Guild Wars 2

I would like it if someone could please tell me what I could expect by upgrading to a new PC if I post the specs. I realize buying a new PC instead of building one is highly frowned upon, but given my current situation and obligations buying one is the preferred method.

Currently I am running gw2 pvp at the absolute lowest graphic settings for maximum performance, which is an average of 35-40 FPS. It is VERY hard for me to livestream using OBS and twitch and I can’t navigate any web browser while I am livestreaming.

My current specs are (you can refer to this as PC1):

-AMD FX™-6120 Six-Core Processor 3.50 GHz
-RAM: 10.0GB
-64 Bit operating system
-Radeon HD 7450 graphics card

(here’s a link to all the detailed specs of my exact pc http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03359045&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en#N680 )

I plan on getting a computer with these specs (you can refer to this as PC2):

-Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme Processor
-Windows 7 Home Premium
-16GB Memory
-NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 780 with 3GB GDDR5

(here’s a link with more detailed info on the specs I plan on getting: http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-aurora-r4/pd?oc=dpcwny5&model_id=alienware-aurora-r4 )

Based on that what would I expect in terms of FPS, and the ability to stream content via OBS on twitch?

Also, I am open to suggestions on what to modify on that computer I plan on getting. As much as I would LOVE to build my own pc I just cannot commit to a project like that right now. Any help on whether this PC will be able to run gw2 at max performance around 60 FPS would be great. I am looking forward to livestreaming often.

I’m not sure how relevent internet speed is to performance but based on speedtest.net my:
-ping is 76 ms
-download: 12.85 Mbps
-Upload: 2.99 Mbps

I would very much appreciate any help I could get.

I am also considering a cheaper alternative to the above computer, so as a bonus if anyone could tell me how this PC would perform that would be great! You can refer to this as PC3:
-Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme Processor
-Windows 7 Home Premium
-8GB Memory
-NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680 with 2GB GDDR5

From AMD FX-6120 to i7 Extreme Edition,
Go outside at midnight. Go back inside.
Go back outside at mid noon. Go back inside.
That is the difference.
For GW2 anyway.
But it is, let me stress this, NOT NEEDED FOR GUILD WARS 2.
i5 4670K will still CRUSH an FX-6120.

You need a better GPU, that’s what’s holding you back right now. This game is not too demanding on the GPU so going from 680 to 780 isn’t going to bring you anything (unless you play at higher res than 1080p and multi monitor setup) but 7450 is so powerless compared to them that any kind of upgrade would be needed. a GTX 660, which I have, is easily enough with max graphics (Only supersampling brings fps down to 60 at times).

Like Avelos said, 4820K is not necessary for this game. To be honest, an non-Extreme i7 could be even better. This game requires tremendous amount of single threaded performance from the CPU (which AMD’s are lacking, a lot, hence the huuuuge fps jump over that) and both 4670K and 4770K beat your choice in that, plus they run at lower stock clock speed so you don’t have to push their overclocks as much as 4820K’s. if you decide to do that.

Some might argue, but I believe beyond 8 GB of RAM is giving you nothing in terms of gaming fps. You’re fine on that front either way.

You say building it yourself is not an option at this time. Let me give you a suggestion though: buy them as parts and pay someone to set it up for you. For example my local hardware center does it for like $50, I bet many other do too. You’re gonna save a lot more than that $50 by doing so.

Maybe if you weren’t trying to livestream the game would perform better.

FX-6120 fair but not great. HD 7450, not good at all.

Cheaper alternative to your uber system is an i5-4670K and a GTX 760. Roughly twice the CPU power per core and 15x the video card performance of what you have.

streaming will not be a problem for 700 series nvidia cards as shadowplay is out(i think?) its a minimal if any performance drop for streaming.

I think amd has a version but im not sure.

Going from amd to anything intel will be a huge boost. I hear oced i3 are great. That 780 or 780ti will only be necessary if you plan on doing a eyefinity/surround setup, otherwise a 760 or 770 will do fine even with everything maxed out (except character model limit), even 270/x (7870 LE rebrand) will do good at native sampling.

Thanks a bunch for the responses. Based on what I’ve read it sounds like I’d be fine with an i5 or higher to accomplish what I’m looking for as long as I’ve got a decent graphics card in the mix. Sorry I’m not tech savvy and have a hard time understanding performance differences unless its via analogies or FPS comparisons.

