Guild Wars 2

My computer’s motherboard died last week. I need a new computer but honestly Guild Wars 2 is the only game that I play. The machine won’t be used for anything else that is demanding.

I am always worried about buying and spending more than I need.

What recommendations do you fellow Tyrians have?

I do have:
Graphics card (EVGA nVidia GeForce 9800GT 1 GB DDR3 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card 01G-P3-N988-TR)

PUS (Cosair CX500)

Windows 7

I can use those components to build a new machine but I have never attempted that beforehand.

Or if there is a machine that I can just buy, I would be willing to do that.

Sorry I missed the budget. I would like to stay under $750, which I know isn’t a lot but I don’t have a rich aunt willing to spend $5k on me.

budget! or else we cant really help you

Yeah, sorry. I forgot to put the budget. I have added that.

I don’t need a new monitor.

This is what I picked out at PC Picker

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($116.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 × 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($94.79 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX GeForce 9800 GT 512MB Video Card ($93.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Cooler Master COOLER MASTER JetFlo 120 95.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($16.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($59.00 @ Amazon)

I could take out the Graphic Card and PSU (because I already have them) the total would be:

Approx Total: $500

well your 9800 gt is very very outdated so replacing that would be a good idea.
and getting a i5 is heavily recommended, but and i3 should do ok.

can you use the dvd drive from your old computer? what about the ram sticks (as long as they are 1600 ddr3) from that too?

for a 1080p resolution gaming this non overclocking build should be good for just about any game at high to ultra settings. exclude the psu since you have it and you should be right at the 750 mark. switch to the i3 if you need to keep costs lower by about 50.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus B85M-G Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 × 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 ($107.41 @ NCIX US)
Total: $799.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-06 18:56 EST-0500)

I am not super tech savvy. I doubt that I would do any overclocking. I believe that most the other parts should still function. It was a standard pre-built Dell Inspiron (518, I think).

I would imagine that I can take the memory out and plug it into a new system.

I would have to look at the optic drive to see if it can be unplugged or not.

i just googled the specs on that dell, it looks like it uses ddr2 ram so you are better off replacing it. also the hard drives of that era were small (sub 500 gb) and slow (5400rpm) so getting a new drive is a good idea. the optical drive should work since it was released 2008 and should have the proper modern ports

Can I still plug the old ram into the new machine to retrieve old saved files? I know this is going a little off the original topic.

your files are saved on your old hard drive, and yes you should be able to plug your old drive into your new compuer and retrive the files as long as you do it right.

also i jsut realized that having a prebuilt dell means you cannot use the windows os (since thats an oem copy) that was on the machine, i have edited my previous build to reflect that fact.

Looking through the thread, a GTX 760 is NOT needed to enjoy this game at it’s maximum potential. A 9800GT can do alright, but if GW2 is the ONLY game you play, GTX 760 is way too much. a GTX 650 TI will eat this game alive, even a Radeon HD 7790 will do the trick. The i3 will do well enough. A guild mate of mine has an overclocked i3 and it eats this game alive.

Avelos.6798:

Looking through the thread, a GTX 760 is NOT needed to enjoy this game at it’s maximum potential. A 9800GT can do alright, but if GW2 is the ONLY game you play, GTX 760 is way too much. a GTX 650 TI will eat this game alive, even a Radeon HD 7790 will do the trick.

You’ll want at least a 2 GB 7850; having something a bit better will still be helpful. This is especially true if you want to play something besides GW2.

yeah a 760 will be needed if you want super sample on (which i like on resolutions lower than 2560×1400/1600). my friends build is similar with a 4440 instead and his gpu hovers around 95% psu usage in open world with all options maxed (best textures override, hi res characters, ultra/high everything except character model limit, set to medium) 1080p.

If sampling set to native a 150-200 usd gpu will do well. and a high clock i3 will also do just fine. I posted that build at the max end of op’s budget with a setup that should run most games out now and prolly out in the next 2 years at 1080/1200p with at least 30 fps(more like 60) at high to ultra settings..

Drew Blood.1586:

My computer’s motherboard died last week. I need a new computer but honestly Guild Wars 2 is the only game that I play. The machine won’t be used for anything else that is demanding.

I am always worried about buying and spending more than I need.

What recommendations do you fellow Tyrians have?

I do have:
Graphics card (EVGA nVidia GeForce 9800GT 1 GB DDR3 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card 01G-P3-N988-TR)

PUS (Cosair CX500)

Windows 7

I can use those components to build a new machine but I have never attempted that beforehand.

