Guild Wars 2

A GTX 660ti or a AMD 7870XT. They both perform on par with each other. Though the 7870XT is usualy a tad cheaper. Make sure if u go for a 7870XT that it is the XT version as its different from both the normal 7870 and the 7870ghz, and is faster than both.
PSU is fine wattage wise.
Make sure to get atleast a midrange aftermarket cooler like the Coolermaster Evo 212 if ur going to OC beouse stock heatsink/fans wont cut it.

NightStar.4670:

I know it is possible, because I have it. My system is roughly the same as yours:
i7-3930K 3.2GHz
EVGA GTX690
Asus P8Z77 motherboard
1000W PSU
2x 256 GB SSD
2x 3TB HDD
Creative Recon3D
32GB DDR3 1600MHz Quad Channel memory
46" 1080p/24 LEDTV

I can run in 3D mode with 24/25 FPS (take note that is the highest FPS I can get while in 3D mode due to the Hz, the FPS also does not drop below that.)
But I have lately been running in fullscreen window mode, due to a second monitor connected. But my frames are always 60-100+ I’ve never seen anything below 60 frames, even in the largest of WvW battles.

Vids then please becouse no1 has been able to show fps like that in wvw zergs.
I call BS anyway.. a 3930k with a z77 motherboard ..lol

expected and normal for ur spec.

GW2 is incredibly CPU dependant in WvW, even a rig like my one only get 20-25fps in big zergs.

Try this.

Shut down all background processes and services not related to windows/microsoft, graphics, or sound.

If t still does it. try re installing GW2, make sure to clean of all prior folders including cache etc.

If that fails try downclocking ur GPU, specialy if its factory overclocked.

If everything u try is failing, format ur HDD reinstall windows and essential drivers and update only, then GW2, and try. If it works, slowly install each of ur other programs u use 1 by one trying out GW2 after each, You may find u have 1 peice of software gw2 doesnt like interacting with.
Sounds crazy but a good hanfull of years back i suddenly found myself constantly crashing with Eve online. I replaced my PSU, formated ..everything. Only to find out that 1 program that i always installed immediatly was causing all the trouble…. Winamp. :P

Im form the uk and i can tell u for cirtan that £250 wont be enough by a longshot. U want atleast £600. Novatech is a good website, some of my rig i bought form there, but i personaly wouldnt get their prebuilds they use some cheap components, like their own brand PSU’s, and some low end motherboards.
However if i were, this would be the minimum spec wise that i would go for.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/pc/range/novatechblacknti60.html
Infact going by their website i cant find the spec u listed, am i to asume its second hand ? it must be since its got that 450 gpu.
IMO i wouldnt buy it, it may be cheap but it has very limited upgradability.

Honestly if ur going into audio and video editing, using multiple screens AND want to game all on 1 rig u need to seriosly up your budget. By that i mean by ~200% to 300%

For a simple audio/video work bench u can build a cheap AMD rig possibly at the top end maybe more of ur budegt going by the linked price.
However wanting to game, specialy with GW2, means u need to now go over to a Intel rig, and to get the same multi thread performance as a FX8350 whilst also getting the best out of GW2 means u will need a i7. The GPU can stay AMD and i would sugest a 7870XT or go straight up to a 7970ghz.
If ur doing audio work u may also want a dedicated sound card for the increased quality…but sounds like ur going to be more into the video side of things so the onboard sound should be good enough.

You cant expect great speed from an i3 or a lowly gt630 it will be so slow.

If u cant budget for a all round rig then i sugest going for a AMD rig. One with a FX6350 or FX 8350 and a GPU like a 7870/7870XT, 7950 or 7970. Will probably cost around $800 …probably more if u get it prebuilt.
A AMD cpu rig wont be as good in GW2 like in WvW and other populated areas but it will be cheaper thana intel rig and it will be good for multitasking and rendering and such.

Not possible.

Even a £2500 (~$3500) like my own cant get GW2 to run that high FPS in wvw battles. Its the fault of the GW2 game engine, its thread restricted meaning it runs mainly on single thread performance. The reason cpu’s nowerdays are multi core/threaded is becouse a single core can never be strong enough to do the job of 4 cores. Therefor GW2’s engine gains very little from having many cores available and it wont use them al lto their fullest, hence why even a 3930k at 4.6ghz can only manage 20-25 fps in BIG wvw zergs.

A $1000 will build u a good gaming PC but it is by no means a high enough budget for a top end rig.

