Guild Wars 2

Hey everyone,

I have recently started GW2 and I have been suffering with playability due to a really old PC. I am planning an upgrade and wanted to know if this is overkill or a good setup. I would happily take on any advice on changing parts with others (i.e. Graphics Card, Lesser P/S). I do not want to spend much on a graphics card as i plan on upgrading in a year or 2 depending on what games i will be playing, so this is 90% for GW2 alone.

Current List:

CPU: Intel i5 4690
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus H97 Pro
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16gb 1600
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250gb
Video Card: Asus 3G R9-280
Power Supply: Corsair 80+ Platinum AX860i

I appreciate any help i can get, and i apologise if this is in the wrong section of the forums.

It’s not shabby.

Do you mean the i5-4690 or the unlocked i5-4690K. I think you want the K version.

For this game, 16GB and an R9-280 is a bit of overkill. 860 watt PSU is a tad large as well unless you are planning a 2nd R9-280 in your future.

But as a general PC gaming rig it looks fine.

Edit: See follow up post.

Looks like a very nice set-up, there are some excesses imo.

CPU…K version maybe?

CPU cooler……even with new bios for OC on H series….that is one pricy air cooler for a mild OC

MB….really have no issues besides a mild concern for crossfire potential down the road due to 1…pci 3.0×16 and 1….pci 2.0×4 (The PCIe x1_1, PCIe x1_2 slots share bandwidth with PCIe x16_2. The PCIe x16_2 slot runs at x2 mode as default.)

RAM…8 would be plenty and given the high price of RAM atm it would be a easy place to save some cash

PSU…you could easily use a 500-550w

That all aside…..if I’m not mistaken AMD is supposed to announce Tonga tomorrow. r9-285 and maybe the r9-285×. They are supposed to have more of a maxwell type efficiency. If considering these cards the PSU recommendation might change.

Thanks for the replies

I do not plan on OCing at all so I decided to choose the i5-4690 based on general reviews.

I forgot to mention I will be playing 1920×1200 and would like to be able to max my settings out and play smoothly (I understand in WvW this will struggle due to CPU but I will tone it down then)

With that being said, would I be better off going with R9-270? its only $50 more for the R9-280 (or is there an even better alternative to this, possibly nvidia?)

As for the power supply I guess my lack of experience understanding what is required made me choose one of the best i could find. I can definitely look at 500-550w, should i go with a particular brand? Corsair/Thermaltake/Coolermaster?

I will drop my RAM to 8GB as per your advice.

Didn’t even notice it was the H97, thus single x16 slot and no unlock OCing. So never mind about the K version of the CPU or the 2nd video card in the future.

http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z97-vs-H97-What-is-the-Difference-562/

I would split the difference on the PSU and go with a 600-650 watt.

Essence Snow.3194:

CPU cooler……even with new bios for OC on H series….that is one pricy air cooler for a mild OC

This was something else i had no idea about. I figured that in WvW the CPU is getting a hard workout and a strong cooler would be safer for the longevity of the CPU? or am i looking too much into it?

I can get a cheaper CPU cooler i suppose, no point wasting money. I appreciate your feedback

There are much cheaper coolers than the UH-D15 that are still much better than the default Intel one. You were looking to put the high performance, ultra low profile racing tires on your stock Honda civic.

The Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo is more than enough at less than half the price (and weight).

Behellagh.1468:

There are much cheaper coolers than the UH-D15 that are still much better than the default Intel one. You were looking to put the high performance, ultra low profile racing tires on your stock Honda civic.

The Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo is more than enough at less than half the price (and weight).

Heh nice analogy, makes sense. I will take your advice and get that CPU cooler instead, it is 1/3 of the price which is nice. I have shaved off $418au so far, thanks for the advice!

Now the question is do you upgrade to a Z97 MB and a K class, unlocked CPU with the money you saved?

That should do quite nicely but I do agree the PSU is overkill get one no less than 600watts, also that 80+ thing is more of a gimmick to jack up the price, all it is is that the PSU is 80%+ energy efficient It doesn’t mean anything you would do better to just avoid it and get a PSU in the $70 to $100 range but do stay with the name band like Corsair.