Guild Wars 2

I tried GW2 on my other computer, it’s an
AMD A8 3800 APU
8GB DDR3
60GB SSD

Totally not my gaming computer but I wanted to see how it runs. Auto detect settings put most video options at low and some medium. Runs on average 28-45FPS but it’s smooth without the input lag I’m seeing on my main computer, so weird. It’s on the 12.8 ATI driver.

SolarNova.1052:

Those screenies indicate your cpu bottlenecked with GW2. You GPU is not maxing out but your CPU usuage is high , specialy on 1 core.
not only that your cpu is AMD, AMD+GW2 = bad performance… they just dont like each other.

If i look at cpu usage only, why is it never going to 80%, 90%. In these screens its like 60%.
Is this 60% based on all four cores and 1 core is having a hard time and thats why i get lower fps?

Well that my cpu is nog strong enough for these settings is clear.
But this don’t explain why i can’t get solid 60 at subsample and everything low, in normal areas.
Only that GW2 don’t like AMD cpu XD.

Re-posting since I can’t seem to quote from prior page:
————-
Hey guys,
I have the following system:
i7 920 @ 4.2ghz
6gb 1600mhz DDR3
GTX 570
Corsair 1000W PSU
I’m having a very hard time to get any sort of smooth gameplay out of WvWvW. Unless it’s a 1×1 fight, my FPS plummets. To the point its SWTOR Ilum dejavu all over again – 15-30fps max. Attached are m file graphics settings and I’m using drivers “306.02-desktop-win8-win7-winvista-64bit-english-beta” Any help is appreciated.
Also, is there anything else that may be causing this that’s not GPU related? If there’s a hand laundry list somewhere that I can go through that would be very helpful. Thanks.
EDIT – I run the game in 1920×1080 windowed fullscreen.
————————

My OC is rock solid with no temp throttling. I’ve been running this OC since summer [2009 or was 2010?] and always did a 24 hr Prime stress every few months to see if it’s been stable. M FPS issue only comes into play when there are a lot of character models around i.e. WvW, Zerg DEs, —- the *****only other game***** where this was ever an issue was SWTOR Ilum — and that’s a proven engine optimization fail.

Even under full load, I don’t hit above 60c on any of my 4 cores – I forgot the optimal threshold from EVGA for heavy OCs but I don’t believe 60c is an issue – please correct me if I’m wrong here.

If someone can post some helpful avenues to explore to test whether my CPU is indeed the issue – please go ahead. I’m happy to go test and provide some results.

Posting things like “LOL NOOB ITS NOT YOUR GPU ITS YOUR CPU, KTHXBYE” is not very helpful. I also wish Anet would make an official post with different tweaks to make to your system to improve performance. Yes, I understand no two systems are alike but some general housekeeping the believe we need to perform prior to playing WvW would be very helpful.

Just my 2 cents

I believe that:
1. The majority of Compiler Optimizations have been rolled back, due to instability and crashes experienced by many users. This roll back occurred shortly after launch and the biggest one back in September, which caused major FPS loss for pretty much everyone. This performance loss will be solved, once proper optimizations are applied back in.

2. Core design choices in the game engine make the game seriously CPU bounded. This is a permanent issue that will not go away. Until Hardware catches up, your performance will be worse than in other contemporary games.

Both of these are valid possibilities, extremely valid.

COMPUTER SPECS
AMD FX 4170 quad core processor (4.22ghz)
4 gb RAM
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4890
Windows XP 32bit

I have not had any issues with FPS (40-50 fps) until 10/1 update and since then, I am lucky to get 20 fps and when there is more than 10 people on screen, I am lucky to get 5 fps. Anyone have any help for me.

After monitoring GPU and CPU usage while playing the game over the past few days, I notice that the game uses GPU more than CPU most of the time but when it matters the most (heavier player traffic, events, dungeons and WvWvW) the game suddenly shifts to CPU and leaves the GPU alone? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Roaming around Ruins of Orr, I was getting over 75% on GPU usage but when I went into one of the Borderlands pvp zones last night, my GPU never went past 25% usage.

I remember years ago playing SWG and Battlefield 1942 and Call of Duty 2, I struggled with a Geforce MX440 (temporary replacement for a burnt up 4400Ti) so I went and got an ATI X700Pro and it made all the difference, the CPU wasn’t the problem and I initially thought it was (I think I was using an AMD Duron or Thunderbird at the time).

