Guild Wars 2

I get around 10fps 20 if im lucky i most areas on low setting , Was looking to upgrade GPU but have no idea what i am doing will help any idea will b helpful

i currently have

AMD Athilon X2 7550 processor
6Gb ram
750Gb harddrive
300w power supply
and a geforce 9100 integrated gpu

Was looking to buy a GeForce GTX 660 and a 550w power supply

My question is will this give a boost in fps and play on higher settings

your CPU will definately bottleneck your GPU and you will most likely not get much more out other than a higher display quality.
also, if your mainboard got an older type of PCIe slot, your desired graphics card won’t even be able to pull of much of it’s capabilitys

you should also upgrade your CPU as well, if you have the money.
don’t bother asking for any advice what to buy…soon, this thread will be flooded with all kinds of people telling “buy this and this and this and that to play GW2 properly”

the general choice of a gamer would be a gtx660ti + intel i7-3770k + any good asus socket 1155 mobo designed for overclocking.
but it really depends on what you wanna spend and at which rate of quality/performance you would be satisfied with.
if you are shorter on money, more into AMD in general or more experienced with AMD, stick with AMD chips, similiar in performance.

if you’re not experienced in building your own PC, make sure to check out your nearest, trusted local PC store and ask for assistance there in addition to the advices you will get on the internet

first, you would be better off getting a 7770 and better cpu then pairing that cpu with a 660.

we need more info on what your motherboard supports cpu wise with latest bios, there may be a decent upgrade path for you that dosnt involve spending a ton of money and replacing a whole system.

if you for example could toss a quad core at decent clock into that system and a 7770+psu you would see a decent boost in all games but could keep the price down to about what the 660 and psu would cost you.

Well, I also have some issues with my AMD FX™-8120, 16GB RAM, GF GTX 560 Ti. The game seems to have unreasonable performance problems.

wauwi.9162:

your CPU will definately bottleneck your GPU and you will most likely not get much more out other than a higher display quality.
also, if your mainboard got an older type of PCIe slot, your desired graphics card won’t even be able to pull of much of it’s capabilitys

you should also upgrade your CPU as well, if you have the money.
don’t bother asking for any advice what to buy…soon, this thread will be flooded with all kinds of people telling “buy this and this and this and that to play GW2 properly”

the general choice of a gamer would be a gtx660ti + intel i7-3770k + any good asus socket 1155 mobo designed for overclocking.
but it really depends on what you wanna spend and at which rate of quality/performance you would be satisfied with.
if you are shorter on money, more into AMD in general or more experienced with AMD, stick with AMD chips, similiar in performance.

if you’re not experienced in building your own PC, make sure to check out your nearest, trusted local PC store and ask for assistance there in addition to the advices you will get on the internet

General gamer choice would be i5-3570k which is cheaper then 3770 and has same performance.

Also Instead of asus mobo i’d say go asrock Xtreme version or MSI.

If You don’t have cash for i5-3570k You can try AMD FX 8350 ( Only that one. Don’t get any lower version or 8150 or 8320. ) And oc’ that FX to 4,5ghz ( fairly easy ). And You should see fairly good performance – BUT it won’t be even close to i5-3570k

If your upgrading your PC in stages (as your pocket books allows) adding a GPU/PSU as the 1st step is a decent idea, however depending on the clock rate of your current CPU you may not see much of a performance boost.

IHMO: While many current day gamers like to ‘save money’ by going with an i5 rather than an i7 as the current crop of modern games don’t make use of an i7’s extra threads the next gen Consoles are just around the corner and more than likely will support more threads then the current generation does. Consoles more threads = PC more threads. (therefore making the i7 more attractive)

Yep im not mutch in to the tec side of comp i know how to swap out parts but not what parts to choose

motherbord is a Pegatron M2N78-LA AM@ socket

not shure how to check BIOS tho

thanks for info guys

In all honesty your computer is to out of date to upgrade just one part.

What u need to do is save up around $700 and build a new rig. You said u can put in and swap out parts so u shouldnt have a problem building ur own rig.

Parts wise u shold be able to find the following for around $700

-Intel i5 3570k CPU
-Coolermaster Evo 212 CPU cooler
-Asus P8Z77 motherboard (DONT get MSI they have bad component reliability)
-Corsair/G.Skill/Mushkin 1600mhz RAM 8gb or 16gb CL9
-AMD 7870 Tahiti Graphics card (Sapphire XT or Club3d Joker)
-Corsair/Seasonic 600W PowerSupply
-Coolermaster HAF 912 or Storm Case

You currnet HDD and Optical drives can be re used so long as they are Sata and not IDE.

