Guild Wars 2

Hello, I’m currently playing and although I can max all graphics, it does drop to around 15 fps. However I can play with everyone on medium on a 1980×1080 Moniter at about 25-30 fps.
I’m Using

[AMD Anthlon X2 Dual core 3.1 Ghz or something.
My ram is 2G.
My graphics card is ATI Radeon 5500.]

I plan on buying the Ati 6770, will this be a huge help and would I be able to run the game pretty much perfect? Also not to worry about ram I have like Smartram / Gamebooster running giving me 1.6 before the game opens.

you should probably upgrade your whole computer

For <$100 a 6770 would be a pretty good value. You can find the GTX 560 and HD 6870 for pretty low prices, too, if you do some digging.

One thing you must consider is that with this upgrade, you MUST make sure you have a high-quality 80+ certified power supply of 500W or greater. If you do not, you can ruin your entire computer and it can even light on fire. Not trying to scare you, I’ve seen it happen. My dad’s old computer had a faulty PSU and his entire desk became electrified.

Unfortunately, if you upgrade just the GPU, you will be bottlenecked at your CPU, especially in WvWvW type situations. You will not be able to use the card to the fullest of its potential.

Also, what are the specs on your card ? There’s the 5550 and 5570 and they have different versions with DDR2/3/5 et cetera. If your card is one of the newer ones, you’re almost certainly bottlenecking as it is and probably are not getting max performance out of this card. So upgrading wouldn’t give you any noticeable difference because you wouldn’t be able to use any more of the potential of the new card.

It would be wiser to save your money and upgrade the motherboard and CPU. You will see a great upgrade in performance for the same or only slightly more investment.

Ideas : i3-2120 + a cost-effective H61 or B75 board. The i3 will run you about $125, though you can get it for less if you live near a Micro Center. The board can be from $40 to $60.

For a cheaper route, you could get a G630 ($70) + H61 or B75 board. This would be pretty much the same price as upgrading to the HD 6770 and you’d actually see remarkable improvement this way (if your RAM doesn’t then bottleneck).

The G630 is a great budget processor and is compatible with the LGA 1155 boards – meaning you can upgrade to an i5 or i7 in the future when your performance is lagging and those chips are not “new” any more and come down in price.

You will want more RAM – but don’t worry, you can get 8Gb 1600 RAM from a reliable brand for only $40. If you are running a 34-bit system, upgrading your motherboard and processor is a great time to switch to x64. You can do so using your current install key and it’s completely legal.

One of my RAM sticks recently failed when I accidentally hit my PC, so I went from 4GB to 2GB. On a different PC I’m playing at 8GB. GW2 usually uses 1.5 – 2GB of RAM.

2GB is horrible. The game will constantly try to write to the swap file, bringing the game to a crawl.
4GB is a good gameplay experience, if you don’t teleport around much and don’t have tons of background programs.
8GB is perfect.

Given the prices of RAM right now, you can easily go with 8GB.

@Ceallach:
Upgrading from 32 to 64bit is only legal on full retail versions of Windows. OEM versions that came with PCs or were bought seperate (which most people have) only hold the license for either 32 or 64bit

Also, given his setup, I’d advise to consider upgrades in the order of RAM, GPU, CPU, with CPU essentially meaning a new PC.

will it help? yes.
I highly recommend saving up for a better computer though.
You can get a pretty decent mid ranged gaming pc for around $700-$800.

Mendorian.7042:

@Ceallach:
Upgrading from 32 to 64bit is only legal on full retail versions of Windows. OEM versions that came with PCs or were bought seperate (which most people have) only hold the license for either 32 or 64bit

Also, given his setup, I’d advise to consider upgrades in the order of RAM, GPU, CPU, with CPU essentially meaning a new PC.

I considered that, but I felt like I was already writing a wall of text and didn’t want to overwhelm them. :P

@OP, if you want to build a new system to max out GW2, you’re looking at $450-700 depending on if you can re-use a Windows license or not and if you need a new monitor, et cetera.

I recently built myself a new desktop on a budget, and including monitor (haven’t had a desktop for years and wasn’t going to hook it up to a CRT) it came to about $550 and it maxes out GW2 at 60fps. I’ve “made” this computer on other sites, and even if I were to have to buy a new Win7 license, it was still on average $400-600 more expensive to have someone else build it. I’m just pointing this out since I’m guessing you’re on a budget.

If you just want to run it decently and have room to upgrade, you can do that for $275-375 depending on if you are able to re-use your Windows license. The $275 is a rough estimate based on you re-using your GPU and HDD for now, add $100 for something like the 6770 or 7700.

If you can re-use your current case, knock $50 off. If your computer was pre-built, you may not be able to, you will need room for decent cable management and pre-built systems for home use seem to just cram everything in there willy-nilly, sacrificing airflow for a sleek exterior.

You should upgrade your pc in RAM→GPU+Power Supply(if you don’t have enough power), CPU.

RAM: I tell everyone to go with 8GB. Ram is cheap now and 8GB gives your pc enough ram to do what it needs to do and plenty for you to play any games you want. If a game needs 4G and your OS uses 1.5G you all ready don’t have enough. You can see how much ram your os is using in the task manager (and a bunch of other programs)
GPU: Personally i don’t spend under $300 dollars on a GPU. This is so I am replacing it about ever 2+ years rather than every year. In the end you spend the same amount it just depends on your upfront cost needs.
CPU: If you have to replace this, more than likely you have to replace more parts and your almost at a new build time.

My System:
i7 3.2ghz
24 GB Ram
Sli Nvidia 570’s

Side note, even on my setup im seeing drops to 30 fps. GW2 has some optimization issues, and some nvidia driver issues.

I’ve noticed that the vast majority of issues right now are hitting people with nVidia cards. Hopefully there is some solution.

I’m assuming the OP has this processor : http://www.amazon.com/ADX255OCK23GM-AMD-Athlon-Dual-core-Processor/dp/B00636TPFG

It fits the limited description and makes sense with having only 2Gb RAM. :P By this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the OP is running a 34-bit system, too (thus more than 4Gb RAM will not help in their current bind unless they can get 64-bit).

OP, if it’s something else, let us know, more details will help.

I might be wrong, since the OP didn’t give specifics, but if the computer is that old, putting new RAM and GPU in it won’t really do much for performance since the weak CPU will still drag it down.

If I was, or is, a CPU that is more up to modern games, I would agree with upgrading the CPU last – but I have the impression this is a system that isn’t worth pumping money into, but overhauling, or starting to do so as budget permits.

Auron.2657:

Hello, I’m currently playing and although I can max all graphics, it does drop to around 15 fps. However I can play with everyone on medium on a 1980×1080 Moniter at about 25-30 fps.
I’m Using

[AMD Anthlon X2 Dual core 3.1 Ghz or something.
My ram is 2G.
My graphics card is ATI Radeon 5500.]

I plan on buying the Ati 6770, will this be a huge help and would I be able to run the game pretty much perfect? Also not to worry about ram I have like Smartram / Gamebooster running giving me 1.6 before the game opens.

Before you go blow a ton of money, turn off SHADOWS and any Anti-Aliasing. Also, turn on V-Synch.

See how that works for you.

At 1080p, AA isn’t that big of a deal, IMO, since the pixel density is so tight.

Shadows are always a huge system hog.

V-Synch will cap your FPS slightly, but you’ll have a smoother and more consistent experience.

I always tweak those 3 options in PC games and everythign else I leave maxed out with no problems.

Game still looks amazing – just has less shadows, which is actually better for advantage in darker situations.