Guild Wars 2

What kind of computer specs am I looking at if I want to build a PC that will be able to handle large clumps of activity in WvW and maintain at least 20-25 fps?

I’m talking CPUs processing speed, how much RAM, video card onboard memory and processing speed; ect.

Do you care about graphics quality?

If you are willing to run on minimum graphics, kill the sound, and minimize cpu usage from other programs and appilations you can hit that target on even some older outdated systems.

I have an old HP Intel dual core 1.6ghz laptop with an nvida 150 and 4 gbs of ram that maintains around 25-30fps with a cooling pad, if I run absolute minimum settings across the board.

But for building a new P.C. there are a few things to keep in mind.

CPU speed is important, infact it is the most important for WvW fps. But anything above 3ghz is more than enough for the job. I`d recommend either an I5 or I7 chipsets.

For the hard drive a SSD, even a small SSD is a must. A lot of the models seem to load from the client, so a faster hard drive makes a huge difference. If you want to save money go with a smaller SSD maybe just 60 or 100 gb.

For ram I would say 8gb is enough, but ram is cheap enough it is not to costly to get 16gb.

For the GPU you do not need to go crazy. I would recommend a 2gb unit like a nvida 660TI, but you can run solid fps on even the lower end cards like the 1gb 650’s if you are willing to reduce your ingame graphics a bit.

It depends what you want to do in terms of graphics quality, but you can put together a solid system for WvW without breaking the bank.

I’m running 8 core AMD Bulldozer 33GHz. 8GByte Most of the time it’s fine but still stutters a (very) little on big fights.
The CGA isn’t so important. I had good results with a Radeon 6870 1GByte, which I recently upgraded to 7950 3gByte for only marginal improvement.

PS it’s an Eyefinity 3 monitor setup.

cpu – i5 or i7 4th gen
mobo – mid range, or OC edition if you want to push later
ram – 1600ddr3 8gb+
ssd – high read/write (550mbs, sata3)
gfx – gtx770

Really it just comes down to your budget. You may want to buy a Ferrari but your budget may not cover that.

All good hints, shame that the main problem in large fights it’s skill lag, which ain’t Client related …

Check out the Tech Support forum too. There are tons of posts about computer specs. That’s what helped me build my new computer.

Too bad its not december/january – I got most of my good parts on boxing day and clearout sales!

However you build, you may want to check out LucidLogix – Virtu MVP software. My friend built my computer and installed that – I disabled it once and ran GW2, and there is a noticeable difference. Virtu smooths out tearing/lag/etc for very smooth and responsive graphics.

I think some parts come with this software already, don’t quote me though.

It won’t save you from skill lag though. I can load a giant 3 way battle in SM no prob, too bad I can’t attack lmao.