Only that GW2 don’t like AMD cpu XD.

No, most of the ones with FPS problems are using Nvidia 600 series cards (660 or 680) and there are even Intel users with issues, but the AMD one is more common because the FX Bulldozer line isn’t very good, the Phenom II (and even Athlon II) are handling it fine.

most (heavier player traffic, events, dungeons and WvWvW) the game suddenly shifts to CPU and leaves the GPU alone? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Not if the problem ends up being the inefficiency of D3D9, more dynamic objects on screen means more cpu usage.

Someone asked about tweaks. A mod did mention a thread which suggestions, and there’s an official stickied post.

Best tweak is to change reflections. I could find no other setting which made a difference on my system.

There’s no simple answer I think? Depending on your system, different things can be tried with varying success.

michaeljhuman, you have to keep in mind, that some option require a map reload. I guess many people just simply change their settings, without leaving a zone.

Nevertheless I agree, that reflections and shadows got a pretty high influence on fps

Anyone getting fps drops when opening your friends list? I go from 60fps down to 8. My fps goes back normal when i click the lfg tab (empty list). It also drops tremendously on the blocked tab and the follower tab both of which are empty.

Hello guys, PROBLEM SOLVE !, today after a Bios upgrade of my mobo and reconfiguration of overclock, i realise the mobo was taking the pci express ports as 1 gen when was set in auto, i changed the 2 pci express manually to gen 3 and VOILA, now i play with 180-200 fps, i hope this can solve problem for all of you !

Cya in game

I’m done, I quit just yesterday actually. I don’t see the point anymore.
The FPS problem is on their end, they either refuse to fix it, or are just unable to.
They ignore everyone entirely.
This is my last forum post as I really just want to put it up there that we are not getting anything from Arenanet in the foreseeable future. Thank you.

WvWvW

Think it’s time to accept that WvWs only for players with a latest CPU. (and even those struggle)
I am one of the players that can barely do WvW 11 fps in massive battles…
The differences is i simply don’t play it.. I mean even without WvW this is a great game the pve leveling content is amazing and if i want to PVP is prefer some skill based regular battlegrounds instead of what’s normally a massive zerg fest.

Act, 180-190 fps was without Sli, after i activate, i play at 270-290 fps

BigDeath.7023:

People getting low fps… there’s a simple fix for that (at least for me worked i got 60 fps, before i had 50)
Just open the Fraps (see the fps), then open google chrome (only works with google chrome, i don’t know if version interferes on this, i have the latest) and go to a website that have flash content like youtube.com, click in any video and let run while you play (you can stop the download of video, but you need let the browser in the video page)
You can see that Fraps shows the fps of video page…

Sorry for my bad english, i hope it works for you guys.

In my case, this will clock the GPU at a lower GPU speed. For example, my Radeon HD 5570 is at 650MHz stock. With flash content open, it clocks to 400MHz. Needless to say, this would probably lower my FPS on 3D content.

I know a person who has reported higher FPS however when having flash content open. I believe he had some AMD APU however, which may make me think that on certain GPU’s, flash content may have the GPU actually clock itself at the highest possible.

In area’s with dense usage of fog and smoke, your framerate will be impacted greatly.

use the -umbra gpu command switch to work around this insanity.

use the -umbra gpu command switch to work around this insanity.

What do you mean by that? Has it been mentioned somewhere on the forums?

Thanks

append it to the target block in the shortcut properties

yes

Mind linking the post/thread where it has been discussed? I can not find/or I am blind.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/tech/Have-you-quit-playing-due-to-FPS/420592

Espionage.3685:

BigDeath.7023:

People getting low fps… there’s a simple fix for that (at least for me worked i got 60 fps, before i had 50)
Just open the Fraps (see the fps), then open google chrome (only works with google chrome, i don’t know if version interferes on this, i have the latest) and go to a website that have flash content like youtube.com, click in any video and let run while you play (you can stop the download of video, but you need let the browser in the video page)
You can see that Fraps shows the fps of video page…

Sorry for my bad english, i hope it works for you guys.

