Guild Wars 2

Phoenix.1370:

I can overclock, I just generally avoid it, as I’ve burned out previous cards very rapidly when I wasn’t on such a budget.

And donations? I highly doubt it, I’ve not had much luck previously from anyone anywhere. As I said I think I’ve found a respectable card, It is just the processor I need to find now, and ideas on that, processors i’ve had no experience in firsthand but have a techie mate who can easily fit the parts I lack experience in.

I am debating an i3 or i5 but they are still barely on the knife edge of my price range, and am trying to find something similar in power but less in price.

if you fry stuff your doing it wrong & need to learn how to do it properly. Ample info on the internet & an army of savvy tech heads willing to help out another bro.

Yep donations, put a wanted ad on your local IT trading forum to help a bro setup a budget gaming rig. I see people do this stuff all the time & they end up with some pretty respectable gear (WAAAY better than those parts in Op) for the price of postage.

Hey, got nothing to loose & if your desperate & by the looks of it you are listing those parts give it a shot.

Phoenix.1370:

But again, this will be better than my current laptop at running any games let alone this game.

And quite a low budget anything respectable but nothing generally more than £100 per part is pushing it, I don’t want or need high graphic settings, low will be fine as long as its smooth to me, 25-30 fps the rest will come in time when my budget increases.

And, I’ve changed my previous cards before I can change parts no problem.

I already have my eyes on one card, but unsure of its performance on such games, I had a look at the
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 Vapor-X

If your that stretched for cash, hit up your local tech forum for donations & start researching how to overclock.

You can almost double your FPS by overclocking low end hardware.

Victus.9631:

CPU is going to kill performance if you’re looking for a good time. I would estimate 0-15FPS on minimum at a 480p resolution at best.

Fixed… WvW is going to make his pc explode. Cpu is slow & dual core, gpu not only a 4650 which is 6yrs old, it’s a mobile gpu so it’s about the equiv of an Intel 3000 chipset.

Victus.9631:

9400GT is not going to do much if anything at all. There are some good benchmark reviews (Toms hardware) showing what the newer GPUs and some previous generation models thrown down. That 9400 is horrid and I would advise using nothing less than a 460.

Going to agree with this. The 9400 is terrible. But then again, so are all those parts.

dacooli.6712:

Cbuzz.5083:

dacooli.6712:

In wvw I get 15-25 FPS with gtx 680 and i5 2500k stock. So yeah, it requires a good CPU at least.

Crank that 2500k & watch ur fps fly. What’s the point of even having a 2500k running at stock?

Because it costs money to buy a cooler? I can’t put it in myself and in that case I’ll have to pay someone to do. I mean, it does like 2-3 FPS difference in most games anyways.

Should have got the 2500 then, why spend extra for the K when your not ever going to use it? Just sayin…

It will run, but it’s going to be similar to your laptop if not worse. Dual core + GW2 = slideshow.

dacooli.6712:

In wvw I get 15-25 FPS with gtx 680 and i5 2500k stock. So yeah, it requires a good CPU at least.

Crank that 2500k & watch ur fps fly. What’s the point of even having a 2500k running at stock?

Hissatsu.3174:

What do i have to upgrade to have flawless (at least 30) fps in WvW in the heart of battle? Is that even possible?

Well, I’ve done a stack of testing with many different processors/speeds & honestly your going to need an i7 Quad @ 4Ghz preferably 4.5Ghz to pull 50fps in pretty much any battle. Anything lower you start getting pretty big drops.

If you can get it to 5Ghz & SLi, it wont drop below 60fps EVER.

It even supports Tri Sli & you get a hefty boost when Sli is enabled.

Single gpu run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJkUj2-rHcE

VS

Tri Sli run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrnOwogy9vs

Note the large increase in FPS with Sli enabled.

DragonTyrion.2538:

GW2 is currently CPU bound, what this means is that your graphics card is doing kitten all.

At the moment, people with low-spec PC’s will experience better framerates than people with top-of-the-line gaming rigs.

Something that Anet has suggested, and I’ve seen some people get results from, is stop any overclocking you have going on either your graphics card or you CPU. I’m not entirely sure why this would help, but it does.

W…T…F…

^^I’ll have 3 of whatever he’s on…

Alpha Dragon.4576:

Cbuzz.5083:

2x Xeon Quad Core Processors 2.26GHz (8 physical cores)

Nothing wrong with your card at all. You shouldn’t have even upgraded, you won’t even notice any performance increase with such slow processors. They are going to totally choke any current gen GPU. Your going to need >3Ghz i7, preferably 4Ghz to really let the 7970 shine.

