Guild Wars 2

I don’t particularly care about how high the graphics settings can go, I just want to play the game I paid for and can’t even install on my current laptop. I play GW and WoW on my current laptop with the lowest graphics settings at about 40fps. Can anyone recommend a laptop that can do the same? The cheaper, the better. I’m more than a little annoyed that I preordered this game, expecting to have no problems on low graphics settings, then not even be allowed to install the game.

GW2 is a very CPU intensive game and demands high clock speeds.
To be honest I would get a good desktop with your 800 bucks and enjoy the game that way.

I would, but I’m halfway through college four hours from home, so buying a desktop is rather impractical at this point in life. I can always get a desktop after I have a more permanent living situation.

Baile Del Serpiente.4720:

I would, but I’m halfway through college four hours from home, so buying a desktop is rather impractical at this point in life. I can always get a desktop after I have a more permanent living situation.

While I can’t say how you’re exact situation is, I can say that, I too, am at college four hours away from home and recently bought the parts to build my own desktop. The only downside to it is that it lacks the mobility of a laptop – since I don’t need a computer in any of my actual classes (outside of the computers that are provided), having a desktop in my dormitory for gaming and working on projects fit well for me. Again, I can’t say what your exact predicament is, so this may seem irrelevant, but I hope it might provide some feedback.

Nevertheless, if you want a laptop that could run this game on low or medium settings, I’d suggest looking for something that has at least:

Processor: 2.0GHz, quad-core
RAM: 4GB
GPU (Video Card): GTX6xxM series or Radeon 7xxxM series

For example, something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834216457

I can’t say whether GW2 supports Windows 8, though. So make sure you look into that before you buy a laptop. At the very least, have a way to put Windows 7 on the machine.

Another example of a laptop that’s under $800 and can run the game (although, again, I highly suggest getting a desktop – even build your own, if you can. You get a lot more bang for your buck):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131393

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I’ve established that Windows 8 is compatible with the game, but I read somewhere that W8 disallows video games unless the company requests special permission from Microsoft. Is there a way to fact check this?

Hmm. If I were to go with a desktop, what would you recommend?

Laptops are not very good for playing video games unless you want to spend a lot of money.
i5 3570k with a good aftermarket cooler that will allow you to overclock is a good starting point.

I don’t know how NVidia’s progression is marked, would any of these be viable options?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883256542

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883155693

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220197

Stormcrow.7513:

Laptops are not very good for playing video games unless you want to spend a lot of money.
i5 3570k with a good aftermarket cooler that will allow you to overclock is a good starting point.

I wouldn’t say that. I got an Asus GT50vt a several years back, on sale, for about $800 and that lasted me 3 years. It held up on everything until Battlefield 3 came around.

The big downside is not being able to upgrade it easily. Over time, a desktop will cost much less than a laptop. A rough estimate would be a laptop will cost 1.5x the $ as a desktop.

The thing people seem to be neglecting is that I don’t have any particular preference regarding whether or not it plays flawlessly at max settings. I don’t care if I have to set everything to the bare minimum, I just want to play the game I paid for on as little a price tag as I can manage. Also, if it can last me the next two years, that’d be a big plus (next two years of solely GW2).

Baile Del Serpiente.4720:

I don’t know how NVidia’s progression is marked, would any of these be viable options?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883256542

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883155693

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220197

All of those graphics cards are more geared towards media center PC’s. The lowest Nvidia card anyone should ever get for gaming is a GTX 550Ti or a GTX 650Ti. The normal GTX 550 and GTX 650 cards are basically right on the border between a media card and a gaming card. For the budget price/performance the GTX 650Ti is a solid card.

A possibility if you’re interested in building your own:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Q3q7
I went just a hair over your budget, but there are some spots you could save a bit (case, 1GB 650Ti rather than 2GB, even an FX-6300).

I wouldn’t recommend building/buying specifically for one game, because that’s essentially how you got in this situation. You had what would manage to run what you already played, and when something new came along suddenly you needed more. If you do a solid upgrade (based on what you can afford), you’ll be better off if you decide there’s a new game you want to play in a couple of years.

If you can pick up one of these somewhere, it’s an awesome laptop that will last for quite awhile. i7, GT640m, MATTE screen (no reflections!) backlit keyboard and very slow HD. They got replaced by something else so refurbished and used should be under $800.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+15.6%22+Geek+Squad+Certified+Refurbished+Laptop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/8342067.p?id=1218873334715&skuId=8342067

Just reformat the HD, dump Win8, turn off the touchpad in Bios, Turn off Secure boot and UEFI in Bios (firmware bug can brick the laptop). It’s also NOT a power users laptop which is a pity but runs everything fine enough, except old Linux kernals.

basketcase.3894:

A possibility if you’re interested in building your own:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Q3q7
I went just a hair over your budget, but there are some spots you could save a bit (case, 1GB 650Ti rather than 2GB, even an FX-6300).

