Guild Wars 2

I am purchasing my first laptop in the next couple months. I want to play gw2 on it with decent fps in WvW. I realize that the specs on this are much higher than the mimiums listed, but I don’t know how well the integrated graphics card compares with a dedicated gpu. Assume my internet connection etc is up to speed, will this laptop run GW2 on the lowest graphics setting?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03909852&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5447181

If not, can anyone reccomend something under $800?

do you HAVE to have a laptop?

That’s not really going to cut it for good WvW performance.

But yeah, do you really need a laptop? You can do a lot with $800 if you get a desktop.

I’ve been gaming on taptops since 2008. Its nice for portability/traveling, but also is costly. Cheap laptops will not cut it.

Looking at your specs, 2 things I would point out.

1) “AMD Radeon HD 8650G graphics with up to 6252MB total graphics memory” indicates this is most likely an integrated card. This means the “up to 6252MB”)6GB) of memory is actually shared with your system’s 12GB of memory. You really want a card with dedicated memory.

2) “1TB 5400RPM”; slow as heck. Get at least 7200RPM or preferably kitten.

I realize that a desktop is cheaper and will perform better. I have to buy a laptop for work. I was hoping to spend a little more on the laptop, and be able to use it for gw2 when out if town etc.. running minimum graphics settings. If that’s not possible ill buy a cheap laptop and a desktop. I won’t be able to play when traveling.

Pagan,

I bought myself a Sager Notebook; these are designed for gaming. I would recommend their current 8200 series (15.6" screen; lighter and more portable, especially while going through an airport). However, you are looking closer to the 1200-1800+ range.

Xystus.3241:

2) “1TB 5400RPM”; slow as heck. Get at least 7200RPM or preferably kitten.

5400 can be slow, but it works fine. It just means that stuff will load a bit worse; far from unlivable. Not to mention the fact that it’s going to be kitten hard to find a 7200 RPM HDD in a laptop for any sort of reasonable budget.

TC, I’d say to get a Lenovo Y510P. Either the $800 model or the $950 model will work fine, the biggest difference being that the $950 model has a 1080P screen where the $800 only has 1366×768. I have a pair of friends with this laptop, one with each model, and it works fine. The one with the 1366×768 screen says that he runs on medium settings in WvW, and it’s decent enough framerate wise. The other one hasn’t done WvW yet, but he’s been doing PvE on high without issues (besides bigger world boss groups).

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/

Fermi.2409:

Xystus.3241:

2) “1TB 5400RPM”; slow as heck. Get at least 7200RPM or preferably kitten.

5400 can be slow, but it works fine. It just means that stuff will load a bit worse; far from unlivable. Not to mention the fact that it’s going to be kitten hard to find a 7200 RPM HDD in a laptop for any sort of reasonable budget.

TC, I’d say to get a Lenovo Y510P. Either the $800 model or the $950 model will work fine, the biggest difference being that the $950 model has a 1080P screen where the $800 only has 1366×768. I have a pair of friends with this laptop, one with each model, and it works fine. The one with the 1366×768 screen says that he runs on medium settings in WvW, and it’s decent enough framerate wise. The other one hasn’t done WvW yet, but he’s been doing PvE on high without issues (besides bigger world boss groups).

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/

LOL, an SSD. Can’t use “a” Solid State Drive or it looks and sees another word for bottom

Personally, I cannot recommend that anyone buy an HP laptop. I’ve seen too many issues with (lack of) quality.

Pagan.7359:

I am purchasing my first laptop in the next couple months. I want to play gw2 on it with decent fps in WvW. I realize that the specs on this are much higher than the mimiums listed, but I don’t know how well the integrated graphics card compares with a dedicated gpu. Assume my internet connection etc is up to speed, will this laptop run GW2 on the lowest graphics setting?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03909852&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=5447181

If not, can anyone reccomend something under $800?

You do not want this laptop. The GPU is ondie with the CPU and runs off the installed system memory.

