Guild Wars 2

When it comes to running games on laptops i am a complete moron when it comes to specs. I am just looking for an affordable (400-500) laptop that will run GW2 smoothly. I am not looking for anything that will run smoothly maxed out, but more like around medium settings.

Currently i lag out in big battle situations and run around 10 FPS and that’s just not suitable. Not to mention jumping puzzles are a real pain when my system is really lagging.

I know it’s asking a lot, but 450 would be the ideal mark to hit. I spent hours the past few days looking for something that would do, but haven’t got any real idea for what to look for. Any suggestions/ideas would be appreciate.

Thanks.

Also i don’t object to building a desktop computer, but would much rather stay mobile. Desktop build suggestions are also welcome.

Look for a refurbished, modern HP laptop. Hewlitt Packard isn’t known for having great tech support and they’re not the best on the market, but they’re widely available, widely supported, relatively inexpensive and usually up to par with things. You can get a refurbished one for around 400-500 at most stores that sell laptops.

You’ll be playing on lower-end graphic settings but you’ll have very few problems with performance (just make certain to find one that supports the proper shaders, entertainment notebooks tend to have the proper stuff). HP doesn’t really update their laptop drivers often and tend to end support on models after a few months, so you might have to manually update everything from the parts manufacturers’ websites.

Since it’s refurbished you probably won’t have a HP warranty, so you won’t have tech support (in this case that’s positive). Aim for minimum system requirements and you should be fine for your price range. Refurbished machines are — as a general statement — normally better than factory-fresh machines, as they’ve been examined with a fine-toothed comb rather than glanced over on an assembly line.

I would have no problem with a refurbished laptop. As for HP that’s what my friend is running on. A HP laptop that was brand new at about 500 dollars and runs 10 times better than mine inside the game, for everything else mine runs better -_-

Is there anything specific i should look for graphics wise? Any way i can tell what graphics are better than others?

You should get a newer laptop, with 500 USD, it should be able to get a decent laptops… .

shojikareza.1402:

You should get a newer laptop, with 500 USD, it should be able to get a decent laptops… .

Refurbished doesn’t mean old, it just means used. Many refurbished laptops were used for 6 month stints by businesses, saw minimal to no wear, and are marked down almost 50% on resale. You can find refurbished laptops within the first month of its model being released, just like video game consoles.

Wait, this is a serious topic?

Danno.5269:

I would have no problem with a refurbished laptop. As for HP that’s what my friend is running on. A HP laptop that was brand new at about 500 dollars and runs 10 times better than mine inside the game, for everything else mine runs better -_-

Is there anything specific i should look for graphics wise? Any way i can tell what graphics are better than others?

I’m not an expert with laptop graphics so hopefully someone else can jump in at this point, but I will say that you’ll find yourself in a better place if you at the very least meet minimum requirements. Make sure that the thing can handle anti-aliasing and post-processing well if visual quality is important to you, and if not then just make sure that it has a 64-bit operating system (so you can make better use of your memory).

I’m below minimum requirements (no shaders) and that tends to cause glitch problems during character creation.

ZyloWolfBane.2370:

Wait, this is a serious topic?

Why shouldn’t it be? Don’t tell me you’re one of those “hurr durr hyper elite computer time gogogo nub” teenagers.

It is indeed a serious topic. I know laptop and gaming don’t often go together without spending 1k+ on a laptop, but i just need something that will suffice. I don’t expect miracles. I know i can make a system that by far surpasses any laptop i could get for around the same price, but i’d rather stay mobile. I mostly need to know how to guage what graphics will be better. I know most in the price range will be integrated with shared memory, but would still like to know what would be best to get.

If you have suggestions that would be nice. Right now my laptop only has 128mb and it’s complete crap. Been playing GW2 on lowest possible settings since the launch day and managed to pvp in sPvP and rank top quite a lot, as well as level 2 80s and just do random stuff, but just very laggy during a lot of events and such. would love to run smoother, and enjoy the game more.

I am above minimum requirements on everything except the video. Just have no idea how to tell what video card is better than that other and what video card would be equal to or greater than what is listed.

Im not gunan stick with this thread but ill just state what is probably already obviose.

You wont get a laptop that can run GW2 smoothly for $500 or £500. Smoothly being in WvWvW aswell btw.

@Danno, you’re asking the impossible unless someone sell you a second hand.

I am not looking to run smoothly in wvw. That would be silly to expect.

DJRiful.3749:

@Danno, you’re asking the impossible unless someone sell you a second hand.

No, what he’s asking for is completely reasonable. Running a minimum-requirements machine on minimum settings will work normally in terms of frame rate and lag.

U can build a decent desktop for GW2 with 500$. Processor i3 3220 Cheap entry lvl Asus/intel motherboard, Radeon 7770 or NVIDIA GTX650, 2 4gb sticks of ram DDR3 1866, Entry lvl coolermaster case and 500w power supply. This sytem would run this game equal or better than a 3000$ laptop u can bet.

I was actually looking into making a desktop instead of scouring the internet for a laptop that would do the trick. I mostly wish to stay mobile though. I did find one laptop almost similar to a friends that can run pretty smoothly on medium settings in the majority of situations and bigger events runs pretty well on low settings with native sampling. It’s pretty much a toss up between the two at the moment. Eh, we’ll see what happens this coming month.

Thanks all for suggestions. To those who think you must have the top of the line everything to enjoy the game are just nuts -_- lol

Well depending on your definition of mobile. .you could build a LAN gaming rig.
Bassicaly you get a mini-ITX or micro-ATX board, a small case, + all the normal bits and pieces, but also make sure you have a small lightweight screen/keyboard/mouse..it wont run on battry but so long as you have access to a plug you can haul a Lan gaming rig around with you. It wont be as easy as traveling with a lapto mind you ..but its still ALOT more mobile than the average desktop.

here are the casesi m talking about
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-298-CM
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-186-LL
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-154-LL
2 out of 3 of the dimensions of all these cases can be measured wihtin a normal 30cm ruler ..thats how small they are :P