64-BIT CLIENT FAQ

64-BIT CLIENT FAQ

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Posted by: Gaile Gray

Gaile Gray

ArenaNet Communications Manager

We’ve now released the final version of a 64-bit client for Guild Wars 2. Please review the following FAQ for more information:

What is the 64-bit client?

It is an alternative to the 32-bit client currently used to play the game. Aside from some technical details, the two are identical in functionality.

How do I get the 64-bit client?

If you already have the 32-bit client installed and your computer matches our recommended specifications for the 64-bit client, you will automatically be switched over the next time you launch the game. If you do not, you may download it from the account management page.

I already have the 32-bit client; will I have to completely download the game again?

No. The 64-bit client uses the same data as the 32-bit client. If you already have the game installed, and your computer matches our recommended specifications for the 64-bit client, you can simply launch the game to have it switch automatically. If your computer does not match the recommended specification, but you want to try using it anyway, the process is manual and only recommended if you are comfortable copying data files around:

  • Download the 64-bit client installer.
  • Rename it from Gw2Setup-64 to Gw2-64.
  • Copy the newly renamed file into the Guild Wars 2 game folder.
  • Update any game shortcuts to point to the new file.

What are the requirements for automatically switching to the 64-bit client?

Your computer must be running a 64-bit version of Windows, and you must have 4 GB or more of physical memory.

My computer satisfies the requirements for automatic switching to the 64-bit client, but I want to remain on the 32-bit client.

If you want to remain on the 32-bit client, you may add -32 to the command line used to launch the game client. Please refer to the wiki for instructions on how to modify your command line.

Are the two clients mutually exclusive?

Due to technical limitations with the installer, it will not allow you to install both clients simultaneously. You may however do it manually by first installing the 32-bit client, and then following the steps outlined in “I already have the 32-bit client; will I have to completely download the game again?”.

Does the 64-bit client only benefit players with more than 4 GB of system memory?

No. It is true that the 32-bit client in theory can access up to 4 GB of memory. In practice however this is almost never the case, due to gaps in the address space that slowly build up over time (known as fragmentation). Most players crashing today due to being “out of memory” are actually only using between 3 and 3.5 GB of their system memory.

In addition to this, modern operating systems use something known as “virtual memory” to extend the available memory beyond what the system has physically. The 64-bit client will allow you to benefit from the increased address space by making gaps largely irrelevant, and will allow the client to use more memory than it could otherwise rather than crashing.

Are there any performance differences between the 64-bit and 32-bit client?

There may be some very slight differences in favor of either client depending on your computer’s configuration. In the vast majority of cases it should be negligible.

Why is the 64-bit client using more memory than the 32-bit client?

Due to the technical differences between the two platforms the memory usage will never be directly comparable.

Is there a 64-bit Mac client?

The Mac client is still 32-bit.

Gaile Gray
Communications Manager
Guild & Fansite Relations; In-Game Events
ArenaNet

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Posted by: Donari.5237

Donari.5237

Is there any way to make sure I actually am using the 64 bit client, ie, that it has in fact switched me?

I’ve been using the 64 bit beta since it debuted. I have two GW2 shortcuts on my desktop, one with the standard launcher, one with my modified 64 bit one. I’ve kept the 32 bit one current for patches but always gone into game on the 64 bit.

I would hate to find that something had gone wrong and my standard launcher was still 32 bit by way of getting DC’d during the Mouth of Mordremoth fight … so where in my files do I check, or is it shown anywhere on the load screen?

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Posted by: Healix.5819

Healix.5819

It would have been cleaner to just overwrite Gw2.exe or rename it to Gw2-32.exe instead of creating a new Gw2-64.exe. The name change is going to trigger security software, drop any custom executable settings, cause your graphics settings to change due to it being based on the exe’s name (GFXSettings.Gw2.exe.xml) and add overhead to old shortcuts.

For anyone with suddenly low FPS, it’s because software like NVidia’s control panel is looking for Gw2.exe. Some laptops for example will switch their GPU based on this. Simply rename Gw2-64.exe to Gw2.exe, or go through the trouble of creating a new profile.

Is there any way to make sure I actually am using the 64 bit client, ie, that it has in fact switched me?

When running Gw2.exe 32-bit on a 64-bit OS, it will check for Gw2-64.exe. If it exists, it will switch to it, otherwise it will download it, then run it. You can verify you’re running the 64-bit client by looking at the list of processes under the task manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC). 32-bit applications will be listed with a *32 after their name. The 64-bit client is however forced on you, unless you use the -32 command line option, so you’re definitely using it.

