Guild Wars 2

I need a laptop for college but I also want to play gw2s. My limit is 500$ I am open to any laptop suggestions. Also will any of these play it and if so which on is better. Thanks in advance.

1. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+14%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+4GB+Memory+-+500GB+Hard+Drive+-+Sparkling+Black/6892224.p?id=1218810957932&skuId=6892224&st=HP%20laptops&cp=1&lp=1

2. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+17.3%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+4GB+Memory+-+500GB+Hard+Drive+-+Sparkling+Black/7015368.p?id=1218821793451&skuId=7015368&st=HP%20laptops&cp=1&lp=2

3. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+17.3%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+4GB+Memory+-+640GB+Hard+Drive+-+Sparkling+Black/6882542.p?id=1218810330901&skuId=6882542&st=HP%20laptops&cp=1&lp=7#tab=specifications

Those are all basically great for watching DVDs etc and playing games that are not GPU intensive, even though GW2 is CPU bound the GPUs on All the laptops you have selected are Very weak your be lucky to get a steady 30 fps with the Lowest settings.

What is the Absolute MAX your willing to payout for a laptop as that’ll determine what I’ll suggest you look into :P.

500$ is my max I might be able to convince my mother on 530$ but idk. If it were up to me I would buy a desktop but she really wants a laptop for me.

If you don’t mind can u link some desktops as well. The limit is the same but I’ll try to convince her one more time.

Hey bud,

I used to build gaming comps for clients, I too switched over to laptops due to not having time to game as much any longer. (being an adult is rough)

This is sold out, and its $99.00 more than your goal BUT its a very nice laptop for the price. The video card IS very overclockable with MSI afterburner and GW2 LOVES this cpu.

I am able to play it on med/low settings and get 60+ fps and its butter smooth. WvW IS playable but not as smooth of course.

Its sold out now, but keep an eye on it or one with the same specs and you will be good to go with this game and any others.

Good luck,
Wrain

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215417

I wouldn’t recommend any of them simply because they’re A/ HP and those suck and B/ have AMD cpus which aren’t supported that well by games. You’ll be selling yourself short.

Three things I could recommend:
A/ buy a desktop pc for that money, you will be able to have one decent enough to run GW2 on medium-high
B/ Do one of those things called “jobs” and earn your pc yourself. You’ll be far more prudent throwing away money at an HP AMD when it’s your own money instead of your mothers. Also you can be proud you achieved your own pc, back when I 14, working my kitten of for my first pc was a milestone in my life. Eleven years later I still love that little machine, I just hope I can say the same about my gf in 10 years.
C/ Convince “someone” to go up to 800. You need at least some core components and for a laptop you ain’t getting that under 500.

If you have a job and could swing it this would be the best bang for you buck in reguards to what you need, yes its quite a bit over your budget but well worth it, I looked at the specs of the 630m which has a core config of 96:16:4 and the 640m core config is 384:32:16, so you can easily see which that the 640m is quite a bit better performace wize.

Personally I like a destop for gaming or video editing, but in college a laptop it a better choice just because its mobile.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215615

marnick.4305:

I wouldn’t recommend any of them simply because they’re A/ HP and those suck and B/ have AMD cpus which aren’t supported that well by games. You’ll be selling yourself short.

Three things I could recommend:
A/ buy a desktop pc for that money, you will be able to have one decent enough to run GW2 on medium-high
B/ Do one of those things called “jobs” and earn your pc yourself. You’ll be far more prudent throwing away money at an HP AMD when it’s your own money instead of your mothers. Also you can be proud you achieved your own pc, back when I 14, working my kitten of for my first pc was a milestone in my life. Eleven years later I still love that little machine, I just hope I can say the same about my gf in 10 years.
C/ Convince “someone” to go up to 800. You need at least some core components and for a laptop you ain’t getting that under 500.

I lol’ed at this, I’m using a Phenom II X4 955BE at 3.9GHz paired with an HD4890 and 8GBs of DDR3 1600MHz, I average at 1680×1050 45-50+ fps Note I use SweetFX aswell with everything but reflections, FXAA, showdows and depth blur maxed out. donno where you think AMD CPUs are any less supported by games in general then Intel CPUs ? That’s complete utter rubish, both perform well in there own right GW2 is just poorly optimized atm for both Intel and AMD, were not comparing an ARM cpu vs a desktop CPU, if we were Then you can say which one has the better support :P lolz.