Its not as simple as that im affraid.
Intel and AMD use completly different architecture.
Intel has faster single thread speed, and thus GW2 runs slightly better on them since GW2 gains more benefits from faster single threads rather than slower multiple threads.
Would take to long to explain in full so…….yea bassicaly GW2 prefers Intel.

HOWEVER u would still gain some if u could OC ur CPU further.

Yes ur friend has the higher fps thanks to his CPU.

Now you have

Ok from all the screens it seems what ur getitng is about right for ur rig.
Try to undertsand that even beasty rigs like my own go down to 20-25 FPS and thats with a MUCH stronger CPU. Your CPU is what is slowing u down the most in WvW, just like every1 else. Its not that ur CPU is crap ..its that the GW2 engine just cant handle that many people, its not effieicnt enough and doesnt use CPU’s to their full potential.

Try this.
Set all graphics settings to medium. Set relfections to terrian and sky.
Set character limit to medium
Set character quality to low.

In windows task manager set GW2.exe priority to high.

Run some monitoring software and find out ur gpu usuage, cpu usuage, and clocks(clocks to make sure they are clocking up to what they should)are when in WvW zergs. Also monitor temperatures.

OP what settings are u using ingame ?
What are ur culling settings at ?

My CPU is adesktop cpu .it runsat 4.6ghz ..and its not enough .Welcome to the fail that is the GW2 game engine
You say ur system runs unstable..by that do u mean it crashes or resets ..or what ? if ur system runs unstable just becouse its being used fully, that means u have a software or hardware issue that u should get fixed.

set culling to character limit: highest, texture limit: low
ur other graphics settings can be set to highest except shadows(high) supersampling(native) and reflections (terrian and sky). ur gpu should be able to handle that. (1920×1080)

run some monitoring software ot check ur gpu and cpu usuage aswell as their clock rates tomake sure they are being used correctly. Also keep an eye on ur temps.

Your cpu can be OC’d slightly even though tis not a k spec. So if u want a tiny boost in perofrmance u can icnrease the clock speed by about 300mhz. Look on overclock.net for more info on how to clock.

ur fps in wvw zergs should be between 20-25 in most zergs, possibly as low as 15 in truly massive zergs, at which point u should turn texture culing to lowest and character limit to high (down from highest) which may get u back above 20.

The GW2 game engine cant handle large groups of people dispite the games big selling point being large scall pvp. This was a massive mistake by Anet when they chose to cut corners by re-using the old GW1 engine and just altering it. They shuld have made or used an entirly different engine.

Samsung 840 pro and plextor m5pro are ur best choices performance wise for SSDs atm.

I very recently built a 4770k (no OC) 660ti rig for a family member. I tested GW2 in a zerg and with the right culling settings u can expect 20-25fps.
Culling settings were
Character limit : highest
Texture limit : Medium (low in extreme zergs)
With that said a 660 no ti is a tad slower and a 3770 is again a tad slower, but not enough to show any significan difference ,,maybe 1 or 2 fps. All in all u should be ok. Besidesu can still oc a 3770 non k, but only by about 300mhz or so, stil worth it.

Also just a FYI..the 4770k is a very hot chip ..4.5ghz on it is hard to get unless ur running a h100 or better..or get very lucky with low voltage and have a top end air cooler. So i wouldnt go around advising aiming for 4.5ghz on it ..besides its about 200mhz faster than a 3770k so 4.3ghz on a 4770k is the 3770k 4.5ghz equivalent.

Indeed the older they get the lower settings u will have to use in the up to date games.
Thats not to say the 770’s will get slower, just that games will get more demanding.

So u wil lstart of for the 1st year. possibly 2 maxing out 90% of games, then as the extra years go by u will find more and more games that u cant max out, till eventualy u get to a point where u want to upgrade.
SO 770’s in SLI ..a guestimate of 3-4 years befor u may want to replace them ..but what u consider ‘to slow fps’ or ‘to low graphics fidelity’ is up to u.

well a 770 is a modified 680, so its only slightly better than a 7970..however they do work better in SLI vs a 7970 in SLI so if u plan on SLI in the future u NEED to go Nvidia. So yes a future spec with 2x 770’s would last a good while likely matching the CPU life span of 4 or so years.

1st one has a better CPU and it can be OC’d but only by about 300mhz ontop of its highest stock boost clock iirc. But as stated above, the GPU sucks.

You could upgrade it urself but u will have to keep an eye on ur PSU. You will need to choose a good modern GPU that doesnt use to much wattage whilst still being powerfull. So a 600 series nvidia for example.(650ti minimum)
Otherwise u will need ot buy a new PSU aswell. chances are the stock PSU will be a cheap one meaning it likely wont run well akittens limits.

