Guild Wars 2

Hi everyone. Heres what im currently working with.

CPU- AMD-FX Quad Core 4300 3.8Ghz
GPU AMD HD 6450
8GB Ram.
1920 /1080 Resolution monitor

I know that my card is absolutely horrid. My goal is to run the game smoothly on max, turned all the way up in supersample. I dont need to have flawless FPS in Wvw, I wouldnt mind hovering in the 40’s here but everywhere else in game im going for pretty much flawless FPS.

Basically my question is , with everything i currently have, If i were to upgrade my GPU to an AMD R9 290 (Or any card in the same tier) , would i fulfill my goal or will my CPU be my downfall?

From what I understand, AMD CPU’s don’t work too well with GW2, I have no idea why, but there you go.

In truth the only way to know is to try, as every system performs differently. I’ve had PC’s in the past that have had better fps with the same fx settings than better spec’ed rigs. So you could change your card and be fine, it is probably the cheaper option too than buying a new CPU, and new motherboard plus ram. As most tech sites say that Intel currently are way beyond AMD right now.

I’m actually running that GPU, and not having had any trouble. However, GW2 is very CPU heavy. I’m not a wizkid when it comes to computers, but I think you’ll be likely bottlenecked by that CPU.

Thanks to the both of you for the feedback. I honestly wanted to confirm for sure that my CPU would bottleneck the AMD R9 290 because if it does, i could get a cheaper graphics card and use that money saved to upgrade my CPU. But that’d still cost a lot more and would be a hassle :/

natenizzle.6794:

Hi everyone. Heres what im currently working with.

CPU- AMD-FX Quad Core 4300 3.8Ghz
GPU AMD HD 6450
8GB Ram.
1920 /1080 Resolution monitor

I know that my card is absolutely horrid. My goal is to run the game smoothly on max, turned all the way up in supersample. I dont need to have flawless FPS in Wvw, I wouldnt mind hovering in the 40’s here but everywhere else in game im going for pretty much flawless FPS.

Basically my question is , with everything i currently have, If i were to upgrade my GPU to an AMD R9 290 (Or any card in the same tier) , would i fulfill my goal or will my CPU be my downfall?

The game runs great for me, even though I use high settings. Frames drop to the mid 30s for world bosses, but playing out in the world it’s a smooth 50-60. Could likely get 60 all the time by lower some things, but meh, looks great and plays well enough this way!

I am using this setup:

AMD FX-8320 locked at 4GHz
AMD R9 270 2GB video card
8GB DDR3 2133MHz RAM
ASUS M5A97 R2.0 motherboard
NZXT 650W PSU (which the FX-8320 required even at stock speeds)
Aftermarket heatpipe tower heatsink/fan
Screen resolution is 1600×900

An R9 290 would do you well and if you can overclock your CPU to 4.2GHz you should be fine. 4.6+GHz would be better, but power draw on this CPU design gets exponentially worse after 3.8GHz, so anything over 4.4GHz might put too much strain on the voltage regulators on your motherboard or on the powersupply if it’s low-end.

Note:
The big difference between your CPU and mine isn’t that mine has 8 cores. It’s that mine has 4 Floating Point Units and your has 2.

Traditionally, a CPU “core” was just the ALU for integer math. Back in the 386 days (1990s here) the CPUs had a “co-processor” for floating point math, called the Floating Point Unit. Later on both Intel and AMD added FPUs in a 1:1 ratio with every CPU. Eventually AMD decided to increase efficiency on their new line of CPUs by using a shared resource design originally created by DEC Corp years ago. This design shares 1 full sized 256Bit FPU between 2 ALUs in a cluster. While the FPU can still be used as two 128Bit FPUs, the trouble is that many common instruction sets used in game engines today are 256Bit FPU based, meaning they suffer.

Your CPU has 4 ALUs and 2 FPUs. Mine has 8 ALUs and 4 FPUs, making my CPU physically a full “quad core”. Yours, when it comes to 265Bit floating point math instructions, is a dual-core. It’s is POSSIBLE that could play into why I have a better time with my CPU than you have with yours.