In my case, this will clock the GPU at a lower GPU speed. For example, my Radeon HD 5570 is at 650MHz stock. With flash content open, it clocks to 400MHz. Needless to say, this would probably lower my FPS on 3D content.

I know a person who has reported higher FPS however when having flash content open. I believe he had some AMD APU however, which may make me think that on certain GPU’s, flash content may have the GPU actually clock itself at the highest possible.

the reason this works for some people is because some systems for unknown reasons dont kick into 3d clocks like they should.

I suggest msi afterburner and make a profile for 3d with proper 3d clocks for your hardware, that SHOULD help, the problem is, some systems stay at 2d clocks or one of the 2 cards/chips stays at 2d clocks…..it can be a real problem……

there are alternative tools like amd gpu tool (google it) but they tend to force the gpu into 3d mode the whole time they are running or till restart….if this isnt an issue for you, that may be your ticket

using nvidia inspector to force full clocks is a tad easier than RT based software.

shOyx.5931:

Hello guys, PROBLEM SOLVE !, today after a Bios upgrade of my mobo and reconfiguration of overclock, i realise the mobo was taking the pci express ports as 1 gen when was set in auto, i changed the 2 pci express manually to gen 3 and VOILA, now i play with 180-200 fps, i hope this can solve problem for all of you !

Cya in game

Taking your fps measurement with the world map up doesn’t count ;p

How am I supposed to add the “-umbra gpu” command line to my target line? When I try to apply the changes, it tells me that the location specified in the target line doesn’t exist, so what am I supposed to do? I’d appreciate some assistance, thanks

Hello,I have problem with WvsWvsW fps..when there is 30+ people. I have 9 fps.Any suggestions how can i improve or what should i replace ?
My computer is :
Motherboard- ASRock N68-GS3 UCC
Power suply – 700W
Processor – AMD Phenom II X4 850 , 3315 MHz
RAM- 4gb Duel Channel
Video Card – Nvidia GeForce GTS 450
Windows 7 (64 bit) Service pack 1

Cynthia.2147:

How am I supposed to add the “-umbra gpu” command line to my target line? When I try to apply the changes, it tells me that the location specified in the target line doesn’t exist, so what am I supposed to do? I’d appreciate some assistance, thanks

command switches are added after the quotation wrapped path

“d:\games\gw2\gw2.exe” -umbra gpu for example

I don’t know where you guys got the “-umbra gpu” command from.
I doubt Anet, who’s been reluctant to give any information regardless the infamous performance issues, simply gave the command away for users to tinker with.

In any case, it doesn’t work. Starting the game with and without the command makes no difference. Moreover, if you try:
[code] -umbro – umbria -umbrosia -umbolin -lambada -blahblah blah [/code] the game will start and there will be no error at runtime. Which I believe indicates the game is ignoring all command line arguments anyways. Which could very well be the reason why the -perfdebug command Anet gave us doesn’t work either.
Guys, did you forget ( int argc, char *argv[] ) ??

Squall Leonhart.2075:

Cynthia.2147:

How am I supposed to add the “-umbra gpu” command line to my target line? When I try to apply the changes, it tells me that the location specified in the target line doesn’t exist, so what am I supposed to do? I’d appreciate some assistance, thanks

command switches are added after the quotation wrapped path

“d:\games\gw2\gw2.exe” -umbra gpu for example

Using this command line made my fps drop by about 20-25, why’s that?

Cynthia.2147:

Squall Leonhart.2075:

Cynthia.2147:

How am I supposed to add the “-umbra gpu” command line to my target line? When I try to apply the changes, it tells me that the location specified in the target line doesn’t exist, so what am I supposed to do? I’d appreciate some assistance, thanks

command switches are added after the quotation wrapped path

“d:\games\gw2\gw2.exe” -umbra gpu for example

Using this command line made my fps drop by about 20-25, why’s that?

Your GPU might not be up to the task. I believe it’s safe to say:

- Default config (no -umbra gpu) is good for computers with high-end CPU’s
- -umbra gpu is good for computers with high-end GPU’s

Well I’ll be kitten -umbra gpu gives me ~80fps in most places whereas previously it was ~60fps, nice find.

Just thought I’d share something I found when trying to get a stable OC for my AMD FX-8120. It may help some users with GW2.

