Guild Wars 2

Hey people, I know, another thread about this topic, but hey, I just love to hear what you guys think. You’re experience is highly valued vs some paper tests.

So, I’m looking to buy a new laptop. I dont play many games, GW2, LoL and Civ5. So, I need a laptop for that. Could you help me out?

What kind of components should I be looking for? I’m not really a comp wiz.

When checking some websites, I see some i7-4500U, Radeon 8750M (2GB) and such, but doesnt tell me much.

What kind of marks should I be looking at?

Price budget : 660-900 euros (I know it’s not much)

Also, I dont need max settings lap or anything. Just so you know. Thanks in advance.

To start, what do you think about something like this:

Intel Core i7-4500U (1.80 GHz – 3.00 GHz)
8 GB DDR3
1 TB HDD
DVD±RW DL
15.6" LED HD BrightView
nVidia GeForce GT 740M (2 GB)
HDMI
USB 3.0

That should be fine to play the game. You won’t max out settings with 60+ fps, but definitely playable.

Xystus.3241:

That should be fine to play the game. You won’t max out settings with 60+ fps, but definitely playable.

Can you define playable? What can I expect?

Also, compared to this one?

Intel Core i7-3632QM (2.20 GHz – 3.20 GHz) • 8 GB DDR3 • 750 GB HDD • DVD±RW DL • 17.3" LED HD+ anti-glare • AMD Radeon HD 8750M (2 GB) • HDMI • USB 3.0

I really appreciate your help btw.

Give us ur deffinaition of playable and we can let u know what to look for.
Your budget is tight, and GW2 requirs a strong CPU, somthing laptops dont have uness u spend thousands on them. So if u want to play GW2’s WvW or other busy events, then a laptop is not for u becouse FPs will be horrible <20.

GPu wise u want somthing like a GTX 760m , the 740m is not gaming grade. The 8750m is a tad slower than a 640m, and would requir u to run GW2 on Low, if http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-8750M.87147.0.html is anything to go by.

I dont mean to sound overly negative but i like to make sure people understand and know what to expect. its better u end up pleasently surprised if im overly negative, than be dissapointed if i sound to positive.

What i would sugest as a minimum would be a laptop with a 3630QM or 4700MQ CPU with a 670m/760m/6970m GPU.

SolarNova.1052:

Give us ur deffinaition of playable and we can let u know what to look for.
Your budget is tight, and GW2 requirs a strong CPU, somthing laptops dont have uness u spend thousands on them. So if u want to play GW2’s WvW or other busy events, then a laptop is not for u becouse FPs will be horrible <20.

GPu wise u want somthing like a GTX 760m , the 740m is not gaming grade. The 8750m is a tad slower than a 640m, and would requir u to run GW2 on Low, if http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-8750M.87147.0.html is anything to go by.

I dont mean to sound overly negative but i like to make sure people understand and know what to expect. its better u end up pleasently surprised if im overly negative, than be dissapointed if i sound to positive.

What i would sugest as a minimum would be a laptop with a 3630QM or 4700MQ CPU with a 670m/760m/6970m GPU.

Those are the anwsers I’m looking for. I dont need sweat talk, I just would like to know what can I expect.

Definition of playstyle – well, I was playing on a desk PC at home, with an i5, 660TI and it was good. A lot of settings on high, some medium and it was from 40-60 fps, depending on the location/situation. Some big zergs were not so good, but still not horrible.

I’m looking to capture something like that. I could stretch my budget a bit more if for some more money I could get a decent increase.

If you don’t mind I’ll link some compositions over the next few days to try to find out max I can get for my money.

P.S. I know a desk PC would be better, but I have a small flat and dont have room for it, so a laptop is a must.

Thanks again

if u only need a small PC, and dont need a laptop for portability outside ur home then look into building or buyign a LAn gaming rig aka M-iTx/M-Atx bassed PC.

They can be very small, taking up not much more room than ur average consol.

