Guild Wars 2

I like gw2, but I noticed that when I am in big fights, my fps goes down to 5-10, also I have adjusted graphic settings so I can get best from my configuration and game.
So my question is what would you upgrade for smooth(er) gameplay / or is this too old, and I have to get a new pc?

here is my config:

Windows 7 ult. 32-bit
AMD Phenom quad-core 2.2GHz
2x Kingston 2gb DDR2 (400MHz)
ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
MSI – AMD KA780G
500GB Hard disk

Well I dunno how cost specifick it would be, but what would be worthwile is changing to windows 7 64-bit and adding 2x 2gb DDR2’s for a total of 8 GB. With windows 32 bits thats of no use cause that won’t use anything above 4 GB.

You could also consider enhancing performance by getting a solid state disc, and use that for windows and the game.

The main problem in my opinion is however the gpu. Though the gpu can be upgraded to a better model to get some better performance, for optimum performance I would suggest to change the mainboard. wich also means changing almost all but hd hard disk (I suspect it is sata, if not replace that one as well, but use it for storage only and use a ssd for running programs

The cheapest upgrade would be buying more ram, and using 64-bit system. Unless there is some reason why you can’t use 64-bit system.

There is no point of having 4gb ram if your system can only use around 2,5 (you can make it to 3, but i encountered many errors and freezing with that.)

Otherwise as stated above

Get this thread moved to tech support forum, or repost there.

There are those including myself who help out alot there so if u want more opinions go there.

For now though here is my recommendation.

Build a new rig.
Any upgrade to increase GW2 performance in the area’s u mentioned would pritty much requir a new rig anyway, as said upgrade would requir a new CPU* ..which then needs a new motherboard .which means new RAM ,,etc.

Asuming ur HDD’ and Optical Drives are Sata, you can build urself a new rig capable of playing GW2 to the best that is currently possible for around $600-$700 in the US and aroudn that same figure in £’s in the UK.

*The CPU is in fact the most important part of the PC for GW2 performance, u can find more info on this in the tech forum if u so wish.

The CHEAPEST upgrade is to use a smaller resolution monitor. I personally play on a 40" LCD TV that runs 1366×720, because my eye-sight sucks AND I can max the game settings out sitting on a Q6600 and HD5870.

Think about it.. this is something people miss. Your screen resolution is going to be the biggest direct impact on a GPU’s capabilities to render the game.

Example: A 1920×1200 monitor (like the old Apple Cinema Display I used) had a total of 2.3 million pixels. The amount of pixels on a 1366×720 screen is.. 983,520.

That’s 2.3 times the amount of pixels to render. Of course you’re not going to have a reduction in performance by a factor of 2.3 exactly since you still share the overhead of the GPU and all that other fancy crap going on at the same time. But you can definitely see a difference.

A 1920×1200 monitor can run the game on Medium for me with and turns in to a slide show in 60+ WvW battles. On my 40" TV at 1366×720 I can push best Appearance and never go below 45 FPS.. and this is all legacy hardware. Not to mention it’s bigger, my GUI is easily visible, I can sit far away, the TFT doesn’t hurt my eyes because it doesn’t exist in my TV, AND I don’t have to go ‘Crap, I need an upgrade because I am only running 12 FPS and my system is old..’. Try a smaller resolution monitor (not size, RESOLUTION), and tell me how you like it.

Some people like massive resolutions and it does make things look sharper, but for me I still want all the shine and pretty effects and to be able to see with no eye strain OR be forced in to buying a huge system upgrade.

Meta the ‘main’ reason he is droping performance in populated area’s is nothing to do wiht his GPU, its CPU bottlenecking. HIs GPU may not be great, but u would be surrpised what old GPU’s can run GW on its lowets settings.

Again OP..Repost in tech forum. You will get much more advised responses there.

Well I am running an equivalent Intel chip and don’t have these issues is why I posted that.

The Q6600 does hammer the goat milk out of the Phenom, though. I’m just barely at the CPU threshold of being comfortable.

I also run 8gb of RAM and an SSD.

wow, thanks for such in depth advice, I won’t repost this on tech forum, because I already got answers on my question. thank you all for you time and help, I am planing on getting a new pc soon enough, and now I know what to look for.
Metaphysicist ty m8, it really boosted my fps because this whole time my res was set on max.

If/when u upgrade i sugest u get a Intel i5 3570k rig and OC, u can get it relativly cheap and it will end up runing GW2 the best that currently can be.

use windows 7 64 bit,not the 32 bit,it really gives a much better performance.

wich 4800 series do you have?

btw,check this : www.hwcompare.com
and compare yours with a 6850: it’s the one i have and goes fine.

Np dubak, always factor in screen resolution in to builds. It can greatly affect performance.

SolarNova.1052:

If/when u upgrade i sugest u get a Intel i5 3570k rig and OC, u can get it relativly cheap and it will end up runing GW2 the best that currently can be.

It works just fine on an i5 3540k, too, if you want to save a few bucks.

3540k ?
There is no 3540k ..atleats not that i know of.

Do u mean a W3540 ? Thats a Xeon chip and a older 2009 model at that. And from what i can see its more expensive than a 3570k.
I doubt it could handle a proper Large WvW battle without droping below 30 fps. Ofc whether som1 notices the drop without a OSD displaying fps is another thing ..but still the single thread performance of a stock W3540 isnt very strong,(about the same as a Generation 1 i7 which the OP already has), and they dont OC verywell.

I can run guild wars on my notebook maxed out at 30-40fps, drops to 20-30 in WvW.

I run on windows 8 64-bit, 3rd gen i3 3110m processor, AMD HD 7770M 2GB Graphics and 8GB DDR3 RAM. Those specs are kinda cheap to get with a new PC these days, and I can run any current game maxed except for games like Metro. I gotta run them Medium-High.