A8 4500M will move GW2 just fine, overclock the GPU and that is about it, will not perform well in WvW but for PVE/sPVP will be just fine low/mid settings. I personally own a A8 laptop and it performs pretty well tbh for 500$ is the best u will get bro. Go for it, the 17.3 laptop is a great deal for mid range gaming. HP laptops are very good nowdays quality has improved quite a bit over the past years, my HP laptop overclocked btoh CPU and GPU over 25% stock speed barelly gets to 80c while gaming. AMD a8 processor and AMD dedicated 6770m card. I tested a macbook with the very same video card and it got all the way up to 100c. HP is cheap yes, but the have improved they hardware a lot over the past years. I would totally recomend the g7 laptop using the A8 processor and 1600mhz DDR3 ram. it is a wise choice and the best bang for the buck u wil get at 500$, even tho i would recomend go up to 800$-1000$ range and get the i5 or i7 +a GTX640m. AMD laptop APUs is the absolute best for budget gaming, i was very impressed with this chips when i got mine tbh.

Alteris.1528:

I lol’ed at this, I’m using a Phenom II X4 955BE at 3.9GHz paired with an HD4890 and 8GBs of DDR3 1600MHz, I average at 1680×1050 45-50+ fps Note I use SweetFX aswell with everything but reflections, FXAA, showdows and depth blur maxed out. donno where you think AMD CPUs are any less supported by games in general then Intel CPUs ? That’s complete utter rubish, both perform well in there own right GW2 is just poorly optimized atm for both Intel and AMD, were not comparing an ARM cpu vs a desktop CPU, if we were Then you can say which one has the better support :P lolz.

AMD + laptop + games. Good luck. Hope you like your eggs hard boiled.

Let’s not be fanboys here. In a laptop you’ll want something that’s cool and fast at the same time. The best choice has been intel for decades.

In a desktop PC I regularly recommend AMD cpu’s. If you have half decent cooling, they’re indeed just as good as any intel, sometimes even better. But again, this is a laptop.

marnick.4305:

Alteris.1528:

I lol’ed at this, I’m using a Phenom II X4 955BE at 3.9GHz paired with an HD4890 and 8GBs of DDR3 1600MHz, I average at 1680×1050 45-50+ fps Note I use SweetFX aswell with everything but reflections, FXAA, showdows and depth blur maxed out. donno where you think AMD CPUs are any less supported by games in general then Intel CPUs ? That’s complete utter rubish, both perform well in there own right GW2 is just poorly optimized atm for both Intel and AMD, were not comparing an ARM cpu vs a desktop CPU, if we were Then you can say which one has the better support :P lolz.

AMD + laptop + games. Good luck. Hope you like your eggs hard boiled.

Let’s not be fanboys here. In a laptop you’ll want something that’s cool and fast at the same time. The best choice has been intel for decades.

In a desktop PC I regularly recommend AMD cpu’s. If you have half decent cooling, they’re indeed just as good as any intel, sometimes even better. But again, this is a laptop.

That is not true AMD CPU works a lot cooler than intels (in terms of raw temperature), Desktop CPUs max temperature is 70c so they work at 50c under full load, intel CPUS works arround 80c with a max temp of 100c (overcloked temps+decent cooling ofc). Laptop CPUs are hotter they get to 80c with max temp of 100c, This APUs (CPU+GPU on the same die) are very very cool since u don’t have dedicated graphics card inside (generating extra heat) they barelly gets to 70c under prime95 torture test i guarantee that cuz i am writing this on one of those. Any laptop with an i7 and a dedicated graphics card inside gets as hot as 100c(at least on the graphic card) at that temp u can boil an egg for sure.

That is not true AMD CPU works a lot cooler than intels

Which planet have you been secluding yourself on?

That hasn’t been true in 6 or 7 years.

Squall Leonhart.2075:

That is not true AMD CPU works a lot cooler than intels

Which planet have you been secluding yourself on?

That hasn’t been true in 6 or 7 years.

It depends. AMD cpu idle cooler. Yes it is surprising that bulldozer and their new chips idle at a cooler temperature than Intel newest chips

This reddit

may help you http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcforme

A desktop amd trinity build could get you under the $500 goal

All you need a mouse, keyboard, and speakers

You can use the TV as a monitor

marnick.4305:

I wouldn’t recommend any of them simply because they’re A/ HP and those suck and B/ have AMD cpus which aren’t supported that well by games. You’ll be selling yourself short.

I’m not sure where you get your information about AMD processor’s, but you couldn’t be further from the truth. AMD CPU’s are usually better than Intel CPU’s (although it does vary from model to model) when it comes to gaming. Intel CPU’s are usually better (again, it varies depending on model) at things such as CAD and Photoshop work. Again, it varies from models, but this is a general guideline.

The problem isn’t that the machine has an AMD, the problem is most laptops do not have true video cards, have scaled back CPU’s (for cooler and less power consumption) and slower hard drives (again, less power and cooler). A desktop for the same money will generally give you a HUGE increase in hardware.

For the $500 mark, if you don’t build your PC, you’re mostly going to end up with a prefab machine that will have a shared video card, a slower processor, and/or a slower (5400 RPM) HDD. All of these things will limit your animation speeds, not only with this game, but any game. Fact is, most prefab machines are not true gaming machines.