Based on what I am reading it sounds like the one listed as PC3 (the last option which seems to be the middle-of-the-road) option would be best or will I run into problems in the future with PC3

@dodgy I believe Shadowplay is available from 650 Ti BOOST on, it is at least on my 660. It’s maybe better for this game since from what I’ve heard it uses GPU power whereas fraps uses CPU. Also someone said recently that 680 in SLI has no problem doing 3 monitors at 1200p but 1600p was a struggle so a single 770 Should be fine for 1080p multimonitoring.

@Lux yeah, I’d say if you get a $150 card or better you wont see any difference. the 3rd option seems to be the best out of those, however if you order parts and pay for assembly like I suggested you’ll get more fps and need to spend less money. You’re paying for that Alienware logo for nothing.

I really appreciate your feedback locx and I’ll def go to my local computer place and see if they can put it together if I order it.

Right, if they can manage that, come back here and we’ll put the parts list together for you, just give us the budget!

Dont get NVIDIA get AMD GPU – Mantle support

GW2 should get MANTLE support….

Should…. But does it? Do you have some secret information that I don’t have? If it’s coming anytime soon I’d tell people to run screaming to the nearest store and get an AMD GPU if they want performance in GW2 but I don’t see that happening very quickly.

XFlyingBeeX.2836:

Dont get NVIDIA get AMD GPU – Mantle support

GW2 should get MANTLE support….

Yeah, some time before the heat death of the universe (maybe even before the Sun turns into a red giant and incinerate the Earth), right after they do Dx11 support.

Lets see from a priority POV, update the renderer using an API that both major card vendors support or just one? In either case it’s not a “simple” thing to implement for either of them.

Nope GW2 does not support Mantle – if we want better smoother gamey they should do it. Maybe NVIDIA would actually do something for costumers and support MANTLE

i just compare Fx 4300 vs Haswell i3 clock per clock (rts – starswarm) Fx 4300 lead by 1 FPS
In Bf4 Mp FX 4300 3.0Ghz (mantle) destroy Fx 4600 4.7Ghz – fair enough?

So if you will try
Thief/Star Citizen … you should get AMD GPu – get R9 290 Sapphire trixx best High end GPU for that price

Nvidia is ….
“Open” features/tech is better for us costumers

You don’t get better, smoother gameplay by writing a game engine to support DX11 or Mantle… You get better smoother gameplay by optimizing the game. Deeeerrrrrrrrrrrp.

And once again, you can’t compare Guild Wars 2 to non MMOs.

Avelos.6798:

You don’t get better, smoother gameplay by writing a game engine to support DX11 or Mantle… You get better smoother gameplay by optimizing the game. Deeeerrrrrrrrrrrp.

And once again, you can’t compare Guild Wars 2 to non MMOs.

He thinks Mantle will force cpus to run all cores at load…. Let him have faith on something that AMD said is open but leverages GCN architecture. We need to let Mantle develop and mature before praising to see how “open” it actually will be.

OP, it should take no more than 30min to build yourself, honestly. Otherwise buying prebuilt, say screw it and go Falcon NorthWest.

sobe.4157:

Avelos.6798:

You don’t get better, smoother gameplay by writing a game engine to support DX11 or Mantle… You get better smoother gameplay by optimizing the game. Deeeerrrrrrrrrrrp.

And once again, you can’t compare Guild Wars 2 to non MMOs.

He thinks Mantle will force cpus to run all cores at load…. Let him have faith on something that AMD said is open but leverages GCN architecture. We need to let Mantle develop and mature before praising to see how “open” it actually will be.

HEHE….Mantle gives FX 4300 huge boost in Bf4/starswarm – actually clock per clock is FX 4300 faster than i3 haswell.

DirectX cripple AMD CPUS … Bot Inetl and AMD and i am happy that AMD finally did something great for us costumer. Why should you buy i5 if i3 with MANTLE will be faster than i5 with directX…

Intelfanboys….
If i tell you that FX 4300 3.5Ghz (mantle) is much faster than Fx 4.7Ghz directX in BF4 – it scales up to 8 threads.

Mostly i recommend you to wait for DDR4 – or buy i5 4430 with R9 270 ….

Behellagh.1468:

XFlyingBeeX.2836:

Dont get NVIDIA get AMD GPU – Mantle support

GW2 should get MANTLE support….