He got a workstation. I think with 2 server CPU’s that’s enough even for 7970.

@OP
It might be a driver issue or game engine issue atm.

I know he does, however, it’s raw mhz that count (which he is severely lacking) in GW2, not core Qty.

2x Xeon Quad Core Processors 2.26GHz (8 physical cores)

Nothing wrong with your card at all. You shouldn’t have even upgraded, you won’t even notice any performance increase with such slow processors. They are going to totally choke any current gen GPU. Your going to need >3Ghz i7, preferably 4Ghz to really let the 7970 shine.

Your FPS are pretty much spot on. Your system is almost identical to my “Minimum Requirments” pc that I use for testing just today. Testing around Black Citadel using Fraps & exactly the same path. Very cpu intensive area.

Specs on this bad boy:
AMD X64 X2 3800 Socket 939
DFI NF4 Ultra D SLi Expert
2GB (2×1GB DDR 400)
Radeon X1900XT 512mb
RESOLUTION: 1600×1050

Results:
3800×2 2.0GHz X1900XT Black Cit
Min Max Avg
6 46 13.128

3800×2 2.3GHz X1900XT Black Cit
Min Max Avg
12 57 18.135

3800×2 2.6GHz X1900XT Black Cit
Min Max Avg
13 59 20.558

3800×2 2.8GHz X1900XT Black Cit
Min Max Avg
15 82 22.981

3800×2 2.92GHz X1900XT Black Cit
Min Max Avg
14 75 24.145

3800×2 2.8GHz 8800ULTRA Black Cit
Min Max Avg
9 60 22.624

Rma it again?…

Umm…. Ok? So a very cpu intensive game is utilizing your cpu well? What’s the problem here?

DJRiful.3749:

I didn’t know GW2 is extremely CPU intensive.

I’ve reset my CPU back to stock and I lose a lot of FPS with it. It’s an Intel 3930K Sandy Bridge-E 8 cores 16 HT.

Ha Ha Ha, you mean 6core/12threads…. Yes GW2 is very cpu intensive.

Also SLi is working very well.

Zaron.1687:

Cbuzz, do you really think that the 6 pc’s you have are a clear and accurate representation of ALL pc’s on the planet??? That is just silly. The whole, " I don’t have a problem therefore there can’t be a problem for anyone else" is just dumb. Think before you post.

Did I say I represent every PC on the planet? Stop making stuff up bro. Of course people have issues, it’s there troubleshooting skills that really need some work. Sometimes, especially with new released titles, it may take a bit of tweaking/testing/fixing stuff to get it working 100%. Not just “CLICK” WTF MANG ITS NOT WORKING. YOUR FAULT!!!!

One thing I would take to the bank is if I had OP’s pc in front of me I’d have GW2 up & running in under 5min OR I’d be able to tell him what the issue was.

sauceboss.7693:

Cbuzz.5083:

Mraz.3057:

The point is, that every wise guy says its my system, but the truth is far from that. I didnt have any problems with my PC, I am playing BF3 for whole day, If I want to with well over 100FPS and nothing happens, I am playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, CSS: GO, Skyrim, Max Payne 3 and so on and on…and NEVER EVER has my PC crashed or I had any problems with performance. So this is definetly not a problem with my PC, its GW2 client problem and an error somewhere in the code.

My nerd rage detector is going off the charts. Try toning it down a bit batman.

You might “THINK” you don’t have any problem with your pc just because it plays other games fine, doesn’t mean its going to play GW2 & that your system is 100% stable. Have you done any stability testing? I’m guessing no..

Why is it that I’ve got six (that’s right 6) pc’s here that I bench/play/test GW2 with & not a single one of them has any issue whatsoever? Why is that?

Consider yourself lucky cause I’ve tried this game on 3 PC’s and it still run’s like **** (and crashes) no matter what I do. This game is the most awfully optimized game I’ve played in years.

The thing is, the game doesn’t even look that good, even on max. We ALL realize it’s a different engine, but when people can play any other game just fine, it’s the ArenaNet’s fault, not ours.

Speak for yourself.

Yeah ok man whatever you say. It’s easy to point the finger if your not very IT savvy.

One of the things you realize after being around pc’s for 25years that if something doesn’t work, it’s ALWAYS someone else’s fault. Can’t POSSIBLY be my computer… NO WAY MANG!!