In the end buying prebuilt then upgrading a part or 2 as soon as u get it isnt very money efficient. You would be better of builing it all form scratch urself.

Well its only a single GPU setup so it cant even play current games fully maxed out ..not if u include games like Crysis 3 Max settings including AA, and a bunch of other games. That requirs at minimum 2x GTX 780’s even on a 1080p screen.
However the core of the setup should last about 4 years. You will ofc need to upgrade the GPU as needed. But the CPU and the rest of the rig should be fine.

No problem. enjoy.

The 4800MQ turbo’s to 3.7ghz..but only when using 1 core, when all 4 cores are active(like when running GW2) it runs at 3.5ghz.
The 4700MQ turbo’s to 3.4ghz on 1 core and only 3.2ghz on all 4cores.
Thats a 300mhz diference which is significant when ur talking about laptop cpu’s and these low clocks.
Hence why i sugest getting the NP7370 and choosing to up the CPU to a 4800mq with a 675m GPU instead of getting the NP8230 with the 4700MQ and getting a faster 770m gpu.

IM not sure of the actual core performance difference between the 765m and 770m, but the extra 1gb of VRAM wont help at all at single screen 1080p resolution.
If u can, go up on the CPU instead, to say a 3740qm/4800MQ the extra 300mhz of clock speed will help more in WvW.
8gb is enough, if anything.. go from 1333mhz to 1600mhz if u can ..or 1600 to 1866mhz.

EDIT:http://www.notebookcheck.net/In-Review-Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-780M-GTX-770M-GTX-765M.93277.0.html
GW2 bench says about 8 fps difference, so for GW2 it isnt worth the gpu change, but otherg ames can have 10-15 fps difference..so depends on what u want. I would go for the higher CPU instead for GW2, but foro therg ames i would get the better GPU.
So bassicaly get the NP7370 but change the CPU to a 4800QM.

How big is the lag?
250ms,500ms,1000ms,2000ms, more?

I suspect ur not talking about lag tbh, becouse u say it runs ok for x minutes b4 it happens.
Please make sure to use correct terminology. Do u mean lag or low fps ?

35 fps in big wvw zergs is impossible unless u set culling to its highest (lowest).
I.e
character limit : lowest
texture limit: lowest

But u really want character limit on highest so u can actually see the players. At which point the best ur gunna get fps wise is around 20-30 and thats with a overclocked desktop cpu.

Anyway point is, for best wvw experiance at as close to the fps u want, u need a desktop cpu. and in laptops u only find those in ~$2000 sagre/clevo laptops using the LGA 2011 3820 or higher cpu.
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9570-clevo-p570wm-back-order-p-3595.html
for example.

Paid or not, the results are valid. Air coolers like the D14 and SilverArrow are on par with the upper mid range to top end AIO water coolers at mid range Overclocks. So if the OP is after 4.5ghz he should look at both AIO water coolers and Top end air coolers.
From my own experiance a air cooler like the D14 stops being usuable at around 1.38v at which point temps can hit ~85c at max load, so what ever clock u can get with that is down to the silicon lottery. After that point a AIO water cooler is better as it can keep temps down still.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/h100i-elc240-seidon-240m-lq320,3380-12.html

This was posted at the end of last year but is still relivant.

The NH-D14 comes with its own NT-H1 TIM which is a high performing non conductive paste, not worth buying somthing to replace imo.

A AIO water cooler has its own heatsink, the water cooler is a closed loop. The water passes through the heat sink which is sealed. You bolt the heatsink onto the CPU. Heat passes through the cpu into the heatsink, water passes through the heatsink and draws out the heat. The heated water then pumps through a radiator which has fans blowing through it thus cooling the water for the cycle to start over.

Air coolers work much the same way but with air. The heat goes through the CPU into the heat sink, the heat sink is finned and air is blown through these fins thus drawing of the heat and blowing out.

From my own personaly experiance i can tell u that if u want 4.5ghz or 4.6ghz u WILL need atleast a Top of the range air cooler (like the Noctua NH-D14 that i use), or a high end AIO water cooler like the Corsair H100.
The 3930k does not come with a stock cpu cooler.

WvW will be very slow. And yes its likely it will overheat. Most small laptops are not designed with enough airflow or big enough heat sinks to run ful pelt for long periods. hence the overheating.
If u do dont want to overheat u need to find laptops with a case design that is deep, has big vents and a thick heatsink and fan setup, at which point hey loose some of their portability.