I wouldn’t recommend building/buying specifically for one game, because that’s essentially how you got in this situation. You had what would manage to run what you already played, and when something new came along suddenly you needed more. If you do a solid upgrade (based on what you can afford), you’ll be better off if you decide there’s a new game you want to play in a couple of years.

First part, thanks for the parts suggestions, but I don’t think I know nearly enough to be able to assemble my own rig. I’ll definitely look into that, though!

As for the second, that’s not exactly the case. This computer has been sufficient for running everything I’ve put on it, from all parts of the original GW, to WoW, LoL, War Rock, Dragon Age 2, etc., despite being under the minimum suggested requirements, so long as I ran on the lowest settings (and occasionally medium settings if I stayed in instances like the Traditional Chinese districts on GW due to lower traffic). I figured it would be much of the same, so I didn’t bother looking for a new rig when I pre-ordered GW2. The 3-day pre-release period came up, so I went to install the game and I got a message saying that because I was below the minimum requirements, I wouldn’t be able to install the game.

Now, I don’t plan on buying any more PC games (at least until I’m out of college) because of problems like this, so it won’t be as huge a deal as you’d think if I happen to buy specifically for GW2. I end up playing ps3 games much more frequently nowadays. I’m only interested in buying for this game specifically because I’ve already paid for it and can’t even play it. Plus, I’ve been on and off of the original GW since its release in 2005, so I have a much more sentimental connection to the franchise than I do any other games besides maybe the Zelda installments (of which I’ve beaten seven, ranging from the original Legend of Zelda to Twilight Princess, and am most of the way through Skyward Sword).

Baile Del Serpiente.4720:

basketcase.3894:

A possibility if you’re interested in building your own:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Q3q7
I went just a hair over your budget, but there are some spots you could save a bit (case, 1GB 650Ti rather than 2GB, even an FX-6300).

I wouldn’t recommend building/buying specifically for one game, because that’s essentially how you got in this situation. You had what would manage to run what you already played, and when something new came along suddenly you needed more. If you do a solid upgrade (based on what you can afford), you’ll be better off if you decide there’s a new game you want to play in a couple of years.

First part, thanks for the parts suggestions, but I don’t think I know nearly enough to be able to assemble my own rig. I’ll definitely look into that, though!

As for the second, that’s not exactly the case. This computer has been sufficient for running everything I’ve put on it, from all parts of the original GW, to WoW, LoL, War Rock, Dragon Age 2, etc., despite being under the minimum suggested requirements, so long as I ran on the lowest settings (and occasionally medium settings if I stayed in instances like the Traditional Chinese districts on GW due to lower traffic). I figured it would be much of the same, so I didn’t bother looking for a new rig when I pre-ordered GW2. The 3-day pre-release period came up, so I went to install the game and I got a message saying that because I was below the minimum requirements, I wouldn’t be able to install the game.

Now, I don’t plan on buying any more PC games (at least until I’m out of college) because of problems like this, so it won’t be as huge a deal as you’d think if I happen to buy specifically for GW2. I end up playing ps3 games much more frequently nowadays. I’m only interested in buying for this game specifically because I’ve already paid for it and can’t even play it. Plus, I’ve been on and off of the original GW since its release in 2005, so I have a much more sentimental connection to the franchise than I do any other games besides maybe the Zelda installments (of which I’ve beaten seven, ranging from the original Legend of Zelda to Twilight Princess, and am most of the way through Skyward Sword).

I can see where you’re coming from, I’d just hate to see you needing to upgrade again sooner than you should just because you felt you needed the mobility of a laptop.

Regarding building a computer, it isn’t anywhere near as difficult as it sounds at first. If you feel that it’s way over your head that’s fine, but if you do decide to go with a desktop, take a bit of time to learn about it and see if you’d be comfortable with it. I was nervous as hell for my first build, and after I was done I thought “Was it really that easy?” There’s a number of guides out there that will help you select parts and learn how to put things together, as well as forums where people are more than happy to answer questions.

U are looking at quad core i5, and GTX 640m or hd 7670m or superior. It will do nice for med settings at that price tag. Just don’t expect breath taking performance in GW2, even at low setting the frame rate will drop very bad during heavy situations, only laptops that can run GW2 without hiccups cost arround 4000$ since they use desktop CPUs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834216451
That one is nice for the price very strong CPU, notince in GW2 u need CPU more than u need GPU.
Note: Windows 8 will run any game equal or better than windows 7 at this point.

For a laptop, either of these look okay.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152377

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215660

The MSI has the slightly faster quad CPU, GPU and a lower native resolution (1366×768 yuck) which should mean better performance than the Acer’s physically larger (17.3" vs 15.6") 1600×900 resolution display.