About 4 times more powerful GPU is advised to have. Sorry, they outdate very quickly. Somewhere along the lines of HD 7790 and GTX 650 Ti, whatever you can find the cheapest, will do you wonders.

If you’re only wanting to play GW2 and really want it to run decent, a Strong CPU is a must. It’s gonna leave a mark in your bill but in the end it’s worth it. I understand that your pc broke and you want a new one quickly and you can’t wait a few months until you’ve saved more money, but if it’s possible to borrow some from your parents you wont regret it later. I don’t like the idea of spending several hundreds of dollars on something and not be happy with the outcome when you could spend a hundred more and get the best result possible.

This here is my suggestion:
(I assume you can use your case too?)
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2OLKA

A few notes:
1. What was the reason your mobo fried? It could’ve been your PSU gone bad and overvolting it. If that’s the case your GPU could be gone as well and I DEFINITELY wouldn’t plug it back into the new system to see it all happen again on day 1. A new non-modular version of that PSU is just $40 right now, not too bad of an investment.
2. How’s you old hard drive? There’s that 320GB drive suggested but if your old one is fine I don’t really see a reason to spend on that. Another $40 saved (perhaps the one you just spent on that PSU )
3. I added a $20 optical drive there. If you can use your old one just take that out.
4. Now it’s at $730. If you’re willing to spend more I have 3 letters for you: SSD. That bad boy will shorten your loading times so much you wont even be looking at old HDD’s anymore. My boot-up time is about 12 seconds and another 13-15 second from desktop to Lion’s Arch all ready to go. It’s gonna cost you another $100 or so though.

Drew Blood.1586:

Sorry I missed the budget. I would like to stay under $750, which I know isn’t a lot but I don’t have a rich aunt willing to spend $5k on me.

I see what you did there

My advice would be to upgrade all but the vid card assuming your 9800GT is a 1GB model (If it is a 512MB model, just sell it for what you can). A GTX 760 is FAR from needed in this game, much less for super sampling.

Otherwise, locx’s build looks good although I would change the 650 to a 650 Ti for the same price along with a WD Caviar Blue 1TB instead of a 320GB to have plenty of space to work within and still a decent price range..

You think 9800 GT would cut it at 1080p max graph? In PassMark benchmark it has 723 points whereas HD 7790 has 3000. The good thing about it is that it can be left out for now and it can always be added later without too much of hassle.

Hmm, I might’ve not watched the list too carefully, how much more does 650 Ti cost? If it’s not too much then definitely that, 650 is still on the borderline. That 320GB drive, I don’t even really know how it got there, I think it was pretty much the cheapest decent HDD around. Sure it can be upgraded but I didn’t really look into it if the old one is still fine.

Only reason I said to leave the card if it’s a 1GB card is simply due to how CPU bound the game is and that the 9800GT is still able to play modern games (albeit not at max settings of course). If GW2 is the only game he plays I don’t feel a GPU upgrade would be most relevant. There is a PNY 650 Ti for $110 and that is without a mail in rebate, so $10 cheaper than the 650 on your list (who honestly does mail in rebates).

A GPU upgrade never hurts though when gaming is concerned, so a 650 Ti would certainly be a nice upgrade over the 9800.

I see, and yeah, you shouldn’t cut on the cost of the CPU for this game just to get a good GPU, especially if you have a working GPU already. Intel HD 4600 in the 4670K is just roughly the same as 9800 GT, but I guess iGPU’s develop too (They had a huge bump from IB IIRC), I think I saw a vid of someone playing Skyrim on it with decent fps.

That 650 Ti fits in the $750 budget though if you exclude SSD’s and whatnot, so I don’t see too much of a reason to not buy it.

Spend more on CPU now and upgrade your hpy in a few month beat way

If you’re getting a 650ti for $110-120, you should just spend the extra $20-30 for a 7850. It’s a pretty substantial power increase for not that much money. 650tis are rather lacking in the price:performance department.

http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=77602&vpn=FX-785A-CNL4&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1363

Fermi.2409:

If you’re getting a 650ti for $110-120, you should just spend the extra $20-30 for a 7850. It’s a pretty substantial power increase for not that much money. 650tis are rather lacking in the price:performance department.

http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=77602&vpn=FX-785A-CNL4&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1363

Agreed, so long as you aren’t going to bring up Mantle, why gw2 should have Mantle, and you not fully understanding what mantle does. cough