I found that while testing my CPU with Prime95 it would continually drop it’s multiplier down to about half of what it should be. So it would drop from 4 Ghz to about 2. It did this over an over every few seconds. I can only imagine that would mess with games as well. The culprit is Advanced Power Management (APM), which I simply went into the BIOS and turned off. Clocks are now rock solid.

This happened a while back, so I do not know if it was a problem with my specific MB or BIOS, or if it even would effect GW2 since I corrected this before GW2 came out, but it’s worth a shot if you’ve tried everything else.

What does the flag do? Seems it changes some setting with how the Umbra software works. Does it offload some processing to the GPU with ‘-umbra gpu’?

Best thing to do is submit a support ticket they will get back to you usually in about 4-5 hours with instructions. They have been working with me doing various gpu and cpu tests to pinpoint the cause of the low fps. Im at 65+ fps then when i go into a group for 10 or more people i get to 9 fps. Im running a fx6100 with a gtx 670 and 16gb of ram. Support team has been trying hard to solve my issue so instead of complaining here where the support staff will possibly never see it… submit a ticket and they will gladly work with you.

I know I wouldn’t need the -umbra gpu flag but I tried it just for fun, and it reduced my fps. Go figure.

Swordbreaker.2581:

I know I wouldn’t need the -umbra gpu flag but I tried it just for fun, and it reduced my fps. Go figure.

from what i read the reason they disabled this was due to umbra having issues and blaming amd/nvidia/intel video drivers for the hangups(fps loss), some systems seem to see no change, others take a hit, others gain perf…..again, another weird querk from anet….

Windows 7 64bit, Samsung 830 SSD, 8GB ram, 600w PSU
Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz
MSI Nvidia GTX 660 OC (306.97 drivers)
Gw2: 15,754

1680×1050
Best Appearance setting

Getting 35fps in WvW. 15fps zerg/gates. 40-45fps Qwesting alone.

CPU Load: avg 55%, peak 88%
GPU Load: avg 40%, peak 80%

GW2 is clearly not optimized or fully using my CPU or GPU. Looking at the attached load % graphs, it usually hovers barely half. Other games I play would push GPU loads to constant 90%+. For some reason GW2 only uses about 40%.

YuJee.7509:

GTX560 Ti
i7 – 3820 3.8GHz
16gb ram ddr3 1600

@arah dungeon
getting 8 FPS?

Normally my FPS is at 30-60
never anything under that.. until this update

Use the 304.79 driver, it works the best with that card, i know cause my brother got it and are reporting success with stable 60 with “normal pve play” in general for the 500 series the 304.79 driver seems the best, got 2 570 myself and so far after trying like 8 different drivers the above mentioned one comes out the best.

Skyliner.7436:

In any case, it doesn’t work. Starting the game with and without the command makes no difference.

Sorry, What?

Cynthia.2147:

Using this command line made my fps drop by about 20-25, why’s that?

Maybe its a case of you’re doing it wrong Skyliner

kirito.4138:

Windows 7 64bit, Samsung 830 SSD, 8GB ram, 600w PSU
Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz
MSI Nvidia GTX 660 OC (306.97 drivers)
Gw2: 15,754

1680×1050
Best Appearance setting

Getting 35fps in WvW. 15fps zerg/gates. 40-45fps Qwesting alone.

CPU Load: avg 55%, peak 88%
GPU Load: avg 40%, peak 80%

GW2 is clearly not optimized or fully using my CPU or GPU. Looking at the attached load % graphs, it usually hovers barely half. Other games I play would push GPU loads to constant 90%+. For some reason GW2 only uses about 40%.

55% is correct, its 2 and a bit (upwards to half a) cores.

it is only multicore optimised for 2 and a half cores so your cpu will not pass this cpu usage. The rest of it is your cpu is bottlenecking the GPU, which is why its not getting a high usage.

There are 2 resolutions.
1. Overclock the cpu so it processes more and sends commands faster to the gpu
or
2. Wait and hope the game is optimised(fixed) so that its less work to process from the cpu.

I found that while testing my CPU with Prime95 it would continually drop it’s multiplier down to about half of what it should be. So it would drop from 4 Ghz to about 2. It did this over an over every few seconds. I can only imagine that would mess with games as well. The culprit is Advanced Power Management (APM), which I simply went into the BIOS and turned off. Clocks are now rock solid.