FYI on laptops the minimum cpu spec u want with GW2 is a 3630QM/4700MQ, even then WvW will strugle, but due to the way laptop CPU’s throttle back the turbo multiplier the more cores are in use, u want a cpu with a higher advertised top end turbo, so u know when it runs on all 4 cores it will only be a couple hundread mhz slower. For example the 3630qm and 4700mq run ‘up to’ 3.4ghz, but when on all 4 cores only run at like 3.1ghz iirc.

1)Anet ‘could’ answere yes.
2)Possibly
3)Yes it could
4)No becouse they never do answere performance bassed questions, on the rare occation they do, the person who does has no clue… usualy offering advise that is unsound and/or unnecessary.

WvW you will get 20-30 FPS in zerg battles if u have culling settings set to Character Limit: Highest, Texture Limit:Medium (low in extreme zergs)

PvE is mainly GPU bassed so u shouldnt have any issues with FPS there. With exception of area’s with lots of players. Like dragon events and Cities.

Max total CPU utilisation u will see is 50%, so u deffiantly dont NEED a 6core 12 thread CPUin terms of overall capacity as a 4core 8 thread will do just fine. The only benfit with a 3930k over say a 4770k is longevity. The 4770k will have better performance per core clock for clock, but the 3930k will last longer thanks to its more cores, and the socket its on. Newer games designed to play on PS4 and XboxDone will be 8 core/thread optimised (hopefuly) so we should see new games coming out with better thread optimisation, thus favoring more cores.

Other games, Crysis 3 in particular, likes the 3930k/3960x and 3970x over other CPU’s due to its core count and can attain higher FPS if u have the GPUs to allow it (note i said gpuS ..plural)

If u can afford it. get a Intel i7 3770k or 4770k.

I5’s can do well but GW2 has some areas that will max out a 4core4thread cpu.

AMD is also ok but even their best (FX 8350) lags behind a Intel CPU in GW2.

I am not surprised in the least.
At this point in time this game should have had atleast 1 major ‘significant’ performance patch. It hasnt, unless u count the now client side WvW culling options, which did nothing to improve performance.
When a £500 OverClocked CPU can only get ~25 fps+ in a WvW zerg, u know there’s a game engine issue. When its a mmo with people paying into the game, be it be via subscription or microtransactions, there is an expectation of improvment for said performance. We have not had it, nor heared any specific word from Anet to say its coming.
Im a stickler for completing things that are only available for al imtied time, so events for example i always complete. The last 2 or 3 GW2 events i havnt completed, becouse i just dont give a flying monkeys anymore. I havnt played much if at all in the last 2 or so months.

OP, check the technical support forum for advice. People like myself prowl their to help people out as Anet doesnt tend to respond to many of the posts.

When u set up the post make sure to let people know what parts u have now to re-use like monitor mouse keyboard HDD’s optical drives ..case, PSu etc..even your Operating System(OS). In many casses a very good build can be made if u already have some of the parts than can usualy be re-used.

By threads i meant CPU core threads ( ie 4 core 8 threads with HT)
I know what threads ur on about. And GW2 iirc uses about 50, but only about 3 of those are its main process threads

I try to keep things simple otherwise i end up writing paragraphs explainign everything everytime :P

OP the best FPS u can ask for in WvW atm in big zergs is 25fps + and thats with a overclocked desktop and culing settings set to highest on character limit and medium on texture limit. You can up the FPS a tad by going to lowest on textures, but it then looks like crap with every1 running around as green stock models/textures.

No.

The BEST u can hope for in WvW big zergs is 25fps + (with WvW culling set to maximum characters & medium textures), and thats with a overclocked desktop.
A laptop CPU wont come close due to the way it turbo’s and its lower performance as a whole. You would have to increase culling (lower the settings) so that u dont see as many characters and have them all on lowest texture settings.

WvW is CPU bound.

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusIV-17/

Customise that one with a intel 3740QM.

Maybe change the RAM to 8gb 1600mhz and HDD to 7200 RPM 500gb. Should come to between 1000 and 1100 euro. Or to save ~100 euro u can remove the OS that comes with it and instead install ur own. You can then pocket the change or upgrade somthing like the screen to a better quality.

Not possible.

The game engine does not utilise enough cores/threads for its main processes. Currnetly it has its main processing on 1 to 3 thread(s) which can quikly overwhelm any CPU out now.
Theres a reason CPU’s have more than 1 core nowerdays, a single one just cant handle modern software onits own.
GW2 unfortunatly just doesnt have a game engine that can utilise all the cores efficiently enough to run at high FPS.
The best u can hope for is FPS in the 20’s in big zergs. And for that u need a OverClocked Intel CPU.