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Posted by: shadow.6174

shadow.6174

It is an alternative to the 32-bit client currently used to play the game. Aside from some technical details, the two are identical in functionality

If it is “alternative”, why then it’s forced on us?

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Posted by: Kirimdir.6851

Kirimdir.6851

Hi,

So I’ve been using the 64 bit client since launched in beta. I’m confused now, should I continue using that one or I just start using the old GW2.exe client?

Thanks

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Posted by: Inculpatus cedo.9234

Inculpatus cedo.9234

Hi,

So I’ve been using the 64 bit client since launched in beta. I’m confused now, should I continue using that one or I just start using the old GW2.exe client?

Thanks

Unless you change the command line argument in your old GW2.exe (which I did), they will both now use the 64-bit client. The old GW2.exe automatically changes to the 64-bit client, so both shortcuts (if you have 2, like I do) will point to the 64-bit client.

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Posted by: Rex.6954

Rex.6954

Has anyone had an issue with client fail to launch?
Worked fine before patch.
I have, run repair and no joy.
Opened the client, using repair, last night before bed and still didn’t open by this morning, 8 hrs later..
Any help would be appreciated.
I am running Mac client.

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Posted by: Cronos.6532

Cronos.6532

Definitely sticking with 32-bit; 64-bit still chops your framerate by a factor of 3. Thanks for the launch option, dx11 when

Ethereal Guardians [EG]
etherealguardians.com

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Posted by: XANRAT.9367

XANRAT.9367

64 bit download is not completing client download and hangs at 75% six times today.

I have 64 bit Windows 10 and I wanted a clean install but it is not happening. I run Bitdefender and my system is clean.

The download mirror or cloud source is s3.amazonaws.com. which baffles me as amazon are very own games focused now and I question the wisdom ANet to apparently use amazon.

Any help would be appreciated and if it is happening to me it must be happening to others.

Thanks for reading this

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Posted by: Heisenberg.1482

Heisenberg.1482

I renamed the 64-bit client to Gw2.exe a long time ago. Is that still ok to do and can I leave it that way?

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Posted by: Brief.7643

Brief.7643

Hi guys,

After I switched from win 8 to win 10 I had a same problem with 64-bit client lunch (or maybe after I used CCLeaner registry repair – I am not sure) as you have and not even with GW2, but also with other 64bit game clients in other games. The problem was with missing .dll for my second graphic card from Intel in my notebook, because when I lunched client, Intel card searched for igdumdim64.dll and it crushed immediately.

So try to download igdumdim64.dll and put it in your game folder. It works in my case.

Hope this helped you guys..

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Posted by: iamtheattackz.1803

iamtheattackz.1803

Hello,

I opened GW2 to this error message “Unable to initialize 3D output. Please verify that you have installed DirectX 9 and an updated video driver.”

The only cause that I can think of is the update to the 64-bit client! My drivers are all up to date and nothing was wrong with the game until now!

Thanks for any help!

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Posted by: Snowleopard.4723

Snowleopard.4723

I have downloaded the 64bit client 6 times now. It installs, starts downloading the content and gets to various different points before or after “playable” on the download bar and then crashes (it stops downloading completely). This is very frustrating.

I am on a 300mbit cable connection, running it on Laptop (i7 with 32gb of ram, WIndows 10 and a 1TB SSD). Nothing else has these issues on my computer. This is painful and I will need to find a different game that actually works.

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Posted by: Inculpatus cedo.9234

Inculpatus cedo.9234

I have downloaded the 64bit client 6 times now. It installs, starts downloading the content and gets to various different points before or after “playable” on the download bar and then crashes (it stops downloading completely). This is very frustrating.

I am on a 300mbit cable connection, running it on Laptop (i7 with 32gb of ram, WIndows 10 and a 1TB SSD). Nothing else has these issues on my computer. This is painful and I will need to find a different game that actually works.

Have you any LavaSoft programs? Does the crash report window appear? If so, can you post the ‘Show Details’ information?

Have you tried contacting the Tech CS Team via the ‘Support’ link above/below and
Submit(ting) a Request’ for assistance?

Good luck.

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Posted by: Reveille.8397

Reveille.8397

The issue I am having is forcing 32-bit. I downloaded the 32-bit option from the website. Now I install it and all of the executables are gw2-64 only. This was not the case prior. I tried to append the shortcut with -32 however in task manager it doesnt show 32-bit and process explorer shows a 64-bit image. I will try renaming the exe in addition, but that seems too simple to be a fix. I think it would be a good idea for them to allow both options, as some of their subscribers have reasons to use 32-bit only and I see it as a limiting factor to player base. Any thoughts on this topic? Any resolutions?

