Guild Wars 2

As above, all game files are in the one folder you install to. Only a few game/login settings are stored elsewhere in my documents/guild wars 2.

Something like a Thermalright Silver Arrow is a good alternative to the Noctua if you choose to go air, although bear in mind you probably need to go with the low profile vengeance and check it fits the mobo fine.

You should really get a minimum fps of about 30 in WvW zergs with that system which is where mine drops to in the most intense situations with a i5 2500k@5ghz and gtx580 on high settings (but without supersample). You may have to do some overclocking to achieve this as I have never tested at stock.

The only thing I would change personally is the vertex3 for a samsung 830/40 or crucial m4 mainly due to reliability and sandforce viability long term.

Same on a Samsung 830.

I would go for the GTX670 personally it has a pretty large advantage in certain games: Benchmarks

The two possibilities you list are most likely.

Are you aware that the max. temp in the AMD specs is 62c? Assuming you mean a phenom ii x4 something seems very wrong with the cooling somewhere.

As far as the PSU, its seriously bad quality and won’t output what the inflated specs say anyway. A quality 650w would be fine but you may want to go higher in-case you wish to go SLI or something in the future. Some recommended OEMs: Seasonic, Enermax, Delta, Zippy. Always check who makes the PSU even seemingly reputable companies have dud models.

With those kind of temps I would consider cleaning the die of the cpu & gpu with isopropyl alcohol and applying some good thermal paste.

You can just grab the iso and use the same key.

Just a note, you don’t need a separate key for 64-bit windows – just use your existing key and download the iso.

It’s a known issue that has been confirmed by ArenaNet. You may be able to get away with running all on low without a crash but other than that installing 64-bit windows would fix it or waiting for a patch.

That PSU is terrible, definitely the first place to look.

I was expecting a Realtek adapter when you mentioned LAN drivers but since it’s intel they are pretty solid unless there is a conflict. Stating the obvious, I would make sure all drivers are up to date.

Is anything in the system overclocked? Some BIOS auto settings are terrible, so I would recommend setting the following manually if not done already:
- Vcore
- Vdimm
- PLL
- Memory timings specifically: CL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS, CR.

You could also check for bios updates, although typically this would be last resort.

I agree sounds like a iffy card (although i’m assuming you’ve eliminated it coming from anything else). Regarding the SSD it will be mostly reads I really wouldn’t worry especially if its one of the latest and more reliable controllers. Some guys actually ran some tests over on another forum and for example a Samsung 830 has written 4,341TB and is still going..

Agreed on all points. Please do something about this, its got to be the most irritating ‘feature’ of the game.

Also get this issue, began with the patch late last week.

That’s a much higher max temp than I would be happy with, I would blow out the heatsink with compressed air but other than that it could be poor contact with the gpu die & heatsink as most stock thermal paste applications by manufacturers are poor.

For reference my 580 heavily overclocked hits a max of 70c with added voltage on the core. Fans hit about 65% in gw2 as far as I remember. The cooler is the msi twinfrozr rather than the reference design though.

Dan.4658:

I’ll have to try and run prime95. But one thing that I have been told by plenty of friends is that 650W should definitely be more than enough to run my setup.

Generally speaking yes if it’s of good quality which it should be as its a Seasonic unit. The older it is though will decrease in output which is why I questioned age – definitely worth loading it up to the max and monitoring the +12v rail stability.

Check the memory timings have been set manually for new your modules in the bios to the appropriate settings.

It’s worth running WhoCrashed as XcomCaveRat has suggested however you may not attain much from this as a graphics driver fail (for instance) could just be a result of hardware instability for ex. vcore too low.
Definitely worth going through the stress test process.

Do you have the BSOD error? Not too clear how extensively you have tested from the OP so i’ll just list some things out but note the ‘30min wonder’ tests some people do for stability don’t count:

- Run memtest to eliminate ram.
- Run prime95 blend/linpack/occt psu test (absolute minimum 4hours of each and check load temps)
- Isn’t noted if you are 32-bit or 64-bit OS? I would assume 64-bit though with 8GB ram.
- The PSU noted doesn’t exist, I assume you mean the 650w though?
- How old are the components? Need to factor in capacitor aging…
- Scan hard-drives, I have seen failing drives cause bsods even if they aren’t actively used.

Bottom line I don’t think your system is 100% stable.

Cosmo.8176:

Syrellaris.9125:

Simple solution.

install windows 7 pro 64 bit(your serial key should be compatible). You are currently using only 3gb of your current 4 GB memory.

Also it would not hurt to upgrade your Memory to 8gb instead of 4.

3.5gb actually, and actually-actually, only 2GB unless i LMA it and i guess that’ll fall under the interdiction of the eula with using third party software.

The game /should/ run on 32 bit systems right? I saw no mention of 64bit only anywhere in the requirements.

