $15

After all is said and done that’ll bring you down about $180, which’ll allow you to get a solid state drive (dern filter) and a better psu.

Hi OP i would go with the first option , that will run max @ 1080p , However you could get second hand parts that would save you a fortune if you only plan to run @ 1080p , and get a decent 512gb SSD . I honestly cannot stress enough having gw2 running on an SSD improves the gaming experience

hope this helps