Yeah, some time before the heat death of the universe (maybe even before the Sun turns into a red giant and incinerate the Earth), right after they do Dx11 support.

Lets see from a priority POV, update the renderer using an API that both major card vendors support or just one? In either case it’s not a “simple” thing to implement for either of them.

It will be interesting to see what Anet does about the game engines poor performance in the future.

Mantle is Open just like tressFX (nvidia already optimize it)… Mantle does not require GCN core. Mantle is not a battle against NVIDIA it is battle against INTEL….

More games that will support MANTLE better is for us costumers….

Mantle
+ less CPu power, much better games
- support

XFlyingBeeX.2836:

Mantle is Open just like tressFX (nvidia already optimize it)… Mantle does not require GCN core. Mantle is not a battle against NVIDIA it is battle against INTEL….

More games that will support MANTLE better is for us costumers….

Mantle
+ less CPu power, much better games
- support

It’s not about whether Intel fanboys think Mantle doesn’t help, it does, that’s proven, but the thing is, it’s not so easy implementing it in game as pressing a button and waiting it to load. Also BF4 =/= GW2. Until we see it in GW2 we can’t talk about what kind of performance change it brings. Also, wasn’t at least part of Mantle’s job to shift work to GPU, not to spread it evenly between cores?

Mantle is will never give huge GPu boost … It is all about CPU
Strategy games, MMOs, MP-online games – CPU limited

http://hothardware.com/News/How-AMDs-Mantle-Will-Redefine-Gaming-Doesnt-Require-AMD-Hardware/

DirectX bottleneck your i5!
Look at conzoles- APU with 6x jaguar cores at 1.6Ghz with 7870 inside (PS4) – how would 6 jaguar cores run BF4 MP under PC directX…

That is an article far before Mantle’s launch…. We have real data now, and it’s not about the CPU, it’s about CPU-limitation in games. APU’s will obviously benefit most from Mantle, but Mantle is about the GPU segment offloading, not all about the CPU….

Nothing wrong with hoping for the best, but why don’t you give it some time before you keep up the fanboy charade. NVIDIA fanboys did this exact thing when PhysX first came around…… Know what happened to PhysX after it’s year or so of “appeal” wore off? (And despite how much NVIDIA said it would change the way we look at physics in games)

The current Mantle, is not quite what the public was told from AMD…. It is closer to how consoles work with the hardware via API. Difficult for me to explain, but basically it does away with abstraction layers as you would expect.

Btw, hate to burst your bubble with the BF4 references, but Direct3D via NVIDIA drivers performs better than Mantle using a 290x running on a 4770k :/ Which is why I said wait for data before jumping up and down, it’s all about optimization. If AMD optimized instead of searching for alternatives, this wouldn’t be an issue, same goes for all companies and drivers.

You might appreciate this reading though via NV’d new OpenGL Extensions,
http://www.slideshare.net/CassEveritt/beyond-porting

sobe.4157:

Btw, hate to burst your bubble with the BF4 references, but Direct3D via NVIDIA drivers performs better than Mantle using a 290x running on a 4770k :/ Which is why I said wait for data before jumping up and down, it’s all about optimization. If AMD optimized instead of searching for alternatives, this wouldn’t be an issue, same goes for all companies and drivers.

What website were you looking at? I’ve only seen one site that showed a d3d nvidia card being faster than a 290x using mantle. Is this what you are referring to?

http://techreport.com/r.x/mantle-cpu/bf4-fps.gif

http://techreport.com/review/25995/first-look-amd-mantle-cpu-performance-in-battlefield-4/2

It doesn’t even say if its single player or multiplayer. Judging by the numbers I’m guessing its single player. Which doesn’t matter since it doesn’t make the game cpu limited.

It’s possible, I’ve skimmed over so many kitten sites after Mantle dropped. All I know is, if Mantle succeeds on it’s claims, it’s a bonus for consumers. Right now all I see is hype for a single demo and game, but at least the results are promising and hopefully this doesn’t end up like previous proprietary tech. Cross your fingers and clinch your kittens

sobe.4157:

It’s possible, I’ve skimmed over so many kitten sites after Mantle dropped. All I know is, if Mantle succeeds on it’s claims, it’s a bonus for consumers. Right now all I see is hype for a single demo and game, but at least the results are promising and hopefully this doesn’t end up like previous proprietary tech. Cross your fingers and clinch your kittens

I just edited my post. I’ll just write it here.

