Guild Wars 2

So, as the title says, looking to see how this computer will run GW2, my current, is a single core intel 2.3ghz, 4gb ram, and a geforce 6150le and it runs… 12 fps is the highest I saw, in the hall of monuments ruins lol, the new computer, i’m looking at is

AMD A6-3600 2.1GHz(64 bit Quad-Core Processor)
with 6gb ram
and AMD Radeon HD6530D for the graphics

I’m only looking to find out if this will even run it well, i dont wanna max, but on low, will i survive fights? :P

No, it won’t run it “well” if you encounter a couple of other players.

Maybe at a low resolution (sub 720p) it will be fine.

well i said on low, as in, everything low. :P

I’m hesitant to say yes because I don’t know how well that CPU will hold out when there’s a lot of players in the area.

definately a major step up from what i currently have though?

Major as in going from ~12 fps to ~15fps?

Well yes! :P

But the more important question is how much are you spending? Because if it’s more than £300 / $400 then it’s too much.

it’s 410$ US, so, just about what you asked, struggling to even make it to that point lol so

You’d be better off seeing if someone can build one for you at that price. You’ll get a better deal. Although, still nothing fantastic.

well honestly even if gw2 doesn’t run how i want it’ll run plenty of other stuff way better than this current one, GW1, for example, should be able to run nice and smooth lol, and any other ‘older’ game, so, i’m still getting this computer, that’s not up for negotiation lol, it was mostly a, should i bother working on HoM stuff still while waiting (im at 28/50) or just do something else while i wait for the rest of the money I need :P -Oh, unless of course, there’s a much better computer on newegg or something for like 50$ more lol

My laptop has comparible specs to that. I get 20-30 fps generally in PvE. 15 FPS in lions arch. This is at 720p with most settings on medium and shadows on low.

thanks Esrever, that sounds way better than I currently get, and plenty playable (I get less, on GW1, atm, guild hall is like 40fps, but in a town, like kamadan, maybe low teens lol, instanced worlds were my saving grace on that game)

For $500 you can get a PC that puts those specs to shame!
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-overclocking-pc-building,3273.html

You can see here the difference:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-7.html

AMD Llano Quad-Core: 37.5fps average
Pentium Sandy-Bridge Dual-Core: 52.9fps average

And those benchmarks overclocked the Llano to 3GHz, you’ll get much less at the default clock of 2.1GHz.

actually, i found one for 550 total, let me link it, it seems it’ll run gw2 no problem, and is within my budget, after looking at it and making a deal or two lol
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229285
according to… game-debate.com it gets gold checks for gw2 specs, which mean run on high, so

That should play it better than the original PC.

VirtualBS.3165:

You can see here the difference:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-7.html

AMD Llano Quad-Core: 37.5fps average
Pentium Sandy-Bridge Dual-Core: 52.9fps average

And those benchmarks overclocked the Llano to 3GHz, you’ll get much less at the default clock of 2.1GHz.

Yes if he plays on 1280×1024, sets everything to low and installs a 7970 lol!

You don’t know how to read a cpu testing benchmark dude.

Felix.2613:

VirtualBS.3165:

You can see here the difference:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-7.html

AMD Llano Quad-Core: 37.5fps average
Pentium Sandy-Bridge Dual-Core: 52.9fps average

And those benchmarks overclocked the Llano to 3GHz, you’ll get much less at the default clock of 2.1GHz.

Yes if he plays on 1280×1024, sets everything to low and installs a 7970 lol!

You don’t know how to read a cpu testing benchmark dude.

You do realise that 1280×1024 with a 7970 is done to test the CPU right? You are removing the GPU bottleneck (low rez and fast card) and overclocking them all to the same frequency, to see how much each CPU is able to deliver on a best-case scenario.

You don’t know how to read a cpu testing benchmark dude.

none of that matters in reality and all that matters is how well it does in a realistic situation.

If you’re going to upgrade your PC just save for a couple more months and do it right. Top of the line stuff will last you a couple years until you need to upgrade again.

Esrever.8613:

none of that matters in reality and all that matters is how well it does in a realistic situation.

Lol? In a realistic situation, an AMD Llano Quad-Core overclocked to 3GHz will get 37.5fps average tops, with a 7970@1280x1024. Put there a lesser graphics card, or up the resolution and it’s going down from the 37.5fps.

It really could matter less. If you buy something, its not just going to run with a 7970, unless you want to find a better prebuilt system for the OP, thats all he’s got.

Guys you really can’t go by Benchmarks, sure, they give you an idea of how well it runs – but you also have to realize that the rest of your system will have a very, very big impact. Like Esrever said – a realistic situation. He’s absolutely correct.

If you really want to keep it low, you could keep your RAM to a minimum of 4GB, I would however not recommend this since RAM nowadays is really cheap! But should the budget be strict, 4GB will suffice just fine.

As for a CPU if you want the best bang for the buck, you’ll definitely want to get the i5 2500k, but it’s at around $200 US, so it might not be an option – should that be the case, I’d recommend an i3 minimum.