I.e
http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gaming+Range/Award-winning+Gaming+PCs/Gladiator+Punisher+7870+LE+i5-3570K+4.30GHz+LAN+OC+Gaming+PC+%2B+4+FREE+GAMES%21+%28Ruby-Reward%29+?productId=55342

or u could take ur current desktop PC and build it into a new m-itx/m-atx Case + m-itx/m-atx Motherboard for a much cheaper cost.

SolarNova.1052:

if u only need a small PC, and dont need a laptop for portability outside ur home then look into building or buyign a LAn gaming rig aka M-iTx/M-Atx bassed PC.

They can be very small, taking up not much more room than ur average consol.

I.e
http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gaming+Range/Award-winning+Gaming+PCs/Gladiator+Punisher+7870+LE+i5-3570K+4.30GHz+LAN+OC+Gaming+PC+%2B+4+FREE+GAMES%21+%28Ruby-Reward%29+?productId=55342

or u could take ur current desktop PC and build it into a new m-itx/m-atx Case + m-itx/m-atx Motherboard for a much cheaper cost.

It must be a laptop. What about this one, guys?

Intel Core i7-3632QM (2.20 GHz – 3.20 GHz)
8 GB DDR3
750 GB HDD
DVD±RW DL
17.3" LED HD+ anti-glare
AMD Radeon HD 8750M (2 GB)
HDMI
USB 3.0

The one with the i7 3632QM will play guild wars 2 maybe a little better. I’m unsure mostly.

The 3632QM will only run at 2.9ghz with all 4 cores in use, which will be in use with GW2, that means the WvW and other busy area’s will have rather poor FPS.
The 8750m as i stated earlyer is akin to or a tad slower than a 640m and would likely requir u to run on Low settings with ‘maybe’ some settings on medium if u want to keep FPS as close to 60 as possible in GPU bound area’s (i.e PvE, dungeons).

So the CPU is better than the oher laptop u stated but the GPU is slower than the 740m. So out of the 2 for GW2 i would say the second one with the 3632Qm CPu is the better choice. For other games the 1st laptop is better ..however overall nether is very good.

I’ve got good news and bad news. Let’s get through the bad news first.

Bad News: GW2 can’t be played on laptops.

Why? Because the game causes most video cards and hard drives to heat up. GW 2 has very demanding video animation requirements unlike it’s predecessor, GW 1. If the computer doesn’t have a decent cooling system, the entire system will be fried from the heat that is generated inside the chassis. The computer can also fail if the hard drive isn’t designed for gaming.

Unlike a desktop, laptops require a cooling pad to keep them in tip-top shape for years (unless you live in an extemely cold place like Alaska). This goes double if you live in the southwest states (like Arizona and California). I live in Seattle, Washington State which has cool temperate climate for most of the year, and I still have to use a cooling pad to keep the computer’s temperature in the goldilocks zone.

The fans inside a laptop don’t do enough to expel the heat from the machine nor are they good in bringing in cool air from the outside. That is why a cooling pad is always required for a laptop.

BEWARE OF LAPTOPS THAT ARE LABELED AS “GAMING COMPUTERS”. There are gaming computers and there are psuedo-gaming computers which are designed to look like a gaming comp. The laptop I own was advertised as a gaming computer and the sales people in Best Buy told me it was a gaming computer. The computer can run a demanding computer animation / graphics program like Autodesk Maya 2014, but it can’t play GW 2. (Yeah, I was lied to). The laptop’s outside cover (aka the chassis) tends to hold in the heat while playing GW2. This causes the computer’s temp to go 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) and above. FYI — I purchased this computer back in November 2011.