I think those benchmarks are for BF4 single player, those don’t matter since its not cpu limited scenario. A real comparison would be benchmarking it in a 64 player game, since thats when the engine becomes very cpu limited.

You might very well be right about it being single. The screenshot looks like multi so I’m unsure.

You can view the difference between a nvidia d3d vs radeon with mantle here. A single player scenario doesn’t show any real difference, but a cpu limited scenario like multiplayer with 64 people does:

http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2014/erste-eindruecke-zu-amds-mantle/2/

Thank you good sir

sobe.4157:

Thank you good sir

Np man!

sobe.4157:

It’s possible, I’ve skimmed over so many kitten sites after Mantle dropped. All I know is, if Mantle succeeds on it’s claims, it’s a bonus for consumers. Right now all I see is hype for a single demo and game, but at least the results are promising and hopefully this doesn’t end up like previous proprietary tech. Cross your fingers and clinch your kittens

if Mantle succeeds?
Did you try Mantle? Did you try it on low end CPU and high end GPU?
Win 7
Star swarm benchmark follow-ultra
FX 4300 1.8Ghz does not bottleneck R9 270X – Mantle
Fx 6300 4.7Ghz bottleneck R9 270X – directX

Bf4
Fx 4300 3.5Ghz does not bottleneck R9 270X – Mantle
FX 8350 4.7Ghz bottleneck R9 270X – DirectX

Bee, we see a demo and a single game. Regardless what AMD claims, we NEED to see how it pans out and develops… If you think it’s succeeded already, then I guess PhysX was a HUGE success in that case…. It LOOKS good, yes! But, we don’t know what this will turn into, which is why I say we have to give it time. PhysX is a good example because it was hailed by all the NVtards and in the end… well, we saw how that panned out. All I’m saying is wait for everything to settle, drivers/architectures/etc. to mature before jumping up and down shouting Mantle.

I am currently without personal 290x due to RMA (and don’t own anything but the 8350 in one of the test benches), but there is a LOT of misinformation floating around, and some of the stuff you posted in other threads about Mantle basically forcing 8 cores to be used on a 4770k???? That doesn’t make sense as for what Mantle actually does.

My honest thoughts on it are that Mantle is not the future, but assuming it succeeds, AMD will have paved the way for future API implementation in both the development side and engineering side.

XFlyingBeeX.2836:

sobe.4157:

It’s possible, I’ve skimmed over so many kitten sites after Mantle dropped. All I know is, if Mantle succeeds on it’s claims, it’s a bonus for consumers. Right now all I see is hype for a single demo and game, but at least the results are promising and hopefully this doesn’t end up like previous proprietary tech. Cross your fingers and clinch your kittens

if Mantle succeeds?
Did you try Mantle? Did you try it on low end CPU and high end GPU?
Win 7
Star swarm benchmark follow-ultra
FX 4300 1.8Ghz does not bottleneck R9 270X – Mantle
Fx 6300 4.7Ghz bottleneck R9 270X – directX

Bf4
Fx 4300 3.5Ghz does not bottleneck R9 270X – Mantle
FX 8350 4.7Ghz bottleneck R9 270X – DirectX

Yes Mantle eliminates the cpu bottleneck when used for game engines. Its success will depend on how well its adopted into the game industry. So far, it looks relatively positive.

Since consoles tend to be the focus of most games, I imagine that many developers will begin to utilize Mantle because the api is similar to what is found in consoles. I’d say its a positive movement for the pc gaming industry as a whole. Like Sobi said, everyone better hope it catches on.

If it does, it will make pc gaming builds much cheaper. Since it would be possible to buy a low-mid range cpu which won’t bottleneck your gpu. Also, builders can focus on putting most of their money into a high end gpu instead of having to buy a high end cpu and gpu.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m all for that kind of change.

Aza.2105:

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m all for that kind of change.

That kind of change is a milestone for the future, as people such as poor college students will be able to afford something that is worthwhile instead of settling due to lower budget. 100% for Mantle if it succeeds.

sobe.4157:

Bee, we see a demo and a single game. Regardless what AMD claims, we NEED to see how it pans out and develops… If you think it’s succeeded already, then I guess PhysX was a HUGE success in that case…. It LOOKS good, yes! But, we don’t know what this will turn into, which is why I say we have to give it time. PhysX is a good example because it was hailed by all the NVtards and in the end… well, we saw how that panned out. All I’m saying is wait for everything to settle, drivers/architectures/etc. to mature before jumping up and down shouting Mantle.