Also consider your current or a new monitor. If your monitor is 60hz refresh rates, it means it can only pump 60fps, so everything beyond that is wasteful. Plus you’ll start seeing your screen tearing horizontally. Strive to have up to 60fps if you have a 60hz monitor. If it goes beyond, consider switching to a 120hz one.

Tatwi.3562:

natenizzle.6794:

Hi everyone. Heres what im currently working with.

CPU- AMD-FX Quad Core 4300 3.8Ghz
GPU AMD HD 6450
8GB Ram.
1920 /1080 Resolution monitor

I know that my card is absolutely horrid. My goal is to run the game smoothly on max, turned all the way up in supersample. I dont need to have flawless FPS in Wvw, I wouldnt mind hovering in the 40’s here but everywhere else in game im going for pretty much flawless FPS.

Basically my question is , with everything i currently have, If i were to upgrade my GPU to an AMD R9 290 (Or any card in the same tier) , would i fulfill my goal or will my CPU be my downfall?

The game runs great for me, even though I use high settings. Frames drop to the mid 30s for world bosses, but playing out in the world it’s a smooth 50-60. Could likely get 60 all the time by lower some things, but meh, looks great and plays well enough this way!

I am using this setup:

AMD FX-8320 locked at 4GHz
AMD R9 270 2GB video card
8GB DDR3 2133MHz RAM
ASUS M5A97 R2.0 motherboard
NZXT 650W PSU (which the FX-8320 required even at stock speeds)
Aftermarket heatpipe tower heatsink/fan
Screen resolution is 1600×900

An R9 290 would do you well and if you can overclock your CPU to 4.2GHz you should be fine. 4.6+GHz would be better, but power draw on this CPU design gets exponentially worse after 3.8GHz, so anything over 4.4GHz might put too much strain on the voltage regulators on your motherboard or on the powersupply if it’s low-end.

Note:
The big difference between your CPU and mine isn’t that mine has 8 cores. It’s that mine has 4 Floating Point Units and your has 2.

Traditionally, a CPU “core” was just the ALU for integer math. Back in the 386 days (1990s here) the CPUs had a “co-processor” for floating point math, called the Floating Point Unit. Later on both Intel and AMD added FPUs in a 1:1 ratio with every CPU. Eventually AMD decided to increase efficiency on their new line of CPUs by using a shared resource design originally created by DEC Corp years ago. This design shares 1 full sized 256Bit FPU between 2 ALUs in a cluster. While the FPU can still be used as two 128Bit FPUs, the trouble is that many common instruction sets used in game engines today are 256Bit FPU based, meaning they suffer.

Your CPU has 4 ALUs and 2 FPUs. Mine has 8 ALUs and 4 FPUs, making my CPU physically a full “quad core”. Yours, when it comes to 265Bit floating point math instructions, is a dual-core. It’s is POSSIBLE that could play into why I have a better time with my CPU than you have with yours.

Thank for all the info especially the lesson on CPU. However after consulting a friend i think ive decided on the GTX 970 sintead of the R9 290. It seems to be a better card for GW2 overall. I can actually Overclock my AMD 4300 CPU up to 4.3 without any heat issues. This, coupled with a GTX 970 makes me think il be ok to run on max?

A 970 and a 290 are both complete overkill. Either way you’ll be able to run the game at 1080P/60FPS. That CPU will hold either GPU back substantially, though. Get an i5-4690k, a cheap Z97 motherboard, and a Hyper 212 Evo.

Also, if you’re thinking about getting a 970 you should think about getting a 390. It’s an identical performing/slightly stronger card that should be a kitteneaper.

@OP- If you want to go with 4th gen Intel, then you can’t go wrong with an i5 4690k plus a z97 board; i5 6600k and z170 board if you want 5th gen. As far as a new GPU is concerned, you might want to consider an R9 380x, as it’s a beast for 1080p gaming and is about $100 cheaper than an R9 290.