Your really looking at the low end of Laptops it seems. I would sugest u look at making a desktop. For the same price u would get better performance.
If u MUST have a laptop then honestly u will be much happier if u saved morem oney up to get a proper gaming laptop. 660mm/760m is the minimum u really want GPU wise. And CPU wise as said above, a 3630QM is the minimum, preferably u wanted somthing higher. The new 4800MQ would be good.

A 610mx is the lowest 600 series GPU u can get for a laptop, it is no where near gaming performance level. It will run GW2 like a dog. its on the same level as intel integrated 3000 and 4000 gpu’s. Infact the CPU u have on there has a integrated GPU, i honestly cant see why any1 would put in a 610MX when its so close to the performance of the integrated chip.

1) No.
2) No.

Check Overclock.net

Have a 780 owners club there with loads of feedback.

My 780 isnt with me yet but it should be soon. Ill give feedback when i can

It should be about as good as say ..2x GTX 660ti’s in SLI ..without the SLI issues :P
Let me put it this way, it should max out (including SuperSampling) GW2 from a graphcial stand point..u will still be slowed down by CPU in populated area’s though.

Well. You could always wait for Asus’s 39" 4khd monitor to release
Apparently it uses a S-MVA panel, makeing it substantialy cheaper to build than its 4khd 31" IGZO panel. Meaning it could potentialy cost <$1000 comapred to its current 31" price tag of ~$3800
(only suspected prices released have been in $’s)
Anyway at those resolutions u can then rationalize getting a GTX 780 ..hell even a GTX Titan.. infact u would need atleast 2 of which ever u get to run games that those resolutions.

Food for thought :

I will personaly jump on the 39" model if its <£1000 in the UK..i cant wait for 4kHD. Though atm im tight for cash since i just bought a GTX 780 and bunch of other stuff lol. I would need neough money to ge ta second 780 + the monitor ….still 4khd ..nomnomnom.

At that resolution if i were u i would go for a 3gb or 4gb card, one with a powerfull core or 2 cores for SLI. With that u can run native resolution and AA, at which point u will wantthat extra VRAM.

IMO if ur going that high in res u hould have the budget for a monster rig. In which case i recommend the GTX 780(which is 3gb VRAM). If u go for a 770 or 680 or 670, u may need 2 for SLI to performa at max settings at that resolution and u can also opt for 4GB verisons. 2x 670’s will be more expensive than a Single 780, so i would advice the 780 route.

As for CPU, if ur coming from a pre sandybridge CPU (i.e before 2500k and 2600k) then go for a haswell CPU. Like the 4770k. If your on sandybridge now or even ivybridge, stay with it. if u like online gaming i advise a i7, games like GW2 will show a slight advanatge with the extra threads. People on GW2 have noticed 4 thread CPU (i5’s) maxing out on utilisation at times.

Viking Jorun.5413:

I have an i7 2.80GHz, nVidia 680m 2.0GB graphics card and 16GB of DDR3 RAM and I’m still not able to play on ultra without a significant decrease in fps, so it’s far over my head as to who can in fact play on max settings fluidly without any noticeable fps drops. :\

A 680m is only slightly better than a stock 560ti, so its no suprise its not able to fully max GW2. Remember mobile/laptop hardware is a step down from desktop hardware.

Im waiting on the following MMO’s to release or go into native open beta.

Bless, The Elder Scrolls Online, Blade & Soul, Phantasy Star Online 2, Otherland, FinalFantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Titan.

If what has been told about any of those is held to be true, chances are i wont be coming back to GW2, not unless some major changes come along.

Dragons Prophet looks interesting but i doubt i would play that for the long haul, looks like a relativly low budget game tbh.

If ur PC shuts of at 100% ur ether overheating when ta full load, or the peak power requirments are overwhelming ur PSU.

Solfan. I did not mean to imply u should get a desktop, as u seem keen on needing a laptop. What i meant was, try find a laptop with one of the LGA 2011 desktop cpu’s in them. They tend ot be expensive as they have to be really precise with getting things small enough to fit around the larger desktop motherboard and CPU, but they have much better performance.

For example:
Sager NP9570 / Clevo P570WM
EDIT: also no .u cant OC laptop CPU’s . they will run hot on standard clocks, some even overheat when pushed for extended period. Trying to OC ontop of that is a bad idea.