Mraz.3057:

The point is, that every wise guy says its my system, but the truth is far from that. I didnt have any problems with my PC, I am playing BF3 for whole day, If I want to with well over 100FPS and nothing happens, I am playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, CSS: GO, Skyrim, Max Payne 3 and so on and on…and NEVER EVER has my PC crashed or I had any problems with performance. So this is definetly not a problem with my PC, its GW2 client problem and an error somewhere in the code.

My nerd rage detector is going off the charts. Try toning it down a bit batman.

You might “THINK” you don’t have any problem with your pc just because it plays other games fine, doesn’t mean its going to play GW2 & that your system is 100% stable. Have you done any stability testing? I’m guessing no..

Why is it that I’ve got six (that’s right 6) pc’s here that I bench/play/test GW2 with & not a single one of them has any issue whatsoever? Why is that?

What cpu you packin?

Shandoeluna.3258:

I am trying to install it for the first time

I see. Well no it’s not possible because there has already been dozens of patches/updates that you will need to download that won’t be on the disks.

Copy/paste the entire GW2 dir onto a USB stick or external HDD. Already done this on 6 different PC’s.

Pulling the power out will put the laptop into power saving mode which will in turn reduce heat output.

Tri Sli confirmed working. Not getting 100% gpu scaling but it’s still working & getting a hefty FPS increase enabling tri SLi.

Pretty decent fps truly maxed @ 2560×1600 with 3 x GTX280 1Gb cards. Vids shortly.

Edit:
TRI SLi Enabled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrnOwogy9vs

TRI SLi Disabled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJkUj2-rHcE

Varna.5162:

That’s a pretty nice overclock, though gaming applications probably don’t benefit as much going that high. 4.5-4.7GHZ is a nice spot in terms of performance and heat. I’ve taken my i5-2500k as high as 4.9GHZ but it doesn’t make a difference in GW2. SLI usage is still only roughly equivalent to a single GPU.

I get the same performance in the Norm area (though my usage is never above 50/50). Try the Charr area… that harpy event with the mortar fire is really brutal on frame-rate.

Anyhow, you are very fortunate if it is indeed working for you. It’s obvious not for a lot of people, plenty of them with killer CPUs and great OC’s. Who knows, when a proper driver set is released you might notice improvements yourself.

I haven’t even left the starting area’s yet heh heh, still new to GW2. I’ll get there eventually.

While I’m not to sure why your not seeing a big improvement with SLi, I can definitely assure you running the game truly maxed out including SuperSampling ect, with a single card my FPS almost half.

Varna.5162:

Thanks Ravennus.

Believe me, I spent an unhealthy amount of time trying everything I could think of in nvidia inspector and control panel trying to get some better scaling. No luck.

A nvidia rep over at Guru3D suggested a CPU OC but I’m already running at 4.7GHZ…. Can’t really do anymore.

http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=4403079&postcount=442

Cbuzz, what’s your CPU running at? Lots of people are having these issues btw. It’s posted all over the comment section on that link I posted.

5GHz…… Was a pretty straight forward install/play. Did not tweak/touch anything in drivers or Nvinspector.

I’m about to test TRi Sli. See how that goes.

Ravennus.5720:

http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/nvidia-geforce-306-02-beta-drivers-released/

“August 28th Update: We can confirm that the GeForce 306.02 beta drivers feature a Guild Wars 2 SLI profile that was undocumented in our release notes. As you may be aware, Guild Wars 2 is heavily CPU-bound, and on Kepler GPUs this may result in negative SLI scaling (a lower frame rate when playing with SLI enabled).

At this time we can also confirm that the Ambient Occlusion profile added to the game yesterday can result in certain pieces of terrain becoming transparent. If you experience this issue, simply turn off Ambient Occlusion in the Guild Wars 2 NVIDIA Control Panel profile."

Did you BOTHER to click the link, Cbuzz? There, I copy and pasted the relevant portion for you.

Sure did & they are saying if you’ve got an average cpu your going to get poor SLi scaling. Which is pretty obvious anyway & this doesn’t occur just in GW2. Doesn’t really look like an issue to me? Did you see my youtube video? I’ll say it again, just for you… SLI IS FKING WORKING..

Hope this helps…

Varna.5162:

Cbuzz.5083:

BillFreist.1527:

Hello!

SLI works quite well, but we advise players to run Nvidia drivers 304.48 or later for this to run properly.