I am currently without personal 290x due to RMA (and don’t own anything but the 8350 in one of the test benches), but there is a LOT of misinformation floating around, and some of the stuff you posted in other threads about Mantle basically forcing 8 cores to be used on a 4770k???? That doesn’t make sense as for what Mantle actually does.

My honest thoughts on it are that Mantle is not the future, but assuming it succeeds, AMD will have paved the way for future API implementation in both the development side and engineering side.

I can understand your comparison, but Physx is more of a niche feature. Having games use it really doesn’t change the experience much. Of course the eye candy is welcomed but just not necessary. But a api that increases performance by up to 300% is a definite game changer.

People pay a extra $500 to upgrade to new video cards that offer 20% increase in performance. But being able to get extraordinary amount of performance via software is impressive. I agree though, that many people seem to be misinformed what mantle does. I think most believed it would magically make their gpu perform better.

If the gpu is low end then it will always be that because of the hardware. What it does is eliminate the cpu bottleneck. Which is huge depending on the game. I think rts and mmos will benefit the most from Mantle since they are usually cpu limited.

sobe.4157:

Aza.2105:

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m all for that kind of change.

That kind of change is a milestone for the future, as people such as poor college students will be able to afford something that is worthwhile instead of settling due to lower budget. 100% for Mantle if it succeeds.

This is exactly what I’m saying. Realistically most people do not have the specs of your pc, most do not have the specs of my pc. The average pc user has what we would consider a low end pc that doesn’t perform well in games.

These type of users aren’t very interested in spending $1000s of dollars to get a beefy gaming machine because to them it may not be worth the investment. But with Mantle these type of people are able to game with acceptable performance without having to invest so much money into the hardware.

If Mantle turns out to be a success, then it changes the pc scene entirely. It will make $400-500 pcs totally viable for gaming. Sure they won’t be able to achieve 60fps but they will be able to do 30fps+ @1080p without much of a problem. Gaming developers will then be able to widen their targeted user base since the minimum requirement specs will be much lower.

Like I said, I expect cross platform developers to begin to adopt Mantle first and PC only developers last.

sobe.4157:

Aza.2105:

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m all for that kind of change.

That kind of change is a milestone for the future, as people such as poor college students will be able to afford something that is worthwhile instead of settling due to lower budget. 100% for Mantle if it succeeds.

You dont get it right?
Just look what they did from i5 750 to i5 4670K or even to core duo

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-17.html

E8500 4.5Ghz is on pair with i5 3570K 3.4-3.8Ghz in ST (apps)

- optimized, lower power, better iGPU
iGPU will become co-processor in every task in future

XFlyingBeeX.2836:

sobe.4157:

Aza.2105:

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m all for that kind of change.

That kind of change is a milestone for the future, as people such as poor college students will be able to afford something that is worthwhile instead of settling due to lower budget. 100% for Mantle if it succeeds.

You dont get it right?
Intel is nearly at his maximum ST perfromance….
Just look what they did from i5 750 to i5 4670K or even to core duo
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-17.html
E8500 4.5Ghz is on pair with i5 3570K 3.4-3.8Ghz in ST (apps)
- optimized, lower power, better iGPU
iGPU will become co-processor in every task in future

I still don’t think you get it… This was about Mantle and misconception of what Mantle does for the silicon, not forcing 8 cores to work 100% load in a game that is not designed for such as you’ve previously mentioned.

I understand that you are currently the Mantle mascot, which is fine I suppose, but read up on it a bit more and take a read of the OpenGL extensions I posted. May help alleviate some things.

I don’t know why a topic about part comparison and recommendations turned into some MANTLE topic. Way off topic imo. Tip: Mantle is only in 2 or 3 games, one of which is actually available on the market, completely. Mantle isn’t happening for everything NOW. It will be put into more games in the future but consider this: Guild Wars 2 won’t get mantle. And even if it did, it would probably even be two years from now. Developers can’t just be like “Hey let’s put DX11/ Mantle into this!” and get it out next week. It takes time. Not just to rewrite it, but to make sure EVERYTHING works.

It’d basically be remaking Guild Wars 2. Why bother for now if we already know what makes the game run better? If you’re building just for guild wars 2, you know what to get. If you want other things to do, then consider the pros and cons of each brand name.