With that u can play GW2 with great fps, even more so if you OverClock the CPU.

SolarNova.1052:

In all honesty your computer is to out of date to upgrade just one part.

What u need to do is save up around $700 and build a new rig. You said u can put in and swap out parts so u shouldnt have a problem building ur own rig.

Parts wise u shold be able to find the following for around $700

-Intel i5 3570k CPU
-Coolermaster Evo 212 CPU cooler
-Asus P8Z77 motherboard (DONT get MSI they have bad component reliability)
-Corsair/G.Skill/Mushkin 1600mhz RAM 8gb or 16gb CL9
-AMD 7870 Tahiti Graphics card (Sapphire XT or Club3d Joker)
-Corsair/Seasonic 600W PowerSupply
-Coolermaster HAF 912 or Storm Case

You currnet HDD and Optical drives can be re used so long as they are Sata and not IDE.

With that u can play GW2 with great fps, even more so if you OverClock the CPU.

last time I added up the components you listed there, it was over800bucks on newegg or amazon……sorry SolarNova, but that builds gonna cost more then 700 to build if you dont got a microcenter nearby.

and he could get a massive boost if his board could take a 945 or 955 or 960t or x6, that and a videocard could set him up for a while, most people do not need a system like those of us who are “true gamers” run, and most people really cant afford to dump that kinda money into a build every 1-2 years(with gw2, your only real hope would be to get a platform that will accept next gen cpu’s then hope they can make the game run decently, since we have no assurance anet will fix a kitten thing)

MaRko.3165:

If your upgrading your PC in stages (as your pocket books allows) adding a GPU/PSU as the 1st step is a decent idea, however depending on the clock rate of your current CPU you may not see much of a performance boost.

IHMO: While many current day gamers like to ‘save money’ by going with an i5 rather than an i7 as the current crop of modern games don’t make use of an i7’s extra threads the next gen Consoles are just around the corner and more than likely will support more threads then the current generation does. Consoles more threads = PC more threads. (therefore making the i7 more attractive)

next gen consoles will all have amd apu’s in them(ps4 and xbx720 are confirmed to be using amd apu’s) they also are likely to be using standalone gpu chips as well either a dual gfx/hybrid crossfire setup or just using the APU’s gpu for computing power.

So it may endup being smarter to buy AMD since console ports will likely be taking better advantage of AMD cpu and gpu options then intel.

today for the price, I see zero reason to buy a 3570k over a 8350 or even a 8320.
3570k $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

8350 $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284&Tpk=8350

8320 $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113285&Tpk=8320

1. the 3570k runs at higher temps, it may use less power but it runs hotter.

2. the 3570k costs 40bucks more….

3. a decent intel board for clocking and with sli/cf support costs more then an AMD board with the same or better features.

If you only play games that are poorly threaded or totaly unthreaded like skyrim, then yeah stick with intel but just buy an i5 dualcore K series with HT and overclock it to hell….(you can still find them and they do clock better then quads or hex cores, and higher clock=all that matters with single threaded games and an i series chip)

if you want a more future proof option, look at the 8320 or 8350.

note: i have yet to see an 8320 that cant do at least 4.5ghz on a 1/2 decent board, with stock cooling thats pushing the limit, but it can be done, and pretty easily really.

but you could always spend what you save on cpu and motherboard and buy a xigmatek aegir or noctua nh-d14 or thermalright silverarrow and have excellent air cooling( or if you want all in 1 water, corsair h80 or better, or thermaltakes version or another brands version they are all made by the same oem after all, just rebadged for each company)

I have compared them side by side, in this and other games, I havent seen any reason for the “Amd suck” other then the crappy reviews on alot of major sites…..and I over the years have learned to take reviews of all kinds with a grain of salt for each bad review of an intel or amd product you find, you will find a good one, same for amd vs nvidia, unless its an issue like nvidia’s driver that disabled the fan on videocards and caused them to cook themselves….that was pretty sad……or ironic considering how many people insist nvidia has the best drivers…..

