Guild Wars 2

Just started playing Guild Wars 2 today and have experienced quite a bit of lag and low fps issues, I have had similar issues with several other games that I have been playing previously and just wanted some advice on where my specs are possibly going wrong or whether I should upgrade from my current desktop computer to a better one, here are my current specs:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo CPU @ 2.20 Ghz
3GB Memory Ram
32 Bit operating system
Windows Vista
Graphics Card – ATI Radeon HD 4600

Thankyou

Top of the list would be get a 64-bit OS, followed by more RAM. Personally I’d also say use Windows 7 – it’s pretty much better in every way than Vista especially on features like RAM virtualisation, and you also get DX11. Those options are likely to be cheaper than replacing the other hardware, and should give you some improvements along with using that hardware to its full.

After that, we’re into what you can afford by way of better CPU (possibly also motherboard if that is incompatible with the chosen upgrade) and better GPU. That’s a small flamewar in of itself.

It’s definitely a few generations behind. Only going to get more and more difficult to keep up without a pretty much wholesale upgrade.

Well I’ve had this desktop for at least 4 years so its about time I’m due a new upgrade,
I’ve been looking around and have seen a few models which were reasonably priced but have recently come across this and possibly getting a more up to date graphics card to go with it?

ASUS CM6330 desktop -

Memory (RAM): 8 GB
Storage (hard drive): 1 Tb
Processor Name: Intel Core i7
Number of Cores: Quad
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

However I have noticed on this model that it has shared graphics which I dont think is recommended for mmo gaming?

The shared graphics on the Core i7 would probably be better than your current GPU, but regardless, no, it’s not very fast.

I recommend either one of AMD or Nvidia’s latest generation, either the AMD 7-series (7870, 7850) or the Nvidia GTX 6/higher 5-series.

In general, similarly priced AMD and Nvidia cards perform similarly. If you’d rather spend a bit less on the GPU, get an AMD 6870 or one of the cheaper Nvidia 5-series cards.

AMD cards tend to need less power but they don’t support PhysX like Nvidia. Some games run faster on AMD and some on Nvidia, but they’re usually pretty close. Some number-crunching apps like SETI@home etc run better on one than the other. Overall though cards from either company are basically the same.

nVidia typically has better vendors, eVGA comes to mind.

So for example if I bought that model desktop and one of the Graphics cards you recommended with it, should that boost my performance and enable me to play higher end settings, thanks for all the help by the way people, much appreciated

You’ll likely want to get a new power supply as well, the one packaged with that Asus desktop is likely going to be a bit under-juiced.

I forgot about the power supply. Yes, you’ll want to upgrade that PSU as well. Certain sellers may be willing to put in a new one themselves before shipping.

You’ll want at least a 550 watt power supply for one modern GPU.

If you buy a power supply yourself, you’d need to replace the current one. If you’ve never done it before, it’s easy enough and basically impossible to plug something in wrong nowadays (if you do it just won’t boot, but won’t fry anything), and there are many tutorials nowadays. You’d have the original PSU still, so you could ebay it, or..?

Any of the video cards I listed would play the game well. The later series (7 for AMD, 6 for Nvidia) would also future-proof you a bit. As far as manufacturers, eVGA is a good one. I’ve also had good success with Gigabyte and Sapphire for AMD.

You may want to look into building a system yourself. It’s pretty easy and there are many tutorials, and you would save some money. It would definitely take more time overall, though.