AMD CPU’s are usually better than Intel CPU’s (although it does vary from model to model) when it comes to gaming.

Sorry, you’re saying something completely ridiculous, I fear you suffer from compulsive lying or some form of delusion.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/129
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/62
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/60
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/340
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/61
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-21.html

AMD has not been better in a game since the P4/A64 era.

Here is another CPU chart on single thread performance which affect game performance. Dominated by intel processors.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

Squall Leonhart.2075:

That is not true AMD CPU works a lot cooler than intels

Which planet have you been secluding yourself on?

That hasn’t been true in 6 or 7 years.

mmmmm in real world? i have both platforms i can tell u for experience, AMD CPUs will not go over 70c Overcloked to the limits my phenom playng GW2 never goes over 35c, 50c running prime for hours… My 2600k overcloked to 4.5ghz goes all the way up to 60°c playing GW and 72c running prime, ofc AMD CPU is designed to work at low temps, max allowed temperature of those chips is 70c, intel max temps are over 100c. I have not a bulldozer or vishare CPU to test but those works at lower voltages than phenoms so they most likelly run cooler. My cheap HP laptop using a A8 procesor overclocked to 2.8Ghz(stock 1.9) paired with a Hd 6770m dedicated graphics card runs at 83c under gaming load, and 70c the CPU alone during prime95, my sister’s MacBook with an I7 and the same video card runs at 100c while gaming, u can’t actually have it on ur legs due the metal case (both tested brand new playing the withcher2 so no dusty fans). TBH that little a8 first gen APU is the best chip i have tested in many years, price/performance/temperatures/overclockability/radeon graphics, it is a very balanced product.
And yes AMD may not outperform intel in CPU raw performance but at 500$ range an A10 or A8 will smoke anything intel have to put inside a laptop, anything featuring “intel graphics” will not perform anywhere close to AMD solutions.

BTW if u look at that chart u will see a lot 100$ CPUs outperforming 1000$ CPUs from intel i7 990x(first gen CPU), LOL i think ppl who bought those CPUs Thinking they were “future proof” and play GW2 probably want to kill themselves right now :P That is a perfect example of why u shouldn’t buy high end products, unless u have a lot of money ofc.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+15.6%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+6GB+Memory+-+750GB+Hard+Drive+-+Diamond+Black/5892069.p?id=1218703221538&skuId=5892069

this will more then be enough. I am running the 17" one with i7 and it works awesome. The 1gig dedicated card will make a huge difference

Lithran.5728:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+15.6%26%2334%3B+Laptop+-+6GB+Memory+-+750GB+Hard+Drive+-+Diamond+Black/5892069.p?id=1218703221538&skuId=5892069

this will more then be enough. I am running the 17" one with i7 and it works awesome. The 1gig dedicated card will make a huge difference

Actually I will not recommend it. The problem is single threaded performace. Do not compare an i7 to a8. There is no comparison. i7 is over 30 percent faster than the fastest a8 on single threaded benchmarks. I will not recommend this laptop

I just bought this today (far bottom link) for my son who wants a reasonable gaming laptop, to replace his older reasonably priced gaming laptop. His current is one of those ASUS Gaming one’s of a couple years back (http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1104483&csid=ITD&body=MAIN), which he used for GW2 on medium, runs ok @1600x900.

This new one the GPU is relatively the same but the proc is twice as strong, just what GW2 needs. This still isn’t like a really nice desktop, but this is the lowest I would go if you are thinking GW2.

It’s a steal with the $200 off and I can’t find it anywhere near as cheap elsewhere.

http://store.acer.com/store/acerna/en_US/pd/productID.259012300

More info:

Here is a comparison of your videocard and the other system I mentioned, also notice I added the Intel 4000 HD, the VC in the system you have listed is similar to a std Intel 4000HD.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html

Check 82, 101, 209 and 247 (By the way that is the # they rank the videocards)
Then pick the games in the little box
Then click Restrict, this will show a nice little comparison between those and the games you selected, pick a couple from 2010, 2011 and 2012, not all games/vc’s are tested.

Another system in between that you could squeak by on for GW2 and it will run many other games very well…

Take your pick, screen size rez, being the main difference, you may want to choose the lower native rez’d one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=Property&N=100006740&IsNodeId=1&PropertyCodeValue=393%3A49576%2C402%3A266883%2C402%3A304112%2C402%3A305523%2C402%3A350842%2C402%3A284980%2C402%3A154106%2C402%3A167527%2C402%3A155119%2C402%3A155126%2C402%3A100439%2C402%3A314897%2C402%3A314898%2C402%3A266888%2C402%3A347918%2C402%3A267294%2C402%3A314655%2C402%3A348770&bop=And&CompareItemList=32|34-310-625^34-310-625-TS%2C34-310-630^34-310-630-TS