Im from the UK so im not always up to date with costs in the US. last time i checked(couple weeks ago) i could put together a system using pcpartpicker (US site not the UK one) and could build that rig for around $700 depending sales,rebates, models and makes of components. Newegg wasnt always the cheapest so u would have to shop around. $700-$800 is the general range though.

And yea most ppl dont need a top of the range gaming rig but i do still try to recommend rigs that are cheaper in the long run.
Buying cheap and thinking in the short term usualy ends up being more expensive in the long run as u have to upgrade more often.
I dont expect every1 to do what i do, which is do a major overhaul every 4 years spending around £/$1700, but building a rig that could last say 3 years for around £/$800 is still cheaper than spending £/$500 and upgrading within 2 years.
Not to mention long term builds like my own or even a $800 build will allow games for the first year or 2 to be played at,or almost, max settings with great fps ..that performance would then drop of as the years go by. A cheap $500 build would likely not run max with high fps even when new(games in general not GW2 specificaly).

‘Not disagreeing with anything ya said btw Jazhara, just explaing my POV.’

i tend to agree to a point, I do like to pick stuff I can easily do in place upgrades to tho, its why I loved my gigabyte 790x board, that thing had 4 cpu’s before it was relogated to my office system.

and i do agree 500 is to little for a truly good game system, but there is one way it could be worth doing, if you built with a cheaper but still decent cpu/videocard then, saved up and upgraded later.

I got a buddy who around 9 months ago was FORCED to upgrade after his appt complex had a power surge and his main system was mostly destroyed, thing was, he couldnt spend more then 545shipped, in the end we got him a VERY NICE motherboard, 16gb ram(2×8gb 1600 cas8 stuff he got a great buy on), he ended up with a 7770 because one was on sale for less then 1/2 the price of a 7870, cpu was a 6100 he got in bundle with a board at frys cheap(he gave the board to his brother along with an athlon II chip), hes since added a 2nd ram kit for 32gb, upgraded to a 7870 and the cpu he was going to replace but he got a bloody golden 6100, its at 5ghz on a thermalright silver arrow(air cooling…..) and low volts, even under ibt or occt or p95 it dosnt get over 62c(socket temp) or 52c(per core temp)….well within safty range for the whole fx line……

hes still gonna get a 8300 chip eventually but wants to wait for the 8300 to become more widely available as its got an amazing rep(epic chips honestly), till then, hes able to play bf3 and his other games no problems always 60fps or higher….with intel its a bit harder to upgrade over time, because intel change sockets/socket specs like a person with ocd washes their hands/changes their underware……

Part of what drove me off intel for my own use was when they kept using the same socket but revising it so that you needed a new board….775 was horrible for that….I even did bios mods to a few boards(force flashed bios from the new ver of the exact same board) so c2 chips could work in them(yes that worked)

they have angered a good number of my clients with i3/i5/i7 socket changes…one fellow I have known most of my life said he will never own intel again after he found out the system he built 6 months earlier nolonger was valid and that he couldnt get new chips for it anymore, because they replaced his socket with one that had 1 less pin……cant blame him for getting mad can you?

I have also had a few friends buy prebuilds locally from a shop then replace some parts because the shop had a crazy good deal on a decent build in the mobo/ram/gpu(or cpu), easy to replace a part here and there…

Only reason I got this 8350 is that I got a killer buy on a 2nd sabertooth 990fx on geeks(under 100 shipped with i/o plate and such…) so i figured “why not use that 16gb ram kit you just replaced, and your dual 6870’s to build another rig, you already have a case and psu for it…”

so what I did was used the csx(coolermaster) wraith case I bought before christmas refurbished for 109usd shipped, also got the medusa case im using for this system same price free shipping!!!)

I had only upgraded form my 1055t because it had always had a flakey weak imc and that went out, didnt want to be down for the week rma took, so i just grabbed an 8120 cheap kitten good chip despite the reviews), in the end I decided to get enough parts I could upgrade my office system( i help out when able at my mothers chiropractic office….yes shes a back cracker), after thinking about it alot, i decided to go “whole hog” and rather then use the returned 1055t(brand new chip, newer stepping then anybody has posted about online!!!), cm690(my last case) 730watt kingwin (superflower build), hyperx genesis 16gb 1600mhz stuff and assorted other parts(including hdd from the office system, an old biostar ta770 with 9650 in it), turned out I didnt even have to reinstall windows…..

its a huge boost to my office rig getting rid of that 9650 and moving to an 8120…….i should be able to game at lunch and during down times……

im disabled in case your wondering, not a kid, (wish i could be a kid again!!!)