I can’t see the logic in getting a $229 380x when a 390 8GB can be had for $299 (found on Ebay minutes ago) and is substantially stronger.

Never buy second had parts, especially a GPU or a CPU. You never know what kind of overclocking has been done on them, and the seller will never be up-front about any defects or damage they might have caused. Besides, the 8gb VRAM is severely bottlenecked by the CPU in the graphics card, much like having a Bugatti Veryron, but only being allowed to drive 80km/h.

natenizzle.6794:

Tatwi.3562:

natenizzle.6794:

Hi everyone. Heres what im currently working with.

CPU- AMD-FX Quad Core 4300 3.8Ghz
GPU AMD HD 6450
8GB Ram.
1920 /1080 Resolution monitor

I know that my card is absolutely horrid. My goal is to run the game smoothly on max, turned all the way up in supersample. I dont need to have flawless FPS in Wvw, I wouldnt mind hovering in the 40’s here but everywhere else in game im going for pretty much flawless FPS.

Basically my question is , with everything i currently have, If i were to upgrade my GPU to an AMD R9 290 (Or any card in the same tier) , would i fulfill my goal or will my CPU be my downfall?

The game runs great for me, even though I use high settings. Frames drop to the mid 30s for world bosses, but playing out in the world it’s a smooth 50-60. Could likely get 60 all the time by lower some things, but meh, looks great and plays well enough this way!

I am using this setup:

AMD FX-8320 locked at 4GHz
AMD R9 270 2GB video card
8GB DDR3 2133MHz RAM
ASUS M5A97 R2.0 motherboard
NZXT 650W PSU (which the FX-8320 required even at stock speeds)
Aftermarket heatpipe tower heatsink/fan
Screen resolution is 1600×900

An R9 290 would do you well and if you can overclock your CPU to 4.2GHz you should be fine. 4.6+GHz would be better, but power draw on this CPU design gets exponentially worse after 3.8GHz, so anything over 4.4GHz might put too much strain on the voltage regulators on your motherboard or on the powersupply if it’s low-end.

Note:
The big difference between your CPU and mine isn’t that mine has 8 cores. It’s that mine has 4 Floating Point Units and your has 2.

Traditionally, a CPU “core” was just the ALU for integer math. Back in the 386 days (1990s here) the CPUs had a “co-processor” for floating point math, called the Floating Point Unit. Later on both Intel and AMD added FPUs in a 1:1 ratio with every CPU. Eventually AMD decided to increase efficiency on their new line of CPUs by using a shared resource design originally created by DEC Corp years ago. This design shares 1 full sized 256Bit FPU between 2 ALUs in a cluster. While the FPU can still be used as two 128Bit FPUs, the trouble is that many common instruction sets used in game engines today are 256Bit FPU based, meaning they suffer.

Your CPU has 4 ALUs and 2 FPUs. Mine has 8 ALUs and 4 FPUs, making my CPU physically a full “quad core”. Yours, when it comes to 265Bit floating point math instructions, is a dual-core. It’s is POSSIBLE that could play into why I have a better time with my CPU than you have with yours.

Thank for all the info especially the lesson on CPU. However after consulting a friend i think ive decided on the GTX 970 sintead of the R9 290. It seems to be a better card for GW2 overall. I can actually Overclock my AMD 4300 CPU up to 4.3 without any heat issues. This, coupled with a GTX 970 makes me think il be ok to run on max?

If you have to overclock your system to play GW2 then you are going something wrong.

Regev.6971:

I can’t see the logic in getting a $229 380x when a 390 8GB can be had for $299 (found on Ebay minutes ago) and is substantially stronger.

While being substantially stronger, it’s also substantially more expensive. You pay a 30% extra price for 15-40% more performance, depending on the game. In Gw2 the difference will be minimal, specially with that cpu.
With a r9 285 I get 40-50fps in Auric Basin with game maxed at 1440p and SweetFX enabled. You don’t need more gpu in this game.