Here are the specs for this so-called “gaming” laptop:

HP Pavillion G7-1365dx
Memory: 4 GB DDR3 (upgradable to 8GB)
Windows 7 SP 1 (64 bit)
Processor: AMD A6-3420M Quad Core
Graphics card: AMD Radeon HD 6520G
Sound card: AMD High Definition Audio
Hard Drive: Hitachi SATA HDD

A true gaming computer has proper ventilation as well as components that can handle the heat generated from the hard drive and video card when it is in use. It also has a power supply box that is designed specifically for gaming for long hours (like in WvW).

Now, here’s the good news: A desktop computer specifically designed for gaming is your best bet. Most people on a budget tend to buy a basic gaming computer setup and slowly upgrade the components over the years. A good gaming comp usually runs close to $1000 and goes up from there.

Don’t buy a computer with an Intel processor. Intel processors are designed for business and school computers. They tend to slow down, crash, and melt while playing high end games like GW2. That’s been my personal experience with Intel Processors.

Here are the spec for my current gaming computer which I originally purchased back in November 2010. The temperature in this desktop computer doesn’t go any higher than 111 degrees F (43 degrees C) during gameplay. Here’s my desktop’s specs:

Hewlett Packard HPE-400y
RAM: 8 GB DD3
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Quad CoreProcessor
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 5450
Sound: AMD High Definition Audio
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black SATA 2 TB (72oo RPM)
Windows 7 SP1 (64 bit)

Another alternative is to get an Iphone or Ipad. I’ve got a couple people in my guild who play GW2 on their phones and Ipads. I don’t own either product, so you might want to start another thread to ask the other players about that.

Well, that’s my 2 cents. Sorry for dashing your dream of playing GW2 on a laptop, but I don’t want you to get fooled like I did.

I hope you find your ideal gaming system soon! Good luck!

Guess I’ll need to get a desktop PC and try to somehow squeeze it in my flat.

What do you recommend?

What do you guys think about this setup?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/25WQ7

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/25ZLR

A wolf in sheep clothing. Its small put powerfull.
Doesnt include the price of a monitor ..but, maybe u could use it like a consol till u have the money for a monitor. I.e hook it up to ur TV.

That said, since now ur looking at a desktop, why not do as i sugested earlier and rebuild ur current PC into a small case. All u would need is a new motherboard, Case, and likely a CPU cooler. Would be MUCH cheaper.

SolarNova.1052:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/25ZLR

A wolf in sheep clothing. Its small put powerfull.
Doesnt include the price of a monitor ..but, maybe u could use it like a consol till u have the money for a monitor. I.e hook it up to ur TV.

That said, since now ur looking at a desktop, why not do as i sugested earlier and rebuild ur current PC into a small case. All u would need is a new motherboard, Case, and likely a CPU cooler. Would be MUCH cheaper.

Need a new one, cause I left the old one to my brother.

Btw, how would GW run on that?

Long story short: Guild Wars 2 can be played on laptop. Just I strongly recommend you go the extra distance to obtain a laptop with the proper cooling hardware such as an Asus G series. And for that matter, my Asus G75VX plays this game with little to no problem with what I normally do, which is PVE. World bosses included.

The laptop I’ve seen with the best cooling hardware though would have to be Alienware’s new Alienware 18 with intel i7 4930XM and GTX 780M SLI. One fan per GPU and one fan for CPU. Three fans. You can hear them quite clearly but they get the job done.

On the rig i listed … well the cooler should allow for a sizable OC around the 4.2ghz to 4.5ghz markdepending on required voltage, so in places like PvE, WvW, and LA it should perform as good as can be atm.
I.E as good as my own rig and other peoplw high end rigs.

That said its an i5 so in rare casses GW2 will max out all the cores and u will drop a few FPS compared to i7 rigs.

With a 7870XT u would likely run the game at full settings excluding Reflections:All, Supersampling, and maybe Ultra shadows. All of which should be turned down 1 level.

All in all it ‘should’ run GW2 ‘almost’ as good as any rig can at the moment.