Anyway OP, your best bet would be any of the i5 processors ivy bridge or haswell, or a high clocked Intel i3 Haswell (Haswell because it’s a little faster than Ivy.

I think that there is really no point in waiting for the next generation processor because, it’s only going to support one processor and possibly the previous generation processor. It’s pointless. And then someone will say “WAAAAAAIIIT FOR THE NEXT GEN!” like they’re some sort of rapture or something. If you wait and wait for the next gen, repeat after reading millions of reviews about LITTLE things (especially ones that gamers don’t care about because they want power and speed) with the processor that in almost all cases will not effect you, you might as well stick with using ten year old crap until it burns out and dies on you.

However, if the wait were be for a completely brand new processor, such as like the AMD A10-7850K and you’re currently using something like a first generation AMD FX-4 series, why not? Jump on that stuff. The new 7850K is looking pretty good.

Topic creator:
I recommend,
high clocked Intel i3 Haswell, or any Haswell i5 processor (you could also go with an ivy 3570K if you want, they’re still good of course, 4670K for the same overclocking features but Haswell)
8 GB of RAM,
There’s a few graphics cards you can get. I read that apparently GW2 can use more than 1 GB of VRAM despite being a DirectX 9 game so I’d say look at 2 GB versions of graphics cards. There’s some Radeon HD 7770, maybe a 7790, definitely check out Radeon HD 7850 2 GB, GTX 650TI 2GB or GTX 650TI BOOST 2GB, GTX 660 2GB or 660TI 2GB.

That’s the main specs I’d look into for a mainstream PC for Guild Wars 2 that can get maximum enjoyment.

sobe.4157:

XFlyingBeeX.2836:

sobe.4157:

Aza.2105:

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m all for that kind of change.

That kind of change is a milestone for the future, as people such as poor college students will be able to afford something that is worthwhile instead of settling due to lower budget. 100% for Mantle if it succeeds.

You dont get it right?
Intel is nearly at his maximum ST perfromance….
Just look what they did from i5 750 to i5 4670K or even to core duo
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-17.html
E8500 4.5Ghz is on pair with i5 3570K 3.4-3.8Ghz in ST (apps)
- optimized, lower power, better iGPU
iGPU will become co-processor in every task in future

I still don’t think you get it… This was about Mantle and misconception of what Mantle does for the silicon, not forcing 8 cores to work 100% load in a game that is not designed for such as you’ve previously mentioned.

I understand that you are currently the Mantle mascot, which is fine I suppose, but read up on it a bit more and take a read of the OpenGL extensions I posted. May help alleviate some things.

Why you nothing that i want 8 cores at 100%?! – yes this is possible and mantle can do this in future.

Like i said directX cripple AMD CPus
Mantle is great for all low end CPUs, also great for games that are CPU limited. Yeap Mantle is fresh API future will show….

- Topic
I disagree with i3 haswell – it is to expensive. Get i5 or get FX 8320 – for this game disable 1 core per module and oc to 4.5GHz and it will beat i3 by a lot

Best way to go is for higher base clocks, er, like 3.5 GHz, or 4 GHz that sort of thing. FX-8350 speed. you know, and suggest other ideas as well just in case the topic creator doesn’t know how to overclock. I hardly did but then again, it was fairly easy for me to overclock my i7 4770K after watching a video tutorial from Asus’ very own JJ overclocking his 4770K to 4.6 GHz with the Maximus VI Formula (which I also have) and I have since got mine to 4.4 (Stable at, very finnicky at kitten far)

XFlyingBeeX.2836:

sobe.4157:

XFlyingBeeX.2836:

sobe.4157:

Aza.2105:

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m all for that kind of change.

That kind of change is a milestone for the future, as people such as poor college students will be able to afford something that is worthwhile instead of settling due to lower budget. 100% for Mantle if it succeeds.

You dont get it right?
Intel is nearly at his maximum ST perfromance….
Just look what they did from i5 750 to i5 4670K or even to core duo
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-17.html
E8500 4.5Ghz is on pair with i5 3570K 3.4-3.8Ghz in ST (apps)
- optimized, lower power, better iGPU
iGPU will become co-processor in every task in future

I still don’t think you get it… This was about Mantle and misconception of what Mantle does for the silicon, not forcing 8 cores to work 100% load in a game that is not designed for such as you’ve previously mentioned.