Don’t think the CPU is that important for Guild Wars 2, I run an old Intel Core Q8400 overclocked to 3GHz, and it’s rarely being used to 100% while playing GW2, only when I’m in ~40 man fights in WvWvW.

If you want smooth gameplay – go for a good GPU, it’ll get you way further than a good CPU as long as the CPU does not bottleneck. Yet again, the GTX 560 would be the best performance per $, but comes in at $200.

I’d also recommend you to NOT buy a complete Computer!!! Computers that are already built nowadays are a complete rip-off, it should not be an option. Check with friends and relatives, see if anyone has any experience in building computers – pay them if needed, it’ll still be much cheaper.

ESD is very underestimated, so ask them if they take ESD into consideration. You can break sensitive components such as the RAM, CPU and GPU through ESD by as little as a 12 Volts discharge – you won’t even feel it. A regular discharge when you touch someone is on average 8 000 Volts, to give you an idea! The reason I mentioned is that the damage might show up months later.

Hello all. I figured I could post this in this thread instead of starting a new one. I am looking to also buy a new computer for Guild Wars 2. Probably from ibuypower or some other prebuilt CPU manufacturer. I’m doing this as opposed to building because it would take me tookittenlong with my current work schedule. I am willing to spend up to about a 1000 dollars.

I came here because I have been out of the hardware game for yours and don’t know whats the best out there for the amount I have so if anyone would be interested in selecting the parts and linking me to a great build for a killer machine for GW2, I would be extremely grateful. I am tired of my framerate dropping to 5 fps during events and its time for an upgrade. Thanks in advance!

jsrapscallion.4560:

Hello all. I figured I could post this in this thread instead of starting a new one. I am looking to also buy a new computer for Guild Wars 2. Probably from ibuypower or some other prebuilt CPU manufacturer. I’m doing this as opposed to building because it would take me tookittenlong with my current work schedule. I am willing to spend up to about a 1000 dollars.

I came here because I have been out of the hardware game for yours and don’t know whats the best out there for the amount I have so if anyone would be interested in selecting the parts and linking me to a great build for a killer machine for GW2, I would be extremely grateful. I am tired of my framerate dropping to 5 fps during events and its time for an upgrade. Thanks in advance!

If you can get something with an i5 and a gtx660 or radeon 7870, that would be amazing for this game. Its about $1000 on prebuilt sites and is probably the highest performance you’d need for this game with everything on max.

Esrever.8613:

It really could matter less. If you buy something, its not just going to run with a 7970, unless you want to find a better prebuilt system for the OP, thats all he’s got.

Would you invest in a system you knew that couldn’t deliver more that 37.5fps, ever?

VirtualBS.3165:

Esrever.8613:

It really could matter less. If you buy something, its not just going to run with a 7970, unless you want to find a better prebuilt system for the OP, thats all he’s got.

Would you invest in a system you knew that couldn’t deliver more that 37.5fps, ever?

Dude, what are you even talking about? I’m running a GTX 560 Ti DC2 along with a Intel Q8400, which I had to overclock in order to not bottleneck and I run everything on highest with shadows set to medium, and I average everything between 40 and high 50s.

Above mentioned system; i5 and 7970 would be way better than what I currently have – what makes you think it’d never go over 37.5 FPS?

You really gotta stop relying on benchmarks like that, they’re there to give you a basic idea, because it averaged on 37.5 FPS doesn’t mean it will never go above it – it’s an average, it have performed under and over 37.5 FPS.

@Dealman.2381: I’ll recap then.

• The op wanted to buy an AMD Llano A6-3600 2.1GHz
• I linked http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-7.html so he could see that the Llano, even overclocked to 3GHz, doesn’t get any more than 37.5fps on average, so it would be a really bad buy
• Some stated none of these benchmarks mattered, which I’m yet to figure why……

I guess you should ask Tom’s Hardware to close then, since they seem to (a) don’t know what they are doing and (b) release inappropriate benchmarks that don’t reflect real-world performance. Is that it?

VirtualBS.3165:

@Dealman.2381: I’ll recap then.

• The op wanted to buy an AMD Llano A6-3600 2.1GHz
• I linked http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-7.html so he could see that the Llano, even overclocked to 3GHz, doesn’t get any more than 37.5fps on average, so it would be a really bad buy
• Some stated none of these benchmarks mattered, which I’m yet to figure why……

I guess you should ask Tom’s Hardware to close then, since they seem to (a) don’t know what they are doing and (b) release inappropriate benchmarks that don’t reflect real-world performance. Is that it?

Benchmarks matter, but you were talking about it like if it were some kind of holy bible. As I’ve said numerous times, benchmarks are there to give you a basic idea – in reality, results will differ greatly due to different system builds. It’s called compatibility.

No, dude, stop being so godkittenignorant, seriously. I never said they don’t know wat they’re doing nor did I say their benchmarks are inappropriate. Tom’s Hardware is good at what they’re doing, they know how to properly benchmark and they’re the ones I go to when I need a Benchmark. But you’re relying way too much on the benchmarks.