SolarNova.1052:

On the rig i listed … well the cooler should allow for a sizable OC around the 4.2ghz to 4.5ghz markdepending on required voltage, so in places like PvE, WvW, and LA it should perform as good as can be atm.
I.E as good as my own rig and other peoplw high end rigs.

That said its an i5 so in rare casses GW2 will max out all the cores and u will drop a few FPS compared to i7 rigs.

With a 7870XT u would likely run the game at full settings excluding Reflections:All, Supersampling, and maybe Ultra shadows. All of which should be turned down 1 level.

All in all it ‘should’ run GW2 ‘almost’ as good as any rig can at the moment.

Solar, I’m checking the setup you linked, prices at my country etc.

GRAFI?KA KARTICA PCI-E SAPPHIRE AMD RADEON HD 7870 FLEX EDITION, 2GB DDR5, DVI, HDMI, DUALDVI, DP – is that the card you mentioned?

I see 7870XT but I cant find that one.

So long as the 7870 is a XT/LE version with around 1500 cores, then any manufactuers version would be fine. Check the specs of that card and see if it has around1500 cores (XT/LE version) or around 1200 cores (Reference/Ghz edition). You want ~1500.

Im pritty sure the Sapphire Flex is a Ghz edition so its got 1200 cores.

SolarNova.1052:

So long as the 7870 is a XT/LE version with around 1500 cores, then any manufactuers version would be fine. Check the specs of that card and see if it has around1500 cores (XT/LE version) or around 1200 cores (Reference/Ghz edition). You want ~1500.

Im pritty sure the Sapphire Flex is a Ghz edition so its got 1200 cores.

What would be better, that one or GTX 760?

Specifically PCI-E GAINWARD GeForce GTX 760, 2GB DDR5, DualDVI, HDMI, DP

A 760 will perform better, though they are usualy mroe expensive. Ofc if u cant get a 7870XT/Le version then so long as the price difference isnt to much, the 760 would be a good alternative, as would a 7950.

At the store I’m looking to buy it all, I just cant find the 7870 XT/LE version. GTX 760 is a kitteneaper than that 7870.

At home I have 550TI – is that GTX 760 a decent improvement?

Yes very much so. The 760 is akin to a GTX 670 which in tern is like a 580. Its not ‘exactly’ that, but it should give u an idea.

If u can link the website i could also check. Some times the XT/LE version are not labled.

That’s great news. I have 550TI at home (well I had it, I moved) and GW was doing really good. With the setup I’m looking to buy, it all could be really good. I’ll give you the link, but it’s on croatian.

There are the AMD/ATI graphic cards.

http://www.links.hr/?option=katList&id_kategorija=051806&kittenv=ati-amd

Once again, Solar, I really really appreciate your help.

A good GPU will deffinatly allow u to turn up the graphcis settings higher than what u could on a 550ti but the main performance improver will be the CPU, thats why we recommend a Intel i5 or i7 for GW2.

But ofc, other games are usualy more GPU bound so a good GPU will deffiantly help alot more in other games.

Grafi?ka kartica PCI-E GIGABYTE AMD RADEON HD 7950 OC, 3GB DDR5, HDMI, 2xDP, HDTV

and

Grafi?ka kartica PCI-E GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 760OC, 2GB DDR5, DualDVI, HDMI, DP

Are both good options. Though obviosly i dont really know how big a price jump they are in ur currency.

Cant link due to GW2 forum cencorship breakign the links.

The Gigabyte windforce air coolers are great compared to the reference single fan blower types., allowing small factory OC’s and if ur up to it, u can OC further urself giving u a few more FPS in GPU bound games like Crysis 3.

So, I was thinking something like :

i5 3570K
GTX 760
8GB RAM

and all the rest what is needed as power supply, cooling, motherboard, etc

At home I had i5 2400, 550TI, 8GB RAM etc.

That will be a decent improvement?