Source – http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-8650G.87916.0.html
The AMD Radeon HD 8650G is a processor graphics card in the AMD Richland APUs (for example, the A10-5750M). It offers the full amount of 384 shader cores (VLIW4 architecture) and is clocked at 533 – 720 MHz (or 600 – 720 MHz in the A10-5757M). The 8650G has no dedicated graphics memory and shares the main memory with the CPU cores.

The integrated video decoder (likely UVD3) allows the full decoding of Multi-View Codec (MVC), MPEG-4 Part 2 (DivX, xVid), MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and Adobe Flash HD videos.

According to AMD, performance should be about 20 percent above the HD 7660G (3DMark 11: P1400). Thus, the Radeon HD 8650G would be just ahead of the dedicated HD 7670M or NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M. Without fast dual-channel memory, however, performance drops dramatically.

What you want is a HD8750M or 8790M(If you can find a laptop for under 1500 with that currently).

Source – http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-8750M.87147.0.html

The AMD Radeon HD 8750M (sometimes known as the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 8750) is a DirectX 11.1 graphics card for laptops. It is based on the Mars chip (28nm GCN architecture) with 384 shader cores, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The core is clocked at 620 – 775 MHz (or up to 670 – 825 MHz with Boost) and can access DDR3 or GDDR5 VRAM (1000 MHz) depending on the model variant.

The performance of the Radeon HD 8750M should be slightly below the GeForce GT 640M. Current and demanding games like Far Cry 3 should run (more or less) fluently in medium resolutions and detail settings.

The 384 shaders can be used with OpenCL 1.2 for general-purpose calculations (as 6 compute units). Compared to old TeraScale 2 chips, the GCN-based Mars architecture offers improved performance in this framework.

Features of the 8750M include video decoding via UVD3 for decoding MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, and Flash directly from the AMD GPU. Multi-View Codec (MVC) and MPEG-4 part 2 (DivX, xVid) HD videos are now compatible as well.

The 8700M series also supports automatic graphics switching between the integrated GPU and discrete GPU. Called Enduro, the technology supersedes AMD’s Dynamic Switchable Graphics and is similar to Nvidia’s Optimus. Furthermore, the 8750M can directly support up to 2 connected monitors using Eyefinity Technology if Enduro is disabled.

Other features of the 8700M series include ZeroCore for reducing power consumption when the display is turned off and Power Gating to power down areas of the chip that are not used. PowerTune allows automatic overclocking and underclocking of the graphics card as long as the GPU is within its TDP limit. For example, the chip may be underclocked when running FurMark and OCCT, but will overclock in certain games like Lost Planet, Crysis or Resident Evil 5.

The integrated HD audio processor is able to transmit HD Audio (TrueHD or DTS Master Audio) over HDMI and DisplayPort (e.g., for Blu-Ray videos). Additionally, it now allows audio to output simultaneously and in parallel to multiple devices with the new Discrete Digital Multipoint Audio (DDMA) feature.

The power consumption should be similar to or slightly below that of the old HD 7670M. As a result, the 8750M is best suited for 13-inch notebooks or larger.

The Envy 15z-j100 has the option for the 8750M with 2GB dedicated RAM to that GPU.

The 15z specced with 8GB ram (2×4GB), 1080P 15" LCD, A10-5770 and the 8750M came in at $789.99

and while you cannot expect GREAT top of the line performance out of it, you should be able to get 60-70FPS in most areas, 35-45 in LA, and 15-18~ in WvW when there are heavy HEAVY zergs going on.

I have a dv6z-6c00 with a A8-3550MX, and HD7690M, and Thats about what I get when I push (OC the laptop with k10stat, to 2.8Ghz on that CPU). So I would expect what I get + 10-20% due to the trinity Chips (I’m locked into Llano).

sirsquishy.8531:

What you want is a HD8750M or 8790M(If you can find a laptop for under 1500 with that currently).