I’m not sure you fully understand how the memory addressing works. If the OP is correct you do not have full use of even the 2GB system RAM in games with a 2GB card and that is not even considering that this is a dx9 game and as such you can factor in duplication. It’s bound to cause issues although I agree it shouldn’t happen.

As ArenaNet has already stated, this is a known issue so either you suck it up and run on low settings until a fix is implemented or perhaps, you could actually use all the hardware you purchased efficiently by installing 64-bit for free.

edit: misread post

+1 Excellent post

Ensure “high res textures” is unchecked, it shouldn’t be available on a 32-bit OS due to oom errors but due to a bug it is sometimes enabled. I’m kind of confused why you’re not running 64-bit anyway though as half your RAM is sitting there doing nothing…

So if you tested via multi what’s the model?

I assume you have tried the following?

- Several runs of memtest
- Eliminate software interference (clean image w/minimal drivers)
- PSU Multimeter/rail stability testing

Incidentally, what model is your psu?

killimandros, what crash do you experience exactly? i.e. CTD, BSOD, Black screen&reboot?

+1

Specifically this is not fps related input lag as even on 120fps it’s just as noticeable. Coming from a QuakeWorld background with 200hz CRT’s I notice this sort of thing immediately – actually one of my only gripes with the game.

It’s mouse smoothing based lag created by adding interpolated frames.

The best option would be to borrow a PSU to test if that’s possible at all but I understand this isn’t the easiest to just quickly swap out, in-fact one of the most irritating!

Just to clarify on Chieftec, like many other resellers the different units can vary drastically due to coming from different OEMs – I have heard the CWT based units they sell are very good.

Personally I would only trust something for my system made by Seasonic, CWT, Delta or Enermax due to having many problems in the past it’s just not worth the hassle. Always check who actually makes the unit.

Hope you get this sorted!

I didn’t mean those soundcards are terrible hardware wise, as I stated it’s the drivers that are terrible. You are correct on the HDD it was a long shot due to you being pretty adamant on other components and I would expect other problems to occur as you say. To confirm though I didn’t mean run any tests on the SSD rather just individually connect the devices.

Efficiency certifications mean very little, the reason I asked for the model is because Chieftec like many others use different OEMs. Yours is a Sirtec which is the OEM I was wary of and further confirms my suspicions about this unit as they aren’t very good quality frankly.

With reference to the benchmark testing it doesn’t always work like that, only some programs will reproduce the instability. Recently I had a PSU fail and the ONLY program that brought it out was SWTOR. You name it I ran it, OCCT, Furmark, Prime, Linpack, Heaven.

I tested out Windows 8 RTM and got about the same performance as 7. Got between 45-60fps at a gate zerg when very briefly tested in WvW with the quality preset. So would expect near identical performance on most systems, although I think 8 fairs better for lower end due to smaller footprint and better ram management.

Canned it for my 7 image though as the UI was horrible for productivity imo. System Below:

i7 2600k @ 5Ghz
GTX580
16Gb 1866
X-Fi
Samsung 830 256GB
Seasonic X-Series 1050W

I’m pretty confident it’s a hardware issue, i’m looking towards the Chieftec PSU if i’m honest even after your testing, do you know the exact model?

Very little other it can be considering you seem to know what you’re doing.
Memtest the RAM and individually connect the hard-drives testing each time is another thing you could test. There is of course a slim chance that the graphics card has gone iffy but I would expect other symptoms.

Nine times out of ten the bsod and reset issue (probably won’t get to see the bsod) is memory or psu. Also you didn’t mention what sound card you are using, I would try disabling the sound entirely via system devices as most make terrible drivers notably creative and realtek.

Clarty.9864:

I am IT systems administrator (infrastructure) in particular an Application Packaging expert.
Believe me when I say an app can trash your PC!
When I was a student my programming tutor showed us a v simple assembly code infinite loop that accelerated and eventually cooked the CPU. It made real smoke!

Sorry but this is utter rubbish, the code could only run the CPU at 100% similar to linpack and can only cook a component if your cooling is non-existent, unless it is altering the voltage range but that’s another story.

Anyway most common causes:
- Memory (run several loops of memtest86+)
- PSU Failure
- Overheating

note.5817:

Things I can ensure you which this crashing is not about:
-Overheating (all (4) cores around 50-55 celcius, MB on 38 celcius, GPU on 60-70 celcius)
-Power supply (Chieftec 750W)
-Broken component.

Can I ask how you are so certain it’s not one of these?

InsanityPlea.9163:

majestic.8129:

InsanityPlea.9163:

majestic.8129:

Fail as in pixelate, or does the system just lockup?

Pixelate, somewhat. Colors are wrong, other programs crash (firefox for one), etc.