I don’t see what APM has to do with it, but it would have been quicker to set windows to the high performance power profile >.>

APM or Cool&Quiet drops the CPU clock to minimal (800MHz for my CPU), I turned it off in the BIOS and things seem to respond quicker because now my CPU are maxed at 3.6GHz even at idle. Makes sense since I also upped the min clock on my Android phone from 182MHz to 810MHz (max is 1.5GHz) and now I don’t get delay lag on it anymore.

The only drawback to that is the power consumption.

I don’t see what APM has to do with it, but it would have been quicker to set windows to the high performance power profile >.>

Power profile won’t effect a bug in a BIOS setting. Also, I always run on Performance.

When I logged on today I noticed that the launcher updated but no other updates were made. Already in the character select screen I found something strange. The cursor moved skittishly and when i tried to turn my character it reacted very slowly. I shrugged and pressed play and discovered the character select behavior was present in the game also. This is when I check my FPS and finds it in the single digits. The game worked like a charm on my computer up until yesterday, and no other game or programs suffer from any new glitches since yesterday.

I have Windows XP computer with a quadcore, 3.2 GB RAM and a NVIDIA GeForce 450 GTS.

nvidia GTS 450, intel core 2 duo, 2 gb ram here – I know these are low specs, but
i have average 25-30 fps (exploring, spvp) and average 5 fps ( :D yes, FIVE FPS) in WvW battles and events with more than ~20 ppl (dragon fights and assaults in orr).

I know my graphic card very well and I can literally hear if it works hard or not. It is completly quiet and cold while running GW2 O_o. When I run any other game it is usually noisy and hot, but fps is ok.
It seems like GW2 is not able to use power of graphic cards, including mine.

I pull more of my hair out every time i see someone post that their GPU isnt being fully utilized by GW2 so GW2 must be borked.
Fact is they usaly have an old CPU ..they then ofc say ‘but my cpu isnt reaching 100%’ ..then about 5 people have to convince the person that just becouse it is not reaching 100% does not mean it isnt bottlenecking your computer >.<

Ill generalize here (so those who know better dont jump down my throat) ..but..

If your GPU is on less than 99% usuage when you have FPS less than your screen refresh rate ..then its HIGHLy likely your CPU (not matter its usuage %) is bottlenecking your performance. ..This means you need a new CPU or need to OC your current one alot.

Again this is generalizing ..there could be other issues but just trying to get people away from saying GW2 isnt using their GPU when its obviose to others that said persons CPU is to old and slow.

I pull more of my hair out every time, u mad? (>.<)
GPU isnt being fully utilized by GW2 so GW2 must be borked. (I never said that).
When people have fps less than refresh rate, you’re cpu is bottlenecking. Sure, but that’s not the question. Question is, why is the cpu usage 60%?

I have the same issue.

The game has been running great until I tried playing today. My FPS has dropped a ton in a matter of 24 hours. Like you, I haven’t changed anything on my computer.

I can’t WvW at all. It’s extremely frustrating.

Same thing with me. I’ve fiddled with a bunch of the settings to see what the problem is and can’t find it anywhere. Like the above poster, WvW is practically impossible for me right now. Side note: I’m on a high end PC, and this just began today for me, so there’s no reason for this issue to be on the User side.

In some areas, I get very high fps. I might get over 180fps in some areas, and the GPU is hitting it’s max OC, and the GPU fan is on full power. Then you move to a different place on the map, and the fps drops, and the GPU starts underclocking as it’s not being fed. Ok, so maybe that’s CPU bottlenecking, but I see where nothing can be done.

As mentioned before, I have OCd an i7 3770 up to 4.6 Ghz with only a small gain of fps, like 2.

So don’t assume just by going out and buying a new CPU or OCing what you have that you will see much benefits (obviously depends on your current CPU, etc.)

I’m having this exact same problem. I logged in and the launcher updated and such. And when I got in game, it was extremely laggy. Yesterday it wasn’t like this. (I know this is still low, but a big difference.) My fps has gone down to 8 – 9 fps (Every zone) and it was 17 – 20 fps a day ago. What’s up with this? Again, I never changed my settings. Today I set them to the lowest possible and still got that 8 – 9 fps. Don’t even think I can play now. Way too laggy.