Dear lord, anywhere above $600-700 for something like that would be a rip, let alone ‘under 1500’. For anything around $800 I’d expect a 750M+ and a decent Intel CPU.

sirsquishy.8531:

The Envy 15z-j100 has the option for the 8750M with 2GB dedicated RAM to that GPU.

The 15z specced with 8GB ram (2×4GB), 1080P 15" LCD, A10-5770 and the 8750M came in at $789.99

There’s no way that a card below a 640M will be able to push a decent framerate at 1080P, and the resolution is its only real redeeming factor. Not to mention lolHP. Buying that laptop for $800 is just throwing away money if you’re doing anything above standard office work, and even then you’re better off with something in the $400 range.

Someone mentioned Sager and someone mentioned Lenovo, both would be safe bets in my book as far as companies go. For this game just make sure to look at Intel offerings, not AMD.

Fermi.2409:

sirsquishy.8531:

What you want is a HD8750M or 8790M(If you can find a laptop for under 1500 with that currently).

Dear lord, anywhere above $600-700 for something like that would be a rip, let alone ‘under 1500’. For anything around $800 I’d expect a 750M+ and a decent Intel CPU.

sirsquishy.8531:

The Envy 15z-j100 has the option for the 8750M with 2GB dedicated RAM to that GPU.

The 15z specced with 8GB ram (2×4GB), 1080P 15" LCD, A10-5770 and the 8750M came in at $789.99

There’s no way that a card below a 640M will be able to push a decent framerate at 1080P, and the resolution is its only real redeeming factor. Not to mention lolHP. Buying that laptop for $800 is just throwing away money if you’re doing anything above standard office work, and even then you’re better off with something in the $400 range.

You rip, but make no educated recommendations. Sure the 8750 is not ‘great’. But its adequate for what the OP wants. and since the OP was looking at HP, that’s where my recommendation comes from.

If you want to make a better recommendation then please do. But you really have no good reason for ripping on what I just posted.

sobe.4157:

Someone mentioned Sager and someone mentioned Lenovo, both would be safe bets in my book as far as companies go. For this game just make sure to look at Intel offerings, not AMD.

Agreed 1000x over.

I don’t have a brand preference as long as its a reliable laptop. I will look into some of the brands and gpu’s sugested. Has anyone had experience with MSI?

Pagan.7359:

I don’t have a brand preference as long as its a reliable laptop. I will look into some of the brands and gpu’s sugested. Has anyone had experience with MSI?

Stay away from MSI and Asus branded laptops. They work great for the first year, but tend to die from Heat issues (My Brother in-laws MSI laptop went belly up after 14months).

Lenovo AKA IBM, I put them on Par with MAC hardware. You pay for what you get here, if you know how to dig through the hardware bin (know how to spec and customize your Laptop/Desktop)

Dell – Ive used Dell since 1999 and never had an issue. Again, I only use the precision line of their products.

HP – Deal Bin Manufacturer :-) – These all have heat transfer issues that usually break the laptop after 8-14 months of use. Black Video, Missing Wireless cards…ect. You can fix them by oven baking the Motherboard on 375Degrees for 25mins (Wrapped in Tin foil, exposing your Chips that need ‘re-flowed’). I would NOT buy a HP for more then 400 Shipped in most cases, unless there was a 2-3 year warranty on it. Other then that, they are nice laptops for the money. I still use my DV6’s for playing Games (yes even GuildWars2) and they handle what I expect out of them just fine.

Sager/MSI/ASUS – These are going to be a hit and miss. Sager is the top dog in this list, but even with them you can run into heat issues (they compact very high end Technology in their notebooks and don’t account for proper ventilation/Cooling). MSI and ASUS are just as bad, but tend to have GPU issues down the road (such as dead/fried from heat GPUS). Read TON of reviews on these guys before you consider a model. newegg/cnet for reviews are your friends here.

sirsquishy.8531:

You rip, but make no educated recommendations.