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Posted by: misterman.1530

misterman.1530

Yeah. Having the same issue. A lot of freezing issues with the 64 bit client, so I load, or try to load, the 32 bit. But it keeps switching me to 64. How do I ensure ONLY the 32 bit client runs?

UPDATE: nevermind. Found it. Just add -32 to the command line.

(edited by misterman.1530)

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Posted by: jumdar.3782

jumdar.3782

If anyone can help with this everytime i try to use the map or m key the game crashes. This is just recent and im not sure how to fix this. Thanks

—> Crash <—
Exception: c0000005
Memory at address 00000000`0000004f could not be written
App: Gw2-64.exe
Pid: 5716
Cmdline:
BaseAddr: 000000013F5C0000
ProgramId: 101
Build: 65462
When: 2016-08-20T16:28:15Z 2016-08-20T12:28:15-04:00
Uptime: 0 days 0:00:54
Flags: 0

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Posted by: UncleSniper.4086

UncleSniper.4086

Is the 64-bit client faster than the 32-bit client?
Yes and no. While the 64-bit client can use 64-bit integers in single-step computations, the 32-bit bit client would require four-step computations to do the same thing. Being able to do in one step what the 32-bit client needs four steps for, the 64-bit client is technically faster, but the fact of the matter is that very few parts of the game actually use 64-bit integer computations. As such, the actual “bittedness” makes very little difference. However, 64-bit processors have much more internal memory (called the “register file” in technical terms) than 32-bit processors and thus a 64-bit software will run a lot faster than its 32-bit equivalent (since this “internal memory” can be accessed a lot faster than “normal” memory) for reasons that have nothing to do with actual “64-bittedness”.

What’s with the constant crashes on the 32-bit client?
The “bittedness” imposes an inherent memory limit on the software. For a 32-bit program, the memory limit is 4 GiB. For a 64-bit program, the limit is 64 EiB (in other words, “virtually unlimited”). The issue with GW2 is that is uses a lot of memory, even in the 32-bit version. Thus, the 32-bit client is liable to crash a lot because the client tends to attempt to use more than 4 GiB memory nonetheless. This issue is resolved in the 64-bit client, since this “low” memory limit doesn’t apply there.

Wait, I thought 64-bit processors were so much better than 32-bit processors…?
Not really. While being able to perform 64-bit integer computations in one step is, strictly speaking, a boon, the fact of the matter is that 95% of all software doesn’t even do this and the remaining 5% don’t do it very often. While the large register file is technically the cause for faster execution, this improvement is ultimately mitigated into nothingness by call depth: The larger register file must be saved into “normal” memory (which obviously takes longer for a larger register file) when a different function is called (which happens extremely often in high-level programming languages, such as C++, in which GW2 is written), so for any “real-world” software, the performance gain is actually negligible once the call depth limit is reached. As a matter of fact, the only reason 64-bit processors are faster than 32-bit processors (regardless(!) of whether they execute 32-bit or 64-bit software) is that they have more cache (which is memory “less internal (and thus faster)” than the register file, but “more internal (and thus faster)” than “normal” memory) than 32-bit processors.

So wait, if 128-bit processors roll around, things won’t get faster because of that?
Nope, not really.

(I don’t mean to necro threads, but since it’s sticky, I kinda figured it didn’t matter…)

(edited by UncleSniper.4086)

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Posted by: SkipperCZ.6912

SkipperCZ.6912

64b client for mac? :-(

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Posted by: BDave.9386

BDave.9386

64b client for mac? :-(

I’ll be a bit surprised if the native client they’re working on isn’t 64-bit. Dunno when it’s coming out, though.

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Posted by: undouble.1472

undouble.1472

Yes, I know this is an older stream but:
1) I’m running Gw2-64 and it works good
2) When I look at my GW2 folder I note that I still have BOTH Gw2 & GW2-64 application files on my system —- GW2 is at ~25Gb while GW2-64 shows ~29GB.

Question: Do I need BOTH application folders, or can I clean ~25GB from my HD?

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Posted by: undouble.1472

undouble.1472

Yes, I know this is an older stream but:
1) I’m running Gw2-64 and it works good
2) When I look at my GW2 folder I note that I still have BOTH Gw2 & GW2-64 application files on my system —- GW2 is at ~25Gb while GW2-64 shows ~29Gb.
Question: Do I need BOTH application folders, or can I clean ~25Gb from my HD?

)Misstated the “bloat” by a “small” factor (The Gb should be Kb)!!

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Posted by: Inculpatus cedo.9234

Inculpatus cedo.9234

You need only one .dat file. If you have more than one, you can remove the extraneous .dat file(s).

You do need both .exe files if you use both the 64-bit and 32-bit client(s). If not, you can delete the few extra kilobytes.

Good luck.