I understand that you are currently the Mantle mascot, which is fine I suppose, but read up on it a bit more and take a read of the OpenGL extensions I posted. May help alleviate some things.

Why you nothing that i want 8 cores at 100%?! – yes this is possible and mantle can do this in future.

Like i said directX cripple AMD CPus
Mantle is great for all low end CPUs, also great for games that are CPU limited. Yeap Mantle is fresh API future will show….

- Topic
I disagree with i3 haswell – it is to expensive. Get i5 or get FX 8320 – for this game disable 1 core per module and oc to 4.5GHz and it will beat i3 by a lot

1. Stop derailing the OP’s topic.
2. Step down from your Mantle soap box, its too new and untested to be paraded around. In the end I think its going to be another PhyX.
3. Its not DirectX that is bad for AMD, its the single threaded performance. Please educate yourself before you post again. Your rants are starting to hurt my brain

OP;

i3 ivy or Haswell if you need to shave on costs, or an i5 ivy or Haswell if you can spend a little more on the CPU. Get the biggest base clock you can find, unless you want to overclock (only the K series can OC).

my i3-2120 beats the snot out of my AMD systems, Both FX8350 and 965BE. And of coarse my i5-4670K beats the snot out of that i3-2120.

Since GW2 is your only game, you need to build on Intel. AMD just isnt up to the task for this game since its rendering thread is single core bound.

Some non K variant processors can overclock on the Intel line. It’s just not easy to do however, because at that point you have to increase the base clock frequency without the multiplier. Some people have had phenomenal success, however. It’s a chance that it can work, and if it does, then you just saved some money by buying a non-unlocked processor. Food for thought! Remember though, the board also has to be able to overclock and have access to increasing numbers like those.

Avelos.6798:

Some non K variant processors can overclock on the Intel line. It’s just not easy to do however, because at that point you have to increase the base clock frequency without the multiplier. Some people have had phenomenal success, however. It’s a chance that it can work, and if it does, then you just saved some money by buying a non-unlocked processor. Food for thought! Remember though, the board also has to be able to overclock and have access to increasing numbers like those.

yea i know, and that requires serious skill and ‘knowing’ each and every part of your system to accomplish. Increasing your FSB hits the CPU, NB, PCI-E slot, and Memory Speed. If just ONE of those components isnt working above spec, your entire OC is trashed.

So, with the K variant and Black Ed of AMD, I dont even consider alternatives to those for Overclocking anymore.

imo mantle is amd finally waving the white flag on hardware performance vs intel and a desperate attempt at software optimization in order to close the gap.

This is bad for hardware improvement since intel hasn’t had real competition since the phenom II’s and it shows in the small marginal performance increases we’ve had since sandy bridge.

my point is that if amd is attemping to close the gap with software, what happens when the intel/microsoft/nvidia start doing that too? (which i hope they do) The performance gap goes back to what it is now, and amd is still lagging behind in the hardware department and intel still has no real incentive to greatly improve their processors. And we the consumer are still left with this marginal iteration rather than real innovation.

dodgycookies.4562:

imo mantle is amd finally waving the white flag on hardware performance vs intel and a desperate attempt at software optimization in order to close the gap.

This is bad for hardware improvement since intel hasn’t had real competition since the phenom II’s and it shows in the small marginal performance increases we’ve had since sandy bridge.

my point is that if amd is attemping to close the gap with software, what happens when the intel/microsoft/nvidia start doing that too? (which i hope they do) The performance gap goes back to what it is now, and amd is still lagging behind in the hardware department and intel still has no real incentive to greatly improve their processors. And we the consumer are still left with this marginal iteration rather than real innovation.

We have hit the end of the line with HW performance. I would say 5.1Ghz is about anything we can expect for Clock speeds from either AMD or Intel with out jumping to new innovative technology (Quantum computing??).

So to bridge the gaps between the 2 vendors, who have weird competition issues, we have to look at software now.

But, that issue brings a whole new onslaught of issues. Mantle built for AMD, but is forced to run with Intel means additional optimization issues down the road. Same goes for anything Nvidia/Intel might throw back at AMD.

So this is the start of the optimization war I have been waiting on since about 2008-2009. And, it was only a matter of time before both hardware vendors hit their best in suite solutions and can go no further (aside from feature sets).

Anyone who works in the virtualization space, knows all of this to well now.