Except I did.

sirsquishy.8531:

Sure the 8750 is not ‘great’. But its adequate for what the OP wants. and since the OP was looking at HP, that’s where my recommendation comes from.

He’s still paying too much for it. Also, just because he was already looking at HPs doesn’t mean that you should recommend something by them- they’re really a brand to avoid for laptops.

sirsquishy.8531:

If you want to make a better recommendation then please do. But you really have no good reason for ripping on what I just posted.

I rip because it’s a bad recommendation.

Fermi.2409:

sirsquishy.8531:

You rip, but make no educated recommendations.

Except I did.

sirsquishy.8531:

Sure the 8750 is not ‘great’. But its adequate for what the OP wants. and since the OP was looking at HP, that’s where my recommendation comes from.

He’s still paying too much for it. Also, just because he was already looking at HPs doesn’t mean that you should recommend something by them- they’re really a brand to avoid for laptops.

sirsquishy.8531:

If you want to make a better recommendation then please do. But you really have no good reason for ripping on what I just posted.

I rip because it’s a bad recommendation.

You only spouted about what hardware to look for. Nothing about specifics on what laptop models, or manufacturers to go for. And if you knew anything about buying laptops you know that you just cant go and look straight up to HP, Dell, IBM/Lenovo and start searching for the hardware you are talking about. You need to browse their Inventory THEN ‘customize’ THEN you might be lucky to find a model that has the options for the hardware you are talking about.

So, why not make a few recommendations for the OP, instead of continuing to point out my ‘bad suggestion’? Make better use of your time.

sirsquishy.8531:

You only spouted about what hardware to look for. Nothing about specifics on what laptop models, or manufacturers to go for. And if you knew anything about buying laptops you know that you just cant go and look straight up to HP, Dell, IBM/Lenovo and start searching for the hardware you are talking about. You need to browse their Inventory THEN ‘customize’ THEN you might be lucky to find a model that has the options for the hardware you are talking about.

So, why not make a few recommendations for the OP, instead of continuing to point out my ‘bad suggestion’? Make better use of your time.

Fermi.2409:

Xystus.3241:

2) “1TB 5400RPM”; slow as heck. Get at least 7200RPM or preferably kitten.

5400 can be slow, but it works fine. It just means that stuff will load a bit worse; far from unlivable. Not to mention the fact that it’s going to be kitten hard to find a 7200 RPM HDD in a laptop for any sort of reasonable budget.

TC, I’d say to get a Lenovo Y510P. Either the $800 model or the $950 model will work fine, the biggest difference being that the $950 model has a 1080P screen where the $800 only has 1366×768. I have a pair of friends with this laptop, one with each model, and it works fine. The one with the 1366×768 screen says that he runs on medium settings in WvW, and it’s decent enough framerate wise. The other one hasn’t done WvW yet, but he’s been doing PvE on high without issues (besides bigger world boss groups).

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/

Good try though.

Fermi.2409:

sirsquishy.8531:

You only spouted about what hardware to look for. Nothing about specifics on what laptop models, or manufacturers to go for. And if you knew anything about buying laptops you know that you just cant go and look straight up to HP, Dell, IBM/Lenovo and start searching for the hardware you are talking about. You need to browse their Inventory THEN ‘customize’ THEN you might be lucky to find a model that has the options for the hardware you are talking about.

So, why not make a few recommendations for the OP, instead of continuing to point out my ‘bad suggestion’? Make better use of your time.

Fermi.2409:

Xystus.3241:

2) “1TB 5400RPM”; slow as heck. Get at least 7200RPM or preferably kitten.

5400 can be slow, but it works fine. It just means that stuff will load a bit worse; far from unlivable. Not to mention the fact that it’s going to be kitten hard to find a 7200 RPM HDD in a laptop for any sort of reasonable budget.

