Guild Wars 2

Alright, I’ve already posted 2 topics about how should I upgrade my computer but my father just told me today he intended to upgrade all computers in the house, including mine.

He said he wanted to build a more powerful system for me but didn’t specified how much so I assume not too expensive (at least better than my previous one).

Here are my current specs. Told him I could use an upgrade on RAM and GPU. Maybe OC the CPU but maybe change it? I also don’t want to change my monitor unless absolutely necessary, just saying a few bucks here.

So budget? No clue but don’t come here with a 3000$ rig that won’t pass, just a nice upgrade of my older one, something that can run GW2 at 40-50FPS average on high maybe but I think I ask for too much.

-Intel® Core™2 Quad CPUQ9550@ 2.83GHz
-Mother Board Gigabyte (G31M-S2L)
-RAM 4094mb
-Hard drive (primary) 465gb (WDC WD5000AADS-00S9B0 ATA Device) (271GB of free space)
-NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT
-High Definition Audio Device
-Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Operating system
-Monitor Acer X223W
-Case: Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
-Power supply: Antec Earthwatts Model EA-500D 500W max

i5 is the best choice for GW 2 IMO. And a decent video card. I am no good at reccomending vid cards below $300, because when I built my new PC, I did not look at those options.

8 GB is all the RAM you should need I think for Win 7 and gaming.

Only thing to keep on your system is the OS and monitor.
The 500GB HDD you have is a Green, which is for storage. Slow performance for an OS with games, use it for backup, saving files.

Prices in Canadian
i5 3570k $220
ASUS P8Z77-V LE Plus $150
CM Hyper 212+ $20
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 2X4GB DDR3-1600 $37
XFX/Seasonic/Corsair 650w PSU $55-95
Asus/MSI/Gigabyte/EVGA GTX 670 $350
Asus/MSI/Gigabyte 7950 or EVGA GTX 660 Ti $300

A new HDD is needed, but can get an SSD instead or both.
1TB WD Black HDD $98
128GB/256GB Crucial M4 SSD $105/$198

Cases is personal choice, but your current one is bad for cooling.
Corsair 500R $99
Corsair 650D $140
Bitfenix Ghost $99
CM HAF 912 $60

Hope this helps your build ideas.

^Kalec’s build is pretty solid, I’m not sure if it’s just an omission but i personally wouldn’t buy the standard 660,, it’s roughly the same performance as a 7850 which is significantly cheaper. If however he meant the 660ti then it’s a solid card now the launch price has came down to more reasonable numbers, the 7950 is it’s alternative.

I’m actually building a PC myself and surprisingly it’s close to what Kalec has outlined. Here are the parts I currently have lying around:

- CiT Venus blue case … (it’s cheap but looks alright)
– Asus P8Z77-V LX Motherboard
– Intel i5 3570k
– MSI Geforce GTX 660 … (I know the Ti is slightly better but I managed to find this for £70 cheaper)
– Corsair Vengeance Blue 8gb (2×4gb kit) 1600mhz DDR3 RAM
– Zalman CNPS 9900 Max Blue
– OCZ ZS 650 Watt PSU
– Pioneer DVD-RW/CD-RW
– Multi-Media Internal Drive

Final product should look pretty sexy, with the blue LED fans and the shiny blue RAM sticks. Still waiting for my WD Cavair Black 1tb HD, so that I can start building. Total cost came to around £700, so I think you’ll be able to afford something like this. And if you can afford something better then simply get the superior Geforce GTX 670. The 660 Ti is good but doesn’t seem like that big of an upgrade from the 660.

How about this?

System Builder Marathon, August 2012: $1000 Enthusiast PC
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-overclock-benchmark,3276.html

MasterK, that case is garbage. No room for longer graphic cards. Very cramped. Top mount PSU. Airflow is just bad. 80mm fan.

VirtualBS not a bad build, but the ASrock P67 Performance already been discontinued, better to use Z77 for Ivy bridge.
Corsair CX600 not a good choice for PSU, compared to others that are better.
60GB SSD not worth using anymore. Many might use it as cache.

I’d sugest a SB cpu over a IB if you want to OC. So a i5 2500k would be nice. + Noctua NH-D14 heatsink&fan ..best air cooling you can get.

As for GPU i personaly think you should get a 500 series. .maybe a 560ti or 570. And put some money away to buy a 770 or 780 when they are released somtime late Q1/early Q2 next year.

SolarNova.1052:

I’d sugest a SB cpu over a IB if you want to OC. So a i5 2500k would be nice. + Noctua NH-D14 heatsink&fan ..best air cooling you can get.

As for GPU i personaly think you should get a 500 series. .maybe a 560ti or 570. And put some money away to buy a 770 or 780 when they are released somtime late Q1/early Q2 next year.

I can vouch for the Noctua NH-D14, it is really a beast in every sense of the word! Just be sure to use low profile RAM (I use some G.Skill Sniper) otherwise that cooler won’t fit (but being low helps alot on the VRM cooling).