@Dealman.2381: So, you’d say that the AMD Llano A6-3600 2.1GHz o/c to 3GHz is able to show much more performance than what is shown in those benchmarks, right?

VirtualBS.3165:

@Dealman.2381: So, you’d say that the AMD Llano A6-3600 2.1GHz o/c to 3GHz is able to show much more performance than what is shown in those benchmarks, right?

Not much more, but it will not be the same. Also the OP didn’t seem too obsessed with fidelity, so I don’t see why you’d say it’s a bad setup. He was willing to play everything on lowest.

Said benchmark showcased how well it performed on highest settings at 1280×1024, and because it got 37.5 FPS at this, you said it’s a bad buy – you obviously didn’t take his opinion regarding fidelity into consideration. Bumping things down and he’ll surely be able to get a stable 40 FPS at the very least.

Dealman.2381:

Not much more, but it will not be the same. Also the OP didn’t seem too obsessed with fidelity, so I don’t see why you’d say it’s a bad setup. He was willing to play everything on lowest.

Because for the $410 he said it costed, it is not worth it for a system with a CPU that even lacks L3 cache.

Dealman.2381:

Said benchmark showcased how well it performed on highest settings at 1280×1024, and because it got 37.5 FPS at this, you said it’s a bad buy – you obviously didn’t take his opinion regarding fidelity into consideration. Bumping things down and he’ll surely be able to get a stable 40 FPS at the very least.

You are confusing a CPU benchmark with a GPU benchmark. You can’t “bump things down” because the GPU is not the bottleneck in that performance chart — the CPU is.

CPU benchmarks answer one question “How much is the CPU able to give, when the GPU is out of the picture (as in the GPU has infinite performance)?”.
Interpreting those results, you can see that even with a powerful card as a 7970 and running as low resolution as 1280×1024, that CPU is unable do drive the 7970 more than 37.5fps — so, with a lesser card and higher resolution, things only go down from there.

No, I am not confusing the two benchmarks. As I said, my CPU used to bottleneck my GPU giving me horrendous framerates my other GPU – 8800 GTX ran better with my CPU than the GTX 560 did so what you just said; “things only go down from there.” is utterly false.

Why are you even mentioning the L3 Cache? Do you even know what its purpose is? It will have close to no impact in gaming at all, for gaming there’s one thing you want to pay attention to – and that is the cores.

Dealman.2381:

Why are you even mentioning the L3 Cache? Do you even know what its purpose is? It will have close to no impact in gaming at all, for gaming there’s one thing you want to pay attention to – and that is the cores.

Hahahahahaha, well I think I’m done here!

What about posting some links as proof to that?

VirtualBS.3165:

Dealman.2381:

Why are you even mentioning the L3 Cache? Do you even know what its purpose is? It will have close to no impact in gaming at all, for gaming there’s one thing you want to pay attention to – and that is the cores.

Hahahahahaha, well I think I’m done here!

What about posting some links as proof to that?

It’s the truth, look it up yourself. You really should do your homework before you mention things like that, I don’t need to prove anything since I know it’s true.

You can, on the other hand – try to prove me wrong.

Dealman.2381:

It’s the truth, look it up yourself. You really should do your homework before you mention things like that, I don’t need to prove anything since I know it’s true.

You can, on the other hand – try to prove me wrong.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-8.html
A Sandy Bridge-based Core i5 is all you need for the best possible experience. However, a Core i3 or Pentium processor will also perform well. Clock rate is particularly important if you’re using an FX-based chip from AMD. Take full advantage of those unlocked multipliers to push 3.5 GHz or higher with the FX-8000 and -6000 CPUs, and over 4 GHz with the FX-4000 series if possible. The Llano-based APUs struggle more with this game, presumably because they lack L3 cache. If you have an A8-3870K, the only unlocked model, try to get up above 3.5 GHz with it.

AMD Phenom II X4 920 – 2.8GHz – 2MB L2 – 6MB L3
vs
AMD Athlon II X4 630 – 2.8GHz – 2MB L2 – 0MB L3
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/81?vs=105
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-l3-cache,2416-6.html
(scroll down for performance differences in games)

Need more?

You really should do your homework before you mention things like that.

Do more googling regarding the L3 Cache. The L3 Cache is not needed at all, really. Also most motherboards nowadays have a built-in L3 Cache, which is the reason the Llano probably does not have it.

L3 Cache is good, there’s no denying that – but it will have no impact in gaming.

VirtualBS.3165:

I guess you should ask Tom’s Hardware to close then, since they seem to (a) don’t know what they are doing and (b) release inappropriate benchmarks that don’t reflect real-world performance. Is that it?

Well …actually yes on both counts.

Dealman.2381:

Do more googling regarding the L3 Cache. The L3 Cache is not needed at all, really. Also most motherboards nowadays have a built-in L3 Cache, which is the reason the Llano probably does not have it.

L3 Cache is good, there’s no denying that – but it will have no impact in gaming.

The last motherboard that had CPU cache was for Socket 7, back in 2000…