Oh and SN, I agree if you can get a better deal with parts picker and dont mine using a bunch of vendors thats great, the down side is that you gotta remember where you bought what, AND check shipping costs……I try and keep my number of sites I use for a single build limited to save myself from frustration and support issues.

I do use sidewindercomputers for fans tho…..great site to order that kinda thing!!!(they even ship to the uk/eu if you want some nice fans for a decent price)

Please do understand, I agree with most of what you said, I just see there are other options for those who cant scrape up the money all at once……because I have been there more then once

The issue here is that when on a limited budget where you simply replace everything (get a new gaming box) replacements need to be done in stages a little at a time.

So we have a AMD Athilon X2 7550 processor and a geforce 9100 integrated gpu to upgrade.

Going with a CPU+MB+Memory upgrade won’t buy the OP any real performance gains as the built in graphics abilities of any of these options are on par or worse than what he currently has. Getting a DX11 capable GPU will give him more performance in open world PvE (discounting LA and large Zergs) and can be used with a new CPU upgrade when its affordable.

Kajun.3560:

I get around 10fps 20 if im lucky i most areas on low setting , Was looking to upgrade GPU but have no idea what i am doing will help any idea will b helpful

i currently have

AMD Athilon X2 7550 processor
6Gb ram
750Gb harddrive
300w power supply
and a geforce 9100 integrated gpu

Was looking to buy a GeForce GTX 660 and a 550w power supply

My question is will this give a boost in fps and play on higher settings

Best advice I can give you without spending a SL of $. I think that is a HP PC you can find your BIOS’s version from this link.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07110&tmp_task=solveCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=4006020&lang=en
Get with HP support and see if your PC will support this processor it’s alot better than you have about x2 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Z68O94/?tag=pcpapi-20
This video card is alot better than having none and cheap only DDR3 but uses 44 Watts should be ok with your power supply. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005V22R0S/?tag=pcpapi-20
To use the new video card you will probably need to set it to default in BIOS maby not some switch auto but not all of the older ones. (link to how do this) Make sure to set this before hooking the monitor up to the video card. http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware/Upgrading-the-video-card-HP-p6210y-need-help/td-p/146991
Anouther option is upgrading the processor if it can be with what I listed and getting a better video card and new power supply that can be reused in the future.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202011&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID ( you will need to reuse your old power cord with this it should just pull out the back )
First option cost about $135 good performance boost.
Second option around $200 if you get the rebates. Good performance boost limited by the processor.

EDIT if you are not able to upgrade the Processor the top video card I listed will still be better than what you have I would not spend alot of $ on what you have.

MaRko.3165:

Getting a DX11 capable GPU will give him more performance in open world PvE (discounting LA and large Zergs) and can be used with a new CPU upgrade when its affordable.

Correct.

It will still run really slowly when there’s a lot going on with that CPU, but it will be noticably better. When you do get around to getting the new CPU, you can still use the new GPU and PSU with it.

TL;DR: Yes. Go for it, but put a new Motherboard, CPU and RAM at the top of your shopping list for your next upgrade.

the one starter option the OP cold go with for upgrading the whole rig would be something like an AMD A10 with 16gb of 1866 or faster ram, the APU video NEEDS fast ram and would be worlds better then what hes got the cpu would blow his current one away….and they overclock very well by reports I have seen.

that low end videocard is crap….

DO NOT BUY LESS THEN A DDR5 6670…they are still cheap but are worlds better then that 6400 that was linked…..

if you can upgrade to a quad and keep yoru current board and ram, and toss a 7770 into the rig, you will be fine for a year or possibly 2 at casual gamer specs, in that time save up here and there, and build a whole new rig then, ask advice first, DO NOT BUY PREBUILDS the only place I have seen decent options for prebuilds/simicustoms are cyberpowerpc and honestly, you save alot putting it togather yourself….. means you can upgrade farther

U just better wait a bit for the new intel and AMD CPUs to go out, u can get a radeon 7750 (it is cheap) for now it won’t bottleneck ur CPU a lot and it will be clossfire compatible with the next gen APU coming out soon. Also if u go intel route the 7750 will still play any game at decent settings. Upgrading to intel at this point is kinda a waste, since their plarforms are gonna be totally replaced soon which is gonna leave u with no further upgrade posibility avaliable.