You can get these drivers here: http://www.geforce.com/drivers/beta-legacy
Also make sure to perform a ‘Clean’ installation .

-Bill

Confirmed, SLi working perfectly. Was testing SLi yesterday & was getting perfect GPU utilization & this is with the settings “TRULY” maxed out. The Betas 306.02 work best. Still getting a turning/shadows issue but SLi is working 100% that’s for sure.

Because I like making video’s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdz8WRnc28U

Did you check the link I posted? From Nvidia themselves. SLI is still not working as intended in Kepler cards. On my rig the scaling is terrible. Basically it’s like having only one GPU active.

Your link doesn’t say anything about SLi not working as intended in GW2. Your wrong mate, SLi is working & working very well.

himmelweiss.1469:

I’m not asking for high FPS like in BF3, but if it drops below 30FPS i’m seriously not impressed.

Thermaltake Level 10 GT Case

I can see your problem…

BillFreist.1527:

Hello!

SLI works quite well, but we advise players to run Nvidia drivers 304.48 or later for this to run properly.

You can get these drivers here: http://www.geforce.com/drivers/beta-legacy
Also make sure to perform a ‘Clean’ installation .

-Bill

Confirmed, SLi working perfectly. Was testing SLi yesterday & was getting perfect GPU utilization & this is with the settings “TRULY” maxed out. The Betas 306.02 work best. Still getting a turning/shadows issue but SLi is working 100% that’s for sure.

Because I like making video’s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdz8WRnc28U

Scelestic.3658:

Alright.. So, by removing my second card, as.. i discovered it wasn’t actually doing much as there seems to be something.. wrong with my Second PCI slot, since I tested it with one card, GPU Temp was a nice 85c – 88c, I was only getting 13fps! As soon as I switched it to the first PCI slot, I am getting 60’ish fps, 47 when I put my Second Monitor onto the first card.. so, I’ve Frame Limited GW2 to 30fps, and turned off shadows. Which leaves me at about 87c and without a video card… and 30fps.
Blows hardcore, since the only thing I could do now is put on a bigger/better side fan, which wouldn’t do much since the Tower is stuck in alittle comparment, but.. tests from both outside and inside have shown only about 1c difference in temp between the two. Outside the Compartment being the cooler one, that is.
Edit:: Also, the cards weren’t -that- close together, my SLI’d GTX 570’s on another comp are much closer together than in this case, and I’ve seen a general temp increase while playing GW2 with those as-well, during the beta’s I would average in the mid 70’s, but now on Launch I’m seeing temps of high 70’s-low 80’s (On that set up).
And.. whenever I double space in this post.. it seems to duplicate everything before it..

Seems like you totally ignored Bill’s post to setup custom fan profiles in MSI Afterburner. Have fun with those hot cards…

Also, SLi working perfectly with the new Nv 306’s.

Hope this helps…

Best bet would be a 560Ti. You’ll see a nice fps boost but still choked by that processor. If you can overclock that processor you’ll still be choked, just… not as much

Take it out or disable the alert?

Sounds like your overclock is unstable if your getting driver resets. That’s really the only issue I can see here… Just because it can play other games overclocked, doesn’t mean it can play GW2 overclocked.

I’m not to sure how the 660Ti relates to the GW2 installer? Are you just talking about the digital download installer?

Not sure why 690 is dropping fps so hard. It definitely shouldn’t be. My 660TI’s in Sli work perfectly. I took a short clip in the Norn starting area testing Sli.

Not sure how the game is even running with that hardware. It’s all WAAY below minimum requirements. But whatever…

That gpu is artifacting & can only mean a few things. Driver issue, faulty gpu memory, or possible overheating. Does it do that in other games or just GW2?

Your graphics card is ancient, also under minimum requirements. Upgrade immediately.

Hope this helps.

Turning bug with maxed shadows. Lower shadows a bit should fix it until a patch does.

Running PCI-E 16X 2.0 or 3.0?

shalldoom.8673:

No matter what your rig is you can’t max out this game…put shadows on low and try disabling hyper threading in your motherboard Bios

Yes.. you can. But you’ll need a 5Ghz i7 & high end Sli setup to do it.

Low end dual core processor is holding you back. Changing resolution/settings with no fps impact = cpu bottleneck.

Hope this helps.

There is a turning bug when shadows are set to ultra as I’ve been discussing here:

http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/60738-weird-performance-issues-with-sli/

Set shadows slightly lower should resolve the turning issue. Well it did for me and another guy anyway.