The 3570k is roughly about 5-7% faster than a 2500k at the same clock speed. And the 2500k is clocked higher than the 2400.If you overclock the 3570k u will deffinatly see an improvment, if u leave it stock u will still see an improvment but it wont be as big, ur bassicaly gaining about 500mhz of CPU performance over the 2400.
Though again, the new CPU plus the stronger GPU together will likely make the improvment bigger.

looking at that website…
Memorija PC-17000, 8 GB, G.SKILL RipjawsX series, F3-2133C9D-8GXL, DDR3 2133MHz, kit 2×4GB
Would be a good choice of RAM, again i can only compare the price vs what else is sold at that price, these are deffinatly a good choice comapred to others at the price range.

One question I forgot to ask – how loud will that setup be? I would like to keep it as low as it can get, without having to splash a lot of bucks for it.

Depending on what case u end up using and thus which cooler u use.. be it a single 120mm water cooler, or double 120mm ..or even a Dual or Single tower air cooler ..u should get good enough cooling to keep the fan speeds low and thus the noise to a minimum.
GPU coolers can have a custom fan speed curve set to ur own preference using thirdparty programs like EVGA PrecisionX, and CPU fans can have the same done via the bios along with case fans, or u can simply run the CPU cooler and case fans dircectly of the PSU using fan speed reducers to keep the speed constant but not at max, thus keeping things quiet.

BTW if ur getting a K version CPu like the 3570k make sure the mothebroard is a Z version (Z77) so u can OC (if u want to) and tweek settings like the fan speeds.

Solar, I’ve made a decent setup. I decided for a GTX 760 OC 2GB Gigabyte card but it seems they run out of those.

What do you think about PCI-E XFX AMD RADEON HD 7950 DD, 3GB DDR5, HDMI, DVI, 2xDP, HDTV?

Or maybe GTX 670? I’m lost again. :/

A 670 should perform more or less the same as a 760.
And a 7950 is just as good. So which ever u prefer.

Each card 670 or 7950 will beat each other in different games at stock, however the 7950 is a very good overclocker, so u may want to go with that.

First, I would like to thank everyone who helped with their comments, specially SolarNova. You saved me from buying a laptop.

So, this is what I ordered :

i5 3570K BOX, s. 1155, 3.4 GHz, 6MB cache, GPU, QuadCore
ECS Z77H2-A3, iZ77, DD3, S-ATA. RAID, G-LAN, PCI-E…
PCI-E Gainward GeForce GTX 760 Phantom, 4 GB DDR5, DualDVI, HDMI, DP
PC-14900, 8GB, G-Sill Ares Series, F3-1866C9D-8GAB, DDR 1866 MHz, 2×4GB
1000.0 GB Toshiba DT01AC100, SATA3, 32 MB cache, 7200 rpm
Antec GX700, MIDI, USB 3.0. no PS
Coolermaster G700, 700W, RS700-ACAAB1-EU. ATX. v2.3. 1200mm vent, PFC
Cooler Arctic Cooling Freezer 13, s. 775/1155/1156/1150/1366/754/939/AM2/AM3
Vent Scyther Slip Stream, 21mm – 800
Monitor 23"LED DELL U2312HM, 8ms, 300cd/m2, 2000000:1, IPS, D-SUB, DVI, DP, USB Hub, black

Can save a little money by going from DDR3 1866 to DDR3 1600. Not noticeable performance change but likely less expensive than 1866.

Should I get Windows 7 or 8?

Any of the two will be fine. However Windows 7 support ends in 2014 or so so you’d probably be better off with Windows 8. And no there’s nothing wrong with windows 8 just in case you’re wondering.

I recommend Windows 7 64bit.

While its suport may end, it will stil lwork fine. Im sticking with W7 personaly.

Windows 8 on the other hand is still relativly young and has problems with some games. IIRC the latest 8.1 version caused color issues with alot of games. Though they are probably fixed by now.

Its just personal preference really. W8 has that horrid UI/Desktop ..though it can be turned of. And some of the things insid windows have been moved, W7 is just more familiar.