Okay, I stand by my original recommendation to memtest86+ a few rounds. If you can borrow a quality PSU to test this would be the best solution (a quality one though, or could have the same issue). There are other possibilities but they are slim based on what you have described reading the previous posts. I recommend taking a look at the following as one source of information:

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

I had been thinking of replacing my PSU lately, this may or may not push me to the point of it. I just spent $60 on a game, having to spend $90-ish to play it is a bit much. (Although it’s better for the long-run.)

Yeah definitely not what you want when trying to play a new game. Unfortunately from experience I have had this occur multiple times. Usually a high load game will push it over the edge – swtor tipped my last one although I was abusing/overloading it for some time.

Another thing you can do is run OCCT psu test and monitor the 12v rails though this isn’t foolproof by any means.

InsanityPlea.9163:

majestic.8129:

Fail as in pixelate, or does the system just lockup?

Pixelate, somewhat. Colors are wrong, other programs crash (firefox for one), etc.

Okay, I stand by my original recommendation to memtest86+ a few rounds. If you can borrow a quality PSU to test this would be the best solution (a quality one though, or could have the same issue). There are other possibilities but they are slim based on what you have described reading the previous posts. I recommend taking a look at the following as one source of information:

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

Fail as in pixelate, or does the system just lockup?

Doesn’t matter who makes the ram, all ram can go bad so its best to eliminate it but as I did say I would be surprised as it’s pretty rare unless it was bad to begin with.

I would look objectively at your issue as to be honest 99% of problems here will be hardware or user related and are a minuscule amount of the user base who won’t admit it’s their issue to find and fix. That’s not to say there aren’t issues but they certainly won’t cause system crashes.

Raidmax is a total trash brand and that’s exactly what happens when the PSU can’t supply stable power on the rails, it will either:

1). BSOD + reset
2). Lockup with bzzzzzz sound
3). Black screen (no monitor input)

oh and 4). pop and take out half of your components with it.

InsanityPlea.9163:

Raidmax 700W PSU

Very likely to be the problem, another brand notorious for making cheap nasty psus.
It could also be ram but would be rare in my experience, you can run memtest to be sure.

Drayden.2318:

If money is at play, you can bump down to the i5 3.4 which is great for gaming and apply the savings to the video card.

One of the best bang for the buck cards right now is the HD 7870 which can be found in the $250 range. I’ve also read that a 7850 can be overclocked to pretty much 7870 performance fairly easily too.

Pretty much this, i7 offers no benefit over an i5 if your focus is gaming. Put the money towards a better mid-range card if you are on a budget.

As others have said I would go for at least 1600 or 1866 memory as chances are the price isn’t that different anyway.

Also unless you are going to be doing anything which supports HT (ex. video encoding) the i7 will give no benefit over the i5 for gaming. You would be better off getting the i5 and putting the spare cash towards a good aftermarket heatsink for OC.

I really wish they would implement a option to remove that horrible camera smoothing, feels like input lag x1000 it’s so unresponsive. :/

Hmm being that’s just a ‘ok’ psu quality wise and it’s two years old or more I would take it as prime suspect. Psu output degrades over time because of capacitor aging & especially evident if the quality of components isn’t the best.

The symptoms you describe match this, I would recommend borrowing a high quality unit if possible to test (for example manufac. by seasonic or cwt).

What is the brand/model of the PSU & how old is it? I highly suspect this is the PSU.

Moz.8264:

Glow.4159:

Moz.8264:

Glow.4159:

You’re linking a synthetic non gaming benchmark that utilizes all cores. As said previously, games don’t utilize all cores, and per core performance is much more important.

Here’s a much more detailed compilations of benchmarks showing Intel massive lead:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/551?vs=434

Note CPU bound games such as WoW and SC2 performing almost 100% higher on Ivy Bridge compared to the FX-8150.

You forget to mention WoW and SC2 are also known for being poorly optimized too.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ah1RjWG9Z05cdDlnUk5VTHJfWFhKSlBvejlLT2doN0E&hl=en_US#gid=0

Just because the MMO and RTS genre are almost entirely CPU bound doesn’t mean they’re poorly optimized.

You’re again linking synthetic benchmarks. In that entire spreadsheet you link 2 games. One of which is Crysis 2. Crysis 2 is almost purely GPU bound in the same way that BF3 is. In the other game however, you can clearly see that it’s beaten by a mile.

If you’d like to fool yourself into thinking AMD is currently viable, go ahead. But please don’t go ahead misinforming others with false information.

Despite me playing various mmos between wow, rift and aion, I’ve only had problems with this game. Yeah I’m misinforming people by telling them how bad this game is optimized. I guarantee none of the devs are running AMD cpus and are only fixing performance problems for Intel users to save time and money.

Now kindly show me a benchmark were Pentium Dualcores outperform FX 8000’s.

Glow pretty much hit the nail on the head, a FX-8150 even gets stomped by an i3 in CPU bound games such as rts/mmo even with far lower clocks: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/434?vs=289.

Zero issues here, actually getting better performance at launch than pretty much any MMO released recently…