Guild Wars 2

Hi. Im playing on :
- Windows8 x64
- AMD Radeon 6800 Series
- (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz ) x2
- 4 GB Ram

Should i really have max 20-28 at almost lowest details even at pve maps?
Most of time i have like 15-20 even if im standing doing nothing.

just check screenshot.
Empty Lion Arch at 4 am almost nothing on screen and only 17 fps…
Any tips/advice? what can be a problem?

Unfortunatly, yes! Your CPU is very old. Even with my old q6600 @ 3,0 GHz the game simply does not run smooth in every situation.

For a 2.6ghz Core2Duo those figures sound about right unfortunately.

GW2 is very CPU hungry, even more so than most other MMO’s, and your CPU has neither the amount of cores, nor the high clockspeed and efficient architecture to provide GW2 with the processing power it needs to run at a 40-60fps (or more). So instead what happens is that the game only runs at the max fps that your CPU can keep up with, regardless of how powerful your graphics card is. This is why lowering the graphics settings doesn’t help much, because most of those settings only apply to the graphics card, which isn’t the limiting factor of your performance.

Your graphics card is in fact pretty good and can run GW2 on higher settings with good performance if backed up by a fast enough CPU.

So my advice would be to look at your upgrade options. To upgrade the CPU, you will need a new motherboard and RAM as well, since anything compatible with your current board isn’t worth buying anymore. The ideal upgrade would be something in the range of an intel ivy/sandy bridge quad core (i5 for best bang for buck gaming performance), but if budgetwise you must go AMD, I’d suggest skipping the budget FX4000 series and getting at least an FX6000.

Maybe change Windows back to XP would help?
_______________________________________________________
so what exactly u propose to change in my PC?
lets say that i have 300 Euro/400$.
is it possible to make my computer better for gw2 for this?
Graphic card can stay right?
I have to change CPU, mother board, and RAM?

as i see Intel® Core™ i5-650 Procesor (4M Cache, 3.20 GHz)is about 108 Euro/138$
what else i should buy if i would buy this i5? because i5 is right as u said

something like that would be good?
Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L or Asus P7P55D?
8 GB ram will be enough or should get 16GB?

Please do NOT ever go back to Windows XP. It is a massive security risk.

Also, the i5 you just stated, is rather old by tech standards.

As for those motherboards, those are both Intel 1156 sockets, which is not the latest socket size that is out. That would be Socket 1155. There are many socket 1155 boards out there for any budget. My recommendation is the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 because it’s a decent budget board, and like Amarinth suggested, an i5 processor. I would look for the i3470 if you want to stay cheap, but if you want the top i5, get the 3570K (the K is important). Also 8GB of RAM is more then enough and you may be able to reuse what you have as long as it is DDR3. If not, an 8GB kit of RAM will probably be the least expensive part of the three.

Edit: I forgot, I went to newegg.com and got links, and added up the prices for you. Newegg’s prices for processors are a little high, so you should definitely look around for better prices.

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115234
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178382&Tpk=MD8192KD3-1600

At a local retailer, I can buy all of this for $322.97, which is under your budget.

Avoid first generation i-series processors. Get a second or third generation processor. That is, a i5 2500K or i5 3570K.

The i5 650 is a first generation processor, its kinda outdated and runs on an older architecture.

8GB of RAM is enough.

thanks for advices very much . i need extra colling? should i change disk maybe?
Samsung HD502IJ ATA Device.

so should stay on win8 or reroll for win7?

As others in the GW forums have found out, build a entire new rig for $400 capable of playing GW2 is next to impossible.

However if ur PSU is 400W+, your case ATX compatable, ur HDD and Optical drive r Sata …then u could potentialy do it for $500. U would need a new CPU, Mothebroard, RAM, and GPU ..sqeezing that into $500 will be tight but doable if u get rebates and good deals.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DhVt

maniolnba.2678:

thanks for advices very much . i need extra colling? should i change disk maybe?
Samsung HD502IJ ATA Device.

so should stay on win8 or reroll for win7?

Your hard drive is fine, the processor comes with a cooler in the box and should be sufficient for you. I say sufficient for you because based on your replies, I’m judging that overclocking would be a bit above your ability (correct me if I am wrong), and you should stay with Win7, simply because I feel that Win8 is more suited for touchscreen devices.

maniolnba.2678:

Maybe change Windows back to XP would help?
_______________________________________________________
so what exactly u propose to change in my PC?
lets say that i have 300 Euro/400$.
is it possible to make my computer better for gw2 for this?
Graphic card can stay right?
I have to change CPU, mother board, and RAM?

as i see Intel® Core™ i5-650 Procesor (4M Cache, 3.20 GHz)is about 108 Euro/138$
what else i should buy if i would buy this i5? because i5 is right as u said

You don’t have to go back to Windows XP – in fact I would go so far as to say you never should. XP was great, but it’s been surpassed in every way by Windows 7 and (if you can get past the interface problems) Windows 8.

Yes, keep the graphics card.

The CPU is your big problem, and the motherboard and RAM will have to be upgraded because all of the better CPU’s won’t work with the motherboard and RAM you’ve got now.

That i5 you listed isn’t quite the kind I meant. It’s actually the worst type of Core i5 processor you can get, because it’s from the first generation and it only has 2 cores. If you wondered why it seemed cheap, well, that’s why…

What I would suggest is ignoring the first generation of core i5 processors completely and aiming for one of the 2 newest generations, because they are quite a bit faster and all of the i5 from the 2nd and 3rd generation are true quad cores (meaning they have 4 physical cores) and are known to run GW2 and other games very well.

It’s pretty easy to recognize which processor generation you’re dealing with, because all of the 1st generation i5’s have 3 numbers (example: i5 650), whereas the 2nd and 3rd generation all have 4 numbers. Also the 2nd generation start with a 2 (example: i5 2500) and the 3rd generation start with a 3 (example: i5 3450).

With a 400 dollar / 300 euro budget one of those i5’s with a basic socket 1155 motherboard and 8gb of RAM is entirely doable.

With the motherboard you need to make sure that it’s the right socket – the 2nd and 3rd generation i5 CPU’s need a motherboard with socket 1155 (not 1156!) and as for choosing one, if you go for a basic non-overclockable CPU then you don’t need a very expensive or complicated motherboard. I usually look up some reviews and look at the user reviews on stores like Newegg to see which motherboards worked out best for people. When you find a motherboard that looks good you can look it up on the manufacturer’s website and they usually have a list of “supported CPU’s”, if the CPU you want to fit is in there, then it should work with no problems.

The RAM by comparison is easy – the i5 CPU’s need DDR3 RAM, and for speed you’re best off getting either 1333mhz or 1600mhz, depending on the maximum your motherboard supports. If you want to leave some room open to add extra RAM in the future, then make sure to grab 2 sticks of 4gb each – that way you will have 8gb now and can add another 8gb in the future if needed without having to replace your existing RAM.

maniolnba.2678:

thanks for advices very much . i need extra colling? should i change disk maybe?
Samsung HD502IJ ATA Device.

so should stay on win8 or reroll for win7?

I’d stick with Windows 8 since you have it installed. If you run into issues with Windows 8 when you start playing, then I would revert to Windows 7. I have Windows 7 on my desktop and Windows 8 on my laptop, both 64bit, both run GW2 accordingly to their specs.