TC, I’d say to get a Lenovo Y510P. Either the $800 model or the $950 model will work fine, the biggest difference being that the $950 model has a 1080P screen where the $800 only has 1366×768. I have a pair of friends with this laptop, one with each model, and it works fine. The one with the 1366×768 screen says that he runs on medium settings in WvW, and it’s decent enough framerate wise. The other one hasn’t done WvW yet, but he’s been doing PvE on high without issues (besides bigger world boss groups).

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/y-series/y510p/

Good try though.

Well Met then ;-)

If you want decent FPS in Guild Wars 2 and WVW, don’t buy this notebook.
If you still want a laptop to game on and get decent fps, you’ll need something more pricey. my i7 3630QM based laptop equipped with GTX 670 MX is playable and enjoyable. But it cost 1400. (bought it for 900 mint condition off a friend)
You’d want to buy something with at least the higher end of the i5 line as well as perhaps armed with a GTX 660M but again that price will likely be higher than 800 dollars.
My advice is build a desktop twice as powerful for 800 dollars.

sirsquishy.8531:

Pagan.7359:

I don’t have a brand preference as long as its a reliable laptop. I will look into some of the brands and gpu’s sugested. Has anyone had experience with MSI?

Stay away from MSI and Asus branded laptops. They work great for the first year, but tend to die from Heat issues (My Brother in-laws MSI laptop went belly up after 14months).

Lenovo AKA IBM, I put them on Par with MAC hardware. You pay for what you get here, if you know how to dig through the hardware bin (know how to spec and customize your Laptop/Desktop)

Dell – Ive used Dell since 1999 and never had an issue. Again, I only use the precision line of their products.

HP – Deal Bin Manufacturer :-) – These all have heat transfer issues that usually break the laptop after 8-14 months of use. Black Video, Missing Wireless cards…ect. You can fix them by oven baking the Motherboard on 375Degrees for 25mins (Wrapped in Tin foil, exposing your Chips that need ‘re-flowed’). I would NOT buy a HP for more then 400 Shipped in most cases, unless there was a 2-3 year warranty on it. Other then that, they are nice laptops for the money. I still use my DV6’s for playing Games (yes even GuildWars2) and they handle what I expect out of them just fine.

Sager/MSI/ASUS – These are going to be a hit and miss. Sager is the top dog in this list, but even with them you can run into heat issues (they compact very high end Technology in their notebooks and don’t account for proper ventilation/Cooling). MSI and ASUS are just as bad, but tend to have GPU issues down the road (such as dead/fried from heat GPUS). Read TON of reviews on these guys before you consider a model. newegg/cnet for reviews are your friends here.

Dell = ASUS, fyi.

ASUS makes all of Dell’s computers; just not the branding on the case.

Keep an eye on slickdeals.net, just a few days ago they had a Lenovo Y500 (refurb) with a i5 and dual 650m’s in SLI for $650. With a laptop and being that you are willing to run at lower settings means you will want a strong CPU, the smaller rez on most laptops and lower settings means you will be able to get away with a lowerend GPU, but will need a good CPU as laptop CPU’s are not the same at desktop, meaning that the i5 etc are really dual core. However, if you are willing to buy a refurb from the mfg, you can get a laptop that will play GW2 and even some WvW zerg play for right at the $800 mark. But don’t expect steady 30fps in EB with a ZvZ fight.

Don’t listen to the 5400rpm get an SSD type, it will not add to your FPS game play at all, also HDD speed has long done away with spindle rpm speed as a determining factor for throughput or seek times. This can be seen by a 10k RPM raptor drive vs a short stroked WD black drive to the same size, the black drive even though only being 7200rpm had better seek and throughput. As this relates to track density as well as head settling time, so if you have a denser platter with smaller tracks but slower RPM, it can be faster than a drive with higher RPM.

OP wants it under $800. Pretty sure if a sub $800 laptop had an SSD